The Doctor's Collecting Hobby

But those vague, headache-inducing thoughts that suddenly appeared in her mind were definitely not fake, so she...

"How are you, Doctor? Are you alright?"

Priestess asked with concern, but the Doctor shook her head to indicate that she was fine. She stood up and realized that what had just happened was a coincidence, a fateful coincidence. It was not an easy thing to communicate with the distant future, but it also showed her what kind of ending her current civilization would ultimately have.

Just as they predicted, this world is heading towards death, all efforts are in vain, the destruction of civilization is the result of the convergence of all world lines, and the whole cannot be changed... But, she can leave more behind!

"I'm fine, Priestess. I'm applying to continue the Deep Blue Project, just so that... once our people awaken, they will have a more suitable environment to live in."

That couldn't be the case. Priestess knew the Doctor too well, so she wouldn't ask why; she would only offer her support.

In the distant future, Mizuki withdrew from the Sarkaz's Sea of Consciousness to avoid placing any further burden on Surtr.

Organizing memories takes a lot of time, Surtr will probably sleep for a while to allow herself to review those memories from beginning to end. Mizuki picked her up, put her on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and then removed the Black Crown from her head.

Mizuki felt that she had gained a lot. Surtr still had many secrets, but she would not presume to pry into her friend's memories; that would be very impolite.

"It's necessary to go to Victoria."

That doesn't seem quite right, because Mizuki also has quite a few scattered offspring in Victoria, and he knows all the Sarkaz's movements and the Grand Dukes' schemes.

He knew that the Sarkaz were currently transporting supplies and carrying out construction work. The Storm Tower, airships, and... even the skeletons of Feranmut, as well as those strange nodes, were definitely not meant to be used as Wi-Fi.

And then there are the Grand Dukes, who outwardly remain inactive, but secretly wish they could infiltrate Londinium like a sieve, each harboring their own ulterior motives. Some want to support a new king, while others want to reclaim the bloodline of the old king as a claim... Hmm, speaking of which, it seems that the daughter of Victoria's last monarch is on Rhodes Island.

Mizuki gently bit her finger, realizing that Rhodes Island seemed to be home to many extraordinary figures, the kind who could cause a stir anywhere, but these were irrelevant to Mizuki.

He cared little for either the turbulent waves of Victoria or the flames of war in Bolivar; his mission was simply to confront the threats that threatened to destroy Terra.

But he did need to meet Theresa. Using Theresa as a point of entry, he could better obtain what he wanted. What he would get from Surtr was more of... a kind of predestined coincidence that allowed him to glimpse a corner of an ancient civilization and see how that ancient and glorious civilization roamed the sea of stars.

"Is it... going to rain again?"

In the Great Hall of Londinium, the Shapeshifter had returned to his original form. He watched as the once clear sky was once again shrouded in dark clouds, and a sense of unease arose in his heart.

In that instant, he, or rather they all, sensed the surprise and caution emanating from the Sarkaz Souls. Someone had touched the souls—which kinsman of pure and ancient blood was it?

There was no time to think, because the guest was about to arrive. The Shapeshifter intuitively judged the guest's identity, because the Shapeshifter's race and the guest's race had too many similarities, and he didn't know which category to classify this guest into.

Are they the Beast Lords, each with their own distinct personality, who have roamed this land for thousands of years? Or are they the Feranmut that have rarely appeared since a thousand years ago, wielding various powers?

No, it's a completely new existence; its very existence represents a concept.

"Life..."

The Shapeshifter murmured, watching the grace of life descend upon the earth, nourishing countless creatures, whether animal or plant, Sarkaz or Feline, it treated them all equally; in the eyes of life, everything was so simple.

Grass sprouted again from the tracks left by the car, and the Infected felt exceptionally relaxed. The Originium within them remained calm during the rain, and they did not fall ill even while bathing in the rain; in fact, they became even more energetic.

He reached out and caught a raindrop, feeling the life force within it—enough to bring a Fowlbeast back to life—and realized that the guest's intentions this time might not be simple.

However, Mizuki did not appear before him as he had expected. Instead, she left a message on the water on the ground. "Come back in a couple of days. I'll check the tourist guide for Londinium first to see what good food is available."

"Is this... a subtle hint?"

The Shapeshifter, seeing the words before him transform back into water splashes, was somewhat confused about Mizuki's thoughts. He needed to consider it... If Mizuki was coming, should he try to make a good impression? Mizuki wasn't exactly a saint, but he disliked the Bloodfiend Demon Lord's mannerisms. What if that red-eyed old man said something inappropriate and got beaten up by Mizuki...?

