"Strange."
"It's not that the energy comes from the moon. In fact, no Scholar believes that what they see now is necessarily the truth of the universe."
"Rather, this energy is simply too strange, almost like the entropy that only exists in theory."
"It's so troublesome that humanity is utterly incapable of resisting it."
"The establishment of the Moth Chasing Fire was partly due to this reason—to prevent humanity from perishing in such a disaster, the United Nations intentionally established a powerful military entity to deal with the Honkai, and extended invitations to numerous scientists, hoping to achieve victory in the upcoming war through technology..."
"This proves that so many countries collectively believe this energy is extremely troublesome, and that it's even necessary to unite and form an organization to research it."
Vil-V felt that she had to delve deeper into this research.
To explore what exactly this Honkai is?
Due to the existence of unknown variables, specific formulas are currently difficult to crack, and there are no formulas in human history that can be applied. The only way to find the answer is to use the most basic, yet most time-consuming method..."
"—Brute force!"
"The so-called brute force method refers to using massive amounts of data, constantly trial-and-error, and continuously attempting to enumerate calculations until the correct answer is obtained."
"To achieve this usually requires either a sufficient number of people, or an individual's mind so powerful that it defies logic, capable of being used as a computer."
She happened to fit the latter, and not only could she be used as a computer; if it was for Jiang Cheng, anything was possible.
After three hours of dedicated work, Vil-V put down her pen, looked at the incomplete formula on the paper, and slowly exhaled.
Since she had reached this point, the rest of the work could be handed over entirely to computers. With the existing materials and that budget, it wouldn't be difficult to initiate an industrial revolution in two or three days. The most crucial process and framework had already been planned.
After all, she was also human; her mental calculation speed reaching 90,000 times per second was already her limit, not even comparable to older versions of computers. There was no need to compete with the world's most advanced supercomputers.
Although if she put in her full effort, her speed and efficiency would only increase, and with continued effort, she might truly be able to compare.
"—Spending time on such things is simply too wasteful. Right now, there are things more important than the so-called Honkai."
Vil-V carefully placed the documents in a box, then gently clasped her hands together and stretched upwards, revealing her figure clad only in a top, the slightly tight black fabric accentuating her physique perfectly.
"—What will Jiang Cheng eat today?"
"Let's try some Shenzhou cuisine."
At twenty-three, after working for a year, perhaps after inadvertently undergoing some assessment, and after a new project with so many zeros that it would make your eyes glaze over, the Moth Chasing Fire extended an invitation to you.
They invited Vil-V, the world's most brilliant genius, a talent so rare even they struggled to find her, to serve as the Head of the Engineering Department.
This was originally an incredibly exaggerated piece of news. Unlike a national alliance, this organization, established by various countries, possessed genuine substantive power.
Serving as a department head within it, in a certain sense, granted authority no less than that of a head of state.
Although her status might not be on par with a head of state, unlike in the past, heads of state could no longer rule dictatorially and had to pass through multiple constraints. Their practical utility might even be inferior to that of a Scholar who possessed absolute discourse power and sufficient status.
If it were you a few years ago, you would surely have found such a thing incomprehensible.
But after living with the young woman for some time, you found such matters quite normal, commonplace. If the invitation hadn't been for a department head position, you would have felt puzzled, believing Vil-V had been insulted.
Since it was a department head position, there was no need to refuse outright. A bigger stage was naturally a good thing.
You decided to discuss this issue with Vil-V.
"—What do you think of this invitation?"
"You can decide..."
Even after a long time, the young woman, gazed upon by such gentle eyes, still felt an inexplicable shyness, obediently lowering her face.
There was no trace of a genius's arrogance, no thought of leveraging her talent. Her delicate, serene profile was like a clinging, sweet, ochre-colored rose, making one lose themselves in her tenderness... "Although I know this is a difficult request, you can't always pile everything on me. This time, please offer some opinion."
Beneath the young man's gentle eyes, however, lay an unyielding resolve. He lightly placed the somewhat heavy contract directly onto the table.
Even if it was a bit forceful, he needed the young woman to clearly see the terms.
This choice was simply too important.
To some extent, it could be equated with the fate of her life.
On crucial matters, the young man was never willing to make decisions alone, to decide for the talented young woman based solely on his ordinary abilities.
"If you really don't want to, I can ask them to postpone it again. This matter is truly important, and I don't wish to make a decision alone."
He gently tapped the table, emphasizing the words on the contract as if to highlight them.
"You don't want to help me decide?"
The young woman's head drooped even lower, her voice a little wistful, her fair, tender hands unconsciously intertwining beneath the table.
"As long as it's your decision, it will always be the best choice for me."
"That's not it. It's just that my talent is so inferior compared to yours. Can you really bear to let me, this useless... someone whose talent isn't in this area and is better at other things, shoulder so many things I'm not good at and don't know how to do?"
The young man, however, sighed helplessly, his dark eyes filled with resignation.
There's an illustration here, visible after updating the version.
There's an illustration here, visible after updating the version.
There's an illustration here, visible after updating the version.
There's an illustration here, visible after updating the version.
49. Vil-V: Please ask something of me.
—There was absolutely no room for choice or evasion.
