Chapter 193 Astonishment and Doubt

For a time, astonishment and doubt surged through his mind.

The events had occurred decades ago, but Han Xiao still remembered them vividly. He had previously believed that the Child of Destiny was merely a simple precognitive, snuffed out under the nuclear explosion in its infancy, reduced to ashes.

But now, it seemed the Child of Destiny concealed more unknown secrets, not only reappearing on Aquamarine Star but also becoming entangled with informational entities.

Originally, he thought that Germinal Organization having produced three prodigies like himself, Hela, and Aurora was the limit. He hadn't expected the Child of Destiny, who had kicked the bucket early on, to be so extraordinary as well—truly a land teeming with exceptional individuals, a place where hidden talents dwelled!

Even if the leader of Germinal Organization suddenly resurrected and jumped in front of him one day, he reckoned he wouldn't be surprised.

What exactly is the Child of Destiny…

Han Xiao was filled with astonishment and uncertainty. He couldn't rest easy until he understood the truth.

At this moment, Harrison's voice rang in his ear.

"...Commander?"

Han Xiao snapped back to reality and discovered that the three people present were all staring at him. In their eyes, Black Star had suddenly spaced out for no apparent reason.

Izo shook his head, believing he understood the reason for Han Xiao's silence. He explained, "Even the three Universal Civilizations only have a superficial understanding of information entity theory and haven't been able to fully research it yet. I know this request might be a bit difficult for you."

Lodi immediately became anxious, his voice filled with despair as he said, "Then what should I do? If even Your Excellency Black Star can't do it, who can save me? Kind sirs, please, I beg you to persuade Your Excellency Black Star. I… I really have no way out!"

Hearing this, Han Xiao waved his hand. "Don't worry, I'll try to help you."

"That's wonderful, thank you, Black… uh?!" Lodi subconsciously expressed his gratitude, but he suddenly froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he looked at Han Xiao with a look of astonishment and joy.

Izo and Harrison were also startled and looked at Han Xiao in surprise.

"Commander, you can see him now?!"

"Yes, I can now."

"But you were clearly just… Did you find a way? But you didn't do anything!" Izo was extremely surprised.

Han Xiao cleared his throat and said, "True high-dimensional information entity lifeforms can choose who can observe them. Perhaps his strong will triggered the characteristics of his own information entity and actively created information entanglement with me… Simply put, he subjectively removed me from the blacklist."

A question mark popped up above Harrison's head, and his big eyes were filled with confusion.

There's such an operation?

Izo thought for a moment, but accepted this explanation, muttering to himself, "That does make sense. Perhaps he also inherited this characteristic but can't control it consciously, but his subconscious might be able to influence it…"

Han Xiao looked at him with a smile, silently cheering on the old geezer in his heart.

*That's the feeling. Please continue to fill in the blanks and convince yourself.*

Lodi was like a drowning man grabbing at the last straw. He slammed his hands on the table and trembled slightly with excitement, saying in a trembling voice, "I'm so grateful to you! You really are as they say in the news, not only a great man of Aquamarine Star but also a great man of the entire universe! So noble! To be honest, in my forty-eight years of life, I only admire one person, and that's you! I've looked up to you as an example since I was a child. You are the beacon of my life, the driving force for my progress, and you have inspired me to grow…"

Hearing this string of flattery, Han Xiao couldn't help but reveal an appreciative smile. He loved hearing these great truths.

However, he quickly restrained his slight smile, waved his hand, and signaled for Lodi to calm down.

"You don't have to be so grateful to me. To be honest, I'm helping you only because I'm interested in your mutation and want to study your changes. As for whether I can cure you, I can't guarantee it."

"I understand. I have nothing else to repay you with. I will do my best to cooperate with your research," Lodi said, nodding repeatedly.

Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. The fact that the other party understood this made things easier. If someone asked for help but was full of paranoid vigilance, he might take a tougher approach: non-violent non-cooperation.

He stood up, walked around Lodi, and sized him up. Suddenly, his heart stirred.

*That's right, I've already completed the information entanglement step with him. Now it should be no problem to poke him.*

As soon as the thought arose, Han Xiao immediately took action.

With a flick of his finger, nano-particles flickered and compressed, transforming into a thin metal needle.

He turned his wrist and carefully pricked Lodi's arm, applying a force similar to an ordinary person using their fingers to pick up an ant, afraid of accidentally crushing the ant if they used too much force.

The needle was withdrawn as soon as it made contact. Han Xiao immediately looked at the panel and, as expected, inflicted damage. Combat information appeared, and Lodi's attributes were laid bare.

The target was just an ordinary person. The panel was extremely clean, with all abilities within the normal human range. There were only two or three lines of text, a far cry from the dense panel of a Super.

Only one anomaly caught Han Xiao's attention. Lodi's status bar maintained a special state, identical to the name of the mission:

`[【Child of Destiny · Sub-body Transformation】: The original Esper body "Child of Destiny" has triggered an informational disturbance, randomly creating various "sub-bodies" throughout the universe. You are one of the selected random numbers. A mutation will occur in your body, and the characteristics of informational entities will gradually manifest. Furthermore, you will randomly develop some of the Child of Destiny's related abilities. During the transformation process, not only will your body change, but your personality will also gradually alienate. When this process ends, you may lose most of your desires and emotional expressions, or you may lose your memories, or you may believe in a false life experience. A brand-new personality, a brand-new self, will be born within your shell.]`

`[Current transformation progress: 37.1%]`

Han Xiao's eyes widened slightly as he caught the key information.

