K424 of the Collapse World

"Ah... have we been discovered?"

"Sirius, what did you say?"

"Nothing... just a little thing."

Hiding her abnormality calmly, Shilis sensed the location of her followers and issued a return order.

The next moment, she met Siegfried's eyes.

"Siegfried, what do you want to say?"

"I don't understand, Silis. According to what you said, the real body of the World Serpent is Kaslana's ancestor - Kevin Kaslana. Then why would he attack us who are also anti-Honkai organizations?"

Siegfried asked with a frown, looking at the silver-haired girl sitting in the wheelchair, tapping the smooth tabletop with his fingertips. He did not realize that this behavior was one of his physical manifestations when he was irritated.

"You may not believe it, but Kevin... helped me a lot during the second collapse. I don't know if it was my hallucination or the information left in the gene fragments as he said. I was able to defeat the Second Herrscher largely because of his help..."

Shirley waved her hand to show that she understood.

"It is indeed as you said, Siegfried, but I still have to say that you don't know Kevin. He is indeed committed to destroying the Honkai, but the way he achieves his goal can really be called unscrupulous."

The girl patted her chest.

"I have the core of the Herrscher of Restraint. I can be called the Herrscher of Restraint. Even if I can perfectly control the Herrscher's energy and not be eroded, I am still a major threat like a time bomb in his eyes. I must be eliminated sooner or later. Of course, the same goes for others."

As she spoke, Shiris glanced at Kiana, Hill, Diana and Mei who were sitting at the conference table, then smiled and clapped her hands.

"Well, whether his actions are right or wrong is not something we Herrsers can comment on. You can't even imagine the extent of that person's paranoia... In fact, I'm afraid that in these two eras, there was only one person who could convince him. But unfortunately, that person didn't live to this era."

"Shiris, I have a question."

Claire slowly raised her hand, organized her words a little, and spoke hesitantly.

"The Kevin Kaslana you're talking about should be from the pre-civilization era, right? How could humans survive for 50,000 years and reach our era?"

"..."

"Um, why aren't you talking? I don't think I said anything weird, do I?"

"No, I'm just a little surprised that you didn't know this all along... But you can consult Miss Hill over there about this question."

Shirley shook her head and turned her gaze to Mei who seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Mei, what do you want to say?"

"Um... Miss Shilis, I don't know much about Kevin, but since everyone's goal is to fight against Honkai, why do we have to fight each other? Can we think of other ways? For example, we Herrscher Core holders can take the initiative to avoid the World Serpent, let the three anti-Honkai organizations form an alliance, and we Herrschers and our Houkai beasts can act separately from them. While keeping in touch, we can deal with the Houkai in two areas separately..."

"Well, I understand what you mean. You mean we should try our best to meet the requirements of the World Serpent and facilitate the formation of an alliance, right? But unfortunately, this is also impossible."

The girl's eyes quietly became sharp.

"Because the conflict between us and the World Serpent is not just one-sided!"

"what?"

Hearing this, everyone else was shocked and didn't understand why Shirley said this.

"What does this mean? Are we going to take the initiative to attack the World Serpent?"

"Yes, this is a long-term plan of theirs that we must do everything we can to stop."

Shiris lightly pressed a few buttons on the desktop, and a partial display screen appeared in front of the people around her.

"At the end of the pre-civilization era, the Fire-Chasing Moth left behind four plans to continue human civilization. They are the Hengsha Plan, the Spark Plan, the Ark Plan, and the Stigmata Plan. What I want to talk about now is the Stigmata Plan that Kevin is in charge of."

Trying hard to recall the branching memories of world lines deep in her brain, Shilis frowned, thinking about how to replace the obscure and difficult-to-understand exclusive nouns with simple expressions.

"The so-called Stigmata Project is to mix the improved Honkai energy of the Fire Moth with the gene fragments and pass them on. In the continuous evolution, the so-called Stigmata will be formed, so that humans can gain the power to fight Honkai... The artificial Stigmata mass-produced by the Destiny is a defective product modeled after the Stigmata of the Fire Moth."

"..."

Although everyone knew the meaning of the stigmata, no one interrupted Shirisi and listened quietly to the girl's explanation.

"However, to activate the stigmata hidden in the gene fragments, humans must come into contact with Houkai substances. Only when they are eroded to the critical point can the power of the stigmata in their blood be activated, and the success rate is not high. In the final analysis, the essence of the Stigmata Project is actually a kind of natural selection. People without stigmata are allowed to die in the Houkai, and those humans with stigmata continue to reproduce. In the continuous accumulation, they evolve to the ability to survive in the Houkai environment. In simple terms, it is the survival of the fittest, and the Houkai will select the humans who can survive."

