"The experiment was successful; at least in terms of expectations, we achieved the experiment's goals."
After 24 hours, Chen Ran not only showed no signs of fatigue but instead looked at Nuwa, who had just emerged from the experimental chamber, with burning eyes.
MEI coughed lightly, "Chen Ran, I know you're very excited right now, but I think you should consider the feelings of others."
"Ah, right, it's my fault."
Chen Ran waved his hand, and Fuxi finally draped a coat over Nuwa.
However, before the two sisters could leave, Chen Ran said softly, "The follow-up data collection and wrap-up work in the laboratory will be left to you. Please complete it as soon as possible; I'm going to sleep first."
After saying that, he yawned widely.
Fuxi's eyes flashed with gratitude, "We will do a good job, Senior Chen Ran."
For the two sisters, who had almost no resources in Fire Moth, this was one of the few opportunities to gain a comprehensive understanding of Honkai.
MEI raised an eyebrow, "It seems you've trained them well?"
"Watch your wording, MEI. I, Chen Ran, have always been upright; don't make it sound like I'm a despicable person."
He waved his hand and said to Bia, "Organize the data; let's go."
"Yay, don't forget the figurines!"
Bia skipped along behind Chen Ran, seemingly no longer wanting to acknowledge MEI as her master.
MEI: "…"
"Are you looking to find yourself an assistant?"
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Compared to Chen Ran's side, which had several personnel, her laboratory had no assistants at all.
Although this maximized her freedom to operate, it also meant her energy was being dispersed.
She had considered bringing Bia back, but thinking of Bia's personality, MEI instinctively felt a bit resistant.
It was certain that MEI was not a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
But what she needed was an obedient assistant, an efficient AI, not a machine with its own thoughts that she couldn't control.
Her desire for control was too strong.
"Fortunately, after the proposal of the Divine Soldier Project, the resources provided by the higher-ups are sufficient. In that case, I can also make an AI myself."
What she had learned the most was undoubtedly quantum physics, but her studies during this time had led to a leap in her knowledge of materials science and classical mechanics.
With her father's support, making an assistant was not a difficult task.
"This is probably what they call pie in the sky; it's really interesting."
She watched as Chen Ran and Bia's figures completely disappeared, then copied the data and left as well.
However, even Chen Ran was unaware that the data from his experiment was being fully displayed on another computer belonging to Mobius.
As the highest authority in the First Research Institute, she had the right to connect with any terminal device here.
"Though the idea is bold, the execution of the experiment is surprisingly conservative."
"Is it because of cherishing the delicate?"
"Or is it adhering to the lines set after being educated and brainwashed?"
"I really want to drag you down into the abyss and tempt you to fall, Chen Ran. Let me imagine what kind of Infinite can be created when all your bottom lines disappear."
...
...
Chen Ran naturally had no idea he was being kept in mind.
After telling Bia not to disturb him, he directly fell onto his pillow and fell into a deep sleep.
The current experiment was only a phase success; wanting to exchange it for the value of the Herrscher Core was undoubtedly a pipe dream, but the implications behind it were self-evident.
This was equivalent to a weakened version of the MANTIS transformation experiment, undoubtedly opening the door to MANTIS directly. Most importantly, he had also directly implanted memory genes similar to Stigmata, essentially giving the people of this era the power of Stigmata.
Just like how Subject 666 implanted 'knowledge genes' into herself, completing the Stigmata gene meant the birth of a 'human' that was different from ordinary humans.
The wrap-up of the experiment would certainly not be so hasty, but what happened afterward would be left to Subject 666.
Because his simulation cooling time had arrived.
He had not forgotten the purpose of his simulation, which was to find a power outside of Honkai to deal with Honkai.
"First, I'll take a nap. When I wake up, it should be time to simulate."
However, at that moment, Chen Ran was unaware that, synchronously fifty thousand years later, Wendy was discussing the matter of traversing the past with Otto.
"Chen Ran probably returned to fifty thousand years ago; I can't find any memories associated with him that are further back."
The girl frowned, revealing her thoughts.
"I must find a way to participate in his past; only then can I do more."
"But this year, I am only 14 years old. Theoretically, I can only participate in his life for a maximum of 14 years."
Even in the dimension of consciousness, she could ignore the distance of time, but her traversal was not without limits.
If using memory as the axis, the farthest place she could reach could not exceed this axis. In other words, she could at most only participate in the past fourteen years.
To this, Otto smiled lightly: "First, I need to determine the boundary between the consciousness you can participate in and reality."
"If we really have the ability to break the membrane between consciousness and reality, then the scale of time is not something you need to worry about."
"You might be a bit nervous; why not take a good rest first?" he said. "The realm of consciousness requires a fuller spirit."
——
In 2013, Nagazora City.
When Chen Ran returned to this simulated scene, time continued to move forward.
It was as if a game had resumed after being paused.
