The campfire had already gone out, leaving only lingering smoke. Himeko stood on a rock some distance away, gazing into the distance.
Chen Ran opened his bleary eyes, feeling as though he had had a very long dream.
He had dreamed that he returned to the real world, and Wendy had come along with him.
His eyes still stung slightly. Chen Ran had not rested well last night. After all, after doing something like that with Wendy, it was difficult for him to fall asleep with a clear conscience.
He instinctively tried to turn over and get up, only to suck in a sharp breath.
"Hiss..."
The beach was too hard, and Wendy had been leaning far too close, with nearly half her body pressed against him. His waist and back were overwhelmed by a wonderfully painful soreness.
It felt as though someone had punched and kicked him in the middle of the night.
Could it be that Himeko didn't like the look of me and beat me up while I was asleep?
It took him a long while to adjust to the state of his body.
Still, he held himself back from waking Wendy.
The pale light of dawn shone across the sleeping girl's face, making her look like a princess from a fairy tale.
He could not bear to shatter her dream.
After thinking about it all night, Chen Ran understood.
Since this was only a simulation scenario, there was no need to dwell on whether it was real.
Once this scenario was cleared, he and Wendy would most likely never meet again. So whatever Wendy wanted to do now, he would indulge her.
He could not take responsibility, nor could he shoulder such responsibility.
Dreams were phantoms of consciousness. It was enough to let this phantom last a little longer.
Just as he calmly accepted that outcome, a massive Floating Battleship appeared over the horizon in the distance.
Himeko, who had been looking into the distance, sighed in relief and called out loudly, "Hey, wake up! We're going back to St. Freya!"
Chen Ran's consciousness began to blur.
The simulation had reached its limit again.
Mei's Breakthrough Results
Warning: The current simulation has reached the upper limit of the host's mental consciousness capacity. Continuing the simulation will result in consciousness confusion. The system is temporarily ending the simulation scenario. Congratulations, host, you have obtained a physical enhancement. It has been detected that the Herrscher of Wind's favorability toward the host has increased. The system is granting an additional reward: increased Honkai Energy adaptability. According to the system's calculation of your consciousness capacity, the optimal time for the next simulation is ten hours later.
Chen Ran gradually came back to his senses.
The system's cold voice reminded him that the memories from the simulation scenario were all false.
That included skydiving, the campfire, and even the kiss.
He took a deep breath, feeling the strength in his body gradually increase as he instinctively examined his surroundings.
Chen Ran's mind began synchronizing with No. 666's memories.
While Chen Ran had entered the simulation scenario, No. 666 had not been idle either.
With Durandal's help, Mei and No. 666 had been conducting simulated experiments related to the Divine Right Plan.
According to Mei's original idea, since a Herrscher Core contained an extremely high concentration of Honkai Energy, Soul Steel could be used to reduce that concentration, then establish a connection between humans and Soul Steel. This was, in fact, the theoretical prototype of a Divine Key.
However, Chen Ran did not support this plan.
Mei did not argue against Chen Ran's opinion. In any case, she now had all the data she needed and could simply set up another project for her own research. As for the Divine Right Plan, she was merely cooperating with Chen Ran—No. 666—for the time being.
They had originally thought that, in theory, the Divine Right Plan was impossible to complete.
Whether it was calculating the threshold of Honkai Energy a human body could withstand, or accounting for the rejection reactions that would occur even if a person could endure Honkai corrosion, neither issue could be resolved by the current computer modules.
The Herrschers humanity faced now had not displayed any so-called emotions, so people of this era had yet to realize that Honkai was actually influenced by consciousness.
But Chen Ran knew this.
Accordingly, No. 666 knew it as well.
Thus, No. 666 had Durandal input an emotional module and construct a relational function between emotions and Honkai Energy adaptability.
Then, both No. 666 and Mei made different discoveries.
Honkai Energy adaptability actually had a great deal to do with consciousness.
Flame-Chaser, First Research Institute.
Based on the modules constructed by Durandal, Mei began building multidimensional models and functions.
She had not expected consciousness to have such a significant effect on Honkai Energy adaptability.
No—not only her. Even the entire Flame-Chaser had never considered this aspect.
According to Flame-Chaser research papers, Honkai Energy adaptability should have been like antibodies within the human body, a substance that emerged after birth.
It was a physiological substance, so Flame-Chaser researchers instinctively believed it had little to do with consciousness.
But reality proved that Honkai Energy adaptability was deeply connected to consciousness.
Mei knew what this meant.
It meant that humanity's research into Honkai could not be based solely on observations of four-dimensional space. Another dimension had to be established: the dimension of consciousness.
She felt somewhat regretful.
Because this was not her specialty.
For that, she had no choice but to consult an expert in this field: Mobius.
