Newcomers Are Here~

Having secured Hiruko as a research assistant with immense potential, Orochimaru was in quite a good mood.

Returning to his desolate home, he skillfully emptied his mind, his consciousness sinking once again into that peculiar shared space.

However, the scene this time was slightly different from before.

In addition to Harry Osborn, Zhuge Qing, and Reed Herrick who had arrived earlier, there were two more people in the space.

Both had Asian features.

One was dressed in what looked like a uniform, appearing to be at most a middle school student, with a somewhat cold temperament.

The other appeared much more mature, likely in his early twenties, wearing a simple researcher's lab coat with a somewhat lazy expression.

"Newcomers?"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up at the sight, and he took the initiative to walk over.

After all, practice makes perfect; he had gone through this process himself once before.

Better to exchange information early and get straight to the point.

While sizing the two up, he had already begun a rapid analysis in his mind.

A teenager and a young man—what worlds did they come from? What knowledge did they possess?

"Harry... er, the me from the Marvel World just gave us a brief introduction to the situation here."

"It really is... a phenomenon beyond imagination."

The young man in the lab coat spoke, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief.

The teenager didn't speak, merely nodding, his gaze sweeping between Orochimaru, Zhuge Qing, and Harry.

"The existence of any phenomenon must have its reason.

As scientists, what we must do is figure out the principles behind it, right?

Understand, analyze, and then utilize. That is what we should be doing."

Orochimaru nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two as he replied with a smile.

"You are right. Rather than being trapped by the phenomenon itself, it is better to explore its essence."

The young man in the lab coat revealed an approving smile and then extended his hand.

The teenager beside him also nodded and performed the same action.

Orochimaru reached out and shook his hand. Just as before, after a brief mental connection, a massive stream of information flooded into Orochimaru's consciousness.

He quickly filtered and organized it.

First was the young man in the lab coat; his name was Zhang Qi, the same as before he transmigrated?

The world he was in... Neon Genesis Evangelion?

He was currently affiliated with the Artificial Evolution Research Institute (Gehirn), the predecessor to Nerv.

He was currently participating in the construction of the Seventh Generation Biological Supercomputer MAGI under Dr. Naoko Akagi, and at the same time... he was also involved with Project E, the project to build the EVA!

The Seventh Generation Biological Supercomputer MAGI...

Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

Something that only existed in theory in his past life had already reached the seventh generation in the world of EVA.

And the other middle school teenager was... Makishima Gaku?!

And judging from the memories, it was the one from Kryonaut.

There was the Kurosu Organization! There were Zoanthropes!

Moreover, in this world, he was the adopted son of Shigizo Makishima, a high-ranking official in the Japanese branch of the Kurosu Organization, and had used his status to gain access to a great deal of core technology regarding human body modification!

The technology in this world could directly perform large-scale editing and modification of the human genome, turning humans into biological weapons with immense power!

Although it was only the foundation, it was far beyond the knowledge they currently possessed...

A surge of irrepressible joy welled up in Orochimaru's heart, for these two worlds had arrived at the perfect time.

One possessed top-tier biological computer technology and artificial life technology.

The other possessed genetic-level modification technology...

This shared space was simply... a treasure trove!

"Whew..."

The young man named Zhang Qi was the first to finish browsing the information, letting out a long breath with a hint of emotion on his face.

"It's truly incredible... Naruto, Marvel, Under One Person... and now Kryonaut..."

He looked at the group, his expression somewhat strange.

"However, don't you all think... that we have a few too many villains, or rather... characters with gray moral stances here?"

He looked at Orochimaru (the future S-rank missing-nin of Konoha), looked at Harry Osborn (the future Green Goblin), then looked at Makishima Gaku (the ambitious man who was neither purely good nor evil), and finally, his gaze landed on Zhuge Qing, as if searching for a kindred spirit.

"Indeed... either the person themselves is the designated villain of the plot, or they have joined an ironclad villainous organization."

Makishima Gaku nodded, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible helplessness.

"What is there to be surprised about?"

"Villainous organizations have lower moral standards and fewer restrictions on scientific research, so it's easier for them to produce results."

"Besides, look at all the anime, movies, and novels—how many organizations that possess core technologies and crush the world with their technical prowess are actually on the side of the protagonist?"

"High technology equals villainy; isn't that common sense? Stay calm, stay calm."

Zhuge Qing, on the other hand, was quite open-minded; he spread his hands and smiled with his eyes narrowed.

"It's easy for you to think that when you're not a villain yourself."

Makishima Gaku rolled his eyes at Zhuge Qing and retorted irritably.

Aside from Zhuge Qing, everyone else among them had some connection to a villainous organization.

While it was true that villainous organizations possessed high technical prowess, their ultimate goals were all somewhat anti-human.

For instance, the Kurosu Organization he belonged to wanted to transform all of humanity into Zoanthropes to rule the Earth and then seek out the Creators known as the Advent.

Or take Nerv from EVA, whose goal was to turn all of humanity into orange juice to achieve the Human Instrumentality Project.

In organizations like these, how could it ever be easy to get by?

"Hehe~"

Zhuge Qing laughed heartlessly.

"However, I am more inclined toward another hypothesis..."

"The new members appearing in this space are very likely arriving based on the 'needs' of our existing members."

Harry Osborn, who had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up.

"Needs?"

Orochimaru instantly caught the keyword, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind.

He looked at Harry, then swept his gaze over the newcomers, Zhang Qi and Makishima Gaku.

"Are you saying... because both your research direction and mine are in urgent need of cutting-edge knowledge and technological breakthroughs in biotechnology,"

"Therefore... this space 'summoned' Zhang Qi from the EVA world, who possesses biological computer and artificial life technology, and Makishima Gaku from the Kryonaut world, who has mastered genetic modification technology?"

Once this deduction was put forward, everyone was stunned for a moment before wearing expressions of deep contemplation.

The more Orochimaru thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

His own research—whether it was analyzing chakra, Kekkei Genkai, or pursuing physical evolution and even immortality—could not be separated from the realm of biology, especially technical support at the genetic level.

And Harry Osborn was burdened with a genetic disease inherited from the Osborn family, also desperately needing biotechnology that surpassed current technological levels to save himself.

The MAGI biological computer theory brought by Zhang Qi, the partial concepts of EVA artificial life forms, and the gene editing and modification technologies that Makishima Gaku had access to within the Kurosu Organization...

This knowledge was essential for their current situations.

Although it still required verification and modification to fit the rules of their respective worlds, this undoubtedly greatly shortened the time they would have spent fumbling through research!

"That's right."

"The number of parallel universes is nearly infinite, and 'we' possessing various knowledge systems must surely exist."

"Why was it specifically these two, and why did they appear exactly at the time when we needed the relevant knowledge the most?"

"The probability of it being a coincidence is too low."

"I believe this shared space is likely screening and connecting specific individuals from parallel worlds based on our needs."

Harry Osborn nodded, confirming Orochimaru's speculation.

Harry's analysis plunged everyone into silence.

If this speculation were true, then the value of this shared space was far more than just simple information exchange.

It was more like... a treasure trove of knowledge that answered every request?

A super cheat that could precisely match technical support according to the members' needs?

Thinking of this, everyone's breathing could not help but become a bit more rapid.

Needs... principles... mechanisms...

The secrets of this space were becoming more and more interesting!