Will a Middle-Aged Stone-Faced Man Meet an Artificial Angel? / No Angel, But a Maid

"Where is the Stargate?"

"I also thought of using the Stargate to reopen the passage to the Quantum Sea, but unfortunately, the Stargate is damaged."

After arriving in this World Bubble, Einstein attempted to use the Stargate to return to his Intrinsic World, but two key conditions were missing when he tried to open the Stargate: First, the Stargate was damaged. Under the influence of the Ninth Herrscher's pseudo-black hole, the spacetime distortion caused the Stargate to malfunction; second, opening the Stargate required a certain amount of energy, namely Honkai Energy.

After Einstein worked day and night using the resources from the ruins of Atra, the Stargate was almost fully repaired. Just then, Lin unexpectedly fell into this World Bubble.

"The fact that the same person from different worlds can come into contact without any repulsion or annihilation suggests that the laws of the Quantum Sea are far beyond what we theoretically speculated," Einstein said, referring to Lin and Yan Luo. "Furthermore, we hadn't considered that since the time flow in the Quantum Sea is different, what would happen if humans from one world were to freely explore the Quantum Sea in the future and then come to our world? Wouldn't that cause chaos?"

The fact that Lin lived a normal life in a world that did not belong to him for three years was itself an incredible thing in Einstein's eyes.

"However, Lin, you and your 'isomer' must be very special beings, able to move freely in the Quantum Sea..."

"She said her influence on other worlds is very limited." Lin recalled what Yan Luo had said, "Even if the process is different, the result will be the same."

Einstein pondered deeply, "Is the world self-correcting...?"

She also referred to different worlds as 'Leaf'.

"Leaf?"

Upon hearing this word, Einstein's brow relaxed, and he suddenly understood. "I see."

"..."

Lin waited for Einstein's explanation, and she didn't hold back, beginning to explain, "The Quantum Sea is not a specific ocean. To be honest, I can't explain its structure to you using a three-dimensional or four-dimensional mathematical system. You can think of it as a 'foundation' that carries countless worlds similar to the World Bubble we live in."

"You should know that a three-dimensional soap bubble actually looks like a sphere that is close to two dimensions. The same applies to the World Bubble, except that we can only observe three dimensions, rather than a phenomenon with more than three dimensions."

"I'm saying all this just to get you to transform concrete concepts into abstract ones. Hearing your Yan Luo called the world a 'leaf' instead of World Bubble confirms another related concept."

"That is, the 'Imaginary Tree'."

"Where Honkai Energy come from? Why does Honkai Energy appear out of thin air, defying the law of conservation? How do Herrscher use their powers through the Herrscher Core? Research on this topic began long before the Second Herrscher was defeated, and that's when the concept of the Imaginary Tree was proposed."

Einstein pointed to a large tree by the roadside that had broken through the corner of a wall and was growing in a crooked manner.

"Now, imagine a tree, and time flows on that tree, like its canopy, branching out into countless worlds, which are the leaves of the tree."

"And beneath the tree lies an endless, unfathomable ocean; these two are the 'foundation'."

"The relationship between the two is still unclear, but it is certain that they will both give birth to worlds. The statement that Yan Luo will inevitably cause Honkai as long as it is a 'leaf' indicates that the world on the Imaginary Tree will inevitably Honkai, while the World Bubble in the Quantum Sea will not."

Einstein thought for a moment and corrected himself, "No, based on the other World Bubble you have experienced, World Bubble do Honkai, but they don't manifest in the 'leaf' form as a catastrophe that is entirely intent on destroying humanity."

"So... the problem lies with the Imaginary Tree..."

Lin also pondered, stroking his chin. Before he left that world, there were signs that it was about to break Honkai. The Herrscher Core from the Previous Civilization and Honkai Energy appeared. He stopped the spread in time and prevented it from developing into a complete Honkai. But... was that really not a coincidence?

Just like the remains of the moon, if humanity doesn't find the sources that trigger the Honkai, then the Honkai won't erupt. But Yan Luo says that the Honkai is only a matter of time.

"At least we've found a direction." Einstein looked at Lin's silver hair, her brow furrowing. "But... Lin, are you really alright now? You've used your Herrscher abilities so many times already, haven't you?"

