Fate Cannot Be Changed

Does it mean we absolutely must kill the Eighth Herrscher completely and extract her Herrscher Core? But according to research reports, the Herrscher's consciousness itself is stored within the Herrscher Core. For this Herrscher of Reason, is extracting the Herrscher Core enough? And...

"The current state of the Eighth Herrscher ..." Mei continued to read the Eighth Herrscher's brainwave data on the instrument. The more she looked, the more her brows furrowed. She said to Kevin, Lin, and Elysia beside her, "It's the same as those who have been corrupted."

"Or rather, the person lying here is no longer the Eighth Herrscher. The Herrscher Core within her body has fallen into a dormant state, unlike the Herrscher Core that can connect to the Imaginary Gate. In other words, this body cannot access the Herrscher's powers."

"The consciousness and power of the Eighth Herrscher... vanished from this body, from this core."

The atmosphere inside the Spiral Workshop was rather somber. Only a few people remained standing in the vast base, all silent and with gloomy faces.

The preliminary conclusion is that... the Eighth Herrscher's consciousness and powers have been transferred to the bodies of other corrupted individuals. Because she is Herrscher of consciousness, she does not depend on her original form.

In other words, they now have to search for the consciousness of the Herrscher of Reason among that huge number of people, and she can transfer to other people's bodies at any time, unless... they kill everyone at once.

"Can't we destroy the Herrscher Core?" Hen asked Mei, who was looking down, as he paced back and forth in the Spiral Workshop, his steps somewhat disordered.

"... Unfortunately, after losing her powers, the Herrscher Core is just a shell containing Honkai Energy. Perhaps it is the special nature of the Eighth Herrscher that gives her this ability. Destroying the Herrscher Core may not stop her, but may instead allow her to condense a Herrscher Core in a new body."

"Then what should we do!"

The angry roar of Hen was the voice of every one of them.

What should I do?

Chapter 111 Fate Cannot Be Changed

"The specific effects still need to be tested, but we don't have the conditions for that right now." Spasi and Sue distributed the mental resistance drugs to a few people, and then Einstein sent the drug's ingredients and manufacturing process to the branch base that had not yet been completely overrun.

This can initially stabilize the various branches that are constantly under attack, but ultimately they still have to return to the fundamental issues.

"Dessidobia, the thirteenth observation experiment, begin."

Inside the cabin, Dessidobia, with her eyes closed, wore a pained expression. Cold sweat kept pouring from her forehead, and her temples swelled as if they were about to explode.

Lin didn't focus on the observation experiment that had failed twelve times, but instead glanced at Hen, who was looking down and somewhat dejected.

"..."

Brenda and Griseo were also corrupted.

This is what Lin knows. Brenda, as an adult, is just as dormant in her mind as the other corrupted people, but Griseo seems to have a problem.

Whether it's because children's minds are too fragile or their brains can't handle it, Griseo's brainwaves are failing.

This strong man, who had experienced countless battlefields, now acted like a child who had fallen into the mud as a husband and father.

They could do nothing but watch Dessidobia painfully and futilely observe the consciousness world of the Eighth Herrscher.

"... Where is the other person?"

Hen raised his head, his bloodshot eyes and somber voice conveying a message to everyone.

He was looking at Lin, and Lin calmly looked back at him.

"That person... is also a psychic-sensory Flame-Chaser, right?"

"..."

"I'm going to find her."

After saying that, Hen got up and walked out. No one stopped him; they just watched him leave quietly.

"I'll go too."

It was Lin who spoke, and before anyone else could react, he had already gone out and caught up with Hen.

"... You can't find the way."

This was the first thing Lin said after catching up with Hen. He quickly came to Hen's right side.

"... You have no objections?" Although Hen was so anxious that he could hardly control his steps, he still spoke to Lin in the same tone as usual.

"Why should I have an opinion?" Lin countered.

"She was unwilling to participate in the battle."

Lin paused for a moment, then asked, puzzled, "Aren't we supposed to go and persuade her now?"

"I thought... no, it's nothing."

Lin didn't take the conversation to heart. When they arrived at the helipad, Prometheus, who had returned to his body, was already waiting there. They boarded the transport plane without stopping, and then Prometheus flew to the coordinates of the Deepest Place.

The location of the Deepest Place is a secret to others, but for Lin, it's a place he's been to many times.

After it was built by Vill-V, the Deepest Place underwent several modifications, and even its creator, Vill-V, is now unaware of its internal structure.

But... Elysia knew.

So Lin knew that too.

He and Hen arrived at the Deepest Place with ease. Lin first checked the guards at the Deepest Place, and as expected, all the guards there had been contaminated and were unconscious.

After seeing them all "properly" faint here, Lin Hehen stepped into the deepest shadows of the Deepest Place.

"Splash."

Aponia slowly opened her eyes, her indifferent blue pupils reflecting the figures of the two people walking towards her. She didn't say a word, quietly waiting for them to come to her.

Aponia made virtually no requests to the Firemoths when she arrived at the Deepest Place, but her only request was to have a small window added to the back of her room to let in light.

The sun was shining brightly, and the only ray of light shone on her. A person walked up to the railing and stood in the light.

"We need your help," Hen, who was standing next to Lin, said bluntly.

"... I... will not participate in the battle." Aponia replied calmly, seemingly oblivious to the urgency on Hen's face, in an ethereal voice.

