Sea of Quanta: Raiden Mei in the World's Famous Painting, 8K

Sea of Quanta.

Raiden Mei wanders through the crevices of the corridor of memories; this is the eighth day of her search for clues to [[Ashes]].

She had accidentally wandered into the area of Chrono-Chaos Tribulations Battle. She clearly did not intend to stay there, but she was still dragged into a battle where she could not distinguish friend from foe by that madman Flame-Chasers. She wasted almost a day before getting away from that area and ended up in a sorry state.

She had to return to the Golden Courtyard to make corrections before continuing her journey to find the Flame-Chasers she knew from [[Ashes]], leaving her utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

But given Raiden Mei's personality, if it weren't for the fact that entering the deep world of memory construction requires a certain amount of mental effort and concentration, she would probably continue exploring without sleep.

Unfortunately, even though her body has been kept in a strange state where it can recover its energy and satiety on its own without needing to eat or drink anything since this area was sealed off, she still needs some sleep to recover mentally.

Therefore, in order to keep her spirits up and prevent herself from falling into a slump, Raiden Mei had to frequently return to the Golden Courtyard to rest for a while.

And often at this moment, a Pink Fairy Lady would come closer and whisper to herself, her behavior striking the perfect balance between being affectionate and aloof.

As for the topics that were forced to unfold, they were almost all about Raiden Mei's gains along the way, which was basically gossiping about things she had heard about [[Ashes]] from other Flame-Chasers.

To be honest, she seriously doubted that what she had learned from Sakura was something Sakura actually knew all along, but simply hadn't told her.

For example, [[Ashes]]'s true identity is unknown to anyone, his level of mystery, and even his past achievements.

These were generally accepted beliefs in the previous era, and the other party, being Flame-Chasers, would naturally understand them.

But she didn't say it.

Ah, women.

On the other hand, Elysia is indeed a very good listener. She always shows a curious and interested expression and atmosphere, which makes it easy for the storyteller to feel comfortable.

--This is on the premise that the speaker is willing to share beforehand.

In short, during her week of rest in the Golden Courtyard, she didn't see anyone except Elysia.

Perhaps, as Raven said, for the cadres of each generation, it is normal to see two or three Flame-Chasers in the entire trial. These memory entities with different personalities do not deliberately hide from the previous cadres. As long as they live in the depths of the memory corridor, it is enough to make it difficult for people to find any clues.

If the identity of Herrscher hadn't been so novel to the Flame-Chasers of the previous era, Raiden Mei wouldn't have been able to be certain how many Flame-Chasers she would eventually meet.

So now, finding these people is an incredibly difficult problem.

Mobius, who used to occasionally wander around Raiden Mei, stopped coming to her on his own initiative after his failed attempt to steal her body last time, probably because he didn't want to make a fool of himself.

But for today's girls, this has become a troublesome matter.

A long time.

After passing through another large door, a withered yellow leaf drifted down to my feet.

The girl gazed at the golden autumn colors filling the room, the piano nestled amidst a carpet of fallen leaves, and the familiar figure beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief; her luck hadn't been too bad this time after all.

Although it took eight days to find the second Flame-Chasers, Raiden Mei was already lucky on this journey. After Sakura, with whom she had a good relationship, the second Flame-Chasers she met was a gentle and beautiful woman who was very easy to get along with. She was obviously more willing to communicate with her than to find Kevin or Mobius first.

--Neither cryptic nor aloof nor difficult to deal with, she's practically an angel on earth.

At this moment, the Flame-Chasers held a golden wine vessel, sipping its clear liquid. Her expression was serene and gentle. She looked at the young woman who had endured a long journey, smiled, and greeted her gracefully.

"Long time no see, Mei."

"Is there something you need this time?"

"After all, I remember you were in a hurry to leave, so you probably weren't in the mood to chat with friends. Or are you here to say goodbye?"

