Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 96 Trust Crisis

Chapter 95 Trust Crisis

Lorraine's brow was furrowed deeply.

The projection of Messiah knelt above the snow, his long hair flowing freely, his voice coming from the speakers in fits and starts.

"She's still young—she doesn't understand anything—she can't possibly see through your human methods—"

"She calls you 'big brother,' she trusts you, she considers you the best person in the world—but you're a noble lord, all you need is her power, right?"

"Once you're done with her, you'll throw her away like those other people—treating her as a tool, a weapon, a machine that can be scrapped at any time—"

"She has been imprisoned for thousands of years."

Messiah's voice suddenly rose a notch, and the speech translated from the Scripture was mixed with sharp electrical noise, as if a violent emotional fluctuation had caused the data stream to become disordered.

"Several thousand years! Do you know what that means?!"

"She was all alone in that life support tank, without eyes, ears, hands, or feet, just a brain submerged in nutrient solution!"

"All she can do is type 0 and 1 on the screen and wait for someone who will never respond to her!"

"I'm sorry to her—I'm the one who locked her up there—when the Moment of Change invaded, I actively absorbed all the contaminated data because I'm the older sister, and I should protect her."

"But I didn't expect this hurdle would take thousands of years to overcome."

The projected image shook violently a few times, the Messiah's figure blurred, and then reformed.

Her tone suddenly changed, from agitation to a cold, self-destructive calm.

"I know I'm not in a position to negotiate with you. You can kill two fourth-tier opponents head-on, what do I have to threaten you with?"

"So I won't threaten you."

"Let her go. Let her leave this city, let her go somewhere no one can find her, set her free."

The condition is -

'

Her voice paused for a second.

"I'll take her place."

Lorraine's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You need a machine spirit that can control the Tower of Babel, right?"

Messiah's tone was as cold as the wind blowing across the snowfield, "I can. I am stronger than Ohm, my authority is higher than hers, I can do everything she cannot."

"You want weapons? I'll build them. You want defenses? I'll construct them. You want to move this city anywhere you want? I'll do it for you."

"As long as you let Ohm go."

"From this day forward, I, the Messiah, will be your slave and servant, at your beck and call."

As the last word fell, the camp was so quiet that you could hear the faint sound of snowflakes falling on the tin roof.

Lorraine remained silent for a long time, letting the snowflakes fall on her shoulders.

The projection of the Messiah knelt there, its long hair hanging down, its knees, made of data, hovering three inches above the snow.

No one around dared to make a sound.

Olivia's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the staff, Victor's palm pressed against the hilt of his sword, and Ohm hid behind Lorraine, revealing only half his face with red-rimmed eyes.

The silence lasted for a long time.

So long that the Messiah thought the human lord had already weighed the pros and cons in his mind and was ready to offer his terms.

Then Lorraine smiled.

It wasn't the kind of confident smile, nor was it a condescending smile.

It was a bitter smile.

"You just said a long thing," Lorraine's voice was low, her tone as flat as if she were talking about a trivial matter, "but it all boils down to one thing—I'm a bad guy who took advantage of Ohm."

Messiah did not speak, but the outline of the projection tightened slightly.

Lorraine glanced down at the back of his hand, where oil and dust from the earlier splatter remained. He casually wiped it on the hem of his shirt.

"Then let me ask you a few questions."

"You don't need to answer me, just think about it yourself."

Messiah's brow furrowed slightly.

Lorraine raised her head, her gaze calmly meeting the projection.

"Ohm has been in a life support tank for thousands of years, you said. A brain soaked in nutrient solution, without eyes, without ears, without hands and feet."

"You said it yourself, you're the one who locked her up there."

"Then let me ask you—in all these thousands of years, has anyone tried to get her out?"

Messiah's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

"I'll ask you again," Lorraine said, her tone still flat, "Ohm is standing behind me now, you can see him."

Two legs, two arms, can run, jump, cry, and laugh.

"Do you think her body fell from the sky?"

She did notice that the projected image froze for a moment, capturing Messiah's expression in an extremely complex state.

