9 9 301 AniZhuanchangEnd The blood drops and soaks the girl's skirt.
10 10 301 The evil dragon hangs down its giant head, its chest pounding and its claws grasping feebly at the air.
11 11 301 The girl's lips are trembling. It is as if she has mustered her last bit of strength. The sound of her pipe is weak and fading, but she is not giving up.
12 12 301 There is no resentment or hatred in her iris-colored eyes. They are as clear as the lake water in autumn, yet they express so many indescribable feelings.
13 13 301 The dragon and the girl share the same life.
14 14 301 The evil dragon must be slain.
15 16 301 The girl knows that more than anyone else.
16 17 301 Every second she hesitates, more people will die.
17 18 301 When your eyes meet, you both understand what has to be done.
18 19 301 The pointy end of that pipe is thrust deeply into the flesh.
19 20 301 The pain suffocates her. The sorrowful sound of pipe clearly shows how she is having trouble breathing.
20 21 301 The champion must fulfill the destiny.
21 22 301 AniZhuanchangBegin The girl looks up slightly as she bathes in the sunlight. Her sight penetrates the cold stone walls and the ravaged wastelands to a beautiful place.
23 24 301 AniZhuanchangEnd It is as if she has forgotten all her suffering. There is a faint smile on her face.
24 25 301 The music is coming to an end as the girl puts the pipe against her chest and closes her eyes peacefully.
25 26 301 The crimson eyes of that evil dragon dull as it lies flat on the floor and stops breathing.
26 27 301 You are overwhelmed by a sense of despair and depression.
27 28 301 The world quickly rewinds as you regain all your senses in the real world. Countless memories fill your mind.
28 29 301 It feels like a late prophecy. Like the judgment of a prophet.
29 30 301 The girl writes a story to seal her own fate. What a dramatic coincidence.
30 31 301 She has written down every torment she can possibly imagine in such detail. All the sorrowful feelings are hidden in the chest, waiting for the cruel reality to reveal them one by one.
31 32 301 AniZhuanchangBegin What a tragic yet somewhat comedic story this is.
38 40 301 The blinding flashes, the exquisite artificial flowers, the crowded place, the thundering applause, the warming smiles, and the talking mouths...
39 41 301 This isn't polite, whether you are staring someone in their face or spacing out in an interview.
54 56 301 Journalist ...About the ending of this story where the dying soldier sends their blessing to the people who leave the surface, many audience and critics are deeply touched by that. What inspired you to write an ending like that?
55 57 301 Journalist ...The ending is just brilliant.
61 63 301 Journalist ...How about we change to a more casual subject? What do you do when you can't seem to find more inspiration?
62 64 301 How will she answer these questions?
63 65 301 The blinding light shines as the camera catches every subtle movement in milliseconds. Nothing escapes its iris, whether it's the fingers, the lips, or any other part of the body.
64 66 301 She thought there would be nothing she could have hidden.
65 67 301 Selena opens her mouth but utters no sound. Heavily breathing, she puts both of her hands on her restless, racing heart.
70 72 301 Ink soaks the paper wet. The pen drops to the floor.
71 73 301 The holographic screen is on. Some words are typed and then removed.
72 74 301 Countless fantasies echo in her mind as if ghosts from the past have come back to haunt her, screaming they want to be made real.
73 75 301 Her fingertips are burning. The words she was once proud of are now a mess. The elegance in her sentences is gone. She cannot piece together any meaningful phrases.
74 76 301 This has never been easy. And she can never stop writing. The ending of a show isn't really an end. She has to keep on writing, restless and scared.
75 77 301 Even if she thinks she is out of ideas and even if she is actually out of ideas, she has to press on.
76 78 301 Her pen describes arrogance, childishness, innocence, lies, and baseless speculations. Her work is hollow and empty.
77 79 301 She has nothing to defend herself with.
78 80 301 The flowers in a greenhouse have never faced a real storm. She was born in the safe cradle of an ark in a post-apocalyptic world.
79 81 301 Thinking back on her life, she feels everything has been baseless and powerless without actual meaning.
80 82 301 She is a mess, but the moment harsh critiques force her to speculate the true anguish, the guilt that has been haunting her becomes more intense than ever.
81 83 301 Even so, she still holds onto that last bit of hope and prays she can get some ideas and inspiration from the pain and sorrow of her guilt.
82 84 301 Now her charms are all o'erthrown.
83 85 301 Is it always this hard to figure out how to create something new?
84 86 301 Is it always this painful to create something new?
85 87 301 AniZhuanchangBegin What is it that she insists on? What drove her to choose this path?
89 91 301 AniZhuanchangEnd She found her first work.
90 92 301 It is a very simple, even childish, fantasy story.
91 93 301 She created a world, though the storytelling was awkward.
92 94 301 She shared the world with her friends using words.
93 95 301 The world filled her small book and overflew.
94 96 301 There was a righteous champion, a mysterious piper, a magical witch, an evil dragon, and countless people trapped in a desperate situation yet not giving up on hope.
95 97 301 And there was herself, young, innocent, and naive.
