MGSFV?! Chapter 504. Mei, Truly Bold; Natural Counter to Tsundere; Silly Goose Stealing Electricity
Mei explained it so logically, it really gave the impression that she had deeply understood Elysia.
Therefore, it was only natural for Kiana to think that way.
And how did Mei respond?
"Know yourself and know your enemy."
"Mei~~ why do you have to 'know yourself and know your enemy' when it comes to me?" Elysia interjected.
She was quite curious why Mei would say that.
Because usually, that phrase is used when you want to be cautious of someone, right?
"Mm..."
Mei looked at Elysia. "Although you often make all sorts of excuses when doing voiceovers, hoping..."
She recalled how Elysia had once held up the Herrscher of Thunder horns (a decorative prop), gazing at her expectantly...
"...It's not entirely out of personal motives, but I still think I should be prepared with basic defense."
"Oh my, Mei... what a bold statement that is." Elysia's tone suddenly became "cheerful."
Mei: "...?"
"Telling me you've prepared yourself—what an unexpected turn of events."
As always, Elysia had a very unique perspective.
"That's not what I meant..."
"Even if it was, I wouldn't mind~" she replied, even winking playfully.
Mei: "..."
"Alright, alright, thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Now I know your reason for wanting to 'know yourself and know your enemy' regarding me. It's not what I thought, so I feel much better now."
Then… what exactly did she think it was?
...
Elysia clearly didn't intend to explain.
She had already shifted her attention back to the game and gently tapped the screen to continue the story.
Anyway, Mei had switched to the "Elysia-style baby-soothing mode," first affirming that Little Sentience was a "Herrscher of Freedom," then praising her for surely "keeping her promise to protect everyone."
This combo attack left Little Sentience speechless, glaring off to the side for a moment.
"..."
"I finally see through you people."
Little Sentience rolled her eyes. "Trying every method to ask for my help. Can't do without me—huh?"
Still being stubborn, obviously.
Today, she was going to show everyone that the Herrscher of Sentience is not someone you can boss around with just a few compliments!
However, what if Theresa sent in another baby-soothing "expert" to pincer attack the second-personality weapon—Seele?
"...Um, everyone, please don't fight."
"...?"
Little Sentience slowly typed out a question mark and looked at Seele, who had somehow shown up here too.
"Seele-chan, stop getting involved. These people can't even help themselves, I'm just about to give them some psychological counseling."
[Seele-chan???]
[Little Senti, how can you call her Seele-chan? What's going on? (pointing.jpg)]
[Exactly, Sentience is clearly much younger than Seele.]
There was this amusing "little adult" feeling—clearly a child herself, but acting grown-up and calling another "younger sister."
The writers really knew how to create these character "contrasts."
But Seele didn't mind Little Sentience calling her that.
She just kept speaking seriously.
"But right now is when we all need to unite the most… we can't do without anyone's strength."
"Just like when we met Susannah before, she was just an ordinary Valkyrie—"
"—But without her help, we would've made a lot of wasted efforts in Abyss City, wouldn't we?"
Little Senti: "..."
She never expected the counterattack to be this strong.
What now? She felt like she couldn't say no anymore.
There was no helping it—she was naturally countered by this kind of sincerity ( )
Better give in obediently.
"...Fine."
Little Sentience finally gave up, though… she still shrugged exaggeratedly to show the others how "magnanimous" she was.
This was her final stubborn act!
[Little Senti's small detail animations are amazing... hahaha.]
[Yeah, they're so vivid and realistic.]
After all, it was Hokuto who had observed Little Sentience for a long time and summarized these.
He had spent quite a bit of time with Little Sentience while learning self-defense at Taixumen.
So of course it was realistic.
...
And so it went.
In the end, Little Sentience obediently set out with Theresa and the others to Salt Lake Base.
Several hours later, at Salt Lake Base.
The two scientists from Anti-Entropy had already come up with quite a few hypotheses based on the collected samples.
Einstein was in charge of researching the Stigma Plan and the Power of the End.
Tesla was in charge of researching the compass Mei had brought back.
This compass had been repeatedly emitting signals into the Imaginary Space, but had yet to find its target.
"According to current conclusions, we can indeed treat the beacon Mei found as a kind of transmission device, it's just that..."
"...it's trying to send a signal to a non-existent recipient."
[A non-existent recipient?? Who could that be?]
"Based on our current measurements, the beacon draws power from Mei's core and continuously sends a simple, repetitive signal into the Imaginary Space."
"Although we don't know what this repetitive signal means, from the design of the device, it likely means it has never found its communication target..."
Tesla paused briefly.
After a moment of thought, Einstein proposed a guess that made everyone's heart skip a beat.
"...Could it be the Herrscher of Origin?"
[Herrscher of Origin? Isn't that Elysia?]
[Could it be… Elysia is actually still alive…]
[Even Elysia herself didn't know what would happen after returning to the Cocoon, so… anything's possible?]
[I'm starting to believe it.]
[Elysia will respond to your expectations, no matter when or where.jpg]
But perhaps no one would respond to that expectation again... (fog)
Of course, it was less about the Herrscher of Origin and more about the players caring for Elysia herself.
The two scientists, however, were more pragmatic.
If the compass really could point to the Herrscher of Origin, then perhaps they could leverage her power to face the Stigma Plan and the End.
