[The Babylon Laboratory tower in the Siberian tundra... Inside a 7th-generation Schicksal fighter jet, Theresa was Browse through the data sent by Overseer Otto. When she saw that 322 researchers had vanished overnight, her hand trembled. "A wasteland... late at night... and mysterious disappearances... Don't tell me it's haunted." Theresa's fair little face grew even paler, but after touching the photo of herself and little Kiana in her pocket, her resolve firmed. The jet landed on the snowy plains. The still-spinning propellers kicked up a strong wind, messing up Theresa's hair. She looked at the person who had come to greet her with a surprised and happy expression. "You're... Patrick! Long time no see!""Yo."]
"Great-Auntie, I never knew you were afraid of ghosts?! Hahahahahaha."
The audacious Kiana began to tease the Principal.
Amidst the Tuna's merciless laughter and the good-natured chuckles from the others, Theresa's face turned beet red. She tilted her head back and roared, "Shut up! You stinking Yàqīng, I, Theresa, will never forgive you!"
"Hahahahaha."
Meanwhile, at the official premiere cinema, Patrick looked at the incredibly detailed character model he had pulled several all-nighters to create and nodded with satisfaction. But as he thought about the upcoming plot, his face darkened again.
Shab slanted a look at him. At least you have a plot. Unlike her and Salome, who were killed off right after they appeared.
As if sensing Shab's gaze, Salome nodded in agreement.
Cheng Lixue, however, didn't have much of an opinion. It was fair to say that in this movie, her character was the most memorable member of the Snow Wolf squad.
Back in the Golden Courtyard, Elysia's eyes were sparkling. She cupped her cheeks and mumbled, "So cute! Yàqīng, my dear Yàqīng, is the real Theresa also this petite and exquisite?"
Seeing Elysia shaking Yàqīng's arm and acting cute, Mobius rolled her eyes in annoyance, wishing she could sit between them.
"Alright, Ely, let me think. Theresa... while she is small and cute in real life, it's not as exaggerated as in the anime," Yàqīng said helplessly. "As far back as I can remember, Theresa has always been that tall..."
"As far back as you can remember?" Elysia's eyes went wide with confusion.
Yàqīng smiled. "That's right. I remember fifteen years ago, Theresa was already her current height."
MEI was leaning on Kevin's shoulder.
Mobius was leaning over the back of Yàqīng's chair.
And Yàqīng was chatting happily with Elysia.
Su pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head with a smile.
[After meeting up, Theresa and Patrick headed to the Babylon Tower's control room. Looking at the white, ghostly figure on the monitor, Theresa shuddered in fear. Patrick's expression grew serious, his long, elegant hands flying across the keyboard. "Could it be... it's really a ghost?!""No, ghosts don't exist in this world." Patrick pulled up the history log of the Babylon Tower's Honkai reactor. "Almost all mysterious phenomena in this world are caused by Honkai energy. This time is no exception." The Honkai reactor's history showed an abnormal shutdown the previous night, but surveillance access was blocked. The reactor area had accumulated a dense concentration of Honkai energy, so only she and Theresa could go down to investigate. "Just... the two of us?!" Theresa pointed a finger at Patrick, then at herself, losing her confidence. "Yes, just the two of us." Unlike the panicked Theresa, Patrick wore a gentle smile.]
"Souls? Interesting." Mobius suddenly took an interest.
Vill-V excitedly patted Yàqīng's shoulder and asked, "Yàqīng, do you think souls really exist in the world?"
At Vill-V's question, the others also looked at Yàqīng curiously.
What is a soul? Does it exist? This debate had never ceased. Some believed souls were real, firmly believing in immortality, spiritual ascension, and the so-called afterlife. Others did not believe in souls, thinking that the death of the body was the dissipation of consciousness, and only one's spirit could be passed on.
Yàqīng had once asked himself if souls truly existed. He had experienced everything in a dream, like a god. In that dream, he looked down from the moon at that blue planet and heard them cry out, "For all that is beautiful in the world!"
"The world allows consciousness to match with a new vessel, but it does not allow a vessel to collect scattered consciousness," Yàqīng said, borrowing a quote from the Fool to express his thoughts.
An unusual light glinted in the eyes of Mobius, MEI, and Vill-V simultaneously.
"Is this your new theory? It's a completely new direction. But it seems you don't believe in the so-called soul, which makes sense, since your movie also mentioned that ghosts don't exist in the world," Vill-V said, seemingly having another one of her episodes as she began to mutter to herself.
"This is not my theory," Yàqīng said in a flat tone.
"Then whose is it?" Mobius's eyes glinted with greed, the look of a snake eyeing its prey.
"It belongs to Overseer Otto."
Yàqīng lowered his head slightly, expressing his sublime respect for that man.
The others were bewildered. They had never seen Yàqīng show such respect when mentioning Schicksal's Overseer.
[Theresa and Patrick arrived at the Babylon Tower's reactor area. Patrick was the first to discover faint Honkai energy residue on the ground. In this even dimmer environment, Theresa was terrified that something unknown would suddenly pop out from somewhere, and she began to stutter. Patrick couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She had defeated an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, yet she was this scared of ghosts. He especially remembered the time Theresa screamed in terror on a carousel. "Help... help... Is anyone there? Quick... save us..." A faint cry for help echoed in the empty area. Both of their expressions changed. Patrick looked seriously in the direction of the sound, while Theresa screamed, "A g-g-ghost has appeared!""No, that's the voice of a human girl!" Patrick and Theresa ran towards the sound. Next to the Honkai reactor was a vast, empty factory-like space, resembling a prison. Theresa was wondering why a research facility would have such a place when Patrick had already clasped a hand reaching out from between iron bars. The faint light illuminated a young girl's gaunt face, which was covered in scars. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at them. "Save... save us..." Patrick lowered his head, his silver-brown hair hiding his eyes.]
"Why? Why is there a prison in a research lab? And..." Pardofelis said in disbelief, looking at Yàqīng in the back row.
Kevin, who had been smiling just a moment ago, now had a grim expression.
Su frowned.
MEI uttered two words: "Human experimentation."
"Bastards!" Kalpas smashed the armrest of his chair with one punch. He panted heavily and stared at Yàqīng, his eyes promising violence if Yàqīng confirmed it.
Elysia's expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
"I knew you would all ask this." Yàqīng sighed, then smiled. "Don't worry. If anyone at a Schicksal research facility dared to secretly conduct human experiments, they certainly wouldn't live to see the next sunrise."
Yàqīng was so certain because he used to be in charge of Schicksal's research direction. He had once tied forty-seven researchers to hundred-pound stones and thrown them into the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a single day.
Would filming Schicksal's past mistakes cause its stock to plummet? Yàqīng didn't care, and neither did Otto. Otto was only worried that Kallen would take all the blame upon herself.
And sure enough, Kallen, who had been happily eating chips, fell silent.
"Otto, Schicksal wouldn't..."
Otto quickly wrapped an arm around Kallen's slender waist, letting her bury her head in his chest. He comforted her softly, "It's alright, Kallen. The things in the movie won't happen at Schicksal, because the one with real authority over research is Yàqīng."
"Mm..."
Otto gave a bitter smile. If Kallen couldn't even handle this, then when the rest of the story was revealed...
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