Regarding this boorish act of plunder, the victim, Mr. Bear, strongly objected. It had an opinion, not only did it have one, but it was a very strong one—but its opinion didn't count.
Not only did it not count, but it couldn't even speak.
In fact, it had only just managed to open its drowsy eyes from deep hibernation, and before it could even get a clear look at the audacious fellow who had dared to barge into its territory, a swift falling glint of cold light helped it enter an even deeper sleep once more.
Apart from a tearing SQUELCH, it didn't even have time to make a single extra sound...
"...You're quite decisive."
Schrodinger's voice was as flat as ever.
"In nature, the best habitats will always be territories favored by top predators, and they are often challenged and fought over by competitors. A cave chosen by a brown bear for hibernation is naturally a place that can retain heat in this icy, snowy land."
The massive bear's head was severed with a single strike. Lin Wei quietly watched as its hot blood gushed from its neck, the steamy vapor making the narrow cave feel a little warmer. "In a sense, I'm just another competitor vying for its territory, just with more despicable methods."
"Vying for territory? Is that your way of mentally justifying it?" Schrodinger asked. "After all, as humans, although we all know we are just a type of ape, few people really equate themselves with animals."
"It's a fact, so why hide it?"
By this time, the bear's blood had mostly drained.
Lin Wei gestured vaguely in the air with his knife, contemplating where to make the first cut, and said matter-of-factly, "In this sub-zero snowy wilderness, I need shelter from the cold, clothes for warmth, and enough food to provide me with calories. This bear can provide everything I need, which is why I chose it, just as they prey on other animals for their own survival."
At this point, Lin Wei suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh. "It doesn't sound very glorious, does it? Being able to quickly accept reality, blend into the environment, and adapt to the rules is probably one of my few strengths..."
"What you said is very reasonable, but with such an objective and realistic view of yourself and the world, the values you hold are probably not bound by the general morals of human society."
Schrodinger frankly stated her initial observation. "A person who is quite intelligent, calm and decisive, and has a certain degree of antisocial tendencies should, by all accounts, be a rather dangerous and noteworthy individual. But from the beacon you took out, at least Einstein and Tesla, and perhaps others, believe you are a person worthy of trust and help..."
The initial judgment still didn't match the facts, so she was still observing, like a calm researcher watching a test sample, constantly taking notes. It was just like the observations she had made of the two Schicksal Valkyries in that world bubble a few years ago.
Normally, this kind of observation is done in secret, as it represents distrust and vigilance. But since Lin Wei had brought it up himself, she didn't hide it either. At the very least, for the sake of her old friends, giving Lin Wei this basic "trust" was not a problem.
"By the way, if I may ask, how were those two so sure that you could contact me this way?"
This question had been weighing on Schrodinger's mind from the beginning. It was only now, using this topic as a pretext, that she asked it.
In her view, after Rita returned to the native world, she would probably find some way to let her Anti-Entropy companions know she was safe, but that was all she could do.
Letting her old friends know she was still alive and giving them some peace of mind was the limit.
If they had the ability to establish communication with her in the Sea of Quanta, with the research capabilities and vigorous drive of those doctors, they would have certainly tried long ago. How could they have delayed until now?
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Doctor."
Lin Wei carefully skinned the precious bearskin, preventing it from being damaged by his mistakes, while answering truthfully, "Just like that poor cat you famously abused to death and back; before I actually opened that box, neither I nor they knew if we could really contact you. In fact, if my request hadn't been so insistent, they were actually very much against making this thing for me that relied on probability, just as they were against me stepping into the Sea of Quanta..."
"Oh, is that so?"
Schrodinger was a little surprised. She wasn't displeased that Lin Wei was teasing her with one of her famous theories, but was interested in something else. "So, the reason you appeared in the Sea of Quanta wasn't because they wanted to explore something or achieve some goal, but was just a reckless adventure you insisted on..."
She didn't dislike people with an adventurous spirit, because it represented pioneering and progress.
But that didn't mean she liked recklessness, taking risks lightly, or people who got themselves into a difficult situation.
