The helicopter landed at a military port on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Cocolia led Lin Wei and the others into a hidden, maze-like underground passage. It was clear that the military port itself was just a superficial disguise.
What truly amazed Lin Wei was that the reason for using such an obvious target as a military port for "disguise" was that the maze-like underground passage before them was still just another layer of disguise.
Clearly, if an enemy dared to discover this place and invade the underground maze in force, the maze, along with the military port itself, would instantly turn into a deadly trap that could bury all invaders.
"How ruthless," Lin Wei marveled. Even if Otto himself were to lead the main force of Schicksal here, he would likely pay a very painful price.
"This way."
As the designer and builder of this trap-slash-passage, Cocolia knew everything about it like the back of her hand. She led Lin Wei and the others through a few turns in the maze and through several well-hidden secret doors, and they soon arrived at another, completely different, straight path.
It was a narrow underground tunnel, with a railway track slanting down to a deeper level. A train was parked quietly in front of them, its doors wide open.
"You really put a lot of thought into this."
Lin Wei couldn't help but admire this artistic underground design. At the same time the maze and the military base above were destroyed, the real passage would be buried along with them, and the evacuating personnel would have already safely left on this railway train.
"Just some insignificant little tricks. If Schicksal's hand reaches too far, it's natural to teach them a lesson."
Cocolia said coolly, showing no sign of joy or pride at "Welt's" praise.
She just coldly invited them to board the train and head to the end of this seemingly endless passage—Cocolia's true life's work, the experimental base located deep in the ocean.
Perhaps it was the oppressive and cramped underground environment, or perhaps for other reasons, but after the train started, no one was in the mood to talk. The sound of the wheels grinding against the tracks echoed and reverberated in the narrow tunnel.
Cocolia left the passenger cabin under the pretext of "inspecting the driver's work," and then took out her communicator to send a simple inquiry: "Is there anything unusual on Schicksal's side?"
A few minutes later, she received a reply: "Report, everything is as usual. No signs of personnel gathering or sudden movements."
"Is that so? What about communications?"
"Also normal. No suspicious communications detected."
"Is that so? I understand. Report any unusual situations immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Also, inform the laboratory to back up and transfer all experimental data, and prepare to open the highest-level channel. But do not alert the experimental personnel. Let them work as usual."
"Yes... all of it?!"
The person on the other end was clearly shocked.
"Don't worry, it's just in case. Now, go."
"Yes, ma'am."
After giving her instructions in a very short time, Cocolia put away her communicator and turned back.
"Mother..."
Seele stood up to greet her, but Cocolia raised a hand to stop her and walked past her without a glance, returning to Lin Wei and the others.
Cocolia's aloofness was clearly not something that could be dispelled by a few simple probes. That was just a disguise, used to confuse this sudden "Welt," to make him lower his guard and expose more flaws, or to simply turn the tables on him and make Schicksal pay a heavy price.
But clearly, Lin Wei had disappointed her—or rather, relieved her?
Could he really be Lord Welt, and have nothing to do with Schicksal?
The lack of any follow-up action from Schicksal had greatly reduced Cocolia's suspicions of Lin Wei, but everything this "Welt" had shown was too strange for her to completely let go of her doubts.
After all, his reasons for appearing, his purpose, and his motives all made Cocolia feel like "you're insulting my intelligence."
But these anomalies were too obvious, to the point of being absurdly "too lazy to even act." But this confidence, composure, and calmness were actually quite in line with what the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy would do, making Cocolia dare not act rashly without solid evidence.
After all, her original intention was only to guard against Schicksal's conspiracy, not to actually assassinate Welt. In fact, she didn't think she could actually assassinate a Herrscher who had existed for so long.
I'll just wait and see. After all, there's only one of him. No, two.
Cocolia's gaze swept over the strangely shaped Dr. Schrödinger. She temporarily ignored Seele.
If there really is a deeper conspiracy, it will be exposed when we reach our destination. At that time, at worst, I'll just bury the base, along with Schicksal's conspiracy, deep under the sea.
Cocolia secretly made her plans, but her expression showed no hint of it.
