Chapter 167: Can't Fight a Cheater
"Oh my, it seems Mr. 1145 doesn't usually pay much attention to 'hygiene'. There are 8 terabytes of redundant junk here."
The milk-powder-scented voice reached Gray Serpent's ears, causing the current in his core processor to jump wildly, as if he were bungee jumping from a cliff with only the most minimal safety equipment.
Gray Serpent probably finally understood how Bronya had found the executive-level private channel contact method without causing any ripples.
It had nothing to do with her hacking skills.
It was simply because she was cheating!
She was using cheats!
The Twelfth Divine Key, the Key of Erosion, Jizo Mitama!
The natural enemy of all technological and mechanical creations, and artificial intelligence.
Gray Serpent was a mechanical bionic human created by the Lord Serpent, Mobius. This gave him a huge advantage in intelligence gathering and investigation.
Even if he was destroyed in a mission, for him, it was just a matter of switching bodies.
But at this moment, if Gray Serpent's consciousness were transferred into a flesh-and-blood body, he would probably be drenched in a cold sweat.
The Gray Serpents' greatest reliance was their collective network. All Gray Serpents could share memories and consciousness through the [Gray Serpent Network], transfer consciousness, and change bodies, making them virtually immortal.
This was the advantage of all data-based consciousnesses, but in the end, there was nothing special about it.
Gray Serpent's personality was generated by a special algorithm. Due to the randomness of the algorithm, about 30% of Gray Serpents would have incomplete minds, living like the simplest robots.
Like a fetus in the womb, they needed to constantly absorb the memories of other Gray Serpents through the network to perfect and repair their incomplete personalities, eventually becoming complete Gray Serpents.
But just now, the entire Gray Serpent Network was almost wiped out in one fell swoop!
In fact, Gray Serpent had been dedicating enormous resources to finding this Divine Key, which was a perfect counter to him, capable of truly killing him, and even eroding and controlling him, to prevent it from falling into the hands of outsiders.
But World Serpent had searched high and low across the globe, wearing out their iron shoes, without finding a single clue.
If it were just Jizo Mitama, that would be one thing.
Knowing of the existence of a Divine Key that could counter him, the far-sighted Gray Serpent had long made preparations for a rainy day.
With tens of thousands of Gray Serpent consciousnesses working day and night to maintain and reinforce the Gray Serpent Network's defensive wall, Gray Serpent had a certain degree of confidence in resisting even the Key of Erosion.
At least, he could resist for a while, long enough for all individuals to disconnect from the network.
But even Gray Serpent had never predicted that the Herrscher of Erosion from the Previous Era was still around!
Why?
The Herrscher should have disappeared when Jizo Mitama was forged, right?
Why was she still alive?
And, it seemed she had even regained her sanity?
If the Jizo Mitama alone, in the context of the current Earth's civilization, including the technology of the three major anti-Honkai organizations, could be called a 'cheat'...
Then the combination of Jizo Mitama and the ultimate virus Herrscher herself was like the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha ruling over the underworld and its myriad ghosts—a god reigning over the data world, capable of directly modifying the source code.
The Gray Serpents, scattered across the world on missions, all stopped at this moment, feeling a large, flashing red 'DANGER' sign hovering over their heads.
"Hehe, thank you so much for that."
Gray Serpent chuckled dryly, his hoarse voice much more restrained. His tone even had a hint of subservience.
If anyone else, anyone who knew Gray Serpent, saw this, their jaws would probably drop.
The Gray Serpent was actually using such an attitude towards someone else?
He had no choice. Jizo Mitama was poised over the Gray Serpent Network. A wise man submits to circumstances!
The Gray Serpents still had many missions, including helping the Lord break free from his seal and return. He could die, but the Gray Serpent Network could not be destroyed yet.
Besides shock and dread, the strongest emotion in Gray Serpent's heart was regret. Why the hell did he have to be so itchy-fingered and try to counter-hack and locate Bronya?
It was like widening a narrow tunnel into a highway, allowing the other party to traverse the data world and reach him more quickly and precisely.
"You're welcome~" the silver-haired girl replied with the pure, harmless smile of a little angel.
"Mr. Gray Serpent, I've shown my sincerity. Now, can I take my friends and my little sister to the Elysian Realm to visit family?"
As she finished speaking, the little fox girl sitting obediently on her shoulder looked up at the Gray Serpent on the screen, her azure eyes filled with irrepressible excitement.
"This..."
"Hmm? Is there a problem? I can help you solve it."
The silver-haired girl raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly and resting Jizo Mitama on her shoulder, exuding the air of a gangster boss. Rin cooperatively released a wave of erosive power.
Jizo Mitama warning!
"...I need to ask the Lord for instructions," Gray Serpent's tone was no longer cold and hard.
The other party had just had the chance to completely control him, even using him as a springboard to enter the Gray Serpent Network, but she hadn't made a move. One could say she was full of sincerity.
Gray Serpent understood that it wasn't that she was showing mercy; there were other reasons she hadn't acted directly.
Not all Gray Serpents were connected to the network 24/7. Although she could crush them, she couldn't instantly annihilate the network; erosion took time.
