Chapter 27

"I'm not interested in men."

Mei snorted. Especially after nearly being enticed by a random man who suddenly appeared in front of her assistant, she now had a strong aversion to men who flirted around.

"It's fine for you to say that now, Elysia will surely believe you. But what if one day a few children suddenly show up calling you Grandma Mei? Don't argue with them then, because they might just be the children of Blanca, Klein, Cang Xuan, and Dan Zhu."

Hearing this, Mei's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the woman whose words were as cold as ice. She had finally managed to gather a few useful assistants, and this woman was already thinking about all of them going on maternity leave?!

How could you think of something so malicious?!

"Alright, alright, Ai, don't upset Doctor Mei. We still need to prepare to welcome our distinguished guest."

"My dear Eden, how could I bear to upset Doctor Mei? It's just... she really needs a partner who can take care of her and understand her."

Elysia chuckled lightly, her gaze falling on Mei. Although Mei, who was nearing thirty, still retained the beauty of her youth, the long hours of staying up late and the high intensity of her experimental work were beginning to show on her appearance.

The crow's feet at the corners of her eyes had deepened significantly since they first met years ago. Coupled with her dislike for wasting time on grooming, if she hadn't been naturally beautiful, her appearance might have aged even more, approaching forty.

"I don't need one."

Mei coldly refused. Her experiences from childhood had made her distrustful of many things. Only a very few people she had known for a long time could barely earn her approval.

"Is anyone home?"

Suddenly, a strange and energetic voice reached everyone's ears. Elysia's eyes lit up. Her "beautiful girl radar" told her that the source of this voice must be an incredibly cute, invincible beautiful girl, just like herself.

"Yes!"

Elysia pushed open the door to the second bedroom. The fragments of the Sword of Fallen Gods had been placed there before. As she opened the door, she was met with the sight of a pink-haired girl in a cute blue and white casual outfit. The moment she saw this pink-haired girl, Elysia's non-existent memories began to form.

I have a sister.

Yes, A long-lost, pink-haired, super cute beautiful girl sister, just like me!

"Hello, I'm March 7th."

March 7th offered a bright, pure smile to the pink-haired girl who entered. The moment she was hit by that smile, Elysia unhesitatingly rushed forward, wanting to give March 7th an enthusiastic hug.

However, before she could act, a man appeared and blocked March 7th. Elysia, unable to stop herself, ended up hugging the young man who had just appeared in the room.

"So enthusiastic, Elysia?"

"You must be very enthusiastic towards new friends. That's the way cute girls entertain guests."

Even though she had hugged the wrong person, Elysia remained poised, showing no signs of annoyance or shyness. Instead, she formally hugged the young man and then calmly took a step back, revealing a smile as beautiful as March 7th's.

... ...

"You're Shirou, right?"

"Mhm."

Standing before Elysia was an orange-haired young man in a black, form-fitting combat suit, with a white cloak draped over it. He looked to be around twenty years old.

While his features weren't exceptionally stunning, they unexpectedly gave off a kind and gentle impression, as if he radiated the warmth of a friendly older brother.

His light golden eyes added a touch of sharpness to his somewhat soft features, making his overall appearance more defined and giving him a more masculine aura.

"It's finally nice to meet you."

Elysia's eyes sparkled. She was a true "face-con" and while she didn't harbor much dislike for ordinary or ugly things, she invested more emotion in beautiful things. Shirou Emiya's appearance was enough to make her feel pleased.

... ...

Beautiful girls are certainly cuter, but this kind of handsome man, so different from Kevin and Hen, is also a rare type.

"Elysia, have the guests arrived?"

Just as Shirou and Elysia were about to speak again, Mei, Eden, and Miss Vill-V, who had appeared from nowhere, also entered the room from outside the second bedroom. At the same time, from behind Shirou, through the Aurora Curtain, Miss Asta, Serval, Cocolia, Bronya, and Lynx also emerged.

In an instant, the entire room was filled with a bevy of beauties.

And almost at the same moment, a flicker of green light flashed in the eyes of Mr. Emiya and Miss Elysia...

Just as Miss Elysia couldn't ignore beautiful girls, Mr. Emiya felt an urge to get his hands on the famous singer and the green-haired doctor who appeared before him.

Of course, he wasn't so impatient that he wanted to start a "poker game" right away.

Although, he really did want to start a "poker game" in the room right now.

But...

It was still too early.

More importantly, compared to simply playing poker, he was more looking forward to exchanging ideas about inventions and creations with the genius miss with the peculiar tall hat and dark golden hair at the very back.

Vill-V, His most desired partner, was now within his sight.

Chapter 056: Kevin is about to shed a tear. (Seeking first order, 8/10)

"Shirou, my Path's power is severely restricted here."

After a simple round of introductions and pleasantries, everyone gathered in the living room.

March 7th was the first to notice that her powers seemed to be trapped in an inert space, making them difficult to use, like gears lacking lubrication.

"The 'Trailblaze' has not reached this universe. It's surrounded by an extremely sealed 'Imaginary Tide Belt,' making it even more isolated than Jarilo-VI. Furthermore, one faction has deployed 'Trial Equipment' for 'Selection' of new members here, further isolating the 'Path'."

Shirou Emiya briefly summarized the situation on this Earth for everyone.

His explanation, however, only served to confuse almost everyone present.

"Imaginary Tide Belt? Trailblaze? Path? Faction Selection?"

Upon hearing these new terms, Mei and Vill-V's eyes began to gleam. They were particularly fond of such topics, especially Mei, who vaguely sensed that the mention of faction selection was crucial for them.

