"So, this is everything you wanted to know."
In the teacher's office of Saint Freya, Chen Ran candidly shared parts of his past and abilities with Bronya and Sin.
Aside from some areas he had to cleverly disguise, he felt he was quite honest with the two.
Sin listened while shaking her legs, like a very restless socialite.
"Tsk, is that so? You've been through quite a bit, huh?"
"Though I don't really want to admit it, I at least have to be your elder," Chen Ran shrugged and said, "Do you think the Stigmata on you came from nowhere?"
Sin: "Heh, do you think I would care if I lost that thing?"
Unlike others, Sin's Stigmata was the source of her life's suffering.
To be precise, her life was already painful, and the Stigmata only helped her see through the painful world.
And this point was something neither Cocolia nor Bronya knew.
Chen Ran paused and said, "Alright, then forget I said anything."
"You've learned what you wanted to know, so you can go back where you came from."
He said lightly, "After all, this place will be locked up soon. If Himeko or Theresa comes and there's a conflict, I won't help you."
He didn't calculate Bronya and Sin's thoughts.
To put it bluntly, he just wanted to quickly send these two away.
Currently, Bronya was not yet a Herrscher and couldn't help him much. As for Sin, not causing trouble was already good enough.
Chen Ran was almost certain that what he said would eventually reach Cocolia's ears.
However, if Gray Serpent was around, Cocolia wouldn't act against him.
Sin couldn't help but click her tongue again.
Bronya then said calmly, "If Teacher Himeko or the Principal comes, Bronya will explain everything. Sin is already a good girl now, so there's no need to worry."
Sin started to get angry: "Don't talk to me like I'm a child."
Bronya continued to speak to herself: "In comparison, Bronya has one more thing she wants to ask you for help."
"Since you can adjust time, can you adjust it to before 2013?"
After she said this, Sin also fell silent.
Although Sin didn't like Seele, that crying girl.
Disliking someone and wishing for their disappearance were two different things.
In Cocolia's orphanage, the one who cared most about the integrity of the orphanage was Sin, not Bronya.
Bronya could leave the orphanage without any psychological burden, but Sin could not.
Thus, she viewed Seele as 'a little sister she didn't like'; even if she didn't like her, only she could bully her.
Chen Ran's eyes revealed a knowing glint.
After so much detour, they finally began to discuss serious matters.
He said lightly, "If I really had the ability to adjust time at will, do you think I would still be sitting here safely?"
"Bronya might not feel it, but Sin should understand that the two changes in this world were merely corrections of the deviated trajectory."
"Don't address me in such a familiar tone." Sin instinctively retorted, then huffed, "But you didn't lie about that."
Before the world changed, the second Major Honkai Eruption occurred.
And after the first change in the world, the Second Honkai Eruption disappeared.
After the second, the Major Honkai Eruption reappeared.
Of course, if we count Sirin's contact with the Imaginary Tree, then this should actually be the third change.
It was like a balance scale swaying left and right, yet to find a stable middle ground.
Bronya said lightly, "What if I traveled through time with you?"
"Essentially, it would just add one more poor time traveler; it wouldn't change anything."
Chen Ran paused and continued, "However, seeing that you are my student, I can tell you one piece of news."
"What you need to do is actually find Seele.Vollerei, and I know that if time hasn't changed, Seele will still be alive and in the Sea of Quanta."
"And if she can come back."
Bronya immediately became excited: "Then how can we achieve that?"
Sin didn't ask further but also fixed her gaze on him.
"I don't know."
"Or rather, I know how to bring her back, but I don't know if telling you will cause unknown changes in the world."
Chen Ran pondered for a moment and said, "Bronya, you should know that the future has uncertainties."
Whether he traveled to the future or spoke of some possibilities of the future.
His personal arrival in the future actually meant that the script named future could not unfold in the way he had seen.
The system did not deny this.
The system had always said that based on the data obtained from his journey to the future, it would draft the fates of certain individuals.
Even the system could not guarantee that the scenes appearing in the future would reappear exactly as they were in real time.
