Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

How can a clone prove that it exists?

Brunhilde looked at Shigure Kira's dilemma, and then he smiled.

“Look, Sister Qiluo, this is unethical.” He gently tapped his heart. “Ethics is not a definition, but a conventional feeling. You’re so conflicted, but you can’t find a reason… But why look for a reason? Why prove the human rights of clones? Why prove their ‘existence’? They’re right there, they’re alive, they don’t need any definition to define themselves… You’re thinking so much about logic, but you’ve forgotten the fundamental thing—the dignity of life.”

Cocolia stared at him, then turned to look at Bonya, whose eyes gleamed with admiration. She shook her head, then breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she hadn't misjudged him.

Such a person would never act as an accomplice to evil.

“But ethical issues are bound to arise from gene research.” Brunhilde changed the subject and said seriously, “Scientific and technological progress is bound to be accompanied by some cruelty. I think that as long as it is not for personal gain, but for a grand future, things are still understandable.”

Yes, ethics do evolve with the times, while scientific progress is often forward-looking.

For example, performing surgery on a patient would have been incomprehensible a thousand years ago, and anyone who voiced such opinions would have been hanged. But now, craniotomy is commonplace, and humanity's acceptance of such procedures is subtly changing.

For example, homosexuality is not promoted worldwide because if such promotion leads to an increase in homosexuality in society, it would be a devastating blow to the social structure.

After the birth of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), lesbianism has become much more accepted, and the term is frequently used in television programs, animations, and movies. This is largely because homosexuality has had a less impact on the social structure, and lesbians are now able to have children.

Ethical issues are fundamentally social issues. Once these underlying social problems are resolved through technological advancements, ethical issues will gradually disappear. Modern people adhere to the principle of prohibiting marriage between close relatives within three generations. However, if genetic technology advances and consanguineous marriages no longer result in the birth of diseased individuals, these ethical issues may also gradually disappear.

Therefore, if scientific and technological research violates ethics, Brunhilde believes she can simply stay away from it and pretend she didn't see or hear it.

“If it were just a little cruel, it could be forgiven for the future of all humanity. But the Tower of Babel was built primarily for someone’s selfish desires!” Cocolia gritted her teeth, slammed her fist on the armrest, and stared intently at Brunhilde. “To study the genetic compatibility of androids, the Tower of Babel needs a huge number of volunteers, thousands upon thousands! From infants to the elderly, we need everyone! Guess where these people will come from!”

Brunhilde was stunned.

"To conceal their movements from the United Nations, Babel would certainly not engage in large-scale human trafficking on the black market. What you, Destiny, did was even more ruthless. You manipulated governments to launch wars in Eastern Europe, making the United Nations believe it was a regional conflict, and then secretly scavenged all sorts of refugees from the battlefields, ruins, and slums to serve as 'volunteers'! And not a single one survived! Of course, it's obvious that Destiny wouldn't let these refugees leave Babel alive. Guess what happened to their bodies? Even burying them on the spot was too much trouble; you were even so brazen as to throw them directly onto the battlefield! Then you took pictures, posted them online, made them into newspapers, and continued to incite hatred, keeping Eastern Europe and North Asia in chaos! You continued to fish in troubled waters!"

Chapter Sixty-Eight: I'm already eighteen, why am I acting like a baby?

"You Anti-Entropy are spouting lies again!" Shi Yu Qi Luo simply couldn't believe that Destiny would do such a thing. She wasn't naive, and she knew that every organization had its dark side. Destiny had grown to its current size, so Otto couldn't possibly be a soft-hearted person.

But Destiny is ultimately the world government of the transcendental realm, the guardian of order within it. Even if it commits evil, it shouldn't be done so brazenly.

"Besides, this is a matter of great importance. How could this be kept from the United Nations? No, how could it be kept from our eyes and ears?" Shi Yu Qi Luo shouted. "There are only so many people in the world on the supernatural side. The Tower of Babel is causing evil in Siberia. How could the Valkyries of Destiny, like me, be completely unaware of this?"

"You think an A-rank Valkyrie can touch the secrets of the rulers of destiny?" Cocolia said sarcastically.

“But I haven’t heard of it either,” Brunhilde replied.

"You? And what is your identity?" Cocolia looked at him cautiously. She was never sure about Brunhilde, this "girl" with Valkyrie-level looks, who was actually a man without any Honkai energy. Even Shigure Kira, who could be ranked in the top ten of the Valkyrie list, seemed to regard him as her leader.

