(Volume IV: The Longevity Heaven Between Sky and Lake)
Compared to the Hyperion, a ragtag operation that had only been established for three months, the Helix Workshop, a medium-sized organization stationed in Honduras, was far more formal.
Not only did it control a critical transportation artery between North and South America, possessing top-tier patents including the "Vill-V Configuration" and localized time manipulation technology, but it also maintained branches and strongholds all over the world. In essence, it was no different from a sovereign state.
After parting ways with Fuli and the others, Boothill infiltrated the famous Downing Street in London. After taking seven turns here and eight turns there, he arrived at a desolate corner.
Knock, knock, knock!
He tapped three times. As if a scene in a movie had just cut, a metallic door appeared before his eyes.
[Please enter the passphrase.]
A cold electronic voice echoed beside Boothill's ear.
"Perfectly normal branch office, yet they gotta act like thieves."
For a Helix Workshop branch to operate here, it certainly had the approval of the House of Lords and the Royal Family. Making it look like this could only be attributed to that woman's twisted sense of humor.
Considering his body—riddled with holes—needed her technology for repairs, the silver-haired Ranger, despite being unwilling from the bottom of his heart, had no choice but to bow his head under the eaves. He spat out a string of phrases:
"The youngest master of the Helix Workshop!"
"The Magus King of the Dusk Era!"
"The Helix that weaves logic and absurdity!"
"The Great Sage who overlooks the stars!"
"I pray to you here: please open the door containing knowledge and truth, and sprinkle your magnificent radiance upon the mortal world!"
[Beep. Passphrase accepted.]
The AI on the monitor assembled itself into a smiley face, and the metal door receded to both sides.
[Even if Your Excellency did not shout those shameful slogans, I would have opened the door for you in three minutes.]
"Hah, and notify the Royal Guard that there's an intruder while you're at it?"
[They can do nothing to Your Excellency.]
"But they'd let you, you little muddle-fudger, watch a good show."
Boothill let out a tch, pulled his hat brim down, and stepped inside.
Since this was just a branch, it lacked the messy laboratory chaotic enough to fit the stereotype of a mad scientist.
A projection, indistinguishable from a real person, stood at the end of the corridor. She wore a massive hat covered in gear-like decorations. Her brownish-white top had a low-cut neckline, and a leather corset with cutout designs tightly wrapped her waist. Black shorts hugged her hips, combining with over-the-knee leather boots to form an "Absolute Territory."
Undoubtedly, she was a beauty.
Noticing the arrival of a distinguished guest, she opened her rare, scarlet eyes.
"You..."
Boothill took half a step back in terror, showing none of the wild, carefree swagger he displayed in combat.
"You! Which personality are you today?"
For a single projection to make the fearless Galaxy Ranger react with such disgrace showed just how much psychological trauma this woman had inflicted upon him.
Of course, no matter how great the trauma, Boothill had to take it. One of his creeds was to repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance.
In the past, when he was blasted by a laser cannon from Schicksal's "Retrogression Star" Bubble World Pioneer Unit, leaving nothing but his upper chest intact, it was this woman named Vill-V who passed by, saved him, and used god-like technology to rebuild him into his current form.
As the master of the Helix Workshop, Vill-V left a quantum projection in every branch, which would activate upon entry.
As for which personality the projection would randomize into? The intruder could only pray for good luck.
Perhaps because he had just met the "Pardofelis Cat," Boothill's luck today wasn't bad.
Vill-V's projection spoke calmly, "Relax. Today, I am the 'Expert'."
The Ranger audibly let out a sigh of relief. "Holy fudge, looks like I should go buy a lottery ticket after I get fixed up!"
If it was the [Expert], at least she wouldn't install some terrible little components labeled "Surprise" but read as "Horror" while repairing him, like the [Great Magician] would. Nor would she dismantle him into scattered pieces while calling him "trash" and "waste" like the [Villain].
"Body repair, correct? Old rules. Lie down."
Vill-V pointed to the side. The floor split open, and a cyborg repair pod floated up.
Even though he had been repaired many times, seeing this slide-cover repair pod shaped like a coffin still made Boothill secretly curse her terrible taste.
The man climbed in nimbly. Detecting a person, the coffin lid automatically slid shut. Several thick tubes inserted themselves into his body from different directions, and crystal-blue liquid quickly filled the chamber.
It was a repair fluid formed by hundreds of millions of Soulium units. The nanomachines swarmed into the cyborg's "wounds" like fish, rapidly repairing his body according to the input data.
"Repair will be complete in twelve hours."
After dropping that sentence, Vill-V's projection began to fade.
