Gun of Ashes

Night fell, yet above the sky, light continued to churn. The Iron Whales circled Dunling Tower as if hunting prey, illuminating the scorched wreckage with their light, leaving no shadows for hiding.

The battle was over, but subsequent events still needed handling, like these collapsed buildings, lingering erosion...

This time, even if people didn’t want to pay attention, they couldn’t help it. Dunling Tower, like a blazing fire, had become a beacon above the city.

The elevator reached the end, and as the dark panel opened, Watson stepped out from the shadowy stairs, entering under the dome’s light.

Old Dunling had not only visible outposts but also numerous hidden posts entirely guarded by Cleaners. These outposts usually remained silent, disguised as abandoned residential buildings, awaiting demolition and renovation.

Thanks to the influence of anti-memes, these groups of buildings didn’t draw the citizens’ attention. Even if they slightly noticed, they merely sighed at the bloated municipal planning, lamenting how long these buildings had been abandoned without reconstruction.

The Purification Mechanism wasn’t aware of these hidden posts either. Their interiors were transformed into similar bases, equipped with vertical elevators leading directly to the Land of Sorrow, capable of transporting a large number of soldiers to the ground in a short time.

Now that the Cleaners were fully hidden, this invisible force was rapidly spreading within Old Dunling, far exceeding the Purification Mechanism’s understanding. Enormous anti-meme weapons now occupied every street.

”After the anti-meme weapons detonate, they will only neutralize erosions and make unfortunate citizens forget something. They won’t destroy buildings or harm bodies... These weapons are indeed intriguing, could they be considered clean weapons?”

Joey lifted a heavy box, handling it together with Bluebird.

Inside the hidden post, the Cleaners moved silently. Visible were tall Ghostly Floating Massacres anchored on the first floor. They were sent to the ground by elevators, then covered with black cloth, poised to strike under the shadows.

Anonymous figures were seen mingling within, recognizable by their identical attire.

”So, are these people... Mr. Cai?” Bluebird asked, puzzled.

”Yes, they claim to be Mr. Cai. More than a name, it seems like a unified designation. As for their real names, who knows?” Joey replied.

”Just like the Cleaners from the Purification Mechanism?” Bluebird mused, ”Jiuxia’s Anonymous Mr. Cai...”

For some reason, Bluebird suddenly felt the Cleaners were quite similar to Mr. Cai, yet couldn’t articulate precisely how.

”What are they planning to do?” Bluebird asked again.

Only to see these Mr. Cai figures pick up weapons, cloak themselves in gray-black raincoats, and proceed out from the hidden post, moving forward with the pedestrians on the street. Strangely, the pedestrians seemed unaware of Mr. Cai’s existence. Quickly, they dispersed into the streets, disappearing from sight.

They’re protected by a strong anti-meme effect, leading to a vast closure of their information, resulting in their presence becoming extremely thin, with few able to fix their gaze upon them.

”Not sure, you know the rules: if we don’t know, it means we’re not meant to know.”

Joey said, looking up toward the darkness, as if his gaze could penetrate the ceiling to see what was atop.

”Just believe, blindly believe, until the end.”

”Is that so...” Bluebird’s eyes glazed over briefly, then curiously asked, ”Do you think someone might be completely isolated by anti-memes, so much so that even standing next to us, we can’t realize they’re there?”

Joey pondered for a moment and said.

”It’s possible. Completely isolated by anti-memes, their information is utterly eradicated, like a novel character expunged from the book, all plots involving them altered to conceal their disappearance.

Yet likewise, once erased, they have no consciousness to speak of, meaning ’they’ turn into complete ’blankness’, even if achieved, now they’re just a corpse.”

Joey felt a chilling oppression. Such a death would be the most frightening.

”Totally forgotten... even forgetting themselves, that’s the fate of being entirely covered by anti-memes, not as you said, acting unnoticed.

Anti-memes protect us, but also affect us.”

Bluebird nodded, sighing in lament.

”I feel the time I’ve left the Purification Mechanism wasn’t long, yet coming back feels like decades have passed, everything’s changed so quickly.”

”You need to adapt, it’s a fast-paced era.”

Joey advised Bluebird, though his relaxed demeanor didn’t last, he continued.

”Now, we’re to ’kill’ The Inexpressible in this manner, bombarding it with vast amounts of anti-memes, making it completely covered.

This way, all paths toward Ascension will be blocked, forgotten, a layer of invisible wall crafted between humanity and it. More importantly, this can make it forget itself, becoming a chaotic yet gentle consciousness, unaware of its identity, without instincts, just absolute ’blankness’, contained in the anti-meme cage, buried in humanity’s shadow of forgetfulness.”

...

Galahad pushed open the iron door, stepping onto the rooftop. A face greeted by the cooling drizzle, clearing his muddled consciousness.