[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

After Gilgamesh led the team to pursue the leader of the Akkadians, Inan stayed in Uruk and presided over various affairs in the city as the king's "friend".

Gilgamesh was a bit boring when he was away. After all, no matter how complicated the affairs of Uruk were, she didn't need to do them all by herself.The quality of the officials and craftsmen is already high enough, and she only needs a little guidance, and everything can be done properly.

She even laughed at the elders of the elders' house one by one, and made enough faces at them.

Gilgamesh's lion cub, Hakesh, she can't wait to "slip" three times a day.

Inan had never imagined that there would be such a big difference between Gilgamesh's presence and absence.

But she looked down at the amulet hanging around her neck.The black and red bloodstone, paired with a necklace made of gold, is extremely bright - she remembered that Gilgamesh also had an amulet similar to this one hanging around his neck.

She can even sometimes feel Gilgamesh's mood through this amulet——

In fact, when I am in a good mood, I hope that that guy will also be in a good mood, be safe outside, and everything goes well.

Speaking of which, after Gilgamesh left, the priests of the Inanna Temple treated her very enthusiastically, inviting her to live in the temple and showing her the clay tablets they were responsible for sorting out.

Gilgamesh once said that he hoped to build the first library in the Mesopotamia with the help of the saints.

Yi Nan looked at the clay tablets collected and arranged by the saints, and found that those clay tablets had long been more than functional texts such as accounting records or lists of civil servants.In addition to the various systems and regulations of Uruk, the texts compiled by the saints also include local customs, legends, and poetry repertoires...there are no less than one hundred hymns written for the goddess Inanna alone. articles.

Yi Nan laughed while watching: Is this really a compliment to herself?

But the saints asked her: "Duo, do you feel bored when the king is away?"

Yi Nan was stunned, thought for a while and replied, "A little bit."

The saints looked at each other, and someone quietly high-fived their companions behind their backs.

Yi Nan added with a smile: "But when I'm with you, I'm not bored at all!"

Hearing this sentence, all the saints looked at each other in blank dismay, and no one spoke for a while.Suddenly, I don't know who secretly laughed: "Poor Wang..." Everyone immediately burst into laughter, and they couldn't stop laughing.Inan was puzzled by the trouble.

Finally someone stopped their laughter and asked Yi Nan seriously: "Duo Duo, the king is not here, do you feel that something is missing?"

Yi Nan pursed his lips slightly, thought for a moment, nodded and said, "It seems... something is missing."

The saints nodded together: "That's right!"

"...that way we can rest assured."

Yi Nan really wanted to ask them: What's wrong?What are you worried about?

But she felt sleepy for no reason, and she was too lazy to ask any more questions.

She has a unique physique. When her body is tired and sleepy, as long as her will persists, she can continue to stay awake and do what she wants to do.

But recently, she seems to feel drowsy a little too frequently, even if she is awake, she can't wake up lazily.

Seeing Yi Nan's appearance, the saints hurriedly told her to rest.

"Duoduo, the king said, take good care of you."

"You can let go of those cumbersome affairs in Uruk for the time being. If it doesn't work, just tell us and we will take care of it for you."

"..."

Yi Nan thanked them and hugged a delicate pillow filled with rushes to rest.

But she only closed her eyes for about 10 minutes, and immediately she was full of energy, and she didn't feel sleepy at all.

--How is this going?

At this time, all the holy advocates had dispersed, leaving a quiet room for Yinan to rest.Inan was really bored, so he walked out of the house, walked through the empty courtyard, and came to the sanctuary of the Inanna Temple.

The scenery here is as beautiful as it was 2000 years ago. When the sun sets, the high steps of the temple are the best place to enjoy the sunset.She could sit here peacefully, waiting for the fiery red sun to slowly sink below the horizon, watching the bright Venus hang in the clear, gradually darkening night sky.

She just sat in front of the steps, supporting her chest with her hands.

Slowly tiredness came back, she couldn't bear it no matter how hard she closed her eyes.

Gradually, her body lay flat, and those arms, which were carved like alabaster, were floating in the air at this moment... No, not only her arms, but her whole body was floating in the air.

She fell into a deep sleep.

The bloodstone amulet embedded in the necklace around her neck suddenly shattered without warning, with a "bang".

Gilgamesh had arrived near Sipar by this time.They had already made some progress in tracking down the Akkadian leader, and followed them to a small village.

The villagers in the village took the initiative to act as informants. According to them, the leader of the Akkadians had been introduced into the village and entertained with delicious food and drink.The Akkadians never imagined that they had been recognized, and that the king of Uruk was after them.

