To prevent the Overseer from noticing anything unusual, Theresa, the school principal, and Himeko, a key member, naturally couldn't leave.
Similarly, as Otto's most important experimental subject in Project Sirin, Kiana couldn't easily leave St. Freya's Academy.
Originally, Fu Hua couldn't leave either; after all, she was still officially an Otto spy, and leaving would likely draw his attention.
However, considering the presence of the dangerous World Serpent Lord within the Sea of Quanta, for Bronya's safety, St. Freya chose to include Fu Hua, who was already considered the strongest, in the group entering the Sea of Quanta.
As for Otto's attention, Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down, combined with the gadgets Mei had developed recently, they should be able to more or less avoid it.
Of course, what would they do if they were discovered?
Theresa said that if her grandfather discovered this and was ready to take action, she would be ready to turn hostile.
Schicksal Headquarters' foundation was indeed very strong.
But for now...
The team's lineup...
Immortal Phoenix, Fu Hua, who had almost recovered most of her strength.
Bronya Zaychik, the Ural Silver Wolf, who wielded some of the powers of the Herrscher of Reason.
Kiana Kaslana, who wielded some of the powers of the Herrscher of the Void and, thanks to her own power bank, was effectively a Small Herrscher of the Void.
And Mei Raiden, who wielded the powers of the Herrscher of Thunder and possessed the Gem of Conquest.
Because she didn't have the same conflict with the Herrscher of the Void as Kiana did, and she hadn't experienced the necessary things, as a result, her other Herrscher persona has yet to take shape.
Thanks to her high intelligence and the partial power granted by her glasses, Mei has already mastered the power of the third Herrscher.
But... for some reason, the lightning unleashed by the Conquest Gem is purple.
Its destructive power and various stats are significantly inferior to Mei's original Red Lightning.
If the Conquest Gem's power weren't intact, Mei would have considered shielding it and drawing on Honkai energy to supply her Red Lightning.
But these attempts are meaningless. Mei now has little room to maneuver.
Rather than her formidable combat prowess, St. Freya Academy seems to need her exceptional intelligence and scientific research more than her superior combat prowess.
Himeko's combat prowess seemed to be something to consider. With the ICHOR and the Tenth Divine Key, the Xuanyuan Sword, her combat power soared with Water's Edge's help.
Combined with her previous battle experience, Himeko has undoubtedly reached the level of an S-rank Valkyrie at headquarters.
Once the ICHOR Factor is fully activated, Himeko will rank among the best S-rank Valkyries of all time. Well, even a duel with a dragon-like power like Durandal is possible.
A 50-50 Herrscher, a Herrscher with infinite mana, a nearly complete previous era MANTIS, a MANTIS of S-rank Valkyrie proportions, and Theresa herself, a retired S-rank Valkyrie...
At times like these, one cannot help but sigh. This tiny St. Freya Academy is surprisingly full of hidden talents.
Even without considering Anti-Entropy, St. Freya's high-end combat power is significantly superior to that of the headquarters.
If we consider Anti-Entropy as well, the situation becomes even more formidable.
According to Einstein, Wendy has initially mastered the power of the Gem of Desire.
Although still somewhat unstable, she is undoubtedly capable of unleashing the combat power of an S-rank Valkyrie.
With the added bonus of the Wind Scroll, Wendy is no match for Durandal even if she escapes.
Although Wodan's size prevents it from matching that of an S-rank Valkyrie, it's destructive power undoubtedly far exceeds that of a normal S-rank Valkyrie.
After being strengthened by Tesla, Einstein took one look, feeling both heartbroken for the financial situation and also giving... evaluation of a [War Machine].
This key part is coated in Soulium. Even though it's still a large target, its resistance is enough to make most enemies paralyzed.
And that First Herrscher, Anti-Entropy leader Welt...
In short, the current situation is that the combined strength of St. Freya and Anti-Entropy's top brass is far superior to that of Schicksal.
