Chapter 370

Is it better to be cheated on by someone you know or a stranger? Little Bronya is already pondering this difficult question at such a young age.

Bronya understands Kiana's feelings. This time, Bronya might not be able to directly help... but Kiana was originally part of the backup plan. If the headmistress is still worried, then let the class Class President and Kiana go together. Bronya is perfectly capable of handling the defense of the Hyperion.

Even with the emotionless loli speaking up for him, and even bringing in Fu Hua to help, Theresa still hesitated. From all angles, Kiana, with her Herrscher of the Void powers, was the person he valued most. Although Shen Gonglin also possessed Herrscher of the Herrscher of the Void powers, Otto had never focused on her because of her unpredictability. If Kiana were to join...

"Well, I understand how you feel, but..."

Theresa was still somewhat hesitant. Seeing this, Shen Gonglin tugged at Durandal's skirt armor, signaling for her to help. Durandal understood immediately; she also wanted to meet Kiana.

"Senior Theresa, if possible, please let Kiana join our exploration. We met briefly in Sky City and North Africa before; and her feat of defeating the Herrscher of Domination two months ago is truly awe-inspiring... In addition, for certain reasons, I really hope to establish a better relationship with Miss Kiana."

Durandal, having received a signal from Shen Gonglin, spoke up. Not only for that reason, but Durandal genuinely wanted to build a good relationship with Kiana. The relationship between that girl and Shen Gonglin was well-known; Shen Gonglin had been with her when she was wandering. If she wanted to join them, she would naturally have to build a good relationship with her. After thinking it over, it seemed that only Kiana was suitable.

She doesn't have much interaction with Raiden Mei, doesn't have much in common with Bronya, and as for Fu Hua... although they all have the attribute of being ex-girlfriends, Durandal had already passed on them when they abandoned her to go solo. She can just treat them as her mother-in-law from now on. So after thinking it over, it seems that only Kiana is suitable. Moreover, Durandal does have a good impression of Kiana from the bottom of her heart.

Chapter Ninety: The Intuition of Being Cuckolded

"I don't have any objections, but as long as that person you all know who doesn't cause trouble... I think things can be handled however they want, but..."

Tesla also expressed her opinion, but she was still a little worried. The mastermind behind everything hadn't appeared yet, so adding Kiana to the search team so hastily was unsettling. Besides, Durandal was currently with them; what if Otto gave her other orders...?

[Don't worry, Tesla -senpai, Miss Durandal won't let the kind of situation you're worried about happen. She's not some scheming girl.]

Changguang's smiling face appeared on the screen. Durandal, whose name was suddenly mentioned, stared blankly. What was going on? How did this suddenly involve her? What did Changguang mean by this? Of course, she was not a person with deep thoughts.

Hey, you're great in every way except for your tongue. Sorry to tease you... But what would you do if Mr. Otto ordered you to destroy the World Bubble you were protecting?

With a somewhat quirky personality, Changguang wouldn't have idolized Tesla. While it's wrong to bully such an honest person, it's undeniably fun. Changguang smiled as he looked at Durandal on the other side of the screen, while the others were also very curious about Durandal's reaction.

"This... excuse my bluntness, but of course I cannot obey such an order. I am indeed his subordinate, but that does not mean that my life's values and mission belong to him. If Otto were to issue such an order, I would certainly rebel against him."

Durandal answered honestly, while also glancing discreetly at Shen Gonglin. If it were him... no, how could Shen Gonglin ask her to do such a thing? Why was she hesitating? She shouldn't have.

[Look, this realistic and honest person's thoughts aren't much different from yours. Besides, the matter she originally needed Mr. Otto's help with has finally come to some kind of conclusion recently. Now she's a freer Valkyrie.]

Speaking up for this honest woman, others may not be trustworthy, but you can always trust Durandal. As the benchmark of the entire Valkyrie organization, Durandal truly deserves everyone's trust.

Look, even though she's practically sitting in Shen Gonglin's lap right now, she still hasn't secretly shot Otto. That kid is so honest and trustworthy.

"Who the hell is an honest person?! Do they all think they are honest people?!" Feeling the gazes around her, Durandal suddenly became somewhat embarrassed and angry. She didn't know when it started, but the term "honest person" had become a derogatory term. Durandal wasn't stupid. The girl thought to herself, "I'm not an honest person at all. I'm actually quite cunning. Once I successfully sleep with Shen Gonglin, they'll know who's really honest!"

