Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

The jackal turned and walked down the mountain. Li Suchang wanted to ask something but was stopped by Youlan Dell.

"Su Shang, even if she asks, she probably won't give any valuable information. The Jackal's last sentence meant that he hoped we could get Miss Enosia's support."

"Although I don't know exactly what Ms. Enosia can do, since the essence of the Stigmata Project is to allow stigmata to be exchanged with humans, as a Herrscher of Corrosion, she can definitely do more than anyone else in the Stigmata space, which is actually a data space."

"But... I heard from Mr. Walter that Enosia... is not against Kevin, or she does not intend to completely stand on the opposite side of the Stigmata Plan."

"Yes, I know that. Considering from her point of view, even if the Stigmata Plan that the Jackal just described really succeeds, she, as a being who can digitize herself, will obviously be able to continue to survive, so there is naturally no need to risk going to war with Kevin."

"But Mr. Walter also said that Enosia believes that the World Serpent's plan is a "safety net." If we can come up with a "better" plan than the World Serpent, she will stand on our side."

"...She's right. If we just keep denying what others have done wrong without coming up with a better plan, it's obviously not convincing... So the key is still in ourselves. Let's continue investigating the land under our feet."

"...That's right. As the saying goes, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'!"

After a while, the two walked to the end of the mountain road.

"Ah - finally here. Look, do you see it? The 'broken bridge' I mentioned earlier is here. It looks like there is the outline of a bridge, but the structure is completely empty."

Moreover, even if you throw a stone like this..."

Li Suchang picked up a piece of gravel on the ground and threw it onto the broken bridge. The stone drew a parabola like usual... but disappeared at the highest point of its trajectory.

"To be honest, it's all thanks to Youlandel that she discovered this during her exploration. If I had relied on my sword-controlling skills to rush over directly, the consequences would have been disastrous."

"This is all thanks to Gnius. If I didn't have an instrument that can sense spatial distortion, it would be difficult for me to detect the abnormality with my naked eyes."

As she spoke, the Valkyrie, who had a close relationship with the instrument "Genius", took it out from her bosom. At this moment, she had not yet realized what kind of unexpected gain this unintentional action would bring them.

"Wait, this reading...huh?"

"What, what, is there any new discovery?"

"It seems so. Wait a moment..."

The Valkyrie walked a few steps from where she had just stood towards the broken bridge, where she checked Gnius's readings.

"...That's true. Xi'er, please come closer to me."

"Is that right?"

"Well, but it'd be better to come a little closer... It's OK. It's perfect now. Sumeru Mustard Seed, activate!"

The space was reorganized in front of the girls in an instant. When they came to their senses, a towering Bodhi tree had come into view.

"Eh? What on earth is this..."

"…Wow. Yulandel, is this your "heart lake"? It's actually at this level."

"Strictly speaking, it is not my property. Therefore, I need to be close to the broken bridge and Xi'er at the same time to bring everyone here. This special space is called "Sumeru Mustard Seed". It used to be an observation center built by the previous civilization for the Second God Key. "

"Although on Earth, I can bring anyone in and out freely...but the space structure near the moon does not allow me to do so. Simply put, the lunar space has been artificially "stabilized" too much."

The reason why we are able to succeed now is that the spatial anomaly of the broken bridge and Xier's own inherent fluctuations have a superimposed effect, which temporarily increases the instability of the space in a small area, thereby locally satisfying the conditions for "opening" the Sumeru mustard seed.

"But I'm not a researcher after all... I can only speculate the reason for this change. Perhaps it has something to do with Seer's long time in the quantum sea."

"Hey. After all this talk, you are using our Miss Xi'er as an antenna to enhance the signal?"

As soon as Li Sushang finished speaking, a strange voice sounded:

"This is a good example. It reminds me of the time when I was a kid making a crystal radio."

"?"

"I'm sorry, I overheard a few words of your conversation. I'm Erwin Leanna Schrödinger, a dimensional traveler from the Quantum Ocean. I used to be an adventure partner of Bianca and Rita, and even earlier, I was a bad friend of Einstein and Tesla."

"The Sea of ​​Quantum..."

"Yes. Like you, Seele, I once lost the unitary property of existing directly as real matter... But for me, this aspect has never been fully restored."

"...Ah. So - do you know what's happening on Earth? The World Serpents said they've implemented the "Stigmata Project" and that space on Earth is being reorganized... If you can observe from inside the Quantum Ocean, then perhaps..."

Schrödinger:

"The Stigmata Project? Bianca, is it... the Stigmata Project that Rita once told me about?"

【Yulan Daier】:

"It doesn't seem to be entirely true. On the one hand, based on some unknown mechanism, the Stigma Awakeners are constantly being actively or passively teleported to the lunar base "New Atla" where we are currently located;

On the other hand, according to the testimony of the World Serpent cadre "Jackal", ordinary people on Earth seem to be sinking into the depths of imaginary space through "dreams" and "transforming from humans into stigmata".

If the Jackal didn't deliberately mislead us... then this means that the implementation method of the "Stigmata Project" has at least changed significantly."

"...I see. This can explain the current abnormal situation on Earth."

"On Earth...Rita...no, I mean is everyone okay?"

"You don't have to worry too much. At present, the extent of the mutation should not be enough to completely block the Destiny Valkyrie's ability to move. However, from another perspective... this is indeed an unprecedented crisis."

"However... from the signals that can be monitored so far, at least several major bases of Destiny and Anti-Entropy are still operating normally. I believe that the basic order on Earth can still be maintained at this time."

"That's good news, at least. But... what is "observing from the quantum ocean"? "

Dr. Schrödinger explained to Li Sushang what the quantum sea is from three different perspectives, but Li Sushang felt dizzy and could not get rid of the state of half understanding. In order not to waste time, she could only skip the part of explaining the obscure concepts.

