What Lies Beneath the Truth? / Truth

"Bang!"

The Soul Steel arm pierced through the Sixth Herrscher's body from behind, protruding from her chest. Then, the indifferent Eighth Herrscher, holding the Sixth Herrscher's core in her hand, withdrew her hand from her body.

But her body froze.

Because the Sixth Herrscher's mocking smile did not disappear from his blood-stained face.

A gust of wind swept past from behind, and at that moment, the God-Slaying Sword pierced through the body of the Eighth Herrscher—

Chapter 169 What Lies Beneath the Truth?

The blade sank to the bottom, but Lin didn't feel any feedback from piercing the object.

The alternation between illusion and reality was completed in less than a breath.

By the time Lin realized what was happening and tried to dodge, it was too late.

"Pfft!"

The flesh was pierced, and the crimson blood that gushed out dripped into the sea, where it was swallowed by the deep blue and disappeared.

The Eighth Herrscher's eyes were bloodshot, and her smile widened. Her left hand plunged deep into Lin's neck to grab him, while her right hand pierced his back, stripping him of his movement and life force.

"Mistakes and lies, that's all humanity has taught me."

She tightened her grip, crushing the bones in Lin's neck until they shattered, stopping all his nerves and bones from functioning, turning him into a rag doll swaying in her hand. Her right hand reached towards the Herrscher Core within Lin's body.

"And now, I return it to humanity—"

His right hand suddenly yanked out!

However, when she caught a glimpse of her right hand out of the corner of her eye, she froze in shock.

The empty palm seemed to be foreshadowing something.

Not behind me, not beside me, but the moment that cold, handsome figure flashed before my eyes, all the brilliance was stolen away.

That sword that cleaved through the brilliance—

"Splash..."

So this bionic body can actually float on the sea.

The Eighth Herrscher was quietly immersed in the seawater. Her body, rising and falling in the waves, collided with a fragment of Titan. With a clang of metal colliding, another piece of electronic component fell out of her body, which had been separating from her waist down.

"Using the Sixth Herrscher to lure me into making a move, then using power to construct a bionic human body for me to capture and further lower my guard... Uncovering a lie doesn't necessarily reveal the truth; it might just be another lie... Is this what you call putting your knowledge to use?"

The Eighth Herrscher, in the form of Prometheus, looked up and smiled at Lin, who was floating above her.

"You've won this time, Lin."

Her body, which was the core of Prometheus, had been pierced and destroyed by the God Cutter, and after she stopped maintaining her consciousness space, the distant sky she was looking at was tinged with a broken blackness.

"... I have a question I want to ask you." Lin Xinping looked down at the Eighth Herrscher with a calm expression. The vascular lines of erosion had already spread to his face. He removed his head-mounted display and disappeared into azure particles. His Prismatic Eyes were still dazzling in the sunlight.

"No problem. This is the right of the victor, and I will answer all your questions." The Eighth Herrscher seemed completely unconcerned. She leaned against the shards and smiled at Lin.

"What exactly are you Herrscher?"

"..."

"Why are there Herrscher among you who are like automated programs, and Herrscher like you who have a high degree of self-awareness? Why do Herrscher want to destroy humanity, and why... are there Herrscher are willing to help humanity?"

Even after becoming Herrscher, Lin retained his true self, the real "Lin." If he were completely corrupted, he might still be a Herrscher through and through. But in that case, he would find it even more difficult to understand why even the Eighth Herrscher and the Sixth Herrscher, Herrscher were born from human memories and possessed self-awareness, still harbored such great hostility towards humanity.

If Herrscher are destined to be etched with the instinct to destroy humanity, then what is the existence of the Herrscher of Reason from the Previous Civilization, the girl who was exhausted trying to protect humanity from its demise?

He had never had such an opportunity to have enough time to communicate with a Herrscher with a high degree of self-awareness, so he wanted to get answers from the Eighth Herrscher.

"Because in your eyes, are humans just insignificant insects?"

"Have some confidence, humans."

However, the Eighth Herrscher spoke so calmly.

Lin looked at her, half-dead, her calmness unlike that of a Herrscher.

"Humanity has already defeated seven Herrscher and dealt with seven large-scale Honkai. Including me, there are now a total of eight Herrscher who have lost to humanity. This is enough to prove that humanity is not a tiny insect."

