Welt's voice was filled with disbelief.
He had never imagined that in this world, Su Yu would not only know the secret of the Honkai, but would also possess a mimetic black hole weapon from the previous civilization.
Su Yu turned his head, meeting Mobius's burning gaze and Welt's stunned eyes.
"Mr. Welt is correct. This is the Divine Key crafted from the core of the previous civilization's Ninth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Earth. The Star of Eden."
He looked at the pool of powder on the table, his tone turning strangely calm.
"And this—this is merely the result of me being suppressed by the laws of physics in this world that has no Honkai energy. I couldn't even bring out one-tenth of the Star of Eden's power."
Su Yu lifted his eyes, staring straight at Mobius.
"If I had released the limiter just now, it would have taken only a single second."
"This laboratory would have become, just like that block of specialty steel, a black hole that leaves behind not even a speck of dust."
Mobius's pupils contracted violently.
"And a Herrscher at full power is far, far more terrifying than this."
Su Yu continued, each of his words landing like the blow of a heavy hammer.
"What's more, the Honkai that comes with their descent is not simply physical destruction. It is like a viral infection targeting the very laws of civilization itself."
"Apart from those who possess Honkai antibodies or have been injected with Honkai energy serum, an ordinary civilian will be utterly corroded the very instant they come into contact with even a trace of Honkai energy."
"They turn into mindless Zombies, or give rise to Honkai Beasts that know nothing but slaughter."
As Su Yu's voice fell, the lounge area once again sank into a long silence.
Mobius slowly leaned back against the thermostatic chamber.
She lowered her head and looked at her own two hands—those hands that normally dissected countless test subjects with unshakeable steadiness were, at this moment, trembling faintly.
She finally understood.
This young man before her, and that Welt Yang sitting silently on the sofa.
They were not insane, nor were they joking.
It was an ultimate crisis capable of erasing the path of evolution she had pursued her entire life—along with this world itself—completely.
"Haaah..."
Mobius let out a long breath.
When she raised her head again, the fervor and curiosity in her eyes had already been reined in, replaced by an absolute rationality.
"I understand now, little lab rat. What you just demonstrated—it truly was no cheap trick, no fake illusion."
She walked over to the coffee table, picked up a tissue, and carefully swept that pile of specialty steel powder into a sealed bag.
"Such a terrifying crisis—since you already know everything, and you also wield this kind of power..."
Mobius lifted her eyes to Su Yu.
"You must have already begun assembling your own faction long ago, or rather, seeking out allies—so exactly how many people know about this matter?"
Su Yu nodded.
"Besides those of us here. Haxxor Bunny Bronie, and... Eden. They are aware as well, and are already my allies."
At the sound of the name "Eden," a rare, genuine smile appeared on Mobius's somewhat pale face.
"Eden, hm..."
She drew in a breath, a note of emotion in it.
"Little lab rat, you really did make one of the most correct choices of your life."
"With that woman's wealth, connections, and status as cover, in this peaceful society there really are many things that will become far more convenient."
Su Yu knew what Mobius was thinking.
With Eden's endorsement, whether it was moving funds or the future construction of research and development bases that might be involved, they could sidestep a great deal of unnecessary trouble.
"Bronie and Eden still don't know Mr. Welt's true identity, nor do they know about the possibility of the Honkai invading." Su Yu glanced at Old Yang. "I'll find a suitable time to tell them this information."
"No, there's no need to find a time."
Mobius suddenly spun around, her fingers rapidly tapping several times on the control panel of the operating console.
"We must convene a meeting immediately. I'm serious."
Her voice turned unusually cold and severe.
"If the Honkai really is as terrifying as what you demonstrated, then even I cannot possibly solve every technical problem relying on this laboratory alone."
Mobius's gaze swept over everyone present.
"As much as I regret it, I cannot monopolize this research subject that transcends the age all by myself. But, in order to fight against a crisis capable of tearing this entire world out by the roots..."
She pressed a red button on the console.
"We need more people. We need those in this world who still possess top-tier talent."
The night had long since blanketed the bustling CBD district of Arc City.
And in the underground base more than a hundred meters deep beneath the Anti-Entropy Entertainment headquarters tower, the colossal, unfinished black iron behemoth—"Wotan"—still stood silently beneath the glaring searchlights.
The meeting had ultimately been set here, in this secret hangar that carried Welt's ten years of obsession and solitude.
As Su Yu's notice went out, a beam of azure holographic projection light quickly lit up across the empty grounds.
Bronie's cyberpunk figure, tactical goggles on and bubblegum chewing in her mouth, materialized out of thin air, arms folded across her chest, hovering in midair.
