The Funeral of 3 Civilizations and 24 Celestial Bodies.

"I see. But you should know, if I want to, I can certainly figure out where I am. It's not that difficult."

Dudley chuckled but didn't directly respond. He clearly understood—after all, standing before him was a 'genius.'

At this point, Stelle had a revelation in her heart.

No matter the outcome, at least the beginning of this story was Chadwick's own choice.

And at this time, Chadwick, who had not yet created the weapon, already seemed to be a member of the 'Genius Club.'

-------------------------

Stelle continued to traverse Chadwick's memory bubble.

The interior of some buildings was revealed, and even some strange things were discovered within this mysterious facility.

Dudley also took the opportunity to explain to Chadwick.

"This facility underwent a major upheaval during the era of the Swarm Disaster."

"Even the planet itself was erased from the space chart."

"Although there are some bugs, isn't this still worth it?"

Hearing this, Chadwick didn't say much.

After the IPC personnel cleared the facility and remodeled it, more scientific experts were sent in.

"Where is Dr. Chadwick? We need to meet the doctor!"

"I never thought I'd have the chance to work with that genius someday." Regardless of their identity or gender, the moment these people saw Chadwick, they displayed expressions of extreme excitement.

They didn't seem like scientists but fans meeting their idol.

"Hahaha, don't be so anxious. Before you officially become comrades with the doctor, I have a few words to say."

"Crossing this door means you've chosen your second life."

"For a long period of time from now on, this laboratory will be your entire world."

"You will be isolated here until the project either succeeds or fails."

"If you're not ready for such a life, now is the time to leave before the door opens."

Facing the enthusiastic crowd, Dudley merely smiled and reminded them.

This was destined to be a difficult journey.

Here, he wanted to filter out those who lacked determination.

However, the scholars showed no concern for Dudley's warning.

The leading man even stated bluntly, "I've been studying imaginary number theory since I was fifteen. Working with Dr. Chadwick is my lifelong dream."

"This is an opportunity others can only wish for. A door is nothing—we're scientists, and we understand the price of progress."

Hearing this response, Dudley laughed loudly. He opened the door and warmly welcomed these "geniuses."

...

: Unlike Herta and the others, Chadwick seems very cooperative.

: And it looks like he became a member of the Genius Society purely through theoretical knowledge?

: Wow, that's pretty impressive.

: And he's a short-lived species—no wonder Herta and Screwllum hold him in such high regard.

: His research seems to involve imaginary numbers. I remember that the two fundamental principles of the Honkai Star Rail universe are the Imaginary Tree and the Quantum Sea?

...

As the audience speculated, the next memory became chaotic and fragmented.

When Stelle stepped through the facility's door, the timeline had already advanced three years.

These scientists were now gathered around Chadwick, their emotions increasingly negative.

"The thirty-seventh test explosion has failed."

"The energy waves from the collision failed to tear open an imaginary number rift, and the capsule did not reach a critical state."

"Why... why is this happening...?"

A somber-looking scientist clutched his head in pain.

The others all turned to Chadwick.

"... Lift the safety protocols."

"Increase the collision speed to 1.3 times the default rate," Chadwick said after a moment of silence.

His words shocked everyone around him.

"But... but wouldn't that be too dangerous? It could even endanger the safety of the experimental personnel." Someone cautiously voiced their concern.

"We've tried countless times already. It's clear that this approach won't yield results." Chadwick shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Over the past three years, we've overturned nearly every theoretical barrier. The achievements born in this laboratory are enough to astonish the universe."

"But if we can't create the Imaginary Implosion Pulse, all our efforts will be in vain. The IPC won't allow us to take the results out of here—not even a single sheet of paper."

"As physicists, we have no other choice." The predictions of theoretical knowledge had reached their limit.

Chadwick opted for a more aggressive experimental process.

After making this decision, the progress of the experiment advanced rapidly.

It even attracted another genius.

In a room somewhere within the facility, a radiant Chadwick met with Screwllum.

"It's an honor for my team and me that you would personally come to observe the test explosion."

"This laboratory never hosts visitors, but thankfully, your special status as Mr. Screwllum made the Technical Development Department unable to refuse."

In the eyes of other ordinary "geniuses," Chadwick was undoubtedly someone they could never hope to match.

But here, facing this emperor of the mechanical race and a renowned member of the Genius Society, even Chadwick's eyes revealed a trace of undisclosed envy.

Though both were members of the Genius Club, Chadwick's achievements were purely theoretical.

