Seele • Fulei and the Pact Between Her and Mei

Unlike the few who met the physical fitness requirements and were able to successfully enter the Fifth Squad's recruit camp through Himeko's connections, Seele did not possess any natural talent for combat.

Growing up in an orphanage dedicated to experimental work forced the little girl to endure long-term drug trials, regular blood draws, and a host of other measures that inevitably had a negative impact on her health.

This resulted in Seele's health being quite poor, which is why Su Qing'an paid no attention to her staying at home for so long, only occasionally taking her out for a stroll.

The little girl wasn't as fragile as some people thought, but expecting a 14-year-old to undergo high-intensity training was simply wishful thinking.

Seele was well aware of her situation; rationally speaking, she couldn't beat the village geese.

Even compared to someone like Fu Hua, and even compared to girls like Shiyu Qiluo and Carole, her physical coordination, reflexes, basic strength, and speed are far inferior.

For example, if Fu Hua dies in the virtual battlefield using [Thousand Stars], Seele only needs to repeat this action once to be forcibly ejected from the Virtual Pod while sensing the corresponding pain.

Based on the instruments, the little girl's frailty was such that she needed to be treated with utmost care.

Even with the strongest will, her body couldn't withstand the stress response caused by internal death.

Therefore, Seele did not object to Himeko and Fu Hua's decision from the beginning; she had no choice but to go to the Logistics Department, and this was the only path she could take.

Over the past two weeks, the little girl has been gradually getting familiar with the work in the Logistics Department.

With her almost blank experience, all she could do was check the data processed by the AI and then upload the corresponding data.

Essentially, this is a meaningless task.

The AI itself has a self-checking system, so adding another manual step, especially one performed by someone like Seele who has no relevant experience, is completely meaningless.

She understood that this was Himeko's kindness and care; if she were simply left to hang around doing nothing, she would inevitably have some ulterior motives.

However, the existence of this job allows Seele to somewhat fill the void, even when she understands the other party's intentions.

Perhaps for others, such a monotonous and tedious work process is enough to overwhelm their nerves, leaving them feeling numb and exhausted.

But Seele Fulei is different from normal people. Her monotonous and dull past experiences have dominated her personality. Even though she has come to understand many of the truths and emotions that normal people should understand and are naturally capable of comprehending during her time living with Su Qing'an.

But the grayness that filled the vast majority of Seele Fulei's 14 years of life still presented an overwhelming presence, leading to her unique way of thinking.

Behind the numbers conveyed by intelligence are lives that vanish suddenly, just like those students in the academy. The little girl still remembers how they would carefully pinch her cheeks and touch her hair as if they were handling precious porcelain.

They would ask a lot of strange questions, and they would also slip some snacks into their pockets. They would always greet me happily when we met...

There are so many more facts that prove they once lived in Seele Fulei's memories.

Looking back now, although it was an intimacy and affection that made her feel uncomfortable, she wasn't bothered by it much.

Perhaps without the existence of these people, the human named Seele Fulei would still be unable to confirm the authenticity of certain things.

It was those cool, soft fingertips and the eyes filled with affection and goodwill that allowed her to truly feel the warmth emanating from them.

These are things that even Su Qing'an could not give to Seele.

But they died just like that.

Sister Yunona who would give me real candy and hairbands, and occasionally give me small accessories, is also dead.

Her brother couldn't save her in the end.

In the end, the only survivors in the academy were a few people close to him.

So much so that, in the little girl's eyes, these sets of data, filled with the cold reality of death, also revealed vivid memories and genuine sorrow.

See, this isn't just a simple number.

It is a tragedy that has been repeated countless times around countless people.

It is a myriad of differences, it is never numb, it is a death in vibrant colors.

Even if everything ends up the same, the little girl still believes it's different; it's a result that can't be simply attributed to the cold, indifferent word "death."

Seele had heard that each corpse could produce less than 10 grams of black ash on average, but if you consider these figures, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the scene as "blotting out the sun."

She witnessed firsthand the dark clouds over Canghai City that day, the vast expanse of filth that seemed to have dyed the atmosphere black and refused to dissipate. Even though it was eventually swept away by the incandescent lightning, that image remained deep in her mind.

Even such a scene, even such a massive and suffocating death, can only represent a small part of that string of numbers.

What exactly is life?

