Questions and Answers

In the virtual world, amid the snow-covered Alps, Dr. Mei visited Qin Su once again.

Qin Su looked at her questioningly. "Do you have something you're unsure about?"

"You mean its high-speed movement capability?" He patted the phantom T-X that had suddenly appeared beside him.

He shrugged. "Wasn't this technology developed by Fire Moth long ago? I merely used a Law-Ruler Core. Its performance is even worse than your spacetime fracture device."

Dr. Mei shook her head and looked directly into Qin Su's eyes.

"No, that's not what I mean."

"If you're asking about those Divine Keys, Dr. Mei, there's no need to worry. They've already been returned to Fire Moth."

He brought up the records of the Divine Keys' return.

"That isn't what I want to ask." Dr. Mei was not particularly concerned about mass-produced Divine Keys. If they were not placed in the hands of the right people, they were merely ordinary Soul Steel weapons bearing the title of Divine Keys, stronger only in terms of hardness.

She studied Qin Su carefully. Like her, he had the air of an ordinary young scientist. Then she said, "What concerns me is not the Tenth Divine Key."

"I have already verified the truthfulness of your words, and I believe we can reach an agreement now. But what I want to know even more is why you are so certain that the information you obtained is entirely true and without the slightest deviation."

Qin Su fell silent for a while. Every expression in the holographic projection had been simulated countless times to produce the optimal response. Every expression and movement here would only lead to the desired psychological outcome.

Because I read a comic? That would be rather absurd. The existence of the Project STIGMA could explain it, but Qin Su did not possess the Second Divine Key. To bluff his way through this, he would have to rely on the all-purpose Law-Ruler Core for an explanation.

"Although I cannot disclose anything regarding the technical aspects, I can tell you everything else. What we observed were merely fragments, the course of certain major events. For example, the process of you wearing the Key of Blankness and eliminating the Tenth Law-Ruler. Likewise, I also witnessed the process of this Fusion Warrior experiment."

"Before considering those fragments of information reliable, we used a non-interference approach to verify the authenticity of many of them."

"I believe Fire Moth's use of the Tenth Divine Key is far too rigid. There are clearly diverse options, yet you insist on restricting it to those three common natural forces."

Dr. Mei replied helplessly, "If Fire Moth still had that many people available, the Tenth Divine Key would not be used solely as a weapon."

It took twenty or thirty years for a person to grow from a cell into a highly educated talent. Turning knowledge into productivity required an entire system and social environment. Yet Honkai forced humanity to devote most of its productive capacity to war, and the available workforce dwindled every year.

The destruction Honkai inflicted upon civilization was devastating. Ordinary wars meant defeating enemy armies, occupying land, executing or imprisoning political opponents. Even in the most inhumane wars, where one side carried out industrialized genocide, industrial equipment and resources would at least be preserved. Honkai disasters, on the other hand, indiscriminately slaughtered people and destroyed the means of production without distinction.

"Is that also why you know the Twelfth Law-Ruler's abilities?" Dr. Mei steered the conversation back on track.

"Of course."

"Then are you willing to share this technology?"

"The future of this era has already been decided. Even if this technology told Fire Moth everything, it would not be able to change anything. A turning point will come in the future, but it definitely will not come in this era."

If Qin Su truly possessed technology capable of observing the future, he would certainly share it. The problem was that he did not. If he told Fire Moth the "plot" he knew, it would only create unnecessary trouble.

Dr. Mei remained silent for a long time. Between intuition and reason, she chose intuition.

"I believe you. Or rather, I choose to gamble on my luck."

"Your trust is the best possible outcome for me." Qin Su gave a slight nod to express his gratitude for her trust.

"What do you plan to do with the Twelfth Law-Ruler?"

Dr. Mei answered, "According to the deal we reached earlier, we will naturally supervise her jointly."

"I know it will be joint supervision, but where we do it is an important question."

Qin Su had expected Dr. Mei to choose a place more beneficial to both sides, but she unexpectedly said with certainty, "It can only be at the base."

Fire Moth was an oligarchic council-based organization. Even though Dr. Mei held a position close to absolute authority due to her immense prestige, she did not want to launch a "Fog Moon Coup" when humanity stood at the brink of life and death. Qin Su could only compromise. Before the Previous Era was destroyed, he needed Dr. Mei.

"Next, let's discuss something more important: how will you deal with the Eleventh Law-Ruler?"

Dr. Mei answered helplessly, "We have not yet come up with any solution."

Indeed, if only conventional methods were considered, it was impossible to devise any way to kill the Eleventh Law-Ruler. No one could approach the Eleventh Law-Ruler, and no human-made object could function normally within the Eleventh Law-Ruler's barrier. Nor could they rely on any large-scale destructive weapon, such as nuclear bombs. Even the most powerful nuclear bomb, like the Tsar Bomba, had a thermal radiation radius of only sixty kilometers, while the Eleventh Law-Ruler's barrier had a radius of one hundred kilometers. Killing her by bombing was impossible.

However, how had the Eleventh Law-Ruler died? She had been killed by Kevin. That meant the breakthrough had to lie with Kevin and his companions. Her upper limit of mass had to be her weakness.

"Dr. Mei, I assume you have already memorized the Eleventh Law-Ruler's abilities by heart."

Dr. Mei nodded silently.

"I believe that to kill her, we must rely on the simplest form of energy." Qin Su already had a complete plan in mind. In that plan was a bow, and its arrow would kill the Law-Ruler as easily as killing a rabbit.

"The simplest?" Dr. Mei pondered for a moment. "You mean... kinetic energy?"

"That's right, kinetic energy." Energy possessed by an object due to motion was called kinetic energy. It sounded simple, yet using kinetic energy to kill a Law-Ruler was actually an extremely difficult process.

"How will you accelerate an object to a speed capable of killing a Law-Ruler?"

Qin Su answered, "The simplest method—electromagnetic acceleration."

Dr. Mei naturally did not take it so lightly. "It is a very direct idea. I have also evaluated it, but the actual results should be the same as the evaluation's conclusion."

"Completely ineffective." But that did not mean the line of thinking was wrong. There were countless solutions; simplicity came first.

Qin Su's phantom smiled faintly. "When humanity cannot solve a problem, we can still rely on our Mother Earth. If it is the Earth that gave birth to this life, then it surely can."