"And... from the signal detection results I have, in the vicinity of the moon, in addition to a huge signal source that is clearly related to the Earth's anomaly, there are also several tiny signal sources that seem to have signs of human activity."

"One of the signals is too unstable to determine its source at present; the others appear to be somewhat similar to your 'Sumeru Mustard Seed'.

Although these world bubbles belong to the moon, I feel that they are related to human activities - if you can find a way to return to the earth with the help of the quantum sea, then this is the starting point. "

"So... after all this talk, what should we do in the end? After all, there is definitely no point in just sitting around on the moon."

"It's very simple. You detect them one by one and try them by exhaustive method. Specifically... first, Bianca, you will be the signal recorder. I will send the coordinates of these tiny signal sources to Sumeru Mustard Seed later."

"Alas...can't I just join the exploration?"

"Bianca, you are the only one among the three who can operate the Sumeru Mustard Seed. It is more advantageous to stay behind than to explore in person. If you really encounter a very powerful enemy later, it will not be too late for you to take action."

"...In that case, let me take over the exploration mission. Aside from Sister Yulandel, I should be the person who is most familiar with the Quantum Sea."

"That's what I meant. However, for safety reasons, you should carry one of Bianca's Gnius devices. That way, if the situation becomes urgent or there is no other way out, you can always withdraw the Sumeru Mustard Seed."

"Yes, I took note of it."

"In that case, I will lend the other Gnius to Miss Sushang as well. This way, everyone will have twice the exploration efficiency."

"...Is everything ok? I remember that the second part of Gnius seemed to be..."

"No problem. I believe in your ability as an S-rank Valkyrie. Of course... it is indeed a very memorable item for me. So, you have to keep it safe for me and Rita."

"Haha, that's definitely necessary. "Although I am not talented, I will return the jade intact to Zhao." - Storytellers in the past loved to say this, and I didn't expect it to be used today."

"Haha, it's a deal then."

"...Okay, I'll send you the coordinates of those suspicious world bubbles next. Before that, Bianca - please transcribe the Earth coordinates originally stored in Gnius to the Sumeru mustard seed in advance. Although we can't use them for the time being... but who knows when they may come in handy."

So Yulandel helped the two companions to set up Gnius, and then opened the unstable channel between the Sumeru Mustard Seed and the Quantum Sea.

…“…Now we are fully prepared. The Sumeru Mustard Seed will continuously play light music through your Gnius. If the signal you receive becomes obviously unstable, please activate the Gnius and return here immediately.”

"...I understand. I will try my best to avoid doing anything rash."

"Understood. "All is up to you!"

So the two of them dived into the quantum sea in opposite directions. Gnius would lead them to those abnormal micro-world bubbles, and the interface between the Sumeru mustard seed and the outside world would be temporarily closed again.

"... Then, the next step is to wait. But before that... Dr. Schrodinger, do you have anything to say that is inconvenient to those two people just now?"

"Oh? You are indeed a lot more perceptive than when you were 12."

"According to what you said just now, you asked me to stay in the Sumeru Mustard Seed for two reasons: one is my ability to operate it, and the other is to "guard against powerful enemies."

“But on the other hand, I think with their strength, it’s not easy for them to encounter a tough enemy that requires my mobile support.

On the other hand, even if I didn't stay inside the Sumeru mustard seed, you should be able to control the situation so that the three of us wouldn't get separated, right?"

"Indeed. To be honest... after all, I don't know them well enough. If some facts will seriously undermine their morale, then perhaps it is better for me to keep silent for now."

"I don't think it's necessary to be so formal... But, go ahead and tell me. These are all bad things, right?"

Xier entered the quantum sea again through the channel opened by the Sumeru mustard seed.

(The quantum sea near the Moon... doesn't seem all that different from what's happening near Earth.)

Soon, after dealing with the quantum shadow that had popped out, Xier saw the afterimage in front of her. Several scientists talked a lot, but in summary, there were only two useful pieces of information:

[10, 20, or even earlier, civilization already existed on Earth. ]

[The civilization before the pre-civilization did not leave behind any tools similar to the Key of God for the later civilization. ]

Xier recounted her experiences to Yulan Dell.

"I always feel like... this is something that happened in the ancient civilization. It seems that Xi'er has gained a lot. Su Shang also contacted me and said that she witnessed three people who looked like scientists talking in a language she couldn't understand in the world bubble, and then they disappeared."

Since Xier had a stronger ability in collecting information, the three of them contacted Li Suchang again and proposed the idea of ​​canceling the individual exploration.

...Is that so? Okay, let Xier come to my place and try it out.

After I leave this bubble, the things contained in it will circulate again and return to the state I experienced before... Is this what you meant before, Dr. Schrodinger? Let Xier have the opportunity to contact the records of the bubble again? "

"Yes."

"How about this... I will work with the Sumeru Mustard Seed to quickly traverse all the microscopic world bubbles that may contain information, while Xi'er will follow up from behind to identify those parts that truly contain important information."

"Yes. That's exactly what we meant. By dividing the work more finely like this, we can further improve the efficiency of our exploration."

"Okay, so it's decided happily then? I'll trouble you to guide Xi'er to jump to the area with people I just passed through?"

"Xi'er, are you okay too?"

"No problem! I also hope I can play a bigger role."

"Okay. Then the coordinates of Xier's next world bubble will be set to... like this... like this... Okay."

A new teleportation point appeared in front of Xier.

"The world bubble that Su Chang discovered earlier is in front of us. Let's go and listen to what is recorded there, Xier."

"Understood. I'll go try it right now!"