Durandal thought darkly to herself, she even began to consider not closing the door at that time, it would be best if they all saw her and Shen Gonglin covered by the blanket in bed... Hehe, then let's see who dares to say that they are an honest person!

"... You've said too much, Changguang. No one should use their own one-sided reasons to demand that others change their views."

While her mind was filled with terrible thoughts, Durandal remained outwardly the proper Valkyrie. In her heart, she secretly accused Changguang, saying that he was just too annoying.

Hehe, didn't I already apologize...? How about I bring an extra dessert next time you come to the research institute?

Having known Durandal for a while, Changguang knew how to Durandal up. Unlike the disciplined female knight he knew, Durandal actually had a sweet tooth. Hearing Changguang 'Durandal words, her little resentment disappeared. However, she still had to put on an act and not let others know that she was so easy to please.

"Ahem... In short, Senior Theresa, the Immortal Blade will provide you with full support in terms of Anti-Entropy for the upcoming exploration mission."

I'll let it go for the sake of the dessert.

"Alright... I understand. So, to improve operational efficiency: we'll meet up with Kiana first, head to Plaza 1491 together to get the data, and then explore the other two locations. If there are no problems, everyone, let's begin... Hey! Shen Gonglin, don't run away! You're going the wrong way! Seriously."

Since everyone had said so, Theresa wouldn't raise any objections. Shen Gonglin took the lead and ran out immediately, eager to see Kiana and the Class President. Seeing Shen Gonglin running around, Theresa helplessly rubbed her head and followed him.

It seems like everyone else has grown, but Shen Gonglin is still the same as before. This girl is so cute! She's hopelessly directionally challenged and will probably never change in her lifetime.

But it's okay, as long as the others know the way, we'll all be here in the future, so this little problem doesn't matter.

Back at the Hyperion's landing site, Shen Gonglin immediately spotted Kiana and Fu Hua waiting for them. It felt like it had been a while since she'd seen Kiana, perhaps because of her affair with Raven. Seeing Kiana Shen Gonglin feel a little guilty, so she decided to be even more enthusiastic.

Kiana, I miss you so much!

Like a swallow returning to its nest, Shen Gonglin rushed over and hugged Kiana tightly. He felt as if he could wrap his arm around her slender waist. He spun her around in Shen Gonglin arms. Kiana was a little flattered by Shen Gonglin's sudden enthusiasm. What was wrong with him? Although he was usually very independent, why was he not avoiding people today? She felt like he was deliberately trying to show off. Could it be that he had done something wrong?

"Wait a minute, I miss you too, but... Shen Gonglin, during this time, you haven't done anything to betray me, have you?"

Kiana grabbed Shen Gonglin's arm, her azure eyes filled with suspicion. Shen Gonglin wasn't usually like this; her enthusiasm towards her today felt very strange to Kiana.

Uh... Shen Gonglin was sweating profusely. This guy, does his intuition have to be so accurate?!

Chapter Ninety-One: The Two Meeting Again

"Long time no see, Kiana Kaslana."

Just as Shen Gonglin was wondering how to talk to Kiana, Durandal stepped in to help. This honest girl had no idea what they were doing. When she saw Kiana, she wanted to come up and greet her. For some reason, looking at the girl in front of her, she felt a sense of familiarity. They had interacted before, and Durandal hadn't made things difficult for Kiana back then.

"Yes, when I escaped from you guys before, I never imagined that we would fight side by side like this one day."

Taking this opportunity, Shen Gonglin ran to the Class President's side to avoid Kiana's gaze, while the girl could only give him a meaningful look. Now that there were outsiders present, she should give Shen Gonglin some face. She looked at Durandal and greeted her. Like Durandal, Kiana also had a good impression of the strongest Valkyrie in front of her.

Anyone who knows Durandal's personality wouldn't be hostile towards her.

"It can be said that the cause of fighting against the Honkai has brought our paths together again."

Durandal had long imagined that she might one day fight alongside Kiana, and the girl herself looked forward to it. She just didn't expect that day to come so soon. They ended up coming together because of the same thing. Fighting alongside her would probably feel pretty good.