And to achieve the goal of "exploring" Origin, the most critical person now—was undoubtedly Mei.
Even though she was currently being targeted by the Stigma Plan for some unknown "reason," a crisis could also be an opportunity.
Change brings possibility.
Therefore...
After a brief discussion about the compass, the Stigma Plan, and Origin, the two scientists left the lab and summoned everyone—including Durandal's group back from Schicksal Headquarters—for a joint combat strategy meeting regarding Earth's current situation.
Reclaim Earth, explore Origin, transcend the End.
These were the three strategic goals of the meeting—and coincidentally, Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent each proposed a plan for one of them.
At this point in the story, it was clearly the final preparation before a big battle.
A lot of important information would likely be revealed now, in a straightforward way.
After all, every participant had to understand.
Like... certain people.
But the players' attention wasn't even as focused as it was when Tesla and Einstein were just chatting earlier.
It wasn't because they weren't interested in the three-step plan, nor because something else was distracting them.
It was because...
[Traditionally, this is when they skip the discussion and jump straight into action, then gradually reveal the detailed plan through flashbacks, right?]
["Leaving us hanging"]
[Writer's little trick.]
But relying on old patterns isn't always reliable.
Maybe a certain someone occasionally doesn't like cliffhangers... at least, only "occasionally."
So...
While a few comments floated by in the stream chat—
Elysia tapped lightly, and the game screen changed.
All the familiar characters appeared via projection in a conference room.
Everyone looked energized and resolute.
A strong, indescribable atmosphere rose within the room.
Paired with increasingly stirring background music—
As Anti-Entropy's long-absent leader—Welt Yang—stood at the podium and solemnly declared:
"Joint combat strategy meeting, officially begins!"
[Strangely fired up all of a sudden!]
[Feeling a bit stirred—wait, are they really going to explain it this time?]
[The writer predicted my prediction? Or is this just a coincidence (tsundere.jpg)]
[Looks like this operation is really important if it needs to be explained beforehand.]
...
First: Schicksal's mission to reclaim Earth.
Actually, it was the island operation plan left by that certain someone whose name is better left unspoken.
Some people are clearly gone but feel like they're still around.jpg
The plan was to convert the other Imaginary-Reformed spaces affected by the Stigma Plan into stable points like Schicksal HQ on Earth.
This would require enormous energy.
But as it happened, the Stigma Plan was constantly absorbing power from the Imaginary Space—and as the Celestial of Genesis, Durandal, the strongest Stigma Awakened, possessed unparalleled Stigma weaving abilities.
[So… silly goose can steal electricity from the Stigma Plan?]
[Stealing electricity???]
[Don't use weird metaphors that damage my impression of Durandal and the Stigma Plan! (angry)]
Still, while the analogy was odd, it wasn't wrong.
At least, it was more accurate than Elysia's usual metaphors.
Elysia: ?
...
Next: exploring Origin.
The key to this plan—
Was naturally the compass Mei brought back. Anti-Entropy planned to use it as a beacon (?) pointing toward Origin, guiding Mei toward the Herrscher of Origin.
At least, that's how it looked for now.
And how to make full use of this beacon was the issue up for discussion.
After deliberation—
They decided to exploit the strange "pull" the Stigma Plan had on Mei.
Find a chance to hack into the Stigma Plan, then send Mei into the Earth zone closest to the Cocoon of Finality: the "Planetary Directory."
Then, follow the "potential" guidance of the compass to find the Herrscher of Origin.
[I get it—this is like a treasure hunt, and Elysia is the treasure we're looking for (serious)]
[You're quick on the draw now—and your metaphor's actually pretty good (appreciative)]
[Thanks to everyone's teaching (doge)(humble)]
[We should thank our great metaphors professor—Miss Fairy, instead~~]
Elysia: Mm mm mm.
[I think your metaphor skills have surpassed Elysia already (Mobius: sneer.jpg)]
[+1]
Elysia: ??
...
Finally: transcend the End.
The core of this strategy was Anti-Entropy's proposed [Second-Generation Moonlight Throne Plan].
And if there's a second generation, then naturally the first failed.
The first-gen Moonlight Throne Plan aimed to mass-produce devices that could convert Honkai energy into ordinary energy, neutralizing the Honkai.
It was essentially the same plan as the Previous Era's Moonlight Throne.
If we assume a linear relationship between Honkai and civilization, it was originally a perfectly industrial solution.
But... it failed.
As for why...
Honkai—or more precisely, the End—is fundamentally an "existence from outside the world."
When facing such an outsider, a first-gen plan that treated the enemy as an unchanging force of nature was bound to run into unforeseen dangers.
Like when you play an RTS game online—skilled players don't wait for you to build a full top-tier army before attacking.
They'll harass you from the start—and if the timing's right, wipe you out in one swift strike.
[So the original Honkai selection mechanism just sent a few Honkai beasts, but once some higher civilization interfered, Earth got thrown into hell mode?]
[Exactly. If so many "monstrous" Previous Era civilizations couldn't survive the selection, it's hard to imagine any civilization winning against Honkai. You'd probably need everyone to be a Serpent or v2v to succeed.]
[The fact that Earth is resisting the End this fiercely is already amazing. The End feels like dimensional annihilation.]
[Yeah, if I were facing the End, even if I survived, I'd definitely be traumatized and avoid it forever.]
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