The Sea of Quanta and Parallel Worlds

"For you, a cat, then."

Cocolia, on the other end, had yet to understand what was happening when she discovered that her connection with Bronya had been severed.

"Wow! So cute!"

After dealing with the mech and coming over, Kiana snatched the gray cat Qin Mo was holding from his hands.

The gray cat struggled endlessly in Kiana's hands, but how could a mere cat possibly compete with the Kaslana family's monstrous strength?

"Qin Mo, she's an enemy, right? Why did you turn her into this? Is it punishment?"

Kiana had borrowed the Monkey Talisman from Qin Mo many times before, so she was quite familiar with its power.

"She was only being controlled by someone just now. But judging by how she is now, it seems turning into an animal removed the control?"

Looking at Bronya, who no longer reacted in a stiff, mechanical manner after becoming a cat, Qin Mo stroked his chin before turning to Mei, who had walked over. "There's a chip in her brain. Someone used that chip to control her and make her attack us."

"How could they do that? Controlling such a young child..."

Mei covered her mouth.

"So I want to destroy the chip in her brain."

"Destroy it? But do we have the ability to do that?"

Hearing Mei's question, Qin Mo smiled. "Did you forget? The power we possess."

Qin Mo raised his hand, and golden light flickered across it like electrical arcs.

"Ripple?"

Mei blinked as she looked at the familiar aura around Qin Mo's hand. Both she and Kiana could use Ripple as well, but only barely. Ripple required not only talent, but also long periods of arduous training.

The two had naturally learned Ripple in preparation for fighting Dio.

But they were still far from being able to use it proficiently or take advantage of its properties.

"Immortal Ripple has a history of over four thousand years. It wasn't created merely to deal with one or two vampires. Ripple is the power of the body, but it is also the power of miracles. Just trust in Ripple! Besides, we have you here, Mei, don't we?"

Qin Mo silently switched his character card to Will Zeppeli. When it came to Ripple, among everyone Qin Mo knew, no one's skill could surpass that of the first Ripple user to appear in the story.

"Mm! Qin Mo, go ahead without worry! Leave everything else to me!"

Qin Mo nodded and looked at Kiana. "Kiana, hold her down. I'm going to turn her back."

"Leave it to me!"

Kiana took off her coat and spread it on the ground, then pressed the cat, which had been struggling nonstop, onto it.

Qin Mo reached out and placed his hand on the cat's head. The palm-sized cat transformed in a flash of light into a gray-haired girl.

Kiana also went from restraining the cat with one hand to using both hands and feet, pinning Bronya beneath her entire body.

"Who are you? Why did you capture Bronya?"

After changing back, Bronya instead calmed down. Expressionless, she raised the only part of herself that could move beneath Qin Mo's hand—her little head—and looked at Qin Mo, who was crouching in front of her, and Mei, who had summoned Crazy Diamond and stood ready nearby.

Of course, she could not see Crazy Diamond. All she could see was Mei standing beside them.

"You little brat, you were the one who attacked us first."

Hearing Bronya's words, Kiana immediately demanded loudly, "We haven't even asked why you attacked us yet."

"Impossible. Bronya has no memory of that."

"What did you say?!"

Kiana wanted to say more, but Qin Mo interrupted her. "Alright, Kiana. She has no memory of when she was being controlled. Everything will be fine once I destroy the chip in her brain."

"Wait, you can't destroy Bronya's biochip."

"Huh? What are you going on about this time, you little brat?"

Bronya ignored Kiana's questioning. She could clearly tell that Qin Mo was the leader, so she said to him, "Bronya's emotional circuits are damaged, and her legs are injured. Without the biochip, Bronya cannot move."

"Qin Mo..."

After hearing that, Mei looked at Qin Mo. "Is what she said true?"

"Mm, she isn't lying. But it's only a small problem. Mei, you can solve it."

He nodded and placed both hands on Bronya's head. "Just be careful not to repair the chip along with everything else."

He took a deep breath. Air entered his lungs and then his blood, and an unusual Ripple was born within his bloodstream.

"Ripple Overdrive!"

Bronya stared in astonishment as the hands pressed against her head blossomed with golden light. She could feel something seeping into her brain, but what surprised her was that this infiltrating power did not make her feel uncomfortable.

Instead, it gave her a strange sense of comfort, as though she were basking beneath warm winter sunlight.

Crack...

It sounded as though something had shattered.

Bronya knew that it was the sound of the chip breaking. Yet unexpectedly, the pain she had anticipated from the destruction of her biochip never came. However, she could also feel that she had completely lost her connection to the armor on her legs.

"Alright, Mei, I'll leave the rest to you. It went more smoothly than expected. No damage was caused."

Feeling that he had achieved his goal, Qin Mo released his hands and immediately spoke to Mei.

Mei nodded. Crazy Diamond placed one hand on Bronya's head and the other on her leg.

A strange light, visible only to the three Stand users, slowly enveloped Bronya.

Because she needed to restore Bronya perfectly, Mei did not pursue speed. Instead, she used the safest method to completely repair the damage in Bronya's brain and legs.

"Done."

"Kiana, let her go."

Kiana nodded and slowly released Bronya. Bronya did not immediately try to run away. After all, she knew perfectly well that she had no way of escaping the three people before her. But she had no intention of running, either, because she still remembered her mission: to retrieve Herrscher of Thunder Raiden Mei.