"That's right, that's right. Let the unpleasant things of the past remain in the past. The future of the Schicksal will ultimately belong to our generation. Mr. Otto Apocalypse found his true path before resigning. His future will most likely not overlap with ours."

Seemingly intrigued by the scene before her, Changguang ran over excitedly. After giving the monocle to Shen Gonglin, she somehow managed to get herself a new pair. The researcher with wine-red hair cheered, thinking that she was about to get a new boss and should try to build a good relationship with him beforehand.

"What?"

Tesla quickly realized what Changguang meant by that. What did he mean by saying that his future would not overlap with theirs? Could it be that Otto had some earth-shattering bad plan?

"Changguang, what do you mean by saying that? What exactly are you...?"

The information that Changguang inadvertently revealed made Durandal and Theresa very concerned. The two turned their attention to this researcher who had "defected" from Schicksal. What did she mean by saying that? Did she know something unknown? What exactly was Otto planning? His future would not overlap with theirs. What did this sentence mean?

"Ah. Let me clarify beforehand, this is just speculation. Although I consider it a reasonable speculation, speculation is still just speculation, so let's get to the conclusion first..."

Changguang accidentally let it slip, covering his mouth with a look of great annoyance. But thinking about it, it didn't really matter. He had already explained that it was just his speculation. As a researcher, being good at speculation was a good way to demonstrate his abilities.

"I believe that Mr. Otto did indeed find a way to go back in time in his previous experiments."

Changguang, true to form, uttered something that astonished everyone. Shen Gonglin, however, tilted her head. Kurumi had also mentioned time travel to her, but said it was a very complex matter. While it was possible to travel back in time using her abilities, even if you wanted to change the future, you couldn't change your own "present" because you didn't know if your future self had done the same things in your "history." The past could perhaps be changed, but that would only extend into a new future...

That's roughly what Kurumi said, and then the girl got busy stammering, so Shen Gonglin didn't pay much attention anymore.

"Going back to the past? Does that mean time travel?"

Theresa said uncertainly. Although her first reaction was that such a thing could not be true, as long as it involved her grandfather... she couldn't help but consider it. After all, Otto gave the impression that he could do anything.

"How is that possible! Any physics that allows this world to function normally cannot support the existence of time travel! Even this strange Otto we captured could not possibly be the Otto himself from five hundred years ago."

As a brilliant physicist, Tesla instinctively rejected such a fantastical idea. The physics that governs the world's operation doesn't allow for such a thing to happen; if it were possible, the world would have been in chaos long ago.

"That's right, Tesla is right. The kind of time travel in science fiction that twists spacetime into a fatalistic pretzel is indeed impossible, but... from an ontological point of view, I think Mr. Otto still has some way to go back to the past in some sense."

The researchers started discussing their theories. As representatives of the onlookers, Theresa, Durandal, Durandal Shen Gonglin, Kiana, and... Oh right, the Class President, they all looked at Changguang and Tesla with a knowing look on their faces. Those two looked so cultured. Shouldn't we start physics lessons for Valkyrie too? Theresa felt increasingly overwhelmed, but the girl still nodded repeatedly, pretending to be serious and that she understood.

There was no other way; to maintain the headmaster's dignity, I had to do it. Wouldn't it be too embarrassing to say that I hadn't understood anything from the beginning?

Fortunately, I had these few bystanders with me. Action-oriented people like them are not suited to this kind of theory at all.

"Hey! Are you playing some kind of word game?"

Tesla had no time to argue with Changguang about these trivial matters. What was she trying to say? Changguang, however, seriously corrected Tesla's question, as he was not playing games.

"Of course not, Mr. Tesla. Ontology is a very serious branch of philosophy and logic. However, in order to explain what I was just saying, I need you all to recall the meaning of time."

It was like rediscovering the feeling of giving a lecture. Changguang posed the question to the onlookers, and at that moment, Theresa felt she should step forward and say that it was too embarrassing to admit she hadn't understood anything. The meaning of time... she knew that.

Chapter Ninety-Two: Using Games to Explain

"Time... it's just time, isn't it? Sorry, does that mean I haven't said anything at all?"

Theresa felt a little embarrassed as soon as she gave her answer. What was she saying? The doctors were talking about things that sounded very impressive, and what she was saying... Theresa felt like an ignorant little girl from the village. After she finished speaking, the girl hugged her head. Thinking about so many things made her head start to hurt. How embarrassing.

