Chapter 340

"Okay..." Kevin tugged at his shirt and said, "Speaking of which, MEI, have you made any discoveries in your research?"

"Of course," Li Pu said. "You said Seele has been observing different worlds, and her observations are mostly correct. But they're not entirely correct either, you know, the Honkai ..."

"How should I put it?" Li Pu thought for a moment and said, "Do you know about biological invasion?"

"Biological invasion?" Kevin thought for a moment and said, "I've heard about it, but could you please stop using so much jargon? Can we explain it simply and directly?"

"Use a language that everyone can understand."

"Let's start with biological invasion," Li Pu said. "Biological invasion is when a species moves out of one ecosystem and into another."

"This process of moving from one ecosystem to another is called biological invasion," Li Pu explained. "The results of biological invasion can be roughly divided into two categories: the invader is too strong and directly wipes out another ecosystem; the invader is neither too strong nor too weak and occupies a niche that it is familiar with or can occupy in this ecosystem, making a living in that ecosystem."

"Another outcome is that the invasive species is too weak and is directly defeated by a dimensional reduction attack, and is rubbed into the ground," Li Pu said. "The best outcome for such an invader is to find a less conspicuous ecological niche to hide in, or to be completely wiped out."

"Oh~" Kevin listened to the gist of it and said, "So, what's the problem with this in our current situation?"

"That's the problem," Li Pu said. "I probably wouldn't have discovered this if I hadn't entered this world. I only discovered this problem after entering it. The Honkai is like an invasive species to this world."

"Invasive creatures?" Kevin thought for a moment, combining what Li Pu had just said, and said, "You mean the Honkai are outsiders to this world?"

"Yes." Li Pu nodded and said, "To this world, the Honkai is like an invasive species. But this invasive species is not very strong, so it is suppressed by the original power of this world."

"Of course~ although it's not very strong compared to the power of this world's Honkai," Li Pu added, "It's not weak either, so although it can't directly clash with the power of this world, it can always find its own place in this world's ecological niche."

"Empty!"

"This also explains what the balance of this world refers to," Li Pu said. "Spiritual particles."

"One of the main substances that make up this world," Li Pu explained, "The souls of Death Gods, Gods, Demons, and humans are all made up of spirit particles. Among them, the density of spirit particles is the highest for the God and Demon races. The high density of spirit particles brings powerful strength and innate advantages. When facing Honkai, it is almost impossible for Honkai to infect the God and Demon races and turn them into Honkai Beast or Herrscher."

"Oh~" Kevin nodded, understanding some of it, but then a question suddenly occurred to him, "So that means, MEI, you don't have a human body right now?"

"Yes," Li Pu nodded and said, "Although I don't know how it was done, it certainly was."

"I am now composed of high-density spiritual particles, and I am a genuine Goddess."

If there's anything different, it's that there's still an Avalon inside her body.

Where her physical body is is another question.

"Of course, that's not the main problem," Li Pu said. "The main problem lies in the Grim Reapers and their souls, which is also known as the balance problem. Because the Grim Reapers' spiritual particle density is lower than that of the gods and demons, but higher than that of ordinary souls. Therefore, they are a type of being that can be infected by the Honkai, but it is very difficult for them to be infected."

"However, that's not the problem. The problem is ordinary souls." Li Pu said, holding the file, "Ordinary souls have a very low density of spirit particles. Although it's not difficult for a complete soul to be infected by Honkai, if the soul is incomplete, it is very easy to be infected. It's a sure thing."

It's the causal chain that the Grim Reaper mentioned, which every soul has. If that chain is gone or broken, then being infected by the Honkai is a sure thing.

"So what does all this prove?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Seele said that the Shinigami and Quincy in this world had fought a war," Li Pu said. "The Shinigami almost wiped out the Quincy. The main reason for this was that the Quincy would directly kill Hollows instead of purifying them. Simply put, Hollows that are directly killed by the Quincy do not disappear into thin air. They will revert to the most basic building block of the soul, the spirit particle. And a single spirit particle, especially an infected spirit particle, will not turn back into an uninfected one."

"If we Quincy do this, it means that although many people will die in the void, Honkai will actually be reduced. Moreover, because their actions reduce the number of clean spiritual particles and increase the number of spiritual particles infected by the Honkai, the Honkai will rapidly become stronger due to this imbalance."

"That's a problem of the world," Kevin shook his head and said, "What does it have to do with us?"

