Nodding her head, Kiana trusted Fu Hua enough to follow her words.
---------------------------
At the top of the Imaginary Tree.
A towering figure was pressing down upon it. Its aura blended perfectly with the Imaginary Tree.
It was Godzilla.
At this moment, the Imaginary Tree, after its initial fury, had evolved into impotent rage, and finally into its current "whatever, I don't care anymore."
It couldn't do anything, after all, what else could it do but accept it!
At the beginning, it had still tried to find a way to drive out the strange thing that had suddenly appeared on its body.
Later, it was shocked to discover that it couldn't even sense where that thing had gone.
But it knew it hadn't left. Unwilling to give up, it continued to search.
The result, nothing. So it just gave up.
Rather than waste attention on this inexplicable intruder, it might as well put more effort into dealing with its old rival.
After all, it couldn't be the only one suffering losses!
A thick tail swayed lazily, carrying an air of extreme indolence.
Godzilla was livin' a leisurely life. But mere leisure could not satisfy Godzilla.
Thus, once again, he fixed his sights on his target, the Quantum Sea, which had been locked in endless conflict with the Imaginary Tree since time immemorial.
From a macroscopic view, the Quantum Sea and the Imaginary Tree were tightly intertwined, endlessly struggling against each other.
From a microscopic view, for an ordinary person to walk from the top of the Imaginary Tree to the Quantum Sea, even a thousand lifetime's would not suffice.
But for Godzilla, this was far from enough of a stage.
He hadn't forgotten that Aha's coordinates had been shifted by the Imaginary Tree into the Quantum Sea, and before he even entered, he had been discovered and blocked at the door by the Quantum Sea.
Godzilla knew how to hold grudges!
...
The Quantum Sea surged, "currents" danced wildly, performing a shocking scene.
"Something's wrong! Hey, coward, we can't get any closer, or else we'll be exposed!"
The voice of Seele's inner personality echoed gravely in Seele's mind.
"But… it's so close over there," Seele whispered timidly, her sea-like eyes full of longing as she gazed at the most turbulent place.
"You'll die! Do you even understand? If you die, I'll die with you, and I don't want to die! Don't you still want to go back and find your sister Bronya?"
Hearing her inner self's words, Seele's eyes showed a trace of loss.
Yes, if she died, she'd drag her other self down as well, and she'd never see her again.
Thinking of this, she knew she couldn't be so reckless.
But still… Looking toward the direction where the fluctuations were most intense, Seele let out a long sigh.
In the end, she had failed to seize the opportunity.
Just as Seele was preparing to find a secluded place to rest,
"Ah-!"
A roar came from behind. Instinctively, she turned around, only to see that at some point, the path she came from had been blocked off by a mass of Quantum Shadows.
Some of the Quantum Shadows were so huge, their bodies reached hundreds of meters tall!
Quantum Shadows.
The most common monsters within the Quantum Sea.
Most of them bore appearances similar to the outside world, but their forms had been warped and mutated by the Quantum Sea.
Over the years of wandering the Quantum Sea, Seele had encountered such monsters more than once.
Fortunately, those had been few in number, she could fight, or if not, escape.
But now, the path behind her was blocked as far as her eyes could see.
Perhaps it was just because she was small and couldn't see the end clearly.
But when her gaze landed on the foremost Quantum Shadow, whose bloated figure was nearly three hundred meters tall, Seele immediately abandoned the idea of going back.
"Run, now!" Without even answering, Seele spun around and bolted.
"Not that way! Run sideways!"
"Okay!"
Twisting sharply, Seele made a sudden right turn, countless Quantum Shadows chasing right behind her.
Normally, the Quantum Sea contained an uncountable number of Quantum Shadows.
But within the vastness of the Quantum Sea, even that number was insignificant.
One could wander forever and never encounter even one. Yet the situation Seele faced was obviously abnormal.
This was the will of the Quantum Sea.
If it couldn't handle its old rival, it could still deal with people nested in it.
The Quantum Shadows born directly by the Quantum Sea were far stronger than the usual kind, not something the still-weak Seele could resist.
Her innate stigmata only meant she was born stronger than ordinary people, with great potential.
But until that potential was converted into real power, a genius was still only a genius, not yet a true powerhouse.
...
Anti-Entropy, The City containing the connection to the Quantum Sea.
"The safest way to enter the Quantum Sea is to open a stable channel from within."
Herta leaned on the console, her eyes thoughtful.
"If someone inside the Quantum Sea could cause enough disturbance, we could capture the coordinates and build a channel. After that, we'd just need someone acknowledged by the Quantum Sea to go in, establish an anchor, and bringing them back wouldn't be a problem."
"The anchor problem, I can handle that," Herta said.
