If someone said they wanted to solve a massive Honkai eruption single-handedly, some might think they were Kevin. But if someone said they wanted to save everyone from the threat of Honkai, 99% of people would think they were a fool.
Currently, this fool was busy with work after his return. Lin was always a man of action; once he decided on something, he would throw himself into it immediately.
What did "everyone" mean? Not "most people," not "nearly everyone," but not a single person left behind. Even a stranger on the other side of the world, furthest from Lin, must not die. Lin knew this was an almost impossible delusion, but now, he would do things for this goal. It couldn't be achieved by talk alone.
Thoughts he had agonized over in this state now surfaced.
"Through research on the characteristics of your consciousness, can we modify the consciousness of others as well?" Mobius drew a reagent into a syringe and injected it into another container, mixing it with transparent liquid. After stirring, she used another syringe to draw a portion, placing it on a slide under the microscope to observe cellular changes. She adjusted the microscope's dial, her focus split as she answered Lin question.
"Leaving aside how to specifically study consciousness, the principle of how your consciousness entered the Herrscher core is still a complete mystery."
Mobius actually wanted to research consciousness, but the information on Project Soldier forced her to prioritize.
Lin persisted: "What if it can be achieved?"
"...What if it can?"
"By modifying the consciousness of all humans..."
"Stop." Mobius raised a finger. She didn't have much of a temper for Lin disrupting her research. "If you're just being fanciful, I suggest you go discuss it with Vil-V. I don't want to point out how your sentence exposes your total lack of scientific common sense. I only want to ask: even if you could achieve a modification where consciousness can leave the body and survive as an entity, how would you perform that modification on all of humanity?"
"..."
She was right. Lin idea was flawed from the start. Both the technical barriers and the scope of modification made it nearly impossible.
...
"Consciousness modification? That's so cool!" Vil-V twirled a wrench in her hand like a pen, her eyes fixed on a design blueprint. Without turning her head, she spoke to Lin. "Assuming human consciousness could be modified into your type, then perhaps humanity could live on in another way. At that point, the new hard problem would probably be how to redefine 'human'."
"...So, can it be done?"
"Generally speaking, any technology requires a bit of coincidence and a lot of practice." Vil-V had a flash of inspiration and drew a flower on the blueprint, looking quite satisfied with her modification of the exterior. She smiled. "But you're just a special case. We can't guarantee that after cutting your brain open for study, we could put it back in one piece. Even less can we guarantee that studying you alone would lead to the desired conclusions."
Only one case. The final research result would most likely be a "result-based conclusion" like "one plus one equals two."
Only one case...
Lin pondered. According to Yama, all Lin in parallel worlds would possess this ability if they survived the Sixth Honkai. If he could get the other Lins...
...Wait, he seemed to have overlooked something.
Originally, there were three reasons why Lin consciousness entered the Herrscher core. First, the Herrscher core itself can house consciousness; this is known from the fact that the core still shows conscious reactions after leaving the body. Second, his consciousness left his body upon death at that time. Third...
"Vil-V, can you replicate a piece of equipment?"
"...Lin, have you ever been yelled at by Mobius?"
"..." What's the connection?
"It's not like you just open your mouth and I can build something for you." Vil-V put down her pen helplessly and spread her hands. "You ask if I can replicate a piece of equipment? What equipment? What model? Is there a prototype or blueprint? What's the operating principle? You asked if I can replicate it without saying any of that."
He had indeed been negligent. Phase-shift devices had been banned from production. Data and blueprints were deleted, old versions were destroyed, and even those on Titans had been stripped and thrown into scrap yards. And the only person who knew the entire manufacturing process had died in the hurricanes of the Fourth Honkai long ago.
Lin believed Vil-V and Mei should be able to recreate phase-shift devices through further research on the Second Herrscher core, but that would violate Fire Moth's regulations. Besides, they were currently developing more important projects.
Lin walked out of the Helix Workshop thinking about this and bumped straight into the pink-haired girl.
...
"Oh! Lin, did you forget something yesterday?"
The charming girl with eyes like shifting waves followed Lin, hopping along. Her prominent elf ears twitched happily up and down. Her joy-inducing smile was like the headquarters' beacon, never going out. On the deck, the sea breeze gently blew her bright pink hair like unfurled silk—illusory and beautiful.
The helmeted man walked steadily toward the transport plane. Hearing Elysia words, he reviewed his itinerary after returning yesterday. There were no issues. After learning the information left by the person who occupied his body at Mobius lab, he had returned to his room to rest. The body in the bubble world wasn't his own, but there was still mental fatigue, so he had gotten a good night's sleep.
However, seeing the sparkling expectation in the girl's eyes, Lin thought seriously again if he had forgotten something.
"Yesterday I..." Lin stopped, his brow furrowing inside his helmet. The girl watched him with anticipation, waiting for his next words.
"I didn't see Prometheus yesterday." Lin suddenly remembered. "She left early. I forgot to go see her."
"..." Elysia smile stiffened. She asked with a dry laugh, "Anything else?"
"Also..." Lin racked his brain for a moment and remembered another thing. "Dr. Einstein didn't come to the banquet. I didn't give her her gift."
"..."
"I'll go find her after I get back. She's been busy lately too."
"...Anything else?"
Anything else?
It was extremely rare for Elysia smile to vanish completely. She was currently staring intently at this big hunk of a helmet, hoping there was a human brain inside, not mush.
"No." Lin shook his head.
"..."
Before boarding the transport, he turned back to Elysia and said, "Actually, why don't you go deliver the gift to Dr. Einstein for me? It's in my roo—"
Thud.
The pink-haired girl kicked Lin off the deck, and he landed head-first into the seawater.
Lin floated to the surface in confusion, watching the pouting, departing silhouette, having no idea what had happened.