This was a requirement of the Oceanic Branch. Every day, Wendy had to undergo a physical examination, mainly to measure the degree of rejection between the Herrscher Gem and her body.
Faced with the examination, Wendy felt both nervous and expectant.
According to the experiment's chief supervisor, the Herrscher Core was currently rejecting her body. Only by resolving this rejection could the experiment be considered a success.
Not everyone could become a Herrscher.
Ordinarily, every Herrscher humanity faced was actually a vessel carrying a Herrscher Core. Only when the vessel completely abandoned its own thoughts and followed the Herrscher's consciousness could it become a complete Herrscher.
The experiment the Oceanic Branch intended to conduct was to allow a Herrscher to retain her own thoughts while also gaining a Herrscher's authority.
This was not impossible to achieve. It was simply that those capable of doing such a thing were called Divine Keys.
Humanity had to pay an enormous price to steal authority akin to that of gods, and the Oceanic Branch wanted to erase that price.
Therefore, the Oceanic Branch's Herrscher Gem injection experiment had another name as well: the Divine Right Plan.
Chen Ran watched from the doorway as Wendy was pushed inside by a Sub-God Machine robot.
He waited at the door for the results.
Before long, someone came to ask him, "How is Wendy doing? Has anything abnormal happened?"
"No, she's in good condition," Chen Ran said. "She's about the same as an ordinary Valkyrie. Nothing worth noting."
"That's good."
After asking, the person left immediately.
Chen Ran watched the person's retreating back, his brows furrowing.
There was no question about the importance of the experiment being conducted on Wendy. Yet this person's questions had been a little... too superficial.
His mind began to turn instinctively.
Wendy's situation was almost identical to Raiden Mei's. Both had been artificially injected with Herrscher Gems, but Mei had succeeded while Wendy had failed.
Yet Wendy's failure had been rather unexplained, merely a background detail that had been tossed out.
"Perhaps I really should find time to meet Raiden Mei."
The Third Honkai War had not yet occurred, and he had no intention of stopping it.
But Mei's condition might be the key to preventing Wendy from becoming a Herrscher.
The key to clearing this simulation scenario was the Fourth Herrscher, but as long as the Fourth Herrscher did not appear, it could be completed.
While he was thinking outside,
inside the Oceanic Branch, everyone marveled at the changes in Wendy's body.
"Some good news."
A researcher looked at Wendy lying in the experimental pod and told the chief supervisor, "We don't know what happened, but the rejection symptoms between the test subject and the Herrscher Gem have lessened."
"This can be regarded as anomalous data. The cause is currently unknown."
The chief supervisor frowned instinctively. "What has the test subject been doing lately?"
"She has been living normally, just like the other Valkyries. The robot caring for the test subject has observation logs, and there have been no differences."
"The only time she was outside the robot's observation was today. A researcher named Chen Ran took the test subject to the beach. According to the Valkyrie who followed them, they have a good relationship, and the test subject was in a very good mood."
"Her mood?" The chief supervisor's eyes filled with thought.
"Although emotional changes may have caused the anomalous data, the test subject's physiological structure would not change because of her emotions. There must be something else we don't know."
He said, "Continue having Researcher Chen Ran take care of her, then observe the test subject's physical condition."
"Wendy Battles Durandal"
Chen Ran lived his days in an orderly manner, and No. 666 was no exception.
According to No. 666's calculations, as long as it remained in Flame-Chaser's First Squad and continued training for another two or three years, developing the human body's muscular modules to their limit, its chances of successfully becoming a Fusion Warrior would greatly improve.
Whenever it took control of Chen Ran's body, it began considering how to use biological knowledge to modify the body, making it more compatible with Honkai so that it could survive the Fusion Warrior enhancement technology of the future.
However, its identity as a member of First Squad restricted its talents.
Chen Ran was, after all, a soldier. Most of his time was spent training. To No. 666, which already knew of Fusion Warriors, the flesh-and-blood training of an ordinary soldier was simply incomparable to that of a Fusion Warrior.
In other words, it had to spend over twelve hours every day on activities with ineffective returns.
And that investment was mandatory.
It was like some kind of "1040 Sunshine Project."
To No. 666, if its host Chen Ran had a problem, it would have a problem as well. Then it would have to face the appearance of Honkai Simulator No. 667.
So, even though Kevin objected, it still turned the dormitory into a small laboratory.
After finishing a day of training and preparing to return to the dormitory to continue tinkering with things, an unfamiliar woman suddenly called out to him.
"Hello, Mr. Chen Ran."
"I am a member of the First Research Institute and currently serve as Dr. Mobius's assistant. Would it be convenient to talk?"
Blanka, having used higher-level permissions on Flame-Chaser's intranet, quickly found Chen Ran.
She investigated Chen Ran's records and discovered that he had not used any Flame-Chaser medication. Instead, he formulated medicine for himself. Blanka began preparing it according to his anonymous papers and found that although its effects were inferior to Mobius's medicine, it had almost no side effects.
Moreover, over a longer period, the effects of Chen Ran's medicine would not be worse than the medicine formulated by Mobius.
In the end, it was simply a matter of sacrificing time to reduce side effects.
Flame-Chaser did not lack soldiers, so Mobius pursued efficiency without worrying too much about it. But Blanka was different.
Because her husband, Heng, was an outstanding Flame-Chaser soldier.
Blanka arranged to meet No. 666 in a lounge within Flame-Chaser.
