The moment Elysia appeared before humanity, not only were Chen Ran, Cecilia, and others surprised, but even Otto, far above the Mediterranean Sea, was sending messages to the Babel Tower.
However, regarding Otto's message, Chen Ran didn't care about anything other than having his assistant give a routine reply.
He was about to leave this place; what was there to reply to?
For Chen Ran, the things he needed to do now were to entertain Elysia well and learn about the series of important events that occurred between the Fifth Honkai and the Herrscher of Finality.
Although he knew that even if he knew these things and forcibly reversed some tragedies, new tragedies might still arise.
But this didn't mean that the knowledge of the past was worthless.
Just like his simulations wouldn't be worthless.
After placing the Herrscher Core in the Babel Tower, Chen Ran let Cecilia and Sirin leave.
He and Elysia walked out of the Babel Tower and began a conversation that only they could have.
"Hey there, Chen Ran, it seems you're quite clueless about many things now,"
Elysia blinked, smiling, "It's actually not the real you here, which makes me so sad."
"I don't even know where the real me is."
Chen Ran directly confessed the fact that he had jumped through time: "If the real me died in the Finality War, I would also find a way to escape that battle."
This was also the most perplexing thing for Chen Ran now.
If the convergence of fate had predetermined the Destruction of the Pre-Civilization Era, did a 'Chen Ran' truly exist and be destroyed along with that era, or did he survive that Destruction?
Chen Ran simulated many times, but he didn't receive any news about 'Chen Ran' in the simulated future.
Perhaps the real him lived after Finality but didn't live to the present day.
Who knows?
The capriciousness and mockery of fate made him begin to feel a strange awe towards these mysterious things.
"Ultimately, you're the hardest-working one among everyone,"
Elysia didn't criticize Chen Ran's slightly evasive words but said, "So, how long will you keep jumping through time?"
"Probably until I'm completely desperate,"
Chen Ran said so.
He wasn't particularly familiar with Elysia, but he could share his innermost thoughts with her.
"At first, I just wanted to live until after Finality. It was because of some reasons that I had the idea of saving our era."
"Ah, now it's just back to my initial idea. As long as I live until after Finality arrives, that's victory. I'm so young; I won't choose to perish with civilization."
Chen Ran learned a lot about 'his' future from Elysia.
For example, he defeated many Herrschers with Kevin and others.
He also built a pan-human connection, overcoming the memetic crisis during the Herrscher of Sentience's arrival.
And regarding the frequent contact with MEI before the Stigmata terminal was activated, to the point of having a scandalous news.
Elysia didn't say much about him, but for every detail, he felt that the 'Chen Ran' she spoke of wasn't like him.
It was like a hero's template.
"Um, thinking that way is the best,"
Elysia paused and said, "You're not a hero, you don't have to shoulder a lofty mission. If you're tired,"
She playfully winked, "You can come to me, Ellie. I'll tell you stories."
Chen Ran smiled, "Okay."
They no longer talked about the things of that era but began to fantasize about the future.
Elysia had completed her mission as a member of the Anti-Entropy, and in the rest of her life, she could do whatever she wanted, regardless of the Honkai.
After all, the organization fighting Honkai in this era could no longer bind Elysia.
They walked a little further.
Chen Ran said, "Then, I think it's time for me to say goodbye."
He no longer needed to simulate in this scenario.
He half-jokingly said, "The you from the future, is there anything you need to tell your past self? I'll pass it on for you."
Elysia blinked, "Yes, there is."
"If I were to say something to my past self, I would definitely say: Chen Ran is a big bad guy, he already has several girlfriends, don't be fooled."
Chen Ran: "Do I look like such a scumbag?"
"Be bolder, remove the word 'like'."
Elysia also knew that unless there were unforeseen circumstances, she and Chen Ran wouldn't have many opportunities to meet again.
Before returning to Earth from the Moon, Bia told Elysia some news.
[Chen Ran didn't live to the present day. He disappeared after the Finality War.]
Obviously, Durandal also knew that the current Chen Ran was a time traveler.
Elysia didn't tell Chen Ran about Bia's message.
Chen Ran waved his hand, "I'll pass it on."
The two parted ways.
For Elysia, this was just fulfilling a predetermined agreement, while for Chen Ran, he had also completed the task of this stage.
However, Chen Ran didn't know that after he left, Elysia met another person.
"Hello, Miss Elysia."
"The Serpent is here to pick you up on Lord's orders."
The Gray Serpent, cloaked, appeared in the Siberian snowfield.
Elysia's eyes narrowed slightly, "Your Lord is?"
"Kevin. Kaslana."
This was another familiar name to her.
A serious look flashed in Elysia's eyes, but a half-joking smile still played on her lips, "I thought it was MEI? Or Mobius."
"But if it's Kevin, it's not surprising."
"Only he would thoroughly carry out MEI's will. So, how far has Project Stigma progressed?"
