Chapter 499

While waiting in the central district, Shen Gonglin and Kiana were also clueless. Soon after, Mei and Bronya arrived and saw Shen Gonglin and Kiana looking hesitant. Had something happened?

"It's nothing, it's just that... just now, Durandal and the others in the outside world detected the Herrscher signals of me and Shen Gonglin, and thus had a special communication with us in some way. Bronya, Seele, and Li Sushang are also with Durandal now. They were forcibly teleported to the moon in reality under the effect of the Stigmata Plan, and they are currently in the same location as us."

Kiana shared the information with Mei and Bronya. Knowing Bronya was worried about her sister, this reassured her. The Stigmata Awakener selected by the World Serpent were currently at the New Atlanta Vault on the moon. Her actions in rebuilding the bridge had affected the external reality, allowing Durandal to establish brief communication with them.

New Atlanta? Mei's brow twitched. She had heard Raven mention this place name before. She had said that World Serpent was going to arrange for Xiao Kong and the others to go on vacation to New Atlanta. Kiana should also remember Xiao Kong, right?

"Of course I remember. Back in Changkong City, Mei made them sweet pepper curry, and I ate quite a bit of it... Oh dear, thinking back now, I really did a lot of stupid things back then."

Kiana responded enthusiastically, and this unintentional conversation touched on a sad memory between the two. At that time, Kiana had lost her sense of taste, and not wanting Mei to worry, she pretended to enjoy Mei's curry, saying happily that it was just a little spicy. How could sweet pepper curry be spicy? It was at that time that Mei learned how bad Kiana's health was, which is why she decided to become the Herrscher of Thunder again to ease Kiana's burden.

This was a rift between the two, but this time, they were able to smile at each other, as if recalling embarrassing moments from their childhood, and face them with ease from the bottom of their hearts.

"... Shen Gonglin, Bronya thinks we should be under the car, not inside. The two of them look like a good match."

Not knowing anything about this, Bronya felt excluded. The girl floating in the air reached out and tugged at Shen Gonglin's sleeve, thinking how well the two of them got along. She and Shen Gonglin shouldn't bother them; it would be best if they just got married on the spot.

Bronya remains determined to get the two of them married.

"... Ahem, yuri is nice, but it doesn't allow you to have children... Let's get back to the main topic. Based on the current situation, that is, once we break through this World Bubble, we can at least meet up with Durandal and Seele directly, and then think about our next course of action."

Although he was happy to see the two of them reconcile, Shen Gonglin also sensed that the atmosphere between them was not right. So he quickly interrupted, saying that they should take care of business first. Shen Gonglin never thought that he would have to worry about this kind of thing, and the person he was worried about was a girl.

"That's right. But... Mei, Bronya, Durandal also raised a concern with me. It's about Dr. Mei. According to Durandal, Dr. Mei previously told us..."

Kiana told Durandal and Schrödinger about Dr. Mei's speculation that she was hiding something. After learning this information, the two girls were also deeply suspicious. Mei was unwilling to believe that Dr. Mei would hide anything. After all, she had experienced the Elysian Realm and knew what the heroes of those Previous Era were like. And their leader, Dr. Mei, should not have any bad intentions.

"Bronya believes that if something seems amiss, then we really need to find Dr. Mei and discuss the matter clearly."

Bronya made this suggestion, and Kiana wanted to ask for another person's opinion, since she seemed to have a natural sense of trust in Dr. Mei. What was her opinion on this?

"Speaking of which, what about those Herrscher of Consciousness?"

Kiana mentioned a great lady who didn't want to work overtime. What would she say?

"She should still be with Dr. Mei. At least, I haven't told her what's going on through our mind connection yet."

Chapter 355

"Haven't you told her about this yet? Bronya has a feeling that things might get interesting soon."

Bronya had this premonition, and Mei and Kiana wholeheartedly agreed. Just imagine how the Herrscher of Consciousness would react if she knew about this suspicion? Doesn't she hate being deceived the most?

"Indeed. However... I always felt that she had complicated feelings for Dr. Mei, so we can't guess how she will react."

Kiana also had this speculation, but based on the inexplicable trust that the Herrscher of Consciousness had in Dr. Mei, she couldn't guess what the outcome would be.

"When the Class President was still a member of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Dr. Mei was the de facto leader of the Flame-Chasers. Perhaps, for the Herrscher of Consciousness, the doctor was also an old acquaintance of hers in some ways."