"I respect humanity. They taught me to lie. They struggled to their death under the oppression of Honkai. There are countless people like you who will walk towards their predetermined fate with their heads held high even in death."

"You, who were able to defeat the Herrscher, can be proud of your human identity."

As the clouds parted and the sun shone through the thunderclouds, the light fell on the face of the Eighth Herrscher. She was solemn and serious, as if she were making a declaration or reciting a poem.

"As for those 'whys' you asked... Heh, didn't you already say it? I'm not human, how could I understand why Herrscher would betray me?"

She said casually, "Time is almost up. After the consciousness space collapses, I will fall into a deep sleep for a period of time, and you will lose this memory. Of course, some subconscious memories will remain, so there is no need to be nervous. Our future battles will be a completely different story."

"Next time, I will kill you with the utmost respect, and wipe out humanity. I look forward to our..."

"The next confrontation."

The crashing waves drowned out the Eighth Herrscher's eerie smile.

Is it over?

It's time to end this.

This nightmare of reincarnation, a dream that ended in illusion, lies, and slaughter, will remain unknown to anyone. The memories of the fictional people will not be conveyed to the real people, who will not know what Lin experienced in the space of consciousness.

Lin slowly flew towards the Fire Moth headquarters, which had been split in two. The collapse in the distance was getting faster and closer. It seemed that he would return to reality in a few minutes.

Kevin, Vill-V, Mobius, Erwin...

Faces flashed through his mind one by one.

Besides...

Lin landed on the wreckage of the base. His armor dissipated into particles, and his usual uniform was draped over his body. After landing, he walked towards a figure standing at the edge of the wreckage.

Qianqi raised her smooth chin, reached into her pocket, and took out a piece of chewing gum.

Here, would you like some?

Lin took a deep breath and accepted the chewing gum.

"Thanks."

"So you can say thank you," Qianqi exclaimed.

Next, you should chew your gum and wait for this dream to end.

However, some questions remain unanswered.

"Without you, I might have collapsed during the second round. It was you who acted as an 'accomplice of the villain' and maintained my mental state."

"..."

"After the second regression ended, I thought about it for a long time. I still couldn't understand some of your actions and words. It wasn't until I got confirmation from Vill-V that Prometheus was the mastermind that I understood what your previous 'abnormalities' were all about."

"You knew the truth about the consciousness space from the very beginning."

The disc-shaped Prismatic Eyes gazed at the hacker girl who was smiling contentedly.

Chapter 170 Truth

"Life is a script of joys and sorrows in a stage play, and ordinary people are just audience members standing on tiptoe to watch the main characters dancing."

"Many people put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist, but is it really a good thing to dance on stage?"

"I don't think so."

Qianqi popped a piece of chewing gum into her mouth, puffed out her cheeks, and calmly savored the minty flavor.

"Ritalin is a relatively mild central nervous system stimulant that can stimulate various central nervous system mental activities, promote mental agility, relieve fatigue, and boost spirits. It is suitable for eliminating drowsiness, lethargy, and respiratory depression caused by hypnotics. Clinically, it is used to treat mild brain dysfunction and narcolepsy."

Lin breathed steadily, layer upon layer of cold mist passing through his lungs, exhaling with a warm breath.

"However, when Ritalin is used in excess, it can cause symptoms of poisoning, including anxiety, tension, confusion, delirium and... hallucinations."

"..."

"At first I just thought you were actually helping me with medication, but later when I talked to Vill-V about Ritalin and Mobius's attitude, Vill-V said that Mobius had expressed his aversion to Ritalin."

Recalling the sudden change in Mobius's attitude towards him that night, he already knew the answer.

"As a pharmacology expert, her fact that she never uses drugs suggests that she is not aiming to develop better drugs, but rather to research how to make it possible for humans to not use drugs."

"This may stem from Mobius's past, which I am unaware of. One piece of information I do know is that Ritalin was the kind of psychotropic drug she hated the most, one that causes drug tolerance and addiction."

"So I looked up the side effects of Ritalin that you hadn't mentioned, and then recalled the seven days we spent together. You never used Ritalin, which means you don't actually use this type of drug to concentrate."

"There are only two possibilities for why you took out Ritalin at that time. One is that you knew in advance that I was not in a good mental state when I came to see you, so you went to get the medicine. The second is... that you wanted to convey something to me through Ritalin."

In retrospect, both possibilities seem correct.