"this......"

"As the proposer of this plan, Kevin can naturally accelerate the implementation of the Stigmata Plan through artificial means.

I told you that guy is a bigot.”

Looking at her companions with different expressions, Shirley smiled with a hint of irony and projected a document from a confidential file onto the photon screen.

"Do you remember the Serenity Gem incident two years ago? During the period when Ms. Cocolia was working with the World Serpent, she tried to cause the Herrscher Core to go berserk in Singapore in order to collect experimental data. If successful, it would cause a great collapse in that densely populated metropolis, infecting millions of people at once. After listening to my explanation of the Stigmata Project, who do you think is the instigator behind this?"

689 Apricot's Troubles

"Am I right, dear 'Mother'?"

Looking at Cocolia with a changeable expression, Shilis asked with a smile, slightly enlarging the image and text on the terminal display so that everyone could clearly see the ins and outs of the Quiet Gem incident.

"I guess they didn't tell you the truth about the experiment."

"I have always believed that their purpose is to actively create controllable Herrschers as experimental materials..."

"The Fire Moths of the pre-civilization era have already completed most of the research on the Herrschers. Therefore, the World Serpent, an extreme anti-Honkai organization, will not go to great lengths to capture the Herrschers. Moreover, no matter what they do, they will not deviate from the sole goal of the 'Stigmata Project'."

"I see...they really played a good game of chess."

Cocolia snorted and folded her hands.

"Now that I think about it, I'm afraid that out of every ten words those guys said to me, none of them were true."

"It's just a mutually beneficial relationship, isn't it? They know your wish, and they know your greatest weakness. Because of this, they can always paralyze you with just the right amount of empty promises. Whether it's the incident with the Serenity Gem or your earlier cooperation project, the purpose they mentioned is probably related to human resurrection, right?"

"..."

"Unfortunately, that's all false. The World Serpent has only one goal, and that is to promote the implementation of the Stigmata Project. To this end, they are willing to cause the Houkai, even if it involves thousands of innocent citizens."

Gently closing the terminal's display screen, Shirley crossed her fingers and placed them in front of her chin, her clear eyes calm and expressionless.

"If they continue this terrorist behavior, we will definitely need to intervene. Alas... The original plan was to use the Eye of the Abyss to restrain Kevin, and to force the World Serpent to suspend the Stigmata Project and cooperate with us. But now there is no way, and the conflict between us and the World Serpent is unavoidable."

Having said that, Shilis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Personally, I don't really care about the casualties of unrelated personnel, but you can't just sit back and watch the World Serpent's plan. Am I right, Mr. Knight and Miss Nun over there?"

Looking at Siegfried, whose eyes seemed to be spitting fire, and Theresa, who had a gloomy face beside him, Shirley tilted her head and said teasingly with a smile.

"Of course... Fighting against Honkai and protecting the weak is the family motto of the Kaslana family. I can't just sit back and watch the evil! Since Kevin Kaslana has gone to this extent, I won't acknowledge such an ancestor."

"Ha... As expected of you. Although I have already guessed your answer, it still feels a bit strange to hear you speak like a protagonist in a hot-blooded comic. What about you, Principal? Do you agree or disagree with the idea of ​​the World Snake?"

"How can I agree with that! The Valkyries have always been fighting against the Honkai, how can I approve of those who actively create the Honkai! As for those guys... I will only regard them as enemies equivalent to the Honkai creatures."

Theresa said in a deep voice, her tone no longer as lively as usual. Obviously, this attitude was enough to prove her determination.

"Okay, that's the expected result. However, if you put yourself in the position of 'justice', you will always be the passive party. I hope you are prepared for that."

After listening to what Shirley said, Kiana raised her hand slightly.

"What about Sister Shirley? I want to know what Sister Shirley thinks?"

"My thoughts? To be honest, I don't know whether the World Serpent's Stigma Plan is right or wrong. Let's put aside our moral values ​​and look at it from an objective point of view. Since it was used as an alternative plan to continue civilization in the last era, it must have a certain rationality. It may even be the only way for mankind to continue. If it weren't for the fact that the World Serpent regarded me as an enemy, I probably wouldn't be able to make a choice, so I can only leave it to you to decide. Kiana, if you have any different opinions, you might as well tell me."