Unlike the highly distinctive Mobius, Blanka had a gentler disposition.
"Sorry for taking up your time so abruptly, but there are some questions I would like to ask you..."
Over the next thirty minutes, she began assessing No. 666's knowledge base.
No. 666 responded to Blanka's assessment.
The biological knowledge from the next civilization was not lacking compared to the present one. The actual difference between the two eras lay in their understanding of Honkai; in other fields, there was not much difference.
Thus, Blanka was surprised to discover that this young man who had joined Flame-Chaser at eighteen was actually a buried talent.
At the very least, this young man's knowledge base was already enough for him to handle ordinary research institute work.
With a little training, going even further was not impossible.
Thinking of this, she could not help asking, "Mr. Chen Ran, have you considered joining the First Research Institute?"
No. 666 did not stand on ceremony. "It would be my honor."
--
"Chen Ran, do you know? My physical condition is looking very promising now."
After coming out of the experimental pod where she had undergone her examination, Wendy chattered excitedly to Chen Ran beside her. "They said the rejection between my body and the Herrscher Gem has lessened. If the rejection completely disappears, I'll become the first Artificial Herrscher."
"At that point, I'll be able to stand again, and then I'll have a chance to catch up to Durandal."
As a genius, Wendy naturally possessed a genius's pride and goals.
Durandal was the person she pursued.
That was also why she had agreed to the Herrscher Core integration experiment in the first place.
At its core, the Herrscher Core integration experiment was about allowing humanity to steal divine authority. That was the essence of the Divine Right Plan.
And once the plan succeeded, Wendy would gain a Herrscher's authority. At that point, surpassing Durandal would not be impossible.
Seeing the excitement on Wendy's face, Chen Ran felt happy for her as well.
He suddenly felt that the reward given by the system was rather good.
After all, it was biological knowledge. That meant he actually had a chance to help Wendy stand again.
"Mm-hm, good. Then you need to make full preparations, master your Herrscher powers, and storm headquarters to challenge Blade of Immovability."
With an exaggerated expression, he imitated a Shenzhou novel. "Then Black Whirlwind Wendy arrived at Schicksal Headquarters and demanded by name that Durandal come out to meet her."
"Adjutant Rita stepped out first and shouted, 'Halt! Who goes there, and what is your purpose?'"
"Wendy sneered. 'I'm here to challenge your school.'"
Then Wendy smacked him on the arm. "You're awful. Who makes up stories about people like that? I'm not some kind of villain."
Chen Ran made something up casually. "Don't want to be a villain? Fine, I'll change it."
"Then, in Blade of Immovability's training grounds, after Durandal single-handedly defeated all of Blade of Immovability, she sighed. 'None of you are my match. Who in this world can battle me?'"
"Rita coordinated from the side. 'I have heard that in the Oceanic Branch, there is a Valkyrie named Wendy who has mastered divine authority. She is the strongest under heaven.'"
"Durandal's heroic spirit surged. 'Good. Once I issue a challenge letter, I will depart for the Oceanic Branch.'"
"When the news reached Wendy's ears in the Oceanic Branch, everyone around her was terrified. Wendy spoke boldly, 'Durandal is nothing but a mere child. With Herrscher authority in my hand, I'll make sure she never returns!'"
Wendy laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.
"Pfft, what kind of prejudice do you have against me and Durandal? Still, it's pretty funny."
Although she knew Chen Ran was only saying those things to make her laugh, Wendy could not hold herself together whenever she pictured it.
"If Durandal knew you were writing her like this—no, it's still too funny."
She said, "Being a researcher really is wasting your talent."
"Yeah, I think so too. If I ever switch careers and start writing novels, remember to support me. The title of that book will be Wendy Battles Durandal." Chen Ran could not suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth either.
Wendy said, "Then I'll buy a copy for everyone in Blade of Immovability."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
However, what Chen Ran did not know at that moment was that Wendy carried a special device capable of constantly monitoring her physical data.
The device was synchronized with the Oceanic Branch's computer terminal, and the plan's chief supervisor recorded the fluctuations in the data.
"Doctor, the test subject's rejection symptoms with the Herrscher Core are continuing to lessen. If this continues, our plan has a very high chance of succeeding."
"The reason?"
The chief supervisor said, "I want to know exactly what is causing the symptoms to lessen."
The researcher said instinctively, "I don't know, but according to the records, it seems to be related to her mood. The issue should lie with Researcher Chen Ran."
At that moment, their conversation was overheard by a researcher hidden in the shadows.
PS: A lot of the Oceanic Branch's settings have not been explained, so I'll be adding some original background details and incorporating them from here on.
PS: Also, please vote a little. Your kid is starving to death. Writing solo is really painful.
The Divine Right Plan, First Death
Because of Wendy's special circumstances, Chen Ran was fortunate enough to avoid the tedious work of ordinary researchers.
He had not given up physical training, but Wendy did not expect much from him. As long as he reached the standard of a normal person and had a somewhat sturdy physique, that was enough.
"So why am I still this tired after running five kilometers?"
Chen Ran felt that he was going to become enemies with "five kilometers."
According to Wendy, five kilometers should be the standard for a normal man.
He was naturally a normal man.
So every day, he was tormented terribly by "five kilometers."
Wendy looked at Chen Ran and could not help saying, "There's a serious problem with how you train your body. Running with too much force can easily injure your knees."
"I think running itself has a serious problem." He argued confidently. "It has already made me reject life itself."
Before you continue