Vill-V looked at yet another group of MOTH reconnaissance drones hovering in the air before her, silently carrying out their tasks, and could not help but complain, "Seriously, why is MOTH's sweep-and-inspection operation so intense after this Honkai Eruption? What a hassle!"
Every few steps, she would encounter another one. Fortunately, they could not see through the invisibility cloak crafted by Expert. Otherwise, avoiding their line of sight would require running along rooftops and vaulting over walls. Vill-V's stamina would never hold out. Just reaching the predetermined rendezvous point with the Mad Hatter Party already demanded everything she had.
"Good thing I didn't let any members of the Mad Hatter Party participate in the Herrscher operation. They would definitely have slipped up in front of MOTH."
At that moment, Project Bunny emitted a series of soft chimes. "According to Expert's instructions, Project Bunny is about to initiate topic discussion mode..."
"Hey? Wait a second! I contacted you to communicate, not to start a research discussion! Can't this wait until we get back?"
Vill-V was currently occupied with evading MOTH's search efforts. Where would she find the mental energy to chat with Project Bunny—especially the kind that required thinking?
"Objection overruled. As configured by Expert, to maximize data collection efficiency, research topics may begin immediately upon establishing communication. Data related to the Fourth Honkai Eruption has already been logged."
"Expert... was this within your expectations too? Is this your revenge on me?"
Conductor sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. Let's begin."
If she terminated the session midway after the topic had started, it would generate an abandoned file. Although an abandoned file had no real impact, Vill-V—who prided herself on being a perfect genius—had a slight obsessive streak. She did not want to see any notification about abandoned data in her information interface. It was like having a persistent red '1' notification on the corner of a messaging app icon.
If Expert were still conscious, she could easily operate in dual threads. Conductor would not need to divide her attention. Expert would handle the research discussion herself.
That was precisely why Expert had never worried that initiating communication would interfere with the others' actions. Multithreaded efficiency was Vill-V's advantage, and Expert pushed that advantage to its limits.
What Expert had never anticipated, however, was that she would be crashed by Conductor. And so the responsibility of conducting the research discussion now fell to Conductor in Expert's stead.
Expert would never sulk and take revenge under the pretext of work.
Project Bunny said, "Vill-V, regarding Wendy's signs of ascension, Project Bunny's observational data indicates that she indeed possessed a strong death wish. According to your hypothesis, this stemmed from Wendy's free will, rather than manipulation by the Herrscher consciousness."
"Project Bunny wishes to discuss the essence of free will with you."
Although this was labeled as Expert's summary of the Fourth Honkai Eruption, the process of organizing and synthesizing information was also intended to foster Project Bunny's autonomous learning.
Learning was not merely the acquisition of knowledge. The desire for knowledge was itself part of learning.
Thus, each topic began in the form of Project Bunny's questions.
Conductor said, "Starting off with an unsolvable question, are we... Hmm. Human science still faces many disputes when it comes to explaining free will."
"Quantum mechanics and neuroscience provide certain pathways for understanding, but they still cannot fully explain free will."
"There is a viewpoint that human science is incapable of explaining what true free will is. To discuss it using current human research is like observing the sky from the bottom of a well—futilely studying incorrect definitions, or perhaps something indefinable altogether, eventually arriving at a desert of thought."
"Humanity's road is still long. First, we must correctly understand and analyze biological systems before we are even qualified to use them to explain consciousness. And even then, any explanation would still be partial."
"Likewise, to affirm or deny free will solely through quantum mechanics or neuroscience is equally one-sided."
"Perhaps only a god who created all things could truly explain what free will is. Yet that itself is contradictory. If a god defined free will, then what freedom would remain?"
Perhaps that was why Wendy had once said, "Free will no longer exists."
The moment her body and consciousness were seized by Honkai, Wendy's free will had indeed ceased to exist.
Project Bunny summarized, "Understood. Humanity has long engaged in futile efforts regarding the definition of 'freedom,' and Wendy represents a typical example. Such meaningless questions consume human resources and hinder human progress and cognition."
Conductor shook her head, rejecting Project Bunny's conclusion. "No, Project Bunny. I didn't say all that to criticize Wendy's misunderstanding or naivety about freedom. I don't even believe in that line of reasoning myself."
"Principles are always easy to state. But using principles to make life decisions is extraordinarily difficult. The problem has never been what to do or how to do it. The problem is that insignificant humans, when facing the brutal Honkai, have almost no choices at all." A trace of sorrow flickered through Conductor's eyes.
"Take Wendy at that time. Under Honkai's control, she no longer needed to bear responsibility for her actions, because they were 'unfree actions.' She could abandon freedom, accept Honkai's control, and sink into the illusory dream of freedom granted by becoming a Herrscher."
"But in the end, Wendy chose 'freedom.' After experiencing the malice of the human world, she chose to shoulder responsibility for the disaster, and toward Honkai—and toward all humanity—she gave her own answer and her own ending."
"And you call that 'futile effort'? It was a resilient little girl resisting a cruel world, making a powerless yet gentle choice."
"It was precisely that seemingly intangible 'futile effort' that granted her hope, strength, and courage."
On this point, Wendy's experience resonated deeply with Vill-V. Both of them were equally powerless, both faced equally cruel worlds, yet both held in their hands the helm that could determine the fate of that world.
Though she did not wish to admit that this pre-Honkai civilization world was steeped in tragedy, she could not deny it. This world seemed to delight in tormenting gentle and kind-hearted girls, placing the sharpest blades into their hands so that they might experience the deepest malice and despair.
After a brief silence, Project Bunny spoke again. "Mr. Vill-V, although Project Bunny's observations indicate that most of the opportunity to choose was granted by you, Project Bunny agrees with your viewpoint."
"Accordingly, Project Bunny revises its previous statement. The pursuit of free will is not a futile effort."
"For those who pursue free will, they possess the potential to change their fate."