Ana Schariac

There's no time limit for saving and exiting, and you can rest for as long as you want during breaks, giving Liu Bai ample time to collect the information he needs.

... Although the huge backdoor provided by the system still made Liu Bai a little nervous.

On the other hand, it was precisely because Liu Bai executed several simulations that he was led astray by Vil-V in terms of timing.

With this super cheat device, and given Liu Bai's experience in creating God Key, once the scientists determined the properties of the Herrscher Core, the rest of the experiment was relatively straightforward.

Let's do it.

However, no matter what, working overtime was definitely the least challenging task in this experiment.

Liu Bai personally oversaw the entire process, with built-in fine-tuning capabilities. Unless someone suddenly went crazy and adjusted a parameter to an extremely high level, the entire experiment was virtually impossible to go wrong.

After two weeks, the Imaginary Archive has been successfully created.

Of course, compared to the future Imaginary Archive, the present Imaginary Archive is just a shell.

It has neither the submachine gun separated by Prometheus, nor the vast amount of data from the future, only the currently almost useless "analysis-imitation" capability.

"Ah... was it made from the core of the First Herrscher..."

Looking at the golden hexahedron floating quietly in front of her, Pardo felt a little complicated.

Although she had never met the First Herrscher, as someone who had experienced it, Pardo had some understanding of the First Herrscher's abilities.

"What was the First Herrscher's ability again...? I remember it was an incredibly powerful ability, wasn't it?"

"Simply put, it's 'analysis-reconstruction'." Mei looked helplessly at the pet girl in front of her who seemed agile but whose brain seemed a bit lacking. "But the problem is that humans are not computers. The computing power required for the analysis and reconstruction performed by the Herrscher is not a difficult thing for the human brain..."

Mei sighed deeply.

The Herrscher of Reason is a typical example of a disgusting boss, but the loot is disappointing.

Mei initially thought that the analysis of the Herrscher of Reason was done through a more advanced method, even one that defied science to some extent.

But after actual research, well, this thing is indeed scientific enough—scientific enough to make Mei feel a little nauseous.

There were no tricks involved; it was just a simple and brutal way of piling on computing power. But faced with such a simple and brutal method, both Mei and Vil-V were about to throw up.

Humans aren't Herrscher. Although the First Herrscher died like trash, who among them dares to say they can suppress Herrscher in terms of computing power?

Okay, Vil-V is actually quite confident that she can compete with the Herrscher in terms of computing power in a short period of time, but the human brain has its limits! How can she compare to a pure monster like the Herrscher?

The Herrscher keeps the time for each analysis and reconstruction within two or three seconds, or even zero-time reconstruction. Try doing that to a human! How many human brains can withstand that kind of reconstruction?

Of course, the core of the Herrscher of Reason does have some auxiliary computational capabilities, but those who don't aspire to become Herrscher generally don't consider this aspect.

"... Uh, then isn't this thing pretty useless?"

Although Pardo doesn't know much about scientific matters, she does have some insight into judging value.

"No, it's not useless. After discovering that humans cannot support the exercise of Herrscher Authority, I adopted my teacher's suggestion—to cut most of the limits and leave a huge amount of storage space inside the God Key. In the future, an intelligent computer can be installed in it to store data and omit the 'analysis' step."

Scientists' brains are not disposable, and Mei is not stupid, so she readily accepted Liu Bai's proposal.

Although the cost is that the process has changed from "analysis-reconstruction" to "analysis-imitation", considering that more God Key will be created in the future, this imitation ability is not so useless in the long run.

"So what do I need to do? Bow to it? Bow three times?"

"Ah, no need, just press that button, yes, the green one you have here—just press it, this button opens the glass cover."

Everyone is just praying that this thing won't cause any problems in its practical use. Nobody's crazy enough to entrust crucial operations to outsiders—even if the so-called crucial operation is just pressing a button and checking the time.

"Beep—!"

As the glass dome slowly opened, a burst of hot air escaped, revealing the unremarkable golden hexahedron to the air.

Pardo looked at her finger that had pressed the button with a strange expression.