What is the purpose of such a life, so fragile as paper, struggling in a void?

Seele Fulei thought that perhaps before meeting Su Qing'an, she had never understood what it meant to be alive.

It is not a prop, not a consumable, not a measurable unit, but a single individual that is valued, cared for, and recognized.

This feeling was absent in my past 14 years of life; it was like a piece of candy placed in my palm—hypocritical and thin, devoid of sweetness.

Therefore, when faced with the request made by the girl in front of her, Seele Fulei's first reaction was different from her initial disgust, fear, and resistance.

She vaguely recalled the smiling faces of those girls, but her memories ultimately lingered on the lifeless, corpse-like body of the boy.

Seele paused for a moment, gazing at the purple eyes behind the silver-framed glasses, and said softly:

"What can you give me, Dr. Mei?"

She had heard of Mei.

The girl in front of me is a genius researcher brought back to the Australian branch by Moth to Fire. Because she once published a paper on quantum mechanics, she has now been sent to the experimental group in the Sea of Quantum.

So it's not surprising that she would have a motive to make this request, but what is puzzling is why Mei would think she would willingly participate in this experiment on her own initiative.

What kind of coercion or inducement would be needed to make someone willing to risk their life to participate in a terrifying experiment they had already survived?

The little girl didn't think Dr. Mei was the kind of fool who would try to convince herself with grand principles and empty words.

Therefore, she must possess leverage that would give her the confidence to convince herself.

And what that bargaining chip would be... after experiencing all that... she couldn't help but care.

Mei took a sip of the water in her glass and said frankly:

"I can indeed give you something."

"But before meeting with you to discuss and confirm some things, I'm not entirely confident I can convince you."

The girl asked seriously:

"Miss Seele, what does the individual named Su Qing'an mean to you?"

The little girl's expression turned wary in an instant, but she immediately realized that even this expression could reveal a flaw and provide clues.

Seele almost immediately resumed her expressionless demeanor and said softly and calmly:

"I think this has nothing to do with you, Dr. Mei."

Mei frowned; in fact, she wasn't very good at analyzing whether someone was lying.

Mei could hardly have captured or judged the little girl's subtle expression in that instant with her limited judgment, but the sudden light and shadow on her wristwatch provided the answer.

The illusory blue data constructed a girl with a blurred face, she said:

"Dr. Mei, the analysis results prove that Su Qing'an is very important to Seele Flair."

"Based on calculations using the previously established mental model, the probability that she is willing to take the risk has increased from zero to twenty-three percent."

"In conclusion, this was a negotiation that was barely enough to keep you spending your valuable time."

Mei, noticing the strange look in the little girl's eyes after Prometheus suddenly vanished, said nonchalantly:

"This is my intelligent assistant; you can call it Prometheus."

Seele said softly:

"Too long."

Mei coughed a few times; she didn't want to get bogged down in discussing her taste, which was a combination of her ideals and aesthetics, for the time being.

So she got straight to the point:

"You don't need to worry about what I do to him, and there's no need to try to hide the fact that he's still alive."

"Almost everyone who's been following this story can guess he's not dead, but such sordid things are hard to bring to the forefront, so naturally there will be a lot of resistance."

"Furthermore, since no one knows where he is now, the fact that he is still alive will not affect his personal safety."

"Putting aside the experimental group's own feelings of liking him, I personally hope that this single individual, who is currently the only one capable of resisting the Herrscher, will continue to survive."

"The fact that Su Qing'an was willing to fight to the death against the Herrscher is enough to prove that even if he encountered such a thing, he would not take action against innocent people. To put it more optimistically, he might even be concerned about whether taking revenge on the authorities would affect innocent people."

"In short, as long as your own interests and personal safety will not be negatively affected by this person's existence, and may even receive positive feedback, you don't need to worry that I will do anything to harm him."

"My meeting with you this time does not represent the will of the laboratory, but my personal arbitrary decision and the agreement made above."

Seele was stunned for a moment; she wasn't stupid.

If Su Qing'an's survival still becomes common knowledge among those involved, even with Himeko's extreme caution, the only reason could be that Himeko, in trying to protect herself, inadvertently revealed a weakness to the laboratory.

But at this moment, she no longer felt any remorse or fear.