She was busy. She had too many things to observe, research, and record. She had no obligation to be a nanny for some reckless fool who didn't know the meaning of death, let alone clean up his messes...
"It's a long story." Lin Wei probably sensed Schrodinger's inner frown and took the initiative to say, "Since we met, we've been compressing our conversation time to deal with the most urgent matters. It seems we finally have some free time now. If you don't mind, Doctor, can we use this opportunity to get to know each other better?"
Lin Wei was currently busy completely skinning the fat, giant bear. Then he would wear it to go out and collect firewood, then return to the cave to start a warm bonfire, roast meat, eat, and rest. Only after recovering some stamina could he take the next step.
After all, if he really had to participate in a high-intensity battle like the Second Eruption, he would have to wait at least until Yae Sakura woke up from her slumber and the overdrawn power of her Stigma recovered.
Otherwise, Lin Wei didn't think it would be a wise choice to rush into it in his current state...
"Of course I don't mind. In fact, I'd also like to know what's been happening in the native world these past few years," Schrodinger said, still calmly.
"As for messing up our understanding... heh, that is indeed necessary. After all, when you speak, especially when expressing something with a purpose, the words you say and the tone you use always remind me of a certain unpleasant fellow."
In fact, she could clearly feel her patience being rapidly consumed. She didn't understand why those two were willing to help such a person, even tossing him across the Sea of Quanta into her hands. She wanted to find a definite answer before her patience completely ran out.
"The unpleasant fellow, is it Otto?" Lin Wei smiled. "You're much more tactful than Dr. Tesla. She pointed right at my nose and started cursing back then..."
"Yes, you just said that a moment ago," Schrodinger said.
"Hehe. At that time, I was very angry about it, because being mistaken for that guy Otto was a great insult to me, and the cursing was very harsh."
"In a sense, it is..." Schrodinger said. That was indeed harsh cursing.
"But later, after really meeting that guy once, I wasn't angry anymore. Because when I found that guy's way of thinking was exceptionally easy to understand, I knew that I probably did have some similarities with him in some places, so I couldn't blame Dr. Tesla."
Lin Wei smiled helplessly. "As I said just now, I'm particularly good at accepting reality. Especially after actually fighting him and discovering that he was just so-so, I look at it with an even more ordinary mindset. Of course, that doesn't stop me from still thinking his cursing was really dirty..."
After several exchanges, and having turned the tables in the recent "final battle" from an absolute disadvantage, all these experiences had completely demystified Otto's once-feared image in Lin Wei's mind, making him no longer mysterious. It was as if he were just an ordinary passerby, a slightly troublesome enemy.
Such a person, although still able to make Lin Wei take him seriously, would no longer easily stir his emotions...
"...Forget it, let's not talk about him for now. Let's talk about you." Schrodinger's voice was still calm, without a ripple of emotion. "Tell me, why did you come to the Sea of Quanta? Especially in your current state of unpreparedness."
In her opinion, Lin Wei was completely unprepared. She had just used a slightly more euphemistic term to express it.
"Why did I come to the Sea of Quanta? Hehe, just say it's to understand that guy Otto..."
Lin Wei continued to dissect seriously while talking to Schrodinger, cutting through the thick hide and flesh with one slice after another, making a CRACKLE, CRACKLE sound.
"As they say, 'one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.' Otto couldn't even tolerate you scholars who served him back then, so how could he possibly tolerate someone like me?"
Being reminded of the sad past, even Schrodinger couldn't help but fall silent for a moment before speaking again. "So you fled to the Sea of Quanta? But it's a pity, the dangers and unpredictability of the Sea of Quanta are probably far greater than that unreasonable Schicksal Overseer."
"Fled? Heh, is he worthy?" Lin Wei gave a refreshing, cold laugh. "If it weren't for the fact that a life-and-death battle between us before a certain official return would have severely affected the entire world, if we were to really let go of all our worries and use all our cards to the fullest, who would win, or if we would both be defeated and perish together, the final outcome would still be uncertain!"
