Elysia: Let me touch your horns, okay?

Raiden Mei was able to deduce the hidden weight of those words by combining [[Ashes]] and Mobius's past and intertwined experiences.

A few days after the conversation ended, she sat on the edge of the courtyard corridor and suddenly remembered the videos and text messages left behind by the real Mobius.

That proud, genius scientist who was never afraid of any challenge or hardship.

Mobius, whose unwavering convictions, pursuit of the infinite, and practice of truth never wavered.

That madman everyone says will never succumb to death and will surely still live in this era.

The woman who yearned to use science as a weapon and ultimately reshape the definition of humanity through ascension to godhood chose to leave behind farewell words to her memory in the minutes before the All Things Dormant, dying in an extremely pale and ridiculous way.

However, Mobius, who exists in the Sea of Quanta as a memory entity, let out a cold laugh when she saw the image. She bluntly stated that the reason why the other party had thoughts of dying was because she deliberately gave the original body a hint in order to become the "one and only Mobius".

From Raiden Mei's perspective, she doesn't believe the real Mobius is someone who can be so easily manipulated.

--Even if it was her own memory that was plotting against her.

Subsequent details also reveal that the original Mobius was already aware that the memory had given him a hint.

The reason is simple: once the subject is given a hint, only the memory can deduce the possibility of the subject's thoughts, rather than the subject being able to deduce all the thoughts of the memory.

The only difference between the two sides lies in the amount of intelligence they possess; only the side with more intelligence can accurately reproduce the other side's entire thought process.

However, the actual result was that the memory's thoughts were completely predicted by Mobius's original body. All the audio and dialogue in the video were predicted, and even the hug and smile given by the original body's holographic image at the end seemed to be a wicked joke of knowing in advance about the memory's actions.

The only possibility is that the real Mobius knew in advance about the hints given to him by the memory.

However, there is a logical inconsistency: why would the real Mobius, knowing this, still face such an end?

Raiden Mei could only conclude that her choice to end her life in that way was truly influenced by the fates of [[Ashes]] and Elysia.

On the other hand, why didn't Mobius, living in the Elysian Realm, completely go to this extreme, but only wavered?

Is it possible that Mobius at that time did not actually give up the pursuit of infinity and truth, but simply chose to fix herself, the infinite future, and the truth she pursued in the memory of the Sea of Quanta, allowing it to inherit this, and even arranging this drama to reinforce this path?

He, however, pursued a new life that did not belong to that "Mobius" in a different form.

But this was ultimately just the girl's own speculation; she still found it difficult to truly understand Mobius's thoughts.

Unless you're one of their own kind, no one can extract truly effective and reliable information from a combination of genius and madness.

And...

Raiden Mei glanced at the earring that had been placed in her bosom, and the sigh from that person came back to her.

The current Mobius may not be as unwavering in her pursuit of infinity as she was at the beginning; she has also been interfered with and affected to some extent by the existence of [[Ashes]].

Compared to Elysia's inexplicable death.

The fact that [[Ashes]], who had already grasped [Infinity], reached the end of truth, and successfully ascended to godhood, yet chose to abandon all of this without hesitation and go to his death, was the greatest shock to Mobius had always been on the path of pursuing this goal.

Therefore, even though the same old things happened in this Sea of Quanta of the world line, this Mobius, who is now a memory entity, is no longer so completely insane and unwavering, and sees truth and infinity as the only way forward.

Whether this is good or bad...

To be honest, Raiden Mei has a hard time understanding this.

This might be a completely good thing for him, but for Mobius, in a sense, it felt like a real death.

She once said that snakes are creatures that never succumb to death.

She added that only a madman would band together with monsters for warmth.

This seemingly random murmur, however, suddenly echoed deep within the girl's mind, even though the conversation had long since ended, revealing a mix of emotions that didn't belong to the other person.

She pondered the words that Mobius inadvertently uttered, words that were gradually becoming unlike anything she had ever heard before, her feelings a complex mix.

No one has ever presented the crossroads of life so clearly and decisively before their eyes.

Even though the other party was Mobius, whom Raiden Mei had never had any affection for, it still made her heart flutter and she couldn't help but sigh.

If the changes of the world are like the flowing of a river, can she, amidst the waves, clearly perceive at some point that it is the moment to say goodbye to the past and welcome the future?

Or is it that we can only belatedly reflect on the past and look back at the profound changes brought about by that turning point?

Raiden Mei's intuition told her that she was now facing a turning point in her past life, in the Sea of Quanta.

She glanced at the illusory sky, got up and walked to the center of the Golden Courtyard, but instead of walking directly through the facility's gate as usual and stepping into the world of memories woven by the thirteen Flame-Chasers, she silently sorted through the relevant information and clues she had obtained from her interactions with the Flame-Chasers.

