Chapter 131: Another Self.
"I believe you need to give us an explanation regarding this matter."
Theresa crossed her arms. Although she was short in stature, her imposing aura at this moment still made the seated higher-ups tremble slightly. Theresa's words, of course, weren't based on any written regulations.
Practically speaking, Wendy had already signed the transfer paperwork back then and was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Far East Branch. They certainly had no obligation to notify the Far East Branch about anything they did to Wendy.
But Theresa and the others had come here specifically to cause a scene this time, so naturally, they wouldn't care about any rules or regulations. If these people had the guts, they could go ahead and file a complaint.
As for which side the Overseer would stand on, did that even need to be discussed?
"Lord Theresa, please calm down! There... there must be some misunderstanding here!" The Branch Director immediately scrambled to explain himself. He knew full well that Theresa was just spouting nonsense right now.
But now wasn't the time to care whether Theresa was spouting nonsense. Even if she was, they could only hold their noses and accept it right now. After all, rules were for reasonable people.
And today, Theresa and the others clearly had no intention of being reasonable.
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we will naturally know once we see Wendy." Theresa stopped looking at him, her gaze shifting towards the few higher-ups in charge of research.
"Now, please complete the handover procedures for the Gem of Desire immediately. Himeko, you supervise them."
"Understood."
Branch Dormitory Area Corridor
Meanwhile, under the guidance of a Valkyrie, Irene stopped in front of a dormitory door.
"T-this is it, Miss Wendy's room." The Valkyrie leading the way quickly finished speaking and immediately left. She wasn't an idiot.
The Hyperion had come aggressively this time and certainly wasn't here with good intentions. However, she hadn't done anything to Wendy in the first place, so as long as she obediently led the way, this fire wouldn't burn her.
Irene glanced at the departing Valkyrie without saying much. Most of the Valkyries were innocent; the ones who truly had problems were only the higher-ups.
Besides, Irene had no interest in tormenting an ordinary Valkyrie. It was meaningless and a waste of time. Looking at the door in front of her, Irene knocked gently.
The sound of a wheelchair rolling came from inside the room, and then the door opened. Wendy, sitting in the wheelchair, looked up. When she saw clearly who was standing at the door, a flash of surprise and imperceptible nervousness crossed her eyes.
The person in front of her wasn't Principal Theresa or Teacher Himeko as she had expected, but an unfamiliar white-haired woman with a gentle temperament and a hint of intellectual grace in her eyes.
"May I ask who you are?"
"Hello, Wendy," Irene spoke with a smile, her voice soft. "I am Irene. Principal Theresa and Teacher Himeko are currently handling some procedures, so they asked me to come pick you up first."
Wendy's fingers resting on the armrests of her wheelchair tightened slightly. She looked at Irene. The other party possessed an aura that made her feel inexplicably at ease, and for some reason, the other party gave her the feeling of being a kindred spirit.
Irene had a smile on her face. Her gaze fell on Wendy's legs, and her tone carried genuine concern. "I've already heard about your situation. You've worked hard these past few years."
"...It's nothing." Wendy shook her head. Since she was leaving, she no longer cared about this matter. Caring about it was meaningless and would only add to her sorrow.
She also believed that Teacher Himeko and Principal Theresa were currently handling this matter for her and wouldn't let her suffer any losses.
More importantly, she could return to St. Freya Academy.
And now she also had something worth caring about. Wendy looked at Irene, hesitating for a moment before speaking up. "Miss Irene, have we met before?"
Wendy stared at Irene. It was like an intuition, or the wind telling her that the Irene in front of her was her kind. But what was up with this feeling?
"Perhaps." Irene smiled, then walked around to Wendy's back and gently pushed her out the door. "Do you want to take one last look around here? Or?"
"Just take me straight back to the Hyperion. I'm already sick of the scenery here." Wendy shook her head. Even if she hadn't seen enough, she didn't want to look anymore. Leaving quickly was the right path.
Irene nodded and pushed Wendy out the door. However, she didn't take the main road. Instead, she pushed Wendy down a small path, avoiding the vast majority of the surveillance cameras.
When she came here under the guidance of that Valkyrie, she had already scouted the location. With Cat's recognition skills, the current Irene could identify most of the surveillance equipment here with just a glance.
She also knew exactly what areas those cameras could capture. She was very certain that this path had the least amount of surveillance equipment.