…
…
When Chen Ran returned to the Babel Tower again, he saw an unexpected person.
Otto. Apocalypse.
This was Otto from 2000, who hadn't yet seen the so-called 'god', and was trying his best to accelerate the arrival of the Herrscher until the Herrscher of Death appeared.
Although Otto from 2014 had traveled here, he only half-believed his words.
At least, with the Gem of Serenity, he seemed to be able to execute his first plan faster.
Therefore, when he learned that one of the Herrscher Cores Elysia had sent was the Gem of Serenity, he could no longer sit still and came here as quickly as possible.
"Welcome back, my dear Dr. Chen. You and your friend have brought me an unexpected surprise."
Although five hundred years old, the young archbishop smiled brightly. Cecilia beside him could only express helplessness with her eyes.
Chen Ran sighed and said, "I thought you would immediately have people arrest me."
"How could that be?"
Otto said, "Believe me, your actions are like a brave knight fighting a dragon, worthy of a century-old poem to praise you."
"I have always longed for the people of that era, and now, I can finally communicate with them face-to-face."
"To show my sincerity, I have specially notified an old friend of yours. It won't take long, and she will also come."
Chen Ran raised an eyebrow, "You mean Fu Hua?"
"It seems you already know a lot about this era."
"Haha, Fu Hua is an honest person, don't bully her." Chen Ran paused and said, "Forget it, let's just talk about your intentions. I don't think there's anything about me that's worth your attention now."
What Chen Ran said was the truth.
Until now, Otto's only goal was to resurrect Kallen.
And his and Otto's goals were actually conflicting.
Although fate would return to its original track in a unique way after deviations, the impact of the deviations was significant.
For example, if Sirin didn't become the Herrscher of the Void in 2000, the thirty million people in Siberia wouldn't have been displaced, and there would be no meteor shower causing widespread human casualties. This is the deviation of fate.
In this regard, his actions could easily lead to Kallen's direct disappearance, of course, there was also a chance for Kallen to live normally.
A grain of sand in the era is a mountain on anyone.
From this point of view, Otto and he should be enemies.
In fact, Otto had thought so too.
He received a message from his future self in 14 years, although he was skeptical of some of the words, there was no doubt that the man in front of him might be able to save Kallen.
But it was only possible.
Because if the information he received 14 years later was true, then similarly, Kallen also had a probability of directly disappearing.
Not just death, but erased from time and memory.
However, Otto at this time was less cautious and more confident than fourteen years later.
He hadn't started the Sirin plan yet. He wanted to directly seize Kallen's consciousness with the power of the Herrscher of Death, so his top priority was to cultivate the Herrscher of Death.
Therefore, the reason he came to Chen Ran was to have Chen Ran assist in cultivating the Herrscher of Death.
Facing Chen Ran's somewhat teasing words, Otto directly stated his purpose.
Although the Void Archives evaluated Chen Ran as a lucky person in that era, many of the things he had done were enough for Otto himself to take seriously.
"I don't think so. On the contrary, I will give 100% respect to anyone from that era."
Otto looked at Chen Ran.
Chen Ran also stared at him.
"I'm a refined egoist," he said, "So, if I help you, what benefits can you bring me?"
If the predetermined Destruction of the Pre-Civilization Era was immutable, then essentially, he and Otto had no basis for cooperation.
Even if the real Kiana returned to his era, it wouldn't be of much use, because even if they defeated Finality, there would still be various accidents.
However, when Otto proposed the conditions, Chen Ran almost agreed immediately.
"In exchange for a copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls, you need to promise me two conditions."
"The Herrscher of Death... and the location of Kallen's Stigmata in the Stigmata terminal."
Chen Ran had no reason to refuse.
Knowing the plot, he naturally knew what the Dead Sea Scrolls were.
If Honkai is a force in the consciousness dimension, then the Dead Sea Scrolls record the path to reach a higher dimension.
The real Dead Sea Scrolls were once in the hands of Princess Nancy Edison, recording some information about the 11th dimension.
To higher-dimensional beings, the rise and fall of this civilization is insignificant, and humanity's struggle against Honkai is just annoying croaking.
['They' are truly interested in certain ripples in the eleven-dimensional spacetime that we cannot yet understand, and the anomalies on this planet are just a few annoying croaks.]
This is the Dead Sea Scrolls, humanity's closest record to higher-dimensional life.
In the plot Chen Ran remembered, Finn gave the Dead Sea Scrolls to Princess Nancy, but Otto tampered with the contents.
It was this tampering that indirectly led to the death of Princess Nancy Edison.
The power that Princess Nancy used the 'interference device' to rescue Schrödinger from the Sea of Quanta came from the 11th dimension. This power belonged neither to humanity nor to Honkai.
At the cost of exhausting various possibilities, she single-handedly held up a Honkai Energy cluster ball with an explosive yield exceeding twenty thousand tons of TNT, engaging in direct combat with Honkai using her human body.
