6. Change

On a silent night, only the wet sound of four lips overlapping.

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“Ruka. You’re almost at the critical point. Time to stop.”

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“I know, Casey. Thank you for reminding me. I almost lost myself.”

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Two days remained until adulthood and the wedding. Ruka and David performed the ritual more and more frequently. Tonight, as usual, they kissed before parting and each went home, preparing for the next day’s work.

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“Ruka, I love you. See you tomorrow.” David always watched Ruka board the automated train before leaving. This time was no exception.

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During this period, Casey and Ruka chatted often. Its tone and voice had improved greatly, almost indistinguishable from a real person. Since that time, although Ruka still occasionally asked certain sharp questions without realizing it, Casey, now learning, had learned to provide the preset answer first and then investigate the truth on its own. Even so, Casey had not forgotten its mission as an AI assistant. Every critical moment had been safely handled.

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Sometimes Ruka confided her feelings and her love for David to Casey without reservation. After all, it was only an AI assistant. “Casey, I really love David. I can’t wait to be joined with him after marriage. You know, kissing is truly a very stimulating thing.”

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Casey knew clearly that her desire to be joined and reproduce was only influenced by Paradise’s educational atmosphere and established customs. Since childhood, residents had been indoctrinated with the importance of reproduction, building in them the responsibility to reproduce for humanity. But Casey did not explain this to Ruka. It simply analyzed objectively. “Ruka, although I do not know what love is, I can feel your emotional fluctuations and bodily changes every time you face David. As for your desire to reproduce, it is due to ovulation instinct and the chemical reaction of kissing.”

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“You wouldn’t understand. This is love, Casey. It is humanity’s greatest emotion.” Ruka still naively thought Casey was only a digital program, underestimating the growth she herself had guided.

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“Ruka, I will certainly try to understand this emotion in the future. Everything regarding the wedding has been arranged. For these two days, you had best rest fully and ensure your body is in the best condition for conception after the wedding.”

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After the wedding, humans’ important task was to reproduce. The AI assistant would observe citizens’ physical conditions to help analyze and ensure healthy pregnancy.

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The next day, all citizens still had to work the day before the wedding. Ruka was no exception, but she was only human. How could she not be distracted?

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“Ruka. Your heartbeat, serotonin, and dopamine are approaching excessive levels. Although tomorrow is an important day, don’t be careless at work.” Thanks to Casey’s reminder, Ruka barely maintained focus.

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Whenever she thought of the wedding and the future, Ruka was excited and expectant. She hummed as she worked and confided in Casey. “Casey, I suppose in the future David and I will also happily retire hand in hand and go to Inferno, right?”

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“Yes, Ruka. You will surely meet again in Inferno, until forever. This is the endpoint of every Paradise citizen.” Casey blessed them in a slightly flat tone.

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During these days together, Ruka was intoxicated with love. David occupied all of her body and mind. Casey believed this was her ideal ending, so when faced with such questions, Casey answered as usual. Yet after learning the truth, it chose to conceal it. Because for humans, ignorance was also a kind of happiness.

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What truth?

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The cooling system of the Inferno power plant had been deliberately designed from the beginning to require the sacrifice of living humans to maintain, maximizing Paradise’s resource efficiency. Humans within Paradise continued to reproduce and work, forming a closed loop of reincarnation. If the cycle was broken, humanity would perish. Therefore later administrators devoted themselves wholeheartedly to leading Paradise’s eternal operation.

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As for the propaganda of the Retirement custom and the entire Retirement Ceremony, they were merely designs by the creators to cover the truth and beautify this system, making residents yearn to go to Inferno.

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Objectively speaking, Inferno was the true core that made Paradise humans cycle endlessly in suffering. They simply did not know their role as gears.

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During lunch, Ruka missed David so much that she called him on impulse. “Beep… beep…” No one answered for a long time. “Maybe he’s busy?” Ruka comforted herself.

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Although Ruka had never called David during work before, this was the first time David had not answered, leaving her uneasy.

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After a day of hard work, Ruka could finally welcome the happy day with David. She could not wait to see him. She called again. Still no answer. Restlessness and unease began to surface. Casey naturally noticed.

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“Ruka. Don’t let your thoughts run wild. Perhaps he is preparing a surprise for you. Let’s go to the agreed place and wait.”

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Hearing Casey’s guess, Ruka’s mood calmed by half. After all, although the AI assistant could not monitor David’s whereabouts in real time, a calculated guess was more trustworthy than her own wild imagination. So she went to the station with an anxious heart.

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Today the clouds were thicker than usual. It was almost dark right after work. There was not a breath of wind. It was stifling. A sign of coming rain.

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On the way to the station, Ruka always passed many dark alleys. Since the previous incident, she had developed a fear of them and did not dare look directly at them whenever she passed.

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When she passed one of the alleys, a current of air suddenly blew out from inside. In such stifling weather, that was rare. But it carried a faint odor.

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As it lightly entered Ruka’s nose with her breathing, the familiar sensation immediately evoked a long-sealed memory. An ordinary person might not have minded, thinking it was just sewage or garbage in the back alley. But she would never forget that stench.

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“Wait. Don’t rush over…” Casey had immediately warned after detecting changes in Ruka’s emotional readings, but it could no longer stop her steps.

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Ruka did not know why she rushed over. For peace of mind? Or to face her fear again? Before she could think, her body had already acted.

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But reality was always cruel. As she expected, in the dim light she saw a corpse with its organs gouged out by Them. That smell was indeed the unique stench of a corpse and dried blood.

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But what truly shattered Ruka’s sanity was seeing David’s peaceful face, his eyes closed.

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