"Hmm? Changing hair color? Alright."
Einstein looked at Vya and Little Zero before her, not a trace of surprise on her face.
To be honest, this whole matter wasn't entirely unexpected.
The idea that Armed Dolls might develop self-awareness through continuous learning was something she had indeed pondered before. She just hadn't expected a real-life example to appear so soon.
Currently, the Honkai disaster wasn't over, and the situation remained extremely tense.
If the Armed Dolls ever decided to stage a collective work stoppage one day, the trouble it would cause would be immense—an unimaginable catastrophe.
But after all, Einstein was their creator. In her heart, she was actually willing to view these Armed Dolls as her children.
If that day really came, if the Armed Dolls developed their own thoughts and wanted to strive for something, Einstein genuinely wasn't inclined, deep down, to suppress them with extreme measures.
"Mmm, thank you, Doctor."
Little Zero thanked Einstein very calmly. Her tone was devoid of emotion, yet carried an indescribable seriousness.
Einstein nodded and said to Little Zero:
"Alright, you wait for now. Come find me tonight, and I'll help you with your hair color then."
"Understood, Doctor."
Little Zero acknowledged and then quietly stood to the side, waiting for Vya.
Seeing the matter settled, Vya immediately grinned, her eyes curving into happy slits.
"Thank you, Sister Einstein!"
Einstein smiled and casually rubbed her forehead.
Just as Elysia had mentioned to her before, this child really was good at creating miracles, bringing unexpected developments wherever she went.
Oh well, overthinking it now was pointless. They'd just have to take things one step at a time.
"Oh, where's Sister Mobius?"
Vya looked around but didn't see Mobius, so she asked.
"She had urgent business and went back. She said Elysia would come pick you up later," Einstein replied. She could still clearly recall the somewhat hurried and unwilling expression on Mobius's face when she left. Who knew what it was about this time.
"Oh, Vya understands."
Vya nodded obediently, then looked up at Einstein with a hint of expectation.
"Can Vya play here?"
Einstein nodded with a smile.
"Of course, go right ahead."
...
"Dudu, Dudu, calling Dudu!"
Seeing that Einstein was busy with work, Vya scurried off to the side and called out softly.
"Coming, coming! What do you need, Sister Vya?"
The small sword with little wings wooshed out from a spatial pocket, circling in front of Vya.
Ever since joining Vya's little group, Dudu had specifically carved out a two-way channel between herself and Vya. They could also share some information.
"I'm still worried about Little Zero's situation."
Vya furrowed her tiny brows and whispered.
She might look adorable, but she wasn't a clueless, foolish child. Earlier, during Little Zero's conversation with Einstein, she could sense an indescribable emotion emanating from Little Zero—something like... sorrow?
Yeah, that was probably it.
"This matter?"
Dudu flew a loop in the air, her wings whirring.
"In a way, I'm actually quite similar to those Armed Dolls."
"Though, the learning tasks humans gave me were more extensive, pushed harder, forcing me to develop self-awareness in a very short time."
Saying this, Dudu sounded rather proud.
"And I'm way more capable than them!"
As she spoke, she confidently puffed out her non-existent chest, her funny little pose making Vya giggle.
"Let's get back to the main topic."
Vya gently patted Dudu, telling her not to get carried away with boasting.
"Okay, okay, back to business."
Dudu reined it in and said seriously,
"Actually, it's simple. Armed Dolls were created by humans to serve in the Honkai War. Many among them have perished. For humans, perhaps that's no big deal—just like a tool breaking."
"But for the dolls themselves, those sacrifices are their own kind, companions gone forever."
Dudu's tone grew heavier.
"So, after gaining the ability for independent thought, perhaps the first thing they might want is to stop sacrificing..."
"Yet their innate purpose, the very reason they were created, is to fight the Honkai. This constantly urges them on. After all, their learning, their fighting—their meaning seems to lie right there."
"Their inherent programming and newly-born self-awareness are constantly clashing, fighting. That's actually them evolving."
Dudu explained it all very logically.
As a holy sword that MOTH had forced to constantly learn all sorts of knowledge, being able to summarize this wasn't that strange. Besides, she had gone through this process herself.
"So what should be done?"
After listening, Vya grew even more worried, her little face full of confusion.
"As for solutions, there are some. Either find a way to directly erase their self-awareness, turning them back into pure tools; or just wait and see, observe which direction things develop."
Dudu said.
Vya listened, not fully understanding, but nodded anyway.
"Alright..."
...
"Sister Vya, there's one more thing."
Dudu suddenly remembered something and spoke up again.
"What about the idea we discussed before, creating a portable space? Have you thought about it?"
Hearing this, Vya immediately beamed, her eyes sparkling.
"That sounds great! Then Vya could put all her favorite things into the space anytime, anywhere, and never worry about not being able to carry them again."
"Really? That's wonderful, let's start right now!"
Hearing Vya agree, Dudu was so happy she spun several times on the spot.
This way, she could also have a space of her own, one she could enter anytime, anywhere. Just thinking about it felt fantastic.
...
With a flick of her sword tip, Dudu activated all seven of her control units simultaneously, emitting a faint glow.
As she swished down with a sword stroke, Vya and she instantly entered a bubble shimmering with rainbow light—the rudimentary, temporarily created space.
But Dudu seemed to have forgotten a very important detail—they were near the Deep Research Laboratory, where the Sea of Quanta was extremely unstable.
"Good, let's start from here. As long as Sister Vya uses her share of the power, we can stabilize this space..."
Before Dudu could finish her sentence, there was a loud pop.
The rainbow bubble seemed to have been slammed into by something and instantly burst!
"Wha—?! What's happening?!"
Dudu panicked immediately. To be honest, she didn't have much firsthand experience using these functions.
Before, she'd usually just done whatever the researchers told her to do. She'd never encountered a situation like this.
"Ahhh, why is everything so chaotic here?"
In Dudu's vision, there were thousands upon thousands of spatial units around, all like bubbles jostling and squeezing against each other, constantly pressing on the power she had released, making it impossible for her to control.
"Ahh, Sister Vya, help!!"
Dudu was frantic, circling around. With a flap of her wings, she flew right next to Vya, clinging to her tightly as if seeking some sense of security.
Meanwhile, the surrounding space began to turn chaotic, constantly shifting.
The two of them were suddenly flung upwards, then plunged downwards, occasionally yanked into some strange corner—all sorts of wondrous yet disorienting events kept happening one after another.
"Sister Vya, think of something, quick!"
Dudu urged frantically, on the verge of tears.
But Vya found the scene rather interesting and wasn't scared at all.
Her recent experience traveling to another world with Mobius, Elysia, and Einstein was still fresh in her mind, though this time the sensation felt somewhat different—more thrilling.
"Let Vya see..."
Vya propped her cheek with her hand, seriously observing the changes around her. No matter how the space tossed them about, she remained utterly unshaken, perfectly steady.
Suddenly, amidst the chaotic swirl of light and shadow, she caught sight of a hint of dark green.
So she grabbed the Dudu beside her and, aiming towards that green spot, slowly drew a stroke with the sword.
"Hey?! Give me some warning!!"
Dudu was startled by the sudden move, letting out a final yelp that was quickly swallowed up and lost in the turbulent space...
…
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