Acquiring a Research Base; MANTIS Surgery / Improved Monster Cells and Limit-Breaking Drugs [Please Subscribe]

Compared to a modern world with a normal technological level like Jujutsu Kaisen, it was an outright dimensionality-reduction strike. Even if all the world's top scientists were gathered together, they probably would not reach even one-tenth of Mobius's scientific research ability.

"Do you have any thoughts on the new worlds, Mobius?"

"Let's go to the One-Punch Man world."

Mobius gave her answer without a second thought.

"One-Punch Man is indeed a good choice. With its modern setting, conducting research there would be more convenient than in the Arknights World. And with your abilities, Mobius, if you studied Monsters and those S-Class heroes there, maybe you could develop a version 2.0 of Flame Chaser technology?"

An Xiu stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.

However, Mobius merely rolled her eyes at him disdainfully.

"Is it possible that your system has no restrictions on the number of times we can use the world-travel function? So from the very