K424 of the Collapse World

...Chris, to save time, is it okay to set the speed directly to level 9? "

"Come on, sis. This isn't an urgent mission that needs to be completed within a time limit. Just treat it as usual. Oh...be a little more serious."

Although he said this, Kerry's eyes became a little serious. Having worked in this base for many years, he has a certain grasp of the Thunder Dragon Horse's style of doing things. He is also often quite accurate in predicting the signs of impending storms.

From the moment he received the order to welcome Xi'er, that ominous premonition like ice began to hover in his heart. The moment he stepped on the train, that feeling became stronger and stronger...

(Even if Xi'er's identity is special, she shouldn't be asked to attend the core meeting by name... What happened?)

850 Cooperation

Unknown time, Far East Branch Research Building...

The laboratory's dim red emergency lights flickered slightly, casting two blurry and dim shadows in the closed corridor.

In the event of an energy failure in the Honkai Reactor, 90% of the security equipment became unable to function properly, and the usually impeccable all-round monitoring became completely useless.

This kind of thing happened again in the base, which was no longer surprising to the Far East Branch. However, when almost all the armed personnel locked their targets on the energy distribution room, an uninvited guest quietly came to the outside of her studio.

"Ugh......"

The girl standing in front of the metal door sighed, staring at the slender figure directly in front of her and thinking carefully about what the other person just said to her.

After a long while, she finally gave her response.

"Indeed, what you said makes sense. I am not blind, so I can naturally see the situation you said. But do you think that I can believe you to this extent?"

"Doctor! I swear, there is nothing false in what I just said. If it weren't for this kind of thing...why would I leave the Far East Branch and do such a heinous act of betrayal?"

Hearing Einstein's answer, the girl standing opposite suddenly took a step forward and became a little excited.

But despite the approach of the Herrscher girl, Einstein continued to stare at her without changing his expression, without any avoidance of his gaze.

"I cannot understand your motive. If things are really as you said, and the Honkai Will in Shilis's body has begun to revive, then... why don't you just announce it in public and let Miss Shilis hear clearly what happened to her?"

"this......"

"According to what you said, the Honkai Will has not completely taken away her sanity. So why not let her realize her condition as soon as possible and arouse her self-will to fight against the Honkai? You should also know that she is not so easily defeated by the Honkai Will."

"Doctor, Sister Shiris's situation is not that simple... The Honkai Will did not create a second personality in her body like the Herrscher did, but a continuous stream of subtle factors interfered and directly rewrote her own consciousness! In this case..."

"I understand what you mean, Kiana. Indeed, an overly strong self-awareness will not easily doubt itself, but will only think that the problem is from the outside world. But this situation usually only occurs in mentally unstable patients. Shirley's consciousness may be changing, but her self-awareness is still normal. I don't think that according to her current mental state, she will ignore your words."

Kiana's sudden visit and the information she provided did have a big impact on Einstein. However, she did not trust this girl who was regarded as a traitor, but analyzed it rationally and raised questions.

"Sister Shilis can no longer see ordinary people! Apart from the same level of Honkai creatures and the people who left a deep impression in her memory, other humans are no different from the environment in her eyes! Even if you talk to her, it's completely useless. This is enough to prove that her cognitive bias cannot be adjusted by herself at all..."

"But even so, I still can't understand the motives of your actions. Faced with this situation, even if you couldn't tell Shirley clearly because of the reason just now, you should have continued to stay in the Far East Branch and told us these situations as soon as possible. To be honest, Kiana, whether it's me or Theresa, we trust you as much as Miss Shirley does. I'm afraid that everyone in the Far East and Anti-Entropy will seriously consider your suggestions."

"..."

"However, you chose to secretly leave the Far East Base, voluntarily gave up the advantages you originally had, and turned yourself into a treacherous defector. Even if what you said is correct, I am afraid that everyone will think that you are the one who was affected by the Honkai now, right?"

Einstein's words made Kiana fall silent. She didn't know how to explain such seemingly irrational behavior. But if she chose to tell the truth, even she herself didn't think that reason would be persuasive.

When Kiana's thoughts got stuck, the voice in her head also sighed.

"It's just like what the doctor said, our decision at that time was too rash.

But this is also my fault... If I hadn't left Miss Shirley's sea of ​​consciousness too early and come to your side, I would have had a preconceived influence on you. Perhaps you could have made a relatively correct decision."

(No, this is not your fault, Mr. Lan Feng. Even if you hadn’t attached yourself to my spirit, I would have chosen to run away, or even done something even more stupid…)

Kiana exhaled, and the dim light could not illuminate the details of her expression. But at this moment, Einstein could feel the helplessness and frustration of the girl in front of him for some reason.