"...Is that so? In that case, you really left a deep impression on him."
Lin Wei's words sounded too arrogant for Schrodinger to comment on for a moment.
"Hehe, just take it as me bragging."
Explaining was an extremely inefficient and boring thing. Noticing Schrodinger's noncommittal attitude, Lin Wei just smiled and moved on from the topic. "Besides that, there's another purpose, or rather, a more direct and important purpose: I'm looking for something—to be precise, I'm looking for a person to get something from him."
At this point, Lin Wei finally became helpless. "I originally thought this matter wouldn't be very difficult, or rather, the real difficulty would be the trials I would have to face after meeting that person. But I didn't expect to encounter huge trouble from the very beginning..."
The thought of "meeting a boss right out the door" gave Lin Wei a headache. Why did Durandal and the others spend so long in the Sea of Quanta without anything happening, while I get a gank at the entrance?
If it were the Sea of Souta, that would be one thing. That place was the largest gateway connecting the native world and the Sea of Quanta, so it was understandable that terrifying monsters would treat it as their territory. But...
Lin Wei was baffled. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Schrodinger, in all your years living in the Sea of Quanta, have you ever encountered any terrifying enemies? The kind that can leave world bubbles and even stir up storms in the Sea of Quanta itself..."
Schrodinger was about to answer about the powerful beings she had met in past world bubbles, but after hearing Lin Wei's final restriction, she shook her head and replied, "No."
"...Is that so? That's just great." Lin Wei smiled helplessly, feeling even angrier inside. Am I really the only one this unlucky?
"Hm?" Schrodinger noticed the unnatural expression on Lin Wei's face. "I felt an abnormal energy fluctuation in this area of the Sea of Quanta not long ago. I thought it was the ripple effect caused by you entering the Sea, but now it seems there's another reason?"
"Ah, yes, of course there's another reason, but let's talk about that later."
Lin Wei stood up from the ground, turned the completely skinned bearskin inside out, and then loosely draped it over himself, sighing contentedly. "Ah, so warm..."
In the dead of winter, putting on such a "real fur coat" was truly comfortable.
Of course, it wasn't actually comfortable. This "bearskin coat" was too fresh. The smell of blood and the stench of animal fur mixed together and stuck to his nasal cavity, which wasn't a pleasant feeling, but Lin Wei planned to endure it for now.
"I'll go out and cut some firewood first, start a bonfire, and then process it further," Lin Wei said as he pulled at the loose "bearskin coat" on his body and stepped out of the bear cave, back into the wind and snow.
But, at that very moment, an accident happened.
Just as Lin Wei bent down to step out of the bear cave, the scene before his eyes suddenly fluctuated violently—literally fluctuated. The entire world seemed to melt into a huge wave, rising and falling before Lin Wei.
Whether it was the snow, the forest, or the earth and sky, they all moved in rhythm with this undulation, as if they were not earth and sky, but liquid, foam.
"What is this?!"
The scene before him was so bizarre that Lin Wei felt dizzy, even having a strange feeling of "3D stacking."
"Wait, Lin Wei, don't act rashly."
Schrodinger's voice also sounded in his ear. Although it was just a reminder with little practical meaning, it made Lin Wei feel much more at ease. He nodded and said, "Ah, I understand..."
This distorted fluctuation was not long, only a few seconds before it returned to calm, but the scene before him had become completely different from before:
The gloomy sky was covered with thick dark clouds.
The wind was biting, and the snow was white. The distant mountains were draped in silver. In the forest before him, every tree's branches were bent under the thick snow. Snowflakes fell with the wind, swoosh, onto Lin Wei's hair and face.
This was originally a very beautiful winter snow scene. If conditions allowed, Lin Wei would definitely have taken Yae Sakura to admire it properly.
But now, looking at all this, Lin Wei's face suddenly turned extremely ugly. "It seems... I'm back where I started?"
The cold wind blew past, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his heart. The "bearskin coat" he had just wrapped himself in had also disappeared...