"That's good, that's good." Irene patted her chest, simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief in her heart. At least this phase had passed; now it was time to deal with other matters.
She hoped her luck was good enough not to run into that. If she was lucky, she should be able to accomplish what she wanted without anyone noticing.
[It's okay, my dear.] [Irene]'s voice carried a reassuring warmth. [Don't be too nervous, you are not alone now. We face this together.]
[That's right, Sister Irene, and us too.]
[Do what you need to do; we will be your strongest backing.]
[Mhm.]
Listening to the four voices in her mind, Irene smiled. Come to think of it, counting those three, there were already eight people in her mind—on par with Teacher Vill-V.
"Really... there are more and more people."
Fu Hua pushed up her glasses. After evacuating, Fu Hua had stored away the Godsbane Battlesuit; after all, she was still Otto's spy.
The armor on her body couldn't be exposed to the public. Fu Hua's gaze lingered behind Irene for a moment. After all, Irene had stayed in that black mist-filled place for a long time.
Although perhaps due to the Simulated Judah, she hadn't suffered any harm, that kind of environment wasn't one for humans to stay in long.
But fortunately, there was only fatigue on Irene's face, and indeed no scars appeared on her body. At least this incident caused no major damage; truly a blessing amidst misfortune.
As for Kiana... Fu Hua could only conceal her situation. She didn't want Irene dragged into this matter, at least not now.
"It's good that you're fine." Fu Hua finally nodded, her tone maintaining its usual steadiness. "I have already contacted Wraith. She will arrange for us to leave Singapore as soon as possible."
"This is not a place to stay long."
"Mm, I'll listen to your arrangement." Irene got up from the bed, moving her somewhat stiff limbs. "By the way, where is this? Why do I keep smelling a scent of alcohol?"
"This safehouse was originally a bar; having the scent of alcohol is normal." Fu Hua stood up and supported Irene. "Won't you rest a while longer?"
"No need, didn't you say it's best to leave quickly?" Irene smiled, feigning weakness. And this weakness, even Fu Hua didn't see through; after all, this was a technique Pardo taught her.
[Oh my, my dear, great acting~] Inside the Palace of Consciousness, [Irene]'s laughing voice rang out. [Miss Pardo taught you really well~]
[Heheh, this is my unique secret skill!] Pardo's voice carried pride. This act of playing the victim had helped her avoid quite a few disasters.
For example, small problems like getting approached by Brother Kalpas after touching his door, or getting approached by Sister Mobius after sneaking away with her stuff.
[Shut up, isn't it all situations you caused?] Irene rolled her eyes internally, but her tense nerves did relax a bit due to this playful banter.
[Hehe, but I helped out a lot! I avoided a huge disaster, isn't it worth giving me a little red flower?]
[How old are you?] Irene's mental projection rolled her eyes. [Asking for a little red flower... that sort of thing should have gone out of style when I was in elementary school.]
Although Irene retorted in her heart, she remained composed on the surface. It is worth mentioning that pain, and remaining calm amidst pain, is very helpful for Taixuan Sword Qi to temper the Sword Heart.
Of course, it's also possible that Irene's Honkai Adaptability is indeed too high, providing a bonus to this path. Regardless, according to Lixue's description, Irene's Sword Heart has now reached the realm of Condensing Ice.
But it needs more polishing; it's merely at the level where the Heart Lake has just begun to freeze.
As for Lixue's feelings... as someone who spent most of her life stepping out of Still Water and only reached Sword God through the enlightenment and resolve of death, she could no longer offer any evaluation of Irene's talent.
Or rather, she was numb to it.
From her Master, she had always heard that Taixuan Sword Qi required long-term cultivation, that progress was impossible without it, and that it required time and patience.
But Irene's speed in cultivation... saying she traveled a thousand li a day wouldn't be an exaggeration. Is this the benefit of having strong Honkai Adaptability?
