The Battlefield

"...I thought you would refuse." A hint of surprise appeared on Vil-V's face.

"That will only let that kid sneak away," Liu Bai sighed.

"He respects you a lot."

"It is precisely because of respect that he will definitely slip away."

Since the misunderstanding, Liu Bai personally explained the responsibilities of the Moth Chasers to Fire to Kosma. Although the misunderstanding was cleared up, it also inspired Kosma to have a grander ambition, rather than being a vigilante limited to a city.

Although Liu Bai was not particularly happy about this.

"So rather than letting him slip away on his own, I'd rather make some arrangements for him... Oh right, I'll have him come see me in a bit, and then I'll have some useless philosophical talk with Kosma."

"Okay... right, there's more here..."

"What else? Is Sakura also going to apply to join the army? What's the occasion today? Did you all agree to run away together?"

Liu Bai jokingly showed a surprised expression.

"No, it's not a document, it's a letter. It was delivered this morning and it's signed Aponia —yet another one."

"Aponia?" Liu Bai ignored the sigh on Vil-V's face, opened the envelope, and began to read Aponia's letter.

"What's written on it—I hope it's not a love letter."

"—Some bad things, such as the recent surge in the number of Honkai disease who have fled to Dusk Alley."

"Ah..." A somewhat unpleasant expression immediately appeared on Vil-V's face.

"The Great Honkai? I remember you speculated about it before..."

"Clearly, my prediction might come true."

"..." Vil-V fell into a brief silence. "What about the Moth Chasers to Fire?"

"There were warnings, but they..."

In fact, in previous simulations, Liu Bai had hacked into the Moth Chasers to Fire and left a hint about the Honkai – but it didn't seem to be taken too seriously, only slightly increasing the rescue speed.

"...bloated and beyond redemption," Vil-V muttered. "Organizations fighting the Honkai should be much more efficient."

"—They are already the most efficient group of people."

Although Liu Bai spoke in a calm tone, he also let out a silent sigh.

"Although the Moth Chasers to Fire is a supra-governmental military organization, it is normal for an organization to have internal constraints."

Not everyone can create a one-man show like Otto.

Even in the 20th century, Schicksal still retained a department that resembled a parliament, Planck often had to go there to report on behalf of the North American Branch.

Further back, there is even the Citadel Council, which can rival the three major families—to be honest, the current Schicksal as an "organization" is somewhat deformed.

Needless to say, the World Serpent is another story. Heaven knows how many Gray Serpent there are. Only research and combat require other people. Logistics, diplomacy, and intelligence are all handled by one Gray Serpent.

The healthiest system is actually Anti-Entropy. Without Cocolia causing trouble, even Otto can't criticize the Anti-Entropy system.

"Tsk, cold reality."

Vil-V was reluctant to discuss this topic, and after making a brief remark, she had no intention of continuing the conversation.

When will they become sensitive?

"Perhaps it's truly too late to salvage the situation?"

"It seems completely hopeless—how about we just rebel, or rather, carry out a purge?"

"There's no hope— the Moth Chasers to Fire is a deeply entrenched system of interests, and it's an organization supported by the United Nations. 'Supra-governmental' only means that it's nominally not under the jurisdiction of any country and can act expediently, but to say it has no connection with any country..."

"That's bullshit, isn't it?"

"Yes, in other words, from a practical point of view, the purge not only fails to solve the problem at its root but also incites hatred. To put it bluntly, the purge eliminated 70% of the population and offended the vast majority of political systems in the world. In this situation, who is truly opposed?"

Liu Bai's calm voice made Vil-V somewhat annoyed.

"Can't they see the future?"

"Yes, it's hard to see." Liu Bai nodded. "Just like I said, the purge can eliminate 70% of people—including many with foresight, but... they all voluntarily closed their eyes."

In the future, this group might even be capable of assassinating Mei, but on the other hand, they might also agree to the proposal of an unknown newcomer and approve the God Key's plan.

Is this really just a lack of foresight? If they lacked foresight, would they have formed Moth Chasers to Fire so early?

"Don't underestimate the human passion for infighting."

The current civilization isn't much better. Anti-Entropy and Schicksal are constantly fighting each other, and there's also a World Serpent scheming to backstab them. They not only kill each other, but sometimes they even kill their own people.

Without Liu Bai, the current civilization would still be cooperating while simultaneously engaging in internal strife and deadly attacks.

Foresight? Foresight my foot!

"Ha...that's right, not every place is like ELM." Vil-V sighed deeply.

"However... it's not entirely without a chance," Liu Bai added after a moment of silence.

"An opportunity?" Vil-V looked up, hope shining in her eyes—she wanted to save civilization.

"When the Moth Chasers to Fire are no longer a 'supra-governmental organization under the United Nations'."

"...?"

At first, Vil-V looked confused, but her intelligence quickly made her realize what Liu Bai meant.

"Not a supragovernmental organization under the United Nations"—while this may sound difficult to understand at first, a little thought reveals a deeper yet simpler meaning: the United Nations and all nations cease to exist.