"... Fortunately, this weapon sealed the Pseudo-Herrscher Core, and I am currently experiencing no abnormalities."

But...

Lin glanced at the chain in his hand.

All indications suggest that the Pseudo-Herrscher Core within him possesses the same ability as this weapon: suppressing Honkai Energy. However, this is actually quite unbelievable.

The core of the Herrscher is in the Oath of Judas, Pseudo-Herrscher Core is in his body. Both are products of Honkai. But why is the ability of the Herrscher born from Honkai suppressing Honkai Energy?

Before Lin could think further, Einstein said, "We've arrived."

Lin raised his head and looked at the crack in the sky.

Within the cracks, there was an indescribable "viscous" substance, as if something was flowing inside, only to be contained by a transparent tympanic membrane and prevented from flowing into the world.

And deeper still...

Lin squinted at the indistinct outline.

That's... a warship?

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Will a Middle-Aged Man with a Stunning Expression Encounter an Artificial Angel?

Humans are a group of foolish existentialists dominated by emotions. In the history of humankind, which can be summarized on a single sheet of paper, the most common occurrences are the victories guided by reason and the opportunities let go by emotion.

This is good, that is good, they boast about anthropocentrism, individuality, freedom... They can't even realize their self-worth, they're garbage that's not even worth the Rosemary in minced meat, yet they're the mainstream among humans.

It's as absurd as if the father of existentialism was a melancholy, nouveau riche child dominated by religious sentiment.

The truth is, when local finances run out of money, someone wins the lottery; when someone in a dormitory is gone, the others get accepted into graduate school; and when a wife cheats, she'll find a way to strip her husband naked.

Even if you kowtow to a god statue ten thousand times, you won't turn plain water into wine.

However, rather than finding enough money to buy a single candy by squatting on the street all day, people are more willing to believe in divine revelation by offering their daughters to clergy.

Thinking makes humans different from others, but emotion distinguishes humans from beasts only by exchanging fur for clothing.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing humanity. In fact, I absolutely adore those blindfolded people who step into a cesspool, as seen in that guy's memories.

Who made me, the messenger of "God"?

"Ding, ding, ding..."

Lin hammered at the tent pegs, having gathered some materials to set up a makeshift tent, intending to spend the night below the crack.

"Thank you so much." Einstein and Number Three walked over carrying some things.

Lin shook his head. This was a problem he had caused, and now only he was capable of fighting. The weapons of the Armed Puppet had already been used as materials during the construction of the settlement.

"Want some wine?" Einstein tossed him a bottle, which Lin caught casually and glanced at the label.

... To be honest, he could only find this brand of wine in Eden's wine cellar.

"I didn't expect to find such good wine. We can't take it with us when we die, so it's just good for us." Einstein tossed over the corkscrew and took the decanter from number three. "I'm not very good at tasting wine, and you have no sense of taste, so it's really a waste."

Lin discovered that they all loved to drink with him, and they didn't care even though he had no sense of taste and couldn't taste anything.

I once heard Eden say that when you drink alone, you're drinking for the taste of the alcohol, but when you drink with others, you're drinking for the atmosphere. That's probably the idea.

"No, Doctor! What if he gets drunk and does something reckless?!" Number Three stepped in to stop him.

"..."

Einstein gave Lin an apologetic look, then patted Number Three on the head. "Number Three, actually, people can't really act recklessly after drinking. Being able to do that kind of thing only means that he had the idea from the beginning. If Lin really had the idea, we can't stop him."

Besides, Lin didn't have any feelings for that kind of thing. Apart from eunuchs, there was probably no man in the world who made him feel safer when he was alone with him.

Lin calmly opened the bottle, poured the wine into the decanter, and said to Number Three, "You can just watch from the side."

"You... you still want me to see the process?! That's so perverted!"

"..."

Lin missed Prometheus Unit 1; at least she was much more normal than her sister, whose mind was full of filth.

While waiting for her to sober up, Lin finished the rest of her work. Number Three brought over a small round table, and they sat around it. Noticing Number Three's gaze, Lin poured her a small glass as well.

Number Three held up his small hand, took a sniff of the wine glass, and seemed to be pondering how much he should drink.

Speaking of which, do Armed Puppet have a drunken effect?

