Chapter 157 Stuck on Definite Integrals

As a creature whose existence leaned heavily toward the esoteric rather than the empirical, the Behemoth didn’t quite grasp the concepts of a hive mind or shared neural networks. Aya simply felt that you were being entirely unreasonable. Even more tragically, she now had to risk her life to explain to you exactly why your logic was flawed.

“The ocean knowing that he is an Aegir is not strange,” Aya argued, her voice tight. “The ocean knowing how to use substitution in definite integrals is very strange.”

The moment the words left her lips, she realized the sheer absurdity of her own statement. “Ah… wait. What is a definite integral?”

This alien knowledge, something a primordial beast of the sea had absolutely no business knowing, had already taken root in the seedbed of her memory long before she ever washed ashore. It was only now, hovering on the absolute brink of death, that she even noticed it. It felt as though a massive cognitive block had suddenly shattered. Aya’s memories surged forward like a violent tide, and the insidious, collective call of the ocean instantly became deafeningly clear in her mind.

Even a mighty Behemoth could not escape the assimilation of the Seaborn. They had simply come ashore too late.

Aya sadly lowered her gaze, attempting to imitate the human concept of weeping, but her physical movements were rigidly locked in place by the encroaching Originium crystals.

What else could you do? You could only offer the young girl some highly hypocritical comfort. “Hey, look on the bright side. Although you’ve lost your familiar territory, your infinite lifespan, your free will, and your overwhelming divine authority… at least you got a free crash course in calculus!”

You gestured grandly toward your operator. “Be optimistic! Look, this sea urchin is already envious of you!”

Thorns, caught completely off guard by suddenly having a finger pointed at his face, fell silent for a long moment. He stared at you, then at the tragic Behemoth, before nodding in deadpan cooperation. “Yeah. Right. Incredibly envious.”

Unfortunately, Aya didn’t seem to appreciate the humor. Her large, lifeless eyes visibly dimmed, as if she had just suffered a devastating physical blow. “How about… you guys just torture and interrogate me instead. That sounds a bit easier to deal with.”

You stared at her. ‘…’

Damn it, was your comforting technique really that terrible?

In the minutes that followed, under Thorns’ increasingly terrified gaze, you casually snatched his sword right out of his hand. With surgical precision, you carved a small hole into the young girl’s temple, using your Originium Arts to physically hardwire your tactical terminal directly into her brain.

Once you confirmed that this vessel also contained Seaborn biological components, the interrogation suddenly became a breeze. The sheer versatility of Originium access rights left over from the various projects of the previous civilization acted like a universal skeleton key—a plug-and-play interface capable of reading absolutely any form of biological save file.

Aya watched helplessly as the jagged crystals pumped into her brain began to pulse with a dark, golden fluorescence. She desperately attempted to comprehend her own demise. “What is this… It makes us feel so incredibly uncomfortable. It feels as though something completely illogical and unfathomable has just been violently shoved into our brains.”

“This is calculus,” you smiled, watching the loading progress bar on your terminal steadily tick up to ninety-nine percent.

The migration routes the Behemoth had traveled, the raw data on oceanic environmental changes, and even the vast archives of knowledge the Great Herd had once shared—information the Behemoth had previously ignored—were all being flawlessly copied into your database.

A tiny fraction of crucial intelligence was buried beneath a mountainous avalanche of useless garbage data. For an average person, the difficulty of filtering through this mess would be comparable to panning for gold in a trash-tier video essay. But for you, it was barely an inconvenience.

As long as your past self hadn’t completely botched the groundwork, the Seaborn wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

Right in front of Aya, you imported the complex parameters into your terminal’s Terra ocean model and dragged the timeline forward. Instantly, a virtual high-salinity center materialized on the holographic projection. Its core was rotating at a terrifyingly high speed for completely unknown reasons, forming a colossal vortex that wandered aimlessly across the ocean like a drunken street loafer.

Then, you imported the environmental data from the last ten years. A bizarre anomaly occurred on the screen—the center of the vortex violently split into two. Now, there were two massive street loafers wandering aimlessly across the ocean map.

What exactly was this situation? You fell into deep thought, tapping your chin.

Thorns cautiously leaned over your shoulder. “Can I look at this?”

Without waiting for an answer, he stuck his head closer, his golden eyes tracking the twin vortexes on the holographic ocean model. He stared at the projection for a long time before offering a sharp, clinical critique.