Lin Wei sat on the other side, his eyes closed as if in meditation. He saw through Cocolia's thoughts as if they were a blazing fire, but he had no intention of adding unnecessary complications.
He knew his "disguise" was full of holes. The more he said and did now, the greater the chance of being exposed. But he didn't care. As long as Cocolia could help him achieve his goal, that was enough.
As for whether what he was doing was risky?
Heh, as long as Cocolia couldn't find evidence that he wasn't Welt himself until the very last second, then he was Welt. In that case, the goal of "Welt personally taking the place in the experiment" would naturally be achieved.
Even exposure?
He had no connection with the Schicksal of this world, so of course there would be no "coordinated action." Schicksal would remain quiet from beginning to end, which would naturally clear him of a large part of the suspicion from the start. The rest was up to him not to mess up.
After all, this fake of his obviously had no common memories with Cocolia. If she were to probe him on this point, his fragile disguise would be easily broken.
So, Lin Wei had been very quiet on the way, on the one hand, to conserve his energy, as his body was still quite weak, and on the other hand, to reduce the possibility of communicating with anyone.
These two methods were passive. He could control himself, but he couldn't control Cocolia—and this was a weakness that his companions had to help him make up for.
"Lord Welt..."
Cocolia suddenly spoke. After clearing the external suspicions, she indeed wanted to probe the doubts about "Welt" himself.
Lin Wei opened his eyes and looked at her calmly, waiting for her to continue.
"Ms. Cocolia, is there something?"
Schrödinger's calm voice came from the side. "If it's just about the upcoming experiment, then please forgive me for being blunt, but neither I nor... Mr. Welt, have any intention of prying into the progress of the experiment itself. After all, this is a project that you have been in charge of all along. Before it comes to a close, it is not appropriate to interfere too subjectively."
"...Is that so?"
Cocolia snorted coldly. You have a secretary now?
Her train of thought had been interrupted before it even began, but she didn't mind continuing on this topic. "Look at where we are and where we are going. This can hardly be called 'not interfering.'"
She was expressing her dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction was not from the anger of her authority being challenged, but a paranoia mixed with guilt. She had already sacrificed eight children for this experiment, and she had to personally send the next one, and the next, to that cold fate.
It wasn't that she didn't feel pain, but she was already numb from the pain, cold from the pain. But the more so, the less she could tolerate any accidents or setbacks in this experiment. She had to give herself and those children an answer—even if the price was to push more children to their deaths.
Therefore, when "Welt" suddenly stepped forward to stop the experiment and offered to participate himself, although she was quite dissatisfied, deep down, she was also a little relieved.
After all, she had already been unable to stop herself in this abyss, and could only hope that someone else would step forward to pull her out.
Once, Welt had pulled her back from the brink of self-destruction and given her a higher purpose and mission. So she had gratefully joined Anti-Entropy and, to this day, had become an indispensable member of the organization with her outstanding abilities.
Now, "he" had appeared again, completely different from the Welt she remembered, but also providing a new perspective and answer to her predicament. She was still grateful, but because of this, she especially didn't want all of this to be a complete conspiracy.
After all, she didn't want her momentary hesitation and mistake to cause her and the organization's long-standing efforts to go to waste.
"From the results, that is indeed the case. But we just hope that the experiment itself can be completed better."
Schrödinger's voice was still calm, not minding the dissatisfaction and provocation in her words. She organized her language and wording according to the "script outline" Lin Wei had given her beforehand. "After all, the girl beside you, and the other children we left behind, they all call you 'Mother.' Logically, we hope this project can bear fruit as soon as possible. Emotionally... this gentleman also doesn't want you to lose any more daughters."
"..."
Cocolia was silent for a moment.
Seele looked at her silent face, feeling at a loss.
"Sometimes, I also think that letting you carry out such an experimental plan was probably a mistake from the beginning, Cocolia."
Lin Wei suddenly spoke, making Cocolia's heart, which had just been lightly struck, clench.
"I have never doubted you, whether it's your ability, your character, or your loyalty to the organization. But you are too outstanding, which has made you unknowingly move toward another extreme."
