A day after returning to headquarters, Lin was taken away by Kevin and Su the moment he got off the plane and brought to the Research and Development Department.
The R&D department was among the areas most severely damaged. Whether it was the many media capable of spreading contaminated videos or the Eighth Herrscher's attempt to kill Mei immediately, it had been attacked by both sides. However, its reconstruction efficiency after the Eighth Eruption was also the highest; currently, half of it had been repaired in just two short days.
Lin passed through the repairmen and Armed Dolls, arriving at a familiar place: the storage room used for storing Herrscher Cores.
Mei had been waiting for them for a long time. She was still calculating something when Lin entered, then looked up, put down her pen, and picked up a cup of hot coffee.
"You're here. My apologies for interrupting your intimate time with your 'good friends'." After taking a sip, Mei grabbed a few sugar cubes and dropped them in, smiling at Lin. "But there is a problem that needs solving. I thought about it, and since I was the one who had you and Sakura bring her back, I'll let you decide."
[Regarding the Eighth Herrscher?]
"Mm... strictly speaking, not just her."
Led by Mei, they went deep into the storage room. Aside from the already contained Herrscher Cores, room "VIII" here held two people.
Due to the unique nature of the Eighth Herrscher's ability, even though measures were taken to constantly drain Honkai energy from the room to prevent her from recovering power, Lin and the others could only observe the interior through electronic devices.
Across the electronic screen, Lin saw the two "people" who were both awake. One was silent with her head down, while the other looked at the camera with a sneer.
Chiaki, and the Eighth Herrscher who occupied another person's body.
One was the host possessing the Herrscher Core after the birth of the Eighth Herrscher, and the other was the Eighth Herrscher's primary consciousness. Two people meeting the criteria for a Herrscher—this was an unprecedented situation.
"Chiaki is the host born of the Eighth Herrscher's consciousness, and the Eighth Herrscher's Core still remains in her body. However, this Core cannot be used by Chiaki's consciousness. Meanwhile, even in someone else's body, the Eighth Herrscher can still invoke the Authority of the Herrscher Core."
"According to preliminary deductions, Chiaki's original consciousness vanished the moment the Eighth Herrscher was born. The consciousness currently in that body is an artificial one created by the Eighth Herrscher to replace her while she slept to evade Fire Moth's inspection. In other words, she is also a part of the Eighth Herrscher, rather than the true Chiaki."
Mei introduced the current situation to Lin while drinking her coffee. Lin watched the bowed head of Chiaki on the screen, motionless.
"You decide... how 'Chiaki' should be dealt with."
He stared at Chiaki, and she seemed to sense his gaze, lifting her head to look tiredly at the camera.
How to... deal with her?
...
Lin walked out of the Research Department toward his room. As for the matter just now, there was already a result.
...In truth, Chiaki's end was not for him to decide; he had neither the qualification nor the authority to deal with a Herrscher. Therefore, by the time Mei brought him there, the method of dealing with Chiaki had already been decided, and she knew that the method and his decision would be the same.
So what exactly was Mei thinking? A test? Or...
Thud!
Lin bumped into someone head-on. He took a step back, but the other person remained motionless.
"..."
Even if Lin was distracted, it was impossible for him to bump into someone without looking where he was going. Thus, the other person had actively bumped into him.
Kalpas, wearing a brand-new mask, stood there with a cold laugh.
[Is something the matter?]
"Matter?" Kalpas snorted with disdain. "I'm fine, of course, but you might have a problem."
[I'm fine too. I have a sturdy frame; a little bump isn't enough to cause me a problem.]
"..." Kalpas stared at the text for a few seconds, then glared at Lin viciously. "You're as silver-tongued as ever, Lin."
[Since we're both fine, I'll be going then.]
"You're not going anywhere."
"..."
Kalpas crudely blocked Lin path. Lin felt as if he were being extorted by a school bully, and Kalpas smug look was quite similar to one. ...Though Kalpas certainly wasn't smug about bullying someone.
[I'm in a hurry. If you have something, you can find me later.]
"In a hurry? What do you have to do?" Kalpas asked in turn.
[My wife is about to give birth.]
"Pffft—"
Kalpas almost couldn't help himself. He coughed twice, looking suspiciously at the calm Lin and the communicator in his hand.
"Your... wife? You have a wife?"
[I never said I didn't have a wife.]
"..."
It seemed that was indeed the case. Lin had never mentioned whether he had a family.
[You're blocking me here. If my wife is giving birth and I'm not by her side, what if she can't deliver or something goes wrong?]
Kalpas was truly easy to read; all his emotions were written directly on his face... he was wearing a mask, so his expression couldn't be seen, but one could intuitively sense his emotional shifts.
For instance, now, Lin few words had silenced him. He then stepped aside seemingly reluctantly, his hands and feet twitching subconsciously out of awkwardness.
"Mmm... Lin~ When did you 'suddenly' get a wife?"
"..."
Lin suddenly felt a sense of dread—an instinctive, intuitive, sixth-sense feeling of extreme dread.
Elysia walked over with a beaming smile, looking at the words on his communicator. She asked curiously: "And besides, Lin, your wife is about to give birth. That means you've been secretly hiding a marriage from us, your good friends, and you've done something 'bad' to get a girl pregnant, and it's been at least a year. Is that right?"
Hearing this, Kalpas immediately sensed something was off. He stared at Lin in confusion, while Lin suddenly stopped moving.
"That's wonderful~ I happen to want to meet your wife too, and your soon-to-be-born cute child. I'm sure they must be as 'cute' as you are, right?" Elysia smiled and pressed her hands together by her cheek in an extremely cute gesture.
"Hey, you wouldn't be... playing me, would you?"
Veins were starting to bulge on Kalpas forehead. After a brief thought, Lin typed quickly.
[Of course I'm not playing you.]
"Oh?" Elysia beautiful smile remained perfect.
[I will get married sooner or later, and I never said I have a wife now. Furthermore, on a cosmic scale, a few decades is but a blink of an eye, so having a child is just a matter of a moment.]
[Allow me to introduce you. This is my soon-to-be-married wife.]
He nonchalantly patted Elysia shoulder. And Elysia mischievous smile instantly froze on her face...