"I know you harbor a deep resentment towards the Firemoth, and I've heard your story from Lin and Elysia ... But now, regardless of personal grudges, are you just going to stand by and watch humanity fall into crisis without doing anything?"

"...I have no resentment towards the Fire-Chasing Moth." Aponia turned her gaze to Yuhen, her thin, pale pink lips parting slightly, "It's just...it's 'fate'."

"What... fate?"

Hen couldn't understand Aponia's words. He looked at her in confusion, but Aponia had already closed her eyes and wasn't meeting his gaze.

"Your wife will perish in this massive Honkai, and your daughter, due to weakened consciousness, will be forced to undergo Hypervariable Surgery to become Flame-Chaser."

"You're talking nonsense—"

Hen suddenly couldn't speak. He saw Aponia open her eyes again, but instead of clear, gem-like blue eyes, they were now bewitching, ominous crimson eyes.

As he met those eyes that made him stiffen, something came to mind.

How did Aponia find out about him?

"This is your 'fate,' and their 'fate,'" Aponia calmly announced to Hen. "Now, 'Please,' go back."

Hen's expression suddenly changed. He looked at Aponia in a daze, as if he had forgotten the purpose of his visit for a moment. After glancing at Aponia a few times in confusion, he turned and left.

"..."

"..."

Then, only Lin and Aponia remained.

Lin stood in the light, wearing a helmet. He didn't look at Aponia, but instead looked back at the departing traces.

"Can you help me?" Lin asked indifferently.

"... Yes, but it won't help. The 'fate' that is about to happen cannot be changed."

Why not try to make a change?

At this moment, Lin thought of Yan Luo, her Parallel World self. Like Aponia, she saw the future and firmly believed that the future could not be changed and that no matter how much she struggled, it would be useless.

"Before today, I had written a total of seventeen books." Aponia turned to look at some stacked notebooks in the corner. "I have given seven people the opportunity to write their future books and to encourage and help them change their 'destiny'."

"Among them are prisoners of the Deepest Place."

"Caregiver".

"The High Council who have come here."

"Soldiers on a mission."

"But none of them... changed their fate."

"The process may be different, but the result is exactly the same as the book of destiny I gave them."

Qixi Festival Special: The Thief and the Cream Puff (Part 1)

Qixi Festival, the festival Lin hates the most.

Of course, many people share his dislike for this holiday when men and women indiscriminately release hormones, emptying the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims, or taking the opportunity to cheat on their unsuspecting boyfriends, causing hotel rooms to be fully booked.

But the reasons he was disliked by those people were different.

"... Aren't you going to take a plane today?" Lin opened his slightly tired eyes and, as soon as he lifted the blanket, he saw the hardworking plumber kindly unclogging his pipes.

"Mmm?"

"Spit it out before you speak."

Lin sat wearily on the edge of the bed. Eden seemed completely unconcerned about his appearance, elegantly wiping his mouth as he said, "Of course, you should spend Qixi Festival with your boyfriend. Your girlfriend can't come because of something, so how could I bear to leave you behind?"

"How come I didn't know I had a girlfriend?"

"Huh? So you mean..." Eden, being someone who frequently appears on the world stage, had an exceptionally high level of composure, his expression almost tearful and endearing, "I'm just a friend with benefits?"

"... Isn't that what you did in the first place?" Lin sighed. "Think what you want, but you should go back. You've been missing for so long, and the whole world is waiting for you. Besides, if you don't show up on this day, people will spread rumors. Otherwise, you wouldn't have booked a plane ticket today, would you?"

"But upon closer reflection, it doesn't really count as spreading rumors, does it?"

"... Stop talking nonsense, I'll drive you there."

How could it have turned out like this? Lin couldn't help but sigh again.

Eden ran her hand through her cascading, magnificent hair, taking in Lin's expression, and smiled sweetly, "Wait a minute, there are still two hours."

"It takes an hour to drive there."

"That's still an hour away."

Eden pressed Lin down on the bed, her eyes filled with seductive allure as she licked her rose-red lips.

Watching the plane take off and soar into the clouds, Mr. Lin finally felt relieved. He stretched and glanced listlessly at the couples nearby who were getting off the plane and hugging their boyfriends or girlfriends. He muttered, "It's not like I'm going to die tomorrow."

Since he was leaving today, and hadn't slept all night, Lin decided to catch up on sleep on a chair at the airport.

In his dream, he saw him as still arrogant and innocent, shouting that he wanted to build a harem.

Lin Zhen wanted to go back in time and slap herself twice, telling him to stop dreaming of building a harem and that he had already become a scumbag.

It probably won't be long before he becomes a true scumbag.

"Hmm... it's so late?"

When Lin opened his eyes again, he found that the sun was about to set. He yawned and stood up from his seat.

Many people today would love to spend all their time in a hotel, but he slept for half a day at the airport, which is quite unusual.

The crimson glow of the setting sun bathed his face in a deep red. After sleeping on the hard chair for half a day, he felt stiff all over. He stretched a little and then subconsciously reached into his pocket to check if anything was missing.

However, no one should be able to steal his things, and his sensitivity to the outside world is unmatched by ordinary people.

But...

"... Huh?"

Lin paused for a few seconds, then quickly turned his inner pocket inside out.

It's gone.

They're all gone!

Wallet, car keys, ID card, driver's license... all gone, his pockets were emptier than his face.

"I... got robbed?"

Lin stood there, stunned, uttering a question that resonated deep within his soul.