"..." Tesla pursed her lips, taking a deep breath before finally speaking, "So what if I know?"
Then, Tesla saw the smile on Irene's face become increasingly gentle—a gentleness that was somewhat frightening. "If you know, then it implies that Miss Tesla should be clear that Honkai Resistance is not unchangeable."
"Do I need to be more specific, Miss Tesla?"
"...Even if that's the case, so what?" Tesla's words carried a hint of being fierce of mien but faint of heart. "Do you expect me to believe that the thing in your hand can enhance Honkai Resistance just because you know about that matter?"
"Do you have a way to falsify it?" Irene held the test tube, looking at Tesla. "The reverse is also true. How can you prove that the potion in my hand doesn't have this effect?"
Of course, there was no point in going in circles. If they wanted to, they could stand here and argue in circles about this issue all night.
Irene pinched the stopper of the test tube, fully displaying the potion to Tesla. "Why not do this, Dr. Tesla? Use your clever intellect to guess: why is there only this little bit of the potion left?"
Tesla glanced at the test tube. After a moment of silence, she quickly understood Irene's meaning and spoke: "You've used it on someone?!"
"Correct, I have used it on someone." Irene nodded, turning her gaze toward Welt. "And I think Mr. Welt should be very familiar with that person."
Suddenly named, Welt froze slightly. after pondering for a moment, he raised his head, his gaze staring tightly at Irene. "Did you use it on Himeko?!"
"Correct." Irene nodded, looking at Welt. "Mr. Welt ought to be very clear that Teacher Himeko's Honkai Resistance is not outstanding, causing her to frequently suffer from the erosion of her Artificial Stigmata."
"And now, Mr. Welt can go see for himself. I think the sincerity I've offered here should be enough, Miss Tesla."
"..." Tesla opened her mouth and glanced at Welt. Welt, after some deep thought, nodded. This kind of thing was very easy to confirm.
There was absolutely no need for Irene to tell a lie that would be exposed instantly. Honkai Resistance was not something that increased casually; it wasn't immunity, and it wouldn't rise just because of exercise.
If they could confirm that Himeko's Honkai Resistance had truly risen, then it would prove that Irene's potion was indeed effective.
Having figured this out, the look in Tesla's eyes when she looked at the potion in Irene's hand changed instantly. If what Irene said was true, then the significance of this potion was far from simple.
It didn't matter if they didn't have the technology right now. No matter what, this thing should be easier to research than a certain Stigmata, right? Stigmata existed within genes, and after so long, they had mutated to a point where even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.
"So, you want us to research it?"
"It's better for you to research it than for me to hand this potion over to Otto for research, isn't it?" Irene extended the test tube in her hand. "If I hand it over to Otto's side, it really wouldn't be reassuring."
"No other conditions?" Tesla looked at the potion in Irene's hand. "You should know the price of this thing."
Irene shook her head. "Don't be so utilitarian. If you can research it and are willing to share it with everyone in this world, that would be the best reward, wouldn't it?"
"Since that is the case..." Welt stepped forward, extending his hand, his eyes filled with sincerity. "I cannot represent everyone, but representing only myself, I express my gratitude to you."
"If one day we really can research it, we will definitely share it free of charge."
Irene nodded and reached out to shake Welt's hand. The instant they gripped hands, a surge of blue electric current instantly spread across. Just as Welt was feeling confused, a sharp pain suddenly surged through his body.
It knocked him to the ground, and he couldn't stop coughing. Tesla, who had just let her guard down, immediately leaned over to Welt's side.
"Welt, Welt! What's wrong with you?" Tesla looked at the fallen Welt and raised her head in anger to look at Irene. "What did you do to Welt?"
"Just helping him out a bit." Irene looked at the violently reacting Welt with some surprise. What she had strengthened through 'Active Polarization' was precisely Welt's vitality.
Theoretically, there shouldn't be any problems. Fortunately, Welt's coughing only lasted for a while, and then he stopped coughing and stood up.
Tesla, who had originally wanted to raise her mechanical arm to punch Irene, stopped instantly, turning back to care for Welt. "Welt, are you okay? What happened just now?"