Compared to countless predecessors who had produced groundbreaking results and changed the universe, he was still far behind.

But this time, the remarkable results even drew the attention of someone like Screwllum.

In his heart, Chadwick had already prepared countless responses, eagerly planning how to humbly explain the weight of these results to Screwllum.

Yet, as a fellow genius, Screwllum didn't need to ask to understand the value of these results.

It was precisely for this reason that he had come.

And raised his own question.

"Please allow me to ask, like organic life, curiosity sometimes drives us to break the boundaries of understanding."

"Why did you agree to participate in the development of the Imaginary Implosion Pulse weapon?"

The calm mechanical voice made Chadwick open his mouth slightly.

He hadn't expected that what Screwllum was asking about wasn't the 'value' of the achievement but rather the 'consequences' of this achievement.

"..."

"Because of Dudley, my friend in the technical research department. He once said that weapons can connect past conflicts to future peace."

"We are doing the right thing." Chadwick forced a smile.

"... I am very sorry, Dr. Chadwick."

"I shouldn't have asked so abruptly, forcing you to give an insincere answer." At this moment, Screwllum demonstrated exceptionally high emotional intelligence again.

Not only did he point out that Chadwick's answer was insincere, but he also attributed the reason for this to himself.

He didn't say much more but solemnly reminded, "We all have the choice to live the way we want and can let go of unnecessary thoughts that confuse us."

"Focus your attention only on the field you are skilled in."

"But be careful, doctor."

"For people like you and me, a moment's slackness might lead to the lamentation of countless lives."

"Wisdom is the universe's gift to us, but also its imposed burden."

"Some things are too late to say now. I can only hope that you safeguard this Pandora's box and prevent ignorant children from opening it."

Having said this much, Screwllum had no further questions.

Chadwick was silent for a while, feeling a bit lost and pained, and finally said, "I understand. Thank you for your advice."

Screwllum's attitude and Chadwick's reaction made the audience immensely curious.

What exactly is this Imaginary Implosion Pulse that could make the IPC take it so seriously and Screwllum act with such caution?

...

: Is it something similar to an atomic bomb?

: Why does Chadwick look like he's living out Oppenheimer's script?

: It's unimaginable, but for the IPC and Screwllum, a weapon capable of destroying a planet is probably of such significance.

: Besides, Chadwick himself seems interesting. It feels like he's lying to himself, but isn't he developing weapons?

: Weapons to strike down evil and uphold justice are still weapons. What's more important is whose hands the weapon ends up in.

: His gaze towards Screwllum seems off too. Perhaps he's trying to prove something to himself?

: After all, he only has theories at the moment.

: It seems like the memory is accelerating; soon, we might see what Chadwick ends up creating.

...

With Screwllum's departure, the memory began to accelerate and moved to another very important scene.

Scientists in the facility were in a panic, frantically searching everywhere.

The IPC's soldiers were also conducting a search.

"Where is Dr. Chadwick?! Only he can stop all of this!"

"Find Dr. Chadwick and bring him to the main control room!"

"I'll go notify Director Dudley."

Meanwhile, in this state of confusion, Stelle, mistaken for one of them by a soldier formed from memory, was taken to the control room.

On the way to the control room, Stelle saw numerous floating texts representing inner thoughts.

Given that this memory was built on Penacony's memory matter, the familiar phenomenon was understandable.

"Screwllum's words forced me to examine my own heart."

"But moments of clarity always come too late."

"My nightmare moment has finally arrived."

Following these thoughts, Stelle and the group of soldiers finally arrived at the door of the main control room.

Chadwick was there, arguing with Dudley.

However, Dudley had abandoned his usual shrewd and calm demeanor.

"Sorry, Chadwick. In your field, you're a genius, but you know nothing about the structure of power."

"You should've understood long ago that in this game, you and I are both pawns."

"Once a pawn is placed on the board, it has no choice but to follow the game."

"Weapons are created to strike at enemies. More than ten expeditionary fleets are preparing to attack the United Trade Route. Their presence poses a direct and fatal threat."

"The enemy is right before us; now is the perfect time to test the power of the Imaginary Implosion Pulse!"

With these words, Chadwick's body swayed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"A hundred ways, no, a thousand ways to stop them, even a delayed response could..."

"I finally understand now. For the past twenty years, everything that's happened here, everything we've built with our own hands, never belonged to us."

He was devastated.

His words, however, elicited a cold sneer from Dudley.

