"Seele, what are you thinking about?"
After Cocolia gave the "start" command, Veliona clearly felt Seele's body tremble violently. The movement was so obvious that even Cocolia, who had her back to her, was drawn to cast a glance at her.
"I... I don't know..."
Seele lowered her head, cowering, avoiding Cocolia's piercing gaze. "Coming to this place, Seele feels... very scared..."
This was her second time here. Although, strictly speaking, it wasn't the same place, the scene, which was no different from her memory, was constantly stirring the images in her mind.
The last time, she had come here with the courage of certain death, bravely and calmly facing her destined end. But after a long and lonely period, that initial bravery had become a thing of the past in her memory.
At that time, Seele firmly believed in the courage of self-sacrifice. But when she came here again, what emerged from the sea of her memory was one painful memory after another. Her body felt as if it were in a furnace, burning from the outside in.
That was the continuously injected Honkai energy, eroding her already frail body inch by inch.
Then, it was as if she were in a steamroller, being squeezed with all her might, and being torn and ripped by large hands from all directions...
So, when she finally regained consciousness, waking up from the excruciating pain that seemed to be able to shatter even her soul, and felt no pain as if she were liberated, her delicate and slender hands began to turn to dust before her eyes, and she watched herself being devoured by nothingness, bit by bit.
After that day, her world was left with only an endless darkness, and...
If that endless darkness was a terrible hell, then this laboratory, which had caused all of this, was the very gate of hell. It was as if another step forward would plunge her into the terrifying darkness, back into that hopeless abyss.
"Relax, Seele..."
Veliona had also experienced all of this. She quickly understood the fear that had been stirred in Seele's heart and patiently comforted her. "It's okay. It's all over. This is just a distant world bubble. You don't have to participate in that damn experiment anymore!"
"Seele knows that these things that have happened are not so terrible..."
Seele's face was pale, her eyes filled with tears, as if she were on the verge of collapsing under the bottomless fear. But while she was trembling with fear, she gritted her teeth and forced herself not to collapse on the ground. Her two pale hands were clasped tightly on her chest, as if in prayer. "The one who is really scared is... the Seele in this world!"
"What..."
Veliona was first surprised, then stunned, and then speechless. "So that's how it is..."
They had thought that their appearance in this world bubble was a complete replacement of the original Seele, and that she could only return after they left. Seele had even been filled with guilt for this. But it was only now that they suddenly understood.
It turned out that the cowardly Seele had been hiding in the deepest part of this body from beginning to end, curled up in a small ball, without anyone discovering her...
"Hiding in a corner where no one can find her whenever she's scared, that's really something Seele would do..." Veliona smiled bitterly.
"Wuwu... waah..."
Seele pouted, held it in, and then finally couldn't help but burst into tears. Her cries were like a flood, uncontrollable, and in an instant, they attracted everyone's attention.
Even Seele herself couldn't tell whether the person who was crying so mournfully was herself or the other Seele, who was as familiar and yet as strange as a frightened rabbit.
---||---
"Who is that? What are they crying about? Is someone dead?"
Even through two layers of medium, Lin Wei could still hear the faint sound of crying in the distance, and he couldn't help but frown.
What a grudge. How unlucky.
But he didn't have time to complain about it, because at this moment, he was in a strange and wonderful state.
He quickly understood the function of the pale purple liquid that had been injected into the chamber and had slowly dissolved—it was to deprive the test subject of the strength to struggle, to ensure the smooth progress of the experiment. But other than that, it didn't affect his consciousness or any of his physical senses. His sense of touch, hearing, and even pain were all normal.
Thus, Lin Wei also felt the pain that Seele and Bronya had once experienced.
The purplish-red Honkai energy solution was injected into his hands, feet, limbs, chest, back, and even his neck through dozens of slender tubes.
The next second, a burning pain, like that of sulfuric acid corrosion, appeared at these injection sites. Then, familiar purplish-red lines gradually appeared on his skin at these burning spots and spread out like a spider web.
"What a familiar feeling..."
Lin Wei watched the changes in his body with great interest, ignoring the unbearable burning pain. He just calmly watched these Honkai energy erosion lines, which had once made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, spread out, and then be pushed back bit by bit by his own super-high resistance.
"Hmm..."
Lin Wei pouted in dissatisfaction. It can't erode me? Are you even trying?!
He complained in his heart, then looked up and calmly met Cocolia's gaze from the control console. This level is not enough.
"Take Seele down first."
Seele's miserable state was very much in line with her usual performance. Cocolia just frowned, but didn't show much reaction. Then she turned her head and happened to meet Lin Wei's scrutinizing gaze.
She took a deep breath, then picked up the microphone and asked the last question in her heart. "Lord Welt, as a Herrscher, your resistance to Honkai energy is naturally far superior to others. But can the experimental data collected from you really be used on these other children?"
She had deep doubts.
"Herrschers are also human, Cocolia. Otherwise, Welt would not have stood with humanity and established the current Anti-Entropy. The Herrscher side of me goes without saying. As for the human side, I can feel a dormant Stigmata on my body."
Lin Wei's voice reached her ears from the chamber filled with the cyan solution, pressing the accelerator on everything. "Now, I entrust my body, along with my life, to you and Dr. Schrödinger beside you. You can do as you please, without caring about my feelings. If you can awaken such a Stigmata from me, then the entire concept of this experiment is feasible. If even I fail, then there is no need to waste any more meaningless resources and lives here."