"Let's leave here first." Fu Hua patted Irene's shoulder. "Wraith should have prepared a vehicle. We'll go directly to the airport, then find a way to return to St. Freya."
"Okay."
The evacuation process was smoother than imagined, or rather, there were no obstacles at all. The journey to the airport was calm and waveless.
As if that thrilling conflict in the hotel's underground vault had never happened. At least Anti-Entropy made absolutely no moves.
As for the government... well, they weren't worried about that aspect from the start. It is said that Shenzhou does not allow the two sides to engage in combat or station troops. If they really started fighting...
They would either say nothing and silently wait for it to finish, or quickly pick a side and wait for it to finish. So that side is definitely pretending nothing happened right now.
Kiana woke up midway, rubbing her sleepy eyes, expressing great confusion about "suddenly falling asleep" and hearing the two say the mission was complete upon waking.
Fu Hua casually glossed over it, and Kiana didn't care much either. Because after hearing the mission was complete, Kiana happily stopped caring. If she fainted, she fainted; the credits were already in hand.
Wasn't Kiana here just for the credits? Since the credits were secured, there was naturally no need to care. After all, wasn't she just a pendant for the stealth mission from the start?
Irene on the side didn't want to explain either. If the Bug accepted it so quickly, Irene was happy for the quiet. She leaned back in the chair, pretending to rest with her eyes closed. After all, the Palace of Consciousness was quite lively right now.
But it wasn't a bad thing, because good news came from [Irene]'s side. Taking advantage of the rest, Irene simply entered the Palace of Consciousness directly.
—Palace of Consciousness—
Irene opened her eyes and immediately turned to look at the ward area previously specialized to house the two sisters and Rin.
[Irene] was squatting beside two side-by-side "hospital beds", seeming to check the situation. Kallen, Lixue, and Pardo were also gathered nearby, casting concerned gazes at the two figures on the beds.
"How is the situation?" Irene walked over quickly, her gaze falling on the faces of Cangxuan and Danzhu. Although they didn't look different, Irene could sense their activity was completely different from when they were first extracted from Chiyou's body.
After the continuous stimulation of mental activity by Active Polarization, these two were finally about to wake from their long slumber.
"They should wake up very soon." [Irene] raised her head, eyes sparkling. "See, I am a lucky star. Good news, isn't it coming one after another?"
As if to verify her words, Danzhu, lying on the right bed, suddenly had her eyelids tremble slightly. This subtle movement immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Under everyone's bated breath, Danzhu's long eyelashes trembled a few more times, and finally, slowly and with difficulty, opened a slit.
Danzhu's eyes stared straight at the boundless void above the Palace of Consciousness, her eyes filled with confusion. Her vision wandered unconsciously, finally settling on Pardo, who was squatting by the bed with an excited face.
Danzhu stared straight at Pardo. After a good while, Danzhu's still somewhat unfocused pupils suddenly contracted, confusion instantly replaced by extreme horror.
She almost instinctively wanted to sit up, letting out a startled cry with a trembling voice: "Pardo?! You... how could you... No! I clearly remember you... you already..."
Danzhu's voice was full of unbelievable fear, as if seeing a ghost that absolutely shouldn't exist.
She knew very well what kind of mission Pardo had gone to execute. Theoretically speaking, it was impossible for Pardo to come out; no amount of luck would help.
And they indeed hadn't seen Pardo come out. In that environment, how could Pardo still be alive? Could it be she had now arrived in the world of souls? Is there really a heaven in the world?
Then are the others also...
"Wah! Sister Danzhu! Calm down! Calm down!" Pardo was startled by this sudden reaction, hurriedly waving her hands to stop Danzhu, who had already started brainstorming. "It's me! It's me, Pardo! But I didn't die!"
"Uh... or rather, the situation is a bit complicated... anyway, you calm down a bit first and listen to my explanation."
For a moment, the Palace of Consciousness was in a flurry. Kallen and Lixue tried to help explain. After quite a bit of talking over each other, and consecutive explanations, Danzhu's wildly beating "heart" gradually calmed down.