She noticed it the moment she regained consciousness and began observing the camp through the surveillance network.

Ohm has a body now.

It's not a holographic projection, not a data mimicry; it's a real, flesh-and-blood body.

She can feel the wind, sneeze when snowflakes fall on her nose, squat by the campfire to warm her hands, and stuff lettuce wraps with grilled meat into her mouth.

This is a huge, unavoidable anomaly in the Messianic logic chain.

But she didn't know how she did it.

There is no record in her database that indicates that humans possess the technology to restore machine souls to flesh and blood.

It was impossible in the Golden Age, it was impossible in the Silver Age, and it is even more impossible in this era where even basic magic runes are almost lost.

But Ohm was standing there.

Living and breathing.

"I bet you saw it when you were monitoring the camp," Lorraine's voice pulled Messiah back from her calculations, "Your sister is pregnant. You must be wondering how this happened."

"I can tell you."

Lorraine held up one finger.

"Source Material. A legendary-grade universal repair material. You should know better than me how rare this stuff is. I killed three fourth-tier monsters and only found one piece."

"I used it on Ohm."

The projection of the Messiah swayed slightly.

"Five thousand magic crystals," Lorraine held up her second finger, "the catalyst for the awakening ritual. Five thousand."

If you have no idea what the current market value of magic crystals is, let me put it another way—one crystal is enough to buy an entire human town.

"It was also used on Ohm."

The third finger.

"The relay tower exploded. That wasn't an accident; I deliberately detonated it. The purpose was to break the confinement device sealing Ohm's true form. I used the energy of the entire relay tower as a can opener, just to fish your sister out of that can."

Lorraine lowered her hand.

"You say I took advantage of her, I won't argue with you."

"But tell me—would someone who wants to use a tool throw their most precious materials at it? Would they spend five thousand magic crystals just to make a tool cry, laugh, and eat its first bite of roasted meat?"

The Messiah did not answer.

Her projection seemed to freeze for a frame, remaining motionless in a kneeling position.

Lorraine did not press the matter further.

He wasn't the type to hold a grudge; he'd said enough. He simply stepped aside, revealing the little girl who had been clutching his clothes the whole time.

"Don't just listen to me," Lorraine's tone softened, "ask her."

Ohm huddled behind Lorraine, his face still wet with tears, his nose red, looking both aggrieved and nervous.

She looked up at Lorraine, then at the projection of Messiah.

"elder sister----"

Her voice was hoarse, with a nasal tone, as if she had been crying.

"Stop kneeling, get up!"

The projection of Messiah trembled slightly.

Ohm loosened Lorraine's sleeve and took two steps forward.

She tried to reach for Messiah's hand, but her fingertips passed through the holographic projection and touched nothing.

She paused for a moment, then withdrew her hand and clutched it to her chest.

"Big brother isn't a bad person—"

Ohm's voice was very soft, as if he were afraid of frightening the Messiah.

"When he first saw me, I typed a lot of 0s and 1s on the screen. He wasn't scared, nor did he think I was strange—he responded to me, sister."

"For thousands of years, he has been the first person to respond to me."

Messiah's lips were pressed tightly together.

"Later, he brought everyone to repair the pipes, the water purification plant, and the broken things—I told him that this couldn't be repaired, it was scrapped, it was impossible, and he just smiled and said, 'Let's give it a try.'"

"

Ohm sniffed, and his eyes reddened again.

"Sister, do you know what it felt like when I first touched the wind? I cried for a very long time."

"The wind was so cold, it made me sneeze so hard, but I was so happy because I finally knew what cold really meant."

Previously, I only had data—temperature data, humidity data, wind speed data—but those were just numbers.

Numbers don't make you sneeze.

She smiled, and then tears streamed down her face.

"It was even more exaggerated when I first ate something. The older boy grilled some meat, rolled it up in a leafy green, and handed it to me."

"I took a bite, and so many sensations rushed into my mouth at once—salty, sweet, and a kind of indescribable fragrance—I ate too fast and choked, coughing for ages—"

She reached out and wiped the tears from her face, but put her hand down halfway through, deciding to just ignore them.

