The middle-aged man with brown hair and the young man with gray hair strolled through the ancient city. This was Berlin as remembered in 1952, the place where the wills of 300,000 people resided within the Herrscher Core—Old Berlin, over sixty years in the past.
"Mr. Yang, where do you think we might find Mr. Joyce?"
The gray-haired Predecessor relinquished the lead to Welt, while the brown-haired middle-aged man pondered for a moment before formulating his own hypothesis. He then led Su toward a quiet street...
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this is the city as it existed on January 1, 1952, before the Honkai outbreak, formed from the collective will of its 300,000 inhabitants," Welt explained to Su, gesturing toward the bustling street.
"But Joyce is different. Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla told me—Joyce has no memories of the past. His true memories begin after the first Honkai outbreak. He spent three years in Schicksal's Headquarters laboratory."
"Later, after failing to uncover anything significant, Schicksal ultimately granted the request of its subordinate Imperial Research Institute's 42nd Laboratory to transfer him back to Berlin. If I'm correct... within this 1952 Berlin, there will be a Schicksal subordinate Imperial Research Institute's 42nd Laboratory from 1955."
"A bold yet plausible hypothesis, Mr. Welt Yang," Su acknowledged with a nod.
-
"Indeed... we've arrived," Welt said, standing with Su before the entrance of a building resembling a high-level research institute from an earlier era.
The plaque on the main gate identified the institute: Imperial Research Institute - Laboratory 42.
"Shall we go inside then? Let's hope Mr. Joyce isn't too surprised to see us."
Su shook her head slightly and gently pushed open the laboratory's heavy door.
Climbing the steps, the two made their way toward the residential quarters within the institute. As they walked, Welt continued to explain the institute's history.
"Although it's called Laboratory 42, it was actually just a research group of two: Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla."
"After the two doctors requested him, Joyce never underwent any experiments. Instead, he worked as their handyman in Laboratory 42. The name 'Welt Joyce' was given to him by the doctors during that time."
Su listened quietly to Welt Yang's reminiscing about the past, a polite smile on his lips, showing no hint of impatience.
"Ah, I apologize... Mr. Su, you've probably already seen this or heard it from Snow, haven't you? I just get a little nervous thinking about seeing him again, and I tend to ramble."
"I understand, Mr. Welt Yang. Reunions after long separations often bring a sense of nervousness. That's human nature. I presume this is where the two Doctors and Mr. Joyce resided?" Su glanced toward a door at the end of the corridor.
"That's right."
Welt twisted the doorknob, revealing a room that resembled a library more than a living room. A young man with indigo hair lay asleep on the sofa, a copy of Relativity resting open on his chest, as if he had been reading it just before falling asleep.
"Mr. Welt Joyce?" Su called out tentatively to the sleeping man, trying to rouse him. However, the man remained motionless on the sofa, showing no sign of waking.
Su and Welt exchanged a glance before approaching Joyce and gently patting his shoulder. But the young man with indigo hair remained completely unresponsive, as if in a deep, dreamless sleep.
"This... Mr. Welt Yang, please wait a moment while I check Mr. Joyce's condition."
Su stopped physically trying to wake Joyce and placed his hand on the man's forehead, sensing something...
After a long pause, he opened his eyes and shook his head at Welt.
"It seems we can't wake Mr. Joyce. For some reason, he's left himself a deep hypnotic suggestion—something akin to self-hypnosis."
"Unless a specific person awakens him, he won't wake up. Mr. Welt Yang, let's step out. We may need to discuss with Miss Snow and the others who Mr. Joyce's beloved might be..."
"Sigh... Very well. I knew it wouldn't be this easy..."
Welt sighed in agreement with Su's assessment, and the two men vanished from the room.
-
"You mean Joyce's beloved?"
Snow tilted her head curiously.
"Of course it's Einstein—she even named him after that messy-haired Doctor. Who else could it be?"
"Wait here while I fetch Dr. Einstein to escort you in."
Snow snapped her fingers, and a golden portal shimmered into existence before them.
"Leader Welt, come back with me. There are some matters you need to handle."
"Me? Come back with you too...?" The man's voice carried a note of confusion.
"Yes, there's a troublemaker who needs your attention, and they're from your own household."
Snow's tone grew impatient as she mentioned the troublemaker.
"Troublemaker... Cocolia?" Welt immediately realized who she meant.
"Exactly! Come on!"
The blonde girl seized Welt by the arm, using the Kaslana family's monstrous strength to yank him through the portal.
"By the way, are there any other Anti-Entropy Executors from the Conservative faction?"
As Snow and Welt walked through the corridors of Anti-Entropy's North America Headquarters after passing through the portal, Snow asked.
"One you've likely already recognized—Simon Lailey, the girl you rescued in Singapore—"
"Wow, she's actually an Executor? I thought she was just a high-ranking agent at best."
"The other one is an extremely young shut-in. Doctor Yssring Leavtruth is only sixteen years old... Einstein recruited her because of her exceptional academic achievements."
"Yssring Leavtruth...?"
"That's right, a young girl with green hair. I'll arrange for her to escort Cocolia directly to North America Headquarters later." Welt nodded.
"You should go with her, Mr. Welt Yang. Lady Cocolia would be too much for a young doctor to handle, no matter how skilled she is in combat. There's still a gap between her and former military personnel. If Cocolia senses something's amiss, Doctor Yssring might be in danger."
"Dr. Einstein and I can wait for your return. As for that troublemaker, she's been acting up for far too long now—"
"My oversight. Dr. Einstein's lab is at the end of the third-floor corridor; you should find it easily. I'm going with Doctor Yssring to apprehend Cocolia now."
"Safe travels, Mr. Yang."
The blonde girl waved goodbye to Welt as he walked away, then stepped into the elevator.
"So many weirdos are popping up these days... That Green Algae Head Doctor must be from Kyuusyou's world, right? Something about a Patchwork Universe..."
"Well, at least this Joyce isn't the deranged Welt from Honkai Impact 2nd..."