Chapter 241

"Your Hypermutation Overload, due to the irreversible nature of the process, is more like a continuous corruption for you."

The process of corruption, whether through the Mental Partition or the replacement of data backups, cannot solve the problem of Cosmo.

Both of them were aware of this.

"Unless?"

Cosmo asked tentatively, waiting for Vill-V to continue.

"Unless you give up more than others, I can Mental Partition and preserve your mind."

Vill-V continued speaking.

"If one day you completely lose yourself, at least we still have a chance to let you return through a backup. The price is losing everything you've experienced during this time."

If we had to compare someone to another, Hua's current situation best fits the bill.

However, Cosmo is more serious than Hua's; even if Hua loses her memory, the marks on her body will not disappear.

If Cosmo loses control, he will inevitably lose everything he experienced afterward, even if he returns relying on a backup.

In other words, from the moment your Mental Partition, the version of you that remains inside your body can no longer be considered alive.

Vill-V weighed the pros and cons.

Moreover, this experiment carries another risk: whether there is a way to completely kill the Hypermutation Overload Cosmo after fully unleashing it remains to be seen.

It could easily turn into a situation where both sides suffer.

"So, Cosmo, if you've made your choice, call Kevin over."

Pardofelis: "Call me Boss Kevin, ugh... What do I need Boss Kevin for?"

This is bad. The look in Vill-V's eyes just now wasn't just cold and indifferent; it even had a hint of cruelty.

Vill-V: "Little Pardo, you still like to play dumb as always. As the strongest among us, what else could Kevin possibly do by calling him?"

Kevin: "..."

Pardofelis: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

The Thirteen Flame-Chasers are all one family, why fight and kill each other? It would be much better if everyone sat down, drank tea, chatted, and discussed business together.

Vill-V: "What are you thinking? The Hypermutation Overload is irreversible. In the Land of the Previous Era Elysian Realm, only by dying on that day can the Cosmo truly live on forever."

As long as the Hypermutation Overload remains unresolved, Cosmo is a ticking time bomb that will explode sooner or later.

Looking back now, it's clear that Cosmo must have come up with quite a few methods to keep it under control for Fifty Thousand Years in the Previous Era Elysian Realm.

Mobius: "Eternal? How dare you say such a thing to me, Vill-V? You're getting bolder and bolder."

Infinity immortality—no matter how you look at it, this falls under the category of biology, which is within the scope of Mobius's responsibility!

How dare you, a blacksmith, get involved in this?!

Vill-V: "Mobius, don't fuss over such a trivial matter. Besides, it's just immortality. Who can't achieve that if they wanted to?"

It's worth noting that she was the one who put Flame-Chasers to sleep, preserving the Kindling Project of the Previous Era for the Divine Key of the Current Era, and creating All Things Dormant.

If she really wanted to prolong her life, would Vill-V be afraid of Mobius?

Mobius: "Heh."

The atmosphere between the two intensified, reminiscent of their argument at the Fire Moth competition years ago over differing experimental funding and design philosophies.

In the scene, Cosmo did not respond to Mobius; he remained silent, pondering whether this method was worthwhile.

However, a long time passed, and still no sound came from inside the workshop.

"Never mind, you don't need to make a decision right away."

Vill-V spoke, breaking the quiet atmosphere.

"In fact, the later you Mental Partition, the better."

The moment Cosmo completes the Mental Partition, his life is frozen in time. The later that time comes, the more things Cosmo can retain.

"But, from beginning to end, did I really experience any so-called growth?"

"I've asked myself that question too, and as for the answer, I'm afraid it's a matter of opinion."

Vill-V shrugged, and the atmosphere fell silent once again.

After a long silence, Cosmo slowly spoke, "Alright, I retract my request."

"Oh?"

Vill-V looked surprised.

For someone like Cosmo, who has always aimed to become a hero, this was an unexpected answer.

"Do you also believe that it's more important to take responsibility for everything you have? Like Kevin?" Vill-V asked.

Cosmo paused for a moment, then shook his head. "You misunderstand, Vill-V. I no longer want to be a hero like him. Just now, I thought of another way."

A possible solution that could have the best of both worlds.

Cosmo leaves Vill-V's workshop, and the scene ends here.

Chapter 391 Punishment Dungeon, Challenging Kevin

Kiana: "Wait, what's next? What's next?"

I'm stunned. Just now, Cosmo said there was a way to have the best of both worlds, and then the scene ended a moment later.

This kind of behavior is even more annoying than the riddle teller.

If the system's report screen were a physical object, many members would surely be willing to offer their fists and smash them hard against the screen.

Bronya: "What does this mean? Are you kidding us?"

Kiana: "Those who cut off chapters deserve a terrible death!"

Elysia: "Cosmo, can you guess how you overcame your Hypermutation Overload?"

Cosmo: "I can't."

There was too little information. They were just discussing with Vill-V whether to Mental Partition, and the next second Cosmo had come up with a solution.

