northernbook Chapter 192 The Plan is Postponed
Chapter 192 The Plan is Postponed
Kiana and Mei had a fight.
During the meeting that evening, anyone could sense the awkward atmosphere between the two. But no one pointed it out, since the root cause of their argument had already clearly appeared on the agenda of the meeting.
"No, I can't accept it!"
With a loud bang, Tesla's hand, equipped with a multi-functional robotic arm, slammed onto the table.
"I cannot accept either artificial intervention to create a collapse, or sacrificing one person to close the opened portal!"
"Do you have a better way?"
Kevin's cold words left Tesla speechless, because she couldn't think of a better solution either.
The best course of action in this situation is to open the channel in advance to release the Honkai energy inside. Otherwise, if a natural eruption occurs, the subsequent impact will inevitably be global, and explaining this to the general public will be a huge headache.
Most importantly, the effects of the Great Honkai caused by the Herrscher of the Void haven't completely faded yet. If this happens again, the Honkai that has been hidden for so many years will probably have to come out into the open.
"I'll go."
The captain's words came from the corner, and Tesla stared wide-eyed at the captain standing in the corner, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"No! Even if you are a Herrscher body, your body will not be able to withstand that level of Honkai energy. Making you a Herrscher is already the best outcome. You should understand the worst outcome without me having to tell you, right?"
"Dr. Tesla, I hope you understand that the current situation is not about whether you want to or not to do it, but about whether you will do it or not, and who will be that person."
The captain said, his way of thinking gradually becoming more rational without him even realizing it. After all, the world had deviated too far from its course because of his intervention, and what lay before him now was that Kiana and Mei had not yet grown to the level they were in the original work.
Even the captain couldn't guarantee a good outcome if they rashly let them carry out this plan. The one who tied the knot must untie it; since they created this situation, it's best for them to bear the consequences.
In any case, his body's Honkai energy adaptability was already comparable to that of a Herrscher, and its capacity was much higher than that of most people present.
With the help of the Heavenly Judgment, theoretically, the success rate of closing the passage on one's own is not low.
However, it was clear that the others present disagreed, especially Kiana, who displayed an unusually firm attitude, even leading Mei to believe that Kiana had fallen in love with the captain over the course of several months.
Ultimately, the meeting failed to reach a final decision. Kevin was not considered because he needed to stay behind the lines and Tesla and the others did not want him to use this opportunity to fully recover his power.
So the plan, originally scheduled for the next day, had to be postponed to three days later. During these three days, Kevin hoped that everyone would think carefully about what they should do, instead of rushing to their deaths like they did at today's meeting.
After all, the opening of the passage means the outbreak of Honkai. Countless Honkai Beasts will inevitably appear near the singularity formed by Honkai energy within the passage, and there may even be stronger imaginary god individuals.
Therefore, although Kevin acknowledges the captain's strength to a certain extent, he does not believe that the captain is strong enough to completely kill the Imaginary God who can quickly repair himself using Honkai energy.
Moreover, Kevin also had some selfish motives in this plan. According to the information the captain gave him, he did indeed successfully implement the Stigmata Project in the future, but was ultimately defeated by Kiana, Mei, and the Herrscher of Reason successor named Bronya.
Kiana successfully took over the Cocoon of the End and became the Goddess of Earth, but based on what he saw so far, Kevin did not see any possibility of them transcending the End.
This plan was actually a test for both of them; otherwise, such a simple plan could have been solved by Kevin alone.
Since this is the only place in Changkong City where humans still survive, all we need to do is send a few more people here to hold out until he absorbs all the Honkai energy and closes the passage.
Such a simple plan has become so complicated, mainly because Kevin wants to take this opportunity to give these younger generation members some experience.
Over the past few thousand years in the Sea of Quanta, Kevin has also considered his future course of action. In the end, the Stigmata Project is an absolutely terrible plan; it is only suitable as a last resort when all other options have failed.
He wouldn't want to carry out this plan if he could, so he had to start thinking about whether he should cultivate an opponent capable of defeating him at that time during the execution of the plan.
Only in this way can the current civilization prove that it has the power to transcend the Stigmata Project and even the End, and only in this way can it end its heavy life in peace.
Moreover, the captain's appearance and the intelligence he brought further confirmed his course of action, just like the promise he made when he stood on the wasteland—no matter the cost, humanity will surely defeat the Honkai.
This time, he staked his life on the gun called "Salvation," hoping to find the one who could lead humanity to victory against the Honkai.
Even if he is not found, he will become the silver bullet that kills the Honkai.
"Do you think I'm being too harsh on them?"
On the rooftop, Kevin looked at the distant sea and asked the captain behind him, while the captain, chewing on a lollipop, silently watched Kevin's lonely figure.
Finally, the captain bit the lollipop into pieces, and flicked the stick in his hand into the nearby trash can like a cigarette butt.
"There's no such thing as being too strict or not. They couldn't have grown to the level they would have in later generations if they hadn't faced pressure."
The captain stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Kevin. The night sea breeze gently blew past them, and the slight chill made the captain subconsciously wrap himself up tighter.
"Kevin, hasn't anyone told you not to spread cold air around other people? I seem to remember that you can control your body temperature all the time."
“…I’m sorry,” Kevin apologized while adjusting his body temperature.
Feeling the absence of noticeable cold air around him, the captain nodded in satisfaction.
"Going back to the topic we were just discussing, we both know the truth about the Honkai and what it means. To transcend the end, you must have power that surpasses the end. The Stigmata Project can help you do that, but it's just a fallback plan, and it's also very unfair to you."
