Chapter 162

"Is there a misunderstanding?"

The threads of fate that Aponia sees often change depending on a person's specific actions.

"Yes, the previous times you made new decisions, even though the threads hadn't broken, you were still able to change everything in the end."

"In the end, I recalled seeing only the threads being pulled apart by an invisible force, and the inexplicable future shifting to a place outside the threads..."

Bai Yan: "That's a strange statement, but I'm not someone who doesn't believe in fate. I just think nothing is absolute. Besides, what else do you know?"

"Do we really have to say this?"

Although her back was to Aponia, Bai Yan sensed that she might be smiling.

That's why I dislike strong individuals with a mental focus.

Bai Yan stood up and turned to look at Aponia, whose expression remained calm.

He suddenly wondered if Aponia had already figured it out?

Tsk, they saw through everything long ago, and then just silently watched their own performance unfold...

Tsk!

Bai Yan suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Aponia's chin with his left hand, and moved his right hand down.

After being ambushed and having her mouth sealed, Aponia was unable to use Word of Power to place commandments, and close combat was not her forte.

With his left hand keeping watch, he devoured his food with his right.

At the same time, Bai Yan stared at Aponia with a look of aggression and provocation.

"Truly worthy of being the world's strongest mental Flame Chaser, he can even use such abilities with ease, and both his appearance and physique are irresistibly attractive."

However, Aponia seemed to suppress the ravaging sensation in her chest and merely smiled.

"Even the strongest of the Fire Moth has a side that gets frustrated and angry. Hmm, kind of cute."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yan intensified his efforts, but Aponia remained unmoved.

Is this the Great Nun's composure?

Finally, he let go.

"Tch, I'll spar with the strongest mentalist next time."

Aponia then straightened her clothes, a look of tolerance appearing on her face.

She said, "Is there really no other way to address Miss Ling's problem?"

Bai Yan shook his head.

"Things like this will change in the future, right?"

"Right..."

Silence fell over the room for a moment.

A moment later, Bai Yan walked to the door and opened it. "I'm leaving."

After saying that, he disappeared from the room.

Aponia sighed helplessly.

In the days that followed, Bai Yan lived an extremely regular life in the Abyss.

It wasn't that no one wanted to cause him trouble, especially some who had been frightened by his previous intention to go on a killing spree, and some even demanded that Fire Moth put Bai Yan on trial.

Of course, Mei ignored all of this.

Even after the Tenth Herrscher incident actually ended, Mei maintained the status quo that the Tenth Herrscher still existed, and then established a new Poison Pupa organization.

With more power in one's own hands, it will be easier to launch those anticipated plans.

The battle with Bai Yan on the sea had an outcome that even Mei hadn't anticipated.

Even with Artificial Collapse, Kevin was still no match.

Moreover, Bai Yan specifically told Mei that he wasn't at his strongest that day.

From that day on, Mei's understanding of the Honkai disaster changed once again.

Bai Yan is an outsider and shouldn't be here.

In other words, it would have been impossible for people of this era to have preserved the fruits of civilization so perfectly.

Therefore, May quickly launched the long-planned Chimera Project.

If Kevin's body can accommodate more Honkai Beast Genes, then through multiple evolutions, his power might increase even further.

This was not a low-risk plan, so it was not spread immediately, but was first implemented on Kevin was the most physically robust.

In addition, a new project called "Divine Sound," which was developed based on Aponia's "Discipline," is also underway.

Mobius was also forced to become Mei's laborer, spending every day perfecting the details of the Stigmata Project.

"Although I know what you're thinking, isn't it a bit too pessimistic of you to set the direction of the Stigmata Project like this?" Mobius complained as he approached Mei, sporting dark circles under his eyes.

"This is not pessimism, but an objective fact," May said, looking down at the documents in front of her. "Some key information has not been passed on to you, which is why you have this judgment. In fact, the situation is more serious than you think."

"Oh? What's the key information?"

"This is not something I can decide for myself whether or not to tell you," May finally looked up and said seriously to Mobius, "You need to go to the Abyss."

"..."

Mobius showed a look of rejection on his face.

"By the way, I remember Fu Yan has already returned Klein's consciousness to you, so why hasn't she been restored to her original state yet? Your lab must be short-staffed, right?" Mei suddenly asked.

"Klein's body still needs further repair. I don't plan to revive her in such a damaged state for the time being. You don't need to worry about this."

"Yeah."

"The Fifth Squad is now in the hands of that girl, why not let her have a physical examination? At the very least, she should have a basic medical check-up..." Mobius asked tentatively.

Then she noticed a strange smile on Mei's lips.

That's a bit strange.