"Now you're standing on the moral high ground, pointing fingers at me. Stop deceiving yourself, Dr. Chadwick!"

"You've known from start what kind of murky waters you were stepping into! You just chose to turn a blind eye!"

Ignoring Chadwick's expression, Dudley, along with a group of IPC soldiers, entered the control room.

In front of countless dense light screens, artificial intelligence was performing its final calculations.

"Ballistic trajectory calculation complete, margin of error: ±0.8%."

"Detonation platform charging complete."

"Collider detonator check complete."

"Autonomous cruise AI deployed, contact-trigger detonation AI deployed."

"Imaginary Implosion Pulse preparation complete, ready to detonate at any time."

Amid the cold mechanical voices, Dudley asked, "How many non-hostile targets are within the explosion range?"

The AI immediately responded.

Within the detonation range, there are 24 celestial bodies, including 3 planets hosting civilizations of level D or above.

"Hmm, collateral damage is within acceptable limits."

"The detonation plan proceeds as usual."

Dudley's expression remained indifferent, showing no hint of emotion.

At this moment, the audience was dumbfounded.

Before this, they had speculated countless times about what kind of weapon the Imaginary Implosion Pulse could be.

They had even tried their best to imagine it.

But they never expected the weapon's destructive range to be measured on the scale of star systems!

...

: Holy sh*t... No wonder Screwllum personally came here!

: What the hell kind of weapon is this? It can just wipe out a star system?

: Is Chadwick creating a divine-level weapon of destruction?

: My goodness, you don't belong on the Path of Preservation; you should be on the Path of Destruction.

: If the Legion had such an efficient killing weapon, they'd probably laugh themselves silly.

: Dudley really is a corporate spawn, huh? Guess that's what you'd expect from a IPC man.

: In the end, you should never expect anything good from corporate people!

: Under the guise of Preservation, wearing the façade of the Amber King's support team, they package themselves as shiny and righteous with high-end ideals and noble slogans!

: But in reality, they're monsters built on capital and flesh, ruthless machines driven by wealth and profit!

: DON'T PRESS IT!!

...

The comment section went wild.

This was not out of any lofty ideals or morals, but out of the audience's simple empathy.

Not to mention, the weapon's destructive range and units weren't measured by individuals, but by civilizations!

Under the audience's tense gaze, on the screen, Dudley seemed to have mistaken Stelle for one of his soldiers in the memory.

After her refusal to press the detonation button, the ridicule in Dudley's eyes grew more pronounced.

"You pity Dr. Chadwick? How unfortunate, he doesn't deserve your pity."

"He foresaw a similar outcome long ago, yet he still chose to ignore the consequences and pay the price for his research."

"His selfishness lies in placing his own talent above everything else! He doesn't care about anyone or anything else!"

In the memory, Stelle was unable to refute.

She couldn't even speak; all she could do was refuse through her actions.

As a Trailblazer, her conscience wouldn't allow her to comply.

Even if this place was made up of dreams and memories.

However, Dudley said nothing further, directly ordering the soldiers to shoot Stelle down.

With the heavy sound of her body hitting the ground, Stelle struggled to lift her head, looking toward the button.

At some point, countless duplicates of herself had appeared there, just like in the famous suspense film Triangle.

One by one, these versions of herself were shot down after refusing to press the button.

Without exception, they all chose to refuse.

The eerie and unsettling imagery was overwhelming.

Although it was depicted through Stelle, everyone knew the root cause lay in Chadwick himself.

The outcome of this story was already set in stone from the beginning.

Finally, countless memory-created versions of Stelle lay on the ground.

That button was pressed in the end.

The entire screen was covered in static.

"Look, Chadwick. This is your problem—you always take your genius and talent for granted."

"You have no idea that there are other kinds of people out there, the kind who are like us."

"We won't be remembered by anyone."

As Dudley's words ended, all sound instantly vanished.

The entire screen turned into a blank void of white.

In the blinding center of this white void, the words: "ZERO" appeared in massive black characters.

Then, they transformed into: "Imaginary Implosion Pulse, Detonation Successful."

Under the suffocating tension, the audience heard the final countdown.

Then, the screen lost its signal entirely.

The piercing sound of static echoed in everyone's ears.

In traditional sci-fi films, the death of a civilization or the fall of a star system is destined to be grand.

But in Honkai: Star Rail, the funeral for 3 civilizations and 24 celestial bodies was reduced to just mere words and a brief moment of silence.