Unlike previous simulations, this time, Chen Ran immediately observed his surroundings.
Although the time was short, he could clearly feel that the time here was transitioning from a slow flow to a normal flow.
It was like the buffering of a loading game.
He pondered the various pieces of information the system had revealed earlier.
"In the scene, all my actions will follow the logic of reality, but in the end, it will still consume my consciousness carrying capacity."
"So, I arrived in the future world in the form of consciousness?"
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Chen Ran, are you okay?"
girlWendy ran over, panting, "I saw the vines disappear; you succeeded!"
Before she could become a Herrscher, Sato Yuna had already died, and the gem that had not yet coalesced into a true Herrscher Core was cut in half by Chen Ran.
He suppressed the thoughts in his heart, "Yes, I succeeded."
According to theory, the system should give a completion reminder at this point.
He asked Wendy, "By the way, where are Kiana and Mei?"
Wendy slapped her forehead, "Oh no, I forgot! I was so focused on finding you. Let's go down."
She glanced at the Herrscher Core and paused, "This place can wait for the people from the Extreme East Branch to clean up; we still have a lot of busy work ahead."
The influence of Honkai centered around Senba Academy affected a large part of the area. Although it did not cause the entire Nagazora City to be implicated, the vast majority of people lost their lives due to this disaster.
Whether it was dealing with the issues of the surviving victims or managing public sentiment, Wendy felt a headache coming on.
She simply didn't know how to handle these matters.
However, just as she finished speaking, she noticed Chen Ran frowning.
"That's not right, could there be a delay?"
At this point, there shouldn't be any more Herrschers appearing; logically, the system should have issued rewards by now.
"What delay?" Wendy looked at him curiously.
"Ah, it's nothing, I was just thinking my nerves might be delayed." He said expressionlessly, "After that intense battle, I'm now feeling my legs shaking."
Wendy blinked and playfully squatted in front of him: "Well, if you don't mind, I can carry you."
"Ah, well…"
"Then I won't hold back."
If it were an ordinary person who heard a 13-year-old child say they wanted to be carried, they would naturally wave their hands and refuse.
But who is Chen Ran?
When he gets cheeky, he has no shame whatsoever.
Then, Wendy made a pained expression: "You really are going to let me carry you."
"Otherwise, do I have a reason to refuse?"
Chen Ran wasn't worried that his weight would crush her; an A-rank Valkyrie could kick a Honkai Beast away without issue, let alone just carrying one person.
Wendy just hadn't carried anyone before and didn't know where to hold on.
"Hmph, then I guess I'll take advantage of you."
After the Herrscher was defeated, the danger surrounding Senba Academy decreased. Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya had already escaped to a safe place, avoiding the Honkai Beasts and zombies.
At that moment, the three of them saw Wendy running towards them with Chen Ran on her back.
Raiden Mei's tone revealed a hint of urgency: "What's going on? Is Chen Ran injured?"
"Ah, no injuries, just caught a disease where walking makes you want to die."
Chen Ran had to get off the girl's back.
He had to admit, being carried felt quite nice. That sense of spiritual satisfaction wasn't something one experienced all the time.
His actions earned him four pairs of disdainful eyes.
Chen Ran didn't care: "Alright, next we'll help evacuate the crowd, set up a temporary rescue station, and gather supplies."
He sighed softly: "Let's save as many people here as we can. Since you're heading to the Eastern Branch, consider it a preview."
…
…
Many times, those responsible for rescue carry a heavier burden than those responsible for combat.
Wendy was likely experiencing this battlefield rescue feeling for the first time. The disaster brought by the Honkai wasn't just about turning everyone into zombies; many buildings had collapsed due to the rampaging Honkai Beasts, not to mention the sudden traffic jams on bustling streets, with countless accidents.
The pain suffered by the deceased goes without saying, and the injured aren't necessarily lucky either.
Life is an incredibly precious thing.
But the heavy burden they would have to bear to survive afterward was something a young girl couldn't comprehend.
She clumsily followed Chen Ran, learning how to treat the wounds of the injured, how to stop bleeding under conditions of scarcity, and how to alleviate some pain for patients with mangled limbs.
The girl hadn't learned these things at the Eastern Branch because they were tasks meant for the support Valkyries.
It wasn't until dusk, when the support from the Eastern Branch began to take over, that she had the energy to think about these matters.
She looked at Chen Ran and said, "I'm afraid I have to go back. Will I see you again later?"
"What's wrong? Can't bear to part with me?"
At that moment, Chen Ran couldn't say he was in good shape either; his hands and body were almost covered in dried blood, especially the cuffs of his pants, which bore the marks left by the suffering people.
They didn't know where the disaster came from or why they had to endure this.
But this situation didn't affect Chen Ran's mood.
His rationality allowed him to distinguish that the scene before him was not a predetermined fact.
Wendy shook her head.
