Several months later...
Knock knock knock—!
Looking at the android in front of him, Chang Yuan instinctively reached out and tapped it a few times.
Until a displeased, childlike voice with a mechanical tone spoke up.
"Vice Captain Chang Yuan of Fire Moth's First Squad, please refrain from tapping my future body. It may cause malfunctions."
Hearing this voice, Chang Yuan immediately turned to a nearby screen.
On the screen was a chibi-style gray duck avatar.
The voice had come from this little gray duck.
"Wait, Big V Teacher, you created this thing in just a few months?"
"Negative. Prometheus is not a 'thing.' Prometheus is a strong artificial intelligence capable of utilizing the world's computational power for calculations.
This body is nearly on par with its creator, Dr. Vill-V. Therefore, please refrain from referring to Prometheus as a 'thing.'"
"Hmm, so? Am I amazing?"
Seeing how intelligent the AI she had created was, Vill-V proudly raised her head.
She treated Prometheus almost like her own daughter.
"Amazing. Big V Teacher, you truly live up to your name. In just a few months, you've created such a powerful AI and even built its body."
Chang Yuan couldn't help but marvel at this.
In the original timeline, Dr. Mei had taken much longer to develop Prometheus on her own.
Even then, the body for Prometheus had been a collaborative effort, with Mei only playing a part.
Her main contribution had been designing Prometheus's AI.
But now, Vill-V had completed the entire process alone, and in less time.
Truly, Vill-V was the biggest cheat in the Honkai world.
"I called you here today to witness the birth of Prometheus. I'm going to upload her AI into this android body."
As she spoke, Vill-V began the operation.
The android body had no external ports and operated entirely on an internal Honkai reactor, which automatically absorbed surrounding Honkai energy to replenish itself.
Most importantly, next to the Honkai reactor was the Core of Reason.
Vill-V wasn't entirely sure if this would create a Herrscher on humanity's side.
But some things had to be experimented with, which was why she had called Chang Yuan. If something went wrong, he could help contain it.
Elysia was out on a mission. This time, the targets were numerous, so they had to send their strongest, Elysia, to minimize losses.
Meanwhile, Chang Yuan was here with Vill-V to complete something that could change human history.
If this succeeded, perhaps all Herrscher cores could be used in this way.
Artificial weapons, artificial Herrschers—Honkai would no longer be a threat.
"Alright, let's get started. I want to witness this miracle too."
Chang Yuan was fully focused now, even holding the Third Divine Key in his hand.
Yes, he was now a man who wielded a Divine Key.
Though he couldn't activate its Zeroth Power Level yet.
After all, its Zeroth Power Level was similar to the Judgment of Shamash.
He didn't have lightning immunity, so using it might turn him into a charred corpse.
But if necessary, he would use it. As long as he wasn't completely dead, he believed Vill-V and Mobius could save him.
As the data on the screen increased—1%, 40%, 69%, 89%, 99%—both of them grew tense.
If the artificial Herrscher turned out to be aligned with Honkai, the entire plan would be ruined.
Finally, the last 1% of data was transferred.
Prometheus's android body twitched, then opened its eyes.
The room fell silent.
The atmosphere was so tense that the slightest disturbance could have sparked a fight.
"Dr. Vill-V, Vice Captain Chang Yuan, this body is fully operational. There are no signs of Honkai corruption."
"...Yay!"
Hearing Prometheus's response, Vill-V jumped for joy.
According to Chang Yuan's past explanations, all Herrschers in their civilization were unconscious entities.
For Prometheus to possess such high autonomy meant she couldn't be aligned with Honkai.
"Prometheus, try using your Herrscher authority."
Nodding, Prometheus began to activate her Herrscher powers.
Drawing knowledge from countless networks and Vill-V's personal database, she created a batch of Honkai steel.
"Success. However, since I am not a Herrscher recognized by Honkai, I cannot draw Honkai energy from the Cocoon of Finality. My energy usage is similar to that of a Divine Key.
But this is enough. At least it proves that your artificial Herrscher idea is a success, Dr. Vill-V."
"Only on par with a Divine Key? Well, that's still enough. So, Prometheus, what's your upper limit?"
"My limit is the instantaneous creation of a nuclear weapon capable of destroying a continent. After that, the Core of Reason will enter a cooldown period, requiring time to replenish Honkai energy. It should take about two hours."
Closing her eyes, Prometheus calculated and then shared her findings.
Hearing that two hours were enough to destroy a continent, Vill-V's face twitched.
So this was the upper limit of the Herrscher of Reason? Terrifying. It was a good thing the councilors had chosen to nuke the Herrscher of Reason before it could fully develop.
Otherwise, the world might have lost an entire continent.
"Don't be surprised, Vill-V. Every Herrscher has the potential to destroy a continent. It just depends on whether they've fully developed. The Herrscher of Reason has the highest potential, while the Herrscher of Binding is the most effective against Honkai."
"That may be true, but the more I learn, the more despair I feel toward the Cocoon of Finality and the Herrscher of the End you mentioned!"
If the underlings and projections were this powerful, Vill-V couldn't even imagine how terrifying the Herrscher of the End, summoned by the Cocoon itself, would be.
But Vill-V wasn't afraid. On the contrary, she was excited. She was the type of person who thrived on challenges, always striving to surpass them.
She firmly believed that she would always be the one to create miracles. If she wanted to do something, she could achieve it.
"But this artificial Herrscher project... it feels somewhat familiar."