Right after, the heavy hangar doors gave off the muffled sound of mechanical gears meshing, and slowly slid open.
Eden, dressed in an evening gown, stepped elegantly onto the cold metal grating of the floor.
When she saw this twenty-meter-tall unfinished mecha, she only arched an eyebrow slightly, as though merely appreciating a somewhat peculiar, oversized metal sculpture. Then she naturally walked to Su Yu's side.
Welt looked at the hologram and this world-class superstar, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze back to Su Yu.
Su Yu was also sizing up that oversized mecha, and to be honest, he really had been shaken by it.
He'd never expected that Old Yang, without a word to anyone, had built such a colossus beneath Arc City—all to prepare for a doomsday that might or might not ever come.
That courage and perseverance filled him with unbidden respect, and judging by Welt's appearance, the construction of the Wotan mecha had likely gone nowhere near as smoothly as one might imagine.
In fact, when he had entered the underground hangar, he had deliberately swept the area with his Tai Xu Sword Qi—there were no technicians and no research personnel here at all.
Combining that with Welt's utterly haggard appearance from before, it was not hard for Su Yu to deduce just how much pressure this man had been shouldering.
"Su Yu." Welt's voice carried a faint echo in the empty underground space. "Before we truly begin discussing countermeasures against... that crisis, I hope I can have your help."
Welt turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping past the enormous scaffolding and toward the office area farther away.
"For these ten years, I have been trying to build a research team capable of confronting the future."
"Planck, Schrödinger... those names that should have shone brilliantly in this world—I did my utmost to reach out to every one of them."
"But as you know, without solid proof, my warnings sounded to them like nothing more than the ravings of a lunatic gone mad."
Welt spoke very slowly, every word seeming to be squeezed out through gritted teeth, carrying a deep exhaustion and helplessness.
"People left one after another, and in the end, only Tesla and Einstein stayed behind, keeping me company in this sunless place, grinding away against a heap of scrap iron whose energy problem could never be solved."
Old Yang gave a self-deprecating laugh, that smile more bitter than coptis root.
"But just a few hours ago, even they were about to give up. The research team from the Mu Continent sent them their tenth invitation."
Welt paused for a moment, his gaze falling on those enormous, rusted bolts.
"They wasted ten whole years of their prime here, all for a delusion that could never even be confirmed..."
"Truthfully, if I hadn't just seen the PV you released, if I hadn't received that call from Dr. Mobius, today I might really have given up completely."
"Uncle Yang." Su Yu spoke up, cutting off that dejection that was gradually spreading through the air.
Welt raised his head, looking at this young man through his lenses, and a relieved, unburdened smile finally surfaced on his face.
That feeling of a burden—of having been isolated from the entire world for ten whole years—being lifted made his spine straighten by a few degrees.
"But things are different now. Being able to meet you today, to meet..."
Welt's peripheral vision swept over Sirin, who still had "don't come near me" written all over her face, and he corrected himself in time.
"To meet all of you—I am more grateful than ever for my own persistence. All my efforts, in the end, were not in vain."
Su Yu nodded. "Uncle Yang, how do you need me to help you?"
A few minutes later, in the core office beneath Anti-Entropy Entertainment.
The door wasn't shut tight, and through the gap one could see the cardboard boxes scattered across the floor and all sorts of complex blueprints.
Tesla was irritably stuffing a thick stack of documents into a kraft-paper box, her red twin ponytails swaying behind her head.
Einstein, meanwhile, stood quietly to one side, methodically organizing those precision measuring instruments.
Hearing footsteps, Tesla's hands stilled. She turned around and looked at Welt standing in the doorway.
"Joachim."
Tesla did not flare up; even her habitual, everyday temper had vanished.
All that remained in her voice was an exhaustion ground down by the years and by countless failures.
"If you've come to keep trying to persuade me to stay, then don't say anything at all. I don't want to argue with you over this anymore. I'm truly tired."
She turned back around and continued shoving those files into the box.
Welt stepped into the office.
His footsteps were very light, yet very resolute.
He walked to Tesla's side and, without a single superfluous word, simply reached out and firmly grasped Tesla's wrist, which still rested on the edge of the cardboard box.
It was a restrained gesture, yet one that seemed to use every ounce of strength in his body.
Tesla's body went abruptly rigid.
On that face that usually carried a hint of anger, a flush of red rapidly crept up.
"What are you doing, Joachim! There are people watching!"
She lowered her voice, trying to pull her hand back.
But when she turned her head and met Welt's eyes—those eyes hidden year-round behind his lenses—the struggle in her hand ceased.
It was not that usual paranoid, faintly neurotic stubbornness in his gaze.