"The Child of Destiny is an original Esper body? Randomly creating sub-bodies throughout the universe?!"

This was a bit unexpected. The Super High-Risk Esper List didn't include the Child of Destiny, and players in his previous life hadn't explored any related information. Could this be an undiscovered or unpublicized original Esper?

Looking at the description on the panel, Han Xiao's mind raced.

*If the Child of Destiny has such a mechanism, then the one in Germinal Organization in Version 1.0 should just be a sub-body, not the original Esper itself…*

*Lodi hasn't completely transformed yet. Once he becomes a complete Child of Destiny sub-body, his personality will be replaced, which can be considered another form of death.*

Han Xiao was pensive.

Although he knew that the true face of the Child of Destiny was an original Esper, many mysteries remained. Perhaps Ahun and Asheng, who were also original Esper bodies, possessed information in this regard.

Han Xiao had the others wait in the room while he went to another room, closed the door, opened the Secondary Dimensional Army Camp, and fished out the Arcane Controller. He also sent a remote communication to Aurora and pulled the Sacred Light Particle into the chat channel.

"Black Star! What do you want from us? Let's chat more often!"

The Chaotic Arcane was very happy. He didn't have a host and was cooped up in a soulless metal body, almost suffocating.

"I have something to ask you," Han Xiao said, pondering. "Do you know an original Esper body called the Child of Destiny?"

Considering the difference in nomenclature, Han Xiao specifically repeated some of the Child of Destiny's characteristics, all deduced from the panel information.

Hearing this, the Chaotic Arcane and the Sacred Light Particle suddenly fell silent. After a long while, they asked in confusion:

"This guy… I seem to have seen it before?"

"Strange, am I confused? I vaguely remember knowing it, but I just can't remember…"

This feeling was like suddenly finding someone familiar but not being able to remember who they were.

"According to the information, the Child of Destiny has a strong connection to information entities. Perhaps that's why you two can't remember," Han Xiao guessed, narrowing his eyes.

The two sluts tried hard to recall and said hesitantly, "Maybe you're right. We can't remember more information about it. We only remember that, in our impression, there vaguely exists an original Esper body that can switch between physical and high-dimensional information entity forms. It has the ability to predict the future and interfere with reality, etc. Maybe that's the Child of Destiny you're talking about."

*It seems I can't get more information from them…*

Han Xiao's eyes darted around, and he changed the topic. "Then do you know the Flame of Soul? It's also an original Esper body."

"I know this one!" The Chaotic Arcane quickly replied, afraid that the Sacred Light Particle would steal the opportunity to chat. "This guy is elusive. I haven't met it many times. The last time I heard news about it was during the Exploration Era. It seemed to have chosen an Initial One as its host, and then it disappeared for many years."

Han Xiao's eyes lit up.

According to Izo's information, the Oathkeeper was very likely the host of the Flame of Soul, perhaps the Initial One mentioned by the Chaotic Arcane. As long as he knew the identity, he could expose the Oathkeeper's true face.

"Do you remember who that Initial One was?" Han Xiao quickly asked.

"I only remember the nickname, something called [Spirit Emperor], meaning 'Emperor of Souls'. He was a powerful mental Esper… but he seemed to have died in battle."

*Wow, that nickname sounds like someone not to be trifled with.*

Han Xiao noted it down, planning to ask the Empire for internal information later to investigate the life of this "Spirit Emperor."

As for the Child of Destiny, such a mysterious thing, the Empire might not have a record of it.

"Since the Child of Destiny is an original Esper and the Sanctuary is an organization specializing in the study of original Espers… perhaps asking them is a good choice."

Han Xiao nodded secretly, making up his mind that once he completed the deal with the Sanctuary, he would ask the Oathkeeper about the origins of the Child of Destiny, perhaps obtaining some information from the Sanctuary.

He suddenly had a guess:

"Speaking of which, could the Child of Destiny be in the hands of the Sanctuary? Hmm, I feel like there's a chance, but not a big one. The Child of Destiny can create disturbances, so it should be free, not like it's being contained… Heh, why worry so much? Anyway, it won't hurt to ask."

Han Xiao curled his lips.

As for whether the Oathkeeper can accept it…

*Well, I think his psychological resilience should be quite strong.*

Having asked everything he needed to, Han Xiao was about to close the communication when he suddenly remembered something and said to the Sacred Light Particle:

"Oh right, in a while, I'm going to cut off a small piece of your body to trade with someone. I'm notifying you so you can be mentally prepared."

The Sacred Light Particle's chaotic flying light mass froze in mid-air, stunned, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.

The Chaotic Arcane was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into gloating laughter.

"You're getting your turn today! Called you mocking me, you can't escape the same fate hahahaha!"

Sacred Light Particle: "…"

*My heart is so tired, I feel like I'll never love again.*

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ps: (This chapter is rushed out. I have to cook porridge and send it to the hospital later. I'm torn apart _(:з」∠)_)