Honkai Simulator: Start with Confessing to The Herrscher of Finality

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Only upon encountering the Herrscher of Sentience in the previous civilization era did Xia Chen realize that Senti had indeed shown mercy towards him.

The greatest terror of the Herrscher of Sentience lay not only in meme pollution but also in cognitive assimilation.

In other words, the Herrscher of Sentience is not unique.

Any person cognitively assimilated would become the next Herrscher of Sentience.

As demonstrated now.

Feeling the gradually forming Herrscher Core within himself, Xia Chen realized that without any surprises, he would soon become the next source of cognitive contamination.

Suddenly curious, if he were to become the Herrscher of Sentience, how would he pollute this world? Through sleep? Rage? Or perhaps greed?

Despite no living beings remaining here, Xia Chen found himself compelled to ponder on the spot.

If he became the Herrscher of Sentience, just how potent would his pollution be?

Once again, he felt fortunate that Fu Hua's influence prevented the previous Herrscher from initiating cognitive contamination. Otherwise, given the circumstances at that time, the entire world would have faced an even more severe catastrophe than now.

In the original timeline, without Otto personally using Fenghuang Down to locate the Herrscher of Sentience, humanity could only await their downfall.

However, Xia Chen never had the chance to unleash meme pollution himself.

Because his position was pinpointed.

Countless psychic-type MANTIS unleashed attacks against him. Faced with such mental force confrontations, Xia Chen initially struggled to respond.

Yet, the pseudo-Herrscher of Sentience core within him seemed capable of manipulating his mind for counterattacks.

Xia Chen could not control it.

With just this single counterattack, he felt fewer mental energies locking onto him.

Clearly, some individuals might have been injured or even killed as a result.

The power of the Herrscher of Sentience's Core was overwhelmingly potent.

"Ana, help me."

Left with no choice, Xia Chen once again sought assistance from the Stigmata's strength.

Currently, the full extent of the Stigmata's power remained a mystery. However, Ana before him could aid Xia Chen in breaking free from the grip of the Herrscher of Sentience Core's influence.

It is crucial to understand that Xia Chen did not willingly become the Herrscher of Sentience; instead, the Core had corrupted him. He became a source of contamination but did not gain the corresponding Authority.

Interestingly, neither the Herrscher of Sentience from the previous civilization era nor the current one seemed to actively wield their Authorities. Instead, Fu Hua utilized Fenghuang Down more frequently.

As Xia Chen forcefully severed his connection with the Herrscher of Sentience Core, he immediately drew the attention of powerful psychic MANTIS warriors.

[Su used the Wheel of Cause and Effect, escaping the illusory realm created by the Herrscher of Sentience.]

[Director Spasi of the Fifth Research Institute has died.]

The System's cold notification echoed in Xia Chen's mind as his consciousness gradually faded.

He saw the furious Su and promptly informed him about the Herrscher of Sentience's abilities.

"In this matter, our misfortunes align," he said.

Whether Su would believe him was up to his own judgment.

Su eventually calmed down and made contact with MEI, realizing that anger would serve no purpose. Xia Chen felt relieved; thankfully, it was Su who arrived. If Kalpas had come instead, one of them inevitably would have fallen.

Under MEI's coordination, Xia Chen agreed to collaborate with the Fire Moth organization.

[You consented to using the 'Memory Shackles' produced by the Fifth Research Institute, temporarily shielding yourself from the meme pollution of the Herrscher of Sentience.]

[The Fire Moth obtained substantial information from your body.]

[Your experience in the Honkai world has concluded. You may permanently retain the following items and extract them into the real world. Congratulations! You have acquired the weapon Keys of Oblivion. Extract now?]

[Your compatibility with Honkai Energy has increased.]

[Keys of Oblivion: A weapon influenced by Fu Hua's extreme refinement of her power, originally used by the Herrscher of Sentience.]

[Note: Due to certain reasons, this weapon cannot be upgraded. However, it can actively absorb Honkai Energy.]

As Xia Chen awakened from the simulation, he couldn't help but sigh with relief.

The feeling of being able to think freely was truly liberating.

In the simulation, the memory lock not only sealed his knowledge about the Herrscher of Sentience's meme pollution within him, but also restricted his memories.

A sense of suffocation pervaded Xia Chen throughout the simulation.

Unbeknownst to him, the Herrscher of Sentience began 'polluting' his thoughts and even exerted its parasitic abilities. Ultimately, he had to resort to a near-suicidal method just to contain it within himself.

He must admit, compared to the previous era, this Herrscher of Sentience seemed much more benign.

However, Xia Chen needed to reconsider the implications. Without the Queen's arrival, Fu Hua and Otto likely wouldn't have parted ways, so would the Herrscher of Sentience still emerge from Fu Hua's body?

Unable to resist, he extracted the Keys of Oblivion.

With some hesitation, Xia Chen started equipping the five-star weapon.

Immediately, he felt a stiffness in his mind, as if something were invading and influencing his thoughts.

Similar to the Red Sakura, this weapon possessed 'consciousness'. However, unlike Rin's presence, which represented the 'virtuous' side of the Herrscher of Corruption, the consciousness within the Keys of Oblivion embodied 'purity'.

This purity amplified the myriad complex thoughts in his mind.

If he were diligent, others around him would be influenced and become more hardworking as well; conversely, if he was lazy, everyone would mirror that laziness due to his influence.

Such is the ability of the Herrscher of Sentience: meme pollution.

But now, the source of contamination became himself. This certainly didn't sound like a good thing. Even if people around him became industrious because of him, it wasn't beneficial overall. After all, once affected by his presence, those individuals could no longer truly be considered independent thinkers but rather, puppets under his mental control.

Just as Xia Chen worried about becoming the source of pollution, an unexpected event occurred.

The pheromones left by the Final Herrscher in his soul seemed to react. The 'consciousness' attempting to amplify his thoughts was entirely 'masked' by these pheromones.

"Is this why I didn't immediately fall asleep during the simulation?"

Xia Chen finally realized belatedly what had been happening. From the beginning, it wasn't his willpower resisting; rather, it was this 'pheromone' protecting his consciousness.

Although, it seemed akin to insects marking their prey.

Previously, when the pheromone marked his body, Xia Chen felt uneasy for some time. However, after noticing no adverse effects, he gradually forgot about its presence.

If not for this recent simulation, he might have completely forgotten.

Perhaps, despite the danger, there was a silver lining.

He couldn't help but glance at the bustling city outside.

People still moved about, and lights shone brightly everywhere.

"Sigh, it's truly great to be alive."