Moreover, Londinium has been occupied by the Sarkaz for many years now. Although it is not yet time to openly turn against them, the Victoria in the city have begun to leave one after another. The city began to decline more than 20 years ago when it lost its monarch. At that time, the Shapeshifter stood below the stage and watched that monarch beheaded.

"These raindrops are brimming with life, originating from that being you speak of?"

Floating near the ground, the Corpse Eater King walked into the rain, which even nourished his dead and decaying existence—how fair!

The other members of the royal court and the Confessors also walked to the Shapeshifter's side. The strange fluctuations in his bloodline and the unusual rain seemed to connect to something.

"He will come, and we need to be prepared to welcome him... Hmm, does anyone know which food street in Londinium is the best?"

If it were anyone else, the Shapeshifter would have no doubt that it was just a polite way of announcing his arrival, but if it were Mizuki... the Shapeshifter thought that he might really just be here for tourism, and he couldn't figure out Mizuki's thoughts.

It has to be said that the Shapeshifter are indeed somewhat similar to Seaborn. Mizuki did go to Victoria with the idea of tourism, but not now. He had only been back on Rhodes Island for a short time, and he didn't need to go there in person. He just needed to ask Theresa to transfer him.

"The imitation was very successful, hmm... just as I expected."

From the perspective of the Sea of Life, Mizuki could sense that there were many resonant reactions in that dimension, resonating with the Sarkaz's sea of consciousness. This meant that his conjecture was correct: the Sea of Life had only contained Mizuki's consciousness, not the part containing the Originium, perhaps because it instinctively did not want to be contaminated by other memories and emotions.

Then he would have to face another decision, one that would determine which side would ultimately win the war, and whether he could return to Mizuki's side as Exusiai.

"Mizuki!" A kitten suddenly darted out, interrupting Mizuki's thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

Rosemary skillfully climbed onto Mizuki's back, her tail wagging happily. She had been quite busy lately and hadn't had much time to look for Mizuki.

"It's nothing, thank you Rosemary." Mizuki quickly shook his head. He had almost fallen into a mental loop, but thankfully Rosemary snapped him out of it. "What brings you here today?"

There's no training or mission today.

The kitten was very clingy. Mizuki reached out and scratched her chin, then placed Rosemary on the ground to steady her.

"How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort?"

"No, my head doesn't hurt anymore, and I can remember a lot of things. Mizuki, do you use a notebook too?"

Rosemary looked at the small notebook that Mizuki had hung on her clothes. Mizuki looked over as well and realized that she hadn't looked at it for quite some time. In fact, this was her tenth notebook, and the previous nine were already full.

"Yes, sometimes there are things I can't remember, so having a notebook is much more convenient."

Mizuki opened the notebook and flipped through it. From the Catastrophe that occurred in northern Columbia to the abnormal weather in Londinium, or a friend's birthday, or a promise to accompany someone to do something, he wrote down everything he considered important.

Rosemary wanted to see, but Mizuki had already put the notebook away and pinched the kitten's soft ears.

"Let's go, I'll take you to get some cake."

"Okay, Mizuki, Huang has been asking me a lot of questions about you lately, do you know why?"

The kitten's innocent eyes revealed curiosity, doubt, and a hint of danger. Mizuki estimated the sharpness of Rosemary's teeth and then decided it was better not to tell her anything.

"Maybe it's because we drank together before, and she said she wanted to be my buddy."

Although it's clear that they can't remain brothers now, Mizuki's head was spinning at the thought of Gavial. He had spoken with both of them, and it was impossible for them to pretend this hadn't happened.

"That's something Huang would actually say." Rosemary, being naturally naive, didn't doubt it much. "Then I want some pudding."

"How about another cup of coffee milk?"

"Good!"

Watching Mizuki lead Rosemary away, Dorothy, who had been standing on the other side of the corridor, thought for a moment but decided not to follow. After all, she wasn't familiar with Mizuki. She hadn't expected Rosemary to be so close to Mizuki. These past few days, she had been trying to get close to this little cat, but the cat had always refused. Rosemary would even take a detour when she saw her, making Dorothy wonder if there was something about her that was scary.

But to be honest, she's always thought of herself as kind and approachable, and quite pretty, so she just can't understand it.

Meanwhile, at the Trimount Underground Research Institute in Columbia, a researcher working overtime glanced at his empty cup, then at the overwhelming workload, and with tears in his eyes, picked up the cup and went next door to get another cup of coffee.