His tone and demeanor were like that of a true leader, calm, steady, resolute, and unquestionable, as if the one on the operating table was a complete stranger.
"..."
Schrödinger shook her head, lamenting this man's madness.
"..."
Cocolia was also silent for a moment. She hadn't expected Welt's determination to be so deep. But if he failed, could Anti-Entropy afford the loss?
As for whether she would be blamed, she didn't care much about that.
"Don't worry, Cocolia."
Lin Wei guessed what she was thinking and smiled. "Schicksal has been hit and won't be a threat in the short term. Even if the experiment really fails... hehe, don't forget, I, Welt, am a Herrscher."
He was going all in with this persona. Hearing him say this, Schrödinger's brow furrowed even tighter.
Don't you know whether you're a Herrscher or not?
You're not leaving yourself any way out!
"...As you command, my lord."
At this moment, everything about "Welt" logically came together as a whole. Although there were still some minor inconsistencies, at this moment, these details seemed insignificant.
Cocolia took a deep breath, looked at the researchers at the various operating stations who were whispering and hesitating because "the test subject is Lord Welt," and said coldly, "Order, continue the experiment!"
Cocolia's authority was deeply ingrained in the souls of everyone present. Hearing her irrefutable command, they all shuddered and said in unison, "Yes, ma'am!"
Soon, more needles were accurately inserted into Lin Wei's body under the control of the robotic arms. The burning pain Lin Wei felt began to intensify, from the surface to the bone marrow, becoming more and more unbearable.
"Heh, I really asked for it..."
Lin Wei laughed bitterly and self-deprecatingly. But who could he blame for this?
After thinking about it, he simply closed his eyes, like an unreasonable madman, and "enjoyed" this feeling of his body being eroded, his tissues being torn, and his cells hovering between life and death...
Seele had awakened her Stigmata in such a process, so in the boundless pain, Lin Wei relaxed every nerve in his body, waiting for the warm feeling of a hot spring to come from his back again, waiting for the clear, cold sound of a mountain spring to ring in his ears again.
If Yae Sakura woke up and saw me like this, what would she say?
The half-asleep Lin Wei thought to himself. With her stubborn personality, she probably wouldn't say anything, just stare at me with her eyes full of blame and anger, waiting for me to give her an apology and an explanation...
What would I explain?
Lin Wei thought with a strange expression, then it dawned on him. Yae Sakura wouldn't want me to take such a big risk for her...
"Alright, alright, I apologize..."
Lin Wei thought as if in a dream, a playful smile on his lips. "Even if you want me to apologize, you have to wake up and be able to hear me!"
I did it. What do you think?
What an insincere apology, Lin Wei thought to himself. In his half-asleep state, he seemed to see the anger in Yae Sakura's eyes intensify.
Lin Wei showed a mischievous smile like a child. Come on, scold me, hit me, whatever you want~
At this moment, Lin Wei was like a child who would never grow up, eagerly "watching" the Yae Sakura he was "bullying." But he only saw the anger in her eyes fade by a third, the blame also fade by a third, all turning into a complex smile of helplessness. She looked at Lin Wei deeply, her eyes half-joyful, half-regretful.
What are you regretting?
Lin Wei thought with some confusion. The next second, he saw Yae Sakura shake her head, say nothing, and silently turn to leave, her long cherry-blossom hair fluttering in the wind, like scattered petals...
"Wait!"
Lin Wei was anxious. He quickly reached out to grab her, and then suddenly woke up. He only grabbed a cold robotic arm, and felt a sudden emptiness in his heart, as if something had completely left his world.
"..."
Lin Wei was speechless for a moment. He glanced at the people at the control console in the distance, who had been startled by the sudden change, then closed his eyes again and said softly, "Continue."
"...Yes, ma'am."
And so, everything continued.
A deep drowsiness once again washed over him, making Lin Wei fall into a half-asleep state again.
But this time, no matter how hard he searched, there was only emptiness. He could no longer find that cherry-blossom-like girl...
"Why is this happening?"
Lin Wei couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. He could clearly feel the presence of the Stigmata, radiating a familiar, gentle glow in the sea of his soul, as if it were within reach, as if he could just gently reach out and embrace it again, but...
"No, that's not right..."
Lin Wei shook his head. That's not what I'm looking for. But when he looked around, there was nothing else. It was the only Stigmata on his body.
"Why... is this happening?"
Lin Wei murmured to himself again. The next second, another memory emerged from the sea of his soul—
A doctor in a white coat typed a few commands on the computer next to him, handed a physical examination report to Lin Wei, and said calmly, "Don't worry, there won't be any major changes. It's just an 'independent Stigmata gene' being embedded into your own DNA and becoming a dominant gene expression."
"..."
Lin Wei was silent for a moment, just as he had been when he saw that report.
At this moment, he suddenly understood that he had succeeded, but also failed. He also understood what he had been resisting.
One more step forward, and he would have peeled off the dormant Stigmata. But that was just Lin Wei's own Stigmata. As for that beautiful, cherry-blossom-like girl...
To awaken one Stigmata, but to bury a girl...
"No, that's not right!"
Lin Wei resisted loudly, wanting to break free from that warm slumber.
The next second, the warning indicator for the experiment's risk suddenly lit up in bright red!
Cocolia was startled. Schrödinger turned to look, and Seele rushed out from the room next door.
What... what just happened?