The reason is that since Mei deliberately brought up the key to this negotiation as to whether Su Qing'an was important to her, and stated the fact that Su Qing'an was still alive and had no ill intentions towards her, it is self-evident who the bargaining chip is.

Seele Fulei's Achilles' heel has been found.

The most tender part of her heart was torn apart by the hidden meaning in the girl's words, leaving her with a mottled appearance. This made it impossible for the other person to not have the power of speech.

The little girl suppressed all her emotions. She glanced at the watch on the girl's white wrist and knew she couldn't just believe what the other girl said so easily.

Her inner vigilance built a high wall, making her still harbor the belief that the other person's previous words were lies, a ploy to extract information and verify the possibility of those statements.

She said:

"What do you mean, Dr. Mei?"

Mei didn't notice Seele's distrust, perhaps because it was something she didn't care about.

She continued:

"I made a deal with Doctor Muen. I think you're quite familiar with him, aren't you?"

Seele frowned:

"That old man?"

Mei paused for a moment, then tried to recall how many other people in the lab matched this description. She quickly came to a conclusion and nodded affirmatively to Seele:

"That's Doctor Muen."

Seele didn't intentionally use a disrespectful tone when addressing the other person, although she herself didn't mind doing so; it was purely because she didn't know the other person's name.

She said:

"I know he must be the one in charge in the lab."

Mei nodded. Knowing this, she felt no need to explain further. She said:

"I made a promise with him."

"As long as I can use you to conduct experiments to prove that the results of my paper are correct, he is willing to give me half of the lab's computing power and all the resources within his capabilities."

"And to verify that result, I need your help."

Seemingly to avoid arousing excessive suspicion, or to establish basic trust, Mei simply used Prometheus to pull out the video of her entire conversation with Doctor Muen.

She naturally couldn't have imagined a reason to use the video at the time, but as Prometheus designed it, he independently improved some of its functions within the rules.

This includes the function of recording video at any time, and because the storage volume is extremely large, all recordings will be deleted uniformly every 24 hours.

However, this subtle ability of Prometheus inadvertently laid the foundation for today's dialogue and genuine negotiation.

After watching the video, Seele was speechless for a moment.

Perhaps Mei was just trying to prove he wasn't lying, but the girl saw far too much evidence in him that this person was extraordinary.

Mei, who is rather oblivious in this regard, may not have noticed, but Seele, with her extremely perceptive nature, clearly saw the change in Doctor Muen's attitude towards Mei.

Initially, it was the attitude of a senior looking at an outstanding junior, an act that implied that they were capable of guiding the other person and that they held a higher position than the other person.

However, since reading that experimental report, Doctor Muen's attitude towards Mei has undergone several levels of refinement.

Seele found it difficult to describe that look in her eyes.

It might sound a bit exaggerated, but at the moment the old man closed his eyes and then opened them again to look at the other person...

She could only associate it with words that implied reverence for deities.

What kind of experimental report could cause such a dramatic change in the person in charge of one of humanity's ultimate Kindling Project in such a short period of time?

The little girl had a vague premonition that Mei, like Su Qing'an, was the kind of person who couldn't be explained or judged by common sense.

The strength and uniqueness of such people cannot be judged solely by their appearance. For example, Su Qing'an appears to be just an ordinary young man, yet he is capable of fighting against opponents at the level of Herrscher.

From the outside, Su Qing'an is an incomprehensible yet undeniably real human being.

And Mei might be the same.

However, her special abilities were manifested in scientific research, and this special ability was enough to overshadow all the achievements Doctor Muen had made since establishing the project team, and the old man even discovered far more than that.

Otherwise, Seele couldn't understand why the other party would agree to such an absurd agreement. Even if agreeing to the experiment was an absurd request in itself, it was easier to refuse than to accept the possibility of something going wrong.

She asked softly:

What are the bargaining chips you've offered?

Mei was taken aback. She had initially thought that Seele would need more time and her own reasoning before considering this issue, but she quickly realized what was going on and said:

"Su Qing'an very strong; he can be said to be the strongest individual in human history from ancient times to the present."

Seele nodded. This was only natural, and it was a reality that had already been personally certified by the United Nations.

She survived being hit by a massive amount of Honkai Fission Bomb during a direct battle with the Third Herrscher.

