"I don't know."
Ryoma Raiden gave his answer after searching his memories.
As a company focused on electronic product R&D and manufacturing, ME Corp really had no secrets worth hiding. Even core technologies like patents were just public secrets.
Well, I expected this.
Simon had guessed as much when he asked the question. To verify the world's setting, he had already visited ME Corp, Schicksal HQ, and Anti-Entropy HQ. He found absolutely no trace of Honkai Energy. Following that logic, his father-in-law, who was merely the President of ME Corp and a subordinate of Uncle Welt, shouldn't know any deeper information.
But the second question was more important.
"Do you have any special impressions of the World Serpent Group?"
As an anomaly that clearly shouldn't exist in this era—even if this was truly a slice-of-life worldline—the existence of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, including Dr. MEI, must have some special significance.
"If I had to say... definitely their Chairwoman. She's obviously just a mascot. Their Head of Equipment Development seems more like the real leader."
That's a given. With Elysia's chaotic nature, it's a miracle she doesn't lower production efficiency by harassing female employees all day. Letting her handle corporate culture and team spirit is fine, but letting her manage actual business? Forget it. Dr. MEI has to do research AND manage the company. Truly a hardworking hero.
Simon roasted her internally, but this was common knowledge. It wasn't what he wanted to know.
"Is there any other information? For example, when were they established?"
When Simon investigated the World Serpent Group, he couldn't find their founding date. He thought his older father-in-law might know something.
"Hmm, I do have an impression of that. I remember World Serpent was established the year Mei was born. That's why I remember it clearly. At that time, their technology shocked the whole world."
Speaking of this, Ryoma's face showed admiration. As the president of a tech company, he knew better than anyone how powerful that level of technology was. Even Anti-Entropy might struggle to match it.
The year Mei was born... In the original Honkai Impact 3rd timeline, that would be one year before the Second Eruption.
Before transmigrating, Simon had studied the Honkai timeline extensively to write fanfiction, so he remembered these nodes clearly.
But knowing this is useless. It's not like a bunch of frozen meats (Flame-Chasers) just happened to thaw out collectively in that specific year, right?
His train of thought blocked, Simon tugged at a lock of his hair in frustration.
"Is there a problem with the World Serpent Group?"
Ryoma asked with concern, seeing Simon's distress.
"Not exactly a problem, just..." Simon didn't know how to explain. He couldn't exactly say they were a bunch of ancient frozen people from the Previous Era. Besides, he still hadn't figured out how this world was constructed. So he asked his third question.
"Do you have any impression of Schicksal's previous Overseer?"
Otto Apocalypse. The root of all evil in the Honkai world. Most problems in the Honkai universe were directly or indirectly related to him. Yet in this worldline, he had vanished in a way Simon didn't understand. Simon only knew that the year they graduated from St. Freya Comprehensive School, Theresa—then the Principal—hurriedly returned to Schicksal HQ to take over as Overseer.
"Schicksal's former Overseer, Otto Apocalypse... He was a man of great courage and ambition. Anyone who met him once would reach that conclusion."
Ryoma made a precise judgment, then pondered for a moment.
"...However, there is no definite news regarding his abdication. Judging from Anti-Entropy's intelligence, there was no chaos within Schicksal during that period, from headquarters down to the branches. It was likely a smooth transfer of power."
A smooth transfer of power means Otto definitely didn't die abruptly. He probably even issued an abdication statement internally. But his whereabouts remain unknown. He wouldn't abdicate just to hide in a dark corner.
This familiar plot point instantly reminded Simon of Otto's most famous operation—Hitting the Tree(Creating a new branch on the Imaginary Tree). In the original story, this operation led directly to his abdication and disappearance from the timeline.
Originally, Simon hadn't considered this possibility. But now that he needed to clarify the worldview, this possibility had to be put on the table.
But where did Otto get the Quantum Sea technology? Without the Second Divine Key (Cosmic Juggernaut) or the Herrscher of the Void's help, how could he possess the technical strength to Hit the Tree?
Following the thread of Otto, another question surfaced: Where did Anti-Entropy come from?
If this was a slice-of-life worldline, even if Anti-Entropy had a good relationship with Schicksal due to Theresa's reign, it should technically be called the Schicksal North American Branch.
—In a world without Honkai, the First Herrscher Welt Joyce wouldn't exist. There would be no Honkai Fission Bomb. No plot where Otto nukes Anti-Entropy to kill Joyce. The history of Anti-Entropy breaking away from Schicksal shouldn't exist.
Yet, Anti-Entropy was sitting right there, safe and sound, still led by Welt Yang and doctors Einstein and Tesla.
If I force myself to accept that "slice-of-life logic allows for minor inconsistencies," it's passable. But I've already sensed anomalies from the System. I can't ignore these unreasonable points.
So annoying. My pig brain is overheating.
Besides, I asked these questions to solve Mei's Bond Mission 2. Why did it drag out so many other things?
The tangled information caused Simon, with his Intelligence of 10, to knock on his head in pain.
I really want to hand these problems to Dr. Einstein or Dr. MEI. Those big shots surely have Intelligence over 18.
"Father-in-law, do you know anything about Schicksal or Anti-Entropy's spatial technology?"
Burned out to the point of despair, Simon could only ask a related question.
"In my early years following the Alliance Leader, I saw some related technologies, but I haven't been clear on recent developments..."
Seeing Simon thinking so painfully, and realizing it seemed related to the Alliance Leader, Ryoma made a proposal.
"Since your questions are all related to Anti-Entropy, why don't I introduce you to the Alliance Leader? I've already mentioned choosing you as my successor to him. Hmm... in half a month. In half a month, I will take you to the North American Headquarters for the succession ceremony. You can discuss these issues with the Alliance Leader face-to-face then."