"Chen Li, oh, Chen Li, you can't fall any further."
"You are an outstanding youth of the new century, dedicated to saving the world. How can you indulge in fleeting beauty!"
"Hmm, just one more bite."
"Elysia tastes really good!"
"...Alright, alright, stop gnawing on her. Any more and you'll have gnawed the crystal into a life-sized Elysia." Vill-V said, pulling at Chen Li's hand.
Vill-V had used a machine to scan it. The crystal encasing Elysia was a combination of the power of Pure Beauty and the authority of the Herrscher of Human: Ego, so almost no weapon could deform or damage it. Unfortunately for the crystal, it had run into Chen Li.
"How is it? My carving skills aren't bad, are they?" Chen Li asked, pointing at the crystal.
This was a masterful technique he had honed through his experience with the Divine Body Amber!
"Er... if Elysia saw this statue, she would definitely be very satisfied, provided it wasn't carved with your teeth," Vill-V retorted.
In order not to waste a single inch of the crystal and to ensure Elysia's safety, Chen Li had sculpted the outer layer into a likeness of Elysia, turning the crystal into a larger version of her.
"And Myriad Phenomena Severance," Chen Li clarified.
"Yes, yes, so it's time to get down to business, right? You spent a whole three hours watching Sparkle's misfortune. Have you forgotten what we were supposed to do today?" Vill-V reminded him.
"I have been doing business. Collecting Elation Points is the most important thing right now," Chen Li said.
"Fine, so now it's time to get down to real business." Vill-V completely ignored him.
"Ermm... let's go. To Mobius's lab first."
---o---
"We are going to the Current Era for three things only! Steal the Void Archives, steal the Void Archives, and steal the fucking Void Archives!" Chen Li stood in the center of Mobius's laboratory, slamming his hand on the lab table as he yelled.
This was the important matter Vill-V had spoken of.
For Vill-V, Mobius, and the others, the Void Archives, which contained all the knowledge of the entire Previous Era, was more significant to them than all the other Divine Keys combined.
The details of the perfected MANTIS surgery, the construction of the Moonlight Throne, the manufacturing methods for the Divine Keys, the research on Valkyrie battlesuits (the battlesuits in Honkai Impact 3rd were all developed based on the Key of Blankness), the Armed Dolls, and most importantly, Dr. MEI's lifelong research—the Stigmata!
All of this knowledge and treasure was stored within the Void Archives.
Although Mobius, Vill-V, or even the current high-school-student Mei could re-develop all these things through their own efforts—and do so much faster with a clear direction—why not just copy the answers when they were available?
The Theocracy in the Current Era, Schicksal, had achieved a staggering lead over Anti-Entropy in the field of technological research precisely because Otto had obtained a great deal of the Previous Era's outstanding knowledge from the Void Archives.
Otto was indeed a competent scientist, but without the Void Archives, without the knowledge of the Previous Era, the things he researched could never have become so extensive.
The power of one person is limited, but the power of a civilization is different.
If, during the middle of the Previous Era, before the continent of Mu—the center of their civilization—was sunk by the Ninth Herrscher, Dr. MEI had been able to integrate the resources of the entire world, she might not have been unable to fight the Herrscher of Finality to a standstill.
At the very least, the Moonlight Throne was an excellent countermeasure.
Unfortunately, the industrial system in the later stages of the era could no longer support the construction of more Moonlight Thrones.
So now, as the Previous Era intended to rise again, obtaining the Void Archives was an essential step!
Besides, leaving the Void Archives in Otto's hands was a waste!
What the hell did Otto know about the Void Archives?
As a great scientist who really did have some skills, he was sitting on the massive treasury that was the Void Archives and had barely managed to dig up any gold! Can you believe it?
Sigh, you say the consciousness within the Void Archives refused to cooperate with him, forcing him to have Fu Hua use an instrument to search her subconscious for the locations of the Previous Era's legacy?
Who cares about that!
Since Otto couldn't grasp the Void Archives, it was perfect to take it back and let Vill-V, the creator of the Divine Keys, grasp it instead!
"Vill-V, are you really sure you know what backdoors your future self will leave in the Void Archives?" Chen Li couldn't help but look at her.
"Although I haven't experienced it yet, if it were me designing the Void Archives, a Divine Key forged from the core of the Herrscher of Reason, I would definitely design that backdoor. You can rest assured. I know myself quite well," Vill-V said with absolute confidence.
"Besides, if the Void Archives doesn't behave, then we'll just get a new one. We only need the knowledge inside it; the Archives itself isn't important." Vill-V took out her Persona Mask.