“If this is information that only the higher-ups of Schicksal can obtain, then I am a member of the Kaslana family, Brunhilde Kaslana, um… the son of ‘Last Princess’ Claire.” He said calmly, hiding his embarrassment.

This is tantamount to revealing to Cocolia a secret that almost no one in the world knows: his gender. But what's even more awkward is calling Claire by her childish nickname.

The Valkyries of Destiny always have various nicknames, and the more powerful the Valkyrie, the more illustrious her reputation. For example, there's "Floating Solar Prominence," "Sugar Dew Star Frost," and "A Song of Heartbreak"—Shigure Kira; and "Saintess," "Moon Goddess," and "Young Lady"—Cecilia.

The title "Last Princess" primarily refers to Claire being the last member of the medieval Norwegian royal bloodline. While the Kaslana family possessed some royal lineage, Claire, being a girl, became the last of the royal blood. Of course, if Claire had chosen to take her father's surname, this humble royal lineage could have continued, but Claire clearly preferred to take her mother's surname, Kaslana, and thus inherited the Kaslana family name.

So she would be the last princess, although Claire didn't care about this so-called royal bloodline... Compared to the bloodline of the knightly lineage, secular imperial power was nothing. But the nickname was indeed awkward. Rather, Brunhilde felt that all such nicknames were both cool and cringeworthy, and she really didn't know what other people would think if she said it in real conversation.

"So that useless young lady from the knight family... is actually the second young master?" Cocolia confirmed, then sat back. "It's understandable that you don't believe me. But it's not impossible that the Kaslana and Shaniat families don't know what Otto did. If what you're saying is true, Otto could also have his own power, his own army, and his own Valkyries. He would have immense power and could build the Tower of Babel with just his direct subordinates."

“No matter how powerful Otto is, he can’t make us his accomplices. Ultimately, you haven’t provided any evidence,” Brunhilde pointed out the problem.

Cocolia knew that simply accusing others was just venting her emotions. She thought for a moment, then, while holding Bonya's hand to soothe her fear, she said seriously, "So, do you know what kind of experiment was being conducted at the Tower of Babel?"

Neither of them knew. As ordinary Valkyries and ordinary company owners, they wouldn't proactively seek out such confidential information. Furthermore, Babel had no cooperative relationship with the Kaslana or Shaniat families, so theoretically, they had no reason to investigate.

"A cloning experiment?" Shigure Kira guessed from the conversation just now.

"In fact, the reason I'm here is to monitor the movements of the Tower of Babel. I can say with certainty that the Tower of Babel is conducting a large-scale experiment on artificial humans."

"evidence?"

“This kind of experiment produces a large number of artificial human embryos and infant corpses, which cannot be disposed of casually. The Babel Tower staff's method of disposal is also very simple: since they need to avoid the city, they transport them by truck to the Ural Mountains and bury them randomly in a mountainside,” Cocolia whispered. “This is too easy to track. Perhaps because the infant embryo corpses are too small, they are too lazy to do any extra processing. A large amount of bodily fluids are just dumped into the excavated pits. When we dug at night, the large amount of bodily fluids were already too decomposed to be identified, but it can be seen that the bodies of these infant embryos are unlikely to come from normal people, and the similarity of the genes proves that they are all failed cloned artificial humans.”

Cocolia took a green glass test tube out of her backpack and handed it to Shigure Kira.

Shigure Kira screamed at the first sight, for there was a small, mangled body inside. Her eyes were tightly closed, her withered white hair, or rather, her baby hair, was sparse, her head was half broken off, her arms were severed and floating in the formalin, her skin folds were not unfolded, and her legs were still stuck together.

It's too small; even a baby wouldn't be this small. It's clearly an embryo that hasn't been born yet. A baby this small should have an umbilical cord, but this remains don't.

“Because she was an artificial human raised in a life support tank. She was born in a petri dish, and her growth was accelerated by the researchers themselves, so she didn’t need an umbilical cord at all. And she was destroyed before she even opened her eyes,” Cocolia said. “Look at her appearance. This is the evidence I brought out. There are at least three hundred more corpses like this in the Ural Mountains!”

"How can you prove that this was the work of destiny?" Shigure Kira argued.

