Chapter 322: Corroborating the Past

At those words, Poppy’s tapping ceased.

She tilted her head slightly, her gaze flicking over the motionless boy beyond the glass, then nodded. Her tone was casual.

“Hand the ‘finished product’ over to the auxiliary squad. Let them process it according to protocol. Commence first deployment.”

“Have them send this ‘child’ back to where he belongs.”

“Yes.”

The engineer acknowledged and left the observation room.

It was only then that Poppy’s eyes shifted to the figure standing at the other side of the room—a girl with slightly pale skin and an air of classical nobility: Pandora.

Poppy’s gaze lingered on Pandora for a moment, then slid, almost out of reflex, to the quiet girl beside her, the one tightly gripping Pandora’s hand.

Ever since the last time, when she’d been stopped from killing this anomalous creature, Pandora had been taking the girl everywhere she went—like an ornament that had to be carried at all times.

But what concern was that of hers? At least Pandora had taken full responsibility for the anomaly, ensuring this volatile element hadn’t spiraled out of control. That was enough.

She shook her head, discarding the irrelevant thought, then spoke up.

“So? What do you think of the Academy’s process?”

“Acceptable.” Pandora nodded.

She had come today simply to observe the Live Iron Golem cultivation procedure firsthand, and to see how that so-called “core material” actually functioned.

With the crucial components provided by the Academy having arrived, the golem—already near completion—had undergone its final maturation just last night. Today was merely the inspection.

Once this step was dialed in, subsequent production would largely be a matter of repeating the same process. As for what came after, most of it would fall to the auxiliary squad.

They would ensure that this Live Iron Golem, assuming the identity of the high school boy who had perished in the Gunman-type anomalous incident, was reintegrated into society and resumed his original life path.

As for the ordinary people who, influenced by the anomalous event, had subconsciously ‘forgotten’ this deceased individual...

Their memories hadn’t truly vanished. They had merely been temporarily suppressed by their own cognitive correction mechanisms.

With the ‘deceased’ returning, that suppression would naturally loosen. Those around him would instinctively ‘remember’ his existence, and his reappearance would be accepted as something reasonable—even expected.

Based on past experience establishing Orchard Outposts in Fragment Worlds, this process rarely presented significant issues.

Even the Anomalies themselves could be ignored, even rationalized, by ordinary people in a Fragment World through some strange, intrinsic logic of its own. So, what was so hard to accept about a perfectly normal person who had simply ‘vanished’ for a few days before ‘reappearing’?

Pandora looked at the boy on the other side of the glass, but her thoughts were drifting elsewhere.

She wondered… had something similar happened in the Orchard world she originally came from?

Could she herself have unknowingly experienced such a scenario? Could someone she had known no longer have been their original self, but replaced by something similar?

But upon reflection and analysis, the answer seemed to be no.

The Orchard world and this Fragment World in front of her were not entirely the same. At least, the origin of their children differed.

In essence, the children in the Orchard world—including Pandora herself—were not native inhabitants of that world. They had been outsiders, systematically deployed there by the Demon Hunter Academy.

Thus, they were not subject to the cognitive self-censorship that plagued the true natives of Fragment Worlds.

As Pandora’s thoughts turned, Poppy pulled a manila folder from a black document case at her side. The folder was thick, sealed with a red wax stamp.

“Here. The identity you requested earlier.”

Pandora reached out and took it.

A high school student identity was generally sufficient—even ideal—for a cleanup squad whose primary mission was Anomaly extermination. But for someone like Pandora, whose focus wasn’t solely on cleanup and who required greater flexibility, it was less suitable.

She had raised this issue with the auxiliary squad immediately upon realizing it. Faced with her request, they’d been highly efficient. This was the result.

Pandora deftly broke the wax seal and extracted a neatly bound stack of documents.

At the top lay a personal information summary. Printed clearly in the name field was: Dr. Pandora Douglas.

Below were detailed supporting documents. They described a remarkably young doctor of biology, specializing in the fields of cellular senescence and regeneration. She had participated in multiple classified research projects, possessed a distinguished history in anti-aging drug development, and had served as a consultant on several collaboration initiatives with major pharmaceutical corporations.

The file even included a number of professional-looking patent abstracts and citation records.

This background handily explained why Pandora, despite such advanced academic credentials and prestigious titles, still appeared exceptionally young.

It could all be attributed to her own field of research, and perhaps to certain undisclosed, early-stage experimental results.

“Quite good,” Pandora pronounced, closing the file.

It was internally consistent and rich in detail.

In addition to the “Dr. Pandora Douglas” identity she required, the folder also contained even more detailed identification documents for Elsa: Senior Investment Specialist and Licensed Asset Appraiser for the New Horizons Exploration Fund.

By the same logic, the overly restrictive “high school student” identity was entirely unsuitable for Elsa. Pandora gave them a quick review, confirmed there were no gaps, nodded in satisfaction, and handed that portion to Elsa behind her.

“So, how did yesterday’s mission go? Did you get the materials you wanted?” Poppy asked offhandedly, her tone carrying little expectation. Her finger had resumed its tapping on the armrest.

“You probably already know. It all burned to ash,” Pandora answered candidly, her voice as calm as if recounting the most mundane daily detail.

“This…” Poppy’s tapping stopped. She paused, then shook her head with a helpless, wry smile. “That’s a real shame.”

The anomalies on that food street, while not particularly precious, still had value as research specimens—especially those involving equivalent property replacement.

“However, my luck wasn’t entirely bad. Elsa still brought me what I needed.” Pandora shifted her tone, her gaze flicking slightly backward.