Gilgamesh has always been meticulous. He first asked the Uruk warriors around him to block all the exits of the entire village.

By the time Gilgamesh followed the "informants" into the village quietly, the Akkadians had already discovered that their back road had been cut off, and in desperation they chose to hide in dozens of houses in the village.Gilgamesh led people to search one by one in turn—he didn't believe that the Akkadians had the luck to escape this time.

Soon, half of the houses in the village were searched.Gilgamesh made a gesture to gather all the forces to the remaining half of the village——

He must always be on guard against the final blow of the Akkadians.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the amulet in Gilgamesh's neck suddenly shattered silently and shattered into fine powder.Gilgamesh stretched out his hand, and it was covered with stone chips the color of blood.

Gilgamesh froze for a moment, just a moment.

He turned around suddenly, got on his horse, and handed over the last half of the village to his soldiers.

The omen of the shattering of the amulet became clearer and clearer in his mind: he knew something was wrong with Duo.

Nothing is more important than that woman.

Even if the king had to pay everything, he would not hesitate.

The king of Uruk gave up the great opportunity to cut the weeds and roots, and without looking back, he urged his horses and galloped towards Uruk.

When Yi Nan woke up from the coma, he opened his eyes and saw Daniel's handsome face.

She didn't have any mental preparations, and stared for a while before she realized that her consciousness had returned to the laboratory.

It was about midnight now, and it was dark in the laboratory.There was no one else here, only Daniel was sitting in front of his desk, with his face up and his hands folded behind his head, looking at Yinan.

"no--"

She was so surprised.

Is there neither a countdown reminder nor a farewell ceremony such as "Ascension by Day" this time?

Did her "observation" in Gilgamesh's era end so quietly? ——No, that’s not the case, Yinan wanted to say, she still has a lot of things to look at carefully: the development of music, the evolution of literature and art... The bard is slowly compiling the stories from hearsay into something magnificent, epic Born before her eyes...

"Why did I suddenly interrupt my observation at this stage of history?" Yinan asked Daniel in front of him loudly.She even forgot that she was just a "projection" in the laboratory now, she really wanted to stride forward and approach this handsome and cold "scientific madman", shake his shoulders, and ask him why he was like this .

"It can only be your fault."

The "scientific research maniac" is as usual, with a cold face and a cold heart.

"You were close to an area with a strong magnetic field before, which caused the magnetic field of the space-time tunnel to be affected, resulting in a BUG. We have not initiated the suspension procedure for this time period, but now, part of your consciousness has returned to modern society."

"a part of it?"

Yi Nan was stunned.

She remembered the strong magnetic field very clearly, it was the high mountain in the snow-topped forest.At that time, her watch had a problem, and she also guessed that the magnetic field was affected-but no one told her that it would be the consequence.

And now, she unexpectedly...part of her returned to Daniel, and the other part...is she still in 2800 BC?

"If you don't believe me, look back."

Daniel spoke like this, and Yi Nan would not be angry if he accused him, but his tone was always without any emotion.

Yinan: I can turn back even with a "projection".

She turned her head, and it was as if a big screen appeared in front of her eyes—the situation in front of the Uruk Temple in 2800 BC.

She could see herself lying quietly on the steps in front of the temple hall.Venus is shining brightly in the western sky.It was the first time for her to see her image in ancient times from a different angle, and she even thought this scene was a bit funny, and the jewelry and robe on her body looked a bit like cosplay.

Part of it is in ancient times, and part of it is in modern times—so she is, her body remains in ancient times, and her consciousness returns to modern times?

At this moment, a saint found "her", ran forward with a scream, patted "her" lovingly on the face, but turned around with fear on his face, calling other saints.

Yi Nan watched helplessly as Sheng Chan, whom she was familiar with, called for more people, and everyone gathered around "her", and then began to cry in mourning.

Because of the absence of consciousness, her body has already "dead" in another time and space?

Yi Nan suddenly felt a little lost: Did the experiment at this stage come to an end because of such an unexpected situation?

—when Gilgamesh was not with her.

She didn't even say goodbye to him properly.When Gilgamesh was about to set off, she just babbled to him, stating how many days of dry food she had prepared for him, and how many types of weapons he and his soldiers had brought together...

Is it so... regrettable?

"Do you think this era is over and the task has been completed?"

Daniel's flat, emotionless voice sounded from behind Inan.

"No—your civilization observation mission at this stage has just begun."

"What?" Inan was extremely surprised - what is meant by "the mission has just begun", and now her consciousness is like a sandwich biscuit, sandwiched between the era of Gilgamesh and the present.Could she still perform some "civilization observation mission"?