The ripples of her mind caused a small amount of Honkai energy to flow, allowing her emotional factors to attach to the energy and permeate the air...

850 Cooperation>>

"Because... I'm afraid..."

"Fear?"

"For some reason, I could feel the fluctuations in Sister Shirley's consciousness. At that time, Sister Shirley's 'soul' suddenly became unfamiliar. That energy made me instinctively afraid, and I didn't dare to get close to her at all... So, I chose to run away, without considering other things at all..."

The silver-haired girl clenched her hands tightly, as if she was regretting her decision. Although she tried to remain calm, her voice was trembling, as if the fear had been engraved into her bones.

"Is it because of this reason?"

Einstein frowned as he looked at the silver-haired girl whispering in a deep voice. As Kiana expected, this absurd reason could not be used as evidence to convince the other party. But other than that, she could not come up with any other explanation.

But would Einstein believe her honesty?

"I'm sorry, Dr. Einstein... But I want to help Sister Shiris! I want her to return to normal, but I don't know how to do it. If there is someone in the Far East who has a deep understanding of Honkai and can maintain absolutely rational thinking, Doctor, the only one I can think of now is you..."

"You think too highly of me. Although I would say that Dr. Tesla is better at studying this special type of Honkai energy than I am, I can more or less guess why you didn't choose her."

As he spoke, Einstein scratched his hair, as if trying to tidy up the curls on top of his head. Kiana didn't notice that compared to the previous vigilance and scrutiny, Einstein's eyes were now a little softer.

"You used to behave much more mature and stable than your peers. I just subconsciously forgot that you are still just a little girl who just turned 18 this year. It's normal to be afraid."

As he spoke, Einstein strolled out of the open metal door and actually came in front of Kiana for the first time.

"Will you... help me?"

"If I didn't trust you at all, I would have activated this thing the first time I saw you."

Einstein knocked on the side of the door frame, and the translucent electronic light screen appeared, with the interface of the alarm clearly displayed in the image.

"That means..."

"Don't be too happy yet. It's one thing for me to listen to you, but it's another thing for me to choose to believe you."

As he spoke, Einstein grabbed Kiana's hand and pulled her into his studio.

"Come with me, this is not a good place to talk..."

"Ah... OK!"

Looking at Kiana who seemed a little flattered, Einstein blinked and suddenly revealed an intriguing smile.

"By the way, I'm not the only one you're seeking help from in the Far East Branch, right?"

·————————————·

After leaving the small train of the ME Society, Xier walked into the building of the government center alone. Kerry and Elena's mission was just to escort her there, but they were not qualified to attend the Supreme Conference...

Standing in the empty elevator, Xier felt a little uneasy. She really couldn't understand why she, as an ordinary combatant, was asked to attend such a high-level meeting.

The girl rubbed the hem of her clothes, her expression full of worry.

In order to avoid making mistakes, should I ask another self to attend the meeting on my behalf?

However, that guy is more likely to cause a lot of trouble, right?

The girl was lost in her thoughts when the elevator door finally opened slowly and the huge metal door of the conference room came into view.

We can only take one step at a time...

Xier plucked up her courage and slowly walked towards the door in front of her, intending to push it open.

However, after sensing her identity authentication, the electronic door of the conference room opened automatically, catching Xier off guard and exposing her to everyone's eyes...

"Well, it looks like everyone is here."

Following the familiar male voice, Xier subconsciously looked at the black-haired man at the side of the conference table. It was the top leader of ME Club and the executor of anti-entropy, Raiden Ryoma.

“Eh…? Eh…!!”

However, what made her exclaim was indeed the next moment

the sights seen.

As the girl's gaze fell on the conference table, several other familiar figures also came into her sight.

"Sister Bronya?! Senior Fu Hua, Senior Mei, and Dr. Einstein... Why are you here too?!"

851 Unexpected Road

There was a reason why Xier was so surprised to see these familiar people who were supposed to be in the Far East Branch in the meeting room of ME Company.

Indeed, since the establishment of the Far East Alliance, the relationship between ME Company and the Far East Branch of the Destiny has changed from early confrontation to today's cooperation and mutual assistance. Especially under the influence of Shiris, the two organizations are much closer than ordinary alliances.

However, even so, the military order of the two bases is inviolable. Who should stay in the ME company and who should be stationed in the Far East Branch has been planned with relative rationality from the beginning. Generally speaking, in this case, only when there are no abnormal circumstances, members of the two bases can visit each other during holidays. This is a rule established a long time ago...