Although she was always talking about making the Xianzhou or the Flame-Chasers "stand up," the most terrifying ability of the Persona Mask was that it could forcibly seize control of any living being's body.
Because Vill-V had only experimented on non-living things before, this aspect wasn't very obvious. But once a sentient being had the mask placed on them and their body was completely taken over by a newly born second personality, you'd know you were wrong.
Theoretically, a newborn second personality couldn't suppress the first one, but the Persona Mask now contained hundreds of thousands of personas!
No matter how strong your first personality was, it couldn't possibly kill all of them before they exhausted you!
And even if Vill-V hadn't created the Void Archives yet, she was still confident she could deal with her own future creation.
"What about the other Divine Keys? Are we taking them back?" Mobius asked casually.
"This..." Chen Li hesitated.
Theoretically, the twelve Divine Keys were all legacies left by the Previous Era. It was perfectly justifiable for the Flame-Chasers to reclaim them. However, after Chen Li had severed the connection between the Previous and Current Eras, he had come to view them as two independent entities.
Aside from the Void Archives, a special Divine Key that contained the condensed wisdom of the Previous Era and was completely useless to Otto, the other Divine Keys could be reforged by the Previous Era after they defeated the subsequent Herrschers.
In fact, with Vill-V and Mobius having studied in the Honkai: Star Rail world and with the help of three Genius Society members, the new Divine Keys would be even more powerful!
But these twelve Divine Keys, which had been passed down for 50,000 years, must have some incredibly precious Entries on them.
"How about this? I'll just dismantle the attached Entries from these Divine Keys," Chen Li said.
The so-called attached Entries were those born from the passage of time and the meaning bestowed upon an item by fate. For example, Chen Li had once touched the Key of Binding—the Oath of Judah—during the Second Eruption.
Besides its core Entries like [Binding] and [Herrscher], that Divine Key also had Entries like [Sacred], [Faith], [Purity], and [Anti-theft].
Extracting these Entries wouldn't affect the item's primary effects.
However, on the Oath of Judah, the most brilliant Entry was still [Binding].
It must be the same for the other items.
The core Entry would often become more brilliant through the fermentation of time and fate! Just like... brewing wine.
Brilliant enough to make Chen Li drool.
"Understood. Pass the word: steal back all the Divine Keys," Mobius said, turning to Vill-V.
"I'm still right here. Why are you already spreading rumors?" Chen Li retorted.
"Seeing how pained you look, I know you want all the Divine Keys. I'm just saying what's on your mind. Is that wrong? Besides, if you want to know what Entries are on those Divine Keys, don't you need to touch them first?" Mobius shrugged.
"That's true... but there's no need to consume them immediately. We'll use them when I need their Entries to forge a Curio. At the same time, I'll provide appropriate compensation to any qualified user of a Divine Key, or forge a Curio for them. Divine Key users are often high-quality Curio users. If they can issue a forging commission where the profit outweighs the cost, I will forge Curios for them," Chen Li said.
An Entry that had been fermenting for 50,000 years held a value in his eyes that far surpassed the item itself.
And excellent Curio users could also help him harvest more crystals.
Just like Mobius...
Chen Li had no doubt that Mobius would give him a big surprise down the line, perhaps by generating a Miracle Card because of her actions.
When he forges a Curio for a client and gifts it to them, he immediately reaps the miracle power that they would have been able to create with it.
But if, under his interference, they created even more miracles, then when the miracles overflowed to a certain extent, an extra Miracle Card would be generated.
And clearly, the miracles Mobius was creating were no longer ordinary. She had to be heavily rewarded!
The value of a Curio was clearly above that of a Divine Key, so this was a mutually beneficial situation!
"The word 'qualified' is very interesting... Alright, Vill-V, pass the word: steal back all the Divine Keys, and while you're at it, steal back their users too," Mobius said to Vill-V, who was taking the meeting minutes.
"Huh?"
"If you don't tie them up and bring them here, how will Chen Li know which Divine Key user is qualified?"
"Um..."
"Enough with the 'ums'. Hurry up and go talk to that Herrscher of the Void you've been nurturing for so long, the one who's almost taken your shape. Then figure out a way to teleport over there. Obtaining the Void Archives is of the utmost urgency. I'm very curious to see what level I can reach by using the Greedy Snake instead of a Honkai Beast for my fusion surgery," Mobius said, looking expectantly at the Greedy Snake pinned to the lab table by a scalpel in the distance.
Although Mobius was crazy, she wasn't stupid. Rashly performing surgery on her own body without sufficient data to support it would be asking for a long life to be cut short.
