Is the System Bugged? / Did Jizo Mitama Give Birth?

"A month...?"

Highmore lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized what she had just realized.

In the original work, Wendy Herrscher transformation occurred in early December 2016, but due to her intervention, the Herrscher transformation of this incarnation of Wendy was brought forward to late November.

The Schicksal War took place in mid-December.

I see. No wonder he insisted on coming in person... He didn't want us to interfere with the Sirin Project, which was scheduled to take place in mid-December...

However, to prevent drastic changes to the plot, we weren't planning on participating anyway...

"Okay." Highmore raised her head. "It seems that His Lord Bishop has some reasons for insisting that we stay here, right?"

"How could that be? It's just a simple work requirement." Just as Highmore thought, Otto naturally wouldn't admit it.

"Heh, Your Lord Bishop, there are some things that are better left unsaid, pretending to be ignorant..."

"Since you specifically mentioned this, it means that this matter must be related to Wendy, but the connection is not that strong, so you used a not-so-forceful method to stall us, right?"

Otto's expression turned somewhat grim. He hadn't expected that this seemingly calm Companion Honkai Beast would be so troublesome.

"But none of that matters." Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Highmore decided to stop while she was ahead. "I only care about Wendy, so whatever plans Your Lord Bishop has, as long as they don't involve Wendy, I won't say anything."

"Therefore, I can agree to your proposal."

"He only cares about Wendy... That's true, just like the one from the Second Honkai Outbreak, so loyal..."

"However, as compensation, I hope Mr. Otto can also provide me with some conveniences."

"Oh?" Otto became interested. "What kind of convenience does Miss Highmore need?"

"Oceania has beautiful scenery, but you'll get tired of it eventually." Highmore gave an innocent smile. "So, we still need to find something productive to do."

"From the materials from the Oceania Branch, I learned that Schicksal seems to have made considerable progress in its research on the Sea of Quantum?"

"To be honest, I have a hobby of adventure, so could Schicksal provide me with a technology that allows me to reliably enter and exit the Sea of Quantum?"

"..."

Otto fell silent for a moment.

He was well aware of Highmore's abilities, but he was unsure what the outcome would be if Highmore were placed on the stage of the Sea of Quantum.

Given enough time, she might become harder to kill than anyone else...

I don't care about myself; the Highmore won't cause much of a stir in a year or two. But if we let it drag on, won't this behavior pose a threat to little Theresa...?

Otto was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

After a moment, Otto finally looked at Highmore.

"Sure. But I will only teach you how to use it, not provide you with the necessary researchers."

"If the equipment breaks down, I can also send a technician to repair it."

"It seems that Bishop Otto is quite distrustful of me... But it doesn't matter. Wendy is the only one in my world. Making this request is just to provide her with a backup plan. Your Lord Bishop doesn't need to overthink it."

"I hope Miss Highmore's words are true..." Otto stood up, ready to end the transaction.

For him, the price he paid today was already enough. If Highmore wanted more, he wouldn't agree so easily.

"Wait, Your Lord Bishop, is there something you've forgotten?"

"Um?"

"I remember you just said that I could do whatever I wanted with this body, right?"

Highmore revealed a sinister smile.

"..."

Otto gave a wry smile and made a Gaul: "If you want this Soul Steel body, it's not impossible. I'm not that desperate for it."

"However, could you give me half a day to settle my affairs? If you suddenly kill me here, it might cause a lot of misunderstandings."

"Of course, please go ahead."

"Then I will come to Miss Highmore with the user manual for the Soul Steel Body in half a day."

A figure in cyan appeared beside Highmore.

"Highmore, have you finished talking?"

"Yes, Otto is very sensible; he agreed to most of my requests."

Highmore nodded.

"How's your reunion with Theresa going?"

"Professor Theresa is still too enthusiastic... She's been giving me a long lecture, and it's not over yet..."

Wendy pouted and said, "Waaah, I'm already Herrscher, why do I still have to be disciplined?"

"You clearly enjoy it too," Highmore exposed Wendy without hesitation. "But it's good that way. It's obvious that she still cares about you."

"In short, Oceania will probably be completely our territory from now on. Of course, to keep you from getting bored, I also asked Otto for a long-term project."

"As for what that project is all about... I'll keep it a secret for now?"

"Hey—why are you keeping me in suspense?" Wendy complained. "Hmph, you're not going to tell me, are you? You're just teasing me."

"You just wait until tonight, and see if I can pry your mouth open!"

"?" Highmore was shocked. "No, explain yourself, what exactly are you trying to pry open?"

Chapter 58: Is the system bugged?

Regardless of what happened that night, Highmore arrived at the system space much later than usual that night.

Just as she expected, as soon as she entered the system, the three-person system cast mocking glances at her.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a married person before?" Even though Highmore was prepared, she was still a little embarrassed by such a barrage of gazes.

"We haven't said anything yet," Xia Ling said, pointing from the side.

"You're right, but 'I can manipulate Wendy at will' is an open-world romance game independently developed by Highmore. The game takes place in a QQ space called Safe Corner, where Wendy will be granted Sea Creatures cells to guide the power of tentacles," Flame Willow chuckled from the side.

"And you will play a mysterious character named Highmore, unlocking various strange gameplay elements through your interactions with Wendy, and adventuring with Wendy to find your lost identity—while gradually uncovering the truth that 'I am a weakling.'" Xi added the second half for her.