After all, the distribution of combat power and the scope of responsibility of the two organizations were precisely calculated. The disorderly flow of personnel was impossible under the military's rules.

However, regardless of why Diana was here, she had the ability to ignore the rules of space. No matter where she was, she could always get to where she was needed in time. Others were no longer surprised by the girl's erratic whereabouts.

But besides Diana, even Raiden Mei is here? Even Fu Hua, who is usually strict and abiding by her duty, and Einstein, who has a heavy responsibility in the Far East Research Department, have gathered in the meeting room of this ME Club without anyone noticing. Even her sister Bronya is among them......

In addition, there were quite a few relatively unfamiliar men and women in suits in the conference room. Xier had a vague impression of them. When she was a senior member of the Anti-Entropy team, she had seen several of them at a gathering between the Arks.

Raiden Ryoma's confidants are also executors of other Anti-Entropy organizations... Her intuition tells her that when these people gather together, it must mean that something big is going to happen.

As one of the members closest to the core of the entire alliance, Xier can be sure that most of the people in front of her did not come through the formal channel of personnel transfer.

Could it be that I was involved in something terrible?

Of course, compared to this groundless speculation, Xier would rather believe that it was ME's president, Raiden Ryoma, who secretly held a meeting, and because of some kind of confidentiality agreement, there was no public announcement...

After all, as the de facto commander-in-chief of the Changkong Base, Raiden Ryuma does have such power.

"Seele, come here and sit next to Bronya."

The next moment, a familiar whisper suddenly sounded in her mind. Xier turned her head subconsciously and saw the petite gray-haired girl winking at her and gently patting the chair next to her.

"Come here quickly, everyone is looking at you!"

"...!"

Indeed, because of the subconscious exclamation just now, Xier has become the focus of everyone's attention. For this shy girl, this is tantamount to unbearable torture.

After finally realizing this, the blue-haired girl immediately lowered her head with a red face, shrank her body and quickly slipped through the corridor of the conference hall, and sat down obediently next to Bronya.

Soon, the meeting room returned to its previous order. At the main seat of the meeting table, Thunder Dragon Horse ignored the commotion caused by Xi'er's arrival, gently pushed his glasses, and sat up a little.

"Everyone, I believe most of you already know the topic of this meeting, so I won't waste time explaining it in detail."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the other people at the square table. When he saw Mei, Xier and a few others, his gaze seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he still didn't say much.

"Sister Bronya, what on earth happened?!"

Seele looked at the girls who also had puzzled expressions on their faces, and with the help of the consciousness link established by Bronya, she secretly glanced at the gray-haired girl beside her. Her puzzled voice echoed in the space connected by consciousness.

851 Unexpected Roads>>

"Sister, you are an insider, right?"

Unlike those people who were uneasy and confused, Seele noticed that Bronya beside her always had a solemn expression, and her eyes were filled with an unconcealable gloom.

Across from them, Diana and Einstein behaved in the same way. It was obvious that they both knew something.

"I'm sorry Seele, Bronya didn't want to involve you, but considering the situation in front of Sister Cilis, it is too dangerous for you to continue staying in the Far East Branch."

"What danger? What's happening to Sissy? What happened to Sissy?"

"About this..."

Facing Seele's three questions, Bronya slowly considered her words, thinking about where to start explaining what happened to Seele. However, at this moment, the voice of Raiden Ryoma sounded again.

"Perhaps some of you still don't quite understand the situation, but it doesn't matter. Next, you will understand it soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lighting in the conference room dimmed. Then, Lei Dian Long Ma entered a command on the terminal, and the holographic projection system in the middle of the square table quietly started up, and the faint blue image light once again illuminated the area around the conference table.

「Identity verification completed」

"Custom firewall is enabled"

"System initialization completed, target connection is being established..."

"Construction completed"

Dazzling data frames flashed one after another. After the terminal's electronic prompt sound ended, after a short loading time, a clear three-dimensional communication image appeared in the center of the conference table.

"Uh... um, hello everyone?"

The shadow of the young girl that appeared in the middle looked around, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, as if she had not expected such a participant.

But compared to her slight surprise, Xier's eyes widened in horror in an instant after seeing the appearance of the shadow girl.

(She is... Kiana...?!)

Why did Kiana, who defected from the Far East Branch after being corrupted by the Honkai and lost control, and launched an attack on the Sentient Stronghold, join this meeting?

Or in this special form...

Including Xi'er, several other people present also showed stunned and puzzled looks at the same time. However, apart from them, the expressions of others remained unchanged, and it was obvious that they had known about this development for a long time.