If it weren't for the significant disparity in strength between the mid- and lower-level brass, Theresa might have considered a direct confrontation.
To get back to the point, Theresa's cover-up is essentially just a casual facade.
It's best if you don't discover it, but I'm not afraid even if you discover it.
—After they prepared, the team, led by Fu Hua, Bronya, and Mei, quietly disappeared. They arrived at the Anti-Entropy base closest to The Deep with a whisper of a voice, a journey that took several days.
Mei could have skipped the trip, as she was currently busy with a multitude of tasks and research, but since she needed to hand over some information to Anti-Entropy, she came along.
Upon meeting them, Einstein, still with the familiar face and attire, glanced at the three people and smiled slightly.
"It seems you're all prepared."
She led the three into the base, explaining the various parts of it.
Then they stopped at a spacious area.
In front of them was a strange device, resembling a fishing rod, seemingly unrefined in design. Its signature bright red... the color scheme is clearly a Tesla masterpiece.
Below the device is a box, the same one that was in the Q&A space.
"The progress in the quantum field isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it's certainly yielding quite a few results."
With a satisfied smile, Einstein handed the items she'd already prepared to Fu Hua and Bronya.
Mei didn't need them. Although she was with the team, her main purpose was to communicate and act as a kind of guardian.
"This is..." Bronya, holding the object Einstein tossed over, was puzzled when she realized it looked like a bracelet.
"That's a concealing device."
A voice sounded from the side. Looking over, she saw Tesla, dressed in white overalls, approaching, a green figure beside her. Bronya was no stranger to this figure.
"Sister Bronya!" Wendy, dressed in a green outfit and now able to stand after completing control of the Gem of Desire, trotted over with a look of joy on her face.
"Wendy!" Bronya was also quite happy. It had been so long since she'd seen Wendy. Although they'd chatted online, in person was always different.
Seeing the two chatting together, Einstein gave Mei a look.
"Ahem, let's wait for a while before we finish our conversation." Mei coughed twice, understanding the hint, and spoke to calm the two, who seemed quite agitated.
Bronya and Wendy weren't the type to ignore the seriousness of the situation, so they quieted down.
Einstein nodded, then followed up Tesla's remarks with a few words.
"In the previous footage, although confined within the Sea of Quanta, Mr. Serpent appears to still have the ability to spy and interfere."
She explained the function of the product, but left some wiggle room at the end, saying nonchalantly.
"That bracelet is a result of our recent advances in quantum research. It can conceal our existence, preventing the Serpent from detecting us. Of course... this function hasn't been proven, it's only theoretically possible. That's all."
"Besides the cloaking power whose effectiveness is uncertain, the bracelet also has various other uses, such as allowing you to stay in touch with us and solidifying your quantization. Beyond the most important ones, you can explore the others on your own."
Several people nodded.
Bronya, the only one, stared blankly at Einstein.
For her, there were more pressing concerns.
Of course, Einstein knew what Bronya wanted.
Looking at Mei who looked exceptionally intelligent, wearing glasses and comfortable casual clothing, she asked.
"Dr. Mei, I assume you've already taken care of this, right?"
Because she was a bit busy, Bronya passed on Mei's request.
"Yes." Mei nodded slightly, then pulled a small Rubik's Cube from her pocket.
Tesla knew what they were talking about, and she had great faith in Mei's abilities. But upon seeing the shrunken Rubik's Cube, she raised a brow and said, somewhat speechlessly:
"A Rubik's Cube-shaped quantum fixer? Is there really no problem with this?"
Mei tossed the strange, futuristic Rubik's Cube in her hand and spoke, "There's no rule that something like this can't be a Rubik's Cube, right?"
Tesla was naturally speechless, but after glancing at the cube, she still muttered with some concern.
"...No, but a Rubik's Cube... with this shape, the internal structure would be much more complicated than a normal one."
Mechanical devices like these generally tend to be more stable the simpler their structure.