Mei explained that only she and Shen Gonglin knew about what happened during the time of Flame-Chasers. Kiana and Bronya, of course, did not know what kind of influence Dr. Mei had on the Herrscher of Consciousness possessed all of the Class President's memories. It was not entirely true that she was suppressed by her former superior; rather, she was influenced by Dr. Mei's unique charm.

"So it seems Dr. Mei is very good at understanding her psychology. However, if Dr. Mei is hiding something from both her and us..."

Bronya stroked her chin, speculating that it wasn't some conspiracy, but more like...

"Hmm. Perhaps it has nothing to do with personal gain, but rather some kind of sad secret. I always felt that I could guess how she would answer our questions."

Regardless, Kiana and the others refused to believe that Dr. Mei was really the mastermind behind some conspiracy theory. Like the Herrscher of Consciousness, they had a natural trust in Dr. Mei and believed that he must have some hidden reasons.

"Is it simple? In any case, why don't we just go and ask her directly? Let's find out what really happened."

Shen Gonglin casually remarked that there was no point in guessing here, so they might as well just go and ask Dr. Mei what she was thinking. This suggestion was unanimously agreed upon by the girls; they were right, they should just ask her directly.

On the other side, Dr. Mei was watching the Herrscher of Consciousness talk on and on with a faint smile. After the others went to do what they needed to do, Little Herrscher of Consciousness came over to chat with her. At this moment, the Herrscher of Consciousness was sitting on the steps telling Dr. Mei about the embarrassing things that some old relic had done. She never tired of telling these stories, no matter how many times she told them.

"Then, this old relic was seriously injured again and lost consciousness. Isn't she stupid? Now, she's even been tricked into going to Europe by that guy named Otto."

They spared no effort in fabricating stories about Fu Hua, attempting to ruin Fu Hua reputation. If it were me, I would never do that. I could easily deal with those seven treacherous bastards who betrayed their master and ancestors. I would never be like that old relic who was deceived by others and even became Otto's henchman. It's truly shameful.

"I think that person named Otto must be no ordinary person either."

Dr. Mei smiled and said, "It seems that Hua has indeed experienced a lot in places I don't know about. It must have been really hard for her. It must have been very tiring."

"Huh? If he were still alive, that would be fine! Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore, it's bad luck to mention him. Anyway, he's dead now. That guy was the world leader his whole life, but he only had one woman in his heart who had been dead for five hundred years. Guess what? It's said that he actually traded his life for hers and brought that lady back from another world. I heard from Shen Gonglin that the woman is doing quite well now. Can you believe it?"

It's like a storyteller making a witty remark: Otto gave his life in exchange for another, entrusting that world to Shen Gonglin. The woman whose life Otto gave in exchange gained some knowledge and actually changed the direction of the world. It's really hard to know what to say.

"... I see. No wonder Prometheus recorded an energy peak powerful enough to affect the entire planet in an instant, even without the Herrscher of Finality descending. After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life. If he really did that, the only possibility is the so-called reversal of fate."

Dr. Mei nodded and finally understood what Prometheus had recorded. That Otto... although Little Herrscher of Consciousness described him as a villain who did all sorts of evil, it was undeniable that he was indeed a very capable person. He could fool the gods and reverse time; he was definitely not an ordinary person.

"Hmph! Even Shen Gonglin could do something like that. And why are you praising him? In my opinion, you haven't met him in person and don't know how disgusting he really is. Shen Gonglin said he often forces Valkyrie to peep at him while he's bathing; he's definitely no good!"

Seeing that Dr. Mei actually seemed to be praising Otto, Little Herrscher of Consciousness muttered indignantly, "It's not like they're the only ones who can do this. Shen Gonglin could do it too. Besides, he wouldn't cause such a big commotion. I can't let Dr. Mei keep praising Otto. I have to let her know what kind of bad person Otto really is."

"... If that's true, then I'll have to reassess what kind of person Otto really is. But, Little Herrscher of Consciousness, you seem to really admire Shen Gonglin, is that right?"

It's obvious that this must be Shen Gonglin making things up about Otto, right? Forcing her Valkyrie to peep at him while he's bathing? No one would do something like that. Without delving deeper into the matter, Dr. Mei steered the conversation towards Shen Gonglin. During the Herrscher of Consciousness's animated narration, she mentioned Shen Gonglin every five sentences. It's clear that Shen Gonglin is very important to her. Given Little Herrscher of Consciousness's very perceptive nature, Dr. Mei could deduce the relationship between Shen Gonglin and her.

