Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"Human cognition is inherently chaotic. If you can't pass the first stage, it's hard to move on to the next."

"Actually, you just need to stubbornly persist through the first stage. Overthinking it will only make things worse. The more you think, the more likely you are to outsmart yourself."

Dr. Tesla was in a good mood today, taking the rare opportunity to lecture Bronya.

Bronya had learned her lesson from her initial failure and from her overly-rational, scientific mindset.

"You consider yourself a person of science. You should know that in an unfamiliar environment, the first thing to do is 'make bold assumptions and carefully verify them.' Only then can you apply scientific methods like screening, induction, and summarization to explore the environment."

"The edifice of science is built upon suspicion from the very beginning. The more rational you are, the more you will utilize the suspicion inherent in your emotions. This is an unavoidable practical methodology of modern science."

"Therefore, your cognition wasn't infiltrated when you were inside the Stigmata Space, but at the very moment you tried to 'distinguish between true and false.' Your ability to discern truth from falsehood is your true cognition, and this part was already infiltrated before you even entered."

Bronya suddenly understood, then immediately felt immense grief for her unfortunate tragedy.

In other words, Bronya's cognition wasn't infiltrated inside the Stigmata Space, but before entering. She already knew that the Stigmata Space could reflect self-cognition, which would then be reflected back to her within the space.

As a result, Bronya was mentally pummeled by her own "self-cognition."

"So, was that Stigmata will really my self-cognition?" Bronya asked, determined to go back and deal with that Silver Wolf.

"Of course! The Stigmata will itself originates from your own genetic information; it's naturally a product of your cognition," Dr. Tesla confirmed. That's why, when entering the first stage of the Stigmata Space, not knowing about it actually made it easier to pass.

Because the person didn't need to worry about distinguishing true from false; they just needed to follow their intuition.

Clearly, Bronya suffered from knowing too much.

The moment she realized that the Silver Wolf manifested by the Stigmata will was a product of her self-cognition, she instinctively trusted that what Silver Wolf said was what she truly thought. Especially since Silver Wolf also knew the thoughts Bronya had truly entertained, her words were even more convincing.

Bronya wasn't sure if she would face "Silver Wolf" again the next time she entered. She worried she would never be able to regain her face.

Little Bronya fell into a gloomy mood. She hadn't expected to be tripped up simply by knowing too much.

Was there such a ridiculous thing in this world?!

No wonder Dr. Tesla would rather keep the Herrscher core than leave any trace of her will in the Stigmata Space. What if she accidentally left some embarrassing genetic information? Wouldn't that let Kiana see all of Dr. Tesla's weird hobbies?

After all, there's a big difference between something everyone knows but doesn't talk about, and something that's publicly broadcasted.

Dr. Tesla was oblivious to Bronya's inner吐槽 (tsukkomi - complaints/retorts) [Often used by weebs to describe internal commentary, usually critical or sarcastic]. She had lit a bright lamp on the little girl's path and laid an important foundation for ARC City.

Today was another happy and joyful day for Dr. Tesla.

Bronya was enlightened.

The little girl's spirit was baptized, taking another step on the path of enlightenment. She hadn't realized human cognition could be so... tricky.

It wasn't exactly a trick, more like a new gameplay mechanic.

I will also become such a person in the future! Only I can trick others; no one can trick me!

Bronya secretly made up her mind. This kind of thing would absolutely not happen to her a second time.

A mere Stigmata battlesuit synchronization experiment had broken her defenses. How could she boast about her achievements to Seele in the future? Had she really become the lackey of that no-good emperor's cronies? No! Absolutely not!

In Bronya's little heart, grand ambitions were born. She would become the strongest and most skilled trickster in the world!

After seeing Tesla finish her lesson, Noldrei approached and asked, "Little Bronya, how was it? You can now deeply synchronize with the Stigmata battlesuit, right?"

Noldrei patted Bronya's shoulder, making her flinch.

"Bronya is... okay..." Bronya stammered, not daring to say much. After all, she had tripped at the very first hurdle.

"Life is always full of imperfections. We all know you used to work for Cocolia, and you watched as Raiden Mei was bullied, almost becoming a Herrscher that would destroy humanity. Of course, we won't hold Cocolia's sins against you. She has her debts to pay, and you have yours," Noldrei said earnestly. "As a person, you can't be too unscrupulous! Look at me, for example."

Bronya was dumbfounded. She had never imagined Noldrei could be so shamelessly thick-skinned.

"Indeed!" The small girl with the large head nodded, indicating her loyalty to the Emperor's commands.

"I know you have many misunderstandings about me, but these misunderstandings will soon be cleared up in the new era. To pull you youngsters out of the cesspool of the old era, how could my hands not get a little dirty? You don't have to thank me too much."

Seeing Noldrei's "all the faults lie with me" expression, Bronya was certain that he had successfully integrated into modern society.

What the hell happened to that naive future person?!

If Bronya remembered correctly, just a hundred chapters ago, this person was still amazed by modern society, even casually giving away bio-genes that could extend lifespans by five hundred years.

Now he had successfully blended in, his identity changing rapidly, much like a modern person transmigrating into a feudal landlord and immediately deciding to lie flat and do nothing – while also becoming increasingly stingy.

"Damn this modern society! Bronya will overthrow you all sooner or later!" Bronya loudly cursed. It was all because of modern society that the generous and simple future person had become so miserly.

Seeing that Bronya had seen the light, Noldrei rejoiced. "Good, good, good! As expected of my loyal subject! I admire your loyal attitude. In order to provide a better playground for the heir apparent, please work harder to manage ARC City!"

Bronya's vision went black, and she fainted once again.