"So many World Bubble, yet they all ended up here. What a coincidence." Einstein smelled the red wine, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. "I thought I would live here with these little guys for the rest of my life. I never expected to be able to talk to other people... even acquaintances."

Don't you want to go back?

"... Me? I'm not quite sure either." Einstein rarely spoke ambiguously. Looking at her reflection in the red wine, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Lin, was everything we fought for meaningless?"

Even after seven years, Einstein has not forgotten what happened in the Branch 10, and she probably never will.

All the efforts made have been in vain; humanity has driven itself to a dead end.

In that world, humanity seemed to be destined only for the despair of the entire race. Even living among Armed Puppet in that World Bubble, Einstein felt an unprecedented sense of freedom.

The Armed Puppet have different personalities, but they are all kind and good children. Before this, they were tools of humans.

Einstein could hardly imagine how she would feel if Armed Puppet were also used as weapons to suppress humanity.

Perhaps deep down, she truly resisted returning to her Intrinsic World, which is why it took her seven years to barely repair the Stargate, but she never thought about how to solve the problem of it being unusable.

"If you don't want to go back, then you don't have to," Lin said calmly.

Einstein silently lowered his head.

Lin knew exactly what this feeling was like, so he didn't want to make choices for others; he wasn't qualified to make choices for others.

"Belch..."

A cute burp broke the silence. The two turned to look and found Number Three holding an empty wine glass, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glazed over as he burped.

"Belch!"

Number Three burped again, and then... fell asleep.

She was snoring sweetly, sleeping very peacefully.

There was a brief silence, then Einstein couldn't help but chuckle, instantly dispelling the heavy atmosphere.

"I originally installed the feeding modules on these little guys when I was bored, but they unexpectedly made them more human-like."

"..."

It's not bad.

They slowly finished their drinks, with Lin drinking most of them. After all, Einstein was not a heavy drinker and was not a researcher who liked to socialize at drinking parties in the Moth of Fire. He would only drink a little when he was in the mood.

"What could that be?" Einstein looked up at the crack, but the scene inside seemed unchanged.

"Have no idea."

"Maybe something will fall down, like... an angel?"

"... the kind that even recognizes a master?"

Einstein stared at Lin in shock. "You've actually read that? Are you the type of person who reads that kind of stuff?"

Lin felt that what she had seen was actually more surprising.

"I just picked this up when I was bored." Lin calmly swirled his wine glass, staring at the aged wine inside.

"Really?"

"... Doctor Einstein, you seem to have some misunderstandings about me." Including the gossip he shared with the Armed Puppet, Lin felt that Einstein's perception of him was somewhat flawed.

Thinking of the girl waiting for him by the lake, Lin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again.

Perhaps the effects of the alcohol were kicking in, for Einstein chuckled knowingly and said, "Haven't you ever imagined an angel falling from the sky who would obey your every word?"

"That kind of thing is impossible." Lin coldly spread his hands. "It's more likely that a demon will fall from the sky than an angel."

"Whoosh!"

A person fell into his arms.

"..."

"..."

The two looked down at the person in Lin's arms, then looked up and stared at each other in silence.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: You May Not Meet Angels, But You May Meet Maids

Well, just like how the name "compulsory education room" can easily cause some strange misunderstandings depending on the different points of division when it is read, sometimes how people interpret what they say is often beyond their control.

For example, Lin said that it's more likely that a devil will fall from the sky than an angel, which was actually meant to show off his sense of humor, since the probability of good things falling from the sky is much smaller than the probability of bad things falling.

... He swore he never imagined a devilish girl would fall from the sky.

So when Einstein looked at him and the unconscious girl he was holding with a strange expression, he really didn't know how to explain it.

Should we apologize, saying that he was actually an envoy sent from hell to earth, and that someone has come to take him back?

Fortunately, just when Lin was at his wit's end trying to figure out how to explain that this was an accident, the girl who had fallen woke up.

"Hmm..." she let out an unconscious soft moan. Lin and Einstein exchanged a glance. She turned around and took the mat that she had originally planned to sleep on from the tent, and placed it on the open ground. Lin supported the girl's back and helped her lie down slowly.

"Let me check."

Einstein stepped forward to check the girl's vital signs.

He placed his hand on her wrist. "Pulse is normal."

He pressed his ear against his chest and said, "My heartbeat is normal."