After parting with Elysia, Chen Ran returned to the laboratory.
At this time, Mobius's experiment on Seele was also nearing completion.
His first reaction was to ask Seele: "How does your body feel now? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Mobius said lightly: "Do you not trust me that much?"
"Uh, just confirming safety."
If Chen Ran truly didn't trust Mobius, he certainly wouldn't give her the opportunity to be alone.
Seele shook her head: "No, my body feels great now, and I feel like I won't be quantumized anymore."
Chen Ran glanced at Mobius.
Mobius said lightly: "It's just Stigmata; she was originally a Herrscher, which saved a lot of time."
The beautiful doctor paused and said: "If it weren't for the lack of samples, I would really like to see the process of Honkai mutating Stigmata."
Chen Ran didn't pick up the conversation.
Honkai and consciousness have already been proven to exist in the same dimension; however, the relationship between the two and how they transform remains unknown.
Mu Continent already had devices that could decompose Honkai Energy into thermal energy; does this also mean that consciousness is a kind of special power?
Chen Ran knew too little about this and currently didn't have the energy to study it.
He said: "So, what are the results of the experiment?"
"I need to think it over before I can continue talking to you."
Mobius replied like this.
Chen Ran nodded.
Perhaps Mobius hadn't organized her observations into an easily understandable document, or maybe she was deliberately concealing some information.
But it didn't matter; Chen Ran had his own things to attend to.
The next simulation scene refreshed.
[Welcome to the new simulation scene: Unnamed.]
[Please note: This simulation scene emerged as a new scene following the changes in the fate of the fourth simulation scene, and can be viewed as inheriting from the fourth simulation scene.]
[In this scene, the system will no longer set clear objectives; the game will be declared cleared when the system determines that a certain node has been fixed.]
[The host's corresponding identity is being generated.]
[Note: Some characters in this scene inherit memories from the last simulation scene; the host should respond carefully.]
After returning to his room, Chen Ran once again entered the simulation scene.
Previously, he had entered four simulation scenes, gaining knowledge in biology, computer science, quantum mechanics, and fluid dynamics.
But this knowledge was still not enough; Chen Ran was well aware that relying solely on these things was insufficient to truly combat the Honkai.
It was evident that combating the Honkai required higher-dimensional power.
"I need another opportunity to converse with the Will Overseer," Chen Ran thought.
However, when Chen Ran learned of the identity assigned by the system, he couldn't help but feel strange.
[Due to your outstanding achievements in materials science and structural engineering, you have been appointed as the chief director of the Star River Ladder project.]
The Star River Ladder did not belong to Schicksal, nor to Anti-Entropy, and certainly not to the World Serpent.
Although Schicksal manipulated the world from behind the scenes, the United Nations clearly had its own ideas.
But that wasn't the key point.
The most crucial aspect was that the location of the Star River Ladder was on Coral Island, an island located on the equator.
This was, after all, the place where the fifth Honkai was born in the storyline.
Moreover, the current time was already 2016.
This timing was somewhat awkward, as Chen Ran did not know whether the fifth Honkai was born in 2016 or 2017.
"However, is it really 2015?"
Chen Ran pondered.
The last simulation scene ended in 2014, and there was still some time left until the end of the year.
So, would the events that occurred during this time gap be blank? Or would they follow some kind of logic?
According to the system, the time gap between the last simulation and the next simulation belonged to the 'macroscopic quantum state.'
Macro and quantum are actually contradictory, as quantum itself is unobservable. So this essentially meant that the interrupted time was unobservable.
Perhaps one could glean information from fragments of speech to determine part of the gap.
Chen Ran shook his head, deciding not to think about these headache-inducing matters for now.
He thought for a moment and decided to contact Wendy first.
No matter what scene she inherited, Wendy was someone he could trust.
However, just as he was about to send the message, he noticed something.
The entire construction method of the Star River Ladder was somewhat bizarre.
Chen Ran immediately began to review the data on the Star River Ladder.
The Star River Ladder was a 'space elevator' project, simply put, it was meant to build a stronghold for humanity to explore the universe, establishing an elevator to transport materials and personnel to space orbit.
But what materials could support an elevator over three thousand meters high?
However, Chen Ran unexpectedly discovered that the underground foundation of the entire Star River Ladder was not large, while the above-ground portion had already been constructed to over a thousand meters.
If following normal building structures, such a construction should have collapsed long ago, not to mention the thunderstorms and other weather conditions that had occurred from 2008 to now, which should have made the higher parts of the building more prone to damage.
Yet, that was not the case.
The entire structure was getting taller and was very stable, with smooth and unobstructed movement up and down.
Chen Ran initially thought this was due to Soulium, but then he realized that even Schicksal couldn't afford such luxury.
He continued to search through the materials and indeed found the answer.
Honkai transformation technology.
Like the lunar relic architecture and the Divine Key system, the Star River Ladder was constructed using Honkai Energy to transform materials into artificial Honkai Beasts, thus creating the space elevator.
Essentially, this was a Honkai Beast, not a normal building structure.
"Honkai transformation technology is truly extensive," Chen Ran couldn't help but sigh.