"... It's not that I'm praising them, it's just... how should I put it... we'll definitely get married someday, so it's normal to trust each other a little, right?"

When Dr. Mei mentioned Shen Gonglin, Little Herrscher of Consciousness scratched her head and said somewhat embarrassedly. Dr. Mei was genuinely surprised that someone with her personality would say something like that. Would Shen Gonglin marry Little Herrscher of Consciousness Mei the future? What about Kiana and Mei...? Dr. Mei felt her head was a little messed up. So this era is already this advanced?

And Little Herrscher of Consciousness is like this... then what about Hua? What's her situation?

Chapter 356 The Truth

Dr. Mei was seriously pondering how Little Herrscher of Consciousness had managed to burn out the CPU with just one sentence. At that moment, Kiana and the others arrived, and Dr. Mei put aside her thoughts of exploring their emotional history. The doctor gave Shen Gonglin a meaningful look, thinking, "This guy's private life is quite chaotic."

"Dr. Mei, Little Herrscher of Consciousness, we're back."

Kiana greeted the two of them. It seemed that the two had been chatting quite enthusiastically while they were gone. Little Herrscher of Consciousness had an instinctive affinity and trust in Dr. Mei. Although it was far less fanatical than those with fixed life forms, it was enough for Little Herrscher of Consciousness to stay by her side and chat with her. She felt that if they stayed any longer, Dr. Mei could extract all the information Little Herrscher of Consciousness knew.

"Oh? You're finally back. We've almost gone through the entire history of the past 50,000 years."

With his arms crossed, Little Herrscher of Consciousness seemed rather smug for some reason. Luckily, they were back, otherwise Little Herrscher of Consciousness would have been really worried that Dr. Mei would become interested in that guy Otto. Seeing how interested she was in his behavior, Little Herrscher of Consciousness really felt that if they had met earlier, they might have had a very pleasant conversation.

"Well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. You didn't want to work overtime, so you came here to chat with people?"

Bronya spoke calmly, but her words made Little Herrscher of Consciousness grit her teeth. What nonsense was this flat-chested loli spouting? This made it sound like she was deliberately shirking her responsibilities. Even though she hadn't taken any action, it was because she had to oversee the overall situation. Did she think setting up a communication channel for the Herrscher of Consciousness was easy? She had to monitor everyone's condition and consider whether to provide assistance. This flat-chested idiot, didn't she know anything?

"Alright, in any case, the preparations for activating the Tree of Void Divine Remnant should be considered complete."

Bronya has indeed changed a lot. You know, she wouldn't have been like this before, but now she can even joke with people. To avoid the Herrscher of Consciousness getting angry, Mei changed the subject. At the same time, the three little ones also turned their attention to Dr. Mei. Based on the information Kiana had given them, they needed Dr. Mei to explain. Shen Gonglin took on the task of comforting Little Herrscher of Consciousness.

This girl is clearly angry. If she isn't properly appeased, Shen Gonglin is worried that she might cause trouble for Bronya. The two of them fought before back in Mount Tai Xu, and Little Herrscher of Consciousness even mocked Bronya's Herrscher Authority back then. We can't let the two of them fight here.

"It's all taken care of. That's the first step, and we can consider the preparations complete... However, it seems you have something else to ask me?"

With a calm gaze, Dr. Mei seemed to know everything. Looking into their eyes, Dr. Mei showed no hesitation. If you have any questions, please ask.

"Yes. To be honest, during the process of completing these preparations, I received communications from the outside world. They are my comrades-in-arms, who have been forcibly transported to the moon in the real world by the Stigmata Plan. And what's even more coincidental is that... some of them participated in the experiment to help the World Bubble establish contact with the terminal you mentioned."

Kiana truthfully explained the situation, and Shen Gonglin quietly grabbed Little Herrscher of Consciousness's arm. This was something they had discussed beforehand; given Little Herrscher of Consciousness's fiery temper, who knows how furious she would be if she knew Dr. Mei was lying to them. So, Shen Gonglin's task was to soothe Little Herrscher of Consciousness. The clueless Little Herrscher of Consciousness thought Shen Gonglin wanted to get closer to her, and the girl was smugly pleased with herself. See? The person he's closest to is still her.

"I see."

Dr. Mei nodded slightly. Now she understood why they looked at her like that. They already knew about what she had been hiding... no, what she hadn't had a chance to say yet.

