Honkai, but Spirit Simulator

[Thinking about it, this guy is pretty tragic himself.]

I wonder if I'll simulate Kallen in the future?

"Maybe," Welt sighed softly.

"Senior Liu Bai, could you tell me about Destiny in detail?"

[Are you sure you won't regret it after I tell you? The sheer size of Destiny and Otto's resources can't be explained in just a few words.]

"I'm sure. I've already decided that my views don't align with those of the Bishop."

[Then let's start with the three major families of Destiny...]

Chapter 45: Eden Star

[The vacation at the resort ended quickly.]

[Although you met the Bishop of Destiny, a sage from Shenzhou, and an agent from North America at the resort, your life seemed to return to normal.]

[—Or so it seemed.]

[Soon, the encrypted information within the Soul Steel was completely deciphered by Aida, and you were able to see the true secrets hidden within it.]

["Follow the Freedom Trail, then visit Lexington at midnight."]

"Seriously, this thing really wants us to run back and forth across half the planet," Tesla grumbled. At the same time, the image in the Soul Steel showed the blood-soaked Valkyrie once again.

However, unlike the previous image of her covered in blood and seemingly on the verge of death, this black-haired Valkyrie looked older and wore a tailored suit, as if she were an underground power broker from a story.

["First of all, congratulations on successfully deciphering this, explorers from the future," the woman said.]

["Although I admit that my claim that Destiny cannot defeat Honkai is just my personal opinion—I still believe it."]

The Valkyrie in the image seemed more sophisticated and gentle than the one in the previous recording.

She lacked that sense of righteous indignation and urgency.

["Let me introduce myself. My name is Ammonie Ayette, née Motier, a descendant of Gilbert du Motier… or you can call me by my business title—'Godfather'."]

Gilbert du Motier: participated in the American Revolution at eighteen, the French Revolution at thirty-six, and participated in and led the French Revolution again at seventy-two.

A legendary figure in every way.

But the ancestors belong to the ancestors, and the individual belongs to the individual.

[Ammonie explained her philosophy to you.]

[After thoroughly explaining her thoughts, the video in the Soul Steel ended there, and the true guidance was given.]

[Freedom Trail, Lexington.]

[After a unanimous vote, you set foot on North American soil once again.]

[Led by a hired driver, your group arrived at the start of the Freedom Trail at night.]

[Along this path, Aida successfully received Honkai energy signals.]

[This time, it wasn't Ammonie's voice that appeared, but a stranger's, a voice that was intellectual with a hint of sadness.]

"If people from other civilizations find this information in the future, I hope to leave them with a complete story."

This was the final statement of a civilization.

"On this planet, Honkai is born with civilization."

"The more human civilization develops, the stronger the power of Honkai becomes…"

[Boston Park, the State House, Park Street Church… until the final USS Constitution, you walked through all sixteen landmarks of the Freedom Trail.]

["In Lexington, I've left you a weapon powerful enough to fight that Bishop."]

[Near the final USS Constitution, Ammonie's voice reappeared.]

["Remember, 'the best threat is inaction'."]

"Once you take action but don't get the corresponding results, won't people stop being afraid of threats?"

Tesla grimaced, looking displeased but understanding.

"In the end, isn't it just that you don't have the confidence to fight that Bishop?"

Tesla herself firmly believed that the way to stop war was to increase the cost and consequences of war to the point where everyone could not afford it. For this reason, Tesla herself was not opposed to manufacturing weapons.

Therefore, Tesla was quite dissatisfied with Ammonie's "weak" statement.

But…

"We can only find the weapon and then decide on the next step, right?"

Tesla also understood why she said that, after all, her imaginary enemy was that Otto…

[You took a car to Lexington—the place where the first shot of the Revolutionary War was fired.]

[With Aida's help, you successfully found the target item.]

"Hyperdimensional camouflage disengaged—the target is directly in front of you."

Even without Aida's reminder, everyone saw the target—a yellowish-white sphere resembling the moon.

"This is…"

"A Type 1625 storage room, equipped with hyperdimensional camouflage, capable of hovering above a fixed area for extended periods without being detected. Shall we open it, Dr. Einstein?"

"Let Liu Bai try first, perhaps?"

"I don't think I can do anything against something so technologically advanced."

Despite saying that, Liu Bai still gave it a shot.

Inside this storage room was the Ninth God Key—Eden Star.

Liu Bai easily passed through the storage room of Eden Star with his Spirit body and saw a sphere about ten centimeters in diameter.

Possession—

Unexpectedly, Liu Bai's possession went surprisingly smoothly.

But…

The core was the problem.

