A Dying Person / Everyone Converges

"More or less. I still have things I need to finish. Until then, I won't lose myself."

Wendy glanced at the blood-red whirlwind floating in the distance, then gently brushed her hair and the decorations by her ears, her expression softening.

"I know what you're worried about, Professor Theresa. Don't worry, I haven't killed any innocent people. Not a single one."

"She wanted me to control the Herrscher Core with my own will. Although it was difficult, I did it."

"She... I'm sorry, Wendy."

"It's alright, this has nothing to do with you." Wendy shook her head. "In my heart, St. Freya is still my alma mater, and you are still my teacher."

"Speaking of which, has Sister Xia Ling arrived?"

"She went to investigate... Highmore's matter."

"Please tell her for me." Wendy's expression softened a little more. "No need to go through all that trouble. I've already investigated everything that needed to be investigated."

"I'll take care of the revenge. As Highmore's friend, I don't want her to get her hands dirty."

Theresa took a deep breath and said, "I understand what you want to do, and I won't stop you. But Wendy, have you thought about what will happen after you take revenge?"

Are you afraid that I'll feel empty after taking revenge, and that the Honkai?

Wendy tilted her head. "Don't worry, it won't happen, Teacher Theresa. I think I'll be very happy then."

Wendy smiled happily, as if she had thought of something wonderful.

"As for the Herrscher Core, please rest assured that it will no longer harm others."

"Wendy? What... do you mean?" Theresa's face grew anxious. She had seen Wendy speak in this tone many times before, mostly... when people were saying goodbye.

"Don't do anything foolish! I don't think Highmore would want you to do this!"

"Don't worry, Teacher Theresa, I haven't finished what I need to do yet."

Wendy's voice suddenly became ethereal.

"As for the Far East Branch... it's best not to get involved with me any further."

"After all, I am a person with no future."

Wendy's figure vanished from the deck in an instant, and Theresa realized that the Wendy in front of her was just a liquid illusion.

"Theresa? What's going on? Why are you standing on the deck for so long?"

Himeko's voice came through the earpiece.

"Phew... Himeko, I'll send the message to Xia Ling myself."

"I've already... seen Wendy."

Chapter Forty-Five: The Dying Man

"Hello? Yes, Theresa, it's me. What's up?"

In the ruins of the Oceania Branch, the two, who were just about to set off, received a communication from Theresa.

"Hmm... Oh? Wendy went to find you?"

"Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the call, Xia Ling let out a long sigh.

Highmore, who had shared Xia Ling's feelings throughout, remained somewhat silent.

"I think I understand now, Wendy is... planning to die with you."

"So we need to find her quickly."

Highmore clenched her fists.

"The situation may not be that simple. Wendy and Theresa's conversation has been sent to my terminal. As you can see, her situation is much more complicated than in the original story."

Xia Ling kept scrolling through the messages sent by Theresa.

"With Wendy's current strength, let alone being beaten by the Big Three and Titans like in the original, even the current upgraded the Big Three would probably not last more than a few rounds against her."

"This increase in strength is a bit abnormal..."

"In that case, let's split up into two groups."

Highmore suggested.

"If Wendy really is trying to kill herself, then the place she prepared for herself in the end... I roughly know where it would be."

"I'll go there and wait for them to come to me, while I do some preparations. You, on the other hand, will return to Hyperion and check the situation."

"By the way, Otto's people may have already landed in Oceania. It would be troublesome if they saw us traveling together."

"Preparation?"

"Well, I need to modify an area in advance, as well as modify my body structure, to facilitate the reason I prepare later."

"Okay, then, we'll keep you updated with any messages."

Xia Ling nodded, and her body vanished instantly.

However, not long after they parted ways, Xia Ling received a message from Tesla.

"Xia Ling, is the document you just sent me the prototype for the Schicksal's Desire Gem experiment?"

The moment the call connected, Tesla's signature profanity echoed in Xia Ling's ears.

It was clear from the Doctor's voice that he was very excited, so Xia Ling silently opened the word blocking system that she had asked Duck Duck to design.

"Yes, Doctor, Wendy... what's wrong?"

"It's not a matter of how she is or isn't!" Tesla's voice was extremely agitated. "Which genius came up with this 'cute' plan? Did they have water in their brain?"

"Is Wendy capable of withstanding the Desire Gem? Does her physical condition and Honkai Energy resistance allow her to participate in this kind of experiment?"

"Ah?"

Now it was Xia Ling's turn to be dumbfounded. "Doctor, but Wendy is already a rare genius on Schicksal's side. She was already A-rank Valkyrie at the age of 14..."

"So you think that A-rank Valkyrie are very strong?" Tesla's voice calmed down instead, probably because he felt that Xia Ling, an academic idiot, wouldn't understand if he got angry, so he simply explained.

"Even if she is S-rank Valkyrie, it is a different matter from whether she can accept the Herrscher Core."

"Human beings have limited resistance to Honkai Energy, especially people like Wendy who haven't awakened their innate Stigmata. No matter how talented she is, her upper limit is still the limit of an ordinary person. To give you a familiar example, someone like Rita."

"While wearing Valkyrie armor, they can approach Herrscher unharmed and ignore the Honkai Energy concentration around the Herrscher Core, but that doesn't mean they can insert the Herrscher Core into their bodies."