"Yes!" Li Pu said, "Not only is it very relevant, but it's also extremely important!"

Chapter 397 What's Different?

"Relationship? What kind of relationship?" Kevin asked, even more curious.

"Three relationships: First, our relationship with this world," Li Pu said. "Second, the root cause of the Honkai."

"Third, how will our world fight against the Honkai in the future?"

"These three points can be said to complement each other and form a whole." Li Pu made a gesture of pushing up her glasses, but realized she wasn't wearing them after pushing them up to nothing. She shook her head and said, "So this issue is quite important to us."

"Let's talk about how we will fight the Honkai in the future." Kevin wasn't too interested in the first two questions; he was most interested in the last one.

"You should know what methods we use to fight the Honkai, right?" Li Pu asked, picking up his folder.

"Science." Kevin gave Li Pu the answer he believed in without hesitation.

'Science...' Li Pu really wanted to complain, what kind of science do you guys talk about in your world? It's not scientific at all! But then he thought that science is not essentially about physics and chemistry, but is essentially a philosophy, a way of understanding the world.

He decided not to complain about the issue.

"It's not science, it's Honkai," Li Pu said. "Although you are nominally a demigod here, you are actually Fusion Warrior. Fusion Warrior has fused with Honkai DNA. And the power that allows you to fight against Honkai is essentially Honkai itself."

"So our world is actually trapped in a vicious cycle that's hard to break," Li Pu explained, "It's about fighting Honkai with Honkai."

"For the Honkai, this is roughly equivalent to the left hand fighting against the right hand, so for the Honkai, whether it is a victory for humanity or a victory for the Honkai Beast and Herrscher that can be seen on the surface, it is a victory for the Honkai."

"Simply put," Li Pu said, holding up two fingers, "It's a double win for Honkai, meaning Honkai wins twice and gets completely Honkai."

This issue wasn't actually the result of Li Pu's research; it was mentioned in previous discussions about Honkai. In this setting, humanity's tragedy lies in the fact that the means humanity uses to try and eliminate Honkai is still Honkai.

Therefore, the war between humans and the Honkai can be roughly regarded as a civil war among the Honkai.

The difference between the two sides is that one side acts as an agent, while the other feels more like a direct participant. In any case, humanity cannot escape this cycle, whether it's a civilization from the previous era or the civilization of the Kiana.

Without a third force intervening, it would be an almost unsolvable vicious cycle for humanity.

Unless technology can develop to a point where it can match the Honkai.

But no, at least when Li Pu left, the most effective means of fighting the Honkai in that world was still the Valkyrie. Other weapons were either completely useless or too inefficient and expensive to produce.

Entropy Anti-Entropy is trying to take an unconventional path, but the problem is that their fundamental energy source is still Honkai.

So from beginning to end, that world was always trapped in this circle and could not get out.

"..." Kevin pondered for a moment without saying anything more, simply waiting for Li Pu to continue.

"Now let's talk about the first question," Li Pu said. "The first question is our relationship with the world... or more precisely, your relationship with the world."

Li Pu pointed at Kevin and said, "I am Herrscher. If you have observed me in that world, you should know that even my true form is no longer an ordinary person. Although I haven't shown any special abilities yet, and I seem to be the most useless Herrscher, I am still Herrscher. However, I am not Herrscher at the same time. In my current state and in this world, my existence is basically a perfect fit for the power system of this world."

"I am Goddess, a proper Goddess," Li Pu said. "But you are not, Kevin, you are Fusion Warrior. In this world, it's more accurate to call you Arrancar than a demigod, well... that's probably it."

Li Pu wasn't sure, because she had almost forgotten the concept of the Arrancar.

However, based on the world's setting, Hollows are Honkai Beast mutated by Honkai infection, so the Arrancar should be equivalent to Herrscher. However, they cannot be considered Herrscher; they merely carry the power of Honkai or their spiritual particles possess Honkai.

Therefore, it seems as if Honkai is ingrained in his DNA, making Kevin feel closer to Arrancar than a god or demon.

"But you are not Arrancar." Li Pu paused for a moment and then said, "Arrancar are essentially still souls, and I personally think they can be regarded as another form of existence for Shinigami. But you are different; your power is basically derived from Honkai."

"So in this world, you should actually be considered the spokesperson for the Honkai."

"The Herrscher!"

