Because secondary soulium was simply too heavy, and had to be used in large, integrated sections like steel plates. If cut too small, it would lose its inherent regenerative capability and functionality. This was its greatest drawback.
Items made from secondary soulium couldn't be too small. Originally, Vill-V had wanted to make something like a pen, or a book.
With a pen, one could draw a circle to connect to another world. Or like stepping into a fairy tale book—leaping straight into its pages. How romantic and interesting would that be?
Or simply make it into a door that could open directly to the moon. That wouldn't be a bad choice either.
Unfortunately, the properties of secondary soulium limited all of these possibilities.
Of course, Vill-V could also directly produce special-grade soulium from secondary soulium, but that would be quite troublesome.
Besides, Vill-V currently really wanted to build a locomotive. A truck that sends people into another world... no, a train. That didn't sound bad at all.
"Mm, let's take a look at the Second Herrscher first." Vill-V adjusted her glasses.
These glasses had been designed by Expert to observe spatial data. To prevent being torn apart by sudden spatial currents, constant vigilance was required. Safety first, after all. When dealing with the Second Herrscher's corpse, one had to be extremely cautious.
Of course, making them into glasses didn't hold any real special meaning. If spatial currents actually appeared... they wouldn't be something the human eye could quickly detect anyway. If they became visible to the eye, something had already gone wrong.
Once any abnormality occurred, the glasses would immediately issue an alert.
The reason they were made as glasses was simply because Vill-V thought they suited Dr. Mei. And now, Dr. Mei had also been persuaded into wearing them.
Click. A crisp shutter sound rang out.
Dr. Mei looked at Vill-V holding a Thought Imprint camera and asked in confusion, "Are you taking a commemorative photo for the experiment? But why only take a picture of me?"
And... being photographed by this camera—wouldn't she end up like Dr. Edison, getting locked away?
"No, no, no." Magician waved the freshly printed, still-warm photo of Dr. Mei in her hand. "This is for making Kevin Killer equipment."
Dr. Mei frowned. "Kevin Killer equipment? I've heard Dr. Newton mention it before. What exactly is that?"
If it was something harmful to Kevin, Dr. Mei would undoubtedly stop it at any cost.
Magician stuffed the photo into her pouch. "Alright, alright, it's not anything dangerous. If you want to use it, I can let you try it too. You'll understand when the time comes."
...
The Second Herrscher's corpse lay quietly on the experiment table, just like an ordinary body. It was a young man with gray-white hair and a pale complexion.
Vill-V couldn't recognize who this person was. Probably not some counterpart from the Mihoyo universe. There were only a handful of male characters anyway—and even if he was one... he probably wasn't important.
After reviewing the full-body scan data provided by the scanner, Dr. Mei said in confusion, "There are scalpel marks on the Second Herrscher's body. The ribs have also been cut open..."
There was no need to say more—it was definitely Dr. Mobius' doing. Not long ago, she had secretly extracted portions of several organs from the Second Herrscher.
Since the Second Herrscher was dead, both life signs and consciousness were gone. The lack of self-repair was completely normal. If the corpse could still regenerate, that would truly be bizarre.
"Haha, don't worry about such small things. Maybe it got scratched while being captured."
Vill-V had no intention of discussing this further with Dr. Mei, quickly covering for Dr. Mobius. After all, Mobius had helped her quite a bit in many ways.
Seeing Vill-V's perfunctory attitude, Dr. Mei didn't press further and continued, "All the Herrscher's data matches the records from when it was first documented. There's no change whatsoever."
After further confirmation, Dr. Mei sighed in amazement. "How fascinating. There's no rigor mortis, no decay, not even oxidation. From a biological standpoint, perhaps a Herrscher has already transcended the concept of life, becoming some higher-level... conceptual manifestation?"
"Even though... its foundation should be human."
"I don't think it's that mystical." Expert poked the Second Herrscher's skin with a gloved finger, confirming it still retained elasticity. "Mm... though it might be even more mystical than we imagined."
What a meaningless statement...
If someone else heard Vill-V say that, they might complain like that. But Dr. Mei wouldn't. She could understand the underlying implication.
Dr. Mei held her chin and pondered. "You mean... the reason the Herrscher hasn't changed is because its time has been taken away—or stopped?"
"Exactly. I suspect that the moment it was chosen as a Herrscher, its time... stopped flowing on the Imaginary Tree."
Communicating with a genius was always pleasant. A single hint was enough.
Back at the Mad Hatter Party base, discussing with those half-trained researchers had been like playing a lute to a cow—never on the same wavelength.
Dr. Mei could even understand the theory of the Imaginary Tree, saving Vill-V an immense amount of time. With others, it would take a full day of explanation, and they still might not understand.
"Wait a moment," Dr. Mei suddenly changed the subject. "Vill-V, are you certain your mental state is normal? I feel your condition has changed drastically compared to before."
Expert's gloomy aura, combined with her professional presence, had completely transformed Vill-V's outward image—almost like she had become a different person.
Which, in truth, she had.
Dr. Mei naturally wouldn't overlook this. While this version of Vill-V matched the style she had seen in her academic papers, the contrast with Vill-V's usual playful demeanor was far too great.
Dr. Mei couldn't determine whether this was influenced by the Herrscher corpse, so she immediately raised her concern—and glanced at Elysia nearby, signaling her to be ready to restrain Vill-V if necessary.
Elysia clasped her fingers together and smiled as she spoke up for Vill-V. "Whenever Vill-V immerses herself in work, she becomes completely absorbed—almost like a different person."
"Dr. Mei, don't you think this version of Vill-V is even more captivating?"
"...Understood." Dr. Mei accepted the explanation. It seemed she simply didn't know Vill-V well enough yet.
Dr. Mei had been affected by Elysia's 'Vill-V promotion.' It was highly effective, stirring within her the urge to understand Vill-V more deeply...
(Vill-V: Dr. Mei, are you still sober...? Do you need me to have Kevin slap you awake?)