She stood beside Chen Ran and said, "I just think you're amazing. You've encountered so many injured people, yet you remain so calm; it seems none of this affects you."
Chen Ran looked at her and smiled: "What, do you feel deeply moved?"
"Yeah, I want to know how you developed this mindset."
"That's simple." He paused and spoke directly: "It's just the cold number 1."
Wendy was puzzled: "Cold number 1?"
"Right, the one person we painstakingly saved is recorded in the files as just the cold data 1. There may be many survivors here, but there are even more who have died."
He paused, using the most indifferent tone to say the most terrifying words: "The number 1 is very small, so I feel that whether I save them or not, it doesn't matter to the world. Naturally, I won't care about them."
He wasn't without compassion; it was just that after understanding the tragedy of the Honkai, he realized that so-called compassion was quite cheap in this world.
But Wendy's education was different.
She felt a bit nervous and uneasy as she looked at Chen Ran: "But every 1 here is someone's child, someone important to their parents. Don't you think what you just said is very cold?"
"Yes, that's why I chose to help."
He said: "You're still young and not used to it yet. In the future, you'll become numb to it."
Chen Ran suddenly thought of Wendy sitting in a wheelchair a year later.
Would she, at that time, be just like these '1's, merely a cold number in the Schicksal documents?
"I…"
Wendy said softly: "I'm saying goodbye to you. Teacher Theresa has come personally, and Kiana and Mei are leaving too."
"Then goodbye."
Chen Ran didn't mind, watching Wendy leave.
However, at that moment, he was thinking about something else.
The system still hadn't responded.
The Herrscher was already gone; what was the system doing?
However, at that moment, Chen Ran didn't know that his system had encountered a problem.
[Detected abnormal conditions in the simulation scene unit.]
[An abnormal quantum collapse occurred in the space.]
[Destiny node adjustment is chaotic.]
[Initiating scene self-check, temporarily unable to respond further.]
[Scan successful, detected that the simulated memories from the first scene were not completely deleted, causing a quantum collapse of the Herrscher of Wind from the future, intruding into the second scene…]
[Initiating memory deletion program… deletion failed, interference detected.]
[System is down…]
As Chen Ran pondered why the system hadn't responded, he suddenly sensed something.
"Wendy?"
No one answered.
…
…
"There are too many victims in Nagazora City; it seems we won't be able to return for a while."
At the temporary base near Hyperion, Theresa said to the Valkyries from the Eastern Branch who had followed her: "Everyone continue the rescue, take turns in batches, and pay attention to rest and the Honkai Beasts."
"Wendy, you've worked hard today."
Theresa looked at the girl before her and said, "To handle such a huge disaster so well, it's hard to imagine how much worse it could have been without you."
Wendy shook her head and asked, "Teacher, are Kiana and Mei alright?"
"Don't worry, I know about them. Because of their special identities, I specifically had them return to Saint Freya using another aircraft."
After Theresa finished speaking, she couldn't help but show a hint of relief: "Thanks to you, otherwise, I wouldn't know how long it would take to find Kiana."
Wendy didn't know about Theresa's relationship with Kiana.
But she didn't have the energy to focus on that.
Today, she had encountered too much, and her mood was heavy.
This disaster was still too impactful for the girl.
Not just because of Chen Ran's words, but what she cared about more was the other Wendy she encountered when activating the time-space rupture system.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she seemed to sense something.
It was as if a soft whisper was calling out to her.
Wendy's eyes revealed a hint of alertness. Before Theresa could react, she directly activated the time-space rupture system of her armor.
Then, she saw another her.
Still with green short hair and jade-like pupils.
But compared to her straightforward and candid self, there was an added gloominess.
"Hi, I guess this is our second meeting. You're not going to shoot at me now, are you?"
The girl's eyes revealed a faint smile.
"The time we had to communicate was too short; I'm going to find Chen Ran now."
"If you want to know the truth, then find him, and just like now, activate the time-space rupture system."
The time for the time-space rupture system had come.
Similarly, the other Wendy also disappeared.
Wendy was slightly taken aback.
"Wendy? Wendy?"
Theresa looked at her in surprise: "Did you just activate the armor's function? What happened?"
Wendy hesitated and didn't tell Theresa the truth.
"It's nothing, I suddenly remembered I still have something to do."
"Teacher Theresa, you don't need to worry about me for now. I'm going to find Chen Ran and will explain everything to you later."
She directly left Theresa and ran off.
It was too strange.
She initially thought the Wendy she encountered during the time-space rupture system was something created by that Herrscher.
But now, it was clear that Chen Ran was hiding many things from her.
The girl's eyes revealed a hint of urgency as she ran to the place where she had last parted with Chen Ran.
But she saw that he hadn't left; instead, he was still trying to consume his consciousness to control the fluid, intending to forcefully exit in this way.
"This is too much! System, don't tell me you've got a bug!"
"If you had ratings, I'd definitely give you a five-star review, in five installments!"
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