"Doctor, it seems you didn't tell us the whole truth about this World Bubble for some reason, right?"

Mei asked in a deep voice, and seeing Dr. Mei nod again, Little Herrscher of Consciousness finally realized that there was something they were being kept from.

What?

Seeing that Little Herrscher of Consciousness was becoming irritable, Dr. Mei first looked at her and gave her a reassuring look. It was time to exercise her leadership authority. This was a very effective strategy for Hua, or rather Little Herrscher of Consciousness.

"Calm down. Hua, you should understand that when something is in a state of great complexity, concealing some information is not deception, but a necessary process of sorting things out. The origins of the world are intricate and complex, originally beyond human control, but by using the power of sorting, ignoring the less important parts, we can predict the workings of all things to a certain extent. And this is the essence of physics."

This... she must have Little Herrscher of Consciousness Shihua on purpose, using that name to awaken Little Herrscher of Consciousness's instinctive trust in his memory, and then spouting some grand principles to confuse Little Herrscher of Consciousness. As expected of Dr. Mei, this strategy is really dirty... but it's also really effective. Seeing Little Herrscher of Consciousness calm down, Shen Gonglin began to think about whether she should learn this method herself.

"Okay, okay. So you're saying that these concealments weren't intentional?"

It was very useful for Shibao's persuasive skills. Before Herrscher of Consciousness could even get angry, she calmed down again. Anyway, that's just her personality. This wasn't the first time Shibao had been fooled, and now she was getting used to it.

Simply put, she was manipulated once again. They all said that she wasn't the real Fu Hua, and she didn't want to be the real Fu Hua either. But now that Dr. Mei was calling her that, it gave Little Herrscher of Consciousness the illusion of being officially recognized, which made her secretly pleased.

"Yes. Because those details are not important to you, they are just trivial matters that don't need to be taken seriously. However, now that they have been asked so earnestly, I will try my best to explain them clearly. In any case, there is no need for misunderstandings between us."

Having easily resolved Little Herrscher of Consciousness's problem, Dr. Mei looked at Shen Gonglin and the others, preparing to give a serious explanation. If they harbored any resentment because of these matters, it might affect their subsequent actions.

"Simply put, the part of the fact that I omitted before is this: when everyone successfully establishes a connection with the imaginary side, the probability that this World Bubble can naturally connect back to it is not very high."

He revealed what he had been hiding: in short, the World Bubble is unlikely to be saved through that method.

Chapter 357 Absolute Rationality

As if she were talking about something related to herself, while the others were still pondering what she said, Dr. Mei casually stated the fact. So what was her purpose in doing this?

"And even if we could achieve that... due to the lack of usable anchor points, the World Bubble would only be forcibly merged with the Intrinsic World. This means that Prometheus and I would most likely disappear."

Dr. Mei once again uttered this terrifying prediction about the future, leaving Kiana and the others speechless. Would they simply disappear? This meant... Following the gaze of Prometheus, who had remained silent, everyone looked at the broken bridge that Kiana had repaired. The mechanical girl's eyes held a profound meaning.

"Do you remember the state of that bridge before? After this World Bubble became a tool, the bridge's intact state conflicted with the corresponding collapsed state in the Intrinsic World, and the result is as you have seen... The Shen Gonglin and Kiana were able to contact their comrades outside just now should be directly related to their use of the Herrscher of the Void's power to repair the bridge."

As expected of a renowned sage, Dr. Mei easily deduced the truth with limited information. It must be said that being with such a person is truly reassuring, as if she can analyze and understand any problem smoothly.

The heroes of the Previous Era must have felt the same way.

"Yes. You're right, and my comrade said that from the perspective of three-dimensional space, we are actually in the same location on the moon."

He recounted Durandal's statement. Although they were currently in the World Bubble, they were not far from Durandal and the others in terms of location. After all, the fact that they knew about his repair of the broken bridge proved the truth of the matter.

"That's to be expected. Kevin's act of sealing you all here through the Stigmata Plan itself would cause the World Bubble to rise and bring about this result. In fact, even the core of our current plan, that Tree of Void Divine Remnant ... it only appeared because the Stigmata Plan chose our World Bubble. Didn't you question Prometheus before? Asking her how such a thing could appear in the depths of the Sea of Quantum."

There was no surprise at how things had developed, as it was all within Dr. Mei's predictions.

"... Wait a minute, does that mean that even if we do nothing, this World Bubble will eventually merge with the outside world?"