After he left, water continued to drip from the ventilation duct above his head, more and more, and the drips became larger and larger. Sea Siren 007 made sure that no excess water was left behind, and then manipulated the computer in front of him to search for a name.

"Dorothy Frank, I've got it, let me see... Research project, the material and non-material states of Originium?"

Chapter 258 The Doctor's Collecting Hobby

It was the same familiar bar, Sea Siren 12345 still didn't dare to come today. More than a month had passed since the Kazimierz Knight Tournament began, and what was surprising was that the youngest daughter of the Nearl Family was able to overcome all obstacles in the competition, causing many people who had placed bets to lose everything.

Mizuki certainly knew what was going on. Sea Siren 12345 had attached itself to Maria in another way. With the Sea Siren's power, physical strength, and reaction speed, Maria could easily break into the top four with just the simplest physical attacks.

However, for Maria, relying on the power of the Sea Siren in this way was hardly an honor. She only wanted to protect the reputation of the Nearl Family, so she planned to withdraw from the competition after accumulating enough points to obtain the title of knight.

Mizuki doesn't object to this blatant act of helping others cheat, as long as they don't get caught; the Sea Siren is very protective of her own.

Mizuki sat in her seat, playing games while waiting for customers to arrive. Martin, the bar owner, wiped the glasses while glancing at Mizuki from time to time. There wasn't a single customer in the bar today. Because he had a feeling that Mizuki was coming, he had put up a "Closed" sign early in the morning.

Sure enough, in the time it took him to turn around and put down a cup, Mizuki appeared on the same chair.

"Juice again today?"

"Hmm." Mizuki looked up. "The shop is very quiet today. Are there any other customers?"

(Just kidding, with you in my shop, who else would dare to come in?)

Martin muttered to himself that ever since Mizuki mentioned wanting to meet the person in charge of Kazimierz, he knew that this young man was not just someone with some secrets, but probably someone with an extremely high status, someone he couldn't afford to offend.

The problem is that the other party comes every night, precisely at eight o'clock. Every time Martin tries to see how he suddenly appears, his attention is inexplicably diverted.

"We've been experiencing a lot of disruption due to the Candle Knight incident recently, so we've temporarily suspended operations."

That makes sense, since Viviana comes here often, and the gossip reporters, paparazzi, and fans have already given him a headache. He knows he can't let Mizuki get annoyed too.

"The influence of celebrities is really troublesome." Mizuki nodded, taking the glass of juice. "But don't worry, I'll be leaving briefly after today, and then next time... I might come with Miss Nearl."

Mizuki had noticed long ago that the boss would be very happy when Nearl was mentioned, so he must be a fan or friend.

"Margaret Nearl?"

"Yes... Ah, my guest has arrived."

Mizuki looked towards the doorway. There stood an elderly woman with long blonde hair, and beside her were two other people: one was Viviana, whom Mizuki had met before, and the other was...

"Miss Platinum?"

Information about the other person flashed through her memory, Mizuki immediately recognized this operator from Rhodes Island. However, at this point in this timeline, the other person was still Platinum- ranked member of the Armorless Union. The best thing about having memories from parallel worlds is that you can recognize some key people in many situations.

Regardless of which parallel world it is, there isn't much interaction between Mizuki and the Rhodes Island operators, but with so many worlds' memories mixed together, he can always find a corresponding part.

But does this mean that Platinum was chosen by the Commercial Union? In Mizuki's memory, the other party's status in the Armorless Union can be described in one sentence: Centaurea is a brick, which can be moved wherever it is needed.

It's likely that the upper echelons of the Commercial Union couldn't think of anyone else to send. Everyone knows each other's character, so having the Armorless Union as an intermediary would neither appear disrespectful to Mizuki nor compromise on security or the balance of everyone's interests.

However, in Mizuki's eyes, such behavior was simply cowardly and excessive, lowering his impression score. He could even sense that someone was aiming at him with a bow and arrow from a building 300 meters away.

"... This guest is certainly someone of considerable importance."

Martin had already recognized the identities of the two people flanking Viviana, which was why he felt nervous and somewhat annoyed. He absolutely did not welcome the Armorless Union into his bar.

But this time, I had to make an exception and open the door for the three of them.

Viviana the Candle Knight, Centaurea, the Platinum Grand Master of the Armorless Union, and... the current Grand Knight Commander of Kazimierz, Ioletta.