Qianqi silently chewed her gum, offering no rebuttal. She gazed at the distant collapse stretching towards this place, the beautiful glow in her eyes gradually swallowed by darkness.

Lin didn't care about her attitude and continued to explain his reasoning, "You once mentioned 'conspicuous ordinariness' as a way to hide oneself. As the only 'person' still existing in the headquarters where all the Artificial Intelligence machines have disappeared, Prometheus's actions will not be anything special because she is right next to me. No one will suspect Artificial Intelligence that is only following orders when it is right next to me."

"Finally, you also mentioned the concept of the 'Y2K bug',"

"After hearing about the Millennium Bug Incident, I kept thinking, if humanity were to encounter an event beyond our comprehension—like the leap from 1999 to 2000—would a similar 'bug' occur?"

"Humans wouldn't go crazy just because they see the number 1999 become 2000, but if they keep repeating 1999, treating each year as a cycle, and experiencing this cycle a dozen or even a hundred times, could it create a 'Y2K bug' for humanity?"

"You are reminding me that if I treat this regression as a cycle of reincarnation, without questioning the rationality of the regression itself, and instead get lost in the constantly repeating 'massacre,' I will eventually develop a wrong perception, and my consciousness will become a kind of 'BUG'."

"..."

"..."

Qianqi sighed, her dead fish eyes drooping as she tilted her head. "Are you talking about some science fiction story? I don't understand a word of it."

"...you understand."

"I don't understand. After all, you don't have any evidence, do you?"

"Have."

"..."

"At the end of the first flashback, you were the only survivor of that massacre, but I was unconscious in your room. Whether I was the murderer or the person who attacked me was the murderer, it was impossible for me to let you go when you were so close."

The breathtaking Prismatic Eyes shone even brighter under the glow of the sunset, and Qianqi gazed at these extraordinary eyes.

"But you didn't die, and you even appeared at the scene of the massacre. When I finally arrived at the Research and Development Department, you picked up a knife. At first, I thought you might have wanted to kill me, but then I entered the second time travel, which showed that someone killed me back then, but it wasn't you."

"You only wanted to pick up a weapon to save me after you saw the real killer behind me."

"But the fact that you were able to witness the massacre and see the real killer without dying is itself an abnormal thing. This shows that the Eighth Herrscher had the intention of not killing you unless absolutely necessary."

"The first time she tried to kill you was when you and I were working together to investigate the monitoring center. Why did she attack you instead of me? It's possible that you revealed part of the truth. 'Only the Artificial Intelligence that can control the system can make mistakes' is actually a warning to you about the only remaining Artificial Intelligence, Prometheus."

"At the end of the second time travel, she killed you before you could speak, which means that what you were about to say was a threat to her, and then she came out and fed me the wrong truth."

That's all I have to say.

Qianqi pondered, glancing through Lin's eyes, then looking into the distance, finally shaking her head and smiling helplessly.

"So you actually figured it out a long time ago? Then I was just amusing myself with my acting."

"... Actually, I only realized it this time."

"If that's the case, think about it again. Why am I a special person in your mind? Why did I remind you and help you instead of telling you the truth directly?"

She looked at Lin with a smile, "Think about it... who exactly am I?"

Lin stared at Qianqi, recalling her words, the lies being peeled back layer by layer, and beneath each lie lay another lie, an incomplete truth.

Lawless hackers.

Students who yearn for special opportunities.

A girl playing the villain.

Each one is her own narrative, each one is her mask.

"... The birth of the Eighth Herrscher did not take place at the headquarters of the Flame Chaser. She may have existed long before the birth of the Seventh Herrscher, but during the Seventh Honkai Eruption, the Eighth Herrscher did not help the Seventh Herrscher."

"She is Herrscher of Consciousness. Her combat ability is not strong, but she should be able to control her own consciousness. So she will use a method to enter the headquarters of the Fire Moth, use her powers to destroy the human central system, and use the resources and intelligence of the Fire Moth to wipe out humanity in one fell swoop."

"That method involves creating another consciousness to replace your own. The Herrscher consciousness is dormant, allowing the new consciousness to pass through the checks of the Flame Chaser and arrive at the Flame Chaser. Then, by following pre-set conditions, such as 'awakening after entering the Flame Chaser headquarters' or 'awakening after contacting a designated person,' it successfully awakens at the headquarters and launches a consciousness invasion against me."