"This is your preparation? Quite a grand undertaking."
The voice of that person appeared behind Yama head. She was slightly surprised: "You actually managed to follow me here."
"I'm the one who locked you and him in the Bubble Universe; how hard could this be?"
"..."
"However, according to the scheduled time, there should be a full two years between the Eighth and Ninth Honkai."
"Because what needs to be arranged isn't just here, but also myself."
"Uh... I see. You really are a lunatic."
Yama hand stopped: "Lunatic? Compared to you, no one else can be called a lunatic."
...
"Kevin, can you control it?"
"Yes."
Kevin calmly swung the blazing greatsword in his hand. The intense heat from the blade evaporated the surrounding seawater, sending up a plume of mist. Even the researchers on a ship nearly a kilometer away could feel a wave of heat hitting their faces.
"The Honkai energy constant contained in the core of the Seventh Herrscher is twice that of other Herrschers and about three times that of the First. Even though I've suppressed the core's output as much as possible and split it into two, using its true power will release that high-temperature Honkai energy. Only Kevin can use it without side effects."
Vill-V was dressed very lightly. She wasn't wearing her usual top hat; she wore a button-down shirt that was a bit large for her, the chest area straining against the fabric. Below, she wore hot pants that revealed her smooth thighs, with a garter belt pressing into her right thigh, creating a sexy contour.
"Only what can be mastered is a weapon."
"More than that, I'd like to ask something." Mei stopped her pen and looked suspiciously at the oversized shirt Vill-V was wearing. "This shirt doesn't fit you. And if I remember correctly, this is... Lin?"
Since Lin usually only wore one style of clothing, combined with the size of the shirt, it wasn't hard to determine who the original owner was.
Vill-V looked down at the shirt that almost covered half her thighs and gave a nonchalant smile: "Oh, this. I saw someone stealing Lin clothes, so I took one while I was at it."
"...Why would you follow suit in stealing?" Vill-V tone and demeanor were as trivial as if she had picked up a napkin from someone else's table.
"How should I put it? Because she usually doesn't seem like the type of person who would steal Lin clothes. Seeing her look so guilty while doing it made it feel very interesting."
Is there a connection between those two things?
"Oh, don't worry about that~" Vill-V waved her hand, and Prometheus nearby handed her a glass of iced orange juice. She took a sip and squinted her eyes comfortably. "I usually only use this shirt as pajamas. Having Lin scent all over the bed is comforting."
"You're sounding more and more like a stalker." Mei had to sigh and massage her forehead. Could the capable people closest to her not be a bit more normal?
"That's why I said don't worry about it. By the way, the test is over, right?"
"Almost. The data is in hand, and it's higher than I expected. As the first Divine Key, Judgment of Shamash is quite perfect."
"First? Who said Judgment of Shamash was the first Divine Key? I only said the Divine Key was the first step in conquering the Herrschers."
Mei turned her head with a frown, looking at the casual Vill-V: "What did you say?"
"Since the testing for Judgment of Shamash is complete, it's time to test [All-Things Slumber], made from the core of the Fifth Herrscher." Vill-V hooked her lips in a strange way and snapped her fingers again. A transport plane slowly descended from above them...
...
Lin leaned against the outside of the massive facility enclosing the Stargate with his eyes closed. He had already searched the surrounding environment and read the investigation reports of all personnel.
The time of the attack was when Ato was inspecting. This timing couldn't be a coincidence. To attack a Fire Moth facility, they couldn't possibly have failed to do basic research and entered while people were present.
In other words, the goal was not to intrude into the Stargate itself.
Who did it? What was the purpose? It ultimately came back to these two essential questions.
"Is something wrong?"
While Lin was alone organizing clues, a communication interrupted his thoughts. The caller was Ato.
"Nothing. You've been inside for a while. Do you need to take a break?"
"No need..." Lin stopped abruptly during the conversation, staring intently at a certain spot. "Wait, I'll talk to you later."
"What's wrong...?"
Without letting Ato finish, Lin hung up the communication. He walked quickly to a spot and looked up at the ceiling.
According to Ato's description, during the intrusion, an explosion occurred near the Stargate. However, the damage wasn't great. It was possible the intruder had miscalculated the explosion's power and failed to break through the wall, leaving behind the not-so-large crater in front of him.
If the intruder's goal wasn't the Stargate itself, then this explosion wasn't meant to blow open the wall.
Then...
Lin leaped lightly, his body floating up to the ceiling. He stood on it in an anti-gravity pose, hooking one hand onto the edge of the explosion-formed crater, his helmet scanning the charred marks.
Soon, Lin found what he was looking for.
He reached out and wiped a large smudge of black stain. His glove was stained pitch black, but the bottom it covered revealed its original form.
[And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.]
"..."
This was a sentence written in an extremely beautiful script, and its source was the Bible.
After Adam had named all the animals, God found he lacked a companion to help him, so He caused him to fall asleep, took one of his ribs, and created a woman. They became husband and wife.
Why leave such a sentence?
After repeatedly reciting the sentence in his mind, Lin realized the meaning it intended to convey.
A rib taken from Adam became a woman.
The lunar remains split off something that fell to Earth, possibly the first Herrscher. This corresponds to the meaning of the sentence.
The person who intruded knew the truth of Svitok 51, and He was using this method to communicate something.
Moreover... a rib separated from Adam became a woman. Could it be that the part of the remains that fell to Earth was also female?
Svitok 51, lunar remains, female...
A flash of inspiration was about to take shape in Lin mind. He stepped out to head toward the Tenth Branch's database. Just then, a new communication rang—
"Oh, Lin, I've been fired. Can you come pick me up?"
"..."
Lin silently looked at the caller ID.
Vill-V.