“That stationary marked area in the middle looks exactly like a piece of cheese sandwiched between two slices of evenly spread bread,” Thorns observed. “It seems to get violently struck by the two vortexes like a spinning top every now and then. How miserable. What is that place?”

You turned your head slowly, looking at him with deep pity. “It’s your hometown.”

Thorns blinked. “?”

This was exactly why you hadn’t planned on visiting Siesta in your original itinerary. These four massive Behemoths didn’t actually hold any game-changing clues in their brains, but since you were already here, you certainly weren’t going to let free data slip away.

The intelligence you extracted more or less aligned with your worst-case theories. It wasn’t particularly helpful; it only made you feel even more thoroughly wicked for looking at it.

Regardless of whether the entities floating in the sea were two different primordial leviathans, or something else entirely, the current state of Aegir must have been pulverized into soft, bouncy meat paste by now.

The inhuman Behemoth, still wired into your terminal, kindly chimed in. “Is that so? Then your people look really tenacious. Does this count as hand-beaten fish-scale balls?”

Thorns stared at her. ‘…’

His expression immediately shifted into one of unmatched, deadly seriousness. “Doctor, the people of Iberia have long since abandoned that place. Please be absolutely sure not to confuse us with them!”

Just as your interrogation was proceeding in a relaxed, highly educational manner, the atmosphere on the other side of the city was stretched to the absolute breaking point.

“Kuragari, kuragari no naka, ippoutsuukou ni~”

(In the darkness, in the darkness, walking one-way~)

“Tada tada kotoba wo kakinagutte~”

(I can only keep scribbling randomly~)

“Kitai, kitai suru dake munashii to wakatte itemo~”

(Knowing that expectation is all for nothing~)

“Sukui, motometsuke, sukui wo motometsudzuketa~”

(Yet still kept seeking salvation~)

Up on the brightly lit stage, three men dressed in heavy tactical mercenary gear were flawlessly executing a synchronized idol dance routine, belting out upbeat lyrics while simultaneously screaming at each other through frantic eye contact.

Bathed in the colorful strobe lights, Nietzlei silently begged for his life. Didn’t you say the Doctor would definitely come?! If we hadn’t gone on stage early to stall, the audience below would have all left by now!

The Shapeshifter Cluster—currently wearing the face of Beehunter—vividly looked left, then right, scanned the cheering crowd with utter disdain, and finally rolled its eyes. Didn’t you say we just needed to trust his process? That he has his own rhythm?

Theresis, standing on the far right and wearing tactical goggles, was executing his dance moves with terrifying, clean sharpness. But the singing coming from his mouth was growing slower and slower.

Why hasn’t the Doctor come yet? Did he lie to me before? No, there’s no reason to. We are the best partners… He must have severe amnesia. Is it because he was injured back then?

Rationally, the Lord of Fiends knew that the Doctor’s delay in showing up was highly disadvantageous to the current Sarkaz strategy. He needed to take the initiative to break this stalemate. If the situation deteriorated any further, he would not hesitate to draw his blade and attempt to kill his former partner.

As long as the Doctor’s amnesia was handled properly, this wasn’t a disaster for the Sarkaz—it was an opportunity.

But emotionally…

Doctor-chan… Doctor-chan… Doctor, why haven’t you come yet? Doctor, how can I live without you, Doctor!

Theresis’s internal monologue was practically weeping. Doctor, you definitely didn’t stand me up on purpose, right? You wouldn’t have found a new partner, right?! Besides me, who else on this entire wretched land can fit your command style so perfectly, Doctor!

Swallowing his internal breakdown, Theresis turned his head coldly, giving the panicking Shapeshifter and Nietzlei a perfectly calm, imperious glare. “Don’t worry. Everything is still within my plan.”

Down offstage, Vigna had already screamed until her throat was entirely hoarse.

This was true art! She had finally found her newest god of music! This rhythm, this stage presence, this bizarre juxtaposition of tactical gear and idol choreography—was this the mysterious underground culture of Higashi?! She didn’t even dare to imagine how incredibly cool this would sound if it were adapted into a heavy rock electric guitar cover!

Without a second thought, she recorded the performance, compressed the video file, and hit one-click forward directly to the Rhodes Island General Chat.

[Rhodes’s Note:

Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?

(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent!