At this time, despite bearing the title of a genius, Vill-V was still just a young woman who had just turned twenty, with little life experience to speak of.
Faced with such a reality, it was only natural that she didn't react like Connie—who had seen much of life—by immediately latching onto them for support. Instead, she fell into confusion.
The fact that she didn't break down outright was already a testament to her strong mental fortitude.
Seeing Vill-V's bewildered expression, Durandal decided not to give her time to overthink it.
She cut straight to the point: "If you're unsure about what you want to do in the future, then join us. Let's fight the Honkai together."
After Durandal spoke, Vill-V snapped out of her daze.
She thought for a moment. "Then why shouldn't I just join Fire Moth directly?"
Well...
Durandal realized that the biggest obstacle to the Flame-Chasers' growth was, without a doubt, Fire Moth.
Even though she had already poached quite a few people from them, the reputation of being "the first organization to fight the Honkai" still carried a lot of weight.
It was like how Sun Yat-sen was revered by some as the Father of the Nation in her previous life—wasn't it largely because he was known as the first to stand against imperialism and feudalism?
It seemed the Flame-Chasers' most crucial task going forward would be to step up their publicity efforts.
They had to ensure that when top-tier talents received an invitation from the Flame-Chasers, their first thought wouldn't be, "Why not just join Fire Moth instead?"
This time, before Durandal could even speak, Connie voluntarily launched into her usual spiel, thoroughly dazzling the inexperienced Vill-V.
Just as Vill-V found herself inexplicably roped into their cause, Durandal noticed the Gnius device she carried with her began emitting a sound only she could hear.
Now that she thought about it, ever since she had crossed over, aside from converting the Second Herrscher core she obtained into its 50,000-year-later version and that brief reaction when she discovered Kevyn had lost his 'little friend', the Gnius had remained as quiet as a mouse.
Durandal had almost forgotten it existed. On the rare occasions she remembered it, she assumed it wouldn't activate again until the Third Honkai Eruption. She never expected it to react now.
[Bzzzt... bzzzt...]
After a burst of staticky noise, Durandal received a message from the Gnius.
[Detected that the Savior's organization has gathered five individuals to oppose the Honkai together. Progress toward ultimate success has been made. Reward: one pair of Moon Rings, along with relevant technical data. Please select the reward drop location.]
"Speaking of which, can we negotiate? Please don't call me 'Savior'... Putting aside how cringey it sounds, I'm not even confident I can successfully save the Previous Civilization..."
Last time, she had been too overwhelmed by the shock of crossing over and meeting Elysia to pay attention to such details. This time was different—she protested directly in her mind.
However, the Gnius showed no reaction, merely insisting she choose a drop location for the reward.
Left with no choice, Durandal selected her room as the drop point.
Once the selection was made, the Gnius fell completely silent again.
Durandal sighed in resignation.
But then, looking at Vill-V, whom she had just recruited, Durandal suddenly said, "Since you've joined the Flame-Chasers, I should show corresponding sincerity. Wait a moment..."
With that, Durandal stood up and went upstairs.
Entering her room, she opened the bedside table drawer and, sure enough, found a pair of Moon Rings inside—one pink, one gold—along with a hard drive.
She left the Moon Rings where they were, picked up the hard drive, and went back downstairs.
"Here, these are some of the Flame-Chasers' internal technical documents. They should be perfect for you to study."
Durandal handed the hard drive directly to Vill-V.
Vill-V was momentarily taken aback, but she didn't waste any time. Turning to Connie, she asked, "Do you have a laptop?"
"Yes, yes, of course!"
Connie hurried to her room to fetch a laptop.
Vill-V opened the computer, connected the hard drive with a data cable, and began reading the files.
The data pertained to the Moon Ring system—specifically, the small-scale Honkai energy conversion-transmission network solution developed by Schicksal 50,000 years later, during the Post-Houkai 2.0 era, abbreviated as U.F.S.
This system could distribute the amplification of Honkai energy, which would be unbearable for a single individual, by utilizing its erosive properties to form a network, sharing the load among members fighting together.
To achieve this, every member within the U.F.S. needed to wear a Moon Ring.
The Moon Rings could convert Honkai energy into general energy sources, form amplification channels between members, and also reduce the harm caused by the explosive release of Honkai energy on the human body.
Additionally, the Moon Ring technology actually evolved from the Selene system.
Therefore, these documents also covered the principles behind the Selene.
After skimming through the contents, Vill-V closed the laptop.
"I'll need to study these materials in depth. Honestly, I'm not very familiar with Honkai energy. Whether the technologies mentioned here are truly effective will require verification. That will take time and funding."
Having said that, Vill-V gave a look that said, "You know what I mean."
Durandal's expression turned serious. She very much wanted to say she didn't understand.
But she was the one who had recruited this talent—even laid the bait to lure her in. Saying she didn't understand now would be like pushing her away.
So, Durandal could only nod. "Understood. You can submit your requirements. We'll arrange the laboratory and funding as soon as possible."
Vill-V was satisfied, but Connie's face darkened. She felt her money was about to vanish rapidly.
"Do you have a place to stay in Nagazora?" Durandal asked, moving on to other matters.
Vill-V nodded. "I booked a hotel."
"In that case, I'll have Connie go with you to check out. You can move in here directly. It'll be more convenient for you to make any usual requests to Connie."
'Are you kidding? If an organization member stays in a hotel, won't the organization have to cover the cost?'
Durandal knew Connie's funds were limited. They wouldn't hesitate on necessary expenses, but if it wasn't essential, they should save where they could.
After Connie drove Vill-V to check out of the hotel, Durandal finally allowed a trace of weariness to show on her face—Vill-V knew how to spend money, Mobius arriving in three days knew how to spend money, the still-developing Mei knew how to spend money.
The others she knew about in Fire Moth weren't as extravagant as those three, but aside from Eden... and maybe Pardofelis, none of them were exactly good at making money, were they?
Good grief. To end up in an apocalyptic world and still have to worry about money—what were the odds?
"You seem troubled."
Elysia's voice sounded in the room.
Durandal looked over to see her sitting in the spot Vill-V had occupied earlier, laptop open, browsing the files from the hard drive.
"The Moon Ring system, the Selene... Even though I don't know where you obtained these research results, shouldn't this be a cause for celebration?"
Elysia asked, puzzled.
--+--