The headquarters of the newborn World Serpent.
Underground base.
At the same time Kevin was personally training "Kevin," elsewhere…
A virtual remote conference led by MEI was being held inside a sealed room.
On the headquarters side, those present were MEI, Elysia, Vill-V, and…
Gray Serpent.
As for those who could not conveniently appear in person, but still intended to participate and could only attend through remote virtual projection, they were Mobius, Spaci, Hen, and…
Einstein.
Among everyone present, the first few did not need much further introduction.
As for the latter three…
Spaci was, in this era's original historical track, Su's guide and the leader of Fire Moth's Fifth Research Institute. During the outbreak of the Eighth Honkai Eruption, he played a key role. At the cost of his life, he greatly delayed the Herrscher of Sentience's actions.
Hen was Griseo's father and Kosma's captain. In the future of the original historical track, he took part in battles against Herrschers many times, and eventually died heroically near the end of the Ninth Honkai Eruption.
Einstein was from Mu Continent, a top scientist who would one day develop ELF technology and Sea of Quanta portal technology.
During the outbreak of the Ninth Honkai Eruption in the original historical track, she activated the completed product of the latter technology. Before the enormous "pseudo black hole" created by the Ninth Herrscher could devour everything, she transferred Mu Continent's remaining cities into the Sea of Quanta, turning them into bubble worlds that survived for tens of thousands of years.
As for Einstein herself, she carried many regrets and spent the rest of her life alone.
In the end, half a century after the outbreak of the Ninth Honkai Eruption, as the final human survivor, she entered her final sleep inside the bubble world.
In short, the people currently able to take part in this virtual remote conference were all elites of this era.
And part of the future related to them had already been revealed by Gray Serpent on MEI's orders.
Of course, there were some things even Gray Serpent had never known in full.
For example: Dr. Einstein's ending.
At this stage, Dr. Einstein of this era only knew that Mu Continent had been destroyed in the original historical track and sunk into the Sea of Quanta.
She did not even know whether her "Great Transfer Plan" had succeeded.
And it was on this basis that…
"Dr. Einstein, how is the progress on your side?"
MEI sat in the main seat and turned her head toward the virtual projection beside her.
There was one thing that had to be mentioned.
Although Dr. Einstein of this era also had slightly curled blue hair, she was different from the "Dr. Bedhead" of Anti-Entropy more than fifty thousand years later. There was a small tuft of red hair at the front of her forehead.
It was just…
Before Ling Ke transmigrated, he had once heard a few jokes along these lines:
"Since Part 1's finale said Earth's human civilization was the 'same group' repeatedly reset by the Cocoon of Finality, then if Dr. Bedhead maps onto Previous Era Einstein, who does Dr. Lobster, Tesla, map onto?"
"Did that tuft of red hair cultivate into a person or something?"
Cough, cough.
All right. No more digressions.
At the moment…
"Through the information Mr. Gray Serpent transmitted, ELF technology has already entered the testing stage."
"Although they will soon be able to satisfy all practical conditions, personally, I still do not wish to treat those children as pure weap—"
"Dr. Einstein."
MEI interrupted what Einstein was about to say next.
"You also know the situation in the 'future.' Right now, we cannot afford naivety."
"…"
It had to be said. MEI was indeed a super genius.
And the fields covered by that evaluation went far beyond scientific research alone.
One had to know that the current MEI was not yet Dr. MEI of the future original historical track, much less Fire Moth's final leader.
She was only…
A Far Eastern high school girl who had been abruptly dragged into a supernatural world.
Originally, at this point in time, she should have been immersed in the sea of knowledge, swimming through it without worry.
Then, not long after, she would suddenly experience the Third Honkai Eruption, join Fire Moth, and walk that path to save the current Earth's human civilization, a path that the vast majority of people would never understand.
But in the original historical track, after joining Fire Moth, she very quickly sat in a high position. She even had the authority to hold back Mobius and Vill-V's research funding.
From that alone, one could already see that her abilities in other fields were not to be underestimated either.
And reality had indeed proven that.
In these short few months, MEI had completely transformed.
After learning "future intelligence," she had effectively advanced several years ahead of schedule, changing from an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl into the absolutely rational "Dr. MEI."
She had already taken the initiative to hide away the more emotional, romantic side of herself.
Because she knew that, sitting in this position, anyone else could afford to be naive.
She absolutely could not.
Now, under this premise…
"I understand."
Inside the virtual remote conference room, under MEI's gaze, Dr. Einstein could only helplessly give up on continuing the topic of "whether ELFs should be treated as people."
After that…
"As for the portal to the Sea of Quanta… although I can build it, the materials required are impossible to gather at this stage."
"Especially several highly specialized core materials. At present, they simply do not exist anywhere in the world."
Dr. Einstein reported honestly.
Indeed, special materials such as Soulsteel were things that would only have a chance of being refined in the future, after further analysis of Herrscher corpses and the body tissues of high-tier Honkai Beasts.
However, the corpses of the First Herrscher and the Second Herrscher were both sealed extremely tightly by Fire Moth.
As for body tissue from high-tier Honkai Beasts, that was also extremely difficult to obtain.
And apart from these two routes, the only remaining method was…
A moon landing.
Obviously, that was not something the newborn World Serpent could consider at this stage.
After all, setting aside whether they could build a spacecraft capable of reaching the moon, how would they solve the enormous funding problem? An aerospace base was not something that could be built just because they said so.
And also…
It was not as if every country in the world was blind. With a project that large, if they launched a several-thousand-ton skyrocket into the air, did they think no one else would see it?
Without question, while many things remained unclear, it was absolutely not suitable to alert the enemy.
And so, with the crucial starting material missing, there was naturally no way to even begin discussing methods to obtain materials like Soulsteel.
"I understand."
MEI nodded and looked toward another person.
"Gray Serpent, report the movements on your side."
"Yes."
The one taking part in this virtual remote conference right now was Gray Serpent's main body.
Over the past few months, after Kevin released Gray Serpent into this era's internet, he had immediately begun self-replication.
Now, through the many factories connected to and managed by the newborn World Serpent organization, he had already manufactured no fewer than two thousand individuals with mechanical bodies, his same kind who called themselves "intelligent machines."
Just as they had once operated in secret during the Current Era, the Gray Serpents communicated in real time through the "Gray Serpent Network" and served as the newborn World Serpent organization's intelligence department.
In routine operations, apart from recruiting talented people from various places, building local cells, and cultivating new manpower, the Gray Serpents were also responsible for "courier" work between different internal members.
They also gathered important events from all over the world, found the information needed by the newborn World Serpent, and reported it in detail.
Just like now…
"In recent months, across Europe, Africa, South America, and South Asia, a force calling itself the 'Cult of the Honkai God' has abruptly appeared."
Gray Serpent's red electronic eyes flashed with an eerie, wicked light.
In that hoarse synthetic electronic voice, he spoke one word at a time.
"Based on the current intelligence in my possession, there is a very high probability that the one directing this force from behind the scenes is that Overseer of Schicksal who is also a Reverse-Time Descender."
"Otto Apocalypse!"