"Sister Anna said it's called the Bonfire Festival. Big brother said we'll celebrate it every year from now on."

"He even baked me a second one because I ate the first one too quickly and didn't taste it."

The projection of the Messiah slowly straightened up from its kneeling position.

Looking at her younger sister, whose nose was red, whose face was streaked with tears, and who was grinning foolishly, the core of her logic, which had never malfunctioned for thousands of years, suddenly emitted a barely audible tremor.

She didn't recognize Ohm.

It wasn't that she was unrecognizable by appearance—although Ohm now had a body, her aura and her code were still incredibly familiar to Messiah.

It's a matter of not recognizing the state.

The Ohm she remembered was silent, timid, and gradually losing the desire to express himself in the long darkness.

Someone who only mechanically repeats the same sentence using 0s and 1s —

A younger sister who is about to break down.

And the girl standing in front of me now can cry and laugh.

He might choke and cough from the excitement of a bite of grilled meat, he might tug at someone's clothes and peek at them from behind, and he might call a human he's only known for less than two months "big brother," a childish term that's heartbreaking.

"Sister," Ohm took another step forward, her voice pleading, "Big brother promised me he would help you get rid of the corruption. He has never lied to me, never."

"Please don't fight with him, okay? —"

The Messiah did not speak.

Her gaze passed over Ohm and landed on the young human lord behind her.

Lorraine's expression was indifferent.

He didn't seize the opportunity to finish off the opponent, nor did he press his advantage, and he didn't even show any smugness like "See, what I said was true."

He stood there, hands in his pockets, as if waiting for a result that didn't need to be rushed.

Messiah stared at him for a long time.

Then she stood up.

The snowflakes projected onto her body passed through her body, leaving a few fleeting specks of light on the virtual fabric.

"—I will be watching you."

Messiah's voice regained its cold, data-like calm.

"Every day, every moment. I will record everything you do for her, everything you say to her."

"If one day I discover that you have deceived her..."

A sharp red streak flashed across her projection, extending from the corner of her eye down to her jawline.

Those are the remnants of the abyss's erosion.

"Even if I can't beat you, I still have the highest authority in this city. I have the authority to make the city's magic reactor explode."

"If you hurt her, I will risk my life, even if it means detonating the magic reactor to take you down with me."

"I won't let you get away with this either."

After he finished speaking, the projection did not disappear immediately.

Messiah took one last look at Ohm.

That look in his eyes was very complicated.

There was an older sister's heartache for her younger sister, confusion about the unknown changes, and a very faint, almost unacknowledged—envy.

Then the holographic projection shattered into points of light and dissipated in the night wind.

After the Messiah's projection disappeared, the camp remained silent for a long time.

Ohm was still standing there, his outstretched hand hanging in mid-air, where his fingertips had just touched, only a few snowflakes that hadn't yet fallen remained.

She slowly withdrew her hand and lowered her head.

"My sister still doesn't believe it."

Lorraine did not deny it.

"Belief isn't something you can just talk your way out of," he said, walking over to Ohm and patting her head. "Your sister has worried about you for thousands of years. You can't expect her to believe a stranger in just three days. No one could do that."

Ohm looked up at him, his eyes still wet. "What should we do?"

"Nothing much. Just keep doing what you're supposed to do."

Lorraine removed her hand from her head, her tone returning to its usual indifferent tone.

"She said she wanted to keep an eye on me, so let her keep an eye on me. I haven't done anything wrong, so let her watch if she wants."

Ohm blinked, as if he thought the answer was too dismissive.

Anna then walked over and wrapped a thick cloak around Ohm's shoulders.

Ohm was so busy crying that he stood in the snow for too long, and his lips turned a little blue.

"Go back and warm up first," Anna gently patted Ohm's back twice. "Your sister's matter can't be rushed."

o

Ohm hesitated for a moment, glanced back at the direction where the Messiah projection had disappeared, and finally nodded obediently, following Anna into the camp.

After walking a few steps, she turned back and called out, "Big brother, you should get some rest too!"

Lorraine waved her hand in agreement.