Did We Forget Something? / The Dye Vat ...

"... That's really something. You actually have times when you trust others without any reason?"

"Feel."

"That's even stranger."

Trusting others based on gut feeling is not something Lin would do.

But Lin didn't want to dwell on the topic for too long. He asked Mobius, who was deep in thought, "And you? How do you plan to use these things?"

"...Heh." A maniacal smile, unseen for a long time, quietly appeared on Mobius's face. "Yes, how will it be used?"

Did you forget anything in Chapter Ninety?

If someone said he wanted to solve the massive Honkai single-handedly, some people might even think he was Kevin.

But if someone said he wanted to save everyone from the threat of Honkai, 99% of people would probably think he was a fool.

Now, this fool is busy with his work since returning.

Lin Cong been a pragmatist; once he decides to do something, he immediately throws himself into it.

What does "everyone" mean? Not the majority, nor "almost" everyone, but not a single one can be missing. Even a stranger on the other side of the world, furthest from Lin, cannot die.

Lin knew this was an almost impossible fantasy, but now he would do something for this goal, something that couldn't be achieved by just talking about it.

Some ideas that require painstaking effort in this state also surface here.

"By studying the characteristics of your consciousness, can we also modify the consciousness of others?" Mobius drew the reagent in his hand with a syringe, then injected it into another container and mixed it with a transparent liquid. After stirring, he used another syringe to draw out a portion and placed it on a glass dish under a microscope to observe the changes in the cells.

She adjusted the microscope's controls, but that didn't stop her from multitasking and answering Lin's questions.

"Leaving aside the specific research on consciousness, the principle behind how your consciousness entered the Herrscher Core is still unknown to this day."

Mobius also wanted to study consciousness, but the information about the Artificial Collapse forced her to pay attention.

Lin persisted, asking, "What if it could be achieved?"

"... So what if it's possible?"

"Through the transformation of the consciousness of all humanity..."

"Stop." Mobius held up a finger. She was not in a good mood with Lin, who had interrupted her research. "If you're just daydreaming, I suggest you go discuss it with Vill-V. I don't want to point out the fact that you have absolutely no scientific common sense, but I just want to ask you, even if you could achieve that kind of modification that allows consciousness to leave the body and still survive, how would you do that to all of humanity?"

"..."

That's right, Lin's idea was wrong from the start; it's unlikely to be achieved, whether in terms of technological barriers or the scope of modification.

"Consciousness modification? That's so cool." Vill-V played with the wrench in her hand like she was twirling a pen, her eyes fixed on the design drawings. Without turning her head, she said to Lin beside her, "If human consciousness could be modified into your type, then perhaps humanity could live in a different way. And the new problem then would probably be how to redefine humanity."

"... So, is it possible?"

"Generally speaking, the implementation of any technology requires a bit of coincidence and a lot of practice."

With a flash of inspiration, Vill-V drew a flower on the design drawing. She was very satisfied with her modification to the appearance. She smiled and said, "But you are a special case. We cannot guarantee that after we cut open your brain for research, we can put it back in perfectly intact. Nor can we guarantee that studying you alone will lead to the conclusions we want."

With only one case, the final research result will most likely be a conclusion that "one plus one equals two".

Is there only one case...?

Lin pondered. According to Yan Luo, all Lins from Parallel World who survived the Sixth Honkai War would possess this ability. If he could grant this ability to other Lins...

... Wait a minute, it seems I've overlooked something.

There were three reasons why Lin's consciousness entered the Herrscher Core.

Firstly, the Herrscher Core itself can contain consciousness, as evidenced by the continued conscious activity even after the Herrscher Core left the Herrscher's body; secondly, he died at that time, and his consciousness left his body; thirdly...

"Vill-V, can you replicate an item?"

"... Lin, have you ever been scolded by Mobius?"

"..." Is there any connection between these?

"It's not like I can just make something out of your mouth." Vill-V put down her pen helplessly and shrugged at Lin. "You asked me if I could replicate a piece of equipment? What is that equipment? Which model? Is there a prototype or blueprint? How does it work? You didn't say any of that before asking me if I could replicate it?"

This was indeed an oversight. The Phase Transfer Device has been banned from being rebuilt, the data and blueprints have been deleted, all old versions have been destroyed, and even those on Titan have been dismantled and thrown into the scrap yard.

The only person who knew the entire process of its creation had already died in the hurricane of the Fourth Honkai War.

Lin believed that Vill-V and May should be able to recreate the Phase Transfer Device through further research on the Second Herrscher Core, but that would violate the rules of the Flame Chaser, and besides, they were currently developing a more important project.

Lin walked out of the Spiral Workshop while pondering this, and then bumped into a pink-haired girl.

"Hey Lin, did you forget something yesterday?"

A charming young girl with eyes as bright as water skipped and hopped behind Lin, her striking elf ears bobbing up and down merrily. Her cheerful smile was like a beacon in the headquarters, never to be extinguished.

On the deck, the sea breeze gently lifted her bright pink hair, like silk being lifted, mesmerizing and beautiful.

The helmeted man walked steadily toward the transport plane. After hearing Elysia's words, he reviewed his itinerary since returning yesterday. There were no problems. After learning the information left by the person who had taken over his body from Mobius, he went back to his room to rest.

He wasn't in his own body in the World Bubble, but he was still mentally fatigued, which allowed him to get a good night's sleep.

But seeing the girl's expectant eyes sparkling and shimmering, Lin thought again carefully whether he had forgotten something.

"Yesterday..." Lin stopped, his brows furrowed behind his helmet.

The girl stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't see Prometheus yesterday," Lin suddenly remembered. "She left early, and I forgot to go see her."

"..."

Elysia's smile froze, and she asked with a forced laugh, "Is there anything else?"