"I don't need proof, I just need you to know," Cocolia said in a low voice. "What you do is your business. Since you call yourselves Valkyries, the Wall of the People, you should verify whether what I say is true or not, shouldn't you? Whether I'm lying to you or not is not important. What's important is what you should do?"

The two were silent.

Brunhilde wanted to smile wryly. What Kaslana family? Only the Valkyries deserved the title of Kaslana family, the so-called "Wall of the People." He was just an ordinary person, only able to provide some support to the Valkyries—his greatest support being that of the Snow Wolf Squad's shared boyfriend—what could he possibly do?

Should we tell Cecilia? Knowing Cecilia's personality, she certainly wouldn't stand idly by. But precisely because of this, wouldn't Cecilia be in danger?

Brunhilde had always abhorred indecisiveness, but when it came to family and friends, he had to consider the pros and cons.

Then he glanced at the embryo in the test tube without thinking.

The baby girl's remains opened her eyes; her pupil-less, jet-black eyes stared straight at him, and a smile appeared on her horribly damaged and ugly face. The smile was neither terrifying nor beautiful.

Brunhilde froze. He didn't actually find the test tubes on the table particularly terrifying. Opening one's eyes was normal; a corpse preserved in formalin could indeed have its eyelids lifted by shaking. But that smile sent a chill down his spine. He stared at the baby girl, bewildered, meeting her dark gaze, and felt a difficulty breathing.

He wasn't afraid at all, just sad. But he didn't know why he was sad, so he started to feel agitated, and that agitation gradually turned into anger. He was angry, inexplicably angry.

The baby girl's death had nothing to do with him, but somehow he felt unworthy and unable to face her smile.

So sad, yet smiling.

Brunhilde rubbed his forehead, feeling strange images flashing through his mind—images he'd never experienced before. Sometimes, it was his lively, mischievous, white-haired daughter holding his arm and teaching him how to shoot; sometimes, it was his proud little queen wolfing down his cooking while grumbling about how bad it was; and more often, it was the warm, intimate scene of the two sisters, grabbing whatever they could find in an air-conditioned supermarket, the girl shouting "Forward!" filling a shopping cart marked "Children Only"...

“I’m so envious, so envious, so envious of them… I’m so envious of such a future…” The baby girl stared blankly at him through the test tube, her mouth opening and closing. She shouldn’t have made a sound, but Brunhilde heard it. This skeleton was speaking.

"You...know them? No, you...know me?" Brunhilde asked tentatively, enduring her headache.

“How envious I am…” the baby girl murmured, repeating softly. Even though she was soaking in formalin solution, Brunhilde saw scarlet tears streaming down her face. “…Daddy.”

----------

Brunhilde opened her eyes and found herself lying in a folding chair, surrounded by familiar room decorations. It was a two-story wooden cabin with a snow country theme, with a reindeer-skin carpet on the floor, a Christmas tree next to her, and Christmas decorations everywhere. She even had a small birthday crown on her head.

Brunhilde sat up and looked around. The living room was full of people. The entire Snow Wolf Squad was there, and Shigure Kira was in the kitchen with Cecilia, preparing dinner.

"Baby's awake?" Cecilia turned around, her beautiful eyes like the sea, her smile radiant.

This silver-haired woman had become even more gentle and voluptuous. Compared to her teenage years a few years ago, the Holy Maiden of Destiny now exuded the domestic charm of a wife and mother. Her long, snow-white hair cascaded down to her waist, and her mature, delicate body seemed almost supple. Her figure was even more soft and alluring, and the already impressive breasts on her slender waist were now so large that they could not be grasped with one hand, truly exquisite fruits.

Over the years, Cecilia has stopped participating in missions, but she remains Schicksal's number one Valkyrie, serving as an instructor and enjoying immense popularity and adoration among the Valkyries. This beautiful woman with her fair skin and snow-white attire is always voted Schicksal's most beautiful woman, while Brunhilde, having lost the special age advantage of being considered a "loli," is gradually becoming less likely to rival Cecilia in terms of looks. Countless Valkyries secretly resent Siegfried for stealing their Cecilia-sama.

Whether it's the illustrious achievements Cecilia has made or the allure of her unparalleled beauty, Cecilia stands at the pinnacle of popularity in Schicksal. Even Otto, the Archbishop of Schicksal, once jokingly remarked that at least half of Schicksal's Valkyries would be more loyal to Cecilia than to him.