At the same time, Danzhu barely understood the status quo. For example, this wasn't heaven, but someone's mental world, and Pardo was "surviving" in a semi-Quantized form.
But the one who survived wasn't their Pardo. Additionally, the reason they were here was that the sisters were saved by this young girl named Irene before them.
Just as Danzhu was initially accepting this surreal situation, on the other side, Cangxuan also let out a subtle groan. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn over.
Compared to Danzhu, Cangxuan seemed even more confused. Even after seeing Pardo, her reaction wasn't as fast as Danzhu's, though she still let out a cry of surprise.
With a feeling of "here we go again", everyone explained what they had just told Danzhu to Cangxuan.
"...So that's how it is." Cangxuan shook her head, shaking the last trace of drowsiness from her mind. "Truly a nightmare-like experience."
"Sigh, anyway, it's good to be alive." Danzhu slumped back again. Since she had already "died" once, what was there that she couldn't accept?
Moreover, consciousness forms weren't rare to them; they had similar technology long ago, and they had heard of the Sea of Quanta.
Although it sounded a bit magical, the things they experienced weren't much more scientific than this.
So as long as she's alive, it's fine. Having so many talents is useless if not used; they still have to be pragmatic. As long as it happened, it's scientific~
Cangxuan shook her head at Danzhu, who revealed her slacker aura again. Her gaze turned to Irene, and she stood up with some difficulty. It seemed like after so long, even her soul had forgotten how to walk.
Seeing this, Pardo immediately reached out to support Cangxuan. With Pardo's help, Cangxuan stood steady and gave a solemn bow to the two Irenes in her eyes.
"Thank you very much for your help, Miss Irene. If there is anything you need, just say it, as long as we can do it."
As for the appearance of two Irenes in the consciousness space, Cangxuan wasn't surprised. Multiple personalities; she had seen someone with several personalities in one brain. A mere two personalities was acceptable.
"If there is a need, I will." Irene stepped forward and asked the question that had hovered in her heart for a long time. "However, Dr. Cangxuan, Dr. Danzhu, there is a question I've always wanted to ask..."
"According to my understanding, to seal Chiyou back then, you should have... sacrificed your lives. Why were your souls able to remain?"
This question had troubled Irene for a long time because she never figured out how the two survived that.
Cangxuan and Danzhu looked at each other, seeing the same heaviness and a trace of lingering fear in each other's eyes. Cangxuan sighed lightly, her voice weak but clear:
"You are right... thinking about it now, we should have died long ago. It's just that the situation back then... was very special."
She paused, seeming to organize her words, recalling that distant and dangerous past. "To completely seal that behemoth Chiyou, without Hua by our side, we could only do our best."
"And unlike other units, we weren't that good at fighting. We could only use the sealing method, which was to completely drain the Honkai energy within Chiyou's core."
Danzhu chimed in, a trace of helplessness in her tone: "But in that era, let alone what we had on hand, looking at the whole world, what had a stronger attraction to Honkai energy than the bodies of MANTISes?"
Hearing this, Irene's eyes flickered slightly. She seemed to understand why the sisters appeared in a state of Active Honkai Reaction when she saw them back then.
Cangxuan didn't notice Irene's look but continued: "So we had no choice. Using ourselves as the core, plus a little help from Soulium, we finally created that formation to extract the Honkai energy from Chiyou's core."
"But the price was immense." Cangxuan's voice went lower. "The infusion of such massive Honkai energy... far exceeded the limit our bodies could bear."
"We entered the state of 'Active Honkai Reaction'."
Originally, the two of them had only undergone the surgery to facilitate their execution of Project Ember.
They never thought that one day they would also enter the state of Active Honkai Reaction.
Danzhu's face showed a complex expression: "Before our consciousness completely sank... our last perception... was our bodies undergoing terrifying changes under the erosion of Honkai energy."
"Our minds were gradually swallowed by bestiality... We don't know anything about what happened after that."
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