"If you put it that way," Irene crossed her arms, her fingers tapping lightly against her elbow. "Then the problem must have occurred with the Active Honkai Reaction..."
"I think so too." Cangxuan looked at Irene and nodded. Although they certainly couldn't compare to Dr. Mobius, the two of them were still capable enough to work in that lab.
Their research capabilities and talents were not something ordinary people could match. After organizing her thoughts slightly and combining them with the information gathered from the others, Cangxuan made her final summary.
"Therefore, I surmise that precisely because the Active Honkai Reaction made our life forms closer to Honkai Beasts, the Honkai energy inside Chiyou paradoxically sustained our lives..."
"That is what allowed the two of us to survive these 5,000 years. However, this is merely our speculation."
"Although it is a speculation, I think there is a high probability it is the truth." Irene nodded. The biggest mystery was indeed solved: the two sisters had relied on Honkai energy to survive after being transformed into entities similar to Honkai Beasts by various hyper-metamorphoses.
"But speaking of which, when did you become MANTISes?"
"After we woke up." Danzhu rested her chin on her hand by the bedside. "After all, we were ordinary humans, and we still shouldered the burden of Project Ember."
"Technology isn't something that can be achieved overnight, nor is it something the two of us alone could reproduce—especially the technology capable of fighting the Honkai."
And that was putting it optimistically. In the worst-case scenario, after they woke up, they might have had to face a group of newly sentient humans. They would have to teach them what writing was, what mathematics was, step by step.
Then, they would have to teach them what technology was, climbing up from basic technology step by step. Climbing the technology tree wasn't like a game where you just stared at a blueprint and bam, it was done.
Even though the two of them brought a large pile of Soulium computers as aid, it was useless. This was destined to be a slow, grinding effort. The workload and time required during this period were something two mortals could not achieve.
So, they performed surgery on themselves. However, they didn't do that specific MANTIS surgery; that kind of thing was too dangerous and relied too much on luck.
Fortunately, the metamorphic factor surgery was still doable, and the safety was greatly increased. Although they didn't gain any powerful strength, the benefit was that they didn't get sick easily, and their lifespans were significantly extended, giving them more time to continue Project Ember.
"It doesn't matter anymore." Danzhu waved her hand while lying on the bed, looking like she had completely given up and started rotting. "For us, living until now is already quite good."
To make herself more comfortable, Danzhu rolled over. But with this single turn, she instantly jumped up from the bed again.
"Holy shit! Wh-who is that?!"
"What's wrong? Why are you making such a fuss?" Cangxuan had intended to lecture the lazy Danzhu—after all, the Honkai hadn't emerged yet, so it wasn't time to slack off—but before she could speak, she heard Danzhu's ghostly scream.
Danzhu tumbled off the bed, pointing behind Cangxuan with a face full of horror and shock: "Sis, Sis, look who that is?!"
"You've even seen the dead Pardo; who else are you surprised by?" Cangxuan shook her head and turned around, speaking as she did so. "It can't be that you saw Senior Klein..."
Cangxuan's words fell into silence as she finished turning. She indeed didn't see Senior Klein, but she saw Rin. To be honest, their relationship with Sakura wasn't that great.
At most, later on, after the lab moved into the Golden Courtyard, they would meet Sakura a few times. But they knew Rin very well.
As researchers, the two sisters knew exactly what had happened to Rin. They also knew that Dr. Mobius and the other three doctors, harboring guilt, had turned Rin's Core into a Black Box, but later allowed that Black Box to remain dormant.
"Miss Irene... this Rin is?"
"It is your Rin." Irene patted Cangxuan on the shoulder. Compared to the two sisters, Rin had suffered greater damage. After all, it was using Corruption to fight against Corruption; the two canceled each other out.
Only this tiny bit of residue remained. If not for the fact that the Corruption virus could preserve all information, this remaining fragment of Rin wouldn't have had any possibility of treatment at all.
And because she was far from the Core of Corruption that acted as the main body, her proliferation speed was inherently slow. Even with the help of Active Polarization, Rin's recovery time would be frighteningly long.