Raiden Mei gave a helpless, wry smile and replied:

"Farewell? I came to you because I wanted to be able to do that, Eden."

She sighed:

"I won't waste any more time on small talk today, since you know my current situation."

"In short, to put it simply, can you tell me about [[Ashes]]?"

Upon hearing this, Eden understood the reason and purpose behind the other party's visit. She set the wine cup aside and said softly:

"I don't mind talking about him."

"But Mei, I think Elysia probably told you that I'm not actually that close to [[Ashes]]. Sakura and Kevin probably know more about it than I do."

Raiden Mei nodded and said:

"I have already visited Sakura. Besides you, Eden, Elysia has given me two other candidates who can provide me with answers."

"First is Kevin, second is Mobius."

"I think it would be more fortunate for me to meet you first."

Eden smiled gently and said:

"Well... after all, it's different for them than for me. For them, mentioning [[Ashes]] is like recalling a building they once loved repeatedly collapsing."

"But for Kevin, that building was once a landmark."

"But for Mobius, that building was a work of art so exquisite that it could not be destroyed."

"Therefore, when his name is mentioned, they tend to find it a little harder to talk to him than usual. There's nothing we can do about it."

Raiden Mei was silent for a moment, then said softly:

"They're already difficult enough to talk to normally."

She didn't intend to waste too much time on such a meaningless topic, and immediately asked:

"And for you, Eden, it sounds like [[Ashes]] is no different from the rest of you, just an ordinary old friend."

Eden answered softly:

"If we consider the almost negligible interactions between us, that's about it. But his actions ultimately gave humanity the right to leave behind a legacy and continue the tradition. So even if some Flame-Chasers don't say it aloud, he still holds a special place in their hearts."

"It's like an anniversary you take for granted; even if it's ordinary, it still carries a... different flavor."

Raiden Mei asked:

"I see. Hmm, I heard from Elysia that you and Hua are very close?"

Eden replied:

"Well, I guess so. If we're talking about topics other than war and the Honkai, in this Sea of Quanta, Hua and I probably talk more than anyone else except [[Ashes]]."

Upon hearing this, she asked:

"Does she usually talk to you about [[Ashes]]?"

Eden responded:

"Hmm, very few."

"And, if you think about it carefully, the time we actually spent talking about [[Ashes]] was quite short."

"After all, when we first met, I had only recently joined the Moth to Fire and was on a pursuit mission with her. There was no time for casual conversation. Later, the Honkai events became more and more frequent, and we rarely had the chance to meet. Not long after, the Herrscher of Binding descended upon the main city of Australia."

"You should have heard from Elysia that [[Ashes]] was gone afterward, and out of a sense of comfort, no one dared to mention him in front of Hua. And afterwards... even she herself forgot about [[Ashes]] for some unknown reason, and naturally, she had no chance to learn about these things."

She thought for a moment and said:

"All I know is that Hua and [[Ashes]] have a very good relationship. Well, I have a habit of occasionally giving gifts to friends, but according to Hua, this habit of mine seems to have made [[Ashes]] quite fond of me."

Raiden Mei said quietly:

"I already know that they have a very good relationship. In the past few days, Elysia has occasionally come up with videos she uploaded to the internet from her memories."

"It's full of Hua's dating records."

Upon hearing this, Eden smiled in surprise:

"Does Elysia still have those things? Ever since Hua forgot about [[Ashes]], the internet from the last era deleted all of these things. I thought they were long gone."

The girl sighed:

"Given Elysia's personality, it's not surprising that she kept it safe. As for concerns about Hua seeing it, she did deliberately obscure both of their faces."

"Speaking of which, Eden, you really haven't seen [[Ashes]]?"

Eden thought for a moment and replied:

"I've only met her a few times. The first time was not long after I met Hua Gang. At that time, I had just joined the Moth to Fire and was assigned to the group she led, participating in the search and pursuit of enemies also known as missionaries."

