At night, the outer ring of Berlin felt far more peaceful than the bustling city center.
At this moment, on a winding road leading out of the city—
"Fwoosh~"
A clear sonic burst split the air.
Like a shockwave flowing forward.
A stream of blue light streaked rapidly into the distance.
Thanks to a semi-permanent energy shield called the Block Array, which surrounded the perimeter, neither Bronia nor Seele—riding the heavy Bunny in motorcycle form—felt much turbulence.
They both sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts.
While her mind was running wild with countless worries, Bronia also had to stay constantly on alert for movement around them.
As for Seele… she was clearly misunderstanding a few key things—and now only wanted to stay quiet.
Compared to the two of them—
"Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh~"
Several black military helicopters had already entered this airspace.
As they observed what was happening below, the pilot in the cockpit—and even all the special ops soldiers in the back—couldn't help but stare.
"What is that motorcycle? It's moving that fast?"
"Where did that person come from?"
"A robot with transformation capabilities... Which organization are they from?"
...
The rotor noise was so deafening that these moth-hunter soldiers, carrying out their field mission, had to communicate quickly through noise-cancelling headsets.
Between two points, the shortest route is a straight line.
With air superiority, they weren't planning to chase immediately.
The only thing that could be said was that after losing the Law of Reason, Bronia had become notably more limited in her actions.
Otherwise—if she were more ruthless, she could've summoned the floating cannon Key of Truth, revealed it temporarily, and launched anti-air attacks.
Or, if she didn't want to hurt people, she could've laid an airborne energy track to boost acceleration and shake off the tails behind her.
At the same time—
In Moth Chasing Fire's continental headquarters in Mu, inside a virtual remote conference room:
"Just now... Was that quantum technology?"
"Didn't Dr. Einstein say that tech hadn't reached practical application yet?"
"Has the identity of that person been verified?"
"Why did someone get there first?"
...
Virtual humanoid projections in suits and leather shoes watched the live mission feed on the giant screen.
It was clear—the plan to capture the Sixth Herrscher Vessel was of extreme concern to these high-ranking parliamentary members.
Because what they saw, or rather, what was deliberately planted in their minds—
Was a "bait" tailored to what nearly every elite longs for most.
Its name: Eternal Life.
Some saw it as a curse. Others viewed it as an invaluable treasure, rightfully theirs.
In any case, the troubling appearance of that news not long ago had undoubtedly shaken everyone familiar with it.
So much so that the thing these elites were most concerned about recently... had led them to temporarily set aside their pursuit of those two "superhumans."
However—
"Unexpectedly, 'Evo-01' and 'Evo-02' are also very interested in the body of the Sixth Herrscher."
"If you think about it, it makes sense."
"Intel confirms they've arrived in Berlin."
"We've picked up traces of Evo-02... but Evo-01... How did he evade all our agents and surveillance, and arrive in Berlin undetected?"
"Could someone be secretly assisting him?"
"Can we capture them both together?"
...
At that moment, the "Evo-01" and "Evo-02" being mentioned in the conference room—
Were none other than Kevin Kaslana, also known as the Apostle of Retrospection, and Raiden Mei.
Their code names came from the abbreviation of "Evolution."
It had to be said: Gray Snake, as the original vanguard unit of World Serpent, truly was capable.
After Patriarch Kevin had gone public online in the modern era, it had only taken a dozen days for a new World Serpent Organization to take form.
And in recent days, thanks to their covert actions, many key individuals...
For example: Mei's father, young Kevin's relatives, and even his close friend—Su...
Su's relatives had already been preemptively placed under protection.
This way, when Fire Moth later used facial recognition systems to track the young Kevin and Mei—
There were no signs of a connection between them.
And on that basis—
Under Kevin and Mei's plan (well, to be accurate, it was mostly Mei negotiating with the existing higher-ups—including Gray Snake and a cold-faced onlooker),
According to her:
"Just do what you're best at—do it yourself."
So, after a few internal discussions, the leadership of the new World Serpent finally decided:
They would begin gradually gathering the post-era "Thirteen Flame-Chasing Heroes", and even other elite warriors who had died far too early.