Li Pu waved the documents in his hand and said, "This brings us back to the question I asked you earlier: biological invasion."

"You mean..." Kevin seemed to have figured something out.

"Yes, you can probably understand it by following that logic," Li Pu said. "This is actually quite similar to that. When a species enters another ecosystem, what it needs to do is adapt and find a suitable ecological niche to settle down in."

"Moreover, to be more precise, it can't really be considered the ecosystem's elimination of invaders," Li Pu thought for a moment and then put it another way, "To be precise, the biosphere can accommodate many different kinds of organisms, and even outsiders can live a fulfilling life as long as they can find their own ecological niche. So to be precise, it's the elimination of the biosphere by the existing organisms occupying different ecological niches."

"Those that occupy a carnivorous position will likely try out this new species to see if it is edible, how it tastes, and whether it is filling. Meanwhile, those in the same ecological niche will be very competitive. If their own advantages cannot overcome those of the creatures that already occupy this ecological niche, then extinction is almost a certainty."

"So by the same logic," Li Pu said, "This world itself has a power similar to Honkai. So unless Honkai is powerful enough to deliver a dimensional reduction blow to the world's power system from the start, it can only find a place to hide and eke out a living."

"And it is clear that the Honkai power of this world is not strong, so it can be said that it was defeated by the power of this world."

"If it's a case of 'dimensional reduction attack'," Kevin shook his head and said, "Then according to your theory of biological invasion, shouldn't they have already been wiped out?"

"Yes, but the problem is that most organisms don't understand balance and interests," Li Pu said. "For most organisms, the interest is simply to survive. As for the extinction of other groups, so be it. They might even be happy to see other groups go extinct because only through extinction can they have the possibility of rising to power."

"But gods, demons, humans, and even the Grim Reaper are all intelligent beings," Li Pu said with a sneer. "Perhaps my guess is inaccurate. Neither Hollows nor future Arrancar to them; they can destroy them with a flick of their wrist. But the existence of Hollows is the natural enemy of the Grim Reaper. As long as Hollows exist, the Grim Reaper will need to deal with them, and the same goes for humans."

"Therefore, as long as Hollows exist, the Shinigami will be too busy dealing with them to fight back. Similarly, the existence of Hollows and human behavior prevent the Shinigami from forming an alliance with humans to fight against the gods and demons."

"Even if we form an alliance, we still can't fight each other, right?" Kevin shook his head and said, "Death and humans are both too weak."

"That's hard to say," Li Pu said. "According to the laws of the biosphere, predators at the top of the food chain must be few in number. So, although the gods and demons are powerful, they must have a weakness: their population is too small."

"And the number of humans must be enormous. Given this enormous number, it is not impossible that one or two, or even more, could emerge from among them and be able to contend with the top combat power of the God Race."

"Then why can't it be a lot?" Kevin countered. "Humans are indeed a link in the food chain, and they absolutely occupy the top of the food chain. But the number of humans is very large."

"But there is only one kind of human," Li Pu retorted. "That is, Homo sapiens. By the same logic, just look at Belldandy. We can see that the gods and demons are not incapable of surviving here. When humans expanded to the whole world, they also wiped out the people in other regions. So why is the land where the gods and demons can also survive called the human world, while the gods and demons have not expanded here?"

"Unless they are restrained by some more powerful force or they are inherently few in number and have low fertility."

"I think it's a combination of both," Li Pu said, slightly shifting the topic. "And I think this leads to another question: why would the Lord God of this world personally arrange this identity for me?"

"Actually, he wanted to know from me how I went from an ordinary person to God Race."

"Why?" Kevin still couldn't understand.

"Didn't I already explain?" Li Pu was a little speechless, but seeing that Kevin still didn't understand, he explained further, "My guess is that what the God Race want from me is how I transformed from a human into God Race, or how I transformed from a carbon-based life form into Spirit Origin form. For the God Race, if they cannot solve the limitations and their own reproductive problems..."

"So turning the other party into one of our own and then expanding from there is also an option."

"Don't ask why." Li Pu stopped Kevin from asking any more questions and said, "If you want to understand, you can read 'The Selfish Gene.' Our world has that book too, and if you want to read it now, it's available in this world as well. Expanding one's own race is the most important means of perpetuating genes, and the God Race must have this problem too. Otherwise, they might not even have issues like 'reproduction' or 'emotions'."

