Aboard a MOTH patrol vessel, as the main guns of the battleships roared, Dr. Tesla's hands tightened around the steering controls, trembling uncontrollably, as if she had been dragged back to the day they first encountered the Honkai.
Rumble!Rumble! The battleships' main cannons thundered like rolling lightning. The war between humanity and the Herrscher had spread from the seabed to the ocean surface.
Flames raged everywhere. Smoke filled the air. The atmosphere of war grew ever more suffocating.
"Ahhh! Chicken-Nest Head, the old woman broke out! She actually escaped! MOTH's top-tier defense protocol is way too useless!"
Compared to Tesla's panic, Einstein remained calm. "Mm. I heard."
Seeing no reaction from her, Dr. Tesla grew anxious. "Chicken-Nest Head, what exactly is your plan? Hurry up and say something!"
Einstein shot her a strange look, then ultimately said nothing.
Tell her they needed to kill Professor Planck? It would be a blessing if Dr. Tesla didn't sabotage things out of emotion. How could she possibly tell her something like that?
Crash! The massive roar of a tsunami rose from behind them. Tesla turned her head and nearly jumped out of her skin, smacking Einstein on the head. "Chicken-Nest Head, a t-tsunami!"
"There's no need to worry. It's just a wave," Einstein tried to soothe her. Tesla was always like this—incapable of staying calm.
"Are you blind? You're calling that... a wave?" Tesla pointed at the towering wall of water, over ten meters high, surging toward them.
In the next instant, the two were swallowed by the colossal surge. But just before that, Einstein had already activated the hovercraft's submersible mode.
"Don't forget, we came up from the seabed. Please calm down, Dr. Tesla."
The source of the massive waves was the fleet itself—lifted like flyswatters by the Herrscher of Reason and slammed against the ocean's surface.
A few years ago, the battleships might have shattered into pieces from such an impact. But now, thanks to MOTH's advancements, every section of the vessels had been tightly reinforced. Even when struck by high-energy weapons, they would not fall apart.
And so, the sturdy battleships... were gradually flattened into enormous steel plates under the Herrscher of Reason's blows.
She then used the giant steel plate in her hand as a shield, blocking the shelling from other warships and the bombardment from aircraft.
"Reconstructed Armament · Armored Train."
The patterns of her authority flared across the steel plate, rapidly dismantling and reassembling it. The metal wrapped around Planck, transforming into a heavily armed train equipped with multiple massive turrets.
The train dropped onto the ocean surface. With a piercing whistle, it began circling the B-2 Laboratory island.
It swiftly retaliated against external attacks. Countless shells fired from the train, annihilating everything in its vicinity. Before long, the entire experimental base was reduced to rubble.
The B-2 island cluster was soon left with only a single remaining island—the very one Tesla and Einstein were heading toward... B-2-F.
They retreated into the underground shelter of B-2-F. A thick, heavy steel gate descended, sealing off everything outside. Silence spread through the air.
But the steel door offered neither of them any sense of security.
Because outside stood a Herrscher.
Walking through the shelter, strange instruments came into view—devices rarely seen in other laboratories.
Machines and display screens flickered with dim blue light. Beep, beep. Experimental data continuously refreshed.
Tesla glanced around curiously, carefully examining the laboratory she had never seen before, yet found strangely familiar.
"Chicken-Nest Head, what's all this?"
When she noticed a particular machine, realization dawned. "Isn't this your quantum collision experiment setup? Why is it here?"
"Did you think the laboratory storing a Herrscher would have no contingency plan for accidents?" Einstein replied. "This is the final safeguard."
"And my true work within MOTH."
Einstein switched on the laboratory lights. A massive, mysterious black sphere appeared in their field of vision.
Her gaze deepened as she stared at it. "The Spherical Gravitational Singularity Generator—also known as the Pseudo Black Hole Generator. This is our ultimate weapon against a Herrscher."
After the lights came on, even Einstein's voice seemed softer, as if the sound waves themselves were being swallowed by the Pseudo Black Hole.
To avoid being muted by it, Tesla shouted loudly, "Why is it already running? Something like this must consume an insane amount of energy!"
Einstein raised her voice as well. "I used base authority to remotely activate and preheat it earlier. With the emergency defense protocol in effect, I didn't need to request approval from upper management. Otherwise, by the time it finished preheating, the Herrscher would already be gone."
Tesla rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "We're going to use this against Planck?"
"Yes... but not entirely. My goal is only to trap her. This generator doesn't have the capability to create a true black hole."
"Time is short, Dr. Tesla. I need your help adjusting the generator's parameters." Einstein handed her a thick stack of papers densely packed with data.
The calculation formulas were omitted. Einstein trusted that Tesla still remembered them.
"Although the black hole can be activated directly, we need to adjust the parameters so it specifically captures the Herrscher rather than indiscriminately destroying everything nearby."
The two immediately began operating the system without hesitation.
"Feels just like being back in Planck's lab," Tesla remarked.
Einstein glanced sideways at her. "Then don't set the parameters wrong like you did back then and trigger alarms throughout the entire lab. This isn't just Professor Planck scolding you. If the pseudo black hole goes out of control, the entire island cluster will be sucked into the Sea of Quanta."
"Ahhh, stop talking! Those dead memories are tormenting me again. That damn Planck—always finding excuses to smack me on the head!" Tesla shuddered as she recalled the old woman's methods.
At that moment, Einstein suddenly noticed the parameters adjusting on their own. She frowned. "Hm? Someone is attempting to connect to the black hole laboratory?"
"Could it be Minister Newton? In theory, only someone at ministerial level has the authority to remotely access this lab."
"Or did the Herrscher of Reason hack into the system?"
Einstein attempted to respond. Soon, they received a communication request.
"Hello, hello—calling the black hole laboratory. Anyone there?" A playful voice rang out.
Dr. Tesla immediately recognized it. Her ears perked up.
"Ah! That damned voice is..."
Vill-V's mischievous face appeared on the main computer screen, wearing a confident smile.
The smile froze the moment it appeared.
The two spoke in unison—
"Two-Tone Puffball!"
"Red Lobster Head!"