"But the problem is, we don't have anyone who can actually enter the Quantum Sea."
Tesla raised the soul-crushing question.
According to the intel freely provided by Cocolia, that little girl named Seele had disappeared into the Quantum Sea, and before that, Schrödinger had also vanished there, with no trace since.
Clearly, gaining recognition from the Quantum Sea was no small matter.
The group fell into silence.
Welt wanted to help, but though his knowledge was respectable, in front of these three giants he felt like a kindergartner. He didn't dare claim he had anything to contribute.
Just then, a ripple passed through Welt. Startled for a moment, he asked hesitantly:
"Uh… do you think this wave here is useful?"
"???" Einstein, furthest away, instinctively shoved Welt aside.
"Capture the coordinates! Construct the energy channel!"
"Whatever's happening inside, we can't miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this, it might be a cross-boundary resonance!"
"If you don't want to join Schrödinger, stay back."
Caught off guard by the sudden shove, Welt watched the three throw themselves into work, words on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he stayed silent.
...
The Quantum Sea welcomed an uninvited guest.
An existence so terrifying that even it, who knew not what fear was, felt something akin to terror.
"So this is the Quantum Sea…" Godzilla strode in openly, surveying the vast Quantum Sea before him.
His colossal form was insignificant within its depths.
Relying on his immense adaptability, the moment he touched the Quantum Sea, he adjusted his body into the most suitable state for survival there.
In this state, even if the Quantum Sea sought to suppress him, it was useless.
Just as the Imaginary Tree couldn't locate him,
Both the Quantum Sea and the Imaginary Tree had been locked in conflict, but neither was skilled at delicate control.
And now that Godzilla had adapted himself perfectly, it was even harder.
If the Quantum Sea could manifest a humanoid form, it would realize that even if it stood face-to-face with Godzilla, without relying on vision, hearing, or touch, Godzilla would feel nonexistent, as though he had completely merged with the Quantum Sea itself.
"Heh, I told you I'd be coming." Godzilla's tail swayed happily.
Pride filled his heart. He, holds grudges.
Lifting his eyes slightly, his vertical pupils locked onto the distance.
In his perception, several strong presences were slowly approaching, by his standards.
...
"They're catching up…" Seele's little face twisted with worry, panting heavily.
The pressure was mostly psychological.
The Quantum Shadows chasing her were larger than any she had ever seen.
She had no way to fight them. Even running was difficult. Looking left, she saw the Quantum Sea still surging violently.
Ever since she had detected the disturbance up ahead, it hadn't calmed for a moment.
It was hard to imagine what kind of force could cause such immense upheaval.
But, maybe, she was about to see it.
She sighed softly; her eyes dimmed.
"Hurry up and pull yourself together, do you still want to live?! If you keep going like this you'll really never see your sister Bronya again!"
The inner-personality Seele urged.
"But I'm really so tired, I can't run anymore." A wetness surfaced in Seele's eyes.
'Sister Bronya , is Seele really useless…'
"Impossible! You're useful. move now!" The inner-personality Seele shouted in frustration.
"Grr!"
A beast's roar, louder than hers, and between gasps the large, ringed rat-like Quantum Shadow was nearby.
The Quantum Shadows spawned by the Sea of Quantum were far more powerful than the Emperor-Class Honkai Beast, a mountain Seele currently could not cross.
Teeth clenched, Seele sank deeper into despair.
As expected.
"I'm nothing but-"
"Roar!!"
A furious roar echoed through heaven and earth; everything froze.
The nearest Quantum Shadow was directly blasted away by the soundwave.
The huge body crushed countless smaller Quantum Shadows behind it.
Before Seele could figure out what was happening, the next second a gigantic shadow enveloped her. Instinctively she looked up; a majestic body stood before her, merely its aura was overwhelming.
"What is… this?" Seele stared blankly, murmuring.
Floating in the Sea of Quantum for who knew how long, this was the first time she'd seen such a creature.
No, was this even a living thing?
Forgive Seele for not knowing much; after all, she came from an orphanage and conditions were limited.
More bewildered than Seele were the Quantum Shadows that had been ferocious moments ago and now stood dumbfounded as if their systems crashed.
Except for the Quantum Shadow that lay floating, the other Quantum Shadows fixed their gaze on the Godzilla that had suddenly burst out.
For some reason, Seele actually sensed confusion from them.
In fact, the Quantum Shadows' segregated senses told them: their vision showed a very large enemy before them, but their other senses told them there was nothing else there besides the unfamiliar existence chasing them.
This strange feeling caused the already-not-very-bright Quantum Shadows' brains to crash, assuming they had brains.
After a short pause, the Quantum Shadows grew restless again.
No matter what this thing was, if it matched the fluctuations of the Sea of Quantum it meant it was one of them; if so, then it must be one of them.