She had already recognized that the person who seemed to have healed her was Raiden Mei. She was also curious why Mei looked completely normal, without even the slightest trace of being a Herrscher.

But she knew that she should get close to her now.

"Your name is Bronya, right? I've already treated you. Try and see if you can stand up?"

Mei crouched beside Bronya as she spoke.

Treated her? Even Cocolia's advanced technology had been unable to treat her, yet Mei claimed she had healed her just by touching her?

Bronya frowned, feeling displeased by their flippant attitude, but she quickly noticed something was wrong.

Weren't her emotional circuits damaged!?

Why was she feeling this way?

Quantum Sea and Parallel Worlds

"It... really was healed."

Bronya stood in the ruined street, moving her legs for the first time in a long while.

She could even feel joy, and faint tears welled up at the corners of her eyes. Was this what it felt like to cry tears of joy?

She had lost her emotions for nearly half a year and had long grown accustomed to it. Moreover, ever since losing Heer, she had not believed she could ever open her heart to anyone else, but she had never expected...

"What's wrong? Does something still hurt?"

Seeing tears appear at the corners of Bronya's eyes, Raiden Mei asked worriedly.

"No. These are tears of joy. Thank you, Big Sister Mei."

Bronya wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand as she answered.

"That's good. It's my first time performing such detailed treatment, so I was worried I might not be able to do it properly."

"Why was Bronya here alone? And why did she attack us just now?"

Once Mei was reassured, she recalled what had just happened.

"Bronya doesn't know either. When Bronya woke up, Bronya had already turned into a cat."

Although regaining her emotions made Bronya somewhat unaccustomed to them, she still made good use of her experience from when she had lacked emotions to conceal her true thoughts. Perhaps she could not hide anything from old foxes, but deceiving Mei and Kiana was more than enough.

As for Qin Mo?

Sorry, he had known Bronya's origins, identity, and purpose from the very beginning.

Bronya also secretly observed Qin Mo. In only a few short minutes, she had already figured out the hierarchy within this small three-person team.

Qin Mo was the core of the other two, though he also respected Mei's wishes. Kiana was the lowest-ranking fighter.

Thus, Bronya instantly formed a plan: gain Mei's sympathy, then persuade Qin Mo to let her join their team.

But what she had not expected was that after Bronya answered, Mei's first reaction was not anything else, but to look toward Qin Mo.

"Then let's take her with us. The chip in her brain has been destroyed, so she won't be controlled again."

Qin Mo also glossed over the important details as he spoke. What a joke—this was one of the Protagonist Group. How could he possibly turn her away?

Could it really be this smooth?

Bronya even suspected there might be some conspiracy involved, but after Qin Mo spoke, the others also lowered their guard around her. It did not seem like it.

"Then does Bronya want to escape with us, or is there someone she needs to save?"

Mei happily hugged Bronya, who was still suspicious. Watching this, Kiana grew a little jealous and hurried over to hug Mei. "Mei, don't be so biased. Hug me too."

So what is this? You people are far too trusting, aren't you?

Just like that, Bronya muddleheadedly joined the three-person team, and Qin Mo successfully gathered the Protagonist Group.

At the same time, he received feedback from the system.

Protagonist Group detected. Main quests are now unlocked.

During main quests, daily quests will be suspended, and instances will be temporarily closed.

Main Quest One: Escape Chang Kong City with the Protagonist Group. Reward: 100 crystals.

Main Quest Two: Join St. Freya Academy. Reward: 100 crystals.

Main Quest Three: Establish a base at St. Freya Academy together with the Protagonist Group. Reward depends on base completion. Reward: 50–1000 crystals.

Qin Mo had wondered why he had not seen any quests after returning today. So this was what the system had been waiting for.

While Qin Mo studied the system quests, Bronya's worldview was completely overturned.

In order to get close to Raiden Mei, she had acted cute toward Mei, provoking Kiana's dissatisfaction and gaining Mei's affection. Through that, she learned what the powers displayed before her actually were.

Ripple?

Stands?

What even were those?

She had never heard of any of them.

"That huge mech of yours—isn't it a Stand? I clearly saw it suddenly appear."

"Heavy Tank Bunny isn't... Wait, where is Bronya's Heavy Tank Bunny?"

After the series of shocks, Bronya had forgotten all about Heavy Tank Bunny. Hearing her words, Kiana smiled a little awkwardly. "Sorry, I forgot just now. Here."

Kiana took a mechanical rabbit from her pocket and placed it in Bronya's hands.

Bronya tilted her head and stared expressionlessly at Kiana. "Idiot Kiana, although Heavy Tank Bunny is called Bunny, it is not a rabbit."

"You're the idiot! I told you, this is your Heavy Tank Bunny. It was just turned into a rabbit."

Bronya thought for a long time but could not imagine what power could accomplish such a thing. Then she remembered that she herself had been turned into a cat. "Then how do we change it back?"

"Ah, that? You'll have to find Qin Mo. He has the Monkey Talisman."

Monkey Talisman...

Bronya silently memorized the term and looked toward Mei.

Although Mei felt it was not good to reveal it so directly, since Kiana had already said it, she did not hide it. "Only Qin Mo can restore it."