Time passed, and several more months went by.
"It's confirmed. Rin already has the Herrscher Core of Corruption within her body. However, the Authority of the Herrscher of Corruption doesn't seem to have been activated yet."
After numerous tests, Vill-V, the "Expert," and the others confirmed that Rin indeed possessed the Herrscher Core of Corruption.
But unlike previous cases, this Herrscher Core had not yet manifested its corresponding Authority.
"This Herrscher Core is special. The Herrscher itself is a form of electronic virus. Therefore, the Herrscher can only truly appear after the original host dies.
So, this Herrscher is relatively easy to deal with. At the same time, once this Herrscher is dealt with, the final trial will begin."
Chang Yuan had an idea: to delay dealing with this Herrscher indefinitely.
This way, they might be able to postpone the arrival of the Herrscher of the End.
But Chang Yuan quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
The Cocoon of Finality, created by a higher civilization, would not have such an obvious loophole.
It was likely that there was a time limit. If the Herrscher wasn't dealt with within that time, the Herrscher Core would go berserk on its own.
"So, what do we do now? Remove it immediately, or wait a bit longer?"
The "Expert" Vill-V couldn't make the decision and instead turned her gaze to Chang Yuan.
The other two doctors did the same.
At this moment, all thirteen members of the Flame-Chasers were present. Although Kevin had not become a MANTIS like in the original timeline, thanks to the Stigmata specially created for him by Dr. MEI, his strength now surpassed even his original self, who had fused with multiple Honkai Beast genes.
However, the Chimera Project was destined to remain out of his reach. Of course, it wasn't necessarily the Chimera Project that was needed. Dr. MEI could also create a new Chimera Project by applying more different Stigmata to Kevin.
At that time, it wouldn't be the lonely "Savior's Mark" of one person, as each Stigmata represented the entirety of a person.
Kevin would then represent the consciousness of all the Stigmata, the consciousness of every person behind each Stigmata, becoming a new "Collective Consciousness Mark."
It would be called the "Mark of Collective Consciousness."
Although it sounded a bit exaggerated, if Kevin truly accepted all those Stigmata, it would mean that all the top-tier human forces acknowledged him.
In a way, this could be considered another form of representing all living beings.
Those who stand at the top make the rules, but they also protect those below within those rules.
"Let's wait a little longer, just a little longer."
As the end drew nearer, Chang Yuan's heart could no longer remain calm.
Although he had long made up his mind, now that the moment was here, his heart was anything but calm.
"Rin... will she be okay?"
Sakura looked worriedly at Rin, who was sitting calmly on the bed, eating a lollipop.
She was afraid that the longer the Herrscher Core remained in her sister's body, the more danger it might pose to her.
"She'll be fine. But, Sakura, you should stay by Rin's side at all times to prevent any unexpected incidents."
After some thought, Chang Yuan decided to have Sakura protect her sister.
Although humanity's fear of the Honkai wasn't as severe as before, and people weren't as extreme, there were still those who had lost family members to the Honkai and had become radical, hating anything related to the Honkai.
So, to be safe, Chang Yuan made this decision.
"Alright. Even if you hadn't said it, I would have protected her."
Sakura would protect her sister no matter what.
With that, the meeting came to an end.
Afterward, Chang Yuan sought out the "Expert" Vill-V.
"How's the preparation for the Project STIGMA going? Are there enough resources and space?"
"Well, the energy is enough to last for 50,000 to 60,000 years, but as for the people... tch. Although the world has experienced several Honkai outbreaks and many have died, there are still a billion people left globally. However, Project STIGMA can only support 10 million people at most.
This is the maximum capacity we've achieved after expanding and stockpiling resources since we first learned about this. I've done my best; there's really no other way."
"10 million people... That's enough."
Seeing the number of hibernation pods, which far exceeded the original timeline, Chang Yuan knew that the "Expert" Vill-V had truly done her best.
Thanks to him, many more people from the Previous Era had been saved.
"Only one out of ten people will survive... It's a difficult choice to make."
As the only uncrowned king, Chang Yuan could arbitrarily decide the fate of 90 million people.
At this moment, he realized the weight of responsibility that came with wearing the crown.
However, after some thought, Chang Yuan decided to make this information public.
Rather than keeping it secret and risking an uprising when the decision was finally made, it was better to let everyone decide for themselves now.
Of course, the top-tier fighters would naturally need to go to the next era.
As long as they didn't accelerate the development of civilization, the Cocoon of Finality wouldn't interfere too much.
"Vill-V, I want to make this information public. What do you think?"
"Huh? I don't get it. Aren't you afraid this will cause chaos?"
"Yes, I am. At that point, we might have to deal with humanity ourselves. I don't want to raise my sword against my own kind. But have you considered this?
Many people have lost their families to the Honkai and have no desire to live on. The only thing keeping them going is their determination to fight the Honkai. These people would never want to survive.
And there are many such people. So, by making this public, perhaps 90% of them will voluntarily give up."
"That makes sense. Do as you please; I'll support you either way."
The "Expert" Vill-V left it up to Chang Yuan.
And so, a few days later, every human with a phone received a message, including the members of the Fire Moth.
『Facing the Herrscher of the End, we may not win. Therefore, we have prepared an escape plan. If we fail, we will go to the next era to continue fighting the Honkai.
However, despite preparing for this from the beginning, we only have 10 million spots available. Currently, there are 1 billion people left globally. Therefore, we will hold a vote.
Those who wish to go to the next civilization to fight the Honkai, please click "Yes." Those who wish to stay and fight the Honkai to the end in this civilization, please click "No."』
Everyone recognized this as an official message from the Fire Moth, so they knew it was real.
The final result was as expected—even beyond Chang Yuan's expectations. Less than 3 million people chose to go to the next civilization to fight the Honkai.