Vil-V could only pick up the simple contract and meticulously read its terms, her silver-gray pupils capturing and analyzing all the information within.
With the full exertion of a top-tier genius's intellect, all the petty schemes that still remained within human limits were as simple as one plus one, effortlessly understood.
The seemingly gentle, almost soft, adorable young woman completed her analysis in less than three seconds.
From her cherry-colored lips came a voice that was almost like truth itself.
"The restrictions on personal freedom in the terms are quite severe. There's considerable unrest within the Moth Chasing Fire, making it difficult to extricate oneself... It might lead to trouble."
"It's not good to refuse directly like this. Should we sign a long-term contract?"
"This world might not be so safe."
... "—Not so safe?"
Why would she say this world isn't so safe?
Vil-V... what exactly did she discover?
What did she see that transcended ordinary human understanding?
You couldn't understand what the young woman meant by "not so safe"; your intellect couldn't achieve the same breadth and vision as hers.
People need to have self-awareness, to know what they can do and what they cannot, and not to force themselves at inappropriate times.
You, coincidentally, possessed great self-awareness, knowing the galactic distance between yourself and the young woman.
No matter what, the young woman would not let you be harmed.
Isn't knowing just this enough?
Why ponder meaningless things that can't possibly yield any results?
This was Vil-V's place.
It was the young woman's home ground.
It was also the only way you could use the disparity in reality to maintain the young woman's freedom, so that even her right to think wasn't packaged and given to you.
As long as you threatened your own safety, the young woman would stop at nothing.
At least you had achieved your goal this time.
—To politely decline joining the Moth Chasing Fire.
You also felt that this so-called pan-human community was quite absurd. The idea of all humanity working together in unity was inherently impossible; if true unity could be achieved, there wouldn't be so many conflicts in the world.
Even though you refused to join, deciding to maintain an independent stance, it didn't mean that the contract between the Spiral Workshop and the Moth Chasing Fire had to be terminated.
The other party was still your studio's biggest patron to this day.
Building a human community was essentially no different from dreaming.
Even though, as you understood it, the person who proposed this organization was the world's top Scholar, in a situation where everyone's interests could not be maintained, no matter how grand it appeared, it would ultimately be torn apart by various countries.
No matter how intimidating the so-called Moth Chasing Fire seemed, at most, it was just another empty shell of a United Nations, achieving a certain degree of technology sharing.
Unless some massive disaster suddenly appeared, forcing all of humanity to unite, otherwise they would face death and destruction.
"—How could that be?"
This so-called doomsday, its credibility was like the real existence of gods in the world; no one had believed it since 2012.
Although it appeared unremarkable, merely limited to a certain degree of technology sharing, the fact that various countries could relatively give up a portion of their interests was enough to pique a small amount of interest from you and the young woman.
Anyway, none of this would interfere with your daily lives.
Ever since you started living with Vil-V, you had experienced a feeling of being valued at all times, completely opposite to before.
"I learned traditional Shenzhou cuisine and made a braised pork. Would you like to try it?"
Vil-V was blinking her silver-gray eyes, her gaze filled with affection—her ample figure covered by an apron, leaving only her round calves encased in black stockings, sweet as freshly baked chocolate, with a hint of tender, pink flesh gently squeezed at the edges.
However, not a trace of fabric was visible at the edges of her slender arms. The warmth of the kitchen had brought a few beads of sweat to her slightly flushed skin, reflecting a moist sheen, as if coated in syrup.
Only the upper part of the apron had a small opening, and the intentionally tightened ties on both sides caused her soft flesh to constantly compress, even distorting a little.
At first glance, it looked strangely as if she was only wearing stockings and an apron.
"—Then I naturally cannot be absent."
Jiang Cheng didn't pay attention to such minor details, merely stepping forward to take the dark gold plate.
"Anyway, anything you make, no matter how much of a hellish dish it is, will be incredibly delicious. There's simply no need for any thought."
"Hmm..."
"That answer is too much of a dodge."
"If you don't point out any mistakes, how can I improve the food...?"
Vil-V seemed a little displeased, her rosy lips pouting, her fair, flushed skin puffing up like a soft, bouncy pufferfish.
Every time she tried to ask something, he would give that same answer.
Isn't this... making it impossible to progress?
If she couldn't progress, couldn't continue to improve, couldn't strive in the areas the young man liked, how could she ensure she would always have his love, always have his care and tenderness?
Despite this, the young woman couldn't help but be intoxicated by this sweetness, her body seemingly softening, wanting to lean against the young man.
It wasn't anything special.
It was very ordinary.
Yet, it was as if she could smell the scent of burning flames from the young man.
It wasn't the acrid smell of sulfur or the choking scent of charcoal, but a warmth that could be smelled, like the hot steam wafting in a hot spring bathhouse.
Perhaps still on the edge of a cliff, but no longer feeling the cold wind. The firewood of emotion was ignited, used for warmth in the long, lonely winter.
"Otherwise, why do they say sincerity is the ultimate move?"
The young man simply savored with his eyes this intimacy, more fragrant than gourmet food, sweeter and more moving than candy, an intimacy that had never lingered in his past life, only a brief period of beauty he had experienced between the ages of five and nine.