Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Dottore Becomes an Experimental Subject

“This is…?”

As Nahida entered the Akasha system, she suddenly discovered that the once-stable and orderly network was now producing massive anomalies.

Faced with this unprecedented phenomenon, she couldn’t help but reach out to touch those abnormal data streams.

In the next instant, a large hand grabbed her and lifted her straight up.

Nahida stared blankly at the unfamiliar man who had appeared before her without warning.

“Hello there~”

“…”

Since being imprisoned, this was the first time Nahida had come into contact with a stranger.

Though she instinctively felt wary of this sudden encounter, a trace of joy still welled up in her heart.

Whether he was a good person or a bad one—at this moment, she simply wanted someone to talk to.

“Y-you… hello.”

“Hello. Goodbye, little shuttlecock.”

With that, Su Ran released his hand.

Nahida plunged downward as if falling into an abyss, sinking straight into the Sea of Data within the Akasha.

Countless red data streams representing anomalies began sweeping across the entire Akasha system of Sumeru.

“This Akasha is way too fragile, isn’t it? It took almost no effort at all.”

At this very moment, Su Ran had already seized complete control over Sumeru.

From the sages of the Akademiya at the top—to the ordinary citizens of Sumeru City below not a single person had escaped his grasp.

“You haven’t even obtained the Gnosis yet, and you’re already building a mech, Dottore?

That’s some confidence you’ve got.”

Deep beneath the Akademiya, inside a secret workshop, Dottore suddenly heard that voice.

He frowned and removed his Akasha Terminal.

That voice—

he would never forget it.

The other Harbinger who had stolen his seat.

“Interesting… are you planning to join this game as well?”

Dottore didn’t resent the current Second Seat.

On the contrary—he admired him.

But he was extremely dissatisfied with what the man had done in Inazuma.

Every single one of his segments stationed there had been wiped out.

Creating segments was no simple task.

Losing them meant a tremendous loss—

and a loss that someone would have to pay for.

“Hm?”

Just as Dottore was speculating how to deal with the possible arrival of that so-called genius—the Shouki no Kami, which had been in standby, suddenly reacted.

Dangerous red lights flared across the mech’s surface.

The sight left Dottore dumbfounded.

Even without knowing the specifics, he immediately understood—this had something to do with Su Ran.

That bastard was actually interfering with his creation?

But this thing was still only a prototype!

“…That’s a nice expression you’re making.

Seeing that look of shock on your face makes me want to hear it creak under my fist.”

Before Dottore could recover from the mech’s sudden activity, he realized someone else had appeared behind him.

“The Akademiya’s scribe… Alhaitham?”

The man who had barged in was none other than the Akademiya’s Grand Scribe.

The creation of the Shouki no Kami was a tightly guarded secret.

There was no way this man should have known about it.

But when Dottore noticed the red signal glowing on Alhaitham’s Akasha Terminal, he understood—

this man had already been controlled.

“Genius? What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Nothing much…”

Alhaitham raised a finger and shook it, then pointed straight at Dottore.

“I just want to run a little experiment.”

“And the subject of that experiment…”

“…is you.”

Such blatant provocation—

even someone as emotionally controlled as Dottore couldn’t help but feel anger rise.

“If you were personally present, that might be another matter.

But since you’re not here, are you really sure I’m the one who’ll end up as the test subject?”

Using nothing more than a frail scholar under mind control to defeat him?

He was a former Second Seat—

not someone to be trifled with!

The gap between him and this so-called genius was not that large!

“Little lab rat, struggling is pointless.”

Alhaitham rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles.

“You know nothing about the power of a Nous Emanator~”

“And you know nothing about me!”

Dottore struck first.

Though confident he could defeat a genius who wasn’t even present,he still didn’t dare underestimate his opponent.

A single misstep—and even he could overturn!

One incense-stick’s worth of time later—Dottore lay helplessly on the ground.

“How… is this possible…”

Even with the genius not personally present—the difference in strength was still this overwhelming?

“Sleep well, little lab rat…”

Alhaitham grabbed Dottore by the collar and hurled him toward the head of the Shouki no Kami.

As its operator was put into place,the birth of this false god officially entered its next phase.

Poor Scaramouche—

he still had no idea that what should have belonged to him had already been taken.

The Gnosis was gone.

And now, even the Shouki no Kami is gone.

After finishing everything, Su Ran released his control over Alhaitham.

The moment Alhaitham regained control of his body, he collapsed to the ground.

“Who… are you?”

“Just a passing Nous Emanator. Remember that.”

Alhaitham had no understanding of what that title meant.

But the conversation he’d just had with the Doctor was firmly etched into his mind.

“Genius? That Fatui Harbinger just called you ’Genius’!

You’re the newly promoted Harbinger from Snezhnaya, aren’t you?”

It had to be said—the people of the Akademiya were sharp.

Alhaitham, one of the few true intellectual elites, was able to piece together the fragmented information.

At the very least, he wasn’t clueless about who had controlled him.

“You’re not stupid. That’s right—I’m the Genius.”

Hearing Su Ran confirm it himself,

Alhaitham couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

He knew very well how powerful the Doctor was.

Under normal circumstances, he would never stand a chance.

And yet—in front of this Harbinger known as “Genius,”even with his own frail body, he had effortlessly defeated one of the Fatui’s top-tier powerhouses.

That alone was enough to prove how dangerous this man was.

“What do you want?”

“Relax. I’m not interested in Sumeru, so I won’t personally show up.”

“But I am interested in causing trouble—so I’ve left behind quite a bit of it.”

Su Ran’s words made Alhaitham feel both relieved and tense.

“You can try to stop it if you want, but it doesn’t really matter.

At most, it’ll just make the casualty numbers a bit higher.”

“If you want to minimize losses, then letting things run their course is your best option.”

“…Is this a warning?”

At this moment, Alhaitham felt an overwhelming sense of frustration.

If he intervened, more people might die.

But if he didn’t—was he supposed to just watch chaos unfold in Sumeru?

“This isn’t a warning. I’m stating a fact.”

“Didn’t I say it already?”

“I’m not interested in Sumeru.”

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