Brunhilde stepped forward, gently supporting the silver-haired beauty's waist, pressing her cheek against the woman's, and speaking in a rarely used, gentle yet arrogant tone: "Sister Leah, don't continue to call me by the same tone you used when I was a child."

[Paragraph deleted. This paragraph contained a kissing scene.]

"Wow~"

Seeing the deep affection between the married woman and the young man, the Snow Wolf Squad members in the living room all booed and whistled.

After all, it's simply too pleasing to the eye to see two top beauties with equally white hair reaching their waists being so intimate!

The Saintess's figure seemed to contrast with her pure and holy face, overflowing with a voluptuous and beautiful curve. Even the form-fitting, hard leather combat suit specially made for the strongest Valkyrie couldn't prevent it from outlining her heavy, melon-like soft curves. Although the other woman was not as tall as Cecilia, she was also exceptionally beautiful, and her slightly slender body had to bear the overwhelming embrace of the beautiful wife's full and slender figure. The small, handsome boy tried his best to conquer the full and soft woman in his arms with kisses—even though they were all women, the Snow Wolf Squad watched with great interest, subconsciously swallowing their saliva, closing their legs, and feeling utterly ashamed.

"They kissed as soon as they met..."

"The captain and our little man can't be separated for a moment. Are there any couples like this? They've been in the honeymoon phase for several years now, and they're still so impulsive and passionate... I'm so envious."

"What are you envious of, Nicholas? Explain yourself. Don't you and Bubu have any passion left?"

"It's not that there's no passion, it's that the captain's passion is like this! Just watching them makes you feel like both of their hormones are exploding, every movement is full of desire for each other, that kind of intense passion! I don't believe you're not envious!"

"..."

"Bubu and Lady Cecilia are a perfect match, a match made in heaven. It's just that their souls are separated into two bodies, which is why they are always yearning for and demanding of each other. What do we... what are we monsters and demons jealous of? Colleagues, be serious. Lady Cecilia gave him to us, but they are the true couple, destined to be together for life. Don't let jealousy blind you."

"Lixue, even you, an honest person, can be sarcastic now."

"Alright, let Qiluo and the others laugh at us." Cecilia's face flushed red from the invasion. After satisfying the boy's demands, she leaned gently against the refrigerator, stroking the large plush cat that was still pounced on her. "You won't even let me use the tone you use to call a child, even though you are a child."

Shigure Kira said sourly, "Only when you're with Lady Cecilia do you act like a child. We've never seen Bubu act cute or spoiled here."

“I’m eighteen years old, why am I acting like a child?” Brunhilde stood up and said calmly, “Besides, what right do you have to be jealous? I’m the one who’s wary of you, I’m trying to guide you toward a normal sexual orientation so that you won’t continue to covet my sister Leah. If we have to say, I’m the one who should be jealous.”

"But I've already been corrected... How could I dare refuse to be corrected?" Salome muttered in the living room.

Everyone felt a deep sense of unease.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Theresa's Visit

"How did I get back? Wasn't I at the monastery?" Brunhilde released Cecilia, squinted, and felt a throbbing vein in her temple.

Shi Yu Qiluo washed her hands and turned around, saying, "I drove you back, and it was quite a struggle to carry you upstairs. But it was really strange; you inexplicably fainted in the monastery, scaring those two older sisters so much that they both raised their hands in protest of their innocence. I guess you forgot to take the serum at lunch, so I quickly brought you back..."

She looked at Brunhilde with some confusion: "But I remember you got up with Cecilia this morning. Don't you have a serum that lasts for several days now?"

Replenishing serum doesn't necessarily require serum; directly obtaining bodily fluids is actually a simpler method. Since Siegfried resides in Northern Europe, their saintess and Bubu are completely unrestrained and enjoy themselves all day long. Theoretically, they have no shortage of ways to obtain bodily fluids; a gentle bite on the neck or finger is enough when passion strikes.

For this married woman and young man who are in a passionate relationship all year round, such indulgent pleasures are something they do whenever they have free time.

Brunhilde didn't know how to explain it. He couldn't recall when he had started hallucinating, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the baby girl in the hallucination. The baby girl was the size of a kitten, ugly and broken, yet she made him feel so heartbroken, so grief-stricken and angry.

He couldn't help but take it to heart.