A chat group where you switch bodies with Alicia at the start?

"Isn't this place far enough away from Changkong City, the site of the Great Collapse?"

At first, he thought that the powerful Honkai energy in the center of Changkong City was the Third Herrscher, Ji.

But upon arrival, they discovered that it was merely the Third Herrscher's symbiotic Honkai Shesa.

Strangely, after dealing with Shesa, Jiang Qiao was unable to find any Herrscher reactions within the Changkong City area.

Was it never born? Or...?

The Third Herrscher has actually been born, but it is not in Changkong City.

And now, the answer is clear.

MEI, who is on the front lines, is the Herrscher entity chosen by the Cocoon.

"Luckily, I had considered this possibility and prepared a backup plan, otherwise things would have been troublesome."

The words, filled with relief, made the very tired Mei nod:

"Yes, thanks to the power you left in me, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to hold on for long."

For MEI's safety, Jiang Qiao left Shiyuan's mark on her body.

Its main purpose is to protect MEI in critical moments, such as... assassinations of MEI by certain individuals.

Kevin is no longer serving as MEI's bodyguard.

However, having a Primal Herrscher dedicate some of their power to her provides far greater protection than the original method of having Cool risk her life to thwart assassinations.

It was precisely because of this power that MEI's original will was not eroded the moment she was chosen as the Herrscher by the cocoon.

"Can this be resolved?"

Feeling the restless consciousness in her head, Mei covered her forehead and looked at Jiang Qiao with a pained expression.

Upon realizing her own abnormality, she immediately contacted Alicia. Based on rational considerations, MEI felt that Alicia might be able to help her through this difficult time.

"No problem, no problem. Although the previous one was a bit too late, now... well, at least in your case, it's still easy to solve."

The further back in time the Herrschers of the previous civilizations went, the more obvious it became that some were able to retain their consciousness, such as the eleventh Herrscher who chose to stop moving and the twelfth Herrscher who initially showed no abnormalities.

The cause of this anomaly is Alicia's influence.

Because she later became aware of her identity, the Origin, who gradually awakened, was able to retain a certain degree of self-awareness for the subsequent Herrschers.

For Jiang Qiao now, he is [Alissia], he is the Herrscher of Origin.

Having recognized this point and completed the self-awareness that belongs to the Herrschers, [Alicia]'s power is sufficient to influence those Herrschers who are born afterward and to interfere to a certain extent.

The Second Herrscher was already Herrscher-like before Jiang Qiao took control of the body, and her consciousness had almost disappeared.

And the current MEI—

Just right!

Pressing his forehead against Mei's, such an intimate gesture would normally make even the rational Mei quite shy, but Mei, who was currently struggling with another personality emerging from the cocoon, clearly did not have the leisure to do so.

—The power of origin turns at this moment.

"It might hurt a little, just bear with it."

The sweet girl's words carried a hint of seriousness and earnestness. Reminded, Mei subconsciously relaxed, let out a muffled groan, and her pretty face became somewhat distorted.

After a while——

"Okay, done."

While MEI was sweating profusely, a pink-clad girl with her legs wrapped in black nylon stockings crossed her legs on a stool next to her, her fleshy, white thighs attracting attention.

A crystal that was highly similar to the core of the Seven Thunders of Purification, with a 100% similarity, was being played with by Jiang Qiao.

This is precisely the core of the Third Herrscher.

Looking at the Herrscher core extracted from her body, MEI felt a sense of relief, as if she had escaped a disaster, but also a lingering fear.

"I never expected that I would be chosen as the host of the Third Herrscher."

"Hmm...maybe it just has a soft spot for your face?"

The girl made this guess, her words tinged with a hint of teasing.

As originally planned, the Third Herrscher of the previous civilization did not choose MEI, who was frantically stacking buffs at Chiba Academy, as the base body.

However, they did interfere quite a bit. Although Jiang Qiao could ensure that the Herrschers of this era would be largely the same as the original through certain means, she couldn't interfere with the selection of Herrschers or even some minor details.

For example, right now, Cocoon has forcibly chosen MEI, located outside of Changkong City, as the Herrscher's base.

"It's better to spare me."

MEI gave a wry smile and sighed, "I definitely won't go near the site of the Great Collapse again."

Who understands? The location of the Great Collapse is still so far away, yet the lower-ranking member insists on making her a Herrscher.

"Hmm~ You're being a bit hypocritical, aren't you? If Dr. Möbius knew your situation, he might cry with envy~"

The girl's words were tinged with amusement.

Although MEI could no longer use the Herrscher's powers after the Herrscher core was removed, the core's development was extremely poor due to its distance from the site of the Great Honkai.

However, MEI's body at this moment no longer belongs to the category of ordinary people, but is a genuine Herrscher body.

"MEI, how does it feel to become a Herrscher?"

"It's hard to say, but it's certainly much more perfect than the fragile human body."

Mei squeezed her palms and moved her wrists, the cracking sounds filling her with mixed emotions.

Compared to her previous frail physique as a human, the Herrscher's body no longer needs to worry about disease, can quickly recover from injuries as long as there is Honkai energy, has an immeasurable lifespan, and possesses powerful physical attributes.

It would indeed make her feel very wonderful.

Looking at the core in the girl's hand, MEI said softly:

"However, if that's the case..."

"Is this great collapse now mostly over?"

Chapter 95 Can you get off me?

Without a doubt, after Jiang Qiao performed the stone removal surgery on MEI, this third major collapse came to an end.

After all, MEI, as the third Herrscher, has already been "defeated".

But this is something that obviously cannot be told to others.

Even though MEI is able to control the Herrscher body with human self-control because of [Alicia]'s power, once the higher-ups of Chasing Flame find out about this, they will inevitably go crazy in order to obtain the secret.

With their endless lifespan and inhuman power, the Herrschers have always been coveted by high-ranking officials and top insiders around the world, who have been making various attempts to gain control of this power.

The reason why Dr. MEI's Key of God project was opposed and even assassinated was because it threatened those people's interests.

Just to fight the Honkai, we're going to turn the precious Herrscher Cores, which could grant us godlike power, into weapons? How can such a wasteful act be allowed?

The reason why Mebius was tolerated even though the higher-ups disapproved of her, and at most punished with budget cuts, was because, as one of the world's top biological geneticists, the higher-ups placed their hopes on her, hoping she could bring them the possibility of immortality.

Unfortunately, it's unclear whether it's because they can't do it or are unwilling to do it.

Even with the later Fusion Warrior program, Mebius kept those greedy high-ranking officials who sought immortality and power from him with an extremely brutal success rate.

Now, if MEI were to use her human self to control the Herrscher's body, there is no doubt that the higher-ups of Moth Chaser, and even the top figures in various countries around the world, would be eager to obtain this secret at all costs.

Therefore, [Alicia] and MEI's identities as Herrschers must not be revealed, at least for now.

Otherwise, the whole world would be their enemy.

Knowing this, the pink-clad girl teased MEI in a joking tone:

"Oh dear, it seems we're now completely in the same boat!"

After becoming a Herrscher, MEI has completely lost the chance to disembark.

"It's as if I can get off the ship without becoming a Herrscher."

"When you came to me, you didn't intend to let me off the ship, did you?"

Facing the somewhat resentful gaze from the other party, [Alicia] smiled:

"Hmm~ How could that be? Do I look like the kind of girl who would force others?"

—Although the Third Great Collapse had already ended before the higher-ups of the Fire Chaser were even aware of it.

But from any perspective, this massive collapse needs to continue for some time.

So--

Let's just treat it as training.

Even if the Great Collapse could be resolved more easily, the warriors of the Fire Moth do need some training.