277. The Herrscher's Theory
After checking three times, Mobius found nothing abnormal in the examination report.
"So what exactly is wrong with you?" Mobius frowned slightly.
"I don't know, I just occasionally hallucinate," Ling explained.
"The data shows your brain is quite normal. How often does this 'occasionally' happen?" Mobius raised an eyebrow.
"I've heard it about three times since I was born," Ling recalled.
"...Tell me." Mobius took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch him.
The first two times were related to Mobius, and once, even Mobius's name was mentioned directly.
The third time was not long ago.
There was no hidden information in it, just like a casual exchange.
"Why haven't I heard you mention it before?" Mobius asked.
"I did ask, but you didn't pay attention," Ling retorted.
"When...you mean when you asked me if I heard anything?"
Based on the clues Ling provided, Mobius quickly recalled what had happened.
Or rather...she simply couldn't forget it?
At that time, Ling suddenly pressed her forehead to Mobius's and whispered, "We're the same," a phrase that Mobius had kept etched in her heart to this day.
Followed by that, he asked Mobius if she had heard anything strange.
Thanks to that phrase, Mobius's memory of that time was quite vivid.
Ling nodded.
"I thought...never mind, let's check again." Mobius gently rubbed her forehead.
At the time, she hadn't thought of that at all, assuming Ling was just changing the subject to make the atmosphere less awkward.
However, even after checking many times, there was still no problem.
"Maybe I just imagined it." Ling shook his head, no longer dwelling on it.
"By the way, how did you manage to build such a massive cluster of laboratories under the tight surveillance of various countries?" Mobius asked, voicing her long-held doubts.
A laboratory capable of housing tens of thousands of clones must be terrifyingly large.
"I built it under the Antarctic ice sheet. I asked Einstein to write an AI for me; she manages it and conducts experiments according to my requirements. All our communication is through an encrypted network."
"No wonder you and Einstein were so close before..." Mobius muttered under her breath, her mood improving considerably.
She wondered if that scientist who championed humanitarianism would feel remorse for aiding and abetting evil after learning Ling's true colors.
"Dr. Mobius, now that you know about Dr. Mei and Einstein, do you still have any doubts?" Ling blinked.
"...You can get lost." Mobius knew perfectly well that Ling was teasing her, and, unable to save face, she directly dismissed Ling.
"Alright, feel free to ask me any questions about that document. I'm usually in the lab." Ling stood up to say goodbye to Mobius.
"Wait, where will your next Herrscher be created?" Mobius asked.
"That depends on where the Honkai energy field appears." Ling shrugged.
"Honkai energy field? What's that?" Mobius asked, puzzled.
"While tracking Experiment 7325, I accidentally obtained a batch of environmental data, which I call the Honkai Energy Field."
"The time and location of the Honkai Energy Field's appearance are uncertain, so I can only find it using satellite data combined with Ai's search function."
"During the Fifth and Sixth Honkai Impacts, I found a total of three Honkai Energy Fields. The first gave birth to Parvati, the second to Yasha, and the third, under my guidance, led to the birth of the Sixth Herrscher."
"First, we found and eliminated Parvati shortly after the Fifth Honkai Impact in the original battlefield. Yasha was eliminated in a village in the Far East."
"The difference between the third and the first two is their location. The third Honkai Energy Field appeared in a city. If we consider the prerequisite that Honkai is meant to destroy civilization, Herrschers born in cities are often capable of causing a significant impact on civilization."
Mobius suddenly objected at this moment.
"The First, Third, and Fourth Herrschers do fit your description, but the Second and Fifth Herrschers weren't born in cities, were they? Isn't that a contradiction?"
"That's the exception I'll mention next. The Second Herrscher was located in Siberia. Although the population density there isn't high, there's a very special point… Remember the Great Explosion a hundred years ago?" Ling asked.
"You mean… the Tunguska event?" Möbius understood.
The Tunguska event, with an explosive force equivalent to 20 million tons of TNT, destroyed and felled over 80 million trees within an area of 2150 square kilometers. The cause remains unknown.
"Hmm, that's probably one of the masterpieces of Honkai... The explosion a hundred years ago left behind a Honkai energy field in Siberia that lasts for an extremely long time. Even now, its existence can still be detected. Although it has weakened considerably over time, it can still satisfy the conditions for the birth of a Herrscher. This is how changes in the external environment led to the conditions for the birth of a Herrscher."
"Back to the Fifth Herrscher, there's a sacrificial site in the village where the Fifth Herrscher was born. You should have investigated that, right?"
"Of course." Mobius nodded.
"The land of the sacrificial site contains the blood of a 'god,' and that person's blood is the source of the Honkai energy field."
"I found some records of sacrifices in that village. The villagers drank His blood, hoping to receive divine protection and be cured of their plagues. The blood spilled on the ground contained concentrated Honkai energy, which is why the Honkai energy field formed."
"So, if you can find a Honkai Energy Field or a special Honkai Energy Field in a densely populated area, you can create a Herrscher?" Mebius blinked.
This was almost unbelievable.
If that were the case, the Fire Moth could accurately pinpoint the location of a Herrscher and kill them in the shortest amount of time possible.
"The Honkai Energy Field is just the foundation; other things are needed as a catalyst." Ling shook his head.
"The trigger?"
"First, you need sufficient Honkai energy resistance, at least enough to survive in a Honkai Energy Field. Second, there's emotion. While this might seem naive to a scientist, experiments have shown that emotion does indeed possess limitless potential."
Ling recounted the birth of the Sixth Herrscher to Mobius.
After listening to Ling's explanation, Mobius looked at him with increasing disdain.
"Don't look at me like that. This is all for science, for humanity," Ling said righteously.
"Heh," Mobius scoffed dismissively.
"Emotion is truly a wondrous thing. It's merely one of the components of human emotions, yet it can unleash unexpected potential in humanity. A wondrous creation."
Ling ignored Mobius's mockery, continuing to repeat this phrase to himself.
Perhaps he was reminding Mobius, or perhaps he was reminding himself.
Of course, there's another possibility: this thing called emotion might also have enabled a certain someone to create miracle after miracle.
...