"No, Headmaster, you can't be wrong. Time is indeed a primitive concept that is difficult to define. Its meaning actually depends on the angle from which we want to look at the problem. In essence, everyone can only think in this one moment... Therefore, for each individual, time means sequence and cause and effect."

Shen Gonglin spoke up, her long-dormant academic genius finally awakening. Shen Gonglin is actually very smart. Although it seemed like he was taking advantage of the Class President by getting close to her, Shen Gonglin had also been listening to what Changguang and Tesla were saying. Have you heard of quantum mechanics?

Yes, it has nothing to do with that.

Everyone looked at Shen Gonglin with considerable surprise, as if they couldn't believe those words had come from his mouth. Was this guy a fake? They agreed to be academic underachievers together, how did he suddenly become a top student? It didn't matter before that Tesla and Changguang were so cultured, but Shen Gonglin like this... Durandal, Kiana, and the others felt a deep sense of crisis.

"Wow! It seems the new bishop will have a lot to talk about with me. So, Your Excellency, how about investing a large amount of research funds in the Changguang Research Institute after you take office?"

Changguang was also quite surprised. She even started to plan for what would happen after Shen Gonglin took office. Tesla interrupted her daydreams in time. They couldn't let Shen Gonglin money recklessly. If such a large organization as Schicksal was allowed to run wild, it would be Shen Gonglin. It's estimated that Otto made Theresa his deputy because of this consideration.

Or perhaps he's just a symbol, a mascot that unites everyone.

"Shen Gonglin is right, but if we continue to dig deeper and try to find out what the so-called present really means... then I'm sorry, human logic is powerless here."

Tesla continued on the topic of Shen Gonglin, but this philosophy, which was already considered a key point, was continued by Changguang. This was just the old concept; things were different now.

"That's not necessarily true, Mr. Tesla. You should also know that our world is not the so-called limit of existence. Beyond the world, there are the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quantum that influence our destiny."

"Changguang said with a smile," she said, glancing at Shen Gonglin with her eyes hidden behind her monocle. "Isn't this an unexpected visitor? Sometimes the truth is right beside us."

"But what can time be outside the world—wait, are you implying that there might indeed be observers outside the world?"

Tesla thought of certain science fiction concepts, and Changguang's words seemed to coincide with those ideas. But this must be fake.

"This is one of the results of our various experiments. From the experiment of activating the Second Divine Key to the attempt to connect the World Bubble to the Imaginary Tree... we can conclude that time also has its own laws outside the world, and it does not degenerate into absolute chaos and disorder. More specifically... there, the reversal of time is free, no different from all other spatial dimensions. On this basis, it follows some more fundamental laws and, like other dimensions, is subject to various energies. And confirming some of these specific constraints has fixed the direction of time in certain subspaces, allowing everything in them to be reorganized from infinity to finite."

They enthusiastically recounted their discoveries to everyone. For researchers like Changguang, this was an interesting development, but for the others, including Theresa, who were forced to attend the class, it was like listening to gibberish. Kiana was even starting to doze off. Listening to them reminded Kiana of her time attending classes at St. Freya. What were they even talking about? She couldn't understand a word they were saying.

"... It seems you didn't understand? But that's alright, it's good that Senior Tesla and the new bishop understood. In other words, the fact that time moves forward is not an absolute fundamental law, but rather a result of the existence of our world."

Changguang spread his hands, trying to explain more clearly. "Can't they even understand vernacular Chinese? Then I'll explain it in more detail, so they can finally understand."

"... I don't quite understand, but are you trying to say... that it's precisely because our world exists stably that no force can interfere with the passage of time?"

Perhaps spurred on by Shen Gonglin, Kiana listened very attentively this time. The girl felt she had grasped a key point, and like an elementary school student, Kiana raised her hand and said something. Changguang nodded approvingly, thinking that not everyone was an idiot after all.

"That's absolutely true, but things are different on the Imaginary Tree, because it's an existence that transcends the scope of the world. You can think of it as... well, let me think which analogy is more appropriate... yes, you can think of it as a server that records game data."

After thinking hard for a while, Changguang finally found a reasonable analogy. If he said it like this, they should be able to understand. Although it might be a little difficult to understand, according to Changguang's guess, Otto wanted to use this principle to do things that were impossible by normal methods. He was indeed a very clever person.