"Yes, you heard it right!" Daniel's voice became tough and loud.

"Because, your task in this era is originally to explore the people of this era, how their outlook on life and death was formed, how did they develop and mature—"

Yi Nan was shocked, unable to speak for a while.

No wonder Daniel never made it clear what the specific goal of this stage was before she started the observation at this stage.

She turned her head again, staring dumbfounded at her "remains" in front of the temple.

The saints, those women who have always been kind and caring to her, have probably noticed that her body is slowly getting colder, and they all fell to the ground beside her and cried loudly.The cry spread to the city of Uruk, and many people rushed to hear the sound, but they all kept silent when they got the news, and slowly knelt down, and then tears burst from their eyes.

The friends of the king, the living people who have been building the city, going out with them, and guarding Uruk with them for so long, died so suddenly?

Therefore, in order to understand the formation and development of the concept of life and death, we must let ourselves gain their favor and trust, and then "die" in front of them?

Is it really good to deceive the feelings of so many people like this?

Thinking of this, Yinan turned his head decisively and accused loudly, "You are too cruel."

Daniel's answer was equally grim.

"To witness how human beings develop their own civilization, I can do anything."

"And you, have you been 'immersed' in the ancient world for too long, so you have forgotten your original intention of participating in the 'Reshaping Civilization Project'?"

Yi Nan was stunned for a moment, and was speechless.

——Has she really forgotten her original intention?Did she get caught up in the ancient world, identify herself as a Sumerian, and thus resist the Rediscovery Project itself?

"No, I didn't." Yi Nan said firmly, turned around again, and observed the situation on the light screen in front of him.

"As long as you haven't forgotten—"

Daniel casually adjusted the buttons on an instrument in front of him, as if he had adjusted the time axis.The image in front of Yi Nan seemed to be fast-forwarding. The saints were crying, and the Uruk people who came to mourn came one after another. The little lion Hakesh was so sad that he refused to eat. "Walking around...

As night fell, torches were lit in front of Inanna's temple.People piled flowers around Yi Nan, and countless people gathered near the temple to keep vigil for her all night.

The night passed quickly, and when the early morning light shone from behind the temple, Gilgamesh appeared on the steps in front of the temple.

It only took him one night to fly back to Uruk from the distant Xipar.Presumably, relying on courage, courage, extraordinary energy, and the most exquisite riding skills, he avoided the danger of a horse stumbled at night, and survived the long night that has just passed.

The young Wang obviously refused to believe the bad news, but he had to believe what he saw with his own eyes.

When he saw the "remains" of his "friend", his handsome face twisted uncontrollably, and his eyes turned red quickly.

There was only an empty necklace left between his necks, and the amulet inside was shattered into powder and disappeared long ago—as if the connection between him and his beloved had been severed from then on.

The saints standing in front of the temple had already stopped crying, but when they saw the king, the women cried out in pain again.

An elderly saint walked to Gilgamesh on his knees, weeping and apologizing in embarrassment: "My king, it is our fault that we did not take good care of..."

Gilgamesh's eyes turned red, ignoring Shengzan's apology.He strode up to "Yinan", his knees loosened, and his whole body seemed to be completely overwhelmed by grief, and he fell to his knees.

His hot tears spilled on the ground beside Yi Nan.

He needs to support his body with his arms to keep himself from being slumped directly to the ground.

Inan's eyes widened - she didn't expect Gilgamesh to come back so soon.Could this guy... really feel her leaving?

Immediately afterwards, she saw Gilgamesh struggling to sit up, holding "her" body in his arms, pressing "her" face tightly to his heart, and resting his chin against "her" smooth forehead.Wang's tears flowed instantly on her long black hair.

Facing the statue of Inanna in the temple, with tears streaming down his face, he opened his mouth angrily and asked loudly:

"Who, who took away the king's bride?"

"Wang, Wang thought to himself that he has never done anything wrong to Uruk? Why is the king's bride suddenly punished by death?"

He suddenly picked up Inan's body with all his strength, strode into the temple, and came to the Venus goddess Inanna.The saints were all terrified, and someone knelt beside Gilgamesh and begged: "King, don't be like this—"

But no one can stop Gilgamesh from shouting from the depths of his soul to the "god" in front of him.

"Goddess of Venus, Inanna, if you are really a god, if you really exist in this world, please be merciful—return the king's lover!"

"The former king Dumuzi, the former king Lugabanda, father, mother...all the guys in this world who claim to be 'gods', if you are real...please, please stand up..."

"Prove it to me!"

Gilgamesh embraced the body of his beloved, and wept into tears in front of the statue of Inanna.