"I feel my body..." Welt straightened up. Waves of warmth were transmitting from his body. Welt raised his hand and clenched his fist. "Is much better."
"Mn, it seems it was effective." Irene nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. That reaction from Welt just now had indeed startled her.
"However, I must remind you. Right now, this treats the symptoms but not the root cause. After a while, your body will still deteriorate. You only have two methods: First, give up the Core of the Herrscher of Reason. Your body has no way to withstand it."
"Impossible." Welt shook his head immediately, refusing Irene. "I cannot give it up, at least not now."
"Then as for the second method, I won't say much more. You should be very clear about it." Irene handed the potion to Welt. "The premise is that you can really research it successfully."
"We will." Welt took the potion and finally handed it to Tesla. After all, he didn't know how to do research at all; he could only leave it to Tesla.
"Then I have no other questions." Seeing Tesla accept the potion, Irene nodded. As for whether they could really research it, Irene wasn't worried.
Irene hadn't put all her eggs in the basket of Tesla and Einstein. This potion was one-third of what she had taken out previously. As for the other two-thirds, she had also found places for them.
If gathering all the scientific tycoons in this world still resulted in no way to research it, then Irene would just accept it.
"Then, I wish you a good night." Irene turned, preparing to leave. But just as she turned, Tesla suddenly called out to her. Irene turned her head back to look at Tesla.
"Hey, Irene, right?" Tesla's eyes held wariness as she looked at Irene. "How much do you actually know?"
"Ah, it seems our Dr. Tesla still wants to listen to stories." A smile rose on the corner of Irene's mouth. However, this smile wasn't gentle; instead, it carried a hint of a prank. "Then why don't we start talking from 'Rocky Mountain Oysters'?"
"That will be quite unnecessary!" Hearing this term, Tesla's expression immediately became terrible. At the same time, a trace of fear towards Irene grew in her heart.
How exactly did this guy know? This guy knew too much. Especially the term 'Rocky Mountain Oysters'—there were only a few people who knew the story behind this term, and now there were only two left.
She hadn't even told Welt about this. It couldn't possibly be that Einstein was the mole and had told everything about them, right?
If not, Tesla didn't know why, but her back suddenly felt a bit cold, as if the night breeze was blowing directly against her spine.
That meant there was always someone whom no one saw, whom no one noticed, watching these things from the side without anyone knowing.
Like a ghost.
"It seems Miss Tesla has no more questions." Wearing a smile of a successful prank, Irene waved her hand at Tesla, then backed away, her figure instantly swallowed by the pitch-black night.
In the night, drifting with the wind, was only the last sentence Irene left behind: "Oh, right, Mr. Welt. If you have thoughts of going down to the sea recently, please be sure to beware of 'white'."
"...Truly a terrifying person." Welt pushed his glasses, looking in the direction Irene left. The rhythm of the conversation had been completely mastered by the opponent. To be honest, his head was now full of paste.
It felt like talking to Otto—no, that's not right. How could he compare Miss Irene to Otto? But this feeling of having all his actions seen through was truly unpleasant.
However, what did the last sentence the opponent said mean? Going down to the sea? He didn't really go swimming much, did he?
Unable to figure out the source, Welt turned his head to look at Tesla, whose face was looking unwell, and a point of curiosity rose in his heart. "Tesla, what was the 'Rocky Mountain Oysters' Miss Irene just mentioned about?"
"Shut up." Tesla glared fiercely at Welt. "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Also, come back with me immediately, right now. You've been slacking off here long enough, haven't you?"
"I still have to hurry up and examine your body. Who knows if what she did to you just now was really only recovery."
"Yes, yes, yes." Welt nodded. Looking at the corner of Tesla's mouth hooking up into a slight smile, he then straightened his face before Tesla could react.
"But speaking of which, what did that sentence Irene said before leaving mean? Tesla, do you have any clues?"
"...Who knows. Maybe she's saying you'll encounter a Great White Shark when swimming." Tesla wore an expression that said 'don't interrupt me'.
"Also, after going back and finishing the examination, the repairs on the Eye of the Deep should be just about finished. The first wave of exploration..."