There wasn't even any information provided during that time; how are people supposed to guess?

Sue: "It's not like there's absolutely no information."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su noticed several gazes focused on him, especially the one from Cosmo, which seemed to pierce him.

Sue: "I just thought that Cosmo suddenly got the inspiration during his discussion with Vill-V, so the method he came up with must have been supported by Vill-V's theory."

Cosmo: "... I see."

So many flashes of inspiration don't come from anything other than thorough preparation, which allows things to fall into place naturally at a certain moment.

Vill-V revealed quite a bit of information to Cosmo; if sorted out and analyzed, it might lead to a new method to alleviate Cosmo's Hypermutation Overload.

Vill-V: "After all my analysis, it boils down to two key points: Mental Partition and the unique nature of Memory Body."

Even if the user is killed, as long as the data is not deleted, the damage is negligible, which is the basis for the feasibility of Vill-V's method.

Mental Partition is just one method among many.

Himeko Murata: "So, the method Cosmo came up with is related to the Infinity regeneration ability of Memory Body."

Vill-V: "I estimate it won't be much different."

Cosmo: "I... I think I know what to do."

Given the possibility of Infinity resurrection, the cost of trial and error is almost Infinity, allowing for a large number of experiments to be conducted.

Kiana: "Tell me."

Cosmo: "It's simple. The special nature of the Memory Body and Vishnu's ability to devour—with these two factors, it's not difficult to find a different path."

"..."

After a brief silence, everyone seemed to be thinking, while some immediately guessed what Cosmo was planning to do, and were in a state of bewilderment and shock.

Kiana: "Holy crap! Cosmo, you're not planning to devour yourself, are you?!"

Kiana, belatedly realizing what was happening, widened her eyes and took a step back in fright.

She has the capacity for Gluttony and has tried various ways to develop it, but she has never considered this possibility.

Cosmo: "It's not that it devoured itself, but rather the part that suffered from the Hypermutation Overload... although it's also a part of me."

"If this were in the Previous Era Elysian Realm Vill-V, this might be the optimal solution, and it would be quite easy."

But that's definitely not possible now. Without the special properties of Memory Body, Cosmo wouldn't dare to do that.

The idea is bold, but it's a bit reckless Flame-Chasers.

[Q&A begins.]

[When facing the Cosmo, the Herrscher of Corruption claimed to be the villain. How did the Cosmo respond?]

[A: Remain silent and take action.]

[B: I'm more like the villain.]

[C: Handsome.]

[D: You were always the villain.]

Cosmo: "..."

A new question arose, but Cosmo simply stared at the questions and answers, remaining silent, as he always did.

At this moment, the answer seems obvious.

Griseo: "Cosmo, what's wrong?"

Seeing that everyone seemed silent and their eyes were focused on Cosmo was also standing there in a daze, Griseo asked with concern.

Cosmo: "It's nothing, I'm just undecided for the moment."

While logically speaking, the first answer would most likely be the answer, to be fair, if the Herrscher of Corruption were to appear as Elysia and claim to Cosmo that she was a villain, it would be quite a shock.

Thinking about that scene carefully, it does seem pretty cool.

But no matter how handsome he is, he won't say it out loud.

Although the Herrscher of Corruption replicated Elysia's appearance but failed to capture her essence, a fake is still a fake. No matter how similar the appearance, it is ultimately just an imposter.

Sue: "Actually, I think all four answers are possible."

After all, it was just Cosmo's reaction to what the Herrscher of Corruption said. In different situations and under different mental states, it would naturally have different results.

Cosmo: "Then let's choose the first one. I'm not usually a talkative person, especially not with Herrscher."

Perhaps it was because they had been in contact with these people in the Chat Group for a long time that everyone realized that Cosmo seemed to have been talking a lot lately.

In the past, when they questioned Cosmo, they would usually only get a few seconds of silence.

If Cosmo can say more than three sentences a minute, it's because he's opened up or something good has happened.

[Incorrect answer.]

[Cosmo receives punishment: Trial instance - Kevin Kaslana.]

[Synopsis: A forced execution of a challenge mission, featuring a boss who is Kevin Kaslana in his prime.]

Kevin: "..."

Cosmo: "..."

Durandal: "The Punishment Challenge dungeon? It feels almost the same as the one I played back then."

She vaguely remembered that one of her rewards was challenging Kevin's Mirror Space at his peak, and the scene of crimson flames sweeping across the sky was still vivid in Durandal's memory.

She just went in; she hasn't even had a chance to look at the map yet!

Kevin unleashed a Fehu at Durandal as a greeting, followed by a full-power attack at close range, continuously unleashing various screen-clearing AOE ultimate skills.

Having Valkyrie for so many years, this was the first time Durandal had encountered such a playstyle, and Kevin wasn't worried about sustain at all.

Pardofelis: "Um, Amo, have a safe journey... oops, I meant take care."

Raiden Mei: "Are you sure there's any difference after you changed your way of saying it?"