Lin Wei's PUA skills were masterful. He sighed. "I don't want to see such a result, so I want to make some adjustments while there's still time. After all, I can see that whether it's Seele sitting beside you or the other two girls, they are all sincere when they call you 'Mother.' For you, to personally send such children into danger must be very painful..."
"..."
Schrödinger looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her thoughts unreadable.
"...Sovereign, you..."
Cocolia was about to say something, but was gently interrupted by Lin Wei, who gave a brief explanation for his words. "As a Herrscher, I don't want to become a puppet of the Honkai, so my emotions are always more abundant. As the Sovereign, I also have to consider my subordinates more."
Then, he closed his eyes again and leaned back, as if the few words had taken a lot out of him.
"He hasn't fully recovered from his injuries, so he wants to take the opportunity to rest more."
Schrödinger shook her head helplessly. "Although I think what he's doing is a bit risky, since he insists on doing it, I have no choice but to cooperate."
"These words are both a double entendre and a sincere statement."
"...The Sovereign has always been like this."
Cocolia was speechless for a moment, then she asked another question that concerned her. "Even the Sovereign can be in danger?"
A person like her, with a heart of stone, would of course not be so easily moved to tears by Lin Wei's few words, but it didn't stop a little bit of goodwill from sprouting in her heart.
Besides, this self-centered way of doing things, of not listening to advice, was very much in line with the Welt she remembered.
"I don't know. After all, strictly speaking, I am only half a member of Anti-Entropy so far. My understanding of the experiment you are conducting is limited to what he has described, including his claims that he will not be in danger."
Schrödinger's voice and tone were always calm. "As a researcher, one-sided statements are not very credible, plus his 'patient' status. So I have always believed that he is taking a risk by doing this. So out of my own reservations, I have requested to participate in this experiment."
"..."
Cocolia turned to look at her, her expression full of scrutiny.
"Don't worry, I won't interfere with your experiment. I only ask that if an accident occurs, I have the power to stop it midway."
"...Is that so?"
Schrödinger looked at her scrutinizingly, then glanced back at the noncommittal Lin Wei. "Alright, you can be by my side then. But I think, if even the Sovereign is in danger, then the experiment itself has no possibility of success. So when that time comes, I probably won't need you to remind me to terminate the experiment."
"If possible, I still hope everything goes smoothly."
"Let's hope so."
So far, all the topics had revolved around the X-10 experiment itself, and there had been no attempt to probe the progress of the experiment or its technical details. Everything was quite restrained, revolving only around the mutually acceptable goal of "the experiment's success."
The train conductor's voice came from the loudspeaker in the carriage. "Lady Cocolia, we are about to arrive."
"Mhm, understood."
The tunnel itself wasn't long. Even if no one had reminded them, Lin Wei and the others could clearly feel that the train was gradually slowing down.
This was a matter of course. No one would be surprised by it. After all, this wasn't a long journey from one city to another, but more like a short connection from one subway station to the next.
The brief conversation between the few of them had thus come to an end.
Having gotten through this empty period without any "work-related communication" with Cocolia, Lin Wei's goal had been achieved. He took a deep breath, preparing for the next stage of the challenge.
That experiment, can I really do it?
He wasn't sure in his heart, but he had to act like he was, because there was no better opportunity.
Lin Wei opened his eyes, picked up the walking stick that Schrödinger had placed beside him, and prepared to get up. He nodded in thanks to Seele, who had reached out to help him, and then, led by Cocolia, he walked toward the light.
"Cocolia."
Lin Wei called out softly.
The blonde woman remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Lin Wei smiled and said something he had never thought he would say to this woman. "I'm counting on you."
After that, without waiting for Cocolia to show him the way, he strode forward.
"..."
Cocolia was speechless for a moment. "As you command."
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Sorry just one chapter, forgot to mention that the author has been busy with college for a few days, so he can't upload for a while.
I'm having a hard time getting information since I'm not in the QQ author group, so I have to rely on second-hand updates from CN readers. QQ is pretty strict with registration, and I need an existing (old) user to scan me in. I can't find anyone in my area, so I'm thinking of looking for friends on Telegram to ask for a QR scan.