[This is the source of the references.]

The system clearly enjoys watching the drama unfold.

"Alright, alright, you guys..."

A blush quickly spread across Highmore's face, and then she said in a self-deprecating tone, "Oh right, so what if Wendy pushed me? You all dare to laugh at me but don't dare to empathize, right!"

"Ahem, I'm a minor, I can't watch this." Xi looked away.

"You're a damn minor, just like Theresa, aren't you?!" Highmore retorted angrily.

"Ahem, but I was with Theresa at the time. If I had been in front of Theresa... my life would have been over." Xia Ling tried to find a suitable reason.

"I don't believe you spent the whole day yesterday with Theresa." Highmore triggered an additional attack.

"No, don't look at me! I can't even beat Raven. If I were to experience the treatment you're getting, the Raven might think I'm in heat." Flame Willow quickly raised its hands in surrender.

"If you're bad, practice more." Highmore commented after securing the victory.

Why are you looking at me like that...?

"It's okay, have you finished making the AI Little Ther we asked for?"

[I'm sorry, I have to go to work now, sob sob.]

"Is this... this the pressure of graduation? It's so... scary..." Flame Willow covered her eyes.

"Stop, stop, let's put this behind us, okay? If you keep talking like this, the system space will be censored."

Xi made the suggestion with a speechless expression.

"Ahem, let's get down to business." Xia Ling cleared her throat. "In Oceania, things are basically settled, right?"

"Yes, Otto and I have reached an agreement. The gist of it is that I won't interfere with his Sirin Project, and he won't cause trouble for Wendy and me."

"At the same time, he also has to be responsible for assembling a device for us to enter the Sea of Quantum, so that I can legitimately enter the Sea of Quantum."

"It seems there's no problem." Xia Ling nodded. "Our strength during the Schicksal War was basically the same as in the original story. If we really involve you, it will be easier to disrupt the situation."

"We have prepared the collection we need to save Himeko. As long as we can ensure the plot continues as normal, we can steal Himeko out of the Imaginary Space without her noticing."

"At this point, adding other variables would only create unnecessary complications."

"So next... is the problem left over from before by the system."

Xia Ling then moved on to another topic.

Because Flame Willow has been stationed on Coral Island for a period of time, this has created a vacancy among Xia Ling's group of free agents.

According to Xia Ling's original plan, she intended to add a new clone to replace this position, but... there was a small problem with the system.

Or rather, the system has a bug.

As is well known, the character card drawn from the system is not the character's original body, but a newly generated body after the system has localized the abilities, and then Xia Ling's consciousness is copied and infused into it.

This body lacks the original owner's experience in using abilities, which explains why Xi couldn't draw before.

In this case, if an operator does not have a physical body, but their abilities come from external objects and they rely mostly on their own internal experience data to use their abilities, then such an operator will create a peculiar situation after being extracted.

The system could not scan the body data and could not create a character card template. After using the standard template, it was found that the operator's existence and abilities were dependent on external objects, making it impossible to reproduce the abilities.

At this point, the identity of this operator becomes obvious.

That's right, Xia Ling has pulled out Theresia, and strictly speaking, this operator's name is "Demon King".

As a result, the system crashed. This Little Ther's existence comes from a program in "the Continuance of Civilization," and his body and abilities also come from it. This caused the above problem when the system generated the character card.

This character originates from "the Continuance of Civilization," but is not "the Continuance of Civilization" itself; she is merely a program left behind by the real Theresia in The Black Crown.

The system can't just create "the Continuance of Civilization" because of this, but if it doesn't, the "Demon King's" abilities and body can't be reproduced, and his experience and memories will be erased. So what will this Little Ther have left?

Therefore, Xia Ling reasonably requested the system to provide a solution.

So, after a series of complaints and experiments, the system asked a question.

[My dear host, do you need an AI program?]

"What?"

[Hmm... It's highly unlikely that you'll be able to obtain a normal Theresia character card. And since Little Ther is the only six-star operator in this situation, and you even managed to pull her, there's no need to go through a major overhaul to fix the system.]

Therefore, I have an alternative plan here.

That means extracting this part of Little Ther's personality program.

[Without the Black Crown as a source of body and power, this Little Ther will only possess Theresia's personality traits, but will be unable to use her powers, essentially becoming a pure AI life form.]

"Then, what about Little Ther's memories?"

[Uh... of course not. Apart from recognizing you as its master, this AI Little Ther is brand new.]

"Is this... Theresia's version of PRTs?"

[They might be a bit smarter and have a more distinct personality... at least they won't make mistakes on your behalf.]

"It seems... that might not be a bad idea?" Xia Ling pondered for a moment, "In that case, with the help of the new character I draw later, I might be able to completely resolve my identity issue."

[However, host, please note that since this Little Ther has no physical body, you'll need to find a mechanical one for her. Of course, if you don't mind using her as a program, you can connect her directly to a computer.]

"No, no, no, how can we not give Little Ther his body?"

"There's no shortage of physical sustenance here."

Naturally, Xia Ling set her sights on a certain blond man.

Chapter 59: Kishinuma been born?

"So, it will take some time for the system to finish developing AI Little Ther. When should we connect her to Otto's soul steel body?"

"Let's put whether to accept it or not aside for now," Highmore said. "My suggestion is that you have Kishinuma to disinfect him first."

"Indeed, beware of fire, theft, and Otto."