"Is that so..."
Lu Xing briefly sensed Kevin's coordinates.
To be able to clearly perceive the ripples of spreading spatial fluctuations without the guidance of a corresponding authority or Divine Key—in a certain sense, Kevin was already far removed from the human species.
Not to mention his speed.
At a straight-line distance between the two islands, it would take him no more than two minutes to arrive by relying on pure physical flight. This was a vast departure from the conventional impression of Fusion Warriors being "glass cannons."
It was only normal that Xiao Zi had failed to stop Kevin. After all, his current Artificial Eruption state was a far cry from the "base form" he had just after completing the Chimera experiment.
"How did it feel?"
Two of the final three transport gates were solidifying from illusion into reality. As for the last one, its existence was no longer necessary.
"It was about what you guessed, Xiao Bai."
The longsword in her right hand dissipated into motes of light, and the hexahedron materialized by the [Authority of Reason] also merged back into the thick book, returning to Xiao Zi's waist. With Xiao Bai right beside her, there was naturally no need to maintain a combat stance.
"That form..."
"It's no longer a simple fusion of Honkai Energy and civilization. It's definitely mixed with something 'we' are both very familiar with."
"'We'?"
Lu Xing thought for a moment and roughly understood what Xiao Zi meant.
If things had developed normally, the Kevin who lived until the "Current Era" would have tinkered with many strange things in the World Serpent (most likely left behind by Dr. Mei), among them Honkai Beasts that could move freely in the Quantum Sea (or rather, hybrid Honkai Beasts that were a combination of Honkai and Quantum). If he were still purely human, he would clearly not be qualified to command these things. As expected...
"So Dr. Mei did manage to replicate a portion of Mu's legacy."
The Monarch furrowed his non-existent brow.
Although the scale was too small for the "Tree" to likely make a big fuss over it, that didn't mean it wouldn't leave behind a hidden danger.
Simply put, there was a possibility of old scores being settled.
And since the Quantum Sea could "erupt" through the Eye of the Deep, no one could guarantee that Kevin wouldn't become a similar anchor point if certain conditions were met. To be able to replicate the quantum technology of Mu from just a few fragments of information, Dora-Mei-mon was truly a genius who transcended generations. But it was precisely because she had only seen a small part of the truth that her judgment of quantum energy was skewed.
If this continued...
"Sigh."
Before the "Tree" discovered it, or rather, before the Quantum Sea found a breach, Lu Xing needed to resolve this trouble first.
He had a feeling that although his power had been greatly enhanced, ever since becoming an Arbiter, or rather, becoming the "foundation" of a civilization himself, he had started to become more cautious and considerate of the consequences.
It wasn't a good thing, but... it wasn't a bad thing either.
"No need to sigh."
Xiao Zi patted the Monarch's head—she was likely the only one who dared to do so. However, due to the size difference, the gesture always seemed a bit awkward.
"Even with that so-called [Karmafiend State]," she said. "At most, he's on the same level as the pink-haired elf down there. He shouldn't pose any threat to you, right?"
Artificial Honkai Eruption · Karmafiend State.
This was the second form of Artificial Honkai Eruption, which could be simply understood as Super Saiyan 2 from Dragon Ball or Bankai from Bleach... That's right, there was indeed a legendary Super Saiyan God form that came after—
[Savior State].
However, Kevin had not been able to achieve this form, which existed only in theory. If he could truly enter the [Savior State], Kevin might have actually had a chance to test his mettle against the current Monarch.
Incidentally, this form was benchmarked against Elysia's yet-unleashed power, and it was also the only form among all the combatants on this planet that could potentially harm the Monarch:
[Herrscher of Origin Form].
"I am not worried about how strong they are," Lu Xing softly denied Xiao Zi's guess.
"I'm just worried about humanity's capacity for 'causing trouble.' Based on current information, it's completely uncertain whether the simple annihilation of humanity would cause the entire planet to sink into the sea... If that were the case, everything I'm doing now would be for naught."
The exchange between the two did not use words. Though it seemed lengthy, only a fraction of a second had passed in the real world.
"No more dawdling."
Lu Xing, who had originally planned to watch the test unfold slowly, directly revealed the answers to the last two questions.
As all the spatial fluctuations solidified—
"THUD!!!"
Two colossal beings appeared directly at Lu Xing's side!
"As expected."
Cheche and Sheshe had brought back the five points as anticipated.
Between the twin horns on Behemoth's head, a large fluttering moth was now floating gently. It was undoubtedly Aponia. The mission Lu Xing had arranged for Cheche—to lure... no, persuade Aponia, who had lost her human memories, to the Honkai side—had clearly succeeded.
It also proved the "cruel" feasibility of a certain concept: the ability of [Yudu Chen] could burn memories. Therefore, Lu Xing, who had mastered the Authority of Sentience, could naturally use his own authority in reverse, making a target "voluntarily" burn their memories to release the [Taixu Sword God].
In other words, the current Monarch could use this method to forcibly brainwash any Fusion Warrior capable of entering their Artificial Eruption state into a member of his legion.
This was the side effect of humanity consuming the "forbidden fruit."
As for Sheshe's side...
"Ptooey."
Sheshe, who never missed a chance to get beaten up, had perfectly completed his objective for the first time.
Although Lu Xing felt this success was probably thanks to the Famine Temple, considering Sheshe was the actual main force—
"Well done."
"But this method... I suggest you coil them up and bring them back next time. Spitting them out of your mouth is a bit disgusting."
From a generally rational standpoint, the combination of strong acid, deadly poison, and high-voltage plasma could achieve perfect sterilization.
But spitting people out of his mouth was something Lu Xing found difficult to get used to... even if it was a snake's nature.
Mobius was the first to awaken.
Perhaps that description was not quite right. The five of them, including Dr. Mei, had actually been swallowed while in a state of paralysis. Sheshe had carefully adjusted the electric field and acidity levels; otherwise, what he spat out now would have been unrecognizable down to the bones (or parts). This level of care had kept everyone, including Dr. Mei, from fainting, but the experience of taking a trip through a snake's mouth... perhaps fainting would have been the better option.
By the time Mobius had woken everyone else up, a meteor streaking across the sky, trailing ice flowers and a rainbow, had already appeared on the horizon.
"It seems," Lu Xing said. "Your companions are about to be all here."