"And..." Lin Ming thought hard for a while, then remembered something else, "Doctor Einstein didn't attend the banquet, so I didn't give her a gift."

"..."

"I'll go see her when I get back; she's been very busy lately."

"... Is there anything else?"

Besides?

It was extremely rare for Elysia's smile to completely disappear; she was now staring intently at the large helmet, hoping it contained a human brain and not a mass of mush.

"No, that's all." Lin shook his head.

"..."

Before boarding the transport plane, he turned to Elysia and said, "Why don't you go and deliver a gift to Doctor Einstein for me? It's in my room..."

"Bang!"

The pink-haired girl was kicked off the deck by Lin and fell headfirst into the sea.

Lin emerged from the water, bewildered, watching the angry figure disappear into the distance, not knowing what had happened.

Chapter Ninety-One: The Dyeing Vat

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Chapter Ninety-Two Apology

Lin rarely hesitates; his usual behavior aligns with most people's perception of people with low emotional intelligence: straightforward and direct.

He has actually done his fair share of deception and has some experience in it, but he only interacts directly with people he knows well because he feels it's unnecessary.

But now he's standing in front of someone's door, hesitating for ten minutes, still unable to decide whether to knock.

After returning from the Deepest Place, Lin came here and still hasn't made any plans.

He found himself becoming increasingly hesitant about the people around him ever since he returned from the World Bubble. For example, just now in the Deepest Place, he actually wanted to ask Aponia why she gave him the ring.

She probably didn't understand the meaning of giving a ring to wear on the ring finger, and that's not a tradition anymore, so he was probably overthinking it, which is why he hesitated and didn't ask.

Perhaps this situation should be called being sentimental?

Aren't you going to knock?

"I have no idea."

"What do you not know?"

"I don't know her..."

Lin suddenly stopped. The 360° view of the helmet's monitor allowed him to easily catch a glimpse of the pink-haired girl smiling sweetly beside him.

She leaned forward slightly, her delicate face close to his helmet, and asked with a mischievous grin, "Don't know what about her?"

"I wonder if she'll pay me back for kicking me earlier."

"..."

Lin was right. His experience in World Bubble had influenced him in many ways. Besides the change in his beliefs, he seemed to have started to act like a jerk unconsciously.

From this perspective, Mobius, who saw through his true nature at a glance, should be considered the person who understood him the most.

"No." Elysia raised her foot, clad in cute high-top boots, expressionlessly. "She'll kick you again."

... The idea that Elysia would get angry sounds like a fantasy to many people, after all, she is Elysia.

A girl who defies definition by common sense and language; if one had to describe her in a single word, it would probably only be "Elysia".

Before Elysia could add a shoe print to her helmet, Lin finally realized what was happening and immediately said in a cold tone, "But I thought about it and realized that kicking someone is a reward for a cute girl, so there's no need to pay compensation. I'm just hesitating here about whether or not to thank her."

Elysia was stunned. She stared blankly at Lin, who was calm and composed, without any guilt. It took her a while to put her feet down.

Then she chuckled, a beautiful smile blooming on her face, "You've suddenly become quite good at charming girls, Lin~ Although your voice still sounds like a synthesized voice with no inflection, let's let it slide this time~"

She was clearly very happy, and Lin was somewhat surprised by his own eloquence just now.

He seems to have... some talent.

"Are you alright after you accidentally fell into the sea?" Elysia emphasized the word "accidentally".

"...without."

It seems they're still angry.

Elysia's anger is different from everyone else's.

When Mobius is angry, he looks at others with the same eyes he would give a lab Lab Rat about to be put on the operating table; Chrono will grab you by the collar and ask if you need brain repair services; Kevin will remain silent while making the surrounding chill even colder.

No one ever puffs out their cheeks like Elysia; it just makes them look adorably angry.

But that was enough to surprise other people passing by.

"I had a discussion with them about the topic of consciousness," Lin said calmly, sitting at the top left corner of the dining table, stirring his coffee. "What are your thoughts?"

"Human research on consciousness is still limited to the rudimentary neurological level." Although Elysia looked sullen, she still continued to talk to Lin normally. She sat in the lower right corner of the dining table, looking in another direction. "Even when using the Herrscher Core to create the Divine Key, no one has considered how to deal with the Herrscher consciousness inside."

"So, is there any way..."

"Aponia was the first psychic Flame-Chaser, and the Honkai Beast she fused with was a beacon."

Elysia shared her opinion. "While Upper-class Honkai Beast may not only be born in large-scale Honkai, their abilities are related to and correspond to those of Herrscher to a certain extent."

Most of the accompanying Upper-class Honkai Beast possess some variants of Herrscher abilities, and the Honkai Beast's abilities allow people to glimpse a corner of the Herrscher Authority.

Hearing Elysia's analysis, Lin also gained some insight.

Aponia fused with Mithra's genes and gained the ability of consciousness. Does that mean that the ability of a certain Herrscher is also related to consciousness?

Honkai Beast that possess some of the abilities of Herrscher should not have been born before the Herrscher, who represent their powers, appeared. Just as before the birth of the Fifth Herrscher, Honkai Beast Emperor-class Honkai Beast Parvati, which control ice and snow, had not appeared.

"Although it hasn't been verified, the Eighth Herrscher might be the key to everything."

The words Yan Luo spoke before he left echoed in his mind again.

A certain thought flashed through his mind: Could it be...?

While he was pondering, his gaze fell on Elysia, whose head was turned away as she sipped her milk tea filled with pearls.

... Speaking of which, Elysia also loves sweets, and she has never had any dietary restrictions.

"Elysia".

"What's wrong?"

When Elysia smiles, it's not much different from how she usually does.