svetikya Page 417
Page 417
Alicia forced a smile and followed behind Jiang Qiao, unusually silent.
Then, they arrived at a high platform.
Jiang Qiao—'Alicia'—looked down at this 'location' that was extremely special to someone, a hint of profundity flashing in her bright pink eyes that belonged to the Herrscher of Origin.
...This is the place.
The authority of imaginary numbers came into play, and after passing through the unfolding gate of imaginary numbers, the scene seemed to return to its origin.
It still looks like the moon, except that...
One can see a broken stone statue that vaguely resembles a girl.
Something long forgotten, under the influence of external forces, begins to flow again from a time that should never have begun.
"...Alicia?!"
An unexpected, familiar, mature voice rang out in the air. Looking up, a strikingly beautiful girl with black and purple hair and glasses was staring at the latter with a look of surprise and disbelief.
Without a doubt, her appearance was familiar to both Alicia and Jiang Qiao.
—Dr. MEI, the most outstanding genius of the previous civilization and the leader in the fight against the Honkai.
"...MEI?"
"No...you're not Mei. Mei shouldn't look this old."
"Hmm? Although I don't know who you are, it's a bit inappropriate to talk about a woman like this... But for someone my age, it's not a problem to say that."
"But more importantly—you seem to have...seen another version of me, a younger MEI?"
"It seems you need to explain yourself to me properly, Alicia." Dr. Mei crossed his arms, looking at Jiang Qiao with a smile that was both somewhat surprised and rather firm and rational—of course, Alicia thought he was being addressed.
"But before that, let me introduce myself first."
“You certainly know me, MEI, but I am not the Dr. MEI you know, at least not entirely.”
"I thought the passage of time was because the appointed time had come, but I never expected that the person who would visit here would be you... Alicia."
No need to say more.
The MEI before us is the same small world MEI that appears in the final chapter of the main storyline.
As the guardian of a dying world, Dr. MEI keeps watch in a certain direction to keep a promise.
However, it is definitely wrong to regard it as a parallel world of MEI.
She is the shadow of MEI in the original world, a 'reflection' left behind through cunning means.
In other words, she is the trace that Dr. MEI left in this world.
For some purpose, or perhaps out of an obsession.
"You came to me hoping I could give you some advice? While I'd be happy to contribute, unfortunately, as you can see, just like this little world that doesn't have much time left, I probably can't help you do what you want."
"How disappointing~ Do you think I'm the kind of person who only comes to your door when I need something from you? Maybe I just wanted to come see you."
"I can't rule out that possibility, but I have to say I'm amazed that you were able to discover this backup plan left by Dr. MEI—your progress is astonishing compared to the past."
Listening to their conversation, Alicia was completely bewildered—why did Jiang Qiao seem so familiar with this strange Mei...like an old friend?—could it be that the wicked Jiang Qiao had secretly done something behind Alicia's back sometime ago?
And then there's this last sentence, which sounds perfectly normal, even like a compliment, but for some reason, Alicia has this strange feeling—is she perhaps insulting Alicia?
"that..."
As Miss Alicia, unwilling to be excluded from the conversation, tried to intervene, Dr. Mei raised an eyebrow and spoke up:
“Prometheus, please entertain this guest and show him around. Alicia and I have something we want to discuss.”
"Eh..."
"This is troublesome... This way, please."
While Alicia was completely bewildered, a mechanical duck appeared out of nowhere and took her away.
Dissatisfied with this, the pink-haired, overweight woman, just in case, even shouted out:
"I am the real Alicia! Mei! Don't be fooled by that wicked Jiang Qiao!"
"Ok?"
Mei paused for a moment, then glanced at Alicia, then at Jiang Qiao, and after thinking for a while, nodded.
"I see, indeed..."
Just when Miss Alicia thought she could stay, the former gave the order.
"Take her away!"
Dr. Mei had to admit that he had indeed misjudged the situation.
Surprisingly, they didn't recognize Alicia immediately.
—There's nothing I can do; this 'Alice' is just too intelligent, so much so that she feels somewhat unfamiliar with her.
She thought the other person had finally come to their senses.
But after that one sentence, the case was solved.
Dr. MEI affirmed very seriously that 'Jiang Qiao' must be Alicia.
Because this performance is exactly the same as the one in the data left by MEI in the original world.
...the same 'purity,' a beauty untouched by the pollution of knowledge.
In that case, it's even more necessary to kick her out.
After all, is Alicia someone you can talk to? She simply can't!
Dr. Mei had no interest in recreating his eloquent speech in the conference room, while Alicia maintained her smile—the past of Aba Aba.
"Alright, the troublesome thing has been removed."
"Tell me your purpose, imposter Miss Alicia." Dr. MEI was extremely efficient.
In response, the pink-haired girl, supporting herself with her hands and leaning slightly forward, said with a grin:
"Actually, you don't need to add those two words at the beginning~ Although there's nothing wrong with the facts, this appearance that belongs to 'Alicia,' like a gorgeous flower, is not fake~ Don't you think so, MEI?"
"..."
Listening to that sweet voice, and that identical tone and intonation, even the same interjections... even someone as experienced as Dr. MEI was somewhat dazed.
She stared at the girl in front of her, as if trying to confirm her authenticity.
The final conclusion is...
——It doesn’t look like an act.
Chapter 294 Bronya was careless! No flash!
"If it weren't for Alicia, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the real and the fake for a while."
Dr. Mei looked at the smiling pink-haired girl in front of him with a mixture of admiration and bewilderment.
"Would you suggest satisfying my curiosity?"
"of course."
Jiang Qiao clearly had little to hide about this.
"This might not be very intuitive, but if you just lightly 'touch' this spot, your body will 'switch' in a flash. Isn't that amazing? That's what I thought the first time I switched bodies."
"How about giving it a try?"
A slender, green index finger gently traced her pink lips. 'Alicia' smiled sweetly, and the sweet voice belonging to this body revealed an invisible 'temptation'.
MEI didn't move, but glanced at the former, and smiled after a while:
"Let's forget about it. I believe you."
"I thought that with your personality, you would definitely want to give it a try."
"Indeed, if it were before, out of sheer curiosity, MEI would definitely not have missed such an opportunity to experience and learn firsthand. But now I am no longer the MEI I used to be."
Not the same.
"However, you seem unusually familiar with me..."
"Hmm~ We're really good friends, you know, and another you... well, to be more precise, 'the you from before'." The pink-haired girl, emphasizing each word, blinked mischievously.
But after a brief silence, MEI slowly said:
"..."
"Reason tells me that this is impossible."
"But since we can see Alicia appear before us, perhaps this is indeed a realm we have never explored... It's not surprising, after all, this world is so vast."
“Let’s talk, Alicia.”
"Of course~ Let me start from the beginning~"
The two chatted like that for a long time.