Without giving it much thought, Mei ventured deeper into Vill-V's distant memories.
This time, the memory Mei saw was from before Vill-V joined the Flame-Chasers.
"Ah..."
"You're here, Mobius."
"I thought... you really intended to leave me here, abandoned and forgotten..."
"...Don't celebrate too soon."
Mobius said, "Keeping you confined on this island is indeed the Flame-Chasers' stance."
"And it's my stance as well."
Vill-V didn't care about passing the Flame-Chasers' scrutiny; she was more concerned about the experiments on the island.
Suddenly, the sounds of battle and gunfire erupted across the island. For the first time, Vill-V felt that the person before her seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
Vill-V had conducted a social experiment on this island. Although the Flame-Chasers had left her here to fend for herself, if she didn't even have the ability to create firearms on this barren, isolated island, how could she have repeatedly passed their inspections?
She handed the weapons she made to the monkeys, and then... the monkeys began to fight. Vill-V asked Mobius to guess whether any monkeys would emerge alive today.
And the blueprint she drew on the beach—she wanted to give it to humanity, just like handing weapons to the monkeys.
In that instant, even Mobius felt the urge to kill the girl right then and there.
March 7th: "This is... So the original Vill-V was such a cold person? Compared to her, Mobius's moral底线 can even be considered high."
Tesla: "No way, on this desolate island that isn't even shown on maps, how could Vill-V possibly develop technology of this level here?"
Stelle: "You're right, but that's what makes her a genius!"
Vill-V: 'Resources? If you look for them, you'll always find some.'
Herta: "Well said."
After Mei left this memory, she tried her best to go further back in the timeline:
"You should understand that even with Elysia vouching for you, it's not enough to spare your life."
Vill-V looked speechlessly at the large snake-like creature in front of her: "No way... Mobius, you didn't say that you would be personally conducting this review."
Mobius stated, "You are not a [Mechanic], are you?"
"Correct, I really am just a student. It's far too early for me to call myself a mechanic."
Mobius continued, "We conducted a very thorough investigation on you. Your identity as a student of Advanced Mechanical Dynamics is completely fabricated."
According to the Flame-Chasers' investigation, her current identity was entirely forged. Everything about Vill-V had been uncovered.
Mobius said, "Regardless, the machines you used to oppose the Flame-Chasers are indeed genuine, even... ahead of their time."
"Where did they come from?"
Vill-V spread her hands: "Those machines... I built them myself. What about it? If you don't want to believe it, what can I do?"
Vill-V calmly explained the source of her knowledge:
"It was when I was about four or five years old. I suddenly hated myself, hated myself intensely."
"So I thought of a way... that was to [become another person]—surprisingly, it was much easier than I imagined."
"As long as I [wanted to], then I [could]."
Vill-V's soft voice carried an incredibly arrogant tone:
"So... although I knew nothing about it before, I self-studied mechanical engineering for three months before developing those drones."
"Does this answer satisfy you?"
"Becoming another person... Vill-V, you..."
Mei seemed to realize something: "Could the real [you] be..."
Durandal: "Self-studying for three months and becoming ahead of the times? How do those words even go together?"
Silver Wolf: "We generally call people like that cheaters."
Stelle: "When did she cheat? Don't slander her! No proof means no cheat!"
Black Swan: "So, Vill-V's mental self-division is her way of 'becoming another person'?"
Qingque: "Is the person currently using the Vill-V account in the group chat the [real Vill-V]?"
Vill-V: "Of course not! The me you usually see is the Conductor. The original me is a bit socially anxious."
Kiana: "Vill-V, socially anxious? More like a social terrorist, right?"
Just as Mei wanted to continue exploring, a sudden drastic change occurred.
"You... you?"
"Ahhhhhhh..."
Mei, lost in thought, was instantly awakened by Pardo's scream. Her heart tightened, and she hurriedly ran towards the upper level where Pardo was.
At that moment, the faded monsters she had seen before surrounded Mei, clearly intending to prevent her from rescuing Pardo.
After dealing with the monsters, Mei reached the upper level and saw Pardo collapsed beside the mirror, her condition unknown, while the lock on the mirror had been opened.
"Pardo!"
Mei completely disregarded everything else and rushed straight to Pardo, holding her in her arms.
She quickly scanned Pardo's body; nearly half of it was already covered by a faint, shimmering mist,呈现出一种近乎紊乱的状态.
It seemed as if she might disappear at any moment.
Tears welled up in Pardo's eyes as she looked weakly at Mei. Mei tightly clutched her hand, but could only watch in agony, completely powerless.
Seeing Pardo in pain, Mei had never hated her own helplessness more than at this moment.
"Mei..."
"..."
Mei choked out: "...It's alright."
Yet, these words, meant to remind Pardo [not to rush], instead gripped her heart tightly.
Her body jerked upwards abruptly, only to curl up again in agony.
"No... no..."
"Mei... Sis Mei... We have to get out of here quickly!"
Mei followed her terrified gaze to the side. The once-sealed mirror surface had been opened with a clever method.
But it didn't reflect their images; only a shadowy mass of ominous darkness resided within.
"In there... is... is..."
"It's the memory from when Boss Kevin disappeared...!"
"The one who killed Boss Kevin... is... is..."
"I already understand, Pardo. There's no need to say more..."
Mei's voice also choked up. Seeing Pardo, even while severely injured, still trying to help her, filled Mei with immense pain.
"...Thank you."
Pardo forced out a smile: "Heh... hehe... I'm good at that..."
"Then... let's... leave quickly...?"
"Sis Mei..."
"Mmm..."
"Don't worry. If we encounter any danger, leave it to me to handle."
Mei's voice was unusually gentle, carrying a hint of sorrow: "Just like before... alright?"
"Geez, Mei... Sis Mei... better not say things like that..."
The disorder on Pardo's body intensified: "People say... they say it's... a... a self-fulfilling... what was it?"
"It's like I'm really going to die... Don't scare me, how could that be..."
"I've always... been very lucky..."
The data glitching on Pardo's body deepened, like corrupted code, barely maintaining her form. In the end, Pardo tightly grasped Mei's hand:
"Sis Mei... I... don't want to die..."
As Pardo's final words fell, her body shattered like glass, turning into specks of light that vanished before Mei's disbelieving eyes.
Stelle: 'Damn it!! Why did it have to be Pardo!?'
Huohuo: "How... how could this happen?"
Kalpas: "Corruption! You deserve to die! And you, Vill-V!"
Silver Wolf: "No... no, this... this isn't right? Is this how it's supposed to go?"
Stelle: "This world is not beautiful at all!!"
Jing Yuan: "Mei must be filled with immense regret this time. Watching her friend die before her eyes, while she truly could do nothing."
......
Chapter Five, still made it!
(*￣︶￣)