As the familiar darkness enveloped Lynelle's body once more, she lost consciousness inside the hibernation pod.
According to Herta, though, she'd added a bit of tech magic to the pod this time—the drug being administered wouldn't outright kill her, but instead induce a deathlike suspended state.
On top of that, the formula was designed to gradually and subtly enhance her physical condition.
If it was confirmed that this serum could reliably transport her into the Honkai world, Herta planned to mass-produce it.
After all, at Lynelle's request, the side effects had been forcibly reversed into beneficial ones.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the deathlike state was the real side effect, while the physical enhancement was its original intended function.
Considering Herta mentioned the drug would only work on Lynelle, and that the "Ruan Mei Bag" placed beside the pod looked suspiciously like a freshly baked artifact, Lynelle made a bold and rather obvious guess: the "old friend" Herta had mentioned meeting was almost certainly Ruan Mei.
The connection between those two was notoriously close—so much so that people even joked about a certain Light Cone called "Geniuses Butting Heads." And most of what Herta came up with these days had Ruan Mei's fingerprints all over it.
Not that it really concerned her. So Herta was interested in her—fine.
But Ruan Mei's expertise had nothing to do with her situation, right? No way she'd take an interest too…?
With that thought, Lynelle opened her eyes again—and immediately recognized the sensation. That feeling of being fully submerged in nutrient fluid.
'Alright, at least I'm definitely not in Sirin's hands now… Either I'm with Schicksal or Anti-Entropy. But if it's Schicksal, Otto said I shouldn't wake up until after the Second Honkai War… So the next step is to figure out the timeline…'
Before Lynelle could sort through her thoughts, the door slid open and in walked a redhead with twin tails.
Well, no need to wonder anymore. Unless Schicksal went and cloned a Tesla double, I must be with Anti-Entropy.
Lynelle let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After all, even though she had some informational advantage over that bastard Otto, everyone knew—you could question Otto's morals, but never his competence. Going head-to-head with someone like him put a lot of pressure on Lynelle.
Anti-Entropy was different. Sure, the two doctors were plenty sharp, and Welt's experience ran deep—but unlike Otto, the key figures in Anti-Entropy were what you'd call "good people" in the traditional sense.
Good people had their virtues: they had principles, they were kind, they knew boundaries.
With someone they didn't know well, they'd consciously avoid prying into their secrets. And even with those they trusted, keeping a few small secrets wasn't exactly unacceptable to them.
Long story short—as long as she was with Anti-Entropy, there was no risk of her own circumstances being exposed.
"Huh, you're awake?!"
It didn't seem like Tesla had come specifically to check on Lynelle. When she noticed the girl in the cultivation fluid was conscious, Tesla jumped in surprise, then quickly barked into her communicator:
"Einstein! Hey, Einstein! Hold the plane for a second and get Welt back here!"
"That pink-haired girl he snatched—she's awake!"
Even without speaking to Lynelle yet, judging by the Lobster-head Doctor's tone, it sounded like Welt had managed to retrieve her.
Lynelle nodded to herself, pleased.
Based on the original timeline, Welt and Siegfried together got instantly wiped by Otto's "clown mode." If Otto hadn't needed Siegfried alive back then, Welt would've been forced into an instant comeback. But in this world line, did Welt actually outmaneuver Otto? Now that was worth celebrating.
But Lynelle's quiet relief was short-lived.
Welt rushed back in a hurry, but instead of a long explanation, he cut straight to one question:
"The situation's changed. Sirin might be in serious danger now. Will you come with me to save her?"
"...Huh?"
Lynelle stared, utterly dumbstruck.
I was only dead for a little while—how did we jump straight to the finale already?
Then, bewildered and half-processing, Lynelle was ushered by Welt onto the aircraft.
--+--
"After you… died, Sirin gained the power of four Herrscher Cores on the Moon. Once she recovered from her injuries, she headed straight for Earth."
"Her landing point appears to be Siberia. My guess is she knows the area is mostly deserted by now—a place where she can go all out without holding back."
"And Otto seems to think the same."
"According to our intel, Otto has mobilized almost all of Schicksal's top combat forces—including the Snowwolf Squad, Siegfried, Cecilia, and that mysterious immortal, Fu Hua—to form an anti-Herrscher unit. They've officially declared war on the Second Herrscher."
"Then Sirin's in real danger?"
Lynelle drew a sharp breath. She never imagined that her short time being "deceased" would lead to such a drastic turn of events.
Then again, it all traced back to her initial slip-up. If she'd cleaned up all the data at Babylon Labs, it would've taken Otto much longer to confirm her identity—and she wouldn't have been caught off guard and taken out by his schemes.
Originally, she'd been sure Otto wouldn't appear at that location, at that time.
"It's dangerous, but not hopeless."
Welt shook his head. "Satellite intel and Honkai energy detectors both indicate that Sirin seems to have distributed her Cores among four puppets. Right now, in Siberia, besides Sirin herself, there's also Benares and four Pseudo-Herrschers."
"Besides, from what I know, Cecilia and Siegfried are aware of the whole truth. They aren't going there to kill Sirin—if there's a chance, they'd rather try to save her."
"So, in short—everyone has their own agenda."
Lynelle sighed.
"Correct."
A faint, unreadable gleam flickered in Welt's eyes. "So, Miss Lynelle… what goal are you pursuing in this battle?"
"My goal is simple: keep Sirin alive, and find her a home."
Lynelle met Welt's probing gaze without flinching. "I know what you're really asking. Don't worry—I'm not Otto. I may have my share of secrets, but my feelings for Sirin are genuine."
"And… well, you'll find out later. For certain reasons, I can't remain active in this world for very long. In that situation, Sirin will still need someone to look after her."
"Even before you approached me, joining Anti-Entropy was always within my considerations."
"So I believe we have an opportunity to cooperate."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.