Time in a collapsing world

The Destiny Headquarters, a group of floating islands composed of the world's most advanced technology, continues to float quietly over the Mediterranean Sea.

The sunlight penetrates the clouds and shines on the metallic surface of these islands, reflecting a dazzling light, like sparkling pearls on the sea.

The boy named Amethyst stood on the edge of one of the islands, gazing at the distant horizon. The sea breeze gently blew his white hair, bringing a hint of salty and damp air.

Zijing is tall and well-proportioned, with slightly longer white hair fluttering in the wind, as pure as the first snow in winter, forming a sharp contrast with his deep blue-purple eyes. His skin is pale, almost transparent, revealing a beauty that does not belong to this world.

He was wearing the standard uniform of the Destiny Organization. The dark blue fabric made his white hair stand out, and the tailoring of the uniform was perfect, highlighting his good body proportions. The uniform was decorated with several functional pockets and buckles, which was practical without affecting the flexibility of movement.

On Amethyst's neck, there is a small crystal pendant, which sparkles softly under the sunlight, complementing his name "Amethyst".

The boy looked through the transparent protective shield and gazed at the sparkling sea below, but his heart was not as calm as the tranquil sea. The Destiny Headquarters was not only a fortress against the collapse, but also the starting point of his destiny. Here, he was given life and trained to be the assistant of the Bishop of Destiny, but he was also an experimental subject, an existence marked as L-599.

"Amethyst, Lord Otto has new instructions." The voice of Amber, who was also the bishop's assistant, came through the communicator, interrupting Amethyst's thoughts.

He turned around and walked along the edge of the island back to the central control tower. Along the way, he passed by busy scientific researchers and patrolling Valkyrie guards, all of whom showed curiosity about this twelve-year-old white-haired boy.

Inside the control tower, lights on various instruments flickered, showing the operating status of the Destiny Headquarters. Zijing walked through the busy hall and came to the door of Otto's main classroom. The door automatically recognized his identity and slowly opened.

Otto held a glass of red wine in his hand and shook it gently. The wine inside was a deep cherry red with purple light, fresh and bright in color, with dense droplets hanging on the wall of the bottle. His movements were slow and rhythmic, as if he was thinking about something.

Amber was busy with various data on the side, with orange projections surrounding her. Her fingers danced quickly on the virtual keyboard, processing the information flow from various departments of the Destiny headquarters.

Amber is a white-haired girl wearing a nun's uniform, a golden crystal diamond cape on her back, golden crystal goggles, two curled hair ends on both sides of her head, and a braid on her left chest. She has a simple and honest personality and often takes Otto's jokes seriously. At this moment, she is concentrating on her work to ensure that every piece of data is processed accurately.

Zijing observed quietly for a while, then said softly: "Master Otto, I'm here."

Otto didn't respond immediately, he was still immersed in his own thoughts, while Amber looked up at Amethyst, nodded, and then returned to her work.

Looking at Amber's busy figure, Zijing couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Compared with her, his position as an assistant seemed a little unworthy of the title. Amber's work was so clear and critical, while his role was more behind the scenes, handling those less conspicuous but equally important tasks.

Finally, Otto raised his head, his eyes moved away from the wine glass and fell on Amethyst.

"amethyst."

His tone seemed nonchalant. "I need you to check the A1 and L5 laboratories and make sure that the instruments inside are operating normally within half an hour."

"A1 Laboratory?"

Zijing was slightly stunned. He knew that L5 laboratory was where he was born, but where was A1 laboratory?

"Looks like you need some tips?"

Otto looked at him. He seemed to like seeing his most capable assistant showing such a confused expression, which made him feel a little happy.

"...Yes, Lord Otto."

Zijing is not the kind of person who shows off his abilities. He just doesn't know what he doesn't know. What he cares most about when working is efficiency. He won't act blindly just to show off in front of Otto. This would be an extremely stupid behavior, both in his own opinion... or in the opinion of Otto himself.

As expected, Otto smiled slightly, seeming satisfied with Zijing's frankness. He stood up and walked to the holographic map of the office, tapping the screen, and the locations of the two laboratories were clearly marked.

"Laboratory A1 is located in the lower area of ​​the headquarters. It stores several outdated clones. I didn't get rid of them... The main reason is that I forgot. Now that I think of it, you can clear them out. Just like before, don't let my friends find out."

"..."

Zijing noticed that when Amber heard the word "clear", her expression seemed to become complicated for a moment. He remembered that the clone girl had told him that she was not born in the L5 laboratory. The number was A-103... Maybe those so-called outdated clones in the A1 laboratory were her sisters?

"What's the answer?"

Sensing Amethyst's silence, Otto gave a reminder.

"…I understand, Lord Otto. I will follow your instructions."

Zijing took a deep breath and nodded. His answer was concise and clear, without showing any hesitation or emotion.

Otto was completely satisfied, and then he returned to his desk and picked up the red wine glass that had been put aside temporarily. "Go, Amethyst. Complete the inspection within half an hour and deal with those outdated clones."

"..."

Amethyst turned and left, ignoring the pleading look behind Amber's goggles when they passed each other.

Based on his memory from previous inspections, he walked through the control tower and came to the elevator. The elevator door opened, and he stepped in. His fingers paused slightly, and finally pressed the button to go to the L5 laboratory. The elevator descended quickly, and Zijing looked straight ahead, his thoughts seemed to have flown to the inspection steps to be carried out later.

However, he was also thinking about how to deal with the clones in the A1 laboratory?

Arriving at the L5 laboratory, Zijing quickly began to inspect the laboratory. He carefully checked the culture chamber, gene editing equipment and energy supply system in the laboratory to ensure that everything was operating normally.

Soon, the work was done.

Everything is normal in the L5 laboratory, so the next one is... the A1 laboratory, right?