Vill-V: This is what you call—a win-win!

Anti-Corruption Armaments?

Lin Wei felt a headache coming on. During the time I was away from the Elysian Realm, has this woman Vill-V been obsessed with this thing the entire time?

Seriously, it's only been a few months, and she's already on Model Nine?!

It's only because they were in the Elysian Realm, largely free from the constraints of the material world...

Otherwise, no amount of resources or funding could possibly support this level of crazy spending!

Lin Wei finally understood why, back in the Previous Era, Dr. MEI, who held the purse strings for the Fire Moth organization, constantly had to cut Vill-V's funding. Aside from her penchant for nonsensical brain-worm designs, if they didn't find some way to rein this maverick in...

...it probably wouldn't be long before everyone else was completely broke!

"Yes, that's right—the Anti-Corruption Armaments: Prototype Model Nine!"

As if worried Lin Wei or the others hadn't heard clearly, Vill-V deliberately repeated the name slowly. Then, with an exaggeratedly heartbroken tone, she lamented,

"As the one and only candidate capable of serving as the test pilot for this project—my dear assistant—"

"You have no idea how much I missed you during the time you were away!"

With the current era's Herrscher of Corruption yet to be born, Lin Wei, who possessed the Key of Corruption and could easily wield its power, was the best and only candidate to test this new series of creations. Not even Kevin could take his place.

Precisely because of this, this project wasn't lumped in with the hundreds, even thousands, of "Anti-Kevin Armaments" she'd already designed. It was a completely separate line of research.

And now, this one and only candidate had actually returned! If Vill-V didn't seize the opportunity for a grand performance, would she even be Vill-V?

"Give me a break!"

Vill-V's tone and gestures were so over-the-top that Lin Wei couldn't help but shudder. He quickly cut her off, then turned back to Elysia.

"I think I get her general idea now. But these are clearly two separate things. Why did they end up combined like this?"

"Surprise, of course!" Vill-V jumped in confidently before Elysia could answer.

"Only a sufficiently large accident can create a sufficiently large surprise!"

"Clang..." Lin Wei drew his blade, sorely tempted to teach this noisy woman how to shut up—

But on second thought, he decided against it... Lin Wei sheathed his weapon again.

Feeling completely left out, Mobius's dissatisfaction grew. She remarked sarcastically,

"Listening to you all go back and forth, it's like you planned this whole thing. How interesting..."

"Oh, Mobius, don't be mad! Look how cute you are right now! If you don't smile more and become even cuter and more charming, isn't that such a waste?" Elysia seized the chance to sidle up to Mobius, speaking in a plaintive tone,

"I'm truly sorry that things turned out this way. But you know me, I can never refuse a friend's request. Whether it's you, Mobius, or anyone else, it's all the same to me. So, in this matter, I really couldn't do anything~"

"Whether it was Lin Wei's request or Vill-V's request, refusing either one would break my heart, just like how I can never bear to see you looking sad~ So..."

Seemingly oblivious to the utterly shameless 'player' vibes her words were giving off, Elysia looked at Mobius with puppy-dog eyes, pleading pitifully,

"My dearest Mobius, please forgive me just this once, okay?"

"Hah. Elysia, save the act!" Mobius seemed completely unmoved, retorting in her usual sarcastic tone,

"If you really felt that way, you should have disappeared from my sight ages ago and never shown your annoying face again!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, now that's a high-level play!"

Even though Lin Wei knew exactly what Elysia was like, seeing her perform her signature 'flirtatious player' routine in person still made him click his tongue in astonishment and sigh in admiration.

Deciding it was best not to interfere in their little "game," Lin Wei signaled Yuno to stay put and calm down, then turned his attention back to Vill-V, who was watching quietly like a well-behaved audience member.

"Vill..."

Lin Wei didn't even get her full name out before Mobius cut him off sharply. She shot Vill-V a glare with those serpentine eyes and said coldly,

"Vill-V, we've known each other for so many years. To avoid wasting any more time like this, perhaps it's better to just speak plainly, don't you think?"

As two of the few "peers" and "rivals" she had in the world, Mobius and Vill-V, both proud geniuses, constantly disagreed and often belittled each other mercilessly, but they never truly underestimated one another.

At the very least, Mobius really wanted to know what this so-called "Anti-Corruption Armaments" actually was.

"Ha! What was I saying? A magician's greatest performance is sure to bring delightful surprises to every member of the audience!" Vill-V replied smoothly, sounding like a stage performer taking a graceful exit bow. Addressing Lin Wei quite cheerfully, she said,

"Your objective has been achieved, and my objective has likewise been achieved. This is what you call—a win-win!"

Vill-V seemed to operate with her own unique understanding of the entire world.

"Heh. Your definition of 'win-win' is certainly unique."

Having just calmed down Yuno, who had been provoked by Mobius's unpleasant attitude, Lin Wei was too mentally exhausted to argue much. After a brief sarcastic jab, he asked directly,

"Judging by your reaction, how did it go? Was your test successful?"

Although their final battle had been interrupted by Mobius's sudden appearance, the fight itself might not have been the ultimate goal. It could very well have been just a smokescreen to hide the real objective, or merely one step in a larger process.

"Of course—it failed!" Vill-V announced with a dramatic flourish, then stated matter-of-factly,

"After all, this opponent was the Herrscher of Corruption, the very entity specifically capable of countering memory-data beings like us! How could I possibly win?!"

In truth, despite the brevity of their exchange, Vill-V knew very well that even with thorough preparation, she stood no chance against the power of Corruption.