"To put it more bluntly, the fundamental driving force behind all your actions is the genes within your body." Li Pu pointed at Kevin and said, "Your love is fundamentally just a need for genes to complete the creation and transmission of genes through negative contact between you and me. Of course, this is not the most important need, because negative contact alone can also complete the transmission of genes, so that kind of sexual crime exists."

"But I don't want to explain that much to you, because it's too complicated. If you want to know, go read books, read more books."

"Based on this," Li Pu continued, "Let's return to the third question: our world experienced Honkai, and this world also experiences Honkai. What does this signify?"

"What?" Kevin asked.

"If the world develops and evolves independently, then why does this world Honkai?" Li Pu countered. "If the worlds don't develop independently and there is a certain mutual influence between them, then why is the Honkai of this world so weak?"

"Why?" Kevin scratched his head and said, "Mei, you're asking me that? How would I know?"

"You don't know, and neither do I," Li Pu said, spreading his hands. "But we can make an assumption. My assumption is that both exist. The world develops and evolves independently, but at the same time, they are not completely independent of each other. There is communication and mutual influence between the worlds. Independence leads to different worlds developing different power systems, while mutual influence leads to the development of similar or identical things between the worlds."

"Then here's the question," Li Pu countered, "Why is it that in our world, the Honkai is a world- Honkai catastrophe, while here it's just a troublemaker used by the God Race to maintain balance? Why is the Honkai something that has existed throughout history in our world, while in this Honkai it seems more like an invasive species? And why do the research results show that the Honkai in the two worlds are so similar?"

"Could we explain this situation like this?" Li Pu asked himself, answering his own question, "The Honkai is an outsider, both for us and for this place. In our world, the original forces developed neither quickly nor strongly, so the Honkai seemed exceptionally powerful there, moving in as if it were nothing. But here, the original forces are stronger and there are more representative organizations."

"Before the Honkai could even develop, it was crushed and rubbed into the ground, which is why the Honkai here looks so weak."

"From this, we can draw a new conclusion," Li Pu said. "If the Honkai is an outsider to us and this world, then where does the root of the Honkai?"

"If we don't find the root cause, even if we defeat the Honkai in our world, it will only be a superficial peace."

"If the root cause is Honkai, it can rise from the ashes at any time. If we eliminate the root cause, it will be like cutting off the fuel supply, and it can be completely buried and covered with soil."

"Really?" Kevin's eyes lit up immediately. "Are you sure?"

"Unsure," Li Pu shook his head and said, "There are too few worlds I've traveled to."

"The sample size is too small to be certain."

Chapter 398 Put Your Heart Into It, Young Man

What's the difference between making assumptions, guesses, and rambling nonsense?

Assumptions and conjectures are based on existing reality and data, and reasonable inferences are made based on this. At the very least, assumptions and conjectures should make the listener feel that what you are saying is as clear as a proper conversation.

But rambling on is just rambling on; basically, you hear someone's words but don't understand what they're saying.

The problem that's giving Li Pu a headache right now is that there's too little evidence to support her arguments. If she wants to support her arguments, she needs to enter more worlds and collect more data.

The data from this world and the original world alone are far from sufficient.

The problem is that it's easy to get into a world, but hard to get out. Although the Sea of Quantum is considered a very safe place, Kevin and Seele both had a difficult time getting out of it.

It's unrealistic to try and persuade these two to enter the Sea of Quantum with me, especially since Seele might return to that place.

More importantly, the Sea of Quantum isn't a public restroom you can just enter and exit at will. If it weren't for their presence here, Seele and Kevin wouldn't have chosen to come to this world.

Just as Li Pu could not easily travel between worlds, even the Sea of Quantum faces the problem of losing its bearings.

Once inside the Sea of Quantum, losing one 'Sea of Quantum coordinates could result in being trapped there forever. That's why Kevin and Sir chose to stay on the other side of the maze, avoiding unnecessary detours and entering other worlds.

Once inside, returning to the Sea of Quantum is a different story, and finding the original entrance to the maze again is not so easy.

Therefore, Seele definitely wouldn't want to go back to the Sea of Quantum with him.

'This is a little tricky.' Li Pu thought with a headache, holding his folder. 'Should I go in myself? Could the root of this problem be the world I'm in?'

Yes, could that so-called root be the world he once inhabited? This is probably the question Li Pu most wants to know. Although this conjecture might seem a bit arrogant.

The world you live in may just be one of countless worlds.

But...