Chapter 351 Explanation

"Hey...hehe! Friend."

"I'm talking to you. Stop standing there like an idiot and get me some meat sauce. It's right in front of you."

An elderly man in tattered overalls suddenly squeezed next to Sandor, carrying a bottle of Hennessy that had just been opened. He said to the man with a urging look on his face, "I'm old and it's not easy for me to move around. Could you please pass it to me?"

“Mr. Rice, it’s been so many years, I’m surprised you’re still alive.” Sandor didn’t move, letting the man spit smear all over his face without any manners, and tried to give him a smile. “I thought the Russian Federation was already destroyed. I didn’t expect that they could still send two representatives for this expedition. It’s really… a pity.”

Because no one turned off the power, the light from the notice board grew increasingly intense, almost filling the entire hall. The chaotic light and shadow expanded outwards in layers, creating a visual effect like waves crashing in, with countless iridescent lights flashing across their faces.

Rice's eyes seemed unfocused, momentarily shrouded in endless shadows, only occasionally illuminated by flashes of light.

"As you said, I am already an old man who is almost half dead."

"If Roy hadn't specifically sought me out to discuss this, I would have been watching some heartwarming family movies at the nursing home by now."

"Moreover, given the extreme uncertainty of humanity's future, it is only natural for an older generation of operatives like myself to make a contribution before I die."

"However, it is also a great pity that your Americas headquarters has not been destroyed by Joseph."

During the unbearable silence, Rice nonchalantly picked up the meat sauce, then sat back down in her seat and began eating it with her toast, one bite after another.

Beside him, Sterling, who also belonged to the Russian Federation, suddenly looked up and glanced at Bell, who was helping Sheen cut the steak. Then he shifted his gaze to Yu Yu and He Yu, his expression becoming increasingly confused.

"Since the three of you have interfered for so long, then this banquet... should be the last one before entering the second fluctuation layer."

"I just calculated that it's almost time. Everyone, get ready to get down to business."

Without any warning.

He said something that most of the people present found difficult to understand.

A few seconds passed.

Someone actually picked up on the topic, and that person was Hamilton.

"I said... bald guy."

"You seem to know a lot of inside information."

"Are you very confident in your own characteristics?"

Seeing this, Sterling immediately smiled at him and said, "Oh, you little rascal, you're really smart. You're absolutely right."

"Oh?" Before Hamilton could answer, Sandor suddenly interrupted, "I don't think you have any time-related properties. Besides, I used 'quantum scan' to scan all of you before entering the venue, and there's no trace of any node fluctuations here."

"Don't you two juniors know how to use honorifics when addressing a senior like me?" Sterling replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"In terms of seniority, none of you can compare to Bell and me."

Unexpectedly, Cagalli joined the conversation, wiping the sauce from the corner of her mouth while tapping the Angel's Wings with her free hand, and said this.

"Exactly, those stinky men are really lawless. I suggest we take you away for physical castration immediately, otherwise no one would dare to work with barbarians whose brains are full of muscles."

Misaka Mina, clearly not one to shy away from excitement, immediately started stirring things up.

"Alright, everyone."

"Let's put an end to this pointless argument."

Finally, Roy, as the host of the banquet, managed to bring the conversation to a close before the atmosphere became even more awkward.

"In fact, as Mr. Sterling said, this banquet you are experiencing has been repeated many times before."

Upon hearing this, more than half of the people present showed strange expressions.

The most puzzling of these are Sandor and Doggar, because their traits, whether in a state of rest or continuous activation, will be recorded after Roy's "repeated many times".

But as of now, they haven't received any feedback whatsoever, not even the kind of experience that would be so intense for someone in authority like time travel... they have no awareness of it at all.

"Let me explain."

At that very moment, Stanford, who had just finished a bottle of red wine, took a napkin, wiped his mouth with it, threw it on the ground, and spoke.

"This is the twenty-seventh banquet."

"The previous twenty-six attempts all ended in battle and destruction of nodes, so some of you will not be able to sense any rewind records—because the entire space was wiped out by you guys."

"As for the details... I won't go into too much detail. Anyway, I'm the one who pulls you back from 'death' every time. Then Hebrew has to retransmit the knowledge you've received in this life back into your brains, and then He Yu has to build an anchor point that is exactly the same as the previous spacetime. Only then can a node reshaping process be completed that is enough to deceive the will of the universe."

"Just as Mr. Roy said at the beginning, the reason we are here is to accomplish one thing—to completely eliminate the hidden dangers to humanity posed by the taboo objects within Wave Layer 2. Whether it is control or forced erasure, there are no restrictions on the means, as long as this result is achieved."

"But before that... you must share the same consensus and put aside your personal hatred and grievances, otherwise no matter how many times the nodes are reshaped, you will not be able to escape this banquet."

As he finished speaking, someone tapped on the plate and raised a question.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying."

"Judging from what you just said, the three of you are obviously more powerful than all of us in some aspects."

"However... even with such resources, are you three original candidates really unable to completely break through the second fluctuation layer?"

Cagalli's question was quite practical. And naturally, the others shared the same doubts.

"That's right."

He Yu turned his head to look at them, his gaze slowly sweeping over them before finally settling on someone.

"In fact, the number of people at this banquet is one more than the previous twenty-six times."

"This is the necessary variable."

"Because based on our combined strength from the previous encounters, we would all die in the second fluctuation layer."

Although he didn't explicitly say who the person was, everyone around could tell that the person at the center of the conversation was Dorui.

That "absolutely invisible" one is ranked number one in the Americas combat strength rankings.