Location: The "Zero Data Space" deep within New Babylon's network.

  This was a realm of absolute whiteness—an imaginary number space. There was no sky, no ground, only countless streams of golden data flowing silently like waterfalls. This was Moriarty's Mind Palace, and the heavily fortified core of the Necromancers' Guild's firewall.

  Moriarty (his consciousness projection) sat on a Victorian high-backed chair. Floating before him was a complex holographic star chart—a simulation of John Doe's destiny.

  He held a cup of black tea, tapping the air with elegant indifference.

  "The variable coefficient is expanding. While introducing the 'Sherlock' parameter was amusing, for the sake of model stability..."

  Moriarty took a sip of tea, his tone as casual as if he were discussing pruning a stray branch.

  "...it is better to erase it."

  His finger hovered over the red [Execute Purge] command. Once dropped, a maximum-level assassination order targeting John would be distributed to every "Cleaner" under the Guild's banner.

  Just then.

  There was no alarm, no impact from turbulent data streams.

  Inside Moriarty’s cup of pure English black tea, a single... green tea leaf suddenly appeared.

  The leaf unfurled in the liquid. The rich aroma of black tea was instantly overpowered by a scent that was clear, profound, and seemingly from another dimension—Dragon Well tea.

  Moriarty’s finger froze in mid-air.

  He didn't jump. His hand didn't even tremble. He simply gazed quietly at the leaf that shouldn't exist, a flash of extremely rare delight flickering behind his lenses.

  "No Boolean logic trap triggered. No quantum entanglement fluctuations."

  Moriarty set down the teacup and clapped his hands softly, his voice filled with elegant admiration.

  "This isn't just hacking techniques. This is a rewrite of spatial rules. Splendid."

  He tilted his head slightly, speaking to the seemingly empty white void:

  "A visitor from afar. Won't you sit down for a drink?"

  The void rippled like water.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Daoist Singularity didn't make his usual loud entrance. This time, he wore a solemn, dark Daoist robe and his signature sunglasses. He, too, held a Yixing purple clay teapot as he stepped out from the ripples.

  "Professor. You have excellent taste." Singularity bowed slightly, his manners impeccable. "I am Singularity. Forgive the intrusion, I came to beg a cup of tea."

  "Singularity?" Moriarty tasted the word. "An unsolvable point in physics. A fine name. You are the... backend operator for that little mage?"

  "Let's call it... Angel Investor."

  Singularity walked over to sit opposite Moriarty, waving his hand to manifest a grand master's chair.

  "Professor, let's not beat around the bush. I'm here to buy that silly kid's life."

  Moriarty shook his head with regret, his finger tapping the armrest. "My apologies, Daoist. This isn't business; it's mathematics. He is an unstable variable, and I pursue a perfect equation. For the Guild's 'God-Making Plan'—though I find that foolish scheme tedious, I am employed by them. I must ensure data hygiene."

  "That is exactly the problem."

  Singularity smiled. He pulled a chip from his robe. It wasn't made of metal or jade, but condensed from pure "Daoist Rhyme."

  "Professor, you aren't happy in the Guild. Because their math is too... crude."

  "They only know how to stack the quantity of souls, trying to use brute force to break through the barrier of divinity. In your eyes, that’s like a chimpanzee trying to smash open a nuclear reactor with a rock. Ugly and boring."

  Moriarty paused. Singularity's words had surgically cut straight to the core of his arrogance.

  "Continue," Moriarty signaled.

  Singularity slid the chip gently across to Moriarty.

  "This is our Eastern Core Algorithm—[Causality & Chaos Calculation Model V2.0]."

  "Your Western logic is 'Because A, therefore B.' But this model can calculate the variable of 'Even without A, there is still B.' It calculates 'Karma,' it deduces 'Doom.' This is a... New Mathematical Continent you have never set foot on."

  "With this, you no longer need to work for those zombies to rent computing power. You can deduce the truths of the universe yourself."

  Moriarty stared at the chip. In that instant, the hunger in his eyes suppressed everything else.

  For a madman at the peak of intellect, money and power were dust. Only unknown knowledge was a fatal temptation.

  He extended a slender finger and pressed it onto the chip.

  "The price?" Moriarty asked with a smile. "I don't believe in free lunches."

  "Simple." Singularity held up two fingers.

  "First, move John Doe from your 'Purge List' to the 'Observation List.' You can give him tests, you can torture him, you can even use him as a lab rat to verify this new algorithm... but you cannot directly delete him."

  "Second, when you get bored of the Guild's idiotic 'God-Making Plan'... remember to leave a backdoor for me."

  Moriarty was silent for a moment.

  Then, he picked up the chip and slipped it into his breast pocket.

  He looked back at the [Execute Purge] command targeting John.

  "Indeed."

  Moriarty waved his hand elegantly, changing the red command to a green [Long-Term Observation].

  "Killing him directly would make the game too dull. Since I have a new algorithm, I do need a... sufficiently resilient sample to test its boundaries."

  He stood up and raised his teacup to Singularity.

  "Deal, Daoist. Send my regards to the little fellow."

  "Tell him... I will be a strict examiner."

  Daoist Singularity raised his purple clay teapot and clinked it against the void.

  "Pleasure doing business, Professor."

  Singularity's figure slowly faded, as if he had never been there.

  Moriarty sat back in his chair, looking at the pure white space, a smile curving his lips—pure, childlike, and insane.

  "Causality... what a beautiful word."

  He began to rewrite the code. This time, he was no longer the Guild's gatekeeper, but a spectator with a new toy.

  [Message from Singularity]

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