"If we don't start getting crazy..."
"I'm afraid we're really about to go extinct."
Dr. Mei paid no mind to Mobius's words.
When it came to Kevin, no one understood him better than she did, or rather, they understood each other. However, if the timeline were not to change, Mei would clearly never have anticipated that the power of time, which wears down all things, would persist for a full fifty thousand years.
"..."
"Alright, alright."
The silent atmosphere was once again broken by Vill-V. The Great Magician spoke to Mobius, who sat beside her, twirling her snake-like hair around her fingers.
"I only just got here myself."
"Why don't we... talk about everyone's progress?"
Mobius released the long strands of hair from her fingertips.
"The Stigmata Project."
"The Stigmata Project is halfway complete—and I mean that in the truest sense. The genetic modification surgery for the general group of 'human females' has already reached the clinical trial stage. However, due to a shortage in numbers, we still need a considerable quantity and amount of time to fully complete it," Mobius explained with great seriousness.
The success or failure of the Stigmata Project was the most crucial insurance among all the plans the Flame-Chasers were currently executing.
"My suggestion is to hand over the simulation experiments for the remaining parts to Prometheus as well... along with the 'human male' genetic modification surgery it is already conducting."
"Previous test results have already proven that the error margin between Prometheus's calculated data and the results of direct experimentation does not exceed 0.0012%. From an experimental perspective, we can treat this error as non-existent."
Mobius glanced at the tablet in her hand, then continued to add, "If we do that, all our problems will point to a single issue—how to supply Prometheus with sufficient energy."
Forget humanity as a whole, even the Flame-Chasers, as its leaders, had fallen into a state of resource scarcity. Aside from energy, which could be collected and converted using the third Moonlight Throne inside the base, they were lacking absolutely everything else.
"If Elysia's wager..."
"Mei, you don't have to look at me like that. Our beloved Great Magician here has already revealed everything about the conversation between you and Elysia."
Mobius glanced at Vill-V beside her and teased, "Don't forget, she built most of the equipment inside the Flame-Chasers. I'd have an easier time believing the Herrschers stop at the Eleventh than believing Vill-V didn't leave herself a backdoor."
"..."
Vill-V did not deny it.
In fact, at this point, discussing such a trivial matter of "responsibility" was no longer necessary. Any suspicion or distrust among the thirteen of them would be like slamming the accelerator on humanity's path to extinction.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Mobius said. "I, for one, think that the Black Emperor might not be willing to accept us... no, to be precise, he might not accept 'certain members' among us."
The source was unclear, but there was a high probability it came from Vill-V. Information about the "wager" had long since been spreading like wildfire throughout the base. In fact, only Dr. Mei and Elysia, the nominal "commanders," were still in the dark.
"After all," Mobius continued, "while there are quite a few humanoid Honkai Beasts, generally speaking, if one cannot integrate into their ranks in a beast-form 'Collapse State,' problems will arise sooner or later."
"?"
Vill-V, having just "recovered" from Mobius's earlier jab, now reacted to the meaning behind her words.
However, she wasn't concerned with Mobius's habitual mockery.
"You don't seem to be opposed to the Black Emperor?"
"Why should I be?" Mobius countered with a question of her own. "If he is truly as he says, both a test-taker and an examiner, then siding with the Honkai Beasts might give humanity a higher chance of survival, no?"
"In fact..." Mobius's gaze shifted to the silent Dr. Mei beside them.
"The reason Mei agreed with Elysia's idea and abandoned most of her backup plans to instead implement the Stigmata Project, the most difficult of them all... To say there wasn't some consideration like this involved..."
"Vill-V, do you believe that?"
"..."
"Mobius, let's put this topic aside for now."
After a brief silence, Dr. Mei proactively took over the conversation.
"After all," she said, "there are still those among us who are unwilling to accept this reality. If the person who proposed this wager wasn't Elysia, I'm afraid the Flame-Chasers would be far from as peaceful as they are now..."
At this point, their roles reversed again, and it was Mobius who interrupted Dr. Mei's statement.
"But from another perspective, once that problem is exposed... Mei, no, even this fool Vill-V knows very well what I'm talking about. I think, rather than waiting for that bomb to be detonated by an external force at an inopportune time, one of you two should take the initiative and tell everyone the truth."
"Although most of us have already guessed."
"However," she continued, "there are always a few hotheads... and powerful hotheads at that, are there not?"
"While time can solve many problems, what if those few get carried away and can't wrap their heads around it in the heat of the moment—"
Mobius changed the subject. "Elysia is indeed very smart. But it is precisely because she is so smart that she is far more sensitive than any of us."