Civilization was severely damaged. The United Nations and nations lost their meaning in the face of the Honkai. The entire civilization had no choice but to unite, with the Moth Chasers to Fire, who were adept at fighting the Honkai, leading the civilization.

Yes, that would indeed render the complex and intertwined disputes over interests meaningless.

But...

"How terrible," Vil-V murmured to herself.

Empty words cannot unite people; only heavy costs will make people band together for warmth and support.

But... how much will civilization have to pay before everyone realizes this?

Chapter 362 Battlefield

"... What can we do?"

A rare look of dejection appeared on the usually confident Vil-V's face.

What Liu Bai described was just too... too much for Vil-V to bear.

Vil-V is confident she can invent something that can change the world, but changing everyone in the world...

This idea may have only occurred to her during her most immature period—and even within that immature period, it was the most absurd fantasy.

Vil-V had to admit that she was now feeling a sense of powerlessness.

"Perhaps it's about preserving humanity's strength as much as possible before that day comes?"

"I see."

After calming her somewhat chaotic thoughts, Vil-V's face turned serious.

"I will try my best to produce preliminary results for this project within six months."

Her prediction for this weapons project was that it would change the future landscape of the Honkai War.

"Hopefully, Honkai will give us some time."

"I'm waiting for your good news."

"Good news, yesterday's proposal to increase troop deployment and maintain vigilance has finally been approved within the Moth Chasers to Fire."

Mobius looked exhausted.

It's tiring to chat with idiots, but it's even more tiring to chat with smart people who are always trying to contradict you.

"I presented data on Honkai Energy activity over the past two or three months, but this issue still dragged on for a month... The final result was 23 votes in favor, 17 votes against, and 4 abstentions..."

"Because reinforcing military bases in various countries is a very troublesome matter, isn't it?"

Mobius's new assistant Klein, thoughtfully handed her doctor a hot towel.

"Ha! They won't mind the trouble when the Honkai comes."

Mobius took the towel Klein handed him, his tone making no attempt to hide his disgust.

"Even though the Second Honkai has already destroyed a country, these people still don't feel any sense of urgency..."

"..."

Klein remained silent.

"Well, you're right. The Moth Chasers to Fire isn't some kind of transcendent organization. Reinforcing bases in various countries... and even recruiting soldiers, is indeed a very stressful thing. I can even imagine the kind of resistance the person in charge would face when making this proposal at the United Nations meeting."

Mobius also sighed.

As a marginalized elder who was ostracized but firmly established, she was not lacking in political acumen. Her views on the situation of the Moth Chasers to Fire were actually similar to those of Liu Bai.

Slow to react, but indispensable—after all, no matter how bad the Moth Chasers to Fire was, it at least successfully united some of the essence of civilization.

Although it's a bloated multi-headed serpent, at least the overall goal is roughly the same.

Only a fool would think of taking the Moth Chasers to Fire apart; once it's taken apart, it may never be able to be put back together.

"... Perhaps I should try to seize power?"

Mobius muttered to himself.

Become an agent for a certain group within the Moth Chasers to Fire, fight for their interests in order to gain power within the Moth Chasers to Fire and change the status quo.

"... Ha, what a stupid idea."

That would make her even less free to act; at least now, being on the edge of the vortex of interests, she can still do what she wants. If she were at the center...

"I'm going to die."

Mobius chuckled softly, anticipating the outcome.

"Even if people know my necessity, there will still be people, even many people, who want to kill me, to commit suicide by being shot eight times in the back... Heh."

"Doctor?"

Klein looked at Mobius with some concern.

Mobius gave Klein a warm smile, "It's nothing, thank you for the towel, Klein —also, let's cancel all the vacations for the second half of the year."

"Um... aren't you going to rest?" Klein's expression became even more worried.

"If you don't rest, what am I supposed to rest for?" Mobius wiped his face and handed the towel back to Klein.

However, Klein, caught off guard, hesitated for a second and let the towel fall to the ground.

"Um... I'm not taking a break?"

Klein wore an expression of incomprehension.

You clearly canceled all your vacations for the second half of the year, so how did it become that I didn't rest?

"Oh, did I not explain something clearly?"

Mobius's smile grew even warmer.

"Of course, it's the two of us... and even most of the researchers in the lab whose holidays are canceled. I need the lab to operate at its most efficient level throughout the second half of the year."

To Klein, Mobius's warm smile at that moment was nothing short of devilish.

"Oh, this seems to be the first time you've experienced such a large-scale, high-intensity overtime since you became my assistant—it's okay, you'll get used to it quickly, it's a tradition in our lab."

Klein: "..."

Blanca, you didn't mention this tradition when you recommended me to come here!

Six months later

"Vil-V, how's the situation on your end?"

The timing of the Third Honkai Eruption was consistent with Liu Bai's memory. With ample preparations, ELM, under Mobius's arrangement, quickly transformed the surrounding security forces into fully armed rescue teams, retaining only a small number of necessary security personnel.