"...Did Miss Irene do this too?" At this moment, Danzhu regained her calm, climbed up from the floor, and rescued herself from the blankets.
"Mmhmm~" [Irene] nodded, a look of pride on her face. "That's right, 'Dear' did it."
"...I think if Miss Sakura knew, she would definitely be very happy." Danzhu sighed. But it was too late to say these things.
After all, Sakura was already dead; saying this now was useless. After Danzhu sighed, she looked at [Irene] to shift her attention.
"I say, Miss Irene. Being a dual personality must be quite hard, right? I know..."
"Oh, you might have misunderstood something there." [Irene] made an 'X' gesture in front of her chest. "I don't entirely count as 'Dear's' other personality. More accurately, I am the Herrscher personality acting as the Herrscher of Death."
[Irene] hadn't thought about hiding it. Since 'Dear' or she herself would inevitably use the omnipotence of the Herrscher of Death in their future interactions, explaining it all at once would save them from being surprised later.
"..." x2
This time, the two sisters didn't have a particularly huge reaction. Or rather, having been surprised multiple times in a short period, they didn't feel much anymore; their threshold had been raised significantly.
After a long silence, Danzhu scratched her head. "Ah, that really is a bit surprising. Hmm, since you saved us, you must be a good person, right, Sister?"
"Probably." Cangxuan also sighed. She suddenly felt a bit mentally exhausted. She had only just woken up; why did she have to hear so much intelligence immediately?
"I can still hear you, you know~" [Irene] smiled. "But don't worry, I am a reformed Herrscher. And later on, you will see even more reformed Herrschers."
"That really is somewhat scary."
*
St. Freya Academy - Principal's Office
After returning to St. Freya a few days ago, Irene and the others had reported in. Fu Hua also verified what she had said before departure: the credits from this mission were indeed enough to cover Kiana's credits.
At least until Kiana made her next mistake, they shouldn't have to worry about the credit issue.
A few days later, in the afternoon, Irene knocked on the door of the Principal's Office. After waiting a while, Irene pushed the door open. At this moment, Theresa was sitting properly behind her chair.
She seemed to be processing documents. However, Irene, who knew Theresa well, was very clear that Theresa was nine out of ten times reading manga just now. She just didn't know if that manga had been destroyed to destroy the evidence.
"It's Teacher Irene. Is there something you need?" Theresa raised her head, looking at the smile in Irene's eyes, and coughed twice lightly.
"I hope your little treasury won't be damaged." Irene walked to the side of the desk, her gaze sweeping under the desk, and sure enough, she found a piece of paper.
"Um, Irene, what are you talking about?" Theresa's eyes drifted slightly. "The Principal doesn't understand."
"Alright, don't try to hide it from me." Irene reached out and patted Theresa's head. "Remember to pick a better time when reading manga. You can't let go of this habit, but you're also afraid of people seeing it."
"N-none of your business." Theresa turned her face away, her cheeks slightly red. True, Irene probably knew her extremely well from her world; she indeed couldn't hide it from Irene.
After Irene smiled at Theresa, she coughed twice and continued, "Principal, I want to ask for leave. About one month."
Hearing this, Theresa frowned and looked up at Irene. "One month? That long? Irene, can you tell me the reason?"
"Did you encounter some difficulty, or is there something you need to do?"
Irene smiled and nodded. She met Theresa's gaze, her tone calm but firm. "It is some private business that I need to handle personally."
"Please rest assured, it has nothing to do with the safety of the Academy, nor is it anything dangerous. It's just... very important. I must leave for a period of time."
Theresa didn't answer immediately. She leaned back in her chair, her small fingers tapping lightly on the desk. After contemplating for a while, Theresa spoke.
"Irene, a one-month vacation is very long. You have to at least tell me where you plan to go. And you said that if you really had a problem, you would ask me."
"Accurately speaking, that is when I need it." Irene sat sideways on the desk, looking at Theresa with a smile. "And aren't I here asking you for help with the leave application?"