In other words, after he experienced a certain future, that future would most likely truly disappear.
If he told Bronya how to find Seele, would Bronya find Seele as she wished?
Chen Ran's assessment was uncertain.
He could only tell Bronya one possible outcome he had seen; this was a predetermined matter after observation.
But he couldn't tell her the process that led to the result; otherwise, the process would become more convoluted, affecting the outcome.
In other words, Seele might still not be able to return.
"It sounds a bit like quantum mechanics, but if I tell you the detailed process, countless possibilities might arise instead."
Chen Ran said this.
After all, Seele's ability to return was because Bronya met Welt Yang and obtained the power of the Herrscher Core. But now, would Welt Yang enter the Sea of Quanta again?
It was a miracle that Seele could return from the Sea of Quanta.
And what is called a miracle is the superposition of countless coincidences.
If any one of these coincidences were to be lost, different results would emerge.
Bronya had her thoughts.
"Alright, in any case, if there's nothing else, don't disturb me. And don't think about time travel," Chen Ran said with a hint of helplessness as he looked at them. "Traveling through time is definitely the most foolish choice in this world."
…
…
Bronya and Sin left.
Although he didn't know how Sin could naturally appear in Saint Freya, that was no longer something Chen Ran needed to worry about.
In fact, he was not idle in Saint Freya.
It's just that what he had to do was beyond the ordinary.
"Bia, is there any new result?"
Relying on the method Bia provided on the moon, Chen Ran could communicate with Bia through any electronic device using satellite signals.
Even at the two ends of the Earth and Moon, the vast distance of space could not hinder the existence of radio waves.
And the server could directly use the Stigmata terminal, although sometimes the signal would be delayed.
"Is it that easy?"
Bia expressed her frustration, but then changed the subject: "However, thanks to your reminder, I actually have an unexpected gain."
"Unexpected gain?"
"Do you remember Stigmata? To be precise, it's the process of how the first Stigmata was created."
At this moment, Bia had already learned to respond to human questions, and Chen Ran honestly provided an answer.
"Although I don't know if this is the answer you want, I remember that the theoretical formation of Stigmata was actually based on my and MEI's research on the Honkai memory genes."
"Mixing memory data genes into a database, and turning the complex gene database into a hereditary chain transmitted in DNA, that is the theoretical Stigmata."
Chen Ran had never personally created any Stigmata in the pre-civilization era.
At least, that's what all his memories so far indicated.
But even so, his research with MEI on Honkai memory was essentially an important precursor to Stigmata.
"Oh, I forgot that you probably haven't delved into creating Stigmata yet, but that's okay."
Bia paused and said, "To be precise, the explicit expression of memory data genes produced within the human body is Stigmata. My understanding of this is correct, right?"
"Yes."
"What I discovered is this."
She paused and continued, "The Stigmata terminal has already projected all the Stigmata, but the information about Stigmata is still retained in the terminal. Then, I unexpectedly learned that the process of Stigmata's explicit expression in the human body is a complete process of information chaos transforming into information order."
"You should understand what I mean."
"You mean, the virtual internal energy is generated within Stigmata?" Chen Ran was slightly taken aback.
"To be precise, Stigmata has connected the human body with the dimension of the virtual, just like the Herrscher. Through my in-depth observation, I found that the resistance against Honkai genes is not a human invention, but a discovery."
Chen Ran understood the difference between invention and discovery.
Invention is creating something from nothing, while discovery is uncovering what already exists.
"One theoretical point you are correct about is that Stigmata and Herrscher Core are not fundamentally different, but there is a sequence that needs to be reversed."
"For the higher-dimensional Honkai, the Herrscher is the life that should be born, while humans and the civilization they construct are the anomalies. The holders of Stigmata are Herrschers modified after being influenced by humans, belonging to the category of normal life that has been affected."
Chen Ran: "I think I understand what you're saying. So the emergence of civilization is a result of countless coincidences, just like the cancer transformation of the human body."
"For us, civilization is the foundation for survival, but for the universe, civilization itself is actually a cancer cell that appears and continues to spread outward."
