After bringing the three of them to the lounge, AT-026 departed.
The blue-haired girl in the room was sitting before a holographic projection analyzing data, only looking up when she heard the footsteps.
"Hiya♪~ Einstein, did you miss me~"
They saw the blue-haired girl. It was indeed Einstein.
She looked at the pink-haired girl before her, a barely perceptible shadow flickering across her face.
"Probably not."
She was always one to speak her mind.
"How could you say that? You'll make me sad, you know~"
Mobius gave a light hum. "Alright, Elysia, stop this nonsense."
Elysia turned and winked at Mobius. "It's not nonsense at all. It's a wonderful way to maintain friendships, you know~"
"With all due respect, I don't see it that way."
Einstein stated.
"Really now~"
Elysia laughed as she walked toward Einstein, arms open for a big hug.
But Einstein sidestepped to avoid it.
Elysia pretended to pout, putting on a hurt expression. "Even if you ignore all that, what you said in the Armed Puppets' database was truly heartbreaking, you know~"
She clasped her hands over her chest as if deeply wounded.
"I wanted to get close to those adorable little things too~"
Einstein said with a blank face, "Just don't end up breaking them."
"My, how could you think that? I'm not that kind of person, you know~"
"Heh…"
Mobius watched the scene unfold before her and let out a soft chuckle.
She glanced at Vya beside her… the little one seemed curious about everything here.
"Enough idle chatter, Elysia. Time for business."
"Aww… alright, alright."
Elysia couldn't hide her disappointment.
She always felt the time for delightful conversation was never enough~
…
Led by Einstein, the group arrived at the deepest part of the undersea laboratory.
Along the way, Elysia introduced Vya to Einstein.
Elysia, holding Vya's hand, made the introduction. "This is Vya, our little angel~"
"Hello, Big Sister Einstein~"
Vya said obediently.
"Mhm, hello."
Einstein was very curious why they had brought a young child here.
"Care to explain? Why bring her here?"
A facility like this was clearly not suitable for a child's visit.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Mobius smiled mysteriously.
"?"
Einstein paused, somewhat bewildered. 'Huh?'
After all, in her impression, Mobius was a decisive person of action. Since when did she start speaking in riddles?
She didn't understand.
After passing through several airtight doors, the group reached the deepest point of the undersea laboratory.
The sight before them was breathtaking—a massive spherical orb of light hovered in the center of a specially designed observation chamber...
"Wow~ It's my first time here too! It's so beautiful~"
Elysia gazed at the distant, glowing, sphere-like object.
It might not be a physical object, nor did it have a definite shape.
"'Eye of the Deep.' You certainly know how to pick names."
Mobius remarked, also staring intently at the orb of light.
She had been here a few times before, but as it wasn't her primary research focus, she hadn't delved too deeply…
Einstein walked to the control console and pulled up a set of data. "Years have passed, and there's still little progress here. Coupled with the increasingly severe Honkai disasters, research on this place keeps getting postponed."
"So, Einstein, what exactly is in there?"
Elysia asked.
Einstein shook her head. "The specifics are still unclear, but it emits quantum fluctuations irregularly."
"Indicating periodic energy fluctuations are occurring inside…"
Blah blah blah…
Einstein continued.
"Theoretically, it could be a passage connecting to other worlds."
"Wow, so other worlds really exist? I wonder if there's another me out there~"
"Perhaps."
Einstein didn't want to waste more time on this topic.
She turned to Mobius, who had remained silent. "So, you came all this way… surely not just for the view?"
Seeing Mobius hadn't said much along the journey, Einstein finally couldn't help but ask.
"Of course not."
Sister Mobius replied succinctly.
She knew Einstein was an extremely intelligent person. She naturally had the right to know about Vya's situation.
Mobius looked at Vya. "Vya, want to take a closer look?"
Throughout the walk, Vya's gaze had been unconsciously drawn to that large, glowing sphere.
To her eyes, it was filled with countless bubbles pressed together, each with its own color, and all arranged with remarkable regularity.
"A little closer."
"Any closer and we'll be outside the safety perimeter."
Einstein cautioned.
"Isn't that perfect?"
Mobius laughed.
The group continued forward.
Just as they pressed on, the Eye of the Deep suddenly began to flicker violently, its light shifting from white to blue.
Instruments within the observation chamber started emitting urgent alarm sounds.
"What's going on?"
Einstein was puzzled. At least according to past observation records, such a situation had never occurred before.
She was about to usher the three away when Mobius stopped her.
"Wait…"
Mobius raised a hand, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Mhm. She had guessed right.
If the Eye of the Deep could resonate with Vya, it meant Vya could indeed utilize the authority of the Second Herrscher.
As the flickering light grew faster and more frantic.
With the increasing frequency of the flashes, Vya saw tiny, mirror-like fragments begin to fly out from within the orb of light.
These fragments spun in the air, refracting countless miniature scenes.
"Vya, what's happening?"
Elysia asked, crouching down.
Vya shook her head.
"Vya doesn't know, hehe."
"Vya, what can you see?"
Mobius asked, her tone still laced with excitement.
"Vya sees lots of little bubbles, and lots of pretty fragments…"
Vya pointed into the air, at a scene the others couldn't perceive.
Mobius and Elysia exchanged a glance. Elysia had previously discussed with Mobius that no matter what happened here, they needed to let Mobius see what she wanted to see…
Then, Mobius continued asking, "Oh? Can you take us inside?"
"Huh?"
Vya looked at Mobius in confusion, then at Elysia.
Finally, her gaze fell on Einstein.
"Let Vya think…"
Actually, seeing this spectacle, Vya suddenly remembered the first time she met Cyrene. Back then, Sister Cyrene had said something…
That's it!
She remembered.
Just imagine a door, and open it~
Einstein, standing to the side, temporarily gave up on figuring out why things were happening this way.
But Elysia and Mobius seemed to know exactly what was going on?
Why?
Could someone explain what the current situation was?
Why could that child influence the energy fluctuations of the Eye of the Deep?
…
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