To put it simply, a God Key is a weapon made from a Herrscher core and Soul Steel.

Liu Bai could easily possess the Soul Steel, but he couldn't touch the Herrscher core, the very essence of the God Key.

In other words, he could control it to float around, but he couldn't use the God Key's abilities.

Moreover, if this God Key were fully activated, he might even be repelled by the power of the Herrscher core.

"I can possess it, but I can't use it—inside is the Ninth God Key, Eden Star."

Liu Bai briefly told Einstein.

"The Ninth God Key!"

Even Aida, who was just a virtual image, couldn't help but show a shocked expression.

"Why would a God Key be here?"

"Who knows…"

Einstein and Tesla's expressions also turned serious. As top scientists of Destiny, they only had a superficial understanding of God Keys. They knew even less from official channels than they did from Raiana and Aida.

After all, being a top scientist sounded good, but their position within Destiny was rather awkward.

Although they had ability and reputation, they weren't valued by headquarters. They didn't usually get to see truly core things like God Keys and Valkyrie Armor.

But if they weren't valued… Lab 42 was still needed to solve research problems that couldn't be solved elsewhere.

Pure tool status, begging for scraps while kneeling.

But even so, it didn't stop them from realizing the importance of the God Key.

"Behind us—!"

Just as Einstein was about to say something, Liu Bai controlled the Soul Steel shell of Eden Star to flicker and float behind everyone.

"That's…"

Einstein, Tesla, and Welt turned their heads following Liu Bai's trajectory.

Flames, thick smoke…

"New York City exploded?"

Chapter 46: The Lab Explosion and Welt's Awakening

"Cough, cough… You really did it, Professor Elias Nokianvitanen."

Edison, wearing protective gear, walked out of the rolling smoke. His originally refined face was blackened by the smoke, but the killing intent in his pupils couldn't be suppressed.

"A Honkai energy bomb… Who gave it to you? No, no need to guess. The only one who could produce such a dangerous weapon is probably that Bishop."

"You…"

The usually carefree Finn was now filled with pain. Looking at Edison walking out of the smoke, although he couldn't hide his shock, he was inexplicably relieved.

"The real Moonlight Throne was moved long ago. What you blew up was just a replica with a Honkai radiation device installed… Using a scholar as a spy, that's so Otto."

"You were prepared… I see."

A bitter smile appeared on the Finn's face: "It seems Bishop Otto's plan has been seen through by you from beginning to end… From the altered Dead Sea Scrolls to the explosion now."

"I never saw through anything. Someone else just reminded me."

Edison shook his head, "But you… what do you think I should do with you?"

Just as Edison had lamented before, using a scholar as a spy… Edison really hadn't noticed.

No, it should be said that the Finn—Elias Nokianvitanen—had been helping them dutifully all along.

In this situation, without Liu Bai's help, Edison would never have thought that the Finn would betray them.

"I have nothing to say."

The Finn plopped down on the ground, spreading his hands in a gesture that reeked of helplessness.

"You—!"

At that moment, Edison truly wanted to just shoot the Finn right then and there.

But clearly, now was not the time.

"Don't look at me like that." The Finn seemed to age ten years in an instant. "I have a family, elderly parents, a beautiful wife, and a son in school. People aren't animals who can do whatever they please."

"You're saying you had no choice?" Edison retorted with a furious laugh. "If you had blown up a real Moonlight Throne, I'm afraid the scene from Berlin would be replayed in New York!"

"...I confess, but I really didn't know it was a Honkai energy bomb." At this, the Finn lowered his head. "Since Princess Nancy, you've already seen through Bishop Otto's plan, then the city center..."

"Hasn't been completely evacuated."

Edison, clad in her protective suit, wore a dark expression.

In other words, Honkai energy had begun to leak.

"You must know what Otto is trying to do. Tell me everything you know."

"Maybe... just to eliminate you, Princess Nancy?" The Finn gave a wry smile. "I don't even know what that Bishop is planning anymore. My initial task was just to help you translate that ancient scroll so you could smoothly execute the Moonlight Throne project. As for the modifications... he only said it would waste a little of your time—of course, I knew that was a lie."

"And then, you discovered that the data had been corrected, and then you told Otto?"

"No, I didn't tell him... because it has nothing to do with me."

A very honest answer.

As a professor and librarian with close ties to Lab 42, how could the Finn not know the consequences of incorrect data?

It was simply that the reality Otto presented forced the Finn to bow his head.

So, upon seeing that the data on the ancient scroll had been corrected, the Finn had no intention of telling Otto, pretending he knew nothing. Even if Otto suspected him later, he could argue that Edison had discovered the error herself.