Unfortunately, X 's prolonged search yielded nothing of value in the black forest.
Not only did he fail to find the "Tall Bird" that Little Bird had mentioned—the one who couldn't see and carried a scale—but he didn't even catch a glimpse of the so-called terrifying giant monster.
It was as if, before his arrival, this vast black forest truly contained only Little Bird alone.
As for why he didn't think Little Bird herself was that giant monster—
That was because even in the surface world, even when an escaped Little Bird was enraged enough to reveal her dangerous second form, it still had absolutely nothing to do with the word "giant."
Standing in the silent black forest, X pondered.
No matter how large the forest was… if that terrifying giant monster really existed, it shouldn't be possible for him to wander around for so long without finding even the slightest trace of it.
"Was Little Bird… lying?"
He rubbed the small pendant at his chest.
Feeling its solid, real texture, X instinctively denied that thought.
"No. Probably not."
Most Abnormalities were quite "honest," and very rarely engaged in something like deliberate deception.
At least so far, none of the Abnormalities under X 's care were the kind of chaotic existence that acted recklessly without restraint.
Even Schadenfreude—troublesome enough that X had to enter its Abnormality world for clues—would still obediently function as an Enkephalin production machine, as long as its management guidelines were followed and no one looked at it.
And judging from the Abnormality worlds he had explored so far, one world theoretically contained only a single Abnormality's true body—without other Abnormalities intruding… right?
At that point, X hesitated.
Because, when all was said and done, including today's black forest, he had only entered six Abnormality worlds so far.
six —compared to the company's daily rate of extracting Abnormalities—was an utterly negligible number.
Such a small sample size was nowhere near enough to prove the assumption that "one Abnormality world contains only one Abnormality."
Before there was solid evidence to confirm these ideas, he needed to stay cautious—he couldn't blindly draw conclusions or rely too heavily on prior experience.
"Little Bird said something was interfering… but that's so vague. I can't even tell whether the interference is coming from the surface world or the inner world…"
After organizing his findings, X discovered with a headache that—
After today's exploration, the number of unknowns hadn't decreased at all. If anything, there were even more.
"Forget it. I've probably stayed here a bit too long… I'll end today's Inner Lobotomy Corporation exploration here."
After confirming once more that the black forest truly showed no obvious anomalies, X exited Punishing Bird's Abnormality world.
—
DAY 15
Beep—
Almost the moment X took his seat, the green Lobotomy Corporation logo was projected onto the manager's dedicated work screen.
Seeing this, X could basically confirm that the mysterious "B" had some unknown method of monitoring the situation inside the manager's office.
Which made the questions it had asked during their first conversation… quite thought-provoking.
"B."
X looked at the green logo and spoke first.
"I thought that after what happened last time, you wouldn't show up again."
"My task is not yet complete. Of course I will still appear before you."
text slowly emerged. Unlike before, however, B now addressed X using honorifics.
"Well then, it's clear that you've already stepped outside the script you once wrote for yourself… or at least, you're trending in that direction."
"In that case, there are some things I should tell you in advance. I trust that when the time comes, you won't turn around and blame me for it."
"Everything I've done has been to guide you back onto the correct path… I don't want to see you hurting yourself like that again. That's not what I came back here to witness…"
These words sounded less like they were meant for X , and more like reasons B was telling herself to justify her actions.
"Go on."
X broke into a Relaxed smile, trying to ease the tension on the other end.
"There's no need to be so stiff. Just interact with me the way you normally would."
"Ah… yes… before everything happened, you always said things like that to me as well…"
The nostalgia and sorrow leaking from the words were almost overflowing from the screen. Even just reading them, one could faintly sense the emotions on the other side.
And as the text faded, a new line appeared—accompanied by an unfamiliar female voice:
"Now, it is time to tell you the final secret… a secret you absolutely must know."
The voice carried an unimaginable level of calmness and gentleness—completely different from everything X had previously imagined based on B's behavior.
"I know that the truth often wounds those who trust the world, and telling you all of this is like destroying a sandcastle you've spent years building—in an instant."
Perhaps because of the added audio, or perhaps not, but after the voice appeared, X felt that the projected text—previously tinged with urgency—had slowed considerably.
Even the spaces between the lines seemed soaked in the same heartbreaking composure as the voice itself.
"But you must overcome that pain, and deny all the effort you have invested here."
Just as X was about to speak up and ask questions, B finally reached the crucial point:
"Now, please listen carefully. The final secret is—"
Before the answer was spoken, B's voice stopped.
The entire office fell into absolute silence.
The low hum of the terminal seemed to vanish. Even the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing felt distant.
X 's gaze was locked onto the screen, waiting for the answer that would overturn everything.
Time stretched into something thick and viscous—one second, two seconds…
But the voice never returned.
No text appeared on the projection either.
At first, X thought B was deliberately building suspense, using a dramatic pause to heighten the impact of a world-shattering revelation.
But after listening to the monotonous static in the channel for a long while, X realized in shock—
This wasn't B playing coy—
She had disappeared from the other end of the connection.
—Beep.
The chime signaling the start of working hours rang out.
Coming back to his senses, X suddenly remembered that someone was missing from the office today.
His secretary, Angela, had not sent any message or appeared at all.
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