As soon as Gray Serpent sent a message, World Serpent would fall into chaos, and the remaining Gray Serpents would go to war with Bronya at all costs.
She didn't want to see that situation, otherwise she wouldn't be able to stay in the Elysian Realm in peace even if she did get in.
But even so, Gray Serpent was still desperate and helpless.
He was even more unwilling to face the combination of Jizo Mitama and the Herrscher of Erosion!
Although World Serpent was actually much stronger than Anti-Entropy, the forces they could actually use were not that many.
The Gray Serpents had some combat capability, but that was about it.
Before the Lord's return, the Serpent's main combat power consisted of two executives: Raven and Hare.
The former had been instantly defeated by the silver-haired girl through unknown means. The latter, although nominally an executive, had never carried out any missions for the organization. She had joined World Serpent because of a promise with Gray Serpent, and the time was not yet right...
If it were a small favor, Hare might help out for old times' sake, but you want her to help fight Alexandra's daughter?
Wake up, stop dreaming!
As for Owl... wake up again, it's still 2014. World Serpent doesn't have that person yet.
Jackal was researching technology left over from the Previous Era that surpassed Anti-Entropy's, but technological creations were still countered by the power of erosion. Apart from a few special items, bringing anything else out was basically a freebie for the enemy.
There was simply no way to fight this!
He could only accept. But Gray Serpent was worried that letting Bronya, who held the Key of Erosion, and the Herrscher of Erosion herself enter would cause problems. Even the Flame-Chaser simulacra couldn't resist the power of erosion.
But considering the relationship between the Herrscher of Erosion and a certain someone in the Elysian Realm, that possibility was unlikely.
But Gray Serpent didn't know Rin's current state. What if she went full Herrscher inside?
Also, from what Bronya was saying, she wanted to bring the Herrscher of the Void's host and the host of Thunder inside as well, which made him even more uneasy.
The Elysian Realm was of great importance. Gray Serpent couldn't make this decision; he had to ask the Lord.
The silver-haired girl nodded readily and sheathed Jizo Mitama. "Alright."
"I don't think Kevin would stop an old friend's sister from visiting family."
"Then please contact him as soon as possible, Mr. Gray Serpent."
"..."
"I need to know your purpose for entering the Elysian Realm."
The hoarse voice was filled with helplessness and a hint of frustration.
When reporting to a superior, one had to give a reason.
"My purpose is very simple~" The corners of the silver-haired girl's lips lifted slightly.
"To temper Kiana and Raiden Mei's will, and let them grow."
The Elysian Realm contained the glorious memories of the Previous Civilization, as well as the stories and beliefs passed down by the thirteen heroes of the past. Without a doubt, it was the best place to temper a person's will.
"Ultimately, to master the power of a Herrscher with a human will, and become the Herrscher of Human that Elysia wished for."
"...!"
How does she know?
Another statement that took Gray Serpent by surprise. Ever since the communication began, unexpected situations had been coming one after another.
By now, Gray Serpent had raised 'Bronya's' threat level to be on par with Schicksal, even surpassing that of the Overseer. After all, even Otto's knowledge of the Serpent was only superficial.
But this person...
"I understand."
...
In what would be a deep, lightless, black abyss to the ordinary eye, at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, a giant, dark serpent spirit lay coiled.
Although the Sea of Quanta isolated Kevin from the real world, he had never lost contact with the outside.
It was just that the contact wasn't frequent. Even with World Serpent's technology, it was not an easy task to contact Kevin at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta.
Sensing Gray Serpent's call, the expressionless, white-haired young man slowly raised an eyebrow.
Only for a few special events, or when World Serpent faced a major decision, would they expend the resources and manpower to make contact.
Responding to the call, Kevin appeared before Gray Serpent as a giant, illusory serpent spirit.
"...My Lord."
Kevin said nothing, but Gray Serpent knew well how to converse with this lord.
"I have encountered the Herrscher of Erosion. It is the Twelfth Herrscher from the previous era, the one that destroyed the last city. She has regained her sanity."
"..."
The serpent spirit remained silent.
Gray Serpent could not see the Lord's expression.
Although he wasn't as surprised as an ordinary person, the calm, unrippled eyes widened slightly, a flicker of astonishment flashing by. For the current Kevin, this was extremely rare.
Sakura's little sister?
Kevin had personally experienced the Herrscher of Erosion incident.
Back then, Sakura had broken into the cell where Rin was being held to save her, only to find that Rin had been moved. On the path to find Rin, Kevin had stopped Sakura. The two, each with their own opinions, could not persuade the other. Sakura used her abilities and speed advantage to leave Kevin behind and rush deeper into the passage.
By the time Kevin eliminated the Honkai beasts and the group of dead soldiers and found the confinement room where Rin was, what he saw was Rin's broken body and a mentally collapsed Sakura.
He had witnessed the end of the two sisters, and had taken Sakura's body back to her hometown, where not a single cherry blossom could be seen anymore.
Rin... is still alive?
"My Lord, the matter is..."
Gray Serpent respectfully began to recount the story.
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