Vita

"Here it is..."

Zhu Yufeng stood in a strange place bustling with people. He was certain the Present he wasn't in any place he recognized, and...

Zhu Yufeng looked down at his palm, then at the clothes he was wearing, and concluded that he was still wearing... It's also possible that this is a holographic world specially made by the Cocoon of Finality.

He stood in front of the shop window and saw his reflection: long silver hair, silver eyes... So, becoming Herrscher really does make your hair grow longer...

He tried to sense the existence of Honkai Energy. Clearly, this world also contains Honkai Energy. So why was he here? And why the Present he here as a Herrscher?

What tricks is the Cocoon of Finality playing now...?

Previously, the Cocoon of Finality showed Zhu Yufeng some fragments and information, which surprised Zhu Yufeng somewhat, because what the Cocoon of Finality showed him was not consistent with what he knew.

For example, in this world, life once existed on both Mars and Venus.

Although Zhu Yufeng knew before he transmigrated here that Mars and Venus, the fourth and second planets in the solar system, had both had the conditions to give rise to life, Mars was unable to protect its atmosphere, causing oxygen to dissipate, and Venus may have had some reason that caused a problem with its rotation, thus also losing the opportunity to give rise to life.

This also applies to the world.

After I transmigrated here, I learned about some differences between this world and the world I came from, but at least in terms of the fundamental nature of the universe, the two worlds are basically the same...

In other words, at least I haven't seen any evidence of Venus or Mars ever existing here.

However, the scene shown to him by the Cocoon of Finality told him that before the birth of civilization on Earth, civilizations had also been born on Mars and Venus in this solar system.

So, is Qianjie a Martian or a Venusian? And even if those two planets had civilization, they would have been gone hundreds of millions of years ago, right?

We've digressed. The most urgent thing the Present is to figure out why the Cocoon of Finality brought him here. It's obvious that Honkai Energy is stored here, so this is a sign that the Honkai are either not yet aware of the need to fight against Honkai. Zhu Yufeng doesn't care about this sign; he doesn't want to fight the Honkai here again.

After all, Elysia isn't here, and if she is, it's not the one he knows.

Therefore, there is no reason to fight for it.

Zhu Yufeng recalled what Elysia had once told him, "In countless worlds, there may be countless Elysia, but the only Elysia has met and fallen in love with you is me."

Zhu Yufeng continued to ponder. If the Cocoon of Finality indeed only within the solar system, but based on the information from the Fire Moth, Earth was the only known planet in the solar system, then where did the Cocoon of Finality transport him? Or was this just a holographic experience similar to the Cocoon of Finality?

He recalled the final warning of "Lucifer" simulated by the Cocoon of Finality: what has been will be again... In addition, the Cocoon of Finality showed him the destruction of the civilizations of Mars and Venus, so this was to let him experience the destruction of one of these two planets' civilizations in his entirety.

And then you think that this will make you feel powerless against the Honkai?

That's bullshit.

Am I fighting against the Honkai for the sake of humanity?

As Zhu Yufeng thought this, he looked up at the sky. The sun hanging high in the sky seemed to be bigger than he remembered, but the sunlight was not too scorching.

So this is Venus?

In the early stages of the formation of the solar system, Venus did indeed belong to the habitable zone. However, over time, Venus has long since left the habitable zone, at least several hundred million years ago.

Zhu Yufeng looked around again. He didn't know where he was going next, and no one had given him any hints...

Suddenly, someone bumped into him from behind, and a girl's voice sounded behind him, "Oh, sorry, sorry, I was in a bit of a rush and didn't notice you."

Zhu Yufeng turned to look at the girl who was hurriedly apologizing, and then he froze. The girl in front of him had purplish-red eyes and gray hair, so much so that for the first time, he felt like he was looking at a female version of Su...

Wait, a female version of Su?

Not long ago, Su had approached him and asked him to carve the same scar on his arm as in his previous life using the Black Abyss White Flower technique, in order to prevent that woman Su from finding him again and possessing him.

"No, it's me blocking the way." Zhu Yufeng stepped aside to make way. "If you're in a hurry, then don't delay."

"Thank you, uncle~"

The girl ran away laughing.

Zhu Yufeng: "?"

Uncle?

Zhu Yufeng looked at his the Present in the shop window. He was clearly young, so why was he being called an "uncle"? Besides, didn't Su say that he harbored great evil within women? This was at most a bit of a perverse sense of humor, right?

Tsk, he still knows too little. He doesn't even understand what the Present situation is, and he's already encountered a Su who seems to be a female version of the character.

As my thoughts raced, the surrounding scenery seemed to change in that instant.

When Zhu Yufeng came to his senses, he found himself standing inside a research institute. This further confirmed to him that this was a trick by the Cocoon of Finality, and that this was likely one of the many civilizations destroyed by the Cocoon of Finality —a record from before its destruction.

"Eh? You are... Ah, you're that uncle! Uncle, what are you doing here?"

A familiar voice rang out, and Zhu Yufeng turned to look at the girl who looked very much like Su. However, she the Present more mature than she had a few seconds ago, and she was wearing a lab coat.

"We only met once, yet you remember me," Zhu Yufeng said, looking at her.

"After all, you don't seem special, uncle," the girl said, shrugging. "Besides, I'm quite confident in my little bit of special ability, you know~"

"Really?" Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment. If this girl was really the one Su was talking about, it would be normal for her to have some special abilities. In addition, as a specific human being in the Honkai world, it would be unreasonable for her not to have some special skills. Anyway, this is a holographic image, so there's no harm in learning more information.

So he asked, "And why are you here?"

This time, the girl was surprised. She looked at Zhu Yufeng suspiciously and said, "Uncle, you're not a spy sent from somewhere, are you? But that doesn't make sense either. That would be too unprofessional of you."