"After all, if a teacher like me wants to take leave, and for a month at that, I can only look for the Principal, right?"
The office fell into a brief silence. Theresa looked into Irene's azure eyes. Finally, Theresa sighed, choosing to trust her in the end.
Perhaps this was the weight that one who knows the future must bear alone. And as the Branch Chief, she indeed couldn't leave St. Freya Academy at will.
"...Alright." Theresa finally nodded, picked up a pen, and signed her name on an application form. "I've approved the leave note. One month. Pay attention to safety and keep in touch. If there is anywhere you need help, contact me anytime."
"Remember, only one month. You are not allowed to come back late."
"Thank you very much, Principal." Irene took the leave note. "Don't worry, I will definitely return in a month."
After leaving the office, [Irene]'s voice rang in Irene's mind: [My Dear, you are preparing to go to London, right?]
[London?] Pardo tilted her head. [What kind of place is that? Is it fun? Or do you have something to do, Sister Irene?]
Irene's mental projection reached out and knocked on the cat's head: [Don't just think about playing all the time. Senior Su is in London. Oh, no, that's not accurate either. Accurately speaking, the way to find Senior Su is in London.]
[Brother Su!] The cat was instantly surprised. [That means we can save Rin?!]
[I can't guarantee it yet, but if even he can't do it, I don't know who else in this world can.]
Irene walked out of the teaching building and looked up at the sky. "I've already delayed for a long time. Now is a rare moment of peace; there won't be any other matters."
"And... if I delay any longer, there won't be enough time."
"Why?"
"Because it's already autumn." Irene withdrew her gaze. "The holiday is about to begin, or rather, it has already begun."
"Only at that time will we have a definite way to find Su."
*
"???"
"So my helper is a cat?!"
In a gloomy room, a woman with half her face hidden under a hood looked at Gray Serpent on the screen.
"Are you kidding me? Gray Serpent."
"Raven, that is Jackal's creation," Gray Serpent said indifferently. "Its strength is comparable to an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. It is more than enough to be your helper. We also only need one chance to strike."
"Are you sure?" The corner of Raven's mouth twitched slightly. "But that is a cat. It's a cat! Is Jackal planning to kill those Valkyries with cuteness?"
"Heh, that is merely its disguised form." Just then, the screen split, and on the other side, Jackal, wearing a jackal mask, also appeared on the screen. "Its true form is not cute at all."
"...I'd rather you brought a lion over." Raven looked at Jackal with narrowed eyes. "Is it necessary to have some disguised form? Wouldn't modifying a lion be much simpler than a cat?"
"What do you know?" Jackal crossed her arms, lifting her neck arrogantly. "How good are cats? They can be seen everywhere. No one would suspect a stray cat appearing anywhere..."
"Alright, what you said makes some sense." Raven reluctantly accepted this explanation. After all, it seemed appropriate for the animal 'cat' to appear anywhere.
Well, if it really had combat power, accepting a cat wasn't impossible.
But Raven obviously didn't notice that Jackal had one more sentence she hadn't finished saying: "Besides, cats can pass security checks; lions cannot."
"..." After being silent for a while, Raven looked at Gray Serpent, who hadn't spoken on the side. "I want to resign. Do we have severance pay here?"
"Regrettably, Raven, at least not right now." Gray Serpent immediately shook his head. "In short, you should know the mission target. Everything else is just minor details."
"As a mercenary, don't you always only care about who the target is and the money?"
"...But there isn't any mercenary who has a cat following them," Raven pouted. And her name was Raven; they should at least give her a raven. What did giving her a cat count as?
"Deposit received."
"Alrighty, I'll start work immediately." Raven glanced at her phone and immediately indicated that she was a very pragmatic person. So what if the partner was a cat? Anyway, it would just attract attention; the main damage output would still be her.
Just then, the red light in Gray Serpent's eyes flashed for a moment. After it passed, just as Raven was preparing to leave, Gray Serpent suddenly spoke.
"Wait, Raven. There is an extra job added."
________________________________________
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