Chapter Two: Dust-Covered Past / Chapter Three: Vill-V's Plan...?

Hey? Missed me?

As soon as she entered the Elysian Realm, familiar greetings rang in Xia Ling's ears.

"Of course I miss you, Elysia. But right now I miss Vill-V or Doctor Mobius more."

Xia Ling, who was already familiar with Elysia's speaking style, responded smoothly.

"Huh? It's not the cutest Pink Fairy Lady I want? I'll cry~"

Elysia hugged Xia Ling's arm, swaying it between her ample breasts.

"Stop fooling around... Elysia, I really have something to do this time, but it's perfect that you're here, so come along too."

"Hmm... I'll go find Vill-V. Elysia, could you call Serpent over too? She might be involved in this whole thing..."

Elysia moved much faster than expected. When Xia Ling arrived at the Spiral Workshop, Elysia was already talking to Mobius and Vill-V.

Good evening, Xia Ling.

Coincidentally, the personality that was outside today was the conductor, and compared to the other personalities, the conductor was one of the easier ones to get along with.

"So, is there some real-world trouble?"

"Just thinking about it, I know it won't be a small problem. Otherwise, the lab rat wouldn't have specifically called me over as well."

"Mobius said slowly."

"That's true, and it's definitely not a small problem."

Xia Ling gave a wry smile and slowly recounted the whole story.

"Wow... that's true. I just mentioned it to you a few days ago, and you actually encountered it just a few months later..."

Are you just unlucky?

"If I could, I wouldn't want to either, but the Corrosion Key isn't something ordinary, and it's also related to the Stigmata. How was I supposed to encounter such a complicated situation?" Xia Ling was on the verge of tears.

Seeing this Serpent chuckled and said, "If this matter is not handled properly and the Herrscher of Corruption descends again, it will indeed be a devastating blow to the current civilization."

"Let me think... tsk, creating the Corrosion Key was indeed very troublesome, in every sense of the word." Vill-V recalled the situation back then, somewhat helplessly.

"Huh? There's actually a problem that even you find troublesome?" Elysia teased Vill-V.

"Because this involves an experiment by Mobius, and Elysia, you were... close to the end at that time, so you might not be aware of it."

After glancing at Mobius and finding that he had no objections, Vill-V continued:

"If it's just about forging a Divine Key, then it's not a difficult task for me."

"However, the problem is that Mobius conducted an experiment to 'replicate' the Herrscher of Corruption."

"Hua was the facilitator of that experiment. With Mobius's help, Hua stole the Black Box that sealed the Herrscher of Corruption and was briefly possessed by the Herrscher of Corruption for a period of time."

"I don't know what Mobius did during this time, but Hua saw Ling crying alone in the dark during this short period of 'possession'."

"So, you understand now, it's not that I'm incapable of creating the Corrosion Key, but that I can't erase Rin along with the Herrscher of Corruption if I'm certain she might still be alive."

"Furthermore, the Finality was fast approaching, and we had to complete more important plans within a limited time. So, I could only reinforce the seal on the Black Box with Mei and then immediately throw myself into other projects."

"So, that's what happened next..."

"Hmph, after you die, we'll have a lot of trouble to deal with, and the Herrscher of Corruption is just one part of it."

Serpent gave a soft hum and continued to add to what Vill-V had said.

"Don't accuse me of deceiving Hua or anything. You know what the purpose of that experiment was. However, Ling's situation was indeed an unexpected bonus."

"At the time, we did consider bringing the Black Box into the Elysian Realm to continue our research, but the power of erosion was too risky for the memory. We could no longer afford such a risk, let alone at the Elysian Realm."

"So, in the end, we could only find a place to seal the Black Box. However, we never expected that it would be related to Mei's Stigmata."

"With the Stigmata Space as its base, the Herrscher of Corruption has an invincible place with almost unlimited authority, which is indeed not easy to deal with."

"So... this is still a legacy issue?"

"That's right. You don't have much information to offer right now, so my suggestion is, little guy, go and fulfill your duty as a guinea pig."

Mobius gave advice that was very much in line with her style.

"But I don't have any breakthrough ideas right now..."

Xia Ling frowned and said, "I tried to find the location of the Stigmata Space, but strangely, Theresa's situation doesn't seem to indicate that she has entered the Stigmata Space."

"It's normal that you can't find the Stigmata Space. This is a place where the Corruptor can live and thrive. If it could be easily discovered, it wouldn't be the Herrscher of Corruption."

Mobius then spoke up, saying that although the Stigmata was not her main focus, she still knew a little about them compared to the Divine Key.

"The power of erosion is extremely versatile and has some similarities with the Mental Perception type. It is not difficult to erode and change other people's dreams."

"Moreover, although death in the Stigmata Space means true death, dying in the Stigmata Space is not an easy thing."

"And this Theresa you mentioned... happens to be a Fusion Warrior has been fused with Vishnu Gene. I know more about her abilities than you do. If we were to kill her in the Stigmata Space while she is conscious... it would probably take a lot of time."

"However, that's not necessarily true. If the erosion could perform something like hypnosis on her..."

"So, my suggestion is that you go into her dream yourself and take a look." Vill-V picked up the conversation. "I will make something for you that will allow you to enter other people's dreams, but... never mind, I won't say anything more for now."

"You'll know when the time comes."

"This... how come you've become a riddle master too, Teacher DaV?"

"What kind of strange nickname is 'Teacher Big V'...?"

"Moreover, it's not that I don't want to say, but that I can't say." Vill-V shook her head mysteriously. "Of course, if you don't believe me, you don't have to. Anyway, I believe you can find the device to enter dreams on your own."

"How could I not trust you? I just need to follow Teacher DaV's arrangements. Since you won't say anything, I won't ask a single question." Xia Ling blinked, her tone full of trust.