"You don't actually think that Fu Yan was forced into the Abyss, do you?"

"Tsk, what a troublesome woman!"

"It seems you're quite fixated on Kiana?"

"What, is she really your boyfriend's relative?"

"More or less."

"..."

Mobius looked at Mei's face but couldn't see anything wrong.

In the end, he just snorted and left silently.

As soon as I stepped out, I almost bumped into Elysia, who had just arrived.

"Hmm? It's Mobius. Is he leaving already?"

What are you doing here?

"Of course we're looking for Mebius," Elysia tapped her chin with her finger, scrutinizing Mobius. "Where's Klein? I remember the conditions for reviving her were already met."

"This is none of your business!" Mobius glanced at her and walked away.

Elysia watched Mobius's retreating figure for a while, then fell into a state of confusion.

"I must be seeing things, she does seem to have gotten a bit younger? Oh well, I'll go see her later."

She then entered Mei's laboratory.

Volume 1: Chapter 187: Elysia Wants to Play Games

"Mei, are you busy today too?" Elysia greeted her as soon as they entered.

"I've been quite busy lately, but things are a little better today. Is there something you need?"

"Hmm..." Elysia pondered for a moment before finally asking, "May, if I told you that I am actually a Herrscher, what would you think?"

Upon hearing this, Mei hesitated as she looked at Elysia, countless thoughts flashing through her mind.

Elysia's expression was calm, and her tone of voice was simple and straightforward.

That means it was well hidden.

If it were someone unaware of the situation, they would most likely answer from a philosophical or scientific perspective, but Mei is different; the gap in information leads to a deviation in understanding.

A glint flashed in Mei's glasses. "Perhaps I'm different from you."

Upon hearing this, Elysia subconsciously pondered the words carefully.

Then she looked surprised. "Mei, did you find out too?"

"There was an assumption from the beginning, then someone hinted at it to me, and eventually I decided to believe the conclusion, that's all."

"I see! In that case, Mei, you must be wondering too, right? Uh, could that person be...?"

"It's Fu Yan. (The rest of the text appears to be random characters and doesn't form coherent sentences.)"

"Hmm—" A hint of dissatisfaction rose in Elysia's heart, but she quickly dismissed it.

Mei realized that Elysia had probably discovered the truth herself.

Fu Yan, you were so careless.

Or perhaps, the pink-clad agent's habit of hanging around pretty girls led her to unexpectedly obtain some incredible information.

However, the truth is that it was Kiana who spoke up first.

Bai Yan could only respond and try to end the conversation quickly, but he didn't expect that Elysia would happen to be outside.

"No matter how you look at it, Kiana is just a cute and pretty girl, but she admitted it herself, so I feel like there's something wrong with that..."

"You seem to care about this a lot, even more than I, the researcher, do?"

"Uh... no, it's just that I'm curious."

"Kiana so cute, how can she be Herrscher? How can these two identities coexist in one person?"

"Mei, aren't you curious? Since even Fu Yan has given you hints, perhaps she wants you to learn more about Kiana?"

However, May shook her head, which puzzled Elysia even more.

When not using its power, it is no different from a human, but when activated, it manifests the power of space and fire.

The first question that needs to be explained here is: what kind of Herrscher is she?

And why she is so different from other Herrscher.

"Fu Yan is very tight-lipped about this," Mei's gaze suddenly deepened as she stared directly at Elysia. "She wants me to know, but not now. Although as a scientist I naturally have an immense curiosity about such truths, my rigorous upbringing does not allow me to uncover the truth at the wrong time."

Elysia was a little taken aback by these words and asked with a headache, "May, can you put it more simply?"

"When she tried to hint at something, she was as careful as if she were threading a needle through shredded tofu; from that attitude alone, I sensed the seriousness of the matter; however, as I delved deeper into the nature of the Honkai, the new things that arose in my mind were even more chilling."

Mei earnestly described her feelings, but Elysia only looked completely bewildered.

Ultimately, she chose to give up trying to understand.

"I still don't understand, but never mind, I know Mei doesn't want to lie, that's enough."

"..."

"Mei, you weren't lying to me just now, were you?"

"I did not lie, you can rest assured about that."

Elysia quickly patted her chest, looking as if she was still shaken, before saying goodbye and leaving.

Then, after going around in circles, we arrived at the Abyss.

Bai Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, his consciousness sinking into the depths of his soul. He stopped when he reached the gate and tried to deeply imprint the runes along their patterns.

Recently, Jingliu had reminded him that he could try to reach that door, as it might not be anything else but a part of Bai Yan.

This idea piqued Bai Yan's interest, so he began to study the gate whenever he had free time.