Do not multiply entities beyond necessity.
That was the Expert personality: pure engineering mindset.
"Hey! Wait a sec!"
Remembering something, Boothill hurriedly called out to her.
He gave a thumbs-up, pointing at himself, and revealed a mouthful of shark-like teeth. "While you're at it, load a few spell modules into me, darlin'. I met some real pros this time, and watching them use that stuff made this cowboy forking jealous!"
Rita's treehouse spell had truly opened his eyes, and Fuli's Immovable Wisdom King Fire Realm Mantra that incinerated the Three Thousand Worlds was majestic, like a god descending.
Why was it so easy for the heavily injured Argenti—Boothill—to deal with Heinrich? It was purely because the Ghoul Army Heinrich had painstakingly built was mostly wiped out in one breath by the Wisdom King's fire.
"Loading is possible, however—"
Vill-V's projection paused its dissipation. She looked over and recited a string of numbers.
That was the price for loading spell modules.
Boothill's face turned green instantly. He asked tentatively, "Can I put it on my tab?"
As a reward for protecting her parents, Rita had given him a black card before parting ways.
An S-Rank Valkyrie was generous. Even though the girl had spent the vast majority of her assets—including her dowry—to buy that Natural Stigma, the crystals remaining on the black card were enough for Boothill to live lavishly for half a lifetime.
But the number Vill-V just spat out was enough to send Boothill back to pre-liberation poverty overnight, plus another three years of debt.
"More than three years."
As if reading his mind, the Expert calmly raised her hand. "The Judgment Day battle three years ago, the Jörmungandr suppression raid one year ago, the Nightmare Frontier counteroffensive three months ago... did you pay the repair fees for any of those?"
Boothill suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked up and saw Vill-V holding a very familiar black card between two fingers.
"After deducting all previous debts, the remainder is enough for a down payment on two or three C-Rank spells, or one relatively cheap B-Rank spell."
She snapped her fingers, and a selection list unfolded before Boothill. "Choose."
If techniques like Divine Departure or One Slash were about wielding a sword with better methods, then spells were about drawing integrated circuit boards in the air with bare hands.
The latter not only required a significant degree of computational power and energy control but certain types also needed specific syllables to trigger cavity resonance, driving the internal circulation of Honkai energy.
In exchange, their power often far exceeded techniques of the same level—generally by thirty to fifty percent.
This gap was a level that could decide life and death.
However, because the learning conditions were too harsh, the inheritance of spells became extremely difficult. There were even stories of certain obsessives simplifying incantations into nursery rhymes, going to such lengths just to test if children had the talent for magic.
Until ten years ago.
The founder of the Helix Workshop, the genius Ms. Vill-V, presented her cross-era invention, the [Vill-V Configuration], at the 8th Medium-Sized Organization Conference.
This configuration could condense complicated spellcasting steps into fixed templates. Even without high talent, high computational power, or high mental strength, one only needed to practice according to the template to engrave the spell runes into the corresponding brain partition. Not only could one cast spells just by inputting Honkai energy, but the release form could also be determined by the practitioner's personal combat habits.
If she had just invented it, that would be one thing. But out of some unknown mindset, Vill-V actually distributed the technology for free to everyone at the conference, and subsequently published the specific details on the Helix Workshop's official website. Anyone who wanted to download it only had to pay 1 USD.
Building on this, the research departments of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy fired on all cylinders. Not only did they quickly master the secrets within, but they also invented technology to engrave low-level spells onto items—Valkyrie armor and Titan mechs—such as the ability to dispel the "boundary between mortal and immortal" within a certain range.
Many noble, classical mages were furious about this.
Some believed this defiled the purity and spirit of magic, holding protests every other day.
More were worried that once people got used to quick success, immediate benefits would drive them to abandon deep research into magic. As seen from the increasingly scarce number of new spells over the past decade, this was essentially digging up their roots!
But no matter what, as the inventor of the configuration, Vill-V was unmatched in the research of engraved spells.
Therefore, no matter how unhappy he was inside, Boothill obediently started selecting the spells he needed, while his mouth subconsciously rambled on. "By the way, darlin', do you know about a technology called [Light Cones]?"
The Expert persona sat in a chair, reading a book intently. The swish of turning pages was the only sound; she had no intention of responding to the man in the coffin.
Boothill didn't mind and continued cheerfully, "Special cards processed with that tech can not only store techniques and spells, but the proficiency level is exactly the same as the engraver's. Plus, any random joe can use 'em just by pumping in a bit of energy, with zero dissonance."