"There is no such thing as unfairness. As long as we can defeat the end, sacrificing myself is enough."
"So it's no wonder that people always have complaints about you Kaslana people. You all like to not value your own lives and think that it's worth it as long as you can save the world. This kind of thinking is unacceptable."
“But I am no longer Kaslana.”
"Nonsense! You are the source of everything in Kaslana. If you are not, then no one else in this world can be! The thoughts engraved in the blood of the Kaslana family all come from you. Relying on that special holy mark space, your thoughts have been passed down in that family generation after generation, starting with your son Adam."
"..."
Kevin's eyes flickered a few times, but he didn't say anything.
"Don't think that your silence is a denial. Yes! You gave your son a choice, and he lived an ordinary life according to his own wishes, but your blood and your holy mark still flow in his veins. Whether or not the holy mark is activated, his mind is destined to be subtly influenced by your thoughts. And the most direct evidence is that the Kaslana family has been working to expel the Honkai for generations, and even the final fate of every patriarch was to use the Judgment of Heavenly Fire and ultimately turn into a pile of unburnt charcoal!"
"That's their choice, it has nothing to do with me. The only one standing here now is Kevin, not Kaslana."
"Fine! Go ahead and deny it yourself. No matter how many times you say it, I'll still say it: you are Kaslana. And I'm the kind of person who can't refuse Kaslana, so whether it's you or Kiana, you'd better live! No matter what you think, I will strive towards this goal!"
"But you should understand that most of the people I care about are no longer in this world."
Do you know about that world bubble?
The captain asked abruptly, and Kevin knew about the world he was referring to.
"You dare not say it? Well, that's true, after all, that world bubble is the one you least want to face."
"If you're going to say that you can retrieve my companion from the world bubble, then forget it."
Kevin's tone instantly turned cold, and his expression became extremely gloomy. There was no doubt that the captain had crossed his line.
"No, no, no, I would never think of having the people of the World Bubble replace the dead!" the captain quickly denied. "What I'm saying is that the time inside that World Bubble is frozen and has also stopped. If there's a way to go back in time, change history, freeze them, and then let them wake up in this era, wouldn't that be a way of resurrecting your companions?"
"It's a good suggestion, but putting aside the fact that we don't have the ability to travel through time, even if we did, why not just rewrite the past and let humanity defeat the Honkai directly? In this way, the previous civilization would also be able to survive. And the current civilization would become a super-technological civilization because of the survival of the previous civilization."
"I don't have it, but Kiana does!"
"Are you saying that Kiana should become the Goddess of Earth and then travel through time to rewrite history? But that's impossible. Although the power of the End is indeed time, it can only reshape time to start a cycle of reincarnation, not travel through time to go back to the past."
"I never said it was Kiana from this world!" the captain laughed. "Hey, bro, interested in changing history?"
"You mean Kiana from your world has this ability?"
“That’s right!” the captain replied. “Although we’ve separated, and it’s uncertain how long it will take for her to find us, there’s still a chance, isn’t there?”
"What you're doing is what we generally call 'drawing a pie in the sky' (or 'promising something for nothing')."
"Uh..." The captain awkwardly touched his nose and said, "Isn't there still a slight possibility?"
"If that's the case, then why don't you implement it in your own world?"
"It's a long story, but to put it simply, we later came into contact with the entity behind the cocoon, and Kiana's strength improved after that, which led to her current power..."
With the captain's explanation, Kevin gradually figured out the sequence of events. In short, when Kiana in the captain's world had enough power, she was no longer in her original world. Moreover, Alicia's consciousness was successfully revived in the Origin Land, and the consciousnesses of others were also successfully contained in the Origin Land. So in a sense, it was no different from resurrection.
With the help of the mysterious group chat, I believe I'll be able to successfully revive after a while. However, I don't know why I'm currently muted in the group chat; otherwise, I could bring Kiana over right now.
“I understand the general situation, but since you’ve lost contact with them, how can you guarantee they’ll eventually find you?”
"I believe them."
Kevin blinked, as if to confirm whether the captain was joking, and asked, "Are you serious?"
“Of course!” the captain laughed. “Although I’m past the age of believing in friendship and bonds, I still have confidence in them. Years of getting along with them have taught me that they will definitely find me.”
"whatever."
After saying that, Kevin left, and when he turned around, he saw Kiana standing not far away.
For some reason, looking at Kiana in front of him, Kevin felt a sense of oppression, as if he were facing the end.
However, that feeling only lasted for less than a second before disappearing. Although he was a little confused, Kevin decided to observe for a while before making a decision.
Rewinding to a short time ago, Kiana, who was sleeping in a room, opened her eyes as if she had just woken up. Kiana blinked and observed her surroundings, and a purple cross pattern was flashing in her pupils.
After shaking her own hand to check its feel, Kiana (?) smiled happily.
She then went outside and saw the captain talking to Kevin. So she stood there quietly and waited for the two to finish their conversation.
Not long after, the two ended their conversation. Seeing that Kevin had left, Kiana came up behind the captain and gently hugged him, resting her head on the captain's back and closing her eyes.
Feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar touch behind him, the captain realized who was behind him, but why?
With a puzzled look, the captain gently loosened his hands from around his waist and turned his head, and sure enough, Kiana's figure came into view.
Seeing Kiana's pupils, which shouldn't be there at this time, as if realizing something, he swallowed hard and asked nervously.
"Kiana?"
"Yes, it's your Kiana!"