"In my opinion, this 'Little Cutie' project is a classic example of 'great strength makes great things happen.' It's just that Wendy is tough and has a certain compatibility with the Desire Gem. She was able to implant the Desire Gem and survive, so she's been able to stay in this state indefinitely."

"So, under normal circumstances, Wendy has virtually no chance of becoming Herrscher?"

Xia Ling asked, somewhat incredulously.

"No, quite the opposite, she can."

"The fact that she was able to accommodate the core without dying immediately under these physical conditions fully demonstrates that she and this Herrscher Core have a certain degree of compatibility."

"Let me give you another example. Welt Yang faced this situation when he inherited the Herrscher of Reason Core."

"His body simply couldn't withstand the drain on the Herrscher of Herrscher of Reason Core, but he had a certain compatibility with the core, so by taking Herrscher of Reason's ability to repair a car while driving, he maintained a balance between himself and the core."

"As for Wen Sidi, her compatibility with this core was a full 23%, which is a high number for ordinary people, but her body could not withstand the load brought by the core at all. So the core autonomously went dormant, saving her life."

"If time goes by, perhaps in ten or twenty years, Wendy's body will adapt to the effects of the core and achieve another stable state."

"But even in this state, he is still much weaker than a normal Herrscher."

Xia Ling fell silent.

A moment later, she asked a question.

"Then... Doctor, what if Wendy's strength is not only not weaker than the other Herrscher, but is actually much stronger than the Herrscher of Thunder who appeared in Changkong City before?"

"For example, an energy level of 4000 HW."

On the other end of the communication, Tesla did a simple calculation and then gave Xia Ling a reply that made her heart skip a beat.

"If that's really the case... then she's probably not far from death."

"Just as Yang can unleash the Herrscher of Reason Core completely regardless of his physical condition, given Wendy's compatibility, her full power would obviously be even more terrifying, and reaching 4000HW is entirely possible."

"But... she doesn't have the ability to reshape her body like the Herrscher of Reason."

"So... she really was trying to kill herself?" Xia Ling hung up the call, "Highmore, you must have heard it too."

"Yes, we need to speed things up."

"More and more people are appearing now. I need to return to Hyperion as soon as possible and then take Hyperion with me to provide support."

"You should also get ready as soon as possible. Theresa told me that headquarters seems to have sent Durandal and Rita together."

"Otto's plans are still unclear. In the worst-case scenario, we will face Durandal and the Immortal Blade. Due to my identity, I cannot reveal too much. If a real fight breaks out, I will probably have to rely on you."

"I'm already heading to the sea area where Wendy and I met." Highmore's figure moved rapidly through the water. "I don't think Durandal and the others are here to attack Wendy. However, if a fight really breaks out, with my strength, even in my Paranoid Bubble form, I estimate I'll use up a lot of consumables."

"On the contrary, the resources needed to restore Wendy's body were not as much as I had imagined."

"No problem. Like I said, prioritize saving lives. We have enough supplies."

Chapter Forty-Six: Gathering of All Parties

"Himeko, Xia Ling sent me a message."

On the bridge of the Hyperion, Himeko, who was studying a map, suddenly heard Theresa's voice.

"Send a drone to this location and bring Xia Ling back."

A coordinate was sent to Himeko's terminal.

While issuing the instructions, Himeko asked, "Has Xia Ling found out anything from her investigation?"

"I don't know, but she said the situation is a bit complicated and she needs to come back and talk to us in person."

Theresa shook her head. "But judging from her tone, it's clearly not good news."

A moment later, a travel-worn Xia Ling returned to the bridge.

"Phew... Theresa, bad news, and..."

"Tell me the good news first," Theresa replied without hesitation.

"And worse news... Unfortunately, there's no good news."

Xia Ling shrugged.

"I've heard enough bad news today... Never mind, tell me the less bad news first."

"Good. The bad news is that the situation is exactly as we guessed. For some unknown reason, the Oceania Branch killed Highmore and did some things to Highmore that are hard to describe, and Wendy saw it."

"As a result, Wendy had been silent for two years, immediately became Herrscher, destroyed the Oceania Branch, and is now hunting down those who escaped from the branch at the time throughout Oceania."

"Sigh... I guessed that. All I can say is that the only lesson humanity can learn from history is that humanity can't learn anything from history."

Theresa sighed angrily, "Same this time, same this Second Honkai Outbreak."

"Don't worry, there's worse news."

Xia Ling took out a USB flash drive.

"According to Wendy's medical report... never mind, here's a document of unknown origin but very reliable; you can look at it yourself."

"Huh?" Theresa, looking completely bewildered, took the report from Tesla. A moment later, her expression turned quite grim.

"How did you obtain this report? Are you sure everything in it is true?"

"Absolutely true. If that doesn't work, you should know some scientists, right? You can send it to them to take a look."

Xia Ling solemnly assured him.

Theresa thought for a moment, then forwarded the document to Einstein.

At this moment, Einstein had just finished discussing Wendy's situation with Tesla, looked at the report sent by Theresa with a puzzled expression.

A moment later, Einstein sent the report, which had been originally intended for export but was now being sold domestically, back to China, with perfectly correct annotations.

Theresa couldn't sit still any longer.