Strangely enough, compared to Sakura and Eden, who were closest to him,

Ironically, it Mobius, with whom he had the worst relationship, who, due to a change in his state of mind and his personal circumstances, provided more comprehensive and abundant information.

Raiden Mei, through Mobius, roughly sorted out the most memorable moments in [Ashes]'s life. She was quite surprised to find that this guy, who seemed to have only known [Ashes] for a few weeks, knew much more than Kevin, who was closer to Ash.

Even if the information revealed by the ice man wasn't everything, the level of detail that Mobius possessed was abnormal, bordering on the bizarre, even stalking level.

Leaving aside [[Ashes]]'s physical data, sexual preferences, personality, hormone levels, and mate selection criteria, even the traces left by the other party in the Previous Civilization have been thoroughly investigated. It's as if this scientist has created a three-dimensional sandbox route using the framework of big data, and even the brand of orange soda he drank on Cherry Festival can be found out.

And that was indeed the case. After saying that, Mobius gave Raiden Mei a USB-shaped item, saying that everything she needed was inside. Then, seemingly without getting an answer, he completely lost interest in the Herrscher's body and turned away decisively.

The girl found a computer in the rest area, inserted it, and turned it on. She discovered a vast, realistic database inside, a mix of visual novel and RPG elements, with a sandbox mode offering a top-down perspective...

Although this was indeed far more detailed than all the clues and information she had previously obtained through dialogue, and it allowed for repeated review and contemplation, making it very useful and convenient, she remained silent for a long time before accepting the existence of this database and began to fill in the gaps in her knowledge.

In Raiden Mei's eyes, this was similar to Elysia's book, "One Hundred Questions about the Chrono-Chaos Masks: From Beginner to Expert".

Mobius also has a set of "[[Ashes]] Puzzle Solutions: Big Data Analysis and Coordination", and he can not only publish books, but also create all sorts of strange games.

Furthermore, during this process, Raiden Mei also saw a set of multiple schemes presented as a tree diagram for a specific target, as well as an experimental diary.

However, this opening makes one feel that its significance is extremely difficult to articulate.

[After XXX's life essence tilted towards Idealistic Lifeform, the drugs that were effective for carbon-based life were confirmed to be ineffective in experiments conducted a few days ago.]

[XXX's appearance and inner self are no different from ordinary people, but due to the progress of their Soul State, their organs tend to be decorative and are not affected by ordinary things. Therefore, the plan to extract genetic factors for artificial cultivation under the pretext of experimentation failed.]

[Preliminary assessment indicates that normal mating is necessary for a successful outcome. Personality model calculations suggest that negotiation is unnecessary. Drugs that stimulate sexual desire are also ineffective. Further plans requiring gene extraction require careful consideration.]

[Follow-up proposal: Hypothetically, by utilizing the instinct of Idealistic Lifeform to disperse their [Nen] aura in all directions, and by extracting XXX's soul matter through legitimate experimental procedures beforehand, and then extracting Fu Hua's soul matter, we can develop soul pheromones targeting [Nen], thereby achieving the result of inducing arousal.]

[Proposal Supplement 1:...]

[Additional Argument 1:...]

[The success rate was greatly increased due to a prior agreement—that the creature would never voluntarily enter the Soul State again unless the experiment had a specific need or its life was in grave danger.]

--Detailed explanation of the process of extracting the essence of the soul.

--A new direction for disguised black tea and laboratory access control settings.

Raiden Mei grew increasingly terrified as she looked at the scene.

At that time, the girl felt as if she were reading an ancient NTR literature in the form of an experimental diary. The more technical terms there were, and the more detailed the analysis of the proposals and arguments, the more intensified this extremely strange sense of crisis.

For a well-educated young lady with a tragic fate, this kind of thing touched her values, which had never been shaped in this area, in every sense, and completely devastated her spirit.

[Experimental Report Results: The research and development of soul pheromones was very successful, but it only played a meaningful role on the first attempt. This project failed due to obstruction from the consciousness within XXX's soul, and the experimental plan to Fusion Warrior with Idealistic Lifeform is temporarily shelved.]

This result gave Raiden Mei immense comfort. Otherwise, putting aside the fact that Hua was now a memory entity, she really didn't know how she could possibly avoid showing a strange expression when she saw the Class President after they left.

In short, after spending two long days poring over this database in front of the mainframe, she basically understood what [[Ashes]] looked like in Mobius's eyes.

However, seemingly out of concern for Hua's personal mental state, even in such a detailed database, [[Ashes]]'s true appearance and real name did not appear.