"And what is called Honkai is actually the universe's antibody, the process of rejecting us."
"One could say that the description is quite apt." Bia said softly, "Moreover, there is one more point: in absolute numerical values, the civilizations appearing in the universe are actually increasing."
"Although many of these civilizations have been destroyed by Honkai, the number of civilizations is still increasing. To Honkai, we are the invaders."
"And the universe is already in a critical state."
Chen Ran quipped, "I think I understand what it means for the red lotus to heat up."
"Eh?" Bia was a bit puzzled. "What is that?"
"Nothing." He thought for a moment and said, "Humans' resistance to viruses is actually quite extreme. First, antibodies appear, then the body temperature rises. Once it reaches this point, it means the virus is already quite formidable."
He speculated that the red lotus heating up he experienced in his previous life while playing games was actually the universe's adjustment in response to the 'civilization virus.'
Bia continued, "The concentration of Honkai Energy in the universe has actually been increasing. I suspect that this Honkai Energy will reach a threshold, and once it breaks through this threshold, even the universe will find it hard to bear. But I am not sure how the universe will express the heating process you mentioned."
"Let's put that question aside for now." She continued, "What I want to talk about next is the key point."
"Based on previous conclusions, it can be deduced that both Herrscher and Stigmata holders can directly connect to the Imaginary Tree, but ordinary humans cannot. The connection between the Imaginary Tree and the Herrscher is governed by physical rules, and Stigmata holders should have such expressive characteristics."
"In other words, each Stigmata will correspond to a physical explicit rule or an invisible rule, and this rule, after being influenced by humans, presents an invisible form in genes, which needs to be expressed through Honkai."
"The most typical examples are Raiden Mei and Wendy."
"From the perspective of humans based on you, the Herrscher is actually a Stigmata holder that has been altered by Honkai."
"But from my perspective as an objective observer, the Stigmata holder is a Herrscher that has been altered by humans."
"So, the Stigmata space corresponds to the virtual space connected to the Herrscher, and the consciousness of Stigmata corresponds to the consciousness of the Herrscher; they are fundamentally indistinguishable."
"The Herrschers that appeared in the pre-civilization era were the antibodies that eliminated the virus under the rules. The Finality we need to overcome is because civilization has been increasing, causing Honkai to reach a certain threshold, resulting in the 'fever phenomenon,' which might be the result of what you call the 'red lotus heating up' to a certain limit."
Chen Ran: "..."
Got it, when the red lotus temperature reaches 999, Finality will appear.
"I really hope my discoveries are false." Bia, unaware that Chen Ran was deep in thought, continued to ask him a question: "If a person dies from a fever, what will happen to the viruses in their body?"
Chen Ran instinctively replied, "They will die along with the person."
"Correct." Bia said, "Finality is very likely the universe's 'fever defense mechanism against viruses,' and if we, as the virus, defeat Finality, then the universe might collapse as a result. Of course, the universe won't die like a human, but whether it will stop the outward big bang or whether stars will extinguish is uncertain. But it can be anticipated that this will lead to the universe falling from the Imaginary Tree into the Sea of Quanta."
"Defeating Honkai is very likely a false proposition; perhaps there is fundamentally no way to defeat Honkai."
Chen Ran understood.
He pondered, "So the best way for humans is actually to find a dynamic balance between Honkai and humanity, right?"
"This is my conclusion based on the research information of Stigmata and Herrscher, and I think your disappearance after Finality might be related to this."
Bia's words answered many of Chen Ran's doubts.
He thought of Project Stigma in the storyline.
Before the crossing, he didn't quite understand the purpose of Project Stigma.
Isn't this just a way of surrendering? Pulling people into a higher dimension, but can people still be called humans?
But now, from the results Bia explored, the Project Stigma in the storyline actually fits perfectly.
After humans defeat Finality, the universe will face Honkai, and humanity will perish.
Even if there are new humans after being defeated by Finality, it would still be a Destruction of an era.