And as long as they walked a bit further, they would reach a wide grassy field originally intended for Valkyries to relax. There were no surveillance cameras there, and they could cut straight across it, which would bring them close to the area where the Hyperion was docked.
Wendy frowned as she looked at this small path she had never walked down before. She turned her head to look at Irene. "Miss Irene, what is this?"
"I just wanted to chat for a bit." Irene smiled, then looked down at Wendy's cupped left hand. "Also, I have absolutely no hostility towards you.
"So there's no need to hold a wind bullet and prepare to throw it over. That's of no use against me."
"You..." Wendy looked at Irene, her eyes suddenly widening. She had only just mobilized her Honkai energy! How was she discovered? This level of gathering wouldn't even trigger Schicksal's alarms!
As for why Wendy knew this, it was naturally because she had tested it with her mobile terminal. Her actual goal was to guard against the Oceania Branch trying anything funny.
Although they seemed to be just going through the motions now, who knew if their higher-ups might suddenly go crazy? Of course, there was another reason: Wendy wanted to test how much she could achieve on her own.
"No need to be surprised. My senses towards Honkai energy are very sharp." Irene smiled and shrugged. Regardless of whether she was a Herrscher or not, as someone who possessed limit-breaking Honkai Adaptability...
There weren't many people in this world who could compare to her in this regard. And after becoming a Herrscher, her Honkai Adaptability was still rising, even though it could no longer be reflected on the System panel.
But Irene was absolutely certain that her Honkai Adaptability was still in a state of continuous growth. As for what extent it could reach, Irene wasn't quite sure.
So when Wendy had just mobilized her Honkai energy, Irene immediately noticed it. The gathering and flowing Honkai energy was simply too obvious in Irene's eyes.
"Miss Irene, what exactly are you?"
After a smile, Irene raised her hand under Wendy's vigilant gaze and gently placed it on Wendy's shoulder. As a layer of white mist flowed from Irene's hand, Wendy suddenly felt the damage she had sustained over the years from the corruption of the Gem of Desire gradually begin to heal.
"I suppose I could be considered your senior." Irene looked at Wendy. "However, Principal Theresa still doesn't know about this matter. But it seems you've figured something out?"
Irene had noticed Wendy's silence and the doubt in her eyes just now. As for whether she guessed correctly, well, there was no harm in casting a net to see what she caught.
And looking at Wendy's eyes widening just a fraction more, she had probably guessed right.
"Miss Irene, you're also a Herrscher?!" Wendy looked at Irene, immediately understanding why she had felt that faint sense of kinship.
"Could it be that the Principal's side also..."
Irene reached out and patted Wendy's head. "How could that be? It was just an accident. I never expected things to turn out like this back then."
Back then in the underground vault, she had originally just wanted to secure the Gem of Serenity. Who would have expected the Gem of Serenity to throw itself at her? She was completely dumbfounded at the time too.
Although thinking back on it later, given her Honkai Adaptability at the time, it actually seemed like a very reasonable occurrence. One could only say it was a perfect match.
"Is that so?" Wendy looked at Irene's eyes; it didn't seem like she was lying. Furthermore, she didn't believe Principal Theresa would do such a thing either.
"Then why is Miss Irene hiding your identity as a Herrscher?" Wendy looked at Irene. "Are you afraid of Headquarters, or are you afraid of making Principal Theresa worry?"
"Hmm, not entirely accurate, but close enough." Irene shook her head. Rather than saying she was afraid of Headquarters, it was more accurate to say she was afraid of what Otto might do.
Moreover, she had to hide her trump cards. As the saying goes, a king fears a hidden dagger. Otto would definitely make all possible preparations for anything out in the open, but an ambush was the one thing Otto might not be able to handle, even if he had contingency plans.
Currently, all she had revealed to Otto was Cat's transformation. But she had more than just Cat under her command; she even had two Herrschers of Corruption. That was more than enough to completely screw Otto over.
"And that's not all." Irene continued pushing Wendy forward, her gaze sweeping around to confirm there were no other Valkyries nearby.
That made sense. With the Hyperion currently docked nearby, the other Valkyries naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to linger around someone else's battleship.
Furthermore, the Hyperion was clearly here to pick a fight this time. They naturally had to avoid it to prevent giving them any excuses. The Oceania Branch higher-ups must have issued similar orders.