"In the end, our army, consisting of more than ten Fusion Warriors and intelligent machines, blocked them within the Shennongjia area. However, due to the Honkai of the previous era, many areas often experience various troublesome Honkai Energy phenomena."

"And the Shennongjia region is precisely the best among them, so only Hua, who was the captain at the time and had the most suitable Gene Ability, could carry out the final pursuit and confirm whether the enemy was dead."

Raiden Mei asked:

"Was [[Ashes]] was in your squad at the time? So you were able to see him?"

Eden shook his head and replied:

"At that time, [[Ashes]] had been with the Moth to Fire for a while, but for some reason, he wasn't very close to anyone in the organization. I heard that Dr. Mei was his contact person for all matters related to him, and the tasks assigned by the Moth to Fire rarely involved the other party, including that one time."

Raiden Mei had some guesses about the reasons behind it, and if it was related to the Third Herrscher incident, then it would be easy to understand.

If you were [[Ashes]], from that perspective, you would deliberately distance yourself from the organization and even the upper echelons of the Moth to Fire.

The logic is simple: even if one doesn't want to engage in meaningless revenge to vent their emotions, there's no need to deliberately induce negative feelings.

Moreover, the higher-ups at that time probably had a lot of concerns about [[Ashes]].

She said knowingly:

"It seems something unexpected happened back then."

"Since [[Ashes]] came, and Hua was present, it seems that an enemy more troublesome than that missionary appeared in Shennongjia at that time."

Eden replied:

"Yes, a Honkai Beast of the End-of-Law class has appeared there, called [Brahma]. You can think of it as roughly equivalent to Honkai Beast among Honkai Herrscher."

"It can control all the Honkai Energy in the entire Shennongjia area, and even refine it into its own Divine Kingdom, giving it a boost to the Honkai Beast within the domain. Because the harm caused by the missionary was too great, quite a few Fusion Warrior came at the time, but they were still stopped by a group of Honkai Beast had temporarily transformed into Judgment-class."

"Back then, aside from [[Ashes]], the only way humanity could deal with this enemy was to continuously use the extremely destructive and widespread Divine Key to annihilate the entire Shennongjia region."

"So Hua was severely injured and only managed to return to a safe area by relying on his immortal Gene Ability. Not long after, [[Ashes]] healed him with the Black Abyss White Flower. He returned to Shennongjia and, using unknown means, bypassed the conditions for directly destroying all areas, and killed [Brahma]."

Raiden Mei thought for a moment:

"I understand."

"So this is all you've ever met? You didn't even exchange more than a few words?"

Eden took a sip of his drink and said with a smile:

"If nodding to each other counts as chatting, then we've probably talked."

"[[Ashes]] is not very old, he looks like he has just come of age. Although I had heard of him before, when I actually met him, I still felt that seeing is believing. He was a young man who was unconventional and unsophisticated. Even though he was aloof, he still paid great attention to basic etiquette."

"So even though his attention was entirely on Hua, as if nothing else in the world mattered except her, it still didn't make him seem repulsive."

She sighed:

"Although our era has faded, I always feel that for both [[Ashes]] and Hua, their lives should have just begun, and they shouldn't have ended up disappearing along with the old era."

Raiden Mei, as always, was adept at extracting useful information from the other person's words. She asked:

"Well, besides that? If Hua's injuries are healed and you were by her side, you two will probably mention each other after [[Ashes]] leaves."

Eden recalled the scene and whispered:

"They probably talked about some gossip about the other party's involvement with the Moth to Fire? The rest was probably Hua describing his own perspective on [[Ashes]]."

"In conclusion, even Hua doesn't understand why [[Ashes]] has chosen to exist as an outsider to the rest of the world."

Raiden Mei asked:

"Hmm, based on what Elysia and Sakura said, I thought he was simply suffering from psychological trauma, and that his personality made him less inclined to communicate with others."

Eden replied:

"I think outsiders would all agree. Compared to our perspective, Hua, as the person closest to him, has a more credible conclusion."