Within it there was a certain resolve and clarity, as of dust finally settling, as of something torn apart and then pieced back together whole.
He had changed. He had truly changed.
In these mere few hours, that man who had been tormented by his own "delusion" for ten years seemed to have found some kind of absolute anchor.
"I know that no matter how much I say now, to your ears it will only be me continuing to weave that empty, illusory dream." Welt's voice was very soft. "But there is one thing—one thing I must let you and Einstein see with your own eyes."
Tesla furrowed her brow.
"See what? The head of that team from the Mu Continent will be here in ten minutes."
"Just for a moment. One last time. Please, trust me, all right?"
Welt stared at her intently.
Tesla looked at this man who had accompanied her for ten years, looked at that stubbornness in his eyes that was almost pleading.
She clenched her teeth. Those words of refusal she had prepared circled at the tip of her tongue and, in the end, were swallowed back down.
"...Fine." Tesla let out a long sigh. "This is the last time, Joachim. Once you've seen it, it's about time you stepped out of that dream you'll never wake from."
She turned her head back and beckoned to Einstein.
The group returned to that empty underground testing ground.
The powerful searchlights stretched everyone's shadows out long.
The moment Tesla and Einstein stepped into the grounds, their footsteps halted in unison.
The gazes of the two scientists passed over the holographic-projection girl and the woman in the evening gown, and finally locked, unwavering, onto the green-haired woman leaning beside the metal workbench.
"Mobius?"
Tesla's brow knit tightly. Across all of Arc City—indeed, across the entire global academic world—that "mad scientist's" name was absolutely nothing pleasant to hear.
So this was the new backing Joachim had found?
Tesla turned to look at Welt, about to open her mouth and demand just what on earth he was planning.
But Welt merely stepped half a pace to the side, making way for Su Yu, who had been standing at his side all along.
"Begin, Su Yu."
Welt's voice reverberated through the empty hangar.
This underground testing ground had originally been built to test the pressure resistance of the Wotan armor.
At the very center of the grounds sat a superalloy carbon plate, specially made to test the limits of physical destructive force.
It was a test specimen formed from the most durable composite materials currently known, compressed layer upon layer.
Su Yu walked up to that enormous superalloy carbon plate.
Everyone's gaze converged upon him.
Tesla folded her arms across her chest, her eyes still brimming with doubt.
Einstein, meanwhile, tilted her head slightly, watching calmly.
Su Yu slowly raised his right arm, aiming his palm at that cold slab of metal.
There was no flicker of light, no roar of gathering energy.
"Star of Eden. Release."
The next second.
The air at the center of the testing ground suddenly twisted wildly, like a crumpled rag being wrung.
Centered on Su Yu's palm, a terrifying gravitational field—one that utterly disregarded every law of fluid dynamics and material structure—descended with a thunderous force.
There was no transitional stage whatsoever.
That superalloy carbon plate, capable of withstanding a direct hit from a heavy bunker-buster, collapsed inward in an instant, amid a tooth-grating, ear-piercing shattering sound like countless fingernails scraping a chalkboard.
The enormous metal plate was kneaded into an infinitesimally small singularity.
Then, amid an almost imperceptible, muffled rush of air, that singularity dissipated.
It left behind only a pool of black powder finer than sand, drifting slowly down beneath the beams of the searchlights.
The hands Tesla had folded across her chest had, at some unknown moment, dropped weakly to her sides.
Her red eyes were opened so wide they seemed about to split.
Einstein's face, originally without a ripple of emotion, was at this moment completely frozen from the sheer extremity of her shock.
As the two people standing at the very pinnacle of this world's technology, their brains had begun spinning frantically without so much as a single command.
Mass, volume, spatial folding ratio, the energy equivalent required...
Those numbers—each so vast they would even cause a supercomputer to choke—collided and detonated wildly in their minds.
This was not a phenomenon any known scientific theory could explain! It was a pure, unadulterated crushing by the laws of physics!
The gazes of the two top scientists, like two searchlights, bit down mercilessly on the young man who was slowly withdrawing his palm.
"Welt..."
Tesla's voice trembled beyond recognition. She hadn't even noticed that she had subconsciously grabbed hold of Einstein's arm.
"That... what on earth was that?! Was that a superpower?!"
Su Yu turned around.
That terrifying gravitational pressure had already completely dissipated, and he was still that same clean, refreshed figure.
"Dr. Tesla. Dr. Einstein."
Su Yu looked calmly at these two scientists whose common sense had been utterly shattered.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Su Yu."
"That thing just now came from the world of 'Honkai.' It is called the Divine Key—the Star of Eden."
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