There was no other reason.
After learning the "future intel," every high-ranking Serpent member, including Kevin, was convinced:
"There's no way to overcome the end—by cooperating with Fire Moth's bureaucrats."
And that they must never allow this era to repeat.
In fact, even within the current Fire Moth, some had already switched sides in secret.
And it was one of them who had deliberately leaked intel about the Sixth Herrscher Vessel's uniqueness.
She had profited immensely from it... and was reluctant to give it all up.
Not everything was kept for herself.
Part of it was secretly funneled into the fledgling World Serpent—to serve as startup capital.
According to her plan, Fire Moth's upper brass would get distracted by the "superhuman" threat—
Giving World Serpent time to survive its fragile initial phase.
Then, while she negotiated with these pompous wine-sacks and rice-bags, and while they bickered among themselves...
Her own side could complete their setup—and operate without concern.
So—who was this person?
It was obvious.
"Are Evo-01 and Evo-02 really after the Sixth Herrscher's vessel?"
A slightly provocative female voice rang out in the virtual conference.
At that moment—
"Doctor Mebius, what are you implying?"
"Nothing."
Sitting in her seat, Mebius—who rarely attended events like this—had yet to replace her white coat marked with the serpent emblem.
At that moment, she casually crossed her legs and raised her hand toward the big screen.
"I simply feel that Evo-01 and Evo-02's real target… might be the twin-drill girl who appeared out of nowhere."
Upon hearing that—
"Your reasoning?"
One of the parliamentary members asked in a low voice.
"Dr. Mebius, did you withhold any key information in your previous reports?"
"Heh~"
Mebius sneered in response, not giving him an inch.
Seeing this, the parliamentarian frowned—but did not lose his temper.
To be honest, anyone who had climbed to this position had long since trained themselves not to show emotion or anger in public.
Even if he secretly disliked Mebius, he would never show it here—only sabotage her later.
The logic was simple.
If he made a mistake here, others would see him as hot-headed and unreliable.
On the other hand—
Showing hostility early meant that when the time came to pick sides, he'd have justification to act.
In short, even from this alone, Mebius—who lacked political experience—seemed rather immature.
But looking at the bigger picture—who was truly leading the game?
At that moment—
"Regarding the silver-haired girl who suddenly appeared today next to the Sixth Herrscher, our agents have found no matching records."
"As if she came out of nowhere."
Spoke a high-level executive in charge of Fire Moth's intelligence department.
Hearing this—
"Is she, like Evo-01 and Evo-02... a superhuman too?"
"It's possible."
"Footage recovered from on-site field operatives shows the unidentified silver-haired girl leaping a nearly three-meter wall—while carrying the Sixth Herrscher's vessel."
"Even if her leg armor is exceptionally advanced, the arm strength and neural reflexes she displayed far exceed human limits."
"Her physical performance is suspiciously abnormal."
"Then include her in the capture operation."
"If her abilities or equipment can be replicated for our military..."
"We still need to consider costs first..."
"True—if it's too expensive, we'll only equip elite special forces with it…"
Multiple voices chimed in across the room.
Mebius watched coldly in silence.
"Look at them... these short-sighted fools."
Though nothing had even happened yet, their conversation had already touched on post-capture "benefit distribution."
"No wonder the 'future' ended the way it did."
At that moment, Mebius recalled the memories passed to her by Gray Serpent.
The Eighth Honkai Impact, her own assistant—Blanca, dead.
The Ninth Collapse, Blanca's husband—the man she hated most—Mark, sacrificed.
The Tenth, her current assistant—Klein—became one of the Thousand Talents Legislators, died once, then was devoured by her own "Serpent Abyss" persona.
Eleventh.
Twelfth.
And—
"None of that... must ever happen again."
At this point in her thoughts, Mebius tuned out the noisy chatter rising and falling in the conference room.
She fell silent, watching the massive screen beside her.
"The butterfly had already spread its wings. Now that the storm is about to rise—better to push it further and make it even wilder!"
"In the end, those who fumble and rely too much on so-called 'future intel'... will never recover—and will lose everything."