Raiden Mei chewed on this information.

Therefore, [[Ashes]] is neither autistic nor socially anxious; he is just a bit cold-hearted. The psychological trauma he has suffered has not affected his ability to communicate with others. The reason why he chooses to erase his own existence for many years and only communicates with a few people is due to other unknown reasons.

Her intuition told her that this reason was probably related to [[Ashes]]'s mysterious identity, which no one could say.

However, few of the Flame-Chasers could clearly state their origins and identities.

Whether this connection is worth investigating remains to be seen, and more clues need to be gathered.

At that moment, Eden revealed a shocking piece of information:

"Speaking of which, [[Ashes]] and Hua seem to have a very lovely daughter."

Raiden Mei:???

She remained silent for a long time, still speechless at this extremely alarming information.

Weren't those two people a recent adult and a minor?

Indeed, this trip was well worth it.

What she didn't know was that Yae Sakura, whose fox ears Su Muxi had pinched, obviously also knew about this, but she categorized it as information unrelated to [[Ashes]] and didn't mention it.

Meanwhile, as Raiden Mei tirelessly searched for a way out of the Sea of Quanta, time continued to flow in the outside world.

Mexico.

Little Cat Spin Bar.

Well, perhaps there's another way to describe this place.

--Lesbian Paradise.

Kiana wore a bomber jacket that looked as if it were covered in gold leaf and was dyed with a bold, dark print. Underneath, she wore a vest with a Death Skull print, which not only accentuated her soft, rounded breasts but also revealed a slender, fair waist with her navel faintly visible.

The girl's slender, long legs weren't clearly outlined by the black and gray wide-leg pants, but instead, they accentuated the overall chic and stylish look of the outfit.

She wore a baseball cap, and her white hair, which was usually braided into two pigtails, was now draped freely down her back. Her delicate face, which had a Western European style, was covered by Titanium Gold knitted mask in the style of Crimson Oni. Her azure eyes surveyed her surroundings with a cold and aloof expression.

Such a person is extremely eye-catching in the chaotic bar, and without exception, the many lesbians of various nationalities around cannot help but glance at him a few more times.

Logically speaking, whether you're a bottom or a top, a top or a bottom, a pillow princess or a finger-coated pioneer, when faced with a beauty of this quality, you're bound to have the thought of first offering her a drink, then having a heart-to-heart talk, and trying to see if you can verify in bed who should be on top.

Unfortunately, the people next to the other person deterred most people from approaching.

She was also a woman of exceptionally high beauty, with her gray hair pulled up high into a neat ponytail, revealing the fair and smooth skin on the back of her neck.

She wore a lead-gray dress with flowing silver threads, which clearly outlined her slender and alluring figure.

Whether it's the high, soft chest, the slender waist pinched at the seam of the fabric, the bare back exposed to the air, the fair skin on it paired with the alluring spinal groove, or even the curves of the fabric draped over the buttocks, all of them exude a hormone-stimulating charm under the dazzling neon lights.

Bronya's beautiful face, which also possessed exotic charm, exuded a calmness and solemnity that seemed out of place in the bar's atmosphere. A delicate metal semi-ring floated behind her head; it was the [Golden Dream], one of only ten Sequence Number ever released by the Moon Worship Company, an expensive device used to link brainwaves to enter the Immortal Realm.

Even if outsiders cannot see the Sequence One engraved inside the ring, they can still know that the other party's background is not to be trifled with.

Mechanical marks appeared on the girl's arm, followed by a lifelike arm made entirely of pure silver, with a tattoo of the Classic of Mountains and Seas that played randomly over time.

A glass filled with cocktails floats and sways between the palm of a hand, its surface clearly outlined with the veins of pure silver.

The flashy technology and sophisticated prosthetic body equipped with a replaceable skin system demonstrate that the other party possesses the qualities to command respect and avoid being disturbed.

