The Apostle of God—the First Herrscher—the corpse of the Herrscher of Reason had already been dissected by a research team under Mobius' name. The results were now buried in the deepest secret chamber of Laboratory S-1.
The price was that every single person who had come into contact with the Herrscher of Reason's corpse had gone mad.
They committed all kinds of atrocious acts without the slightest trace of human awareness. In the end, MOTH had no choice but to issue an order to imprison them all.
Fortunately, Mobius herself had not personally touched the Herrscher's corpse. Even so, MOTH strictly forbade her from conducting any further experiments related to it. Every application she submitted was rejected without exception.
Today was no different.
However, when the somewhat irritable Mobius returned to her laboratory, she found an additional invitation letter for an academic symposium placed on her desk.
She did not even need to think to hear Elysia's voice in her head: Wasting your youth in the lab is such a pity. Why not go out and relax a little ♪
As for why Elysia would recommend that Mobius relax at an academic symposium—it was because Elysia knew very well that Mobius would never waste time on anything meaningless.
"Such a meddlesome woman."
Mobius picked up the invitation and let out a sigh.
"Blanca, set the experiment report aside for now. We're going out."
...
The Mu Continent lay near the equator, occupying more than half of the South Pacific—an area comparable to the combined size of North and South America.
Due to its unique geographical position, the Age of Exploration in this world had been initiated by the people of Mu. As a result, the continent had been the first to gather global resources and possessed the world's most advanced science and technology, becoming the sacred land of modern research.
The Mu Continent Academic Symposium was held once every four years. Within academic circles, its significance was comparable to the Nobel Prize. Those qualified to receive invitations were the world's foremost experts and scholars.
As for these so-called "experts and scholars," Mobius had always regarded them with disdain.
In her view, those who published papers were shortsighted and lacking in ambition. Some were clowns propped up by conglomerates for show. Some were frogs at the bottom of a well, smug in their ignorance. Others were little more than plagiarists stealing the fruits of others' research.
"For example, the collision between the τ+ and τ− particles detected by the STAR detector differs from previous observations. The entanglement between them..."
Hm?
The speech of the young girl on stage drew the increasingly bored Dr. Mobius' attention.
It was not that the experimental report was particularly groundbreaking or dazzling. Rather, the girl held a unique perspective on quantum mechanics and its future prospects.
Though immature, it was like a faint fragrance amid a heap of rotting flesh.
This cutting-edge line of thought suddenly illuminated something Mobius had previously failed to understand.
"I see. So what broke through the electromagnetic interference blockade of Laboratory B-3 was quantum communication. No wonder."
"Blanca, who is the one speaking on stage?" Mobius turned slightly and asked, casually taking a sip of coffee.
"Doctor, she is Mei, the daughter of Dr. Raiden, an electromagnetic physicist from the Far East region."
"According to the records, she should still be a high school student at Chiba Academy in the Far East."
Blanca flipped through the documents, her expression tinged with confusion.
Mobius followed up with interest. "A high school girl? How did she get onto that stage... No, I understand."
"So-called geniuses always stand out more easily. She is that kind."
"Mei, hm? In a while, come with me to meet her. Prepare the recorder."
Blanca nodded.
"In a while" did not mean during the intermission.
The moment Mei stepped down from the podium, Mobius rose to approach her.
After all, she had slipped out secretly. There was no time to waste.
...
Mei's opportunity to speak on stage did not mean her paper had already reached world-class standards.
Rather, it was due to a unique tradition of the Mu Continent Academic Symposium. Near the end of the formal discussions, several promising young talents would be invited to present their papers. It was meant to encourage youth to strive forward and broaden their horizons.
Mei's status as a special guest had been obtained in precisely this way.
For this paper, she had made thorough preparations. She had reviewed a vast amount of literature, consulted many experts, and—with her father's assistance—completed experimental verification.
To prepare for this presentation, she had even reduced the time she spent meeting Kevin.
Yet the gazes surrounding her clearly conveyed something else.
Look—another academic second generation. Her paper must have been written by her father. Otherwise, how could a high school student produce something like that?
But that's an unspoken rule of academia. There's nothing unusual about it. Aren't several of the ones on stage the same?
The unvoiced contempt in those looks pressed down on Mei.
She hugged the thick folder against her chest and resolved to free herself from her father's shadow and become a world-renowned scholar in her own right.
Just as she was about to leave the venue, a captivating female scholar stopped her.
Mei knew who she was.
Dr. Mobius, renowned within the field of biology.
Dr. Mobius was a dignified and extraordinary mature woman. She possessed long, flowing hair shimmering with green luster, and deep, gentle dark-green eyes. Her white lab coat clung tightly to her graceful figure. A green shirt paired with a black tie gave her a reserved steadiness, exuding a mature charm.
The Mu Continent Academic Symposium was world-famous. Anyone who paid attention to the journal Science would know what kind of unparalleled genius Dr. Mobius was.
There were hardly any scholars who did not admire her talent.
Mei was no exception.
But why would this top geneticist—multiple-time recipient of the Nobel Prize, the Lasker Award, and the Kavli Prize—suddenly approach someone like her, who had just presented a paper on quantum theory?
"Your line of reasoning is very novel. It was refreshing, Miss Mei."
"Would you do me the honor of chatting for a while?"
Thus, after being led by Dr. Mobius into a conversation that drifted between somewhat embarrassing topics about love and discussions of academic theory, Mobius suddenly asked:
"Miss Mei, would you choose to stand against humanity for the sake of a better future for humanity?"
Mei hesitated.
She had never considered such a question before.
Yet when she looked up and met Dr. Mobius' serpentine, unfathomable gaze, her hesitation seemed to dissipate.
"If it truly can bring about a better future for humanity... I am willing."
Mobius was about to continue her questioning when a sharp ringtone interrupted her.
After dealing with the high-ranking officials of MOTH on the other end of the call, she found that Mei had already left.
When Mei departed, she had made a small gesture of holding a phone to her ear, clearly indicating that she did not wish to disturb Mobius' conversation.
Mobius stuffed the phone back into Blanca's hand, her expression displeased.
"Did you record everything?"
Blanca took out the recorder and pressed a button. The dialogue between Mei and Mobius played back.
These recordings were a precaution.
Mobius never minded assuming the worst of others—even regarding events that had not yet occurred.
A hearty greeting interrupted the playback.
"Yo, isn't that Dr. Mobius? What brings you to a small gathering like this?"