Like pulling a string of balloons, Huck and the others guided the bubbles containing survivors and laboratory data back to the site of Mr. Mad Hatter's explosion.
At the bottom of the ventilation shaft, a massive hole had been blasted open. Beneath it surged a torrent of rushing water.
This had clearly been calculated in advance.
Mr. Mad Hatter had deliberately chosen the explosion point above the island's water circulation drainage outlet. Judging by the force of the current, it had originally been activated to prevent enemies from sneaking in through the drain.
Now, ironically, it provided the perfect escape route.
"They're probably massing troops at the main entrance by now, waiting to catch us like turtles in a jar," Huck muttered.
He glanced at his communication watch. The signal was still jammed.
He had no idea whether the subsequent escape route was also part of Mr. Mad Hatter's plan.
After sending the last survivor into the rushing current, Huck and his assistant donned diving suits and leapt into the water.
The pressure was immense, crushing against Huck's chest until he felt like a pebble tossed about by the torrent.
At last, a faint glimmer appeared ahead in the darkness of the pipe.
The light expanded rapidly, enveloping him.
Splash—
Amid the roar of water, Huck saw blue sky once more.
And twenty-eight soap bubbles.
All intact.
As absurd as Mr. Mad Hatter's inventions were, their quality was impeccable.
Just as Ido had once said: [Mad Hatter products are guaranteed masterpieces.]
Thud!
Something hard struck the back of Huck's head.
He clutched it and turned—only to see a patrol boat.
"Kirsch, are you trying to murder me?!" Huck snapped.
Kirsch did not bother apologizing.
"Stop spacing out," she replied coolly before diving into the water and hauling the survivor bubbles aboard one by one.
Only then did Huck notice numerous unconscious guards floating nearby, along with severed security nets.
So that had been Kirsch's assignment—secure the retreat and the exit.
His irritation faded.
Huck and Kirsch each commandeered a patrol boat and fled the island.
Of course, that too was merely a feint.
Their true escape was neither helicopter nor submarine—but a destroyer.
Mr. Mad Hatter truly excelled at preparing grand surprises.
How he had persuaded the destroyer to anchor at a designated point with ladders lowered was beyond imagination.
When they boarded, the vessel was empty.
Even pulling rabbits from hats seemed tame by comparison.
They sailed away openly aboard the destroyer.
Then came another perfect cicada-shedding-its-shell act.
By the time MOTH located the automatically navigating destroyer in the Atlantic, it was long deserted.
...
At MOTH headquarters, within a laboratory, a woman with long pale green hair tied behind her back tossed the damage report from Laboratory B-3 onto the table.
"Look at the Engineering Department. They were toyed with by a handful of strays. I wasted that budget request."
The first incident had actually occurred at Laboratory S-1—the most core super-soldier research center within MOTH.
Two infiltrators had been discovered there.
In response, S-1 had tightened security and secretly transferred experimental subjects and sensitive materials to the backup facility, B-3.
At the same time, under the Engineering Department's direction, S-1 had been turned into a massive trap—waiting for the unknown organization's next move.
Unexpectedly, during that critical window, the unknown group had struck B-3 instead.
The transfer had only just been completed. Facilities were incomplete. Security forces were limited.
Even so, as a secret MOTH laboratory, B-3 had possessed its share of mechanisms—and nine permanently stationed Honkai-modified soldiers.
These were the cutting edge of MOTH's super-soldier project.
Their bodies were fused with Honkai beast limbs and partially mechanized.
Even under direct submachine gun fire, so long as their heads remained intact, they could continue fighting.
Yet despite traps and firepower capable of annihilating a fully armed division, three thieves from an unknown organization had stolen MOTH's most valuable data and experimental subjects.
It was a resounding slap to MOTH's face.
"Still... I never liked B-3's director. Those fools tried to use someone like him to sideline me. In that sense, this saved me quite a bit of trouble."
Mobius watched the surveillance footage of Mr. Mad Hatter cutting through the facility.
When the suited man was torn to pieces and thrown into a cell, a smile curved her lips.
"Blanca. Contact the one with pink hair for me."
...
In the doctoral dormitory at Harvard Academy, Vill-V received Huck's message once more.
The stone weighing on [Id]'s heart finally settled.
MOTH was not an easy opponent. Who knew what complications might have arisen?
Fortunately, everything had unfolded as anticipated.
This operation had been [Id]'s own decision.
Not merely to rescue beautiful girls.
The disappearances of Maria and Isabella had haunted her.
Though [Conductor] had long warned her not to hold hope, [Id] still clung to it.
No matter which persona she wore, Vill-V was hopelessly unathletic.
She would never personally participate in dangerous operations.
The island housing B-3 had been under electromagnetic communication interference.
Fortunately, [Expert] had long ago researched quantum communication.
With the quantum computer completed, constructing puppets equipped with quantum communication modules had become far easier.
The Mr. Mad Hatter puppet used in this mission had been operated by Vill-V Mark VIII—the quantum computer Magician had named "Lecturer."
Its personality had been modeled entirely after Magician.
Its production cost—roughly equivalent to a villa—had been drawn from Teacher Tesla's funding.
Once again, heartfelt thanks to Teacher Tesla for her generous sponsorship.
Although many of the twenty-six rescued experimental subjects were indeed 2D beauties, treating them would be a headache.
Mm. Let [Expert] figure it out.
When faced with technical problems, why not consult the miraculous Expert?
At this moment, Vill-V was not wearing any persona.
She was simply [Id].
When alone, she preferred to return to her most authentic self.
Only after transmigrating had she realized that the original Vill-V in Honkai had also been an ordinary person.
She possessed no supernatural powers.
The so-called persona masks were merely psychological masks common to everyone.
One face for family. One for colleagues. One for strangers.
Under different environments and pressures, humans adapted by wearing different masks.
Vill-V was simply more adept at it than most.
Thus, every persona mask was still Vill-V herself.
Only after becoming a MANTIS would she gain the ability to split her cognition and truly separate personalities.
Wearing persona masks was exhausting.
Even for a genius like Vill-V.
Her first persona—[Conductor]—had been born under the crushing pressure of slum life.
She had needed someone capable of negotiating, of meeting others' expectations.
The insecure and timid self could not manage that.
Conductor could.
Later, Magician and Expert had emerged for their own reasons.
As for why these personas mirrored those from the original Honkai narrative—according to Conductor's analysis, perhaps it was because these were the ones Vill-V knew best from the game, making them easier to role-play.
Or perhaps her life experience paralleled that Vill-V's, requiring the same masks.
In any case, role-playing was tiring.
Prolonged strain could even cause mental collapse.
Thus, whenever she did not need to perform, Vill-V would revert to her slacker state—recharging her happiness through soda and video games.
If Teacher Tesla ever discovered her true self, she would likely be shocked.
The pinnacle genius of the era turned out to be a stay-at-home NEET.
Though, to be fair, her genius personas already managed to surprise Teacher Tesla on a daily basis.