195. Defying the Ancestors' Decision
The two talked for a long time, with Mobius showing great curiosity about Vill-V's "Dissociative Identity Disorder."
She still believed that the so-called "Ling" was simply another personality split off from Vill-V.
Although some science fiction novels did mention the possibility of inexplicable connections between twins, especially the illusion that one could still sense the other's existence after the death of the other, these were all unverifiable by science and did not conform to existing scientific theories.
Therefore, Mobius was somewhat interested in this novel case of schizophrenia, where the primary and secondary personalities could even have friendly conversations.
And this interest was the key to Vill-V's survival.
"I'm curious, how do you see the outside world?" Mobius asked.
"Like Vill-V, I use my eyes. I can see what she sees," Ling explained.
"And what about memories?" Mebius continued to ask.
"What do you mean?" Ling asked, somewhat confused.
"Can you see Vill-V's memories?"
"No, but I have all of Vill-V's memories from childhood to adulthood. It seems I'm also living in this world using Vill-V's body. You could say I'm another Vill-V, only I've always had independent thought and am not confined to the individual 'Vill-V'."
Ling was equally unclear about his own situation and could only tell Mobius what he knew.
"This makes it even harder for me to distinguish whether you are another person or another personality." Mobius frowned.
"There's no need to distinguish. Whether you see me as another personality of Vill-V or an existence called 'Ling,' it's meaningless to me, and it's not a topic worth studying."
"No, it's very worthy of study." Mobius licked his lower lip.
"Sometimes I can't understand the thinking of you scientists." Ling shook his head.
"There's still one opening in the engineering department. Your first task is to build a prison on this island—a prison you yourself can't escape from. The manpower and materials should be ready within a week. Remember to get rid of those monkeys."
Mobius swayed her slender waist as she walked towards a small warship not far away.
Ling simply watched quietly, showing no intention of approaching.
Usually, when someone came, they were accompanied by at least a dozen soldiers, making it impossible for Vill-V to carry out any escape plans.
But this time, Mebius was alone, which should have been the best opportunity.
However, Ling's intuition told him that this person named Mobius… was terrifying.
After watching Mobius leave, Vill-V's cold demeanor suddenly crumbled.
"Hmph~ It's my first time trying this, quite novel," Vill-V said to Ling.
[This feeling isn't pleasant, is it?] Ling noticed the weariness in her eyes.
"It's just imitating a cricket's Ling, don't underestimate me!" Vill-V leaned against a tree, resting, still unwilling to admit defeat.
[Little sister's talking nonsense again, go and rest.] Ling shook his head.
Vill-V's imitation ability was indeed remarkable, but that was limited to her talent.
Ling as a whole exceeded Vill-V's entirety, so her imitating him would be extremely taxing on her mental energy.
This meant that Vill-V had to simultaneously display all of Ling to perfectly reproduce the individual.
And Ling's in entirety required at least the complete expression of Vill-V herself.
'Great Magician', 'Lecturer', 'Mystic Scholar', 'Expert', and even her 'True Self', all combined to form 'Ling.'
Splitting herself into another personality was easy for Vill-V, but recombining those parts was incredibly difficult, especially elevating the combined parts to a higher level.
A week later, construction of the prison officially began. After approximately a year and a half, "The Deepest Abyss" was finally completed.
This prison had already received approval from the Fire Moth higher-ups during the proposal phase; at least, they couldn't have conceived of such a "perfect" prison.
Of course, Vill-V was only responsible for design and supervision, occasionally visiting P-21 Island to check on things. There was still much more for her to do.
"Hehe, the money we squeezed out of the construction budget can be used to create a 'back door' and build a 'home', Ling. Quickly think of a name."
Dissatisfied with the working environment of the engineering department, Vill-V had long planned to build a new house herself, which would also be her new workplace.
[Let Mystic Scholar handle it; I think she's better at naming things,] Ling suggested.
"I think so too," Vill-V nodded in agreement.
Finally, the newly designed workshop was named "Helixcraft."
Dedicated to forging a helix of "common sense" and "counter-common sense."
The name was immediately accepted by all of Vill-V's.
Not long after, Vill-V was promoted to head of the Engineering Department, a testament to her undeniable talent.
In the Fire Moth, having strength or talent meant the ability to do whatever one pleased.
For example, Mobius enjoyed various privileges, making her the object of everyone's hatred, yet leaving them helpless.
Besides routine repairs, the Engineering Department had a relatively leisurely schedule.
Sometimes, large projects would arise, in which case Vill-V would only be responsible for the design.
This gave Vill-V ample time to tinker with her own inventions.
This leisure continued until after the Fifth Honkai Impact, when Vill-V suddenly received an order from the Cocoon.
She was needed to craft a katana.
Since Vill-V's daily expenses were considerable, often resulting in the creation of useless "genius junk," she needed to take on commissions to make ends meet.
The funds provided by the Cocoon were quite generous, even including a small piece of Solium for crafting. If the finished product satisfied them, she would receive a substantial extra reward.
Vill-V glanced at the figure and decisively began to forge a katana using all her life's skills.
'Spirit-Controlling Blade - Frozen Naraka'!
That was the name of the blade.
It incorporated Parvati as a material, combined with Solium and other precious metals to create this azure ice blade.
This was also Vill-V's most satisfying creation to date!
It was impeccable in appearance, feel, and power.
Vill-V thus obtained enough funds to support her extravagant lifestyle for about a year!
Not only that, Vill-V's reputation as a 'weapon master' spread far and wide, and the number of people commissioning weapons from her increased dramatically, even affecting her livelihood.
In the end, she had no choice but to set a very high price to quell the uproar.
The leisurely days continued until the Seventh Honkai Impact. After Kevin defeated the Seventh Herrscher, the Fire Moth faced off against her. Following this victory, Vill-V made a bold attempt for herself.
She wanted to become a 'MANTIS Warrior' just like Kevin!
...