"This server uses various mechanisms to generate countless game worlds, and you... are just a character in one of those worlds. Every action you take in the game is recorded on this server as a save file. You can view them, but you don't have permission to modify them. You've become accustomed to this and believe that the data on the game server is unchangeable. But for the server itself, this is not the case. Do you understand what a game server is to a game?"

Using this analogy might be a little inappropriate, but in order to make them understand, Changguang could only try to use this "easy-to-understand" approach. This discovery is just too fascinating for researchers.

Chapter Ninety-Three: A Second Chance at Life

Seeing that everyone seemed to understand, Changguang continued her speech with great effort. The girl seemed to have an urge to be a teacher, and this feeling of enlightening people was very good.

"The game server called Imaginary Tree can use any game save at any point in time to generate a new, parallel world, just like how online game operators can merge servers, launch new servers, or create new ones."

Changguang explained it this way: according to her calculations, Otto probably wanted to become an editor, to edit a world where Kallen existed. That bishop was really a passionate lover, unlike some people whose decadent private lives were already known to the entire Schicksal.

"This is no different from the theories of the normal world. The new you is not the current you... just like Mr. Otto we met."

Tesla was a little confused. It was all so complicated, but wasn't it still just the concept of parallel worlds? Even if a new server was opened, Kallen would still not exist in that server, so what was the point?

"Indeed, Tesla is right. In a general sense, that's how we understand parallel worlds. But Tesla was referring to parallel worlds that already exist... Didn't you understand what I meant? What I'm saying is that at the starting point of a parallel world, at this special spacetime location, the other does not yet exist, and there is only one reality."

Changguang stretched out her finger and shook it gently. Otto hadn't told her about his own plans either; these were all deduced by Changguang through her own investigation and research. However, she thought the possibility was very high. That bishop really was addicted to the process of self-satisfaction.

"For the one who experiences this one reality... he has the future he chooses, and this may be happening every moment... but we can never be aware of the changes from our subjective perspective."

Changguang shrugged. In short, Otto felt that the game he was playing now was too trash. This trash game ruined his youth, so he planned to upgrade from a player to an administrator and then start a new game for himself. It was really an unfair move to go back to the beginning and start over.

"... Sorry, I can't understand any of it anymore."

Kiana scratched her head a little embarrassedly. Thinking had never been her strong suit; she hadn't used her brain in a long time, perhaps it had atrophied? However, although she didn't quite understand what she was hearing, she was deeply impressed. After all, Otto was doing something unprecedented, wasn't he?

"Why can't you understand... Okay, let's continue using the game analogy. For example, you are a free game character, and in front of you, there is a branching option for an event. As a free game character, you can randomly choose any of these options... But without outside information to help you, you will never know whether the contents of these options are really the same in other versions of the game."

It was indeed a bit difficult for Changguang really wanted them to understand what she meant. After thinking about it, she could only use games as an analogy to arouse their interest. Seeing Kiana's enlightened look, Changguang was very gratified, realizing that she could still be a good teacher.

"You'll never know what choices you made in game versions that don't belong to you now. All you'll know is that you are, you are now, and choices are choices. Your free will is indeed unchanging. You could even say that, for your character, the various versions on the server are completely meaningless... From your perspective, there's no turning back in your game journey, and you've only made every choice once."

In conclusion, unnecessary choices are meaningless because you don't know and can't experience them. From your perspective, there's only ever one path. This is essentially cosmopolitan philosophy... But for these Valkyrie are constantly fighting on the front lines, they probably don't have time to think about philosophy.

"So, you're actually saying that Otto plans to use some function of the Imaginary Tree to relive his life?"

Kiana didn't quite understand. All she could come to was the conclusion that it was really possible to do this. Knowing the options and then replaying the game—wasn't that the same as cheating? If she could, Kiana would want to cheat too.

"Perhaps the idea of 'living again' isn't quite right, or even the meaning is completely reversed, but... for the sake of easy understanding, let's leave it at that. It's not the important thing, after all, what's really important to you all is the motivation... that is, Mr. Otto would never let go of an opportunity to go back to the past."

I felt my mouth was getting dry, but their conclusions were still quite different from what I wanted to express. I must contact Shen Gonglin after she becomes a bishop to set up Valkyrie Philosophy Training Class. So many girls in the prime of their lives should study hard!