Zhu Yufeng crossed his arms and watched the girl's somewhat exaggerated performance.

"I've thought you were weird ever since we met, sir," the girl said, stroking her chin. "You're not some kind of alien, are you?"

Zhu Yufeng glanced at the girl's other hand behind her back and guessed that she was trying to lull him into a false sense of security before striking him deadly... Fortunately, she wasn't too naive, at least not as foolish as she appeared on the surface.

Girl. "..."

Just now, was this guy thinking she was a little silly?

"If you think so, then so be it," Zhu Yufeng said.

"Oh—" the girl drawled, "So you really are an alien, sir!"

I don't think I'm old enough to be swayed by such an older man.

Zhu Yufeng thought to himself, he had a strange feeling. Was he really watching a holographic image? Why did it feel like he could participate in it?

"So, this alien uncle, which planet are you from?" the girl asked with a smile, walking towards Zhu Yufeng with her hands behind her back.

"If this is the second planet, then I must be from the Third Planet," Zhu Yufeng said, crossing his arms and looking at the girl. "The thing you're holding behind your back is way too easy to spot, isn't it?"

"Oh dear, we've been discovered." The girl, Zhu Yufeng, showed her hand, which she had been keeping behind her back. Sure enough, there was a strange device in her hand, which was probably a stun gun or some other self-defense weapon.

"The Third Planet ..." The girl glanced at Zhu Yufeng thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "So, can we tell each other our names first? My name is Vita, which is the 'Vi' in 'teeth gently biting the lip' and the 'Ta' in 'tongue tip gently flicking the teeth'. What about you, Uncle?"

Vita? It's not Su... Well, after all, Kevin and Kiana are like that too, so does a person's name actually have an extra character after gender swap?

"Lucifer." Zhu Yufeng casually uttered the name he had used to appease Michael, which later became his official identity.

"Lucifer ...it sounds like it has some special meaning."

"It means the morning star," Zhu Yufeng said. "If you are on the Third Planet, and you can see a bright star on the horizon just before sunrise, that is the Morning Star of the Dawn, which is the second planet."

After listening to Zhu Yufeng's explanation, Vita's doubts only deepened. She began to have doubts about the man's identity. It wasn't that he could really explain the meaning of the name, but rather his consistently nonchalant attitude and... In short, there was no doubt that this man possessed an aura from the Abyss.

Is he an apostle of the Abyss?

His nonchalant attitude stems from his confidence that he can't do anything about him.

Vita pondered. She should have sounded the alarm immediately and concentrated the resources within the research institute to eliminate this Apostle of the Abyss. However, she had never encountered an existence with the power of the Abyss who could communicate with him before. Therefore, Vita wanted to learn more about the situation.

The result was that it seemed like I didn't understand anything at all.

While this planet is indeed the second planet, the Third Planet... based on current observations, there doesn't seem to be any sign of civilization on it yet. However, probes launched there have proven the existence of some relatively primitive life forms. If given a few hundred million years, the Third Planet could probably naturally evolve to the level of civilization it inhabits.

However, due to the existence of the Abyss, the people here have no way to leave their planet, nor is there any need for them to...

However, based on my experience, he doesn't seem to be lying, or rather, he's more likely too lazy to lie.

This is interesting...

From Third Planet that has never been illuminated, it carries the aura of the [Abyss]...

Logically speaking, one should suspect the purpose of this person's presence here, but this person has always given me the feeling of indifference to everything around him. He is clearly very young, and I have called him "uncle" so many times, but he seems not to care at all. Perhaps the only thing he is interested in is me?

After a moment of silence, Vita finally made a decision. She decided to probe the man in front of her further and try to obtain some information from him, even if it was only a possibility, related to the Abyss.

So she spoke up, "Well then, sir, would you like to come with me to tour this research institute?"

Fortune favors the bold, let's do it!

Zhu Yufeng looked into Vita's eyes. They were abnormal and strange. Assuming that the holographic projection of the Cocoon of Finality was powerful enough to make the characters inside react to his words and actions, but... wasn't this Vita a little too strange?

Logically speaking, he should be someone of unknown origin and strange behavior, more likely to be mistaken for a lawyer, or someone who claims to have always been a lawyer... But Vita insisted on taking him on a tour of the research institute...

What is she thinking? Or rather, what does she want to do?

But right now, I also need to know more information. Anyway, it's not a bad thing to know more. I'll write it all down and then go out and give it to Mobius and the others to study.

Next, after being shown some of the research institute's facilities and learning about the situation by Vita, Zhu Yufeng confirmed some information: in this Ming Dynasty, the Honkai was equivalent to the Abyss, and although the Ming Dynasty's classification of the so-called Abyss Beasts was different from that of the Fire Moth, they were roughly the same.

Furthermore, this Ming... seems to be inferior to the Fire Moth in terms of technological strength. The Gnawing Star-level Abyss Beast sounds very powerful, but... Zhu Yufeng's assessment is that this so-called Gnawing Star-level is probably similar to the End-of-Dharma level.

Logically speaking, shouldn't a planet-eating creature be something that devours planets, as the name suggests?

Then Vita looked at him strangely and said, "According to your understanding, it's truly a miracle that we've managed to hold on until now."

At the same time, she also sized up Zhu Yufeng. This guy had an "Is that all?" attitude towards all the abyssal beasts, but it was difficult for her to get information from him. She really wished she could read his mind...

Or perhaps he knew he couldn't possibly show him any classified equipment, and that what he did show him was simply beneath his notice?

Moreover... Vita also confirmed something else: as far as humanoid creatures were concerned, this guy seemed to only be interested in her; he would only glance at others and then not look at them again, and couldn't even remember their names.

What a weirdo...