However, this actually provided Irene with some convenience. Subsequently, under Wendy's surprised gaze, Irene took out Wendy's card and applied it to herself.
Amidst a turquoise whirlwind, a Wendy with turquoise wind wings fluttering behind her replaced Irene. Standing behind Wendy, she looked at Wendy's currently wide-open eyes. A smile filled [Wendy]'s face as she waved her hand.
"Hello there, my other self."
"Y-y-you." Wendy stretched out her hand, pointing at [Wendy]. Her tone carried surprise and disbelief, to the point of trembling slightly. "M-Miss Irene, what is this?"
In her perception, the person opposite her right now was almost exactly identical to herself. The same appearance, the same voice, the same Honkai energy fluctuation, and the same Authority of Wind.
This didn't seem like something a transformation could achieve; the aura and everything had completely changed. Moreover, the Honkai energy and Herrscher fluctuation Irene had just displayed were completely different from the current ones!
"Oh, no need to be surprised. After all, we were just chatting together yesterday, weren't we?"[Wendy] forcefully flapped her wings and flew high into the sky. She wasn't worried about potentially being discovered.
At this moment, Little Corruption had already used the Corruption virus to hack all the equipment that might discover their whereabouts. A branch like this absolutely possessed nothing capable of countering her.
She gave a mental thumbs-up to Little Corruption, who was silently working hard behind the scenes. Sigh, she was truly the busiest person in the entire team. Of course, Little Corruption had no objections to this.
For her, having witnessed the extinction of humanity, she only had one thought in her mind: to resolve the Honkai and bring human civilization a better ending.
Although Little Corruption never said it, she was indeed the person who had gone the furthest in all the if-lines.
They were clearly just one step away. In the very end, they simply needed to prove through actions whether humanity deserved the worst-case scenario, or if there would be a better alternative.
It was just that they lost, so they could only accept that worse scenario. But that scenario ultimately became the noose that tightened around their necks, becoming the hanging rope of human civilization.
After receiving the information from Irene that things weren't supposed to turn out like this, Little Corruption hadn't said much, maintaining a laughing and joking demeanor.
But deep down, she was absolutely unwilling to accept it. Humanity shouldn't fall before the dawn. Therefore, Little Corruption completely accepted all of Irene's missions.
As long as it could prevent humanity from experiencing that tragic hanging ending again, this level of exhaustion was completely acceptable to her.
Anyway, in her world, she had experienced things far more desperate than this, just like the prefix given to her by the System Irene spoke of.
She was the Regret Realm that witnessed a civilization hang itself and self-destruct. She was the Faded Elf who could only try her best to gather all the remnants upon the constantly collapsing ruins of civilization to maintain a glimmer of light.
Wendy looked in surprise at the other self in front of her. Smart as she was, she immediately understood something. She took out her mobile terminal from her pocket, and on that Future Comms, there was a new message.
[The Knower of Fate: Where are you looking? Look at me, okay? I'm clearly right in front of you, aren't I?]
Wendy looked down, then looked up, her face full of disbelief. "W-what in the world is going on?!"
"You don't still need this wheelchair, do you?" [Wendy] directly let go of her hands with a smile, letting the wheelchair enter a free fall. Wendy also immediately mobilized her Honkai energy, forming slightly dim wind wings behind her.
"Alright, snap out of it." [Wendy] lightly snapped her fingers. Instantly, a hurricane whipped up in the air, catching the falling wheelchair and leaving it floating off to the side.
"This matter is a bit complicated. However, I am indeed another you, just not the 'other you' in your mind. I am one in the physical sense."
"I can already tell." Wendy's eyes still held a look of bewilderment. The amount of information seemed a bit too massive all at once, or perhaps there was no information at all.
Had she accidentally pressed some fast-forward button? Why didn't she understand anything right now?
"But what exactly is going on?"
"Well, it's a long story." [Wendy] looked at Wendy and smiled. "If you want to understand it, you can just consider me the 'you' from the future."
"The 'me' from the future? Time travel? That's not realistic, is it?"
"It is indeed unrealistic, but who said I'm the future you from this world?" [Wendy] shrugged. "Have you ever heard of the Sea of Quanta? There are countless worlds there that are similar to ours yet possess subtle differences."
"I am the 'you' who came from there."
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