Dr. Newton's plan for The Deep End was, of course, raised in large part because of Vill-V's prison break. However, Dr. Newton handled the matter with careful balance, deliberately avoiding direct mention of it.
According to Dr. Newton's report, the issue centered on how existing prisons could no longer meet the demands of the increasingly severe Honkai environment. As the Honkai intensified, more and more mutated species had emerged. Among them were humans affected by Honkai energy who had acquired special abilities.
In truth, many of these individuals were the result of MOTH's own experiments, and they harbored intense hatred and resentment toward MOTH.
Even when MOTH captured and imprisoned them, ordinary prisons had no means of containing them. Relying on their superhuman abilities, they could easily break out.
Thus, constructing a new type of prison had become an urgent necessity.
Vill-V understood clearly that what was truly urgent was not the confinement of experimental subjects with special powers, but Dr. Mei's need for an "insurmountable prison"—a prison capable of detaining disobedient members of MOTH's upper ranks.
This was not to say that Dr. Mei was ambitious. In the original Honkai storyline, Dr. Mei had witnessed the darkness within MOTH and had even become the target of an assassination order from the higher-ups. Only then had she resolved to cleanse MOTH.
Why was an "insurmountable prison" necessary? Because those high-ranking officials of MOTH also possessed superpowers—called money and authority. An ordinary prison could never hold them. As long as those two "money-powers" remained, and as long as the prison was still under MOTH's jurisdiction, they would always find a way to escape.
And that "insurmountable prison"—the one known in the game as [The Deep End]—was precisely the cell built to hold such people. The top-tier labyrinth [The Deep End] crafted by Vill-V required no guards at all. There was simply no path of escape. Power and wealth became meaningless within its walls.
Of course, if you could offer Vill-V enough mani... negotiations were not entirely impossible.
I don't want to either... but they're offering far too much.
That was also why Dr. Mei had asked Elysia to invite Vill-V into MOTH.
And the construction of the new prison, just as in the original storyline, aligned perfectly with both Vill-V's expectations and those of the upper echelon.
"I object! This is an anti-human act. A prisoner's life is still a life. We must respect prisoners' freedom!" The representative from North America was the first to raise opposition.
"North America is right. The Far East agrees. Besides, North America already has the world's most advanced 'federal prisons.' That is more than sufficient for incarceration." Clearly, the Far Eastern representative conveniently ignored the many legendary prison breaks that had originated from those very "federal prisons."
The West Asian representative, who had always been at odds with North America, snorted. "A prisoner's life? North America and the Far East conduct the most biological experiments on prisoners! And freedom for prisoners? What a joke. Why don't you flip through your own legal codes and see how you define the word 'prisoner'?"
The Russian representative also sided with West Asia. "Your North American federal prisons—how dare you speak of freedom? They have the highest inmate mortality rate in the world. Fights and violent incidents happen almost every day. Real damn freedom."
Several years ago, the MOTH Council of Review had once boasted the highest decision-making efficiency in the world. That had been the original intention behind the establishment of MOTH under the United Nations—to respond to global Honkai disasters with maximum efficiency. Those were resolutions concerning humanity's survival, and thus required unity and cooperation among elites.
However, in the years following the Second Herrscher, no new Herrscher had appeared. Gradually, the council began to deteriorate. Nations no longer selected strategic decision-making elites but instead chose politicians to occupy seats on the Council of Review, hoping to secure a share of MOTH's enormous benefits.
After all, MOTH possessed humanity's most advanced technologies and its most gifted talents. It was an enormous prize that every nation coveted.
soulium technology alone was enough to drive countries into a frenzy, each scrambling to poach talent.
Unlike in the past, modern technological superpowers were no longer defined by nuclear weapons. soulium had become the symbol of strategic deterrence in the new era. Only nations capable of producing soulium possessed the authority and confidence of a military power.
Without deploying nuclear weapons, soulium was the ruler of the battlefield. An army without soulium, no matter how many resources were invested, could not rival a single soulium mech.
As long as the core cockpit of a soulium mech remained intact, it could slaughter endlessly across the battlefield.
The properties of soulium allowed the mech to repair itself infinitely, harvest resources to manufacture its own ammunition, and even generate its own energy supply—
Magnetic soulium, constructed from magnetic nanorobots, possessed extremely strong magnetic performance and resistance. It could be used to manufacture high-efficiency motors and magnetic materials.
Even if blown to fragments, magnetic soulium could reassemble itself through magnetic attraction, all while maintaining strong resistance to external electromagnetic fields.
This meant that even military-grade electromagnetic pulses could not disable the mech or directly kill its pilot. And that mech could continue repairing itself endlessly, unleashing unlimited firepower.
How was one supposed to fight such a thing with conventional weapons? Even micro nuclear warheads might fail to breach its defenses. It was utterly shameless.
Of course, such mechs and magnetic soulium were still under development. Otherwise, MOTH would have already deployed them to confront the Herrscher of Thunder.
Yet the world's leadership had already recognized the immense potential of soulium technology. It would replace nuclear weapons as the strategic deterrent of the future.
Poach it. They had to poach it. Recruit all the relevant personnel and intelligence related to soulium technology to their own side.
Only what one possessed personally was truly secure. If they relinquished it now and allowed others to take it, sooner or later they would suffer under another nation's cudgel.
And beyond soulium technology, MOTH contained far too many coveted assets.
If not for the relatively clear-headed leadership of the Mu Continent maintaining a neutral stance, MOTH's talent pool might have already been hollowed out.
That was also why MOTH exercised such strict control over the movement of its personnel.
For example, a certain doctor might tell his assistant, "I'm going to buy some oranges. Wait here. Don't move." And the assistant would wait until nightfall, never seeing the doctor return...
As a result, the MOTH Council of Review was no longer the unified iron block it once had been.
MOTH meetings had always been like this. Whenever interests were involved, arguments dragged on endlessly. That was precisely why Dr. Mobius detested attending such meetings.
Resting her right cheek on her hand, Dr. Mobius occasionally tapped her plump thigh beneath the table with her left hand, muttering, "What kind of research conference is this? It's just a vegetable market bargaining session."
"Oh, these days even vegetable markets don't need bargaining. You just scan an electronic coupon..."
"Next time, I should find a way to have Klein attend instead..."