On the other hand, the combination of a mature older sister and a rebellious, ascetic girl would be a killer combination even in a beauty-filled Little Cat Spin Bar.

Kiana sat at a corner of the bar, glancing at the other person's attire crafted from the Herrscher Authority of Reason, and even the incredibly realistic silver prosthetic arm, and sighed:

"Aren't you tired, Bronya?"

Bronya deactivated the ability to simulate electromagnetic force, letting the glass drop to her palm with a crisp sound. She parted her lips, took a sip of her cocktail, and whispered:

"Margaret, there's a bit too little tequila, but the taste is alright."

The gray-haired beauty, who had been separated from her old friend for nearly ten years, savored the fresh fruity aroma and the sweet and sour taste of tequila in her mouth. Her smile was refreshing, and her rosy lips were still stained with a few fine grains of salt.

She glanced at the girl across the bar, her glass motionless, and said:

"This level of understanding and replication is nothing special, and I think you should add 'older sister' after my name now."

Bronya emphasized her words, then continued:

"Lovely Miss Kiana."

Kiana was utterly helpless against Bronya's enormous size. Speechless, she instinctively reached out and wiped the salt residue from Bronya's lips, just as before. While wiping her fingers with a tissue, she sighed nonchalantly:

"Yes, yes, big sister Bronya."

"So can you tell me why you came to... such a strange place?"

Bronya, still somewhat dazed, savored the sensation of the man's fingertips brushing her lips. She pursed her lips, swirled the wine in her glass, and asked in return:

"Strange? Are you Kiana, a staunch heterosexual?"

Kiana glanced at the extremely lewd, completely naked dancers in front of her, and the girls under the disco ball on the dance floor who were almost constantly rubbing against each other's prosthetic bodies, then expressionlessly withdrew her gaze and said softly:

"I don't think this has anything to do with whether you're heterosexual or not, and it's really noisy here."

Bronya rested her elbows on the side of the bar counter, her face half-reclined in her palms, her posture languid and alluring, and whispered:

"Uh-huh."

"How about I get you a pair of the latest noise-canceling headphones? I just looked at the tech database Xiao Xi gave me not long ago; I guarantee you won't hear anything except what I'm saying."

Kiana didn't think much of it and nodded in agreement.

But to the intelligent bartender silently cutting diamond ice cubes nearby, their conversation in the Little Cat Spin Bar could easily be defined as flirting.

Bronya parted the air, simulating a stream of quantum-like fluorescent blue data, and pretended to put her hand inside. In this way, she recreated a pair of earphones. She generously handed them to Kiana, watching as the still rather inexperienced acquaintance obediently put on the earphones, and whispered:

"I'm here for clues, of course. Apart from the Taixu Sect and [Chaoxian] which serves as the executive branch, the most well-informed people in this world are the major corporations and the local gangs that are like hyenas, deeply rooted in various regions. As for the government of this world, I think you know what the situation is."

After Kiana put on the headphones, she was indeed unable to hear any more noise. Only the man's whispers lingered deep in her ears, like soft cotton wool seeping into her mind, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But the girl adjusted her baseball cap and replied:

"It's just for show."

"But based on the information you provided earlier, apart from the power controlled by the Class President, everything else is just for show, there's no difference."

"In that case, why don't we just let Xiao Xi use her permission to investigate? Anyway, everything we do now might be completely transparent to them, so it's better to investigate directly; it'll be faster and more accurate."

"Moreover, in an era where the entire human race is controlled by that person's mind, it's unrealistic for anyone to dare to show disrespect to Your Excellency, let alone betray relevant information?"

"Even if they ask indirectly, I don't think it's very reliable. They might just anonymously report us, and then the ID card Xiao Xi gave us would be useless."

That being said, their identities still cannot bypass the [Heavenly Eye] system controlled by the Tome of Cangxuan. The only difference between being exposed is that what was previously hidden has been brought to the surface, but in essence, it doesn't seem to matter much.