It would be better to directly escape to areas unreachable by Honkai, relying on a world constructed by 'dreams' to avoid reality, where everyone lives in a vast Stigmata space.
But Kevin also said that Project Stigma is a plan for losers, meaning that everyone in the pre-civilization era still hadn't found a balanced way to coexist with Honkai.
Moreover, since Honkai and consciousness exist in the same dimension, preventing the space where consciousness resides from being polluted by Honkai is merely a wishful thinking of humanity.
Just like in the Honkai Academy, the Stigmata terminal can also be corrupted by Honkai.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this aspect of consciousness that Su stopped Kevin from executing Project Stigma fifteen hundred years ago.
"Civilization is a miracle formed by countless coincidences and serendipities, but it is also the cancer of the universe."
Bia paused and said, "Perhaps our answers can only be found in higher dimensions."
Chen Ran was a bit lost in thought.
"The Dead Sea Scrolls?"
——
Fifty thousand years ago, Fire Moth.
In the isolated laboratory where MEI was located, a document was transmitted to Prometheus.
"Doctor, all the data regarding the X-10 experiment has been collected."
Prometheus's words made MEI nod.
"I understand. What do you think about it?"
"It's an extremely failed experimental design; Prometheus doesn't see any necessity for this experiment to proceed."
This AI could only answer directly, without any reservations.
"Yes, it's a failed experiment, a terrible design, a crude idea, purely treating humans as expendable materials."
MEI's thoughts drifted for a moment.
Some time before today, Elysia had found her.
The first thing she said was to make Chen Ran leave Fire Moth.
MEI didn't know where Elysia's emotions came from; in her impression, Elysia and Chen Ran should have no intersection.
That should be the case.
But until Elysia handed her a document about the experiment, she began to feel puzzled.
"The X-10 experiment conducted by Fire Moth will answer many of your questions."
Based on her incomplete understanding of Elysia, MEI knew that although Elysia liked to joke, she was not someone who would maliciously play tricks on others.
However, based on her understanding of Honkai, the X-10 experiment felt more like a child's play, an absurd farce.
The design of this experiment was simple and crude; even she found it distasteful.
If an experiment is to place people in an environment of nuclear concentration to stimulate the production of antibodies that suppress radiation, then this experiment is undoubtedly that of a madman.
And the X-10 experiment was merely replacing nuclear radiation with Honkai Energy.
MEI had no bottom line, but that didn't mean she was a madwoman.
On the contrary, that kind of reckless madness was merely a manifestation of incompetence.
If it weren't for Elysia's words, she would never have participated in this experiment.
She hadn't informed Chen Ran about this matter; firstly, there was no evidence, and secondly, even if there was evidence, it would be of no use.
Elysia had no hostility; MEI could sense that.
She had thought about using her influence to stop this experiment or to clarify its harms.
However, that would not allow her to understand the meaning behind Elysia's words.
Why did Elysia want Chen Ran to leave Fire Moth? What situation could lead to such thoughts?
It couldn't be because of emotional issues, could it?
"I understand, I'll allocate some energy to focus on this experiment, but don't let anyone know."
Since she couldn't figure it out, MEI simply stopped thinking about it.
At this moment, she still didn't know that No. 666 had already reached a cooperation agreement with Sakura to investigate this experiment.
Moreover, Sakura had already made considerable progress.
"So, although this X-10 experiment is nominally under the name of Fire Moth, it is actually a privately designed experiment."
When number 666 received Sakura's message, he couldn't help but frown.
"And the ultimate goal of this experiment is to allow humans to gain the power of Honkai."
"What a naive thought, to think that one could gain the power of Honkai so easily, there wouldn't be so many…"
Number 666's muttering came to an abrupt halt.
Because he thought of another possibility.
Artificial Herrscher!
Before the X-10 experiment in 2013 within the storyline, there had been similarly designed experiments.
And that experiment produced another Herrscher.
Her name is Sirin.
"I should have thought of it, just as the Herrscher on the Honkai side can also betray Honkai."
"Humans can also betray humanity!"
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