Even if the opponent was merely a replica formed from data, they were still pathetically fragile, like toys, before the true power of Corruption.

It was the same even though she herself possessed another Key of Corruption—that replica, also formed from data, would only meet destruction when faced with the real thing. Everyone understood these obvious truths, but...

Although she had anticipated this outcome and accepted the reality, the result clearly didn't sit well with the immensely proud Vill-V.

"Oh? What a waste of time!" Mobius, who was equally invested in matters concerning the Herrscher of Corruption, was instantly disappointed upon hearing this.

"Alright now, Mobius, don't look at me like that. Facing the Honkai, haven't we experienced countless failures? This is just one tiny, insignificant setback! Besides, as memory-data entities facing the power of Corruption, aren't we just as powerless as when facing the Herrscher of the End?" Vill-V shrugged, delivering this incredibly discouraging assessment in a remarkably nonchalant tone.

"So far, I've only been trying to see if I can partition off a special area. If the Herrscher of Corruption really does invade the Elysian Realm, it could serve as a temporary cage to trap it, buying us more reaction time. At the very least, it could ensure..."

Ensure what, she didn't say. But Lin Wei could roughly guess the unspoken words—at the very least, it could ensure the final measure already completed, the "Anti-Kevin Armaments 666," could be activated without being damaged.

Yes, indeed. Memory-data beings had no defense against the power of Corruption. In that respect, the Elysian Realm was just like the real world, destined for destruction by the Honkai despite everyone fighting with all their might!

But that was no reason for the Flame-Chasers to accept their fate.

What difference did it make? It just meant fighting on a different battlefield...

Next, Vill-V described her general concept in relatively simple terms—

Using a simple yet easily overlooked trap, lure the Herrscher step by step into the prepared snare. Then, isolate the entire region containing the trap. If necessary, delete the entire region, along with the Herrscher trapped inside, thereby crippling or even directly eliminating this dangerous enemy.

"Since the Elysian Realm is already being used by people from the real world as a place for 'trial training,' then to better achieve this goal, having a dedicated 'trial' level system makes perfect sense, right?" Vill-V said, seemingly not the least bit discouraged, her tone brimming with self-satisfaction.

"Therefore, we can easily mislead or confuse any clueless outsiders. We can even use it as a cover to slightly conceal the true Elysian Realm, making future fearsome enemies mistakenly believe this so-called 'level system' is the mandatory path into the Realm. This way..."

"To make the whole plan even more seamless and flawless, I intend to package it convincingly as a 'trial'— Mobius, why are you glaring at me like that? Don't tell me you..." Vill-V casually brushed off Mobius's mounting anger and continued explaining gleefully,

"Under normal circumstances, it functions as an excellent, tiered, progressive, and game-like enjoyable experience. Only when a Herrscher steps into this domain will the traps I've prepared long ago be triggered!"

Lin Wei listened intently like everyone else to this wild, loophole-ridden, yet seemingly somewhat feasible grand design.

...continue exploring in the normal Elysian Realm. (Fragmented thought)

If things go this way, future trainees entering the Elysian Realm are probably in for a rough time...

Lin Wei imagined the scene:

Flame-Chasers waiting in the main hall, periodically knocking on the doors of exhausted successors, gently reminding them, "Kid, the Realm has reset. Time to get up!"

...

Pitying the future unfortunate grinders, Lin Wei broke the momentary silence that had fallen over the group.

"It's a good plan. But, Vill-V, if you wanted me to test your new creation, you could have picked any other time. I'm always available. Why did you absolutely have to choose today?"

And cause me this much trouble.

"Because it was convenient! I have the same goal as you, and I also wanted Mobius to serve as another test subject, so..." Vill-V held up two fingers triumphantly.

"See? Win-win!"

"Vill-V!" Mobius looked ready to explode again. So I'm the loser in this scenario, is that it? What does this have to do with me?!

"Alright, Vill-V, I admit Mobius's current expression is amusing, but you really shouldn't provoke her any further." Elysia stepped in to smooth things over. She didn't want to see an interesting game genuinely escalate into conflict.

"To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, it's best to explain everything clearly, don't you think?"

With Elysia putting it like that, what else could Vill-V do?

"Simply put, I deliberately set the final battlefield zone near Mobius's lab," Vill-V stated concisely, getting straight to the point.

"You!"

"After all, I wanted to use this method to test whether this 'cage' was truly sturdy and reliable enough." Before Mobius could completely blow her top, Vill-V quickly threw out the rest of her explanation.

"Besides, I previously acted behind the Doctor's back, using her name to issue a few harmless directives to Klein. The Doctor herself would definitely not take kindly to this news and would surely track me down in a rage—but at that time, I would be inside that special zone."

(Note: Klein is mentioned again, likely a system AI or minor figure Vill-V manipulated)

"Although that zone was intentionally placed near the entrance of Mobius's lab, under normal circumstances, Mobius wouldn't be able to detect or enter it from the outside—which is why when Mobius did become one with the outside world..."

(Implying Mobius charging out connected her to Vill-V's system)

Vill-V shrugged helplessly, feigning powerlessness against the Key of Corruption's dominant nature.

"That's why I said, the first test of the 'Anti-Corruption Armaments: Prototype Model Nine' has already... failed~"

"..."

Seeing Mobius's face, now as black as charcoal, Lin Wei was rendered speechless.

Tricking people without any warning... the fact that you've survived this long without being beaten to death... you really owe your kind-hearted teammates a big thank you!