Lucian chased everyone out; the final wrap-up work needed the Doctor to handle it personally.
The experiment was already in the wrap-up phase, mainly just compiling data and completing the final adjustments.
Lucian urged the Doctor to hurry; he was still anxious to complete the 'contract.'
The Fatui would help Lucian, and the price of the contract was that Lucian also had to support the Fatui's experiments, as well as the Gnoses.
So Lucian wouldn't sabotage this experiment, but only up until the results came out.
Once the experiment results were out, the contract would be fulfilled, and whatever Lucian did afterward wouldn't count as breaking the contract.
The Doctor had no objections either, because for experiments that were already completed, he would lose interest.
What kind of outcome Scaramouche would have—he didn't care at all.
Experimental tools were naturally to be discarded after use; Scaramouche was like that, and Collei was too.
Whether they were 'his own people' or not, in the Doctor's eyes, there was no difference.
This was the most inhuman part about the Doctor; like the Great Sage, he never treated anyone as a person—they were all just his experimental tools and materials.
Colleagues, subordinates, people from his homeland—in their eyes, none of them were people, just tools that could be casually harmed and discarded.
If there was any difference between them, it was that the Great Sage was too mediocre, while the Doctor actually had real caliber.
No matter how much caliber the Doctor had, his behavior was still infuriating, so within the Fatui, the "Doctor's" reputation was overwhelmingly negative.
Aside from those subordinates he'd PUA'd and brainwashed, no one liked him.
Lucian didn't like the Great Sage, so naturally he didn't like him either. Back then, he hadn't wanted to join the Fatui precisely because of the Doctor, so Lucian didn't want to be alone in a room with the "Doctor" either.
He went out to see how Cyno's interrogation was going. Upon asking, he learned that although Cyno was still 'interrogating,' the Great Sage had actually confessed long ago.
Lucian no longer observed; he chose to go find Nahida. It was time to let Nahida out; now was the time to open the door.
Although the door could be opened at any time, Lucian still planned to do it quickly. There wasn't any special reason; it was just that Nahida had really waited too long.
The closer one got to freedom, the harder it was to endure. The last minute before school let out was always the longest.
So Lucian had to be quick, not letting Nahida's torment last even one more minute.
Walking out the door, those researchers and guards from the thirty-man squad were now all tied up.
Azar had been brought out too; he wasn't tied up, but everyone was surrounding him, chattering away. The adventurers, being straightforward, were already sneaking kicks at him.
Charlotte was squeezing to the front line, snapping photos like crazy.
Lucian ignored all that and went straight to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, with Lumine and Paimon following.
Nahida was already a five-hundred-year-old 'antique,' and still an 'upper-grade pure wood product'—just imagine opening or not opening the door.
At this moment, she was controlled in mid-air by the cage, blinking her eyes and looking over at Lucian.
She was a bird, a caged bird—just as the saying goes, 'a bird trapped in a cage hates that Guan Yu can't Zhang Fei.'
Now it was time for the bird to spread its feathers and fly wildly!
Open the door!
Lucian didn't hesitate and directly opened the cage imprisoning Nahida.
After 'opening the door,' Nahida's small figure slowly descended from mid-air.
In Lucian's eyes, Nahida 'fell' from the air, her little feet touching the ground, those little radish legs seemingly crouching slightly, her figure bobbing up and down like a 'spring.'
Lucian really wanted to pinch them and ask, 'Is it really this Q-bouncy?'
But he didn't dare; this was a little loli, after all. Going up to pinch someone's little short legs would be too perverted.
If he really did that, the next one Cyno arrested might be Lucian.
Nahida: "The feeling of both feet touching the ground—it's been so long."
Ei had said this line too; she also hadn't had her feet touch the ground for a full five hundred years.
The difference was that Ei was wearing shoes when she touched the ground, while Nahida wasn't even wearing shoes.
Nahida's was even more pure and natural, a true touch of the ground. Next time, he should have Ei try this back-to-nature feeling too.
"Lucian, thank you for those words back then."
What Nahida was referring to were the words Lucian said during the confrontation with the Great Sage.
The Great Sage still had the void terminal on back then, so Nahida could naturally see what happened.
Lucian's recognition gave Nahida quite a bit of confidence, stemming from Lucian's authority in speech.
He was now a world-famous prophet; even if they didn't know who the gods of other nations were, they knew who Lucian was.
With such fame, his words carried weight, and what he said held more value.
Lucian smiled: "My biggest virtue is honesty."
Nahida smiled: "Honesty, huh?"
Whether honest or not, Lucian had given Nahida confidence and saved her, but Nahida didn't regard Lucian as the 'Sage of the Beginning.'
It wasn't that Lucian wasn't worthy; it was that the title 'Sage of the Beginning' didn't quite suit Lucian.
No helping it—Lucian's current fame was too great. As the Dendro Archon, even her own fame couldn't compare to Lucian's, let alone the title 'Buer's Sage of the Beginning.'
She didn't know that Lucian didn't care about worthiness or not; if she called him that, Lucian would be happy.
It was just that Lucian himself hadn't even thought about that title, because in his heart, he defaulted that it belonged to Lumine.
First impressions from experience always influenced judgment, especially when the person quite believed in their own 'knowledge.'
"Finally meeting you, waaah." Paimon flew right up and hugged her.
After seeing Nahida's story, Paimon, being so empathetic, naturally couldn't hold back.
Now seeing Nahida regain her freedom, she couldn't help but shed tears on the spot.
Lucian was someone who liked watching beautiful girls cry; a little loli crying was even more delicious, but for some reason, Lucian's heart felt nothing toward Paimon's tears.
"Oh—!" Nahida exclaimed in surprise, not expecting little Paimon to pounce straight into her arms.
Nahida naturally wouldn't be angry; she hugged Paimon and gently patted her head. "It's okay, it's okay."
Clearly, she was the one who'd been hurt, yet here she was comforting others and saying 'it's okay'—as expected of a loli who could be called a mother!
Lumine was also getting a bit restless; it was her turn now, right?
When dealing with the Great Sage earlier, Lumine hadn't needed to help, so she'd been outside helping everyone take down the thirty-man squad.
While Lucian and the Great Sage were posturing, sister Lumine was out front flexing her muscles.
Lumine was like that; she just needed to flex her muscles, but Alhaitham had a lot more to consider.
There were quite a few guards; a direct assault might lead to casualties, so Alhaitham came up with a divide-and-conquer strategy.
A large portion of the outside guards had been lured away by Alhaitham, only returning after seeing the Great Sage's message.
Unfortunately, by the time they returned, the other half had already been taken down.
And after dealing with the thirty-man squad, Lumine hadn't even had time to kick the Great Sage before following Lucian to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, just to see Nahida.