Recalling Fuli's words from their bragging session at the drinking table, the silver-haired Ranger laughed, "I said it was pure bull-shirt, but Brother Fuli swore he could do it right now, it's just mass production that needs some time."
He sighed with emotion. "If these Light Cones are actually made, the commotion will probably be way bigger than when you first released the Vill-V Configuration."
"Fuli?"
Vill-V paused in turning the page.
"The one from the Hyperion?"
"Yeah."
"You met him this time?"
"Even though he's a whole cycle younger, that little brother's personality and mine are truly mother-fudging compatible!"
Realizing something, the Ranger raised an eyebrow. "An acquaintance?"
"Not familiar."
Vill-V closed the book. "Now, repeat your experiences from this trip to me."
She narrowed her scarlet eyes. "In exchange, I'll waive your repair fee for next time."
...
Early in the morning, after leaving the Rossweisse mansion, Fuli and Mei first went to the Raiden estate to say goodbye to Ryoma.
Only then did they leisurely head to the port to await the Hyperion, which had just left a small Bubble World in the Southern Hemisphere and was rushing over.
Why did the Hyperion run so far? Wasn't it parked a few dozen nautical miles off the British coast?
Since the two strict disciplinarians, Fuli and Mei, were away (mostly the latter), the newly liberated Kiana, Kallen, and Bronya played too hard. They left the battleship with a command to [Stay in Place] and ignored everything else.
As a result, the system's automatic micro-adjustments literally kept the battleship hovering in the exact same "place" relative to Earth's coordinates.
Then, because of the Earth's constant rotation and revolution, a certain Bubble World that intersected with the surface unluckily scooped up the Hyperion—which should have been flung into space—before the danger alarm could trigger.
When the girls finally crawled out of bed and opened the curtains to look down unconsciously:
Holy crap? Where's my ocean?
Not good!
Helpless, Kallen had to relay the news via "Little Kallen" to the pair far away in London, then immediately recalled the clone, fearing that being a second late would result in a lecture from Mei.
When we get back, at worst the three of us will eat the detention together! Don't even think about making Kallen take the fall alone!
Fuli and Mei looked at each other, having no choice but to find a café at the port to sit down.
As the honored guests of Teresiphios and Argenti, and the nominal owners of the unstable Bubble World, the Hyperion no longer needed to hide like before. Sailing directly into British territory didn't matter.
That could be considered the only good news.
Fuli thought helplessly, taking the fragment of the Holy Lance from his pocket and handing it over.
"This is the fragment of the Herrscher of Finality's weapon? The Axis of the World that countless people pursue bitterly?"
Mei took it, examined it, and sighed. "That Ashdale guy really let such a good item go to waste."
"I think he was already extremely difficult to deal with," Fuli whispered in defense.
If not for the broken ability of the Outer Path, the "carry-the-girl-kill" strategy, and "Sister Ta's" selfless sacrifice, there was a significant chance he would have died at the man's hands.
"I'm not talking about combat, but other aspects."
The girl shook her head. "It can stop time for the object it acts upon. Do you know what that means on a physical level?"
Mei naturally knew that Fuli didn't know.
She just wanted to enjoy the depressed expression of her boyfriend realizing he was a slacker academically. It was truly very cute.
After eating and drinking her fill, the girl revealed the truth. "Stopping time means the motion of the object completely ceases."
"To give a simpler example: the 'Droplet' from The Three-Body Problem."
Surface friction coefficient of zero. Indestructible. Particles no longer vibrate. Absolute zero temperature.
Fuli was startled. Even if he hadn't read The Three-Body Problem, he had seen the reputation of the Droplet in countless bullet comments and forum posts.
His eyes lit up. "If we turned the surface of the battleship into that kind of material?"
Wouldn't my Hyperion be invincible?!
"Stop dreaming. It's impossible."
Mei threw cold water on him immediately. "First, the effect of the Holy Lance fragment only fully manifests on the possessor. Once the object leaves the body, the effect weakens continuously."
Fuli nodded subconsciously.
He had relied on this exact point to use the Outer Path to 'devour' the immutable force attached to external objects, thereby neutralizing the authority Ashdale covered his body with, before cutting it in two with a Setsuna Blade: Avici Hell.
"Second, unlike the purely physical world of Three-Body, our world has Honkai energy."
Honkai energy could shake the laws of the stars. As long as the quantity was sufficient, it didn't matter what kind of rule-based or mechanic-based monster you were; a swinging fist would break through technique with brute force.
"Third, just like how the Droplet was destroyed in the original Three-Body novel: by bypassing the surface layer via spatial leap and destroying it directly from the inside."