I feel like I've done something, but it also feels like I haven't done anything?

Cat scratching its head. JPG

However, Pardo's doubts did not affect the thunderous applause from the surrounding scientists—as if Pardo had really done something amazing.

"In a way, Pardo, you've pressed the button on history."

Vil-V patted Pardo on the back with a smile on her face.

"Oh..." Pardo tilted her head, "So we did something really amazing?"

"That's right."

"... I felt absolutely nothing."

"Alright, don't worry about those details." Vil-V smiled at Pardo. "Pardo, is there anything else?"

"Me? I've been fine all along..."

"Then you should go back first."

After using the Pardo as a lucky charm, Vil-V didn't hesitate much before issuing the order to leave.

But this was just right for Pardo —she always felt out of place among this group of scientists.

Okay, that's actually the truth.

So after Vil-V gave the order to leave, Pardo immediately ran away.

The scientists present then turned their attention back to the golden hexahedron in front of them.

"... Dr. Mei, is this thing a way to scam funding?"

After watching the little mascot leave, I don't know which scientist asked the question first.

Mei's expression immediately darkened.

Indeed, even she herself couldn't stand to look at this thing. Although everyone knew that this thing had unlimited potential, that didn't mean they could get the people above to understand it!

"It seems... not really possible."

"Why don't we just borrow money from Eden? She's got plenty of money anyway," Vil-V said, seemingly quite nonchalant.

She's long past the age of scamming funding—well, mainly because her former boss was Liu Bai.

Trying to scam funding? Who do you think you are?

Liu Bai said, "This project is what I gave you, okay?"

"Sometimes funding is simply about putting money in, sometimes... ah, let's submit the results of the Imaginary Archive."

Investing money, in a sense, means having a voice. Mei thought about it and suddenly realized that perhaps she didn't need to bolster the confidence of those above her.

It would be better if the higher-ups thought the project was a "white elephant".

Well, the so-called "chicken rib" is something that lets everyone know it has potential, but can't be monetized for the time being, or even for a long time.

The Imaginary Archive is quite unique. If you use it to imitate rifles or missiles, it's a complete waste of its potential. Even imitating nuclear bombs would be a huge loss. However, using it to imitate powerful God Key that might be created in the future is a huge gain.

Anyway, the first God Key we create will require further investment, so you can handle it from above.

Alternatively, you could do nothing, stop the project, leave the two remaining cores unusable and gathering dust, and waste the God Key as some kind of portable ordinary weapon.

Either keep investing and gamble on a powerful God Key in the future that can make you back in one fell swoop... well, that's what's called being "trapped."

However, this is not entirely a trap. In fact, Mei sees it very clearly: the Third Herrscher's abilities are obviously very suitable for creating high-powered weapons.

As for the Second Herrscher's spatial abilities... Mei thinks that in the long run, we should try to use spatial abilities to explore the "other side" of the world—that is, the Sea of Quanta.

Compared to the current civilization that stands on the shoulders of giants, the Previous Era's research on the Sea of Quanta is still quite weak. Mei has been thinking about related research ever since she learned about this concept from Liu Bai, but unfortunately she doesn't know where to start.

The opportunity is right in front of her, and Mei certainly won't miss it.

"Okay, let's submit the report on the Imaginary Archive first. It should be as detailed as possible—there's no need to write about the principles and experimental records. Just focus on the potential of the Imaginary Archive."

Mei repeated the sentence again, and the scientists who had previously looked confused immediately understood.

"We can delay it a little longer," Liu Bai added, glancing at Mei with surprise.

It seems there was a reason why Mei in the original timeline was the first to create the Imaginary Archive...

"After all, our entire experiment has only lasted two weeks. Perhaps we can use the remaining time to try to conduct research on the next God Key?"

"Next?"

Mei's face showed a look of excitement.

Since this experiment went smoothly without any major setbacks, and with Liu Bai stabilizing the situation, it didn't even explode once. The original approved funding is still mostly left, so doing another one... doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Since they had nothing else to do, Mei did have some ideas about researching a computer to Imaginary Archive, but this project might be even more difficult than building the God Key. Mei felt that it was better to wait until she finished her current work before considering it.