The last one, Mizuki, is mostly just something I've heard about. If I were to have a real impression of her, I could only find a little bit from a parallel world. In the timeline where Ishar-mla led the Seaborn to destroy Terra, this Grand Knight Commander personally took to the field, leading the entire army of Kazimierz and Leithanien in a charge, buying a day of time for all of Terra.

(Her strength might be stronger than many of Rhodes Island's Elite Operator, but she's at the average level for Sea Siren.)

Mizuki estimated for a moment, then pointed to the spot next to her.

"Please have a seat. I apologize for not being more comfortable with overly formal meeting settings."

Discussing cooperation in a bar is truly a rare occurrence. The Grand Knight Commander sat to Mizuki's left, while Platinum sat to Mizuki right. The moment she saw Mizuki, she felt no pressure at all, until she saw Mizuki's eyes—eyes that seemed to see right through her, as if she didn't care who she was at all.

This guy's tough. Hopefully, a fight won't break out, Platinum thought, trying to calm himself down as much as possible.

"Mr. Mizuki, do you mean... you can represent the Terra Federation and make the decision to include Kazimierz as a member?"

"I don't hold a position in parliament, but I do have some connections."

Mizuki counted on her fingers, "Iberia and I are allies, Columbia is my partner, I can speak for Aegir, and my lover... also has some influence in Laterano."

After hesitating for a moment, Mizuki still didn't say the words "lovers" or "one of the lovers"—it was too embarrassing. He just thought that Lemuen and Mostima should be able to get in touch with Laterano's inner circle. As for Exusiai? Forget about it; he couldn't expect her to intimidate people with her formidable reputation.

"So, you are indeed a representative, but what proof do you have?"

"This."

Reaching out from the air, as if by magic, Mizuki pulled out a document and placed it on the table.

"This is continental communication technology provided by our ally, Aegir. Of course, it has been simplified to make it easier for you to understand and use. You have ample time to examine this technology. Official Federation envoys will arrive in five days."

The continental communication technology, provided by Aegir, is of immense value that needs no further explanation. Back then, Iberia was able to dominate Terra with just a little bit of Aegir's technology. If Aegir were to join the Terra Federation, then... things would get very complicated.

"What on earth could possibly make Aegir an ally of ours?"

There are no free lunches in life, only rain; every gift that fate bestows has a price tag attached in secret.

The fact that Aegir, a nation that has always disdained dealings with land-based countries, has joined the alliance demonstrates the seriousness of the situation. Sometimes, the will to survive in the face of crisis is more important than the bonds forged by self-interest.

"Sami is already embroiled in war, and Great Yan and Ursus will face the Demons of the northern ice plains. If we fail to hold out, or if the creator of the Originium awakens, Terra will be destroyed."

As Grand Knight Commander, she was certainly qualified to know these things. As for Platinum, Mizuki wasn't sure if the person on the other end of the bug hidden in her collar would understand these dangers. The Doctor disliked the Commercial Union; its composition was too complex, and some of its members were too short-sighted, probably not taking these matters to heart at all. They always felt that such a crisis was far away from them. Considering the hatred between Kazimierz and Ursus, Mizuki could already imagine that someone would suggest stabbing her in the back.

"Is it that serious?"

"If you include all your gladiator knights, Kazimierz's military strength... at best, might be able to hold out for two days?"

Mizuki was calculating very seriously. The Demons' offensive was now far stronger than what Sami had faced back then. If it weren't for the support of the Sea Siren and Mizuki, the Demons would probably have already breached the three defense lines, and the beautiful Rootless Flowers have bloomed all over Terra, dragging this place into the Warp.

As for the calculation result, regardless of how Platinum and the others viewed it, Mizuki herself was somewhat surprised after completing the calculation. It was surprising that it could last for two more days; Kazimierz was quite capable.

"Evidence?"

"I am the proof." Mizuki pointed to herself. "Even standing here right now, in this position, I could destroy the entire Kazimierz, but I'm not confident I could defeat them."

Arrogant and conceited, Ioleta even thought that Mizuki should get a mental diagnosis. Even the most valiant Sarkaz didn't have such abilities. Back then, when the Wendigo of the Sarkaz clan joined Ursus to wage war against Kazimierz, they were still driven back by Silver Spear Pegasus and the old man of the Nearl family. Could one person destroy a country? Terra had never had such an existence.

But just as she was about to put down her glass, she found her body completely stiff. Was it drugs? No, she hadn't drunk any alcohol, and there wouldn't be any anesthetic that fast. It must be Originium Arts...