"What... do you mean, 'mother'?"
Fu Hua blinked dumbfoundedly.
Despite her fifty thousand years of life, this was the first time outside a laboratory that she'd felt what it was like to have one's brain tremble.
"Uh, just the literal meaning?"
Lynelle said, somewhat awkwardly, "I don't really know much more than that... Anyway, just look at all these marks left on me by Mobius and Elysia. I'm not lying, see?"
As she spoke, Lynelle stretched out her hand. Instantly, four or five different marks flickered across it in succession—the Signet of Infinity, the Signet of Ego, Elysia's Stigmata, Mobius's Corrosion Virus...
For a moment, pink and green light shimmered and interwove across Lynelle's body, looking as if they were coexisting harmoniously within her.
"Apologies... I believe you now."
Without a doubt, even a Fu Hua who had lost her memories wouldn't fail to recognize the things now manifesting on Lynelle's hand.
Moreover, combined with Lynelle's appearance, which was practically a petite version of Elysia...
Who would have thought Dr. Mobius liked Elysia that much?
So much that after Elysia was gone, she went and created a little Elysia clone, just like she did with Klein... But why did I completely miss it? I only had a vague sense they were close...
Fu Hua, a famously dense piece of wood from Shenzhou, began her contemplation.
"Fu Hua?"
Lynelle poked the girl who had seemingly crashed, asking puzzled, "W-what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing..."
Fu Hua rubbed her slightly dizzy head. "Since you're Mobius and Elysia's daughter... I really shouldn't doubt you."
With that, Fu Hua tapped herself lightly. The Shadow Knight Armor instantly detached from her body, leaving only the girl's plain white undergarments.
Then, under Fu Hua's control, the Shadow Knight Armor floated up and automatically clad itself onto the "Fu Hua" projection that Lynelle had fashioned.
"Mmm, that should do it."
Lynelle manipulated the Fu Hua projection, making it move a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.
With a lift of her slender hand, she fused a pink crystal into Fu Hua's body.
"This is a flow chart of Honkai energy from the Helheim Labs. I don't know if you know your way around, but the final destination of the Honkai energy in this chart is most likely where Kiana is."
"I understand. Then..."
The slightly flustered girl quickly manipulated Honkai energy to materialize a set of clothes for herself.
"I should head over to Helheim first... Shortly after you entered the academy, I left a feather of the Fenghuang Down on you. Whatever the outcome, I'll send the details back to you."
Saying this, Fu Hua took another glance at the Signets on Lynelle's hand, then immediately flew off in the opposite direction.
"...So, the identity of 'Snake's daughter' is this useful, huh? Fu Hua didn't even mention what she said earlier about what would happen if my guess was wrong."
Watching Fu Hua's rapidly receding figure, Lynelle couldn't help but feel what it was like to have powerful backing.
"But... judging by the previous situation, World Serpent probably won't continue the Project Stigma trial in Arc City. Plus, Kiana won't turn into the Herrscher either... So, after Fu Hua loses her body this time, wouldn't her consciousness just transfer directly to me?"
Lynelle's train of thought suddenly became very active.
After all, from what happened before, while Fu Hua hadn't burned all her memories of the Previous Era, she must have burned a significant portion.
So... maybe just toss Fu Hua back into the Elysian Realm for a while?
Let it count as Elysia giving her some psychological counseling, plus a chance to recover the memories from the Previous Era that she burned away...
--+--
Meanwhile, just as things were looking up on Lynelle's end, Fu Hua had already quickly arrived near the Helheim Labs.
Just as Lynelle had said, Fu Hua, armed with the Fenghuang Down, might currently struggle to even beat Li Sushang in a straight fight based on raw power alone, but mental perception-type abilities weren't as common in this era as they were in the last.
Thus, Fu Hua reached the floating island where the Helheim Labs was located almost completely unhindered.
However, the moment she set foot on the island, she keenly perceived the issue—as a facility Otto used to contain Kiana and infuse her with Honkai energy, why were there no guards at the Helheim Labs at all?
Fu Hua didn't believe Otto was the type to particularly cherish the lives of others.
Or rather, among Schicksal's many Valkyries, a significant number were undoubtedly viewed by Otto as expendable resources. Add to that the various mechs and automata...
So, in Otto's plan, this laboratory required absolutely no guards?
Although this differed from what both she and Lynelle had anticipated, Fu Hua didn't linger. She promptly entered the laboratory.
Fu Hua wasn't unfamiliar with Helheim Labs; she had been here several times for armor compatibility tests. So, she didn't get lost, instead following the route from her memory straight to the lab's core area.
And according to the Honkai energy flow chart Lynelle had provided, Kiana's location was indeed here.
So then...
"The Fenghuang Down's scan also shows no one in the vicinity. And Otto assigned me the mission on the central floating island before... Meaning... there really is no one stationed here?"
Fu Hua frowned slightly. Her mental energy extended outwards, forming a "double" that passed directly through the laboratory's main door.
However, the moment it passed through the door, Fu Hua froze.
The reason was simple: There... was no Kiana.
Instead, there were only rows upon rows of cultivation pods and experimental machinery operating at full capacity.
As for the output of these machines... it was a vast quantity of a red, unidentified substance—Even in her current spiritual form, Fu Hua could feel a profound sense of revulsion emanating from that red "blood." Drawing on her vast experience, Fu Hua immediately associated it with one item.
The Schariac Holy Blood, or rather... the God-Slaying Lance.
But just as she was reeling from the shock, Fu Hua suddenly felt a wave of dizzying, intense pain.
By the time the vertigo subsided, the mental energy she had projected had been completely and involuntarily withdrawn back into her body. And now standing opposite her was... a smirking man with golden hair.
"Otto..."
"Ah, my dear old friend."
Otto let out a rather exaggerated sigh. "Your presence here... seems to be in violation of my orders, no?"
"Or should I say, have you begun to doubt the harmonious and friendly mutual trust we previously shared?"
"Otto, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Fu Hua gritted her teeth against the stinging pain spreading through her body. "Where is Kiana? And what is the meaning of all this?"
"Jumping straight to such private questions, old friend. Your demands... are somewhat difficult to fulfill."
Otto shook his head slightly. "However, for the sake of our friendship, I suppose I can provide you with answers."
"Only, these answers may not be quite what you wish to hear."
"For instance... Kiana truly is not here."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.