Tesla's words weren't finished; the rest of her sentence froze on her lips. She raised her head and exchanged a glance with the solemn-faced Welt.
"The sea this guy mentioned... she couldn't be referring to the Sea of Quanta, right?"
Irene's mind was also not calm as she walked on the road to the underground church. Pardo was asking Irene with a face full of curiosity: what exactly were the so-called 'Rocky Mountain Oysters'?
She knew oysters. Not only did she know them, but she had also eaten them. To be honest, they tasted pretty good. Why did that red-haired woman look so unhappy after hearing about it?
"Ah, that's because the so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters aren't oysters," Irene explained to Pardo as she walked. "He was tricked into eating them at the time."
"Mn?" Three question marks seemed to float above Pardo's head. Even if tricked into eating them, they were still delicious things. In the past, no one tricked her into eating good stuff.
"Regarding these Rocky Mountain Oysters, Miss Pardo, I also know a thing or two." At this moment, Lixue also joined the group chat. "Actually, the Rocky Mountains belong to a mountainous region; it is impossible for them to have oysters."
"In the early days, there was no freezing technology, so it was impossible to have oysters transported there. So, they called things they couldn't eat at the seaside 'oysters'."
"Oh, so what are they?" Hearing that they were discussing food, Kallen also immediately joined the few people's group chat. "Something from a mountainous region that can be called an oyster—is it something very rare?"
"I suppose so." Lixue nodded somewhat with difficulty. "If we use a more colloquial name, we generally call them testicles."
"Bull... that have been deep-fried once..."
"Mn, I roughly understand." Pardo nodded in apparent understanding, but she didn't have much of a reaction. As someone from Twilight Street, what hadn't she eaten? This level was nothing.
However, she could understand why that Dr. Tesla's face looked that bad. If one was tricked into eating that kind of thing, it was normal for their expression to be poor.
On the other side, as a seasoned foodie, Kallen began to ponder. Mn, she was probably pondering whether or not to go try these Rocky Mountain Oysters, right?
Irene shook her head. As for Kallen's bold idea, she would absolutely not go try it.
Watching the three Titans before her being destroyed in an instant, Cocolia frowned. These three Titans were not ordinary Titans; they were loaded with quantization-related facilities, and various equipment had also been updated.
But it seemed there was still no way to deal with Theresa, an S-Rank Valkyrie. It was just that the various restrictions Theresa used on the Titans during the battle just now made one somewhat curious.
And just at this moment, Cocolia's wrist suddenly emitted a vibration. This vibration made Cocolia frown tightly. The copy's side had failed.
How could that be? Although the copy couldn't perfectly replicate the Herrscher's abilities, that weird gravity ability couldn't possibly be defeated by a few Valkyries.
"Hey, Dr. Einstein." Seeing that the situation had begun to develop in an unfavorable direction, Cocolia turned to look at Einstein. "How much longer until..."
Cocolia hadn't finished her sentence when she felt a trace of chill at her neck.
"Don't move, and the one next to you as well..." Theresa held a spear in each hand, pointing them at the necks of the two people. "I don't know how you survived, Dr. Einstein."
"But now, please remove your hands from the keyboard."
"Surprising, Miss Theresa." Einstein raised her hands high, calmly turning her head to face Theresa. "Miss Theresa's application of Judah seems to be stronger than before."
"That has nothing to do with you, Dr. Einstein." Theresa looked at the two. "But for you two to think just those three Titans could deal with me is truly too naive."
"Now, if you want to leave, it won't be that easy."
"This was my mistake." Cocolia looked at Theresa, but her body emitted a burst of cold light. "However, if I didn't make preparations to retreat unscathed, I wouldn't have come to wade into these muddy waters."
"What!" Seeing the blue light on Cocolia's body, Theresa quickly threw out the chains of Judah, attempting to bind her. But the chains touched a phantom in the air and tightened, catching nothing.
"No need to try, Miss Theresa." Einstein's calm voice sounded from the side. "Cocolia's departure was within my expectations."
"Now that there are no people in the way, we can talk about the matters between us."
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