The rapier slashed, a black line appearing from nowhere. It cleaved through all the robots blocking the path, which erupted into sparks in the night and vanished after a violent explosion.
Fu Li wielded his sword, weaving through the siege of countless robots. The moment one was destroyed, a new one was constructed to take its place.
They were endless, reminding him of the Rectification Protocol, one of the four great calamities mentioned in the games of his past life.
For the time being, at least, these creations couldn't harm him. They were just endless and a bit troublesome to deal with.
Finally, when he arrived expressionlessly at their 'nest,' the robots suddenly retreated.
"..." Fu Li frowned, a little confused.
Why would they fall back? Is this the work of the newly born Herrscher?
Sure enough, just as Fu Li was feeling puzzled, a blonde woman suddenly appeared, placing both hands on his shoulders.
Then, a voice laced with a hint of paranoia followed.
"I know you... I know you. You're the boss... no! You're the boss's boss. You're Li, right?"
This Herrscher knows me?
Fu Li was taken aback. He looked down at the blonde woman, who was draped in a worn-out white lab coat. Her face was delicate, but framed by heavy, dark circles under her eyes.
It was indeed Ashara, one of the scientists under his command.
In that case, it wasn't strange that she could recognize him.
"That's right, it's me." Fu Li admitted his identity, not making a move immediately.
This was the first time he had encountered a newly-born Herrscher who still seemed capable of normal conversation.
"Fu Li, try to make contact with her. How about it?" Mobius's inquisitive voice came through the earpiece.
Fu Li didn't answer, merely nodding.
Without knowing the full situation, he didn't want to provoke Ashara, who was clearly on the edge of a paranoid frenzy.
But even so, Ashara grabbed his hand and, like a friend showing him around her home, began to introduce her 'masterpiece' with an unnerving enthusiasm.
"Heheh... Boss, look. This is the utopia I've created. Look, aren't these robots perfect?"
"Multi-functional articulated metal limbs, a shell that can turn invisible, plus the agility to move swiftly on any terrain. Is there a more perfect robot in this world?"
"Boss! Please, tell me, this is an amazing invention, isn't it?"
"Mm... indeed, it is an amazing invention..." Fu Li said in a deep voice, trying to soothe her.
He could see that this scientist who once worked for him was like a child in desperate need of validation.
But... speaking honestly...
This kind of mechanical creation was certainly impressive, but from the very beginning of its design, the concept of 'cost' seemed to have been completely ignored.
Between dreams and reality, reality ultimately holds sway.
"Heh... Boss... you're lying again..." Ashara's voice suddenly dropped, and the light in her eyes dimmed slightly.
"If... if you really thought it was good, why did you make me revise the design schematics nineteen whole times? That was nineteen whole versions!"
Uh...
Fu Li's expression turned strange. Seeing Ashara's sudden agitation, he had a strong suspicion. Could it be that her boss making her revise a document was what pushed this young doctor to a mental breakdown?
It wasn't an impossibility.
In his past life, in his home country, there were many who had been labeled geniuses since childhood and had a smooth ride all the way into the workforce. They were high-spirited and full of confidence, believing they could easily rise above others with their abilities.
Then, a harsh dose of reality forced some of them to face the truth, while a small minority would be unable to recover from the immense gap between their expectations and reality.
This woman looks to be only in her early twenties. Could she really have collapsed because of something like that...?
While Fu Li was pondering, on the other end of the communication link, Mobius—who had once revised a certain plan over a dozen times herself—fell silent. The corner of her mouth twitched as some unpleasant memories were stirred.
"I'm sorry..." said Fu Li. Although he hadn't done anything wrong, he decided to play along for now in order to gather more information.
"No... it's not your fault, Boss."
Ashara's eyes were somewhat vacant as she spoke with self-deprecation. "It's my problem. I'm not capable enough. This is all my fault. It's been like this since I was a child..."
"Boss, if it's alright with you, could you please listen to my story?"
Of course, he was willing.
Perhaps from her story, he could understand Ashara and uncover the secret of this generation's Herrschers.
"I'm all ears." Fu Li righted two chairs from the floor. A MANTIS who had lived through countless cycles and a new Herrscher born from negative emotions were now sitting together, talking.
It was truly an incredible spectacle.
Ashara sat on the chair, her head bowed, her gaze lifeless. Beneath the tattered lab coat, her thin, almost malnourished body was trembling slightly.
This wasn't something that could be caused by adult fatigue; it seemed more like a deep-seated ailment from her childhood.
After a moment of trembling silence, Ashara finally began to speak.
"When I was a child, I was born in Texas. It's one of the most chaotic states in North America. Guns, powder, loan sharks, and gambling are its bywords."
"My mother was a single parent. She was a waitress, working the hardest, most tiring jobs for just enough money to get by. Without a doubt, under those circumstances, my life was bleak..."
"But even in that environment, I still had a mother who loved me. She saw that I had loved machinery since I was little, so she would occasionally bring me toys that others had thrown away. Even though they were the most basic mechanical structures, the beauty of machinery truly fascinated me."
"My life continued in this seemingly impoverished but actually somewhat warm state, until I entered junior high. My mother suddenly fell in love... with an alcoholic who often came to the bar where she worked to get drunk."
At this, Ashara gave a bitter smile. At the same time, Fu Li noticed that the moment she mentioned the alcoholic, the surrounding Honkai energy concentration suddenly spiked for an instant.
He didn't point it out, nor did he become tense. He simply remained a quiet listener.
"She married that alcoholic."
An unsurprising development...
"And only after they were married did my mother discover that he was a hopeless drunk. But her life had been so bitter that after meeting the man who got drunk at the bar every day and poured his heart out to her, she had fallen hopelessly in love with him."
"Even when he hit her, cursed her, and all the money she earned was turned into alcohol, she was willing."
"Until one day, that drunkard came home, wasted, and tried to force himself on me. Before he could succeed, I grabbed a broken wine bottle and stabbed him in the neck, taking his life."
"And then..."
Ashara suddenly let out another bitter laugh. She covered her face with her hands, her ten fingers digging into her skin. Blood instantly streamed down her cheeks.
"My mother, for the first time, beat me like a madwoman. I almost died that day."
"In the end, after I was rescued on the brink of death, I was sent to a mental hospital."
---o---