Mobius showed an unusual degree of interest in the research observations made by Mei and Chen Ran.
She had always pursued biological evolution. However, she did not participate in Mei and Chen Ran's joint research. Instead, she began providing the necessary data samples and support, allowing them to proceed on their own.
It could be said that Mobius was nurturing her juniors.
But according to Blanca, Mobius herself simply found it troublesome.
Still, with Mobius supporting them, Mei was effectively able to mobilize the First Research Institute's resources. The corresponding materials and data would no longer be withheld from her.
That meant the stage for Mei to display her talents had also been set.
Mei's knowledge of biology was one of her weaker areas. Coincidentally, No. 666, having absorbed the system's knowledge, specialized in biology. The two worked very well together in that regard.
Coupled with Durandal's exceptional computational capabilities, the Divine Right Plan, which had seemed nearly impossible, gradually gained a feasible foundation as its theoretical flaws were corrected bit by bit.
After synchronizing the memories, Chen Ran could not help but sigh.
Geniuses truly were worthy of being called geniuses.
When he had first joined Flame-Chaser, he had been curious why Mei could become one of Flame-Chaser's higher-ups three years later.
After all, although Mei had displayed talent at the time, it had not seemed particularly extraordinary.
But now, it seemed that Mei, like Durandal, possessed an exceptionally powerful ability to learn.
He even began to suspect that Mei had secretly ripped out Durandal's learning module and used it herself.
All he could say was that one could not use an ordinary person's way of thinking to understand the realm of geniuses.
Still, this was a good thing.
At least, for now, it was.
"Based on rational calculations, a conclusion can now be reached. Under normal circumstances, humans cannot fuse with a Herrscher Core."
At this moment, Mei and Chen Ran were discussing the matter.
"According to the functional relationship, fusing with a Herrscher Core requires extremely high Honkai Energy adaptability. Theoretically speaking, the human body does not possess sufficient Honkai Energy adaptability."
Chen Ran blinked. "But in reality, this theory can be broken through, right?"
"That's right."
Mei said, "Under the relational models of various functions, thought and consciousness have a major influence on Honkai Energy adaptability. If special patterns of thought could be implanted into the human body..."
Chen Ran blurted out, "Stigmata?"
"Hm? I hadn't decided what to call it yet, but using this Christian term to describe it does seem fitting." She paused. "Then let's call it stigmata for now."
"By implanting stigmata into the human body and forming a conscious framework that resists Honkai, it would indeed be possible for the body to produce sufficient Honkai Energy antibodies. And that is precisely Dr. Mobius's area of expertise."
Chen Ran fell into thought.
So the conclusion was already clear.
If the Divine Right Plan was to succeed, the power of stigmata had to be awakened.
Chen Ran knew that Wendy possessed stigmata within her body. That was also why she had been chosen as an experimental subject.
In that case, what he needed to do was simple: help Wendy awaken the full power of her stigmata, allowing her to contain and control the Herrscher Gem.
Meanwhile, Mei organized this conclusion into a report and submitted it to Mobius.
At this point, she still lacked sufficient resources to conduct deeper research. Yet she had not realized that this research would go on to affect the entire world.
It would even plant the spark for the next era.
"Mei, can I borrow Durandal for a while longer?"
Chen Ran made the request of Mei.
Mei froze slightly. "Sure."
During this period, she and Chen Ran—No. 666—had worked rather well together. More importantly, because of Chen Ran, she had gained a faster and more comprehensive understanding of the field known as Honkai, opening the door to new knowledge.
So lending him Durandal was no big deal.
"Thanks. I'll try not to break it."
Mei: "..."
P.S. Seeing only a pitifully small number of recommendations every day is too much for me.
At midnight tonight, I'll release all my saved chapters. There will be six updates in total.
8
Please, everyone, give me some votes.
The Reserved Big Boy Kevin
For Chen Ran, awakening the power of Wendy's stigmata could only be done through Durandal.
Even Mei, before stigmata had appeared, could not fully prove how the power of stigmata could be awakened. And if he waited for the Stigmata Plan to be arranged, it would be far too late.
Durandal was a very remarkable artificial intelligence. What made it remarkable was that it could learn on its own.
Learning and storage were not the same thing.
Storage could only perform calculations using known data, while learning could transform unknown variables into known ones.
Chen Ran also knew that Honkai was not something that could be completely calculated through data simulations. But for now, this was the safest method.
What he was thankful for now was that, as an unofficial member, he had no additional duties. Mobius had always kept the permissions open and had not squeezed him for labor.
"Durandal, I'll have to trouble you next."
Chen Ran spoke to the Soul Steel computer.
Durandal blinked. "It's no trouble, but I won't help you unconditionally either."
Before you continue