96 98 301 Yes. She didn't have any ambition at the beginning.
97 99 301 She just wanted to tell a story.
98 100 301 AniZhuanchangBegin So, she picks up a pen.
112 114 301 AniZhuanchangEnd On the day of Operation Red Tide. In the Technology Department of the Control Court, Babylonia.
113 115 301 The holographic screen flashes and blinks every millisecond as people operate several terminals, focusing on their tasks at hand. Sometimes, these people will gather around and have a brief talk before they go back to their own businesses. Then, with a beep, the door of this room opens.
114 116 301 The human in a uniform stands up to greet the visitors and operate their terminals to check the lists.
115 117 301 When she sees the item being transported this time, she can't help but take a step back.
116 118 301 She can make out what seems to be a humanoid statue hidden beneath the large canvas. It is so huge that it almost blocks the hallway.
117 119 301 Sullie What is this? Why do we have to inspect and check the entity technologies of a WGAA device?
118 120 301 This isn't really a question as the speaker isn't expecting an answer but just complaining. Every item from the Babylonia administrative department is approved and uploaded to the associated terminal with documents.
119 121 301 Sullie enters a command into the system but realizes the document doesn't allow her access to read it.
120 122 301 With her eyebrows furrowed, she looks up and is surprised to see a hand placed on the canvas.
121 123 301 Another pink-haired female Construct dressed in the same uniform turns and nods at her colleague.
122 124 301 Sullie Ishmael, you scared me.
123 125 201 1 500380
124 126 301 1 Ishmael Sorry. I didn't see you. 1
125 127 202 1 1
126 128 301 When there is something this big blocking the hallway, there is no way you can miss it.
127 129 301 Sullie doesn't want to talk about this any further, so she just waves her hand, telling the other girl to drop this subject.
128 130 301 Sullie So, you are back from the surface, huh? Did you find anything?
129 131 301 Sullie I heard this is an emergency. What's the situation? All the missions are highly classified. I haven't heard any news.
130 132 301 ?? Everything involving the Task Force is an emergency.
131 133 301 The voice of a woman comes from the room.
132 134 301 Ishmael's arrival livens up the air in this room.
133 135 201 1 500380
134 136 301 1 Ishmael Things are different this time. 1
135 137 301 Ishmael's tone is monotonous. It seems she doesn't want to share anything more about this mission, so she quickly changes to another subject.
136 138 301 She reaches out with one hand and opens it.
137 139 301 There is a purple flower in her palm.
138 140 301 Ishmael I found this on the surface this time. 1
139 141 301 Ishmael It is a purple iris. 1
140 142 202 1 1
141 143 301 The blade-like leaves expand outward as the dreamy, fragile purple petals curl, forming a layered, elegant shape. Its beauty is far beyond that of anything artificial.
142 144 301 The flower is almost floating above Ishmael's palm. The shimmering light proves this is not real.
143 145 301 This is a flower made of data.
144 146 301 Sullie You seem like you are enjoying yourself.
145 147 301 Upon taking a closer look, Sullie realizes this is indeed just an ordinarily beautiful flower made of data. She is not interested anymore.
146 148 301 Everyone who comes back from the surface has to go through multiple tedious checking and disinfection processes. The same goes for every object brought back from the surface, even if it's just a flower or a rock.
147 149 301 And Ishmael is especially fond of collecting those things.
148 150 301 She seems interested in every little thing she finds on the surface.
149 151 301 And the restricting rules push Ishmael to start using her power.
150 152 301 Ishmael has the ability to rebuild anything in detail using only data. There is no solid evidence, but Sullie is certain Ishmael is one of the best Babylonia Constructs when it comes to calculating.
151 153 301 It is almost magic instead of calculation.
152 154 301 An item created by Ishmael is actually even more exquisite and "realistic" than the real item.
153 155 301 She is almost like Rabbi, the legend of the Golden Age who could infuse souls into clays using sorcery.
154 156 301 But unfortunately, she seems to be interested in only strange little things.
155 157 301 Take the iris flower this time for example, or the gray marionette she brought back last time...
156 158 301 She has a taste for retro stuff.
157 159 301 Sullie looks at Ishmael's seat and sees light spots floating above the desk. She gets closer and feels as if she has entered a display case of the Golden Age filled with various strange toys.
158 160 301 She focuses back on reality as her mind slowly drifts away and looks at Ishmael, who is talking to the others in the room and slightly turns her head as if she has sensed Sullie's attention.
159 161 301 Her white pupils are like a void filled with magic power. She smiles as if she wants to know whether Sullie wants anything.
160 162 301 Sullie Oh, and about that dramatic thing outside... I think it's called Hamlet or something.
161 163 301 Sullie I don't have enough access to browse the documents. Can you take a look for me?
162 164 301 Ishmael nods at the other people and starts checking the system. Her attention seems to focus on a single line. After a while, she shuts down the system.
163 165 201 1 500380
164 166 301 1 AniZhuanchangBegin 1 Ishmael Alright. I'll take it over from here. 1