"No, since Sister Shilis agrees with Lady Theresa and Father's choice, I am willing to follow it."

Kiana nodded and said no more.

Glancing around at the participants

Then, Shirley supported herself on the table with both hands and slowly stood up.

"Then it's decided~ If nothing unexpected happens, the aftermath of the Honkai explosion should be deliberately guided by the World Serpent to increase pressure on us. After all, in their evolutionary concept, a Valkyrie with artificial stigmata cannot be considered a qualified awakener, but an inferior human being who will disappear with the times."

"Shilis, are we going to upload the message to the headquarters of the two organizations next?"

"Dr. Einstein will be in charge of the Anti-Entropy Organization's intelligence. As for Otto? Although that guy is unlikely to reach a consensus with Kevin, just in case, it's best not to upload our meeting minutes to the headquarters yet."

"receive."

Theresa nodded without hesitation, as if the girl was the one in charge of the Far East Branch.

"Then let's end our meeting here. As for the means of defending against the invasion of the World Snake, I will notify the defense department to take measures later."

·————————————·

After the meeting, Xili was not surprised to be questioned by her friends about her wheelchair. It took her some time to explain that she was not disabled and that she only used the wheelchair to facilitate her activities.

After that, she was taken by Tesla for another physical examination and was warned not to leave the ward again. Only then did Shirley continue to be pushed by Xing and prepare to return to the ward in the medical department.

From before the meeting to after the physical examination, the girl had been silently by her side without a single complaint.

689 Apricot's troubles>>

The gurgling sound of the wheels was quite clear in the quiet corridor. Looking at the doors and light tubes slowly moving back on both sides, Shirley put her legs together and sat lazily in the wheelchair.

"Xing, how much did you understand of our meeting just now?"

"..."

"apricot?"

"Hey? Sister Shilis, what's wrong?"

The girl seemed to be worried about something, and only responded hurriedly after Shirley called her the second time.

But there was no need for Shilis to ask any more questions. She just smiled and repeated the question.

"Don't be nervous. I was just bored on the way, so I just wanted to chat with you. I remember that Xing seems to be one of the anti-entropy executors. Do you understand the content of the meeting just now?"

"Well, I understand a little bit..."

"I wonder what Xing thinks about the World Snake?"

"Hate......?"

"Don't worry about anything, just say what you really think."

Hearing the girl's hesitant voice, Shilis smiled and comforted her softly. After a brief silence, the girl finally just bit her lip and shook her head.

"Xing doesn't know...how to evaluate the World Snake."

"Using the lives of innocent citizens as experimental props, don't you think they are evil?"

"Xing... I don't really have any special ideas. Cocolia's mother and some radical members have done a lot of similar things. Xing will also participate in some of them..."

"Something like that?"

"..."

"I see...Okay, I understand."

Shirley stopped asking questions and let the topic end. But at this moment, Xing spoke again, with a strong sense of uneasiness in her tone.

"Will Sister Shilis hate this?"

"Why do you think so?"

"Because... Xing doesn't understand why the actions of the World Serpent are 'evil', and she can't understand the thoughts of Theresa and the others. Such Xing... is different from the people that Sister Shiris likes..."

Listening to the girl's increasingly suppressed voice, Shirley was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the wheel of the wheelchair!

"Sister Shilis! What are you doing?"

Feeling the sudden increase in resistance, Xing immediately noticed the girl's movements and quickly stopped the wheelchair.

But Hillis didn't explain anything. She grabbed the wheel and turned the wheelchair around, gently brushing off the dust on her hands.

"I originally thought that Xing had become very mature, had figured out a lot of things, and had become an independent little adult."

"Sister Shilis...?"

"But it seems that I misunderstood. Xing is indeed different from Bronya. She is still a child who has not grown up."

Being stared at by the silver-haired girl's azure eyes, Xing couldn't help but lower her head deeply, with worry and fear in her trembling eyes. She didn't know what Sister Shilis was going to say next, and it was precisely because she didn't know that she felt so uneasy...

But the next moment, slender hands suddenly hugged her waist and gently pulled her in.

"But Xing is a good kid~"

"...?"

This sudden tenderness made Xing feel at a loss, but Shirley didn't give Xing time to slowly adjust. She hugged the girl's neck and let Xing press against her chest.

"You are worried,

"Because I'm different from my other friends, I hate me? Hehe~ Xing is such a silly and cute kid..."