A square is fine, but the thing in Mei's hand, with its vertical lines and grooves, is clearly a standard Rubik's Cube.
Using a rotating Rubik's Cube as a device... the thought of something like that made Tesla feel overwhelmed.
"It might be less stable, but I've sacrificed some stability by replacing it with something else, which should definitely make up for it."
Mei didn't deny Tesla's opinion. She looked at Bronya and said, "Bronya, you should have brought everything I asked you to bring, right?"
Bronya was stunned for a moment, then nodded. She took her belongings from her small bag.
Seele's pen, the notebook, Seele's hairpin, and... the Intertwined Fate.
Mei nodded, then slightly lifted the Rubik's Cube, twisted it a few times, and brought it close to the hairpin and notebook.
As they approached, a series of flashes of light shone through the cracks in the Rubik's Cube.
Then, a blurry light dispersed from the cracks in a certain direction.
"Guidance?" Einstein instantly understood what this meant.
"Hmm."
"Although the previous video revealed Seele's sister's location, that was in the future. Mr. Welt isn't guarding the Sea of Quanta right now."
Mei sighed and spoke calmly.
"Without the guidance of Joachim, left by Mr. Welt, how could Bronya have...?"
"Can you find Seele?"
Einstein was impressed. "You've really thought this through."
She'd been so busy lately that she hadn't considered this time change.
If Mei hadn't taken this into account, Bronya and the others would have just followed the predetermined trajectory and crashed into it. While they might not have suffered head-on damage, they would have definitely been disoriented in the vast Sea of Quanta.
Admiration was in her eyes, but even someone as brilliant as Einstein was puzzled by the object in Bronya's hand.
"That thing... what are you planning to do with it?"
From what she'd heard from Bronya, it seemed to be from another world, but it seemed completely useless in this one.
...wait. This world...
Einstein suddenly understood something and looked at the Intertwined Fate in Bronya's hand.
Mei's lips curled up. She didn't need to explain this.
Although, judging by the information in the attribute table, in their world, this Intertwined Fate seems to be just a beautiful symbol, but the Sea of Quanta is different.
Based on the information Anti-Entropy shared with her, and what was revealed in a previous question, this thing is definitely extremely special.
"I borrowed this from Bronya to study it previously. It contains a somewhat different kind of energy. I haven't found any results yet, but regarding its essence..."
"After thoroughly understanding it, I discovered it is a natural 'Pathway'."
Mei's pretty face wore an unconcealable smile.
"Using the corrosive properties of Honkai energy, I attempted to improve this object's original structure."
"The result is that it has become the foundation of a 'path'."
The reason Seele can't return to the real world, besides her quantization, is that she no longer has any connection to reality besides Bronya.
This Intertwined Fate is a blank connection point. Once injected into Seele's body, it will help Seele establish and stabilize her path with reality and Bronya.
Hmph, if this were a game...
It would be using Intertwined Fate to summon Seele.
...Hmm, why does this feel so strange?
Einstein was speechless.
She had originally only asked Mei to build a quantum fixer.
But she did this...
Mei's operation had turned the fixation process that is once the primary component into a secondary one, and she'd also added a bunch of other useful functions.
And then you used items that could be used to alter other worlds...
The Herrscher was truly capricious.
Einstein looked away, feeling deeply weary. Faced with Tesla, and after so many years of working together, she instantly understood how she felt.
Bronya was also a little confused.
Even though she was considered highly intelligent, the amount of information contained in Mei's conversation was quite overwhelming.
Hadn't you seen how both Tesla and Einstein, both of whom were equally capable, had become withdrawn?
However, Bronya's general understanding of what she said was this.
With this thing, you can easily find Seele and get Seele.
Now that she had a simple understanding, it was much easier.
Bronya's face remained expressionless, her thoughts swirling but unable to articulate anything else.
She could only say, in a simple yet sincere tone, "Thank you, Mei-nee!"