Bronya glanced at the current situation on the dance floor, her eyelashes lowered, and said softly:

Kiana, you've got something wrong.

"It's true that the genes of all humanity have been modified and that the consciousness of all humanity is under potential mind control, but the motive that person did this has always been simple and pure."

"Firstly, it's so that when Xiao Awakened, she can devour enough demon corpses to solidify another path to dimensional ascension, ultimately resolving the lifespan issue of her outer shell."

"Secondly, it's to ensure that the world Xiao Awakened is still [normal] and [beautiful]."

"Ultimately, mind control and the life-or-death valves of genes are all for convenience and efficiency. As long as the annual Honkai breeding quotas can be met, she won't care at all about how people in this world view her, because no matter how much resentment they have, no one can truly resist her, right?"

"If His Your Excellency had even the slightest interest in the order of this world, what we would be seeing now is a society where everyone is uniformly working together to create a better future."

"But since it doesn't exist, then until Xiao Su truly Awakened, the so-called mind control is just a facade, apart from the set indicators."

Kiana picked up the Long Island Iced Tea from the bar, gazing at the arc of light shimmering under the neon lights inside, and the crisp, cool sound of the ice hitting the glass as she swirled the cup, and said softly:

"The problem is whether those indicators are a program that the Class President can write at will. If so, there's no reason not to take some extra precautions. Even describing it as indifference or arrogance would be a stretch."

That being said, the very structure and morbidly abnormal patterns of this world are already beyond imagination.

It wouldn't be surprising if that person ignored it due to arrogance.

After all... who could have imagined that the so-called [Lostbelt] phenomenon would appear in clusters, forcibly producing a bunch of traitors attempting "revolution" from this civilization that had been thoroughly psychologically colonized?

At least Kiana tried to see things from the other person's perspective, and indeed, it wasn't surprising that he was so arrogant, because logically speaking, there was no possibility of the current Your Excellency making a mistake.

Even though Lostbelt phenomena are emerging frequently these days, they haven't brought any positive changes to the world as things stand.

The presence of an additional Herrscher Core on the [Kunpeng] suggests that, for this civilization, the changes brought about by the [Lostbelt] are, in a sense, gifts.

Even though Kiana and Bronya almost managed to bring [Kunpeng] back to the repair shop and steal a Herrscher Core, it's likely that the Taixu Sect still sees this as a farce that can be easily resolved.

Thirty-six main cities.

Thirty-six warships in the Shan Hai Series.

Thirty-six Immortal Martial Series Soul Steel Puppet.

Kiana did feel that after regaining her memories of the other timelines, her control and precision over her powers had suddenly reached a new level. Beating up her former self would probably not be a problem, but facing such a terrifying lineup, she could only rely on the advantages of mobile warfare to encourage herself.

However, judging from the space technology of this world, if the other party were willing, with the help of the [Heavenly Eye] system and the teleportation device, and by actively shutting down the space teleportation permission of [Moon Worship Tower], it would be too easy to grab the two of them and gang up on them. They would have nowhere to escape, and any advantage in mobility would become complete nonsense.

Kiana could use her powers as the Herrscher of the Void to stall for time, but once things progressed to that point, victory would be completely out of her reach.

At present, she and Bronya do not expect to get any information about Su Qing'an from the people of this world, or even how to shut down the signal tower and [Dragon Court].

After all, it's easy to imagine that underground gangs could never know the true secrets that even the top echelons of the world cannot see.

Their only hope lies in Udu-dust, who carries Fu Hua's true consciousness.

If you cannot obtain accurate information from the enemy, as well as intelligence that may reveal their weaknesses, then there is no chance of winning this battle.

Kiana should have been the most likely person to harbor Udu-dust in her brain, was unaware of its existence. Therefore, she and Bronya had to use various means to investigate whether any of the people involved in the Lostbelt phenomenon had any Karma with Udu-dust, which led to the current situation.