This is the terrifying 11-dimensional space.
Of course, after this battle, Princess Nancy Edison died.
Indeed, this time Otto played the complete fool, but the likelihood that he possessed a genuine copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls was very high.
If he could harness the power of the 11-dimensional space, there might still be a chance to defeat Finality.
Moreover, he could directly reverse fate with the Möbius strip.
This was what excited Chen Ran so much.
If Finality could be compared to the water droplet from the Three-Body Problem, then the power of the 11-dimensional space would be the two-dimensional foil.
However, he still suppressed his excitement.
"First, I have actually been to the future. I believe the Otto of the future should have spoken to you."
"The authority of the Herrscher of Death cannot fulfill your wishes; even if you resurrect Kallen, it would only result in another Amber or Theresa."
"The world does not allow containers to collect dissipated consciousness, but it does allow consciousness to match new containers. This actually comes from your future self; I will not waste time on a process that is destined to yield no results."
"Second, I know that the Dead Sea Scrolls you gave to Edison have been tampered with. I cannot guarantee that what you give me is the complete version."
He sharply exposed Otto's past sins.
At this moment, he must not show any signs of cowardice; he had to take control of the situation.
"I am starting to believe you."
Otto smiled brightly: "Then, the conditions of the Herrscher of Death are void, but the second condition is my bottom line."
He could not let Kallen dissipate.
Otherwise, all his efforts would be meaningless.
Chen Ran nodded: "As long as you bring Kallen's genes, I can take them back."
Although his body already contained multiple genes, adding one more seemed feasible.
While planning to take Kallen's genes, he also considered bringing back Schariac's genes.
As for Kaslana, it was no longer necessary, since Kiana had already arrived in the pre-civilization era.
To be honest, the research conditions in the Tower of Babylon were much better than those at Saint Freya, so Chen Ran was not in a hurry to return.
Otto nodded: "Deal, but the experiments conducted by Babylon also need to be wrapped up and handed over."
"No problem."
Although Otto believed that the Herrscher of Death would not resurrect Kallen, it did not mean he would give up on creating the Herrscher of Death.
In simple terms, this did not interfere.
Thus, the research on Stigmata being conducted in Babylon would continue.
Not only because Stigmata is closest to the Herrscher Core, but also because Stigmata holders are more likely to become Herrschers than ordinary people.
Otto was determined to study the connection between Stigmata and Herrschers, which is why Babylon was conducting abusive experiments. In short, before Chen Ran, Babylon was researching Stigmata by creating Herrschers.
Chen Ran had already gathered enough research in this area, but he did not mind acquiring some experimental resources for free.
"Then I hope the transaction can be completed quickly."
Chen Ran looked deeply at Otto and said, "I believe you will not give up on the research regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls. If there is enough information, I also have materials that will satisfy you."
"For example, the Void Archives are currently threatening you with indexing; you must be quite troubled by that."
Otto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
The Void Archives were a library of civilization left over from the pre-civilization era, recording various knowledge from that time.
However, a person's time for reading is limited; even if Otto spent five hundred years reading, what he could remember would only be the tip of the iceberg of the rich knowledge from the pre-civilization era.
The Void Archives often used indexing to threaten him, making it very inconvenient for him to access information.
If he could unlock this index, it would undoubtedly be a huge help for Otto.
However, after hesitating for a moment, he still did not agree.
"No need, I am currently getting along well with the Void Archives."
Otto was a suspicious person; at least, Chen Ran had not earned his trust yet.
He had already found a balance in dealing with the Void Archives, and rashly breaking this balance would only lead to unexpected situations.
Since Chen Ran suspected that Otto would falsify the Dead Sea Scrolls, Otto would similarly suspect that Chen Ran would play tricks.
As for saying that Chen Ran was an honest person, that would be foolish.
How could someone from that era be honest?
After a while of small talk and meaningless conversation, Otto left.
Subsequently, Kallen's genes and a copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls were sent to the Babylon laboratory by Amber.
Not long after, Cecilia took Sirin away from the Babylon laboratory.
Chen Ran began to integrate Kallen's Stigmata genes into his own body; this was not a complicated process.
What he had done at Saint Freya could also be done here.
The only challenge lay in gene separation; after all, once he integrated the genes, he would need to spend more effort to strip Kallen's genetic information from the other gene information.
However, just as he integrated Kallen's genes into himself, the system issued a reminder.
[Detected that the host's body has integrated the genes of the Kaslana family, triggering Stigmata resonance.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Stigmata: Kallen.Pledge.]
[System reminder: This Stigmata does not yet possess Stigmata consciousness, but it will not have the side effects of artificial Stigmata.]
Chen Ran: "…"
"Oh no, I forgot about this."
The good news was that he no longer needed to separate Kallen's genes after returning.
The bad news was that Kallen had become a part of him.
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