Shrouded Seascape

The paper rabbit covered a considerable distance with each hop, allowing Charles and Tobba to reach the center of the city on the well in no time.

Tobba and Charles revealed solemn looks as they looked down at the strange city. The buildings were extremely bizarre, and they were leaning haphazardly as if they were exhausted from standing up.

They all looked like they might collapse at any moment.

Charles also spotted some creatures living in the city. They were like ants as they shuttled around the city, but Charles was too far away from them to identify them.

However, one thing was for sure—the creatures were not humans.

"You're staring at 'them.' 'They' are the indigenous creatures of the 'Big Tree,' and 'they' survive by absorbing trace amounts of the power of the gods, which is exactly why 'they' settled here," Tobba explained to Charles.

Charles turned, staring into the depths of the well. There was only a sea of chaos, with no sign of the central computer whatsoever. "How much longer until we get there? We've been in here for at least half an hour now."

"We're almost there. We're close, so let me tell you what you need to do. Once we get there, you have to crack open your head, scoop out your brain, and throw it like a grenade. That's all," Tobba said casually.

"What?" However, Charles was so stupefied that he felt like he had misheard. "Can you say that again?"

Tobba raised his hand, glancing at the watch that he had drawn on his right hand before nonchalantly replying, "Why are you panicking? This isn't reality. We're in another perspective, so you're not going to die here. You should be more afraid of getting erased and replaced."

Charles recalled his previous bizarre experience in another perspective. He stared deeply at Tobba before grabbing the paper rabbit made out of newspaper and making it hop into the depths of the city down below.

"I've been wanting to ask you this, but what's exactly in my brain? Why can it be used as a weapon against the central computer? As far as I know, there's nothing in my head except for Anna's tentacles," Charles said.

"Captain," said Tobba, staring deeply at Charles. "You've been through a lot in the Subterranean Sea, and you've experienced a few things that you've forgotten, but it doesn't mean that they no longer exist.

"On the contrary, their connection to you has become even deeper than before. Before, they could stay outside, but the Foundation's meddling had allowed them to stay inside you."

Charles looked down at his chest, puzzled. "What are you talking about? How come you're still a lunatic, even in this perspective?"

"Pfft!" Tobba burst out laughing at that as his figure swayed back and forth on the hopping rabbit. "It's nothing. I don't know what I'm saying either. If I had to say something good about being a lunatic, then it's the fact that one can be carefree."

The two chitchatted for a good while until something emerged from the deepest recess of the well. Charles and Tobba soon clapped their eyes on the figure amidst the sea of chaos, and Charles was particularly surprised upon seeing it.

The central computer wasn't a brain in this perspective. It was a human-shaped silhouette. If Charles had to describe it, then he'd say that he was staring at someone's back.

However, the truth was that they were staring at the Foundation's central computer—the brain of the late God Pede. Its appearance was even more bizarre than Charles had imagined.

"Are you really sure that's the central computer?" Charles swept his gaze across the surroundings and found it desolate. It was great that there were no traps nor fortifications from the Foundation here, but things were going too swimmingly that Charles actually felt uneasy.

"Ah… why are you being so indecisive? Hurry up and throw your brain over there. They wouldn't have anticipated that we'll be making our move in an alternative perspective," Tobba said. He was standing on the back of his paper rabbit and was tugging at its long ears.

Charles stared at Tobba in front of him, and scenes of their previous interactions flashed in his mind.

In the end, he raised his hand and grabbed the tentacles serving as his hair. Then, he shoved his hands into his skull through his nape. He twisted his fingers and sliced.

Moments later, Charles pulled out a clump of what looked like rotten tofu riddled with holes out of his skull. The holes in his brain were evidently made by Anna's tentacles.

Tobba was right. Despite losing his brain, Charles felt fine; he couldn't feel anything strange except for the fact that his head felt lighter and breezier.

He tossed his brain into the air with one hand, seemingly playing with it. The next moment, the muscles on Charles' arm bulged, and he used all of his strength to throw his brain at the distant silhouette.

Charles' brain resembled a white meteor in the starry sky as it left behind a trail of cerebrospinal fluid and brain matter while making a beeline for the silhouette in the distance.

Staring at his brain disappearing into the distance, Charles turned to Tobba and said in a low voice, "I hope the grave you dug isn't for me."

Tobba broke out into a smile when the brain disappeared into the distance. Then, he chuckled before bursting out into a peal of uproarious laughter while looking so smug.

Tobba's expression immediately returned to normal upon seeing Charles' indifferent face. He sounded greatly surprised as he asked, "Huh? I'm laughing like a bad guy here, so why are you not reacting at all? Do you have a contingency plan or something?"

"A bad guy? That's a rather broad term. Are you saying that you're a bad guy?"

Tobba stretched his feet before taking a seat on his paper rabbit. He sounded regretful as he replied, "Of course, I'm not a bad guy. Why would I be? I said that because I wanted you to relax; I was just joking around."

"Aren't you hundreds of years old?" Charles asked, sighing helplessly, "Can you stop being so childish? Just look at our current situation; do you really think that this is the time for jokes?"

"How long do you plan on living? Let me tell you something—the longer you live, the happier you should be. Otherwise, your life would be completely meaningless. Living a life like Bandages' is a complete waste of a life!" Tobba retorted.

The two proceeded to argue as the "meteor" in the distance merged into the distant silhouette. As soon as the "meteor" struck the distant silhouette, it began to squirm and tremble.

Charles instantly became wary as he stared at the distant silhouette from afar.

All of a sudden, Charles was shocked to find that he had access to a special sensory organ capable of perceiving information in a bizarre three-point perspective.

He could see his other body, and it was inside a massive pool. The pool was full of water, and there was a colossal brain soaking in it. The brain's deeply folded cerebral cortex was riddled with blood vessels.

The massive pool was surrounded by a myriad of tiny optical fibers resembling long needles, and all of them were connected to the brain soaking in the pool. The other end of the optical fibers was connected to a variety of strange devices made out of machinery, flesh, and even plants.

The Foundation's clones were working diligently on those devices.

A vast amount of knowledge entered Charles' mind in the blink of an eye. He realized just then that he was staring at the central computer. He also instantly knew the purpose of those bizarre machines and the serial numbers of every single clone here.

The central computer's vast amount of data and its powerful will had allowed it to almost instantly assimilate Charles. He felt like everything was utterly insignificant before the central computer.

Just as he was about to lose track of whether he was Charles or the central computer, the bloody water in the pool began boiling. The blood vessels covering the deeply folded cerebral cortex ruptured one by one.

A thunderous explosion echoed, and the massive pool was shattered, allowing the white brain matter of the colossal brain to submerge everything around it.