After all, she only needs to prove her practical skills in the current God Key experiments, and then the future God Key can be handed over to Vil-V for full responsibility.

"Hmm... In that case, let's try developing the Second Divine Key."

Modern civilization.

"Otto! Is Otto there?" Liu Bai returned to the present civilization, ready to start cheating.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! What are your orders, Your Lord God?"

When Otto, who was working, saw Liu Bai suddenly appear, he immediately showed a loyal expression.

"Where is the Second Divine Key? I want to see it."

Knock knock knock

Just as Liu Bai finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

"Anna Schariac, captain of the Snow Lotus Squad, is here to report for duty!"

Chapter 370 Anna Schariac

"The Second Divine Key ... Let me think, I remember it was placed by the previous AI..." Otto rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

"Report! Anna Schariac, captain of the Snow Lotus Squad, is here to report for duty!"

"Hmm... it should be deep inside headquarters..."

"Report! Anna Schariac, captain of the Snow Lotus Squad, is here to report for duty!"

"I said...why don't you go see that girl outside first?" Liu Bai looked at Otto, who was still talking to himself, speechless. "Let's make this clear beforehand, you better use your brain to answer this question, or I'm leaving."

Liu Bai could tell at a glance that Otto had thrown his brain away again.

"...Yes." Otto nodded somewhat reluctantly, his eyes becoming much clearer. "Your will is me...no, it is the will of the entire Schicksal —Captain Anna Schariac, please come in."

As Otto finished speaking, the office door opened, and a somewhat frail-looking brown-haired girl walked in.

"Oh...not white hair. This child looks more like Elinor than Cecilia."

"This hair color isn't rare—but I did analyze Elinor's blood back then and used it in the Schariac family's bloodline, so it should be a rare weakening in her."

Otto glanced at Anna indifferently and replied softly that Liu Bai's question was probably just a casual remark.

Yes, it has been weakened.

Elinor, who survived Otto's brutal injection back then, is no less resistant to Honkai Energy than those with bloodlines bearing Stigmata. In fact, a large part of the holy blood in the current Schariac Family comes from that injection back then.

It's important to understand that the injection back then was purely experimental. Otto had some confidence at the time, but not entirely. Even if Elinor were to take it again, she might not be able to withstand it.

However, it was precisely because he survived that Otto used it in the bloodline of the Schariac Family.

After all, the Schariac were such a loser back then, relying entirely on their adopted daughter to get by, and their own bloodline was almost ruined. Otto's experiment successfully revived the Schariac Family's bloodline—although what Otto himself did with the Schariac' bloodline was far more than just "revival".

Of course, Elinor's poor performance was simply due to a lack of natural talent...

So although Elinor herself didn't really want Cecilia to call her "ancestor," in terms of facts and bloodline, the title of "ancestor" was actually not wrong.

Anna: "..."

Anna Schariac's expression was somewhat strange—the boss had said to her face that he had experimented on her bloodline.

This... should be considered a big deal, right? What kind of expression should I make?

However, it's true that the archbishop has actually become a woman; I found it quite unbelievable when I first heard the news.

As a member of the Schariac Family, Anna practically grew up listening to stories about this archbishop—clearly, as an archbishop who had overthrown the three major families and completely seized the power of Schicksal for himself, he wouldn't have a good reputation among the other two families.

Of course, it was precisely because Otto had taken back the power of Schicksal for himself that both Schariac and Kaslana were quite obedient in their support of Otto, and any complaints or grievances could only be kept in the most secret corners.

However, one thing must be said: the Kaslana family initially supported Otto because of Kallen's reasons, but they couldn't withstand Otto's gradual reduction of power, so the Kaslana switched sides—although it didn't really help.

After all, during the time of Otto's father, Nicholas, the other two major families were already barely surviving, with only the power they should have been responsible for remaining. Otto was prepared to tear off all the remaining face of the three major families.