Shenzhou, Mount Taixu.
Ravaged by the fires of war in its early years, this place had long been a barren ruin. But with the changing of the times, new greenery had long since sprouted.
Fu Li and Hua strolled along the outer perimeter of the base. Her delicate hand gently brushed across a small, budding sapling, as if stroking new life itself.
"Brother, I heard... you stopped Dr. MEI's [Divine Voice Project]?"
"Mm. Because that kind of experiment has little meaning."
"Is that so? But I don't think I could hold on for that long."
Hua gently pinched a green sprout emerging from a branch. It was verdant and tender, a symbol of new life.
Plants were the most tenacious living things in this world. Even if they were to be destroyed once more, they would one day break through the soil again.
"No, Hua. You've always put too much faith in so-called 'authority', and in doing so, you've greatly underestimated yourself."
Fu Li reached out and stroked Hua's hair.
Perhaps because she had become a MANTIS, Hua's hair was even silkier, giving him the pleasant sensation of petting a bird.
"If I were asked which one of us could maintain their true self against the torrent of time, I would answer without a shred of doubt that it is you."
The Red Kite Immortal who guarded Shenzhou for fifty thousand years.
"But..." Hua lowered her head and sighed. "I still don't have much confidence."
"It's normal to lack confidence." Fu Li chuckled lightly and took her hand. "You have to believe that time will prove everything."
"Mm..."
Hua nodded, her eyes still filled with uncertainty.
Seeing this, Fu Li's smile didn't fade, and he thoughtfully changed the subject.
"We still have two days. Is there anything you want to eat? I can make it for you. Anything at all."
"In that case... a bowl of wonton noodle soup, then."
"Is that all?"
"Mm, yes."
"Then... let's go."
Half an hour later, in Hua's room, three steaming bowls of wonton noodle soup were placed on the table.
Fu Li, Hua, and a very well-behaved Seele—who had been exceptionally docile since Fu Li's return—sat at the same dining table.
It was strange, really. After Fu Li's feigned death, Seele's guardianship had fallen to Hua, and the two of them had gotten along surprisingly well.
Seele in particular had been extraordinarily well-behaved since he came back, making Fu Li feel that she had grown up quite a bit.
Oh, she certainly has grown up quite a bit... in comparison to Hua, at least.
Hua didn't know what Fu Li was thinking. She stared at the unremarkable bowl of wonton noodles before her, a hundred different flavors swirling in her heart.
She had never told Fu Li what kind of mental journey she had gone through after he left.
Ever since they were young, Fu Li had been her idol. Although her parents treated her well, the one who had accompanied her the longest was always her brother.
Her brother was a mystery. He had been since childhood. Though he always presented a gentle face to her, it never felt entirely real.
It was like an illusory bubble, one that would pop and vanish with a single touch.
Her brother knew that she never liked the noise of birthday celebrations, so during the quieter noon hour, there would always be a bowl of wonton noodle soup placed in her room, as reliably as the sunrise.
She had always felt that while her relationship with her brother seemed intimate, there was a thick wall between them.
This feeling persisted until the disaster in Changkong City, when, in a daze, she felt that a crack had finally appeared in that wall.
And what came after was just as she had imagined: top-tier researcher, MANTIS number zero, the hidden master of The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame.
Her brother was so amazing, so amazing that it made her proud. He was even willing to sacrifice his own life to eliminate the Herrscher of a Thousand Men.
But now, after his miraculous return, it seemed that wall had reappeared.
The clean bowl was set down. Hua looked up, her gaze complicated as she watched Fu Li prepare to leave.
"Brother? Where are you going?"
"Just to conduct a small experiment."
An experiment... another damn experiment...
Under the table, Hua's fist clenched, but then it suddenly relaxed.
"Brother, there are only three days left until the End descends, right? What kind of experiment is there to do at a time like this?"
"Mm... a hypothesis. A hypothesis that could be enough to defeat the Herrscher of the End."
The End... always the End... this damned Honkai...
"Then, will you come back?"
"Of course."
Fu Li answered with a smile, waving to Hua and Seele.
"I will definitely come back."
"Mm..."
I hope so.
Watching Fu Li's departing figure, Hua buried her head in her arms in a moment of self-abandonment.
Just then, another hand patted her on the shoulder.
It was Seele's.
[You arrived at Dr. MEI's laboratory, where Mobius and Dr. MEI had been waiting for a long time.]
[On the central computer's screen, countless streams of experimental data, incomprehensible to the average person, flowed by.]
[And on the experimental platform below, a Black Box and a Divine Key lay silently.]
"Dr. Li, are you sure you want to do this?"
Dr. MEI looked at Li as he approached the platform and asked for confirmation.
"Of course. I've already given you the experimental proposal, haven't I?" Fu Li's expression was calm, but his heart was also somewhat nervous.
After all, he had died at the hands of the Herrscher of Corruption once before.
"Alright. Then let the experiment begin," Mobius nodded, adding,
"If anything goes wrong, I will use all my strength to pull you out."
"Mm, I trust you, Mobius."
The experiment began.
Fu Li picked up the Key of Domination with his right hand, while his left hand pressed down on the Black Box.
His fingers moved lightly, pressing a few spots on the box. In the next second, the Black Box opened automatically.
A black core lay quietly inside, without the slightest ripple, as if it were an ordinary stone.
[Dominate]
Using Domination on a Herrscher Core for the first time, Fu Li clearly felt a hint of resistance. But after remembering what God had done, his resolve solidified.
To God, humans were nothing more than ants. God wouldn't deign to lie.
So...
After briefly dominating it, Fu Li reached out, picked up the core, and, like God, brought it to his mouth and swallowed.
In an instant, the authority of Corruption erupted, clashing with the authority of Domination.
Then, amidst a chorus of disbelieving gasps, Fu Li's vision went black, and he collapsed as if falling into a boundless illusion.
His consciousness felt as if it were sinking into a viscous, cloying sea.
Biological instinct made Fu Li struggle subconsciously, wanting to swim upwards. But in the unseen depths, countless invisible hands grabbed hold of him, trying to drag him down into the abyss.
Boundless darkness enveloped him. Below him was a seemingly bottomless chasm. A sense of despair, accompanied by suffocation, spread from the depths of his heart.
Fu Li's consciousness gradually faded, and its departure seemed to carry his suffering away with it.
Until, he landed at the feet of a little girl.