---o---
As the saying goes, one's appearance is born from the heart.
The reverse was also true: one's soul would take the shape of one's appearance.
Furthermore, both Kiana and the Queen of the Void were, strictly speaking, just extensions of Sirin...
Having grown anew in this experimental body, K423, a clone of the real Kiana's body, both Kiana's soul and the Queen of the Void's soul had been molded into Kiana's likeness.
So...
"Retainer, are you done looking?" The Queen of the Void tugged at the hem of her clothes, trying to cover the outfit on her lower body.
She tugged hard at the hem, as if that could conceal her overly revealing attire.
A faint white gauze wrapped around her upper body, and a translucent blue skirt made the bikini underneath faintly visible.
A slender waist, long, fair legs, and white hair that reached her waist... she was a perfect display of summer charm for Chen Li!
It was just a little too summery... so summery that it seemed she didn't consider him an outsider at all.
Freedom of dress!
The Queen had initially not paid much attention to Chen Li's visit request. If he could reach her location, it would add a bit of amusement for her.
And since he was her former retainer, there was no need for a formal reception.
However, the moment she saw the young man step through space to stand before her, an irrepressible feeling of shame from an unknown source, along with other indescribable emotions, welled up within her.
These feelings, which she had never experienced before, rapidly filled and swept through her heart, painting a blush on the cheeks of the perpetually cold and arrogant Queen.
When the Queen felt a little hot under his scorching gaze, she subconsciously looked down and finally realized what her overly liberal style of dress, a result of being alone in this space, had brought her.
What was the difference between what she was wearing and suggestive lingerie?
"Your Majesty, are you wearing... underwear?" Chen Li started to say, then stopped.
"It's a swimsuit! A swimsuit!" the Queen of the Void shouted, somewhat losing her composure.
"Alright, alright, a swimsuit, a swimsuit," Chen Li quickly soothed.
He didn't understand. Underwear and swimsuits were clearly the same style, covering almost the exact same areas, yet girls would often fly into a rage when seen in their underwear.
But when they thought they were wearing a swimsuit, the situation was somehow better.
"You... Retainer, why are you human!" The Herrscher of the Void's voice stuttered, but there was no disgust in it.
"Your Majesty, do you not like this form of mine?" Chen Li tilted his head.
"N-no, that's not it," the Queen quickly shook her head.
Almost immediately, she realized her explanation had been too quick, as if she were desperate to justify something.
"None of your business!"
"Alright, alright, none of my business," Chen Li continued to placate her.
"...Of course, I wasn't scolding you. I just didn't expect you to be a human," the Queen of the Void said after a moment's pause.
"I know. So please don't be so nervous, Your Majesty," Chen Li continued to soothe.
"...I'm not nervous! Now turn around! I'm going to change!" After carefully observing his expression and confirming that he didn't show any unusual reaction to her words, the Queen of the Void secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't know why her heart was in such turmoil at the first sight of him, causing her to lose some of her emotional control.
But she knew this feeling wasn't disgust. It was a deeper, special feeling engraved in her heart.
Perhaps this man before her had another identity before he became her retainer?
She didn't understand, but now was clearly not the time to discuss it.
"Ah, change here?" Chen Li looked up at the dark, gloomy space.
This was Kiana's consciousness space. The Guide to Forging Curios was truly miraculous, allowing him to physically traverse here and exist in this space in a special form.
His physical body and consciousness were in a quantum superposition state!
"What? Is there a problem?"
"No problem, but are you sure you don't need me to go back first?" Chen Li asked considerately.
"No need. You're not allowed to go anywhere!" The restless emotions in her heart compelled the Queen of the Void to shout words even she didn't understand.
It was as if the moment the young man before her disappeared, he would never appear again.
"Alright, alright, no problem." Chen Li nodded repeatedly and turned his back.
"..." The Queen of the Void looked at his back, standing not far away, then turned and walked towards her wardrobe.
In the depths of this consciousness space, it was the continuous stream of supplies from Chen Li that had added much-needed color to the eternal darkness.
Before she met him, this was just a dark void. Aside from the beam of light above her that allowed her to perceive Kiana's external activities, the rest of the area was like the eternally silent deep sea.
She had only wanted to hide under that beam of light, until these items, enough to illuminate her heart, appeared one by one, giving her the courage to explore the darkness.
Countless items were placed there. The Queen walked to her wardrobe and, looking at the clothes piled up in a messy heap, began to rummage through them.
Where did I put my favorite outfit?
