Unlike the Herrscher Cores of the next era, which possessed a kind of "life," the "activation state" mentioned by Expert referred to the ability to transmit imaginary data outward, thereby altering the structure of real space.
However, humanity's current technological means were still incapable of directly observing this phenomenon.
This was good news. After all, if a Herrscher Core were as dead as a brick, Expert would probably have no choice but to turn it into a hammer.
With the equipment available at this stage, even if the Second Herrscher's corpse were quantumized, it would still be impossible to effectively activate its Herrscher Core. At most, the Core would simply sink into the Sea of Quanta. That would be meaningless.
Then... it was time for Occultist to lay a hand on the Herrscher Core.
Dr. Mei sensed the gloomy aura around Vill-V gradually dissipating. She became elegant and composed, though a trace of inerasable sorrow still lingered.
This was...
Compared to the change in her demeanor, Dr. Mei felt something even deeper—something beyond words.
That feeling might perhaps be called Enlightenment?
Had Vill-V already entered the working state known as "Lecturer"?
Dr. Mei recalled the materials signed Annotations by Lecturer in Newton's files.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked, "Vill-V, do you have an idea?"
"Where there is existence, there are traces. Where there is action, there is causality." Vill-V nodded, her expression calm.
Dr. Mei tapped her forehead lightly. "So you're saying we let the Herrscher Core act on its own—let the imaginary singularity inside it surface by itself?"
With solemn care, Vill-V drew a mysterious container from her sleeve—an entire coffee cup set:
"This... is a cup set..."
I know it's a cup set... Dr. Mei thought.
Although she still could not understand Vill-V's strange shift in behavior, her extraordinary intellect allowed her to at least grasp the intention behind it.
But why a coffee cup set...
In truth, this was no ordinary cup set. Occultist emphasized this point for the sake of cognitive fixation—to prevent Dr. Mei from losing her mind should she witness something indescribable later.
Concerned that Vill-V might not have understood her question, Dr. Mei asked again, "Given the activation state of the Herrscher Core, how do you intend to reactivate it?"
If it were a silent Herrscher Core, ordinary activation would suffice—like turning on a computer.
But an activated Herrscher Core was far harder to control. It was no longer a matter of pressing a hardware switch. One had to delve into its internal program.
To penetrate its interior, one would need a deeper synchronization interface. And where were they supposed to find another Herrscher Core capable of interfacing with it at a time like this?
In fact, there really was one. Elysia behind them was a ready-made example...
And through her actions, Occultist provided her answer.
Occultist Vill-V gently kissed the rim of the cup, then placed the coffee cup—along with its saucer—lightly upon the chest of the Herrscher's corpse. She then murmured several words that Dr. Mei could not comprehend.
The coffee cup began to tremble with a click-clack, click-clack, and faintly, it even seemed as though voices could be heard.
"Then... I'll leave it to you... @#%@¥." With that, Occultist turned and left the laboratory where the Herrscher's body was stored.
The moment she closed the laboratory door, the coffee cup stopped trembling. Honkai energy from the surroundings began pouring into it. The energy within the cup swelled to the brim, and then Dr. Mei saw the Second Herrscher's corpse begin to pulse.
The coffee cup set shattered into dust.
Was the Herrscher about to revive?
Dr. Mei stared at the scene before her in astonishment, too stunned even to pay attention to the rapidly fluctuating data on the screens. Her mind rang with a buzzing sound. "So this is how you solve it? This is outrageous..."
It felt as though the worldview she had painstakingly constructed had crumbled entirely.
Clearly, Vill-V's methods had once again overturned Dr. Mei's scientific worldview, giving all the little question marks in her head plenty of new companions.
Although Occultist's actions had already shaken Expert's worldview countless times, Expert's materialist values remained unshakable.
Whether Dr. Mei's worldview would survive intact, however, was another matter.
Previously, when infused with torrents of Honkai energy, the Second Herrscher's corpse had shown no reaction at all. Yet this time, it responded miraculously.
Of course, it was not that Occultist had stimulated some part of the Herrscher's body. Rather, the space surrounding the Herrscher had begun to change.
According to the readings from baryon vibration spectrometers and other instruments, the first change occurred in the space around the Herrscher's body, making it appear as though the body itself were trembling. It therefore looked as if the Herrscher were about to revive.
The vibrations within the laboratory intensified. Spatial fissures crisscrossed the room, and imaginary creatures crawled out from the cracks one after another. Through the glass, their ferocious gazes locked onto the few people on the other side.
Dr. Mei sat at the control console, yet she showed neither surprise nor panic. She understood what Vill-V had done.
Issuing a command to the Herrscher Core that absorbed Honkai energy—through fluctuations in Honkai energy itself?
But she still could not comprehend how, without another Herrscher Core, one could possibly establish communication with it.
It could not be that the shattered cup set had actually been a Herrscher Core.
Even though she could not understand the supernatural spectacle before her, Dr. Mei still spoke calmly, "Vill-V, the base's emergency defense protocol has been activated normally. It is automatically eliminating the imaginary constructs within the base..."
When she turned her head, Vill-V was already nowhere to be seen. Dr. Mei tugged at the corner of her mouth. She was now the only operator left in the experimental control room.
Well, forging a Divine Key was this dangerous. Dr. Newton was already in the safe house. And Vill-V... had naturally slipped in there just moments ago as well.
Dr. Newton had been playing a board game with several research assistants when Vill-V burst in with a bang, startling her so badly she nearly dropped her cards. For a moment, she thought a Honkai Beast had broken in.
"Mm, it's safer here..." Expert hurried to a corner and sat down. The pivot devices around her activated one after another, entering head-hugging defensive mode.
Just being glared at once by an imaginary monster had left Expert's legs feeling weak.
As for the Herrscher of Wind incident, she had only been forced into it. What proper researcher would charge into the battlefield personally? The farther one could run, the better—that was Expert's style.
This wasn't cowardice. It was consistent caution. Combat should be handled by combat personnel. What business did a scientist have meddling in it?
After settling down, Expert asked the Scholar, who had retreated into her mind, "Speaking of which, Scholar, Celebrity of the Stars... I remember that was your only coffee cup. If we had enough time, I could have done this myself."
"There is no need for sorrow. Its destiny lay precisely here."