Chen Ran lay in the hospital bed for many days.
Perhaps it was because he had experienced death once, or perhaps it was because he was in a familiar environment that didn't require complex scene loading and detailed rendering, his consciousness capacity hadn't reached its limit.
Just like a computer needs extra memory to load scenes, he also needed a burden on his consciousness to step into a new environment in the simulated scene.
This system was very scientific.
"Damn, why didn't they set up a check-in system for me? Checking in at Fire Moth would directly grant me the Herrscher Core, how convenient."
"Aren't the protagonists in novels always doing this to crush the villains?"
He muttered to himself a lot, not expecting anyone to understand.
As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. Although Schicksal's medical technology had cut down a lot of time, necessary recovery still needed to take place.
But today was already the last day.
Chen Ran heard a knock on the door and promptly shut up.
He saw an A.I. robot open the door, pushing Wendy in front of him.
"Looks like I can be discharged today, right? Don't I need to be observed for a few more days?"
Chen Ran felt his body's wounds and said, "No need, the wounds are all healed. If I don't get discharged soon, someone else might take my job."
Wendy blinked: "Isn't your job to take care of me?"
During this time, she had also learned that Chen Ran was sent by the ocean branch specifically to take care of her.
Although due to the incident, it was actually Wendy who came to see him more often.
Chen Ran said, "Well, that's the official reason."
"Official reason?"
"Actually, I just want to slack off." He said, "You don't know how sought after this job of taking care of you is. You're quiet and cute, not causing any trouble, and several colleagues have already told me they want to switch with me. They've been scolded by the department leaders to the point of tears."
Due to the many failures of the Divine Authority Project, coupled with the unknown enemies lurking, the atmosphere in the project team had not been very good.
Wendy chuckled: "So, in short, you just want to slack off."
"How can a win-win situation be called slacking off?"
Chen Ran blinked and said, "But now I have to get discharged, otherwise, relying on the A.I. to take care of you would make me seem useless."
"If that's the case, I'd have to obediently go back and get scolded."
Without a doubt, Wendy did not agree with Chen Ran's way of slacking off.
Just as Chen Ran was about to get up to handle the discharge procedures, an unexpected person arrived.
The main person in charge of the Divine Authority Project at the ocean branch looked at him with a stern expression: "Researcher Chen, we need to talk privately."
…
…
In a small conference room at the ocean branch.
The main person in charge was a middle-aged man in his forties, with black hair and a face resembling a shoehorn, looking like a mixed breed.
However, no one would underestimate him because of his appearance; being in charge of the Divine Authority Project proved his qualifications and strength.
Yet, Chen Ran felt no waves in his heart.
In his subconscious, everything here was a simulation.
Simulation meant falsehood, which meant that no matter the situation, he had a way out.
He asked, "Dear supervisor… sorry, I don't know your name yet, so what task do I have next?"
The shoehorn-faced supervisor didn't mind Chen Ran's disrespect; he said, "I apologize for the attack on you. Not providing you with protection was a failure on Schicksal's part."
"It's been so long, so is there any compensation?"
"There is, and it's quite a lot." He said, "However, your tasks will increase from now on."
Chen Ran's eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew that this main supervisor wouldn't bring him to a closed space just to apologize; indeed, this was the crux of the matter.
"On March 28, 2014, around 14:00 in the extreme east region, the Honkai erupted in Nagazora City. I don't want to mention how many people died in this Honkai; you will see this data through various channels."
"However, the Herrscher of Thunder, born from the Honkai eruption, was a girl injected with the Gem of Conquest by Anti-Entropy, named Raiden Mei. And now, she has been retrieved by the extreme east branch and is determined to possess human consciousness."
Chen Ran's pupils constricted slightly.
He had anticipated the Third Honkai Eruption would happen, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.
Moreover, the entire process of Raiden Mei becoming a Herrscher and then a human was parallel to the experiments being conducted at the ocean branch.
"There's no need to continue the Divine Authority Project." He said, "From now on, we only need sufficient data calculations to conduct simulations, classifications, and summaries, which means the importance of this project has significantly diminished within Schicksal."
Relying on the Herrscher Core to allow humans to seize the Herrscher's powers had already been validated as feasible.
For Schicksal, or rather for Otto, having one more or one less Herrscher combat unit didn't really matter.
The Divine Authority Project was merely a supplement to the Sirin Project; once the Sirin Project failed, the Divine Authority Project would be immediately prioritized.
As for Wendy herself, that was unimportant.
"What about Wendy?"
"There's no meaning in continuing the project." He said, "Wendy is merely a sunk cost for Schicksal."
Chen Ran understood what a sunk cost was.
It referred to costs that had already occurred but were irrelevant to current decisions.
Clearly, from the most rational perspective, continuing the experiment was meaningless.
Chen Ran was suddenly filled with rage, recklessly grabbing the supervisor's collar: "She is an A-Class Valkyrie!"
"Schicksal has enough A-Class Valkyries."
"She is hailed as the next S-Class Valkyrie!"
"But that's in the future." The shoehorn-faced supervisor remained cold and unfeeling.
He said, "Schicksal does not need to increase its combat power. Even if the Divine Authority Project succeeds, Wendy, as a Herrscher, would still face rejection from other Valkyries and everyone in Schicksal. This is the best choice for her after weighing the options."
"From now on, this project will be terminated; the Divine Authority Project ends here."
"You bastard!" Chen Ran directly punched him in the face.
The man didn't dodge or evade, taking the punch head-on.
"Out of sentiment, I understand your anger."
"But this is Schicksal, after all."
…
…
The main person in charge of the Divine Authority Project left.
Chen Ran stood dazed in place, suddenly feeling at a loss.
He had thought that with Wendy's talent and potential, she would become the core of Schicksal's push for the Divine Authority Project.
But the answer was too cold and realistic.
Schicksal didn't need her.
Because they didn't need her, the future of an A-Class Valkyrie was ruined.
Because they didn't need her, the future of a blossoming girl was lost.
For Schicksal, having one more or one less A-Class Valkyrie didn't matter, even the future S-Class wasn't a bargaining chip worth negotiating over.
Even if they could obtain the powers of a Herrscher, it also wasn't that important.
But Chen Ran was unwilling.
"System, I want to temporarily exit the simulation."
[Active cancellation of the simulation scene, rewards will be reduced, are you sure?]
"Sure."
"Since Schicksal won't do it, then I will!" Chen Ran thought to himself.
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