[Was I captured by the Federation government? Haven't they always ignored Dr. Luo Ji's museum?]
Vill-V looked around and realized this did not resemble the Federation's planetary prison within a space city.
[It's actually breathable natural oxygen with active properties. Which space city's planetary prison is this? The treatment for prisoners has gotten this good? Those rabid fans who treat Cheng Xin like their mother would love nothing more than to skin me alive. I refuse to believe I'd be let off so easily.]
[That bunch is far scarier than any fan club extremists. I don't even know how many people of insight they've socially erased, ruining them completely.]
"Welcome back. Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up. The Fifth Honkai Eruption is already over."
A shrill female voice exploded beside her ear. Vill-V widened her eyes and saw that about five or six meters away stood a red robot.
The red robot somewhat resembled a planetary mining machine. But even mining machines, designed with sturdiness and durability in mind, were nothing like the crude, battered contraption in front of her.
The robot held up an instrument. The shape of the loudspeaker made it obvious that the female voice had come from it.
Looking at its appearance, Vill-V's thoughts raced: [A robot from the Deterrence Era... Renaissance? Or electronic junk salvaged from the doomsday battles in the outer reaches of the Solar System?]
[Or was I forcibly put into cryosleep until the next era? That would make sense. I'm already a master whose influence spans the entire academic world.]
[Wait. It's already the Bunker Era. What next era could there possibly be?]
At that moment, a fact struck Vill-V like lightning: [Ah. I was melted by the two-dimensional foil!]
Human instinct always resists recalling the moment one fears most—especially that powerless, utterly despairing instant at the brink of death.
But being melted by the two-dimensional foil had been reality, not a dream. Vill-V could not avoid that truth.
The scene at the end of the world seemed vividly alive before her eyes.
[Then where... exactly is this?]
Vill-V tried to speak, but she could not even manage that. Nearly every movable part of her body had been locked in place. Only her eyes could move.
"Welcome back. Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up. The Fifth Honkai Eruption is already over."
Clearly, the voice was not being remotely controlled. It was simply a recording, looping after detecting that Vill-V had awakened.
[Robots from the Common Era really are rigid... But this is also an opportunity. Before the administrators discover I'm awake, I have to escape!]
"Mmmph—mmph!" Vill-V tried to shake her body. Unfortunately, she felt as if she had been poured into concrete.
[Not a high-intensity magnetic restraint device, but a solid restraint apparatus? What an ancient limiter. If I'd undergone genetic modification, I would've escaped long ago... Wait. This body of mine doesn't seem to be entirely natural either!]
Vill-V focused her mind, recalling the techniques of genetic enhancement she had studied in the past, searching for any latent altered genes within her body.
As her concentration deepened, her bones began to tremble slightly, producing rhythmic click-click sounds.
Then...
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Vill-V's expression turned a little dejected. "It seems I'm ultimately just a scientist, not some finely trained warrior. If I were a gene-soldier, I could have shattered this restraint device through resonance by now."
But soon, she noticed something new. "Hm? What's this? Let's try it."
Vill-V sensed her cells calling to her, so she attempted to respond.
Then...
In anxious anticipation, she felt a strange force surge within her body.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Power—it's power! I can feel it pouring out endlessly!"
"Everything has become clear. New perspectives and ideas are constantly emerging."
Joy rose in Vill-V's heart. "Ha! I see now. This master has achieved enlightenment!"
Vill-V's body shook violently. Immediately after—an explosive sound reverberated through the air.
With a metallic crack, the restraint apparatus around her began to shudder violently, accompanied by the screech of tearing metal.
"Welcome back. Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up. The Fifth Honkai Eruption is already over." The observing robot seemed somewhat at a loss, repeating the message while emitting beep-boop dialing sounds.
The harsh tearing noise gradually subsided, leaving only the mechanical sounds of the robot.
Yet the restraint device still bound Vill-V tightly, like iron shackles, without the slightest sign of loosening.
"This is... self-repairing memory metal? The Federation government is actually using such expensive metal on prisoners?... Did some privileged scion get parachuted in as the prison designer?"
"Though self-repairing metal is certainly valuable, its restraining capability is far inferior to magnetic restraints. As long as a prisoner gradually expands the gap bit by bit, this kind of metal can't do anything about it."
Vill-V immediately put her idea into action. Using the newly acquired unknown power, she tore at the restraints confining her, little by little.
Finally, after considerable struggle, with a sharp rip, Vill-V broke free and leapt down from the restraint frame.
"Hah... finally out."
Red lights immediately began flashing throughout the room. Clearly, Vill-V's escape had triggered the alarm.
Yet for some reason, there was no piercing siren. Normally, wouldn't a prison break come with heart-pounding alarm blares as background music?
"Hm?"
The red robot, previously acting like a tape recorder, stopped looping. Its eyes shone coldly like rubies as it launched an attack at Vill-V.
The robot's fist shot outward, blasting toward her.
Vill-V discovered that in this enhanced state, her reaction speed was astonishing. If it were her former self—already past middle age, with a reaction time no faster than 0.1 seconds—she would have been captured instantly by that mechanical fist.
But now, she could counter with ease.
There was no time to think. The robot's attack was already before her.
Grabbing a snapped metal strap and lowering her stance, she gathered all her strength into her legs.
Vill-V intended to perform a dashing, stylish sprint—evade the robot's punch, then strike straight at its core.
Unexpectedly, due to excessive force, she failed to maintain her balance and with a sudden slip... fell flat.
"Ahhh—why is the floor so slippery—?!"
In any case, Vill-V refused to admit she was athletically hopeless.
Left with no choice, she was forced to deploy the legendary "slide tackle" technique from her previous previous life, sliding beneath the robot through the gap.
"With one slide under its body—even a tiger would fall in hatred!"