"Of course, the same goes for Serpent." Xia Ling, who knew Mobius very well, added before she could speak.

"Little lab rat, I told you not to call me by your weird nickname!"

Vill-V was unusually silent for a moment before looking at Xia Ling.

"Absolute trust... If you can really do that, many things will fall into place."

"In any case, you should give it a try first. After all, Mei is mainly in charge of the research on the Stigmata. We two don't know much about it, so we can only give some suggestions based on your feedback."

"Also, although I don't have high hopes, if possible..."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out." Xia Ling knew what Vill-V wanted to say, "If the bell really still exists in the core of that Herrscher of Corruption, then I will do my best to bring the bell back."

Chapter Three: Vill-V's Plan...?

Late the next night, carrying the equipment that Vill-V had given her, Xia Ling came to Theresa's bedside again.

"According to Vill-V ... I need to activate this device at the same time as touching that Stigmata."

Xia Ling hung the device, which resembled a bone conduction headset, on her ear, and then began skillfully undressing Theresa.

Then, Xia Ling touched the blood- Stigmata on Theresa's back with one hand and pressed a button on the device with the other.

The moment she pressed the button, an almost irresistible drowsiness swept over her, and as she lost consciousness, Xia Ling seemed to vaguely hear Aponia's voice.

"Please..."

"Thud." As if hypnotized, Xia Ling collapsed onto Theresa and fell into a deep sleep as well.

When Xia Ling opened her eyes again, she found herself in a small village with a very distinctive Far Eastern character. The familiar shapes of some of the buildings gave Xia Ling a strange sense of déjà vu.

"Is this... Yae Village?"

"It looks quite similar to Yae Village in the game, but I don't know if the map is exactly the same."

"Never mind, the most important thing right now is to find Theresa..."

Just as Xia Ling thought of the name Theresa, as if triggering some mechanism, the voice of Vill-V Xia Ling rang in her mind.

(It's me, Vill-V. What's on your mind right now is a message. Don't be surprised.)

(Now, whatever you were doing before, keep it the same and don't give anything away.)

(I'm sorry to tell you that I lied to you in the story about the Elysian Realm. Actually, this device is not for entering dreams.)

(Of course, entering a dream is a piece of cake for me, and this device can also help me enter a dream, but its purpose is not to help you enter a dream.)

(What I didn't tell you in our previous discussion about the Herrscher of Corruption is that because we don't know how much the Herrscher of Corruption has recovered its power, I can't create a dream-entry device that will ensure you're 100% undetected by it.)

(And even if it doesn't detect you, it will immediately sense you approaching Theresa once you enter the dream.)

(So, I decided to play along and let it discover that you wanted to enter my dream.)

(So, whatever its plan is, in order to prevent you from becoming a variable, it will most likely pull you into another dream, separating you from Theresa.)

(And in this dream, through its attitude towards you, we can deduce what state the Herrscher of Corruption is currently in. After all, according to you, there may be two or even three consciousnesses vying for power within that Stigmata.)

(Of course, it's also possible that the Herrscher of Corruption never intended for you to enter the dream and simply kicked you out. But even so, the result we get is just alerting her, the same as a normal attempt to enter the dream.)

(As for why I didn't tell you before... When the Herrscher of Corruption controls you into a dream, she may be able to read a part of your surface consciousness. If you knew about this plan in advance, you would inevitably recall the relevant content during its execution. Therefore, this arrangement had to be kept from you.)

(As for this part, I borrowed some small things from Mobius to protect it, so as long as you don't give anything away, it won't find out.)

(That's all for now. Your current task is to probe as much as possible about the Herrscher of Corruption's attitude towards you. So, feel free to experiment. Try to meet as many people as possible in the dream world. Good luck.)

So, this was actually Vill-V's plan?

Xia Ling pretended to be curious, looking left and right.

Determine its situation by testing its attitude towards me...

It does seem feasible.

My situation seems a bit difficult. After all, if Erosion gains the upper hand in the power struggle with Yae Sakura, I'll probably be targeted quite badly.

It's tragic, but so be it... at least dying in a dream won't affect reality. However, I still feel like this plan is a bit...

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Xia Ling cleared her mind of the jumbled thoughts. Since Vill-V's task was to test the waters, she could just let herself be.

Anyway, it's always right to trust influential online figures.

After walking for a short while, Xia Ling saw a house in the distance, indicating that she had arrived near the village.

"Hello, sir."

Seeing an old man sitting at the door, Xia Ling walked over and greeted him warmly.

"Oh my, isn't this the shrine maiden? You just came back from exorcising demons in the bamboo forest."

The old man greeted Xia Ling warmly.

"?"

What? Waaah, it's me?

"Vill-V, I really don't know whether to call you bold or arrogant?"

In the Elysian Realm, the Serpent looked at Vill-V's experimental records with a furrowed brow.

"Why haven't you said anything for so long, Doctor Mobius?"

Do you need me to explain it to you?

Vill-V leaned back in her swivel chair, draping her long, voluptuous legs over the backrest, idly spinning around.

"Based on Xia Ling's explanation, we can see that this erosion doesn't hold absolute dominance within the Stigmata Space. Rather, it's a 60/40 split with Yae Sakura, with a slight advantage. Otherwise, it wouldn't need to go to such lengths to increase Theresa's so-called sense of immersion. And under these circumstances, we can..."

"Stop. Don't try to fool me with these common-sense tips that anyone who has studied the Stigmata would know. I have no interest in the reasoning game in the first half of your plan."

"I just want to know, Shen, what do you mean by the second half of your plan?"

"You dare to devise such a plan based on just a guess? Where is your rigor as a scientist?"

"This is not a guess; I have evidence."

Vill-V stopped spinning, her voice unusually calm.