"So, as the chief engineer of the Star River Ladder, is this my solution?"
"Truly worthy of me."
Chen Ran knew that in a world with Honkai, trying to explain things using the generalized science of his past life was essentially a futile endeavor.
It was better to accept the premise that 'Honkai Energy can explain everything.'
He suddenly became interested in the entire Star River Ladder.
If the people of this era had already mastered the Honkai Energy transformation structure, could it be said that the Star River Ladder was essentially a variant of the 'Divine Key Project'?
Besides Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and the World Serpent, the United Nations was also researching ways to combat the Honkai.
Just as he was pondering this, an alarm suddenly went off.
It was a Honkai event warning, and this Honkai event occurred in the waters surrounding Coral Island.
However, before he could react, this Honkai event was completely resolved.
The towering Star River Ladder was radiating across this ocean network.
"Truly a Divine Key."
Indeed, the space elevator was just a facade; humanity needed to establish a stronghold for exploring the universe, and directly landing on the moon would suffice.
He had initially been uncertain whether the fifth Honkai would erupt on Coral Island, but now he was sure.
Only by manipulating molecular movement to directly cause the 'Divine Key' to malfunction could the Fifth Herrscher be born.
In other words, the Honkai on Coral Island was destined, just a matter of time.
At that moment, someone barged into his office.
"I was still thinking about the reasons the United Nations agreed to the Star River Ladder project, but now I don't need to think anymore."
A mercenary wearing a black hat and a cloak calmly collected his gun.
"How should I address you? The chief director of the Star River Ladder?"
It was Raven.
Perhaps something had happened during the intervening time, Raven had left Siberia and arrived at Coral Island.
And this time, her mission was singular: to explore the secrets of the Star River Ladder.
Chen Ran raised an eyebrow: "Was the previous Honkai triggered by you?"
"It was just an experiment conducted in an uninhabited area; the results were unexpected," Raven paused and said, "As far as I know, only a few people possess the Honkai transformation structure technology, and the Divine Key-like systems built using the transformation structure are technologies unique to that era."
Chen Ran replied lightly: "Intruder, what do you want to ask?"
"What is your relationship with the World Serpent?" Raven asked directly.
Chen Ran was slightly taken aback.
His eyes narrowed slightly: "Aren't you one of the World Serpent's people? How could you ask me what my relationship with the World Serpent is?"
"You know me? Oh, perhaps Gray Serpent hasn't deleted my name from the list yet." Raven paused and said, "I have already left the World Serpent."
This news surprised even Chen Ran himself.
Raven actually left the World Serpent?
Then the crow's song was no more?
But he could understand; if Siberia's fate had been reversed, it meant Raven had no reason to stay with the World Serpent.
In fact, at this time, she would likely take a clear stance against Project Stigma.
"Then you have even less reason to stand here, don't you?"
Chen Ran didn't care about Raven's relationship with the World Serpent; he said, "Perhaps the United Nations made a technological deal with the World Serpent, but you won't find any World Serpent members here."
Under the brim of her hat, Raven's eyes suddenly became sharp.
"You're quite confident."
She said, "When I arrived here, you were still explaining things slowly; it's clear that even if you're not a member of the World Serpent, you still have a deep connection with them."
Raven did not inherit the memories of the simulation scene.
This was not surprising.
Currently, besides Otto, those who could inherit the memories of the simulation scenes were either Herrschers or Stigmata holders.
Raven didn't fit either category; she could join the World Serpent only because her body had Stigmata genes, but having the genes didn't mean she had been awakened.
Chen Ran sighed: "Or perhaps you have some purpose here."
"I just want to know whether the United Nations itself has any connection to the previous civilization era, but the answer is now obvious."
Clearly, Raven wanted to bypass the World Serpent and seek information related to the previous civilization era.
And the only possibility that would lead her to do this was that something had gone wrong in Siberia.
She seemed somewhat disappointed.
Chen Ran said: "I want to know what happened?"
"You don't know?" Raven countered, "The Herrscher of the Void has appeared again."
Chen Ran was slightly taken aback.
The Herrscher of the Void has appeared again?
Was it Sirin or Kiana?
Or was it someone else who had become the Herrscher of the Void?
Raven said lightly: "Before I left the World Serpent, I had some records regarding this, but for some reason, that record was deleted."
Chen Ran silently apologized.
The deletion was certainly done by the system; this was something that didn't need much thought.
It was just that the system was unreliable when it shouldn't be, and reliable when it shouldn't be.
That was why Raven was here.
"Do you know the news?"
Chen Ran sighed: "Why would I reveal anything to an intruder…"
At that moment, a gust of wind blew in.
This wind felt strange; Raven instinctively squinted her eyes, revealing a wary expression.
She prepared for battle until a figure appeared before her.
"Chen Ran, so you're here… oh, Natasha Miss?"
Wendy arrived.
Seeing Wendy, Raven looked at Chen Ran again, not knowing what she was thinking.
"You are Chen Ran?"
Chen Ran sighed: "So, can someone tell me what's going on?"
