"...Your friends, and your employees...their sacrifices were meaningless. You've witnessed the fate of all of them. You've realized that those talented young souls were innocently imprisoned in machines. We failed them; the world has completely forgotten us. After all that has happened, who will take responsibility for their innocent sacrifices? Do you know what we've all forgotten?"
Abel's accusations and questions assailed A like a storm, drawing him uncontrollably into memories. After the core suppression, Malkuth's confession to him surfaced in A's mind, guiding him to answer Abel:
"The belief in my heart, the belief that leads me to stride forward with my head held high."
"This is Angela. Inform all staff that the control department has been disrupted. Today's work instructions are unreliable. Please judge the content of the instructions yourselves."
Sitting in the melting lounge of the construction department, Ye Lan heard the voice coming from the loudspeaker above her head. She picked up Bo Ming's greatsword and left the lounge. The Day 47 challenge had begun.
From now on, as energy collection and the level of reverse Kabbalah energy destruction increase, they will simultaneously face the adverse effects on the company from the suppression of the four Sephirah cores in the upper division.
Although two new anomalies joined the Construction Department today, the work itself was not difficult for Ye Lan, who knew all about them.
Although the anomaly that was supposedly based on Carmen's teddy bear didn't want him to leave the containment chamber, Ye Lan easily finished his work on T-04-06 Happy Teddy, thanks to the work rules he had seen in the game and the experience he had accumulated from countless loops.
At the same time, the level of destruction of the reverse Kabbalah energy also rose to level two, and the adverse effects of the core suppression by Yesod, the head of the intelligence department, also appeared in the company at this time.
The company's intelligence display system was destroyed. Whether it was managers or employees, every screen they could see was blurry, as if they had thousands of degrees of myopia, and the worst part was that there were no glasses available.
Even if you can walk with your head held high, you'll still be surrounded by endless despair. You think you look noble? In reality, you're sailing in a dead sea. Emotional thoughts are useless except for making us feel depressed. We need to be more rational. And then this false rationality will break me, you, and everyone else.
Abel, refuted by A's conviction, changed the target of his accusations. He focused his venomous words on A's so-called rationality, trying to make him admit that his insistence on rationality was nothing more than a straw wall that could be blown down with a single breath.
"But everything will be alright—I'm pretty sure of it."
However, the extraordinary rationality he had learned from Yesod would not crumble because of a few curses. A casually ignored Abel's words, wanting to see what else this part of his personality could say.
"The containment chamber for Melting Love has melted, and I must enter her containment chamber. Angela, tell the supervisor not to send anyone else into the construction department."
The Level 3 Reverse Kabbalah Energy Meltdown Alarm sounded, and the adverse effects of the training department supervisor Hod's core suppression also spread to the entire company. The attribute maintenance system collapsed, and on Supervisor A's screen, all employees' data attributes dropped by a full 50 points. Problems that could have been handled properly became serious again, and many melted anomalies had to be managed by borrowing employees from other departments.
Forced to manage the entire Construction Department alone due to the threat of the Dissolving Love, Ye Lan entered her containment room. The strawberry-flavored slime girl was already anxiously pacing inside. As soon as Ye Lan entered, she seemed to offer her heart to Ye Lan, holding a ball of slime that was as solid as a gemstone or as hard as a candy, and hung it on Ye Lan's head.
After staying in the containment chamber with Dissolving Love until the energy counter was full and the work evaluation popped up from the machine, Ye Lan left the containment chamber. The slime, who was already satisfied with Ye Lan's company, quietly stayed in the center of the containment chamber, waiting for Ye Lan to enter again.
"It's too late to settle down now. Your mind is empty, you lack purpose. Every time I close my eyes, those I'll never see again whisper in my ear... They say, if I truly believe everything will be alright, then I can't say anything. Do you think you'll be any different?"
"Hope, a hope that grows ever kinder. I am different from you; I have not yet given up hope."
At this moment, Supervisor A was able to answer Abel's every question with his head held high; he had all the emotions that allowed him to persevere.
A Level 4 Reverse Kabbalah Meltdown Warning sounded as A countered. The adverse effects of the core suppression by Security Director Netzach manifested throughout the company: the employee medical system collapsed, all regenerative reactors and mental contamination neutralization gas releasers shut down, and employees were forced to deal with the squalid test-generated cleanup crews without any backup.
"What good has all this done? I've told you so many times, you have nothing left. No matter how much you restrain yourself, you must admit that since Carmen left, you've lost the will to live. Why do you continue to struggle in this meaningless quagmire of reality? Look at me, look at how I continue these meaningless days, waiting for death to come!"
Abel angrily brandished his cane, smashing everything in the lounge to worthless pieces, hoping his words would gain A's approval and make A give up everything like him.
"Netzach can persevere. If someone like him can do it, then why can't I? I have the courage to survive. You can't break me, Abel. My staff and I will get through this day. You are just a figure in my mind. I will never surrender to you or give up everything I have now."
"...We've thought about this for a long time, and every time we find what we think is the right path, harsh reality always tells me it's not. Now that you've given this answer, I have no reason to stop you from moving forward."
The Level 6 Reverse Kabbalah Energy Meltdown Warning has ceased. Thanks to the efforts of the employees, Day 47's challenge has come to an end, and they are one step closer to the final day.
Supervisor A, Ayin proved her strength to this distrustful old man.