--In a sense, it's quite surprising that such concerns would arise in Mobius.

Even so, Raiden Mei successfully went from beginner to expert, becoming a master who knew everything about [[Ashes]]'s life and even the various details that followed.

Although she herself did not like being the kind of person who stared at other people's private memories like a madman, she had no choice but to do so due to the circumstances.

In the process, she inevitably used quantum reading and the Crimson King to forcibly bypass many of Mobius's rational analyses of the [[Ashes]] body in various senses, and finally, expressionlessly, completely deleted the fragments that looked very wrong.

Even if one can understand Mobius's natural curiosity about [[Ashes]], an existence of great research value, and her rigor and seriousness as a scientist, many things in this database are still hard to accept.

As Raiden Mei recalled the data from the past two days, Elysia arrived with light steps, her gaze warm and her expression radiant. A smile played on her lips as she spoke:

Good morning, Mei.

The girl glanced at Elysia today.

Although it was still the same outfit designed by Eden, the accessories and hairstyle were changed to similar styles, and the fragrance around her was also different.

A while ago, there was a light fragrance that was dazzling and intense, like a fairyland. You could vaguely smell ambergris and woody notes in it. Combined with her lively, playful and enthusiastic personality, it really brought out a charming girlishness.

Now, it has a woody base, with jasmine and lemon as top notes, vetiver and cedar dancing together, and sandalwood as the thread connecting the two to create a gentle and light fragrance.

As Elysia slowly approached, this scent gave her a warmth that melted into her skin like powder or water, exuding a soft and warm feeling similar to mango. However, due to its woody base, it was heavier than the scents from a while ago, as if it were silently conveying a joyful farewell.

Raiden Mei had taken in all the effort and attention to detail that the Pink Fairy Lady had made for today's meeting. She could sense the other's well wishes, and her tense nerves relaxed considerably. She politely greeted her in return.

Good morning, Elysia.

Elysia blinked, a radiant smile spreading across her face, and whispered:

"Hmm, you look like you're in good spirits today."

"Are you ready to enter the memory corridor of [[Ashes]]?"

She glanced at the [[Floating Life]] mark on the back of the other person's hand, her envy undisguised, and said in a tone as if she were saying, "You got the amusement park tickets!"

"With Hua's mark, that person won't be so clueless about romance anymore."

Pink Fairy Lady shamelessly claimed credit:

"I only went inside without using the [[Floating Life]] mark so that Mei wouldn't get Mei out, okay? If you actually manage to see [[Ashes]], remember to ask him why he wouldn't let me visit!"

Raiden Mei was somewhat speechless. She felt that even without seeing [[Ashes]], she could answer this question for him.

But to avoid trouble, the girl simply said in a serious tone:

"Yes, I will."

Elysia nodded in satisfaction:

"I knew Mei was the best."

She blinked, then her gaze drifted unintentionally to the other person's horns, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, right, if you manage to get out, you have to let me touch your horns before you leave, okay? Consider it payment for showing you the way later, how about it?"

Raiden Mei was speechless for a moment upon hearing this. She suddenly realized from this hesitation that she had gradually become unable to refuse the other person in the past six months.

If this kind of proposal had been made initially, and these words had just been uttered, one would have simply and coldly rejected it.

But now that they've become more familiar and both know each other's ultimate fate, the girl feels it might be worth considering.

If she were to truly leave this Sea of Quanta, Elysia, as a memory entity, would return to a state of waiting with no future, awaiting the arrival of the next successor, as if a program with warmth and emotion had fallen into a long silence once again.

It does look a bit lonely...

At this moment, she recalled Eden's evaluation of Elysia back then.

[Elysia always gives off a warm and lively vibe, even a bit mischievous, but this is precisely her genuine expression. She likes interesting people, loves interesting things, and never hides this.]

The starlight will not dim just because it shines on more people.

Raiden Mei inexplicably felt that this statement was quite applicable to the other person.

She was never used to Elysia's warm and sincere approach, and would become suspicious of it, trying to figure out her motives and whether there was any malice in it.

She subconsciously resists overly intimate communication and becomes more guarded because of the other person's mysterious past.

But in the end, it all comes full circle.

Raiden Mei, however, had to admit that Eden's assessment seemed to be the most authentic and truthful.

She didn't dislike Elysia, and even unconsciously started calling her by the nickname "Elysia".

However, if viewed as a parting gift to a friend, this request doesn't seem unreasonable.

On the other hand, people with a personality like Elysia make you feel that they shouldn't be buried in the past. Even the most sincere passion can't withstand the words of life and death, but once you think of this, you can't help but feel pity for them.

The girl pursed her lips, looked into the other person's eyes and smiled as she said:

"If... we can get out, then yes."