Instinct drove them to continue attacking the "bug," Seele nearby, who was behind Godzilla
Seeing these creatures still dare to rush at him, Godzilla's gaze hardened.
Its tail fin lit up, then blue light crawled up its dorsal fins, and tremendous energy condensed in its mouth.
...
At this moment the Quantum Shadows still hadn't realized something was wrong.
Seeing the Quantum Shadows preparing to attack again, Seele's expression changed; her kind nature made her want to persuade this nameless big thing to leave, and then…
A patch of azure light illuminated her eyes.
Blue Atomic Breath!
The scorching force swept everything away; the thick beam effortlessly pierced the leading Quantum Shadow through.
Under the burning power, those pure-energy beings instantly turned to nothing, dissipating into the vast world of the Sea of Quantum.
At the same time, a small passage quietly opened and a petite purple figure stepped out.
"So this is the Sea of Quantum, what the hell is that thing!!"
Herta had just been admiring the scenery of the Sea of Quantum when a flash of danger lit up in her mind.
Before she could think clearly about what was happening, she suddenly felt the temperature around her rise rapidly, and with a whoosh she was almost sent back...
When the light dispersed, Herta's eyes met Godzilla's closed mouth.
Visibly, a symbol of anger appeared on Herta's forehead.
"What the hell is going on!!!"
…
"Sis, please sit." Seele obediently tidied up a clearing, making space.
Hopeful eyes focused on the puppet sister who had suddenly appeared in the Sea of Quantum.
Before she could speak, Herta spoke first.
"You're the one who disappeared in the Sea of Quantum?"
She remembered the name, it was Seele.
"Huh? Sister, you know me?" Seele asked confusedly; her social circle was simple, and if she knew someone like Herta with such a striking presence, she'd remember.
"No, I don't know you. I saw the name when I looked through the data. Do you know Cocolia?"
"Huh, Cocolia-mom! Is she okay now?!"
"She's fine: eating, drinking, and still getting treated well." Herta told the truth.
"That's good." Hearing Herta, Seele breathed a sigh of relief; she was worried Cocolia-mom might be depressed because of her.
Herta nodded slightly, such a kind little girl. Tsk, being around kind little girls for too long makes one feel almost kind too.
"Um." Seele intertwined her hands and hesitated.
"If you have something to ask, hurry up." Seele brightened and cautiously asked, "Do you know sister Bronya?"
"Seems like I've heard the name." Herta racked her brain, vaguely recalling a little girl with twin turbochargers, she relayed the memory to Seele.
Hearing that Bronya was okay and had met many friends, Seele breathed out; as long as Bronya was happy.
But… thinking about being trapped here, Seele's eyes inevitably dimmed.
Shaking her head, Herta temporarily ignored the melancholy girl. She took a few steps forward, looked up with an unfriendly expression.
"So, can you explain why you appeared here? That thing just brushed right over my head."
Before her, Godzilla stood in the Sea of Quantum, imposing and silent.
Remembering that when she first entered the Sea of Quantum she hadn't even observed the environment before nearly being sent away, Herta's face darkened.
With that temperature, if she hadn't upgraded the puppet's materials, she'd probably have been reduced to molten iron, maybe not even molten iron, simply evaporated.
If this were reality, Herta could have logged off to dodge; but this was the another world, and in the Sea of Quantum.
Putting aside whether perishing in the Sea of Quantum would affect reality, being sent away before starting research was unforgivable to any researcher. Especially to a top genius like Herta.
Ignoring the Godzilla behind her, she had instead turned towards Seele nearby to get more information.
Herta kept chattering and didn't notice that a tail had already curled around beside her, coming up behind and slowly lifting.
The next second.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Three knocks, and after everything, the world was quiet.
"…Sister Herta, are you okay?"
After a moment, Seele, finally reacted, walked to Herta with a trembling heart and reached out, trying to pull Herta up from where she was buried in the ground.
So deep, couldn't lift her.
…
Anti-entropy.
Einstein and the other two watched the Eye of the Deep tensely; any slight anomaly could tug at their nerves.
After an unknown amount of time, the Eye of the Deep showed a disturbance; the next second, Herta's body slowly emerged.
"Success!" Tesla cheered loudly, eyes full of joy.
Not only her, Einstein and Welt were also extremely pleased. Herta's return meant their direction was correct!
Their eyes flickered, and they all nodded with satisfaction.
"Not bad, this experiment was very successful." It was a pity she couldn't stay longer.
Herta felt regretful.
If she had been in the real world, she could have freely roam the Sea of Quantum. But this experiment was conducted with a dream body, which did not have all the functions.
But having taken the first step, the subsequent progress would surely accelerate...