Mei raised her hand and asked her question: According to Dr. Mei, this World Bubble is destined to merge with the Intrinsic World, so wouldn't all their preparations be in vain? It shouldn't be that they can just wait to complete it.

"That's right. In that situation, you could also return to the real Earth, but by then... the Stigmata Plan would most likely be completely finished, and your Herrscher Core would probably be completely deactivated. You see, in that case, the fate of this World Bubble itself is indeed not the point for you, right?"

Dr. Mei shrugged and said that this was the truth he had been hiding... or rather, hadn't mentioned. Right now, the most important thing for them was time, so the issue of the World Bubble wasn't their focus.

However, this statement did not gain the approval of Shen Gonglin and the others. They remained silent, but the hot-tempered Little Herrscher of Consciousness could not hold back any longer. The girl glared at them with her red eyes, clearly dissatisfied.

"What is this? You mean... you want us to treat you like that World Serpent, like we are?"

He was very unhappy. Wasn't this treating them like the World Serpent, disregarding the life or death of the World Bubble and sacrificing it for their own purposes? This was unacceptable to Little Herrscher of Consciousness, let alone Kiana and the others.

"How you view us is your own business. But the reality is undeniable: whether it's Kevin personally or the Stigmata Plan, time is your enemy."

Dr. Mei spoke very rationally, and it was precisely this attitude that made Little Herrscher of Consciousness extremely unhappy. This senseless attitude made her grit her teeth, which reminded Little Herrscher of Consciousness of something from a long time ago. The girl clenched her fists, wanting to vent her dissatisfaction. Did she know what she was saying?

"You! You...you're always like this, aren't you? You're just as cold and ruthless to everyone else, to Kevin, and to yourself."

An absolutely rational person is indeed terrifying.

Thirteen Flame-Chasers were like this, and so was their leader, Dr. Mei. Little Herrscher of Consciousness wanted to get angry, but she didn't know what grounds she had to stand on. After all, they were doing this to help them, but she was really unhappy with their attitude.

"For my work, excessive emotion is more harmful than helpful. Imagine a general living in a time of war. If he is competent, he will surely love each and every one of his soldiers deeply, but even so, when calculating troop strength and assigning tasks, he must turn these living soldiers into a bunch of numbers on paper. Without this work, humanity cannot utilize the power of science."

Dr. Mei gave an example: she didn't want to tell them the truth before, in order to avoid the current situation. Even if she told them the truth, her choice would not change. She would not give up the Intrinsic World for the sake of the World Bubble. However, she did not expect that they would find out, which is why they are facing the current situation.

"Don't worry about it. This is an inevitable contradiction between human nature and reality. The fairness we can achieve lies precisely in treating everyone and everything with the same standard."

The absolutely rational statement silenced everyone. Although the person in front of them was so weak that even the most ordinary Honkai Beast could crush him, they all felt a terrifying emotion. Even Shen Gonglin was silent at this moment.

Dr. Mei... truly worthy of being the leader of the Previous Era.

"Relax. The harsh reality for your generation is actually on the other side of the story. Rather than lamenting the fate of history... what you should be doing is guiding the future, right?"

As if to ease the somewhat tense atmosphere, Dr. Mei said these words with a smile, but this had little effect on easing the tension, and Kiana did not agree with this.

Chapter 358 The Girls' Tea Party

Instead of lamenting the fate of history, we should guide the future? This sounds like the right choice, but Kiana doesn't want to accept this arrangement. What is this? Using a World Bubble as a tool to achieve their own goals? This approach is completely out of line with Kiana's aesthetics.

"You're right, that is indeed our mission. But... Doctor, mission isn't everything in life, and I think that's what everyone should care about."

Kiana shook her head, trying to make this completely rational doctor understand her thoughts. Kiana couldn't be completely rational, and she didn't want to become that kind of person.

"Oh, that's quite simple. Now, there's still quite some time before Prometheus has finished some preparations, so let's learn from someone and hold a tea party for the ladies?"

Having learned what Kiana was talking about, Dr. Mei smiled and made the suggestion. Kiana and Bronya might not know who she was referring to, but Shen Gonglin and Mei instantly knew which Pink Elf she was talking about. No doubt about it, only she would make such a suggestion.

Shen Gonglin felt a little heavy-hearted at the thought of her, while Mei felt a flutter in her heart... or rather, a flutter of Pink Elf's heart. It seemed that although she couldn't contact her now, she should still be able to sense some of the situation here.