"I can't say much about the 'Selection' as it might be monitoring everything here. I can explain it to you once we reach a new location."

He pointed to the sky, actually referring to the 'Cocoon of Finality.' The strength of that thing was indeed difficult to contend with in the current version, and his Path powers were limited here; he wasn't a monster on the level of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven.

"Then let's organize a small team-building event. I imagine Dr. Mei hasn't fully trusted the origins of our group yet."

Shirou Emiya clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and then activated the Aurora Curtain once more.

"I happen to have coordinates for a new location, and Dr. Mei might really like the situation there."

"What do you mean?"

"The planet there was once implanted with a gene seed called 'Chakra' by an alien, which gave rise to a group that calls themselves ninjas. Through the 'Chakra' gene, they can extract corresponding 'energy' and use it to control the five basic elements: water, fire, lightning, earth, and wind. They can also combine them to form new elements like ice, wood, and steel, which they call Kekkei Genkai. This ability can be passed down to the next generation through genetic inheritance, and it can even interfere with soul reincarnation."

Super genes!

Inheritance to the next generation!

Reincarnation!

These phrases struck at the core of the biologist's interests. Her eyes began to involuntarily glow green, but she quickly calmed down and frowned as she asked Shirou Emiya, "You know me very well, and you're also exceptionally familiar with our situation."

"Didn't Elysia explain things to you?"

"Explain what?"

"Ehehe."

Shirou Emiya glanced at Elysia, who playfully stuck out her tongue and quickly ran over to Mei and Vill-V to explain everything. As the two began to understand the current situation, their expressions became quite unnatural.

A man who's seen the script, is this really necessary?

As for Vill-V, after a brief moment of shock, she understood the possibility Elysia had asked her about earlier – creating a data space to contain everyone's "memories."

"A future design? Sounds good, but it feels like it's lacking 'novelty'."

She pondered over improvement plans in her mind. As a prodigy who had severed multiple personalities yet still held the position of the Flame-Chaser's top inventor for the future, Vill-V's qualifications, in a sense, gave her a chance to enter the Genius Society.

Of course... it was only a possibility. At worst, she also had the qualifications to enter the Scholarly Society. If she could break through the theoretical constraints proposed by some members of the Genius Society and eventually forge her own path, a ticket to the Genius Society would be extended to her immediately.

"Are we leaving already? I haven't had a chance to look around yet."

Little March sounded a bit regretful. She had come to a new world but had to leave without taking any photos.

"We have the Aurora Curtain, so we can always come back. Or March, you could stay here and explore?"

"Never mind, I'll go with you guys. Besides, ninjas... that sounds really cool."

After the others present inquired a bit, they were almost universally interested in the ninja world that Shirou Emiya had described. Especially the people of Belobog, who were in the midst of a nationwide revival. If the so-called "Chakra" could be implanted through projects like human modification, it would undoubtedly accelerate Belobog's revival progress.

"Then it's a unanimous decision."

Shirou Emiya nodded with satisfaction. However, after a brief pause, he suddenly remembered the existence of the "Reincarnation Rebirth Technique" there, and then tapped his chin, asking Vill-V, "Dr. Vill-V, do you have the Herrscher Core of Fire in your possession?"

"It's in the lab, why? Do you want that thing?"

Vill-V stared at this unfamiliar man with unknown origins, smiling slyly as she pondered the reason Shirou Emiya brought up the Herrscher Core of Fire.

"Herrscher Cores seem to have the characteristic of preserving souls. In the future I know of, a Core of Reason absorbed the consciousness of 300,000 people, preserving the souls of all victims from a large-scale Honkai Impact event.

"And in the place we are about to go, there is a technique that can perfectly return souls to their bodies and revive them, called the Reincarnation Rebirth Technique."

"I want to see if the Herrscher Core of Fire still holds someone's soul."

Someone's soul?

Vill-V immediately understood who Shirou Emiya was referring to. A hint of light appeared in her dark brown pupils.

"If you can really do it, I can give you the Herrscher Core of Fire. However... let's get that thing first."

Elysia's eyes also showed a look of pleasant surprise.

The sacrifices of Himiko and many familiar members had caused a great deal of sadness and grief for many within the Flame-Chaser organization.

Especially before the Herrscher of Flames incident, Elysia had organized a team-building banquet, which Himiko and Hua from her team had attended.

Although Hua survived the Herrscher of Flames incident, she had not been able to recover from the loss of her captain.

This included Kevin, the once cheerful young man. After causing the deaths of many during the Herrscher of Death incident, his heart had become extremely closed off. However, he had slowly begun to open up with the guidance of Himiko and others. After personally killing Himiko during the Herrscher of Flames incident, he had become much more withdrawn than before.

If Himiko could return...

"Will Kevin and Hua just drop little pearls on the spot... Oh right, Kevin should be dropping little ice pearls directly now."

Chapter 057: Ribbit! Retreat Quickly! There's an Uchiha Madwoman! (Seeking First Subscription, 9/10)

Having already forgotten the concept of time, in the boundless, pitch-black wilderness, she no longer remembered how long she had been left here.

A year?

Ten years?

Or perhaps a hundred or a thousand years, who knew.

She only remembered that at first, she might have still hoped someone would release her soon, but by now, she no longer entertained that possibility.

Now, all she longed for was the arrival of death, so that this silent darkness would no longer torment her.

But…

How much longer would she have to wait?

Her future held no hope.

Lost in this despairing darkness, she could occasionally hear phantom voices: the warm calls of a man and a woman, the cold reprimands of her kin, the hateful curses of her enemies.

And recently…

She seemed to occasionally hear a strange man constantly asking who she was.

However,