Inan was a little confused when Gilgamesh yelled out the first sound—the king's bride? ...is that her?When did she become the king's bride?

Does this mean that Gilgamesh has already seen through her disguise?

She turned her head uncertainly and glanced at Daniel.

Daniel looked calm and his eyes were focused, but the muscles on his face were tense, as if he could empathize with Gilgamesh's pain in front of him.

But when he saw Yi Nan's puzzled and confused eyes, he raised the corners of his lips as if he couldn't help laughing, and said in his usual nice but emotionless voice: "He loves you."

The simple four words contain layers of meanings.

Yi Nan was taken aback, and asked back, "You're not him, how do you know?"

Daniel still had a smile on his lips, but lowered his head, as if he didn't want Yi Nan to see his eyes clearly.He asked briskly: "You are not me, how do you know that I don't know?"

His voice was full of sarcasm, but Yi Nan still could hear a little sadness for some reason.

It seemed that similar conversations had been held between them before, only this time, the two sides who were talking were off.

Inan couldn't accept Gilgamesh's love for a while.

Daniel told her - this is the task she must perform.

"He will be puzzled, he will be amazed that even you, the person Wang loves the most, cannot escape the fate of death."

"He will think about where his soul will go after death, and whether he will have a chance to see you again in the future."

"And you will witness all of this, witness how the king of Uruk searched for the afterlife, and how he searched for the road to eternal life."

"You mean," Inan asked angrily, "in this time and space, I am just a tool man used to hurt Gilgamesh from the beginning to the end. Let him fall in love with... and then lose, you all go through this matter To judge, how do humans view 'life and death'?"

Daniel stretched out his hand and clapped lightly: "That sums it up very well."

Approval was written on his face, as if to say: You are worthy of being my man.

The pain in his eyes still couldn't be wiped away. It seemed that this incident did not only hurt Gilgamesh more than 4000 years ago; The same thing was engraved in my mind.

"What does life mean, what does death mean, how did human beings form today's view of life and death, if these problems cannot be solved - then what can human beings do even if they master the secrets of civilization?"

"Even the sun will age and be destroyed one day, let alone the earth."

"If we cannot face up to life and death, we will not be able to face up to the future development of human civilization."

"And we have reason to believe that the process of the Sumerians forming their outlook on life and death has extremely important revelations for all mankind."

"That's why Gilgamesh deserved to be hurt, hurt by... me." Inan was full of self-blame, which far exceeded the sadness caused by being forced to leave Uruk, and made her feel even more unwilling ——

"However, this is the fate of the first hero king in human history." Daniel replied slowly.

Such a perfunctory answer ignited Yi Nan's anger even more: No, she can't do it, she can't just watch someone in this world suffer because of her.

Her heart was on fire, she turned to the picture behind her, she looked at Gilgamesh, she seemed to be calling out, calling his name with all her heart.

If there is indeed a soul-to-soul connection, he can still feel her right?

The next moment, it was Daniel's turn to be shocked - he obviously didn't expect things to develop like this.

Gilgamesh in the temple of Inanna suddenly stood up, turned around and handed Inan's apparently lifeless body to the saints of the temple.

He wiped away his tears, and solemnly greeted the women who watched him grow up as he did when he left Uruk: "Everyone, please take care of Huduo when the king is not in the city..."

Most of the women were terrified and wondered if the king had lost his mind due to his grief.

The woman lying in the temple is dead, so where does she need any care?

But I saw Gilgamesh bowing to them: "She is not dead, I can still feel her, and I can hear her calling my name—"

"I will look for the elixir that can bring people back to life—the king will definitely be able to give the woman he loves immortality."

"There is still hope for everything!" After bidding farewell to the saints, Gilgamesh no longer looked sad.He clenched his hands tightly and walked quickly to the outside of Uruk.

The saints watched Gilgamesh leave and looked at each other, not knowing how to evaluate.

Some of them finally remembered the woman who was supposed to be lying in the temple, turned around and looked, all of them were surprised.

In the temple of the goddess Inanna, the girl who was lying on her back has disappeared.On the floor, there were only a few flower petals left on her body and hair when she was carried in by Gilgamesh just now.

In the laboratory, Daniel looked at the empty "projection" screen and was inexplicably shocked.He really didn't expect Yi Nan to be able to get rid of the magnetic field bug with her will and rejoin the current time and space.

But the facts in front of him made him unable to believe it.

In addition, he was also amazed at what Gilgamesh said just now: the king must be able to give the woman he loves immortality.

"You will be an immortal person in the target time and space."

When he sent Yi Nan into the space-time tunnel with his own hands, he also said so.