Expert's cheeks were slightly flushed. It was unclear whether it was from hearing Elysia's sales pitch, or from the excitement of the impending Herrscher research.
She masked her abnormality with a hoarse voice and loudly announced, "Now then, we will begin the first phase of the initial testing procedure, recorded as SL-21-0001."
"The frequency spectrum of the radio pulse is 319..."
Expert's fingers moved lightly, skillfully activating various electromagnetic devices—direct current, alternating current, electromagnetic waves, and more.
Although she knew that only future Herrscher Cores would be absurd enough to be activated by electricity, Expert still wanted to observe the reaction of a Previous Era Herrscher Core.
The result... was, of course, no reaction at all...
...
"Opening Honkai energy Channel C."
"Origin point locked... positioning successful..."
A large number of devices moved back and forth. In the end, a fine needle, guided by a mechanical arm, was positioned over the Second Herrscher. Then it plunged sharply into the body, forcefully injecting active, violet Honkai energy into the corpse.
Neither Expert nor Dr. Mei was worried that the Second Herrscher could revive through Honkai energy. If replenishing Honkai energy alone were enough to bring it back to life, that would be far too absurd.
The purpose of this procedure was primarily to record data and capture the location of the Herrscher Core.
The Herrscher Core was not something visible to the naked eye, nor were Herrschers mutated creatures that dropped crystal cores upon death like in classic zombie fiction.
After the First and Second Herrschers died, what remained was nothing more than an ordinary corpse, with no visible abnormalities. This was precisely why researchers around the world—including Dr. Mobius—had been unable to make progress with these bodies.
That was because... they were still unaware of the existence of the Herrscher Core. Modern theories remained limited to the idea that Herrschers possessed abilities akin to superpowers, and that these abilities disappeared upon death.
As someone who understood the truth about Herrschers, Vill-V's perspective far surpassed theirs.
The reason modern scientists failed to comprehend the source of a Herrscher's authority was precisely because the Herrscher Core was an invisible entity.
Of course, being invisible to the naked eye did not mean that the Herrscher Core did not exist in the physical dimension.
In reality, a tangible core did exist within real space.
Much like the Herrscher Gems of future civilizations.
Speaking of Herrscher Gems, future Herrschers would drop them upon death—active ones, even capable of being transplanted into others for use. It couldn't be more convenient.
It was practically like a game—defeat a boss, obtain a gem, and directly embed it into oneself.
However... in the Previous Era, the Herrscher Core was a source of endless frustration for scientists.
The cores of this era remained in a constant state of silence, responding only to their Herrscher host.
They showed no reaction to any external stimuli.
Just like now—the Second Herrscher's body was gradually saturated with Honkai energy, its energy level exceeding 2000 Honkai Welts. Yet it remained like a stagnant pool, showing no signs of change.
Expert activated every conventional analysis device available, then shook her head helplessly. "Signal analysis shows no anomalies."
Dr. Mei, speaking in the troubled tone she used when facing a difficult problem, replied, "Spatial spectrum bands are stable. No spatial anomalies detected."
Clearly, even Dr. Mei had no leads regarding the Herrscher Core, despite having learned some details from Vill-V.
"As expected... pure Honkai energy alone cannot trigger a response from the Herrscher Core."
Vill-V recorded all data related to the [Honkai Energy Stimulation of Herrscher Research] on the computer screen—dense with symbols that made even Elysia feel dizzy.
So Elysia chose instead to focus all her attention on observing Vill-V herself.
Expert muttered to herself as she worked, "I have to say, a Herrscher's body is quite valuable. It has extremely high Honkai energy compatibility—like a massive battery capable of storing enormous amounts of energy."
This was one of her habits. If she said nothing, the experimental process would feel unbearably dull.
Even Expert was still human—not a cold, emotionless machine.
"If nothing else, simply using a Herrscher corpse as a Honkai energy bomb could cause catastrophic casualties."
Of course, using such a precise instrument in such a crude manner completely violated Expert's aesthetic principles...
Though Magician would probably be very interested in creating a true human cannon.
"Um... Miss Elysia, could you please stop staring at me..."
Expert turned her head and spoke to Elysia, who was practically eyeing her like prey.
Although Elysia had said she would focus all her attention on her, Expert hadn't expected her to follow through so completely.
That intense gaze—even without turning around, she could feel it.
Though it wasn't desire or greed, but pure admiration and curiosity, and didn't make her uncomfortable—on the contrary, it even brought a faint sweetness to her heart.
But... even someone as composed as Expert could feel nervous!
Hearing this, Elysia shook her adorable pink head and moved closer with a smile, aligning her gaze with Expert's as they looked at the data and parameters together.
"Oh my, it seems the results aren't very ideal."
Naturally, Elysia couldn't understand the technical data. She was only looking at the 3D scan of the Second Herrscher's body displayed behind it.
Scanning instruments continuously performed high-frequency, multi-angle scans to ensure that even the slightest change wouldn't be missed.
Expert, catching the floral scent of Elysia's shampoo, spoke somewhat distractedly, "That's normal... most test experiments yield no results."
Should I let Elysia try using her Herrscher authority?
It wasn't that Expert had run out of options. She was simply curious—what kind of effect would a living Herrscher have on a dead one?
After all, in the original course of events, Kiana and the others had used Herrscher powers to influence both their own and others' Herrscher Cores—even delve into the realm of consciousness and cuddle up close.
I want to try that too...
"Do you... want to touch it?"
Unexpectedly, Elysia decisively declined Expert's suggestion.
Expert had assumed that Elysia would be eager to make contact with a Herrscher.
If Elysia truly wished to do so, Expert would have done everything in her power to ensure her safety and grant her the opportunity.
Within safe limits, Expert didn't mind helping Elysia achieve her goals.
What Expert didn't know was that Elysia had already touched a Herrscher long ago—back when Dr. Mobius had secretly dissected a Herrscher corpse.
At that time, Elysia had faintly sensed something—
A 'chaos,' like a cocoon waiting silently for rebirth...