Space movement. In a universe with rigid physical laws, achieving this was as difficult as breaking out of the solar system.
But in a Xianxia/Magic setting? Sorry, but while it wasn't exactly sold on street corners, there was basically no shortage of it.
"Finally, the rank of this item is indeed high, but because it's shattered so thoroughly, the limit it can currently withstand is 'Critical.' Once the wielder reaches S-Rank, the fragment won't be of much use."
Mei handed the Holy Lance fragment back, her violet eyes full of teasing. "So, are you planning to rely on it to become the strongest?"
"Now that you've put it that way, if I still thought about using it to cheat, wouldn't that make me look like I have no confidence?"
Fuli could see the girl's good intentions.
He took the fragment. "I'll use it to figure out the 'Finality Form' of the Setsuna Bladeh then."
"Does the Setsuna Blade mentioned by the Assistant (Kallen) have such a move?"
"No. Legend has it that the MANTIS who created the Setsuna Blade sacrificed herself heroically when the Herrscher of Corruption arrived. But I can create an original one, can't I?"
"So confident?"
"Heh, look who you're talking to!"
The boy lifted his chin triumphantly, the sky reflected in his crimson eyes.
The girl rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a doting smile.
Yes, look who my, Raiden Mei's, boyfriend is~
Her eyes curved into crescents.
...
The Horse Latitudes.
Located between 30° and 35° north and south of the equator, this area is historically known as the Horse Latitudes—a belt of calm winds.
Sailing ships caught in this windless zone could not navigate by wind power and would be trapped in place, waiting for ocean currents or intermittent breezes. As time passed and fresh water on the ship ran low, priority was given to the sailors. The horses on board would die of thirst and be thrown into the sea, hence the name: [The area filled with horse corpses].
Currently, the Hyperion was traversing such a sea.
Of course, as an aerospace battleship, it didn't need to worry about being unable to leave like the ancients on sailboats.
What was holding it back was another reason.
"Bridge has received a distress signal!"
Kallen, floating on the bridge, announced.
"Content?"
Bronya frowned. "Is it pirates faking it again?"
Because of the convenient environment created by the intersection of Bubble Worlds, there were indeed many outlaws like "Zhang San" on the high seas.
They weren't the adventurous kind who called themselves pirates; they were true criminals who licked blood from their blades. Broadcasting distress signals to lure in kind-hearted people was all too common.
After speaking, Bronya looked at Kiana. The usually lively and cheerful white-haired dumpling was currently sitting by the window, sighing deeply.
"If only I had gone to London too."
The girl muttered to herself, "If I went, the ones getting scolded this afternoon would be Bronya and Big Sis Christina."
Well, this girl was more worried about how Fuli and Mei would deal with her after they regrouped.
She didn't stop to think that if she hadn't been there, Kallen and Bronya wouldn't have partied hard enough to end up in this situation.
"Why haven't you corrected how you address me yet!"
Kallen complained out of habit, then added, "Also, this distress call should be genuine. The other party not only broadcasted a normal SOS but privately re-sent it multiple times using Schicksal's internal frequency. If we didn't have the partial authority granted by Theresa, it's hard to say if we would have received that part."
"Really?"
Kiana jumped three feet high, her beautiful, cute face whooshing right up to Kallen's.
Bronya glanced sideways. "The Kaslana Savior DNA is acting up again, isn't it?"
"That's just one part of it!"
Kiana rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Bronya, don't you think if we can save someone, Fuli and Mei will be much easier to talk to?"
"Proving that not only did we not neglect our duties, but we also did a good deed?"
Kallen, who also didn't want to be scolded, raised both hands and feet. "That's good! I vote yes! I vote yes!"
Being lectured by someone with a "Raiden Face"—no Kaslana could withstand that.
Not even the strongest ancestor could!
"Hehe, now it's two against one!"
Kiana spun like a whirlwind in front of Bronya, her big eyes sparkling bling-bling.
"Bronya didn't say she disagreed."
The girl said calmly.
Raiden Mei was whatever, but her older brother's nagging was something she couldn't handle either.
That was, aside from Seele, the only person in the world who treated her well without any selfish motives.
Clank!
Project Bunny manifested, looking a bit unhappy.
"You're not a person."
Bronya, hugging her Homu doll, gave it a side-eye.
Oh, right.
Project Bunny thought about it and re-quantumized with satisfaction.
Seeing the unanimous vote, Kiana waved her small hand. "Who do you think I am? Bring the ship around!"
"If a Navy Admiral and a retired Fleet Admiral crawl out of there, you'll learn to behave."
Kallen, piloting the Hyperion toward the signal source, rubbed her forehead.
...