After finally finding the outfit she liked most, she glanced at Chen Li, who was standing not far away. The Queen of the Void bit her lower lip and gently pulled at the tie of her string bikini.
She didn't know why every glance at Chen Li sent a major shock through her heart, but things had come to this. It was time to change first.
However, as she changed, the sound of her own agitated heartbeat, spurred by the awareness of a boy her age standing with his back to her nearby, was not swallowed by the darkness. Instead, it became even more pronounced in the silence.
"Sirin, oh, Sirin, don't panic! What grand scenes haven't you witnessed! That Chen Li isn't an incubus! He's just your retainer! Don't lose face in front of your retainer! Although that retainer does have a certain lingering charm..." the Queen comforted herself as she changed.
But instead of calming her agitation, it summoned another kind of desire from an unknown place.
Catch him! Keep him as a pet, make it so he can never leave you!
Her restless mood made her movements flustered. The already somewhat complicated outfit was now even more of a headache to put on...
"I remember I was trying to cultivate the Queen of the Void in the direction of 'Queenie the Sprite'. The progress seemed pretty good just now. Why did she suddenly become so irritable again?" Listening to the distinct sound of clothes rubbing against skin in the darkness not far behind him, Chen Li was a little puzzled.
[Although I'm not a professional romance-conquest system, I think it might be because of the deepest impression you left in the Herrscher of the Void's core. Why don't you think about what you did when you said goodbye to Sirin at the very end?]
This time, the little sprite gave a very insightful suggestion!
"What did I do?" Chen Li tilted his head.
He didn't remember doing much. He had just created a parallel world where all the victims of the Second Eruption, including Sirin, could live happily, right?
And then...
Then Chen Li bid farewell to Sirin, declaring that they would never meet again.
"Thinking back, that was a bit much. But wasn't my anchor point in the Second Eruption taken away by Myriad Phenomena Severance as its price?"
[But Sirin, being the most important anchor point, was clearly an exception.]
The Herrscher Cores of the Current Era had the function of recording memories and emotions. The memories were taken away, but the emotions were not erased.
It was like how Welt might wake up in the middle of the night if he saw Chen Li in the Golden Homu King costume again, feeling like some grooved something was chasing him!
Because Myriad Phenomena Severance had taken away people's memories of Chen Li, not the facts of what he had caused.
And emotions were a part of those facts!
In other words, because of the Herrscher Core's ability to record emotions, Chen Li's "conquest progress" with Sirin had been inherited by both the Queen of the Void and Kiana.
Especially the Queen of the Void!
Kiana was a soul starting from zero, irrigated with kindness. But the Queen of the Void had inherited all of Sirin's memories and intense emotions, so she was more heavily affected.
The little sprite knew everything, but it wouldn't say.
It wanted to use this information gap to show Chen Li what a true conquest master was!
Don't blame me for being despicable, Chen Li!
I will make you admit that although I'm not a professional romance-conquest system, I'm better than one!
"Argh, this is so annoying!" Just as Chen Li felt he had missed something and was about to grasp that fleeting inspiration, the Queen of the Void's furious voice rang out.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty!"
"It's all your fault! Who asked you to appear in human form! You've made my heart a mess! This outfit was already hard to put on! You, get over here! Help me get dressed!"
"Eh? Me?"
"That's right. Do you have any complaints about dressing me, your Queen?"
"Not at all..." With her words having reached this point, Chen Li could only turn his head. He saw a young woman, clutching her clothes yet unable to cover her snow-white skin, appearing even more dazzling in the darkness.
Paired with a face flushed red, perhaps from anger, it made Chen Li feel that the situation was developing in a rather unexpected direction.
"Hurry up and get over here! Or are you not confident you can dress me properly?"
"Coming. So, my dear Queen, where do we start?"
"With the underwear, of course! Serve me well!"
"Yes, yes."
"Don't be so clumsy! You're not thinking about someone else while you're dressing me, are you?"
"Yes, yes... of course not!"
"...Why are you so skilled? Was your clumsiness just now an act?"
"How could that be? I'm just a fast learner!"
"Retainer, you seem to be staring at my legs..."
"I'm just trying my best to avoid looking directly at Your Majesty's torso."
"Do you want to touch them?"
"Can I really... wait, Your Majesty, what are you referring to?"
From within the darkness, the sounds of the Queen of the Void and Chen Li's bickering could be heard. But against the hazy backdrop of the dark, these normal arguments seemed to take on an abnormal quality, more like... flirting.
As everyone knows, darkness not only brews danger, but it can also brew feelings.
---o---