Overturned Tower

The record from Delphinium flashed through Russell's mind.

Russell seemed to be able to hear the minister's slow voice speaking quietly.

"It should be that he was rescued or controlled by the people from the 'veil of ignorance' after the car accident.

“In this era where plastic surgery and gender reassignment are quite simple, due to the proliferation of prosthetics and the ease of changing shapes, people will subconsciously identify each other with ‘spiritual characteristics’ and ‘prosthetic body parts’...

"In order to prevent others from recognizing that 'Xiao Liuli' is 'Blue Songbird', his original spiritual characteristics were directly cut off and he was disguised as a cat using a camouflaging prosthesis in the form of 'cat ears'."

Many clues that he had seen and thought were strange but did not take them to heart were connected in Russell's mind——

The idol of "Xiao Liuli" is full of weight, and can even be said to be "full of two-dimensional flavor" and full of deliberate words and deeds;

Although he is a top idol in Happy Island and is equipped with a prosthetic body for secret filming, there has never been any scandal with anyone. After retiring as an idol, he still does not have a boyfriend;

Russell also witnessed her being in the same room with two girls at the Beehive nightclub, and the common feature between them was that they both had black hair;

Coupled with "Xiao Liuli's" love and understanding of wine, and the "caged bird" that appeared in the men's room instead of the women's room...

And, the most crucial detail that Russell missed -

The bird in that birdcage is obviously the blue songbird.

The other name of Blue Song Yuan is Liuli Song Yuan...some people also call it "Little Liuli".

But the "Blue Songbird" - only the male is glazed.

Her registered name at the Beehive Nightclub, "Lan Ge Yun," should not be a pseudonym, but an "old name."

It is a trace left after the code name was changed because the old records have not been completely changed.

That was the name she registered when she was touring and singing here before she became "Little Liuli" - a pseudonym that automatically popped up when her chip was detected.

This was probably the only flaw she showed.

...Or, think the other way around.

Is that really a flaw?

This kind of characteristic that was deliberately left behind to connect the two identities... is just like the "secret code" left at the agreed place after they ran away separately.

Russell, who was silent, turned into the men's room in Area K on the first floor again.

The birdcage is still there.

In the black and white bathroom, there is a steel-colored birdcage.

The blue color on the bird is so bright and eye-catching.

Like...an idol.

Bright, bright and clear.

It was a future that seemed to swallow up people's souls...as calm as the sea.

The bluebird in the cage seemed to see Russell entering again and tilted his head to look at him.

Although it is a songbird, it has always been silent. No sound was made.

——Dong dong!

Russell suddenly felt heart palpitations.

It was like standing up suddenly after squatting for a long time, and there were waves of faint dizziness in the back of my head.

Under Russell's pupils, a gray-white flame instead of turquoise slowly ignited.

He sighed softly.

"Yes, I was negligent..."

How could he think that Xiao Liuli had left?

Is it because the ventilation ducts show signs of being moved?

But in that case, Delphinium, who controlled the camera, should be able to find her location from the cameras on the street.

It was Russell who thought from the beginning that Xiao Liuli could easily escape from the ventilation duct with his figure... So when he was in the women's room, he consciously looked for signs that the ventilation duct had been used. That's why when he found her in the men's room, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself that she had left safely. The birdcage was some kind of message she had left.

But look at it now.

There is no evil that controls everything secretly.

Xiao Liuli herself is the demon who was found out - it can even be said that Xiao Liuli, who still acted as a pawn and did not escape control after she degenerated into a demon, deliberately participated in the detection to induce today's incident.

Everything is connected.

Russell took a deep look at the bird, turned around, closed and locked the toilet door.

It's like closing the door of a birdcage to prevent it from flying away.

He turned his back to the caged bird and said softly:

"Blue Songbird... I should be able to call you that."

He turned back and looked at the bluebird in the birdcage.

Russell asked straight to the point: "Are you the organizer of the game 'Caged Bird'?"

This is Russell's final question.

"--not me."

The soft voice belonging to Xiao Liuli sounded from the bird's mouth.

The next moment, the metal birdcage suddenly opened on its own.

Although it is a slender hollow birdcage.

But there was an inexplicable muffled sound of heavy metal handcuffs and shackles falling to the ground.

A strange and bright deep blue flowed out of the birdcage, turning into invisible sea water and overwhelming the sky.

Crash--

Amidst the vague sound of rising tide, Russell was in a daze, and everything in the small space of the toilet seemed to be shattered and disappeared.

Everything around him disappeared.

The space he was in turned into a square hexahedron. It's like the inside of a Rubik's Cube with only one color.

No doors, no windows...only one color in all directions. A vivid deep blue.

To be precise, it should be ultramarine blue.

There is only a narrow space of ten square meters in this hexahedron, which is like a smaller single bedroom.

Standing in front of Russell was the cat with long pink hair.

Xiao Liuli's ponytail was spread out, hanging messily behind her. She held her wine-stained top casually in her hands, while she was only wearing underwear, revealing her beautiful figure without any cover-up.

"You saved someone you shouldn't have saved."

She sighed and threw her shirt away.

After it was released, it turned into ultramarine water and submerged into the space.

Her voice, which was always full of vitality, became hoarse and tired at this moment; her face, which always showed a flawless smile that could lift the spirits of others, was expressionless at this moment.

The green crystal eyes, as clear as glass, have lost their beautiful brilliance.

In other words, this is who she really is.

Her behind the scenes.

Not as "Little Liuli", but as another negative "Blue Songbird".

A strong sense of crisis emanated from her.

And Russell stood almost face to face in front of her - in this closed space without doors or windows.

"……how."

Faced with this situation, Russell was very calm.

He even raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "After turning into a cat, can't you bear the hunting instinct anymore?

"This should be the psychic energy that captures people and hunts them. It's empty and void. It's like a colosseum... or a birdcage."

This was Russell deliberately mocking the other party.

By stimulating Xiao Liuli, we can further judge her current situation - he will definitely not be able to get out now anyway.

It was subtly different from what the company told Russell.

Today's Xiao Liuli is obviously sensible... but has become quite gloomy.

It was completely different from the gloomy feeling Xiao Liuli gave people before.

Like a numb social animal, like a walking zombie.

In this closed space, Xiao Liuli finally stopped pretending.

She looked at Russell expressionlessly and asked, "What do you want to know?"

The completely different tone from that of the girl proved that Delphinium's findings were unquestionably correct.

"What is your relationship with the Veil of Ignorance?"

"User and exploited. It sounds better to put it this way," she sneered, "Or do you want me to tell you more exciting information? For example, covering up unfavorable news for the Veil of Ignorance? Ah, then I have indeed done it, often...otherwise, they would not have been hidden until now."

"I mean……"

Russell paused: "You are actually trying to save your fiancée."

"...Have you understood this level?"

"How is she doing now?"

Russell asked.

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

Hearing this, Xiao Liuli raised her head.

She tilted her head back slightly, and her tone suddenly became cold: "Why do you ask that?"

A strange sharp accent - like the voices of a baby and a man, superimposed on Xiao Liuli's voice, emerged together.

"Do you want to control me too?

"Like playing a puppet?

"my hero】?!"

Her anger was like a cry.

At this moment, it sounds like a crying bird.