Those who were unaware of the specific circumstances of the Herrscher at that time, and who did not understand Su Qing'an's [Stigmata] abilities, all believed that in terms of defense, Su Qing'an was superior to the deceased Third Herrscher.

The vast differences and information gaps led to this lack of understanding, but this is understandable.

For example, Fu Hua and others were only able to grasp the distance between themselves and that person after learning about the Honkai.

It was precisely because she understood the gap between them that Fu Hua trained with all her might.

And what he seeks is the same as Su Qing'an in the previous timeline: simply to get closer to the silhouette of the person in his heart.

I want to fight alongside that person.

This is the shared philosophy of Su Qing'an in the past and Fu Hua in the present.

Such a pure vision seems remarkably consistent today; perhaps this is a strange coincidence.

Mei continued:

But that's not enough.

"Human beings have limits; this is a reality I've come to understand from my brief experience researching Honkai."

"The fact that Su Qing'an hasn't appeared yet only proves that he has suffered severe injuries."

"That's easy to understand. No matter how powerful he is, his core essence is still human. What allows him to transcend all limits and fight against Herrscher is his ability and skill in manipulating Honkai Energy. Of course, there may be more things we don't know about it."

"But from a biological perspective, he still adheres to certain human limitations."

"For example, insufficient self-healing ability, or lingering physiological weaknesses, etc."

"Building on this, if he can acquire other powers, then it's not impossible for his combat abilities to evolve from being comparable to Herrscher to being able to kill Herrscher."

"And at that time, even the massive amount of Honkai Fission Bomb will not be able to kill him, and even if he is seriously injured again, it will not take him such a long time to recover."

"Su Qing'an will not fall into such a near-death crisis again. Even in a world where the Herrscher will reappear sooner or later, he has enough strength to face all threats from the Honkai and humanity."

"Your emotions are obvious even without Prometheus."

"So, I believe this is the ending you wanted to see, Miss Seele."

Seele Fulei softly:

"Dr. Mei, you're just making empty promises."

Mei remained noncommittal, and with a wave of her hand, she showed Prometheus the rudimentary plan to use the remains of Ganesha as a landing point.

Thousands of profound words and densely packed, chaotic images illuminate the interior like stars in a night sky.

At this moment, even though Seele herself could not understand the meaning of these things, the girl's serene smile and sparkling eyes still radiated a sacredness and confidence that could be clearly sensed under the blue fluorescence.

In a daze, the little girl seemed to understand a little of what Doctor Muen had felt at that time.

Some people are born different from others.

Even if one struggles to understand this difference, one instinctively grasps its extraordinary nature.

Seele stared at the girl with a slight upturn at the corners of her lips, interrupting her demonstration, and said softly:

"I don't understand."

Mei's expression froze. She suddenly realized that the other person was not an authority like Doctor Muen, who had expertise in various fields.

Anyone who could understand this plan in a few seconds would need to be at least at the level of a member of the experimental group. For Seele, who had never been to school and was completely illiterate, to comprehend this, even if she were given an hour, she could at most only recognize that the graphic structure contained detailed information about Ganesha.

As for understanding the plan instantly, that's even more of a pipe dream.

She lowered her head and coughed softly for a while, having come to find the other person only with the hope of giving it a try.

Mei completely ignored the reality that one needs to convince the other party that they are very capable and powerful, a once-in-a-lifetime genius in academia, in order to have a basis for negotiation.

It can only be said that she has a bookish personality, and it is obviously unrealistic to expect to be academically outstanding and shrewd at a young age.

Mei realized a truth: to prove one's abilities to a layman, one cannot try to make them understand how groundbreaking or feasible a rudimentary theory is; instead, one must demonstrate concrete, tangible results to gain their comprehension.

She had already given up hope of the negotiations; perhaps it would be feasible to communicate with the other party again after she had produced results in the future.

But by then, that Martial Immortal master will likely have fully recovered from his serious injuries. Even if Mei has absolute confidence in his theory that Seele Fulei will be unharmed, the chances of him allowing it are slim.

Moreover, by then, I might not need to rely on the other party to prove myself.

But just as Mei was about to end the conversation and leave, the girl looked into her eyes, unconcerned about the risks or the possibility of death, and simply said:

"But I agreed."

On the afternoon of March 7, Seele Fulei and Mei reached an agreement on this matter.

This seemingly ordinary alliance will have a profound impact on the future.