"..."
Dr. Mei was silent for a moment before saying, "I respect Elysia's choice. And I believe she will find a suitable opportunity to explain everything to our final few comrades."
"..."
"Tsk."
Mobius pursed her lips lightly.
Another word for gentleness could also be: indecisiveness.
"Are you two going to continue this topic that, one way or another, will involve 'my negligence'?"
The somewhat tense atmosphere was broken by Vill-V.
"Mobius," she said, "aren't you the least bit interested in hearing about the progress of 'Project Ark'?"
Mobius also realized that continuing this topic was pointless. Elysia's inner conflict had to be resolved by herself.
"I am indeed very curious," Mobius replied. "Did you build a giant missile that can reach the edge of the solar system, or a super-refrigerator that can store food for fifty thousand years without it spoiling?"
"Ahem!"
Vill-V paid no mind to Mobius's jab.
"No, the pace of my project's development is far greater than yours."
With a light press on her monocle-like ornament, Vill-V sent new experimental data directly to the tablets in Mei's and Mobius's hands.
"So fast?"
This time, Mobius's surprise was not feigned.
"Besides 'Project Ark,' you've even completed 'Project Ember'?"
Although Mobius had not participated, she was well aware of the workload of these three projects.
"Project Ark" aimed to send Fusion Warriors, whose lifespans far exceeded those of ordinary humans, into space. Ostensibly, it was to find a new home, but in reality, it was to "collect the corpse" of civilization after a highly probable final, world-ending cataclysm.
"Project Ember" involved using a Pseudo-Key of God, modified from the Key of Domination, to replicate the function of the Fifth Key of God, the Key of Stagnation. It would create a piece of equipment called [Hibernation of All Things] to completely seal the presence of humans (Fusion Warriors) deep underground, allowing them to return to the surface and rebuild human civilization at an appropriate time.
The former had some feasibility.
But the latter... without the function of a genuine Key of God, relying solely on a [Hibernation of All Things] "cobbled together" from a Pseudo-Key... while Vill-V might seem somewhat unreliable, her creations never had the slightest issue when it came to their basic functions.
"But of course," Vill-V said, crossing her arms to hoist up her impressive assets. "What were you saying just now...? Fusion Warriors don't die so easily from overwork, right?"
"Well, you—"
CLICK!
Before Mobius could finish, the laboratory door was opened once again.
"Sakura?"
Because the research involved was of extremely high security clearance, and because others wouldn't understand it anyway, the only members who could enter Dr. Mei's lab were Vill-V, Mobius, and Sakura, who served as Mei's guard.
At a time like this, Sakura would normally stand guard outside the door. She would never so suddenly...
"Mei," Sakura said, heading straight to the point after giving Vill-V and Mobius a slight nod—which counted as a greeting. "Can you connect to Prometheus?"
"Prometheus?"
"..."
Although she appeared very calm, Dr. Mei had already detected the hidden urgency in Sakura's expression and immediately sent a connection request to Prometheus.
But—
"What happened?"
The devices she had just placed on her temples were removed again.
Mei's inability to answer the question directly had already confirmed Sakura's suspicions from the side.
"Four missiles have landed in the cities."
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them."
The urgency of the situation was self-evident.
"Nuclear warheads?"
"No, the explosive yield didn't even exceed a two-kilometer diameter."
A situation that seemed not so serious was, in fact, the most terrifying—
"Where were they launched from?"
"..."
"The Divine Machine · Avalon."
It wasn't a hidden opposition faction, nor was it humans controlled by the Honkai Beast legion.
"Mei!"
Dr. Mei clutched her forehead, and only avoided falling backward because Sakura rushed forward and caught her.
"I... I'm fine."
Waving her hand forcefully, Mei relied on her own willpower to steady herself again.
There could be no worse news. The [Divine Machine · Avalon] was basically not equipped with any live ammunition weapons. Its armaments for intercepting small aircraft attacks were small-caliber beam sub-cannons configured as an extra for the [Weapon God] railgun.
The only things that could be classified as live ammunition were the missiles loaded with the radioactive agents for the "Stigmata Project," meant to be used only in case of emergency and "possibly" launched only at the opportune moment. The "Stigmata Project" being conducted on the [Divine Machine · Avalon] was not yet complete, Prometheus's Key of God nature guaranteed it would never be corrupted by a virus, and the Flame-Chasers had not received any alerts...
No.
There was no doubt.
That was the Stigmata Project, and a complete version at that. An existence capable of eroding a Key of God was not impossible—
"The Twelfth Herrscher · The Herrscher of Erosion..."
"...has been born."