Chen Ran never expected that what he wanted to do had already been realized in the future.
Kiana returned, but the Kiana who came back was in the form of the Herrscher of the Void.
Her return did not trigger a large-scale Honkai, yet Siberia frequently experienced Honkai incidents because of her arrival.
Before the Starway to Heaven covered the northern regions of Siberia, the vast Siberia quickly became an uninhabitable place.
Although it was not as terrifying as the Second Honkai Eruption caused by Sirin, the number of people who died in Honkai incidents was not small.
This was also the reason why Raven left Siberia once again.
She first went to Tianqiong City in Shenzhou, but Jackal, preparing for Project Stigma, directly expelled her.
After that, she sought out Gray Serpent, but the process of finding Gray Serpent was quite tortuous, leading her to Coral Island.
The Honkai mutation technology applied in the Starway to Heaven clearly came from the previous civilization era; she was just hoping for a stroke of luck.
But this luck was too good, and she directly bumped into Chen Ran.
Raven had no memories of Chen Ran, but she had memories of Wendy.
She let out a slight sigh of relief and said, "Since we've found the right person, it should be easier. How many times will you change history?"
Raven stared at him, and Wendy instinctively shielded Chen Ran behind her.
Chen Ran sighed, finally being asked this question.
However, he had thought that the person who would ask this question would be Wendy or Otto, but the former indulged him, and the latter exploited him.
Only someone who did not indulge, did not exploit, yet was influenced by him, would ask him directly.
There was no doubt that several of Chen Ran's changes to history had directly impacted Raven's life.
"I can't answer that question. To be precise, I don't know how long I will continue to jump through time."
Chen Ran paused, showing an apologetic expression: "But I won't change my approach."
Raven scoffed, "So what do the people of this era mean to you? Tools?"
She began to feel grateful for Chen Ran's attempt to save the tragedy of the Second Honkai Eruption.
However, upon realizing that this was merely prolonging the tragedy, Raven found that something was off.
And now it seemed that Chen Ran did not have the ability to prevent known tragedies; he merely transformed the known into the unknown.
It was like a time crystal.
"No, even if they are tools, there will be those who cherish them. After all, you don't regard the people of this era as your kind."
Raven was filled with bias against World Serpent.
Chen Ran could understand.
He innocently said, "I wouldn't be arrogant enough to treat people as anything. I wouldn't be so reckless as to use humans for anything. I am neither a qualified scientist nor a genius."
"I cannot bear the fate of an entire era, and what drives me to stand here is to unravel many tangled puzzles."
Chen Ran took a deep breath and said, "Raven, there's something I think you should understand: it's not that I actively chose to jump through time; I was chosen."
"This actually implies another thing: those who can traverse time are theoretically not just me."
"However, I don't know why I am the only one traveling through time, but you can understand it as me being trapped in a vast maze called the Möbius strip, with the two entrances of the maze corresponding to the previous civilization era and the current civilization era, and I have been doing, perhaps, what I have done countless times before."
Wendy looked at Chen Ran, her eyes filled with a hint of pity.
This was not just a question from Raven.
It was also a question Otto wanted to ask.
She had accompanied Otto to meet Kevin and witnessed a transaction.
The result of this transaction was Kiana, but she also learned some things that could be considered 'secrets.'
However, this secret was not told to her by Kevin, but by Elysia after she was left alone.
It was about Chen Ran and MEI refusing to leave their memories in the Elysian Realm; to be precise, it was not just due to conflicts of interest groups. Rather, after Chen Ran and MEI left their memories, they would be interfered with by some special existence.
Their consciousness memory was unstable.
They were unique.
This uniqueness might mean that Chen Ran and MEI had already embarked on a path different from others, stepping into a higher-dimensional thoroughfare.
Or perhaps it was simply because their memories had 'changed,' causing a disturbance in the magnetic field that constituted their memories.
Wendy did not understand what this was.
But she knew that Chen Ran and MEI, whether forced or voluntarily, were bearing hope, and they didn't even have a moment of leisure in their consciousness.
At the same time, to ensure the successful establishment of the global connection, Otto made a promise to Kevin.
That was to hand over the real Kiana, the perfect product of Project Stigma, to Kevin.
Otto did not shy away from telling her: once Chen Ran no longer jumps through time, Schicksal and World Serpent will engage in full cooperation.
Otto had a way to resurrect Kallen, and Kevin had plans to execute.
In other words, Chen Ran no longer had any 'utilitarian value.'
Perhaps this statement was a bit too cruel, but at least Wendy had already heard the meaning behind Otto's words.
He did not want Chen Ran to jump through time anymore.
In a lake that was about to dry up, the fish could not change the trend of the water level decreasing; they could only find a way to another lake or even swim into the sea.
Otto could not say such words to Chen Ran; he hoped Wendy could dissuade Chen Ran.
Raven looked at Chen Ran.
"So, what results do you provide?"
She asked, "How long do you need to traverse before you find the answer you seek? I can help you."
"Please end it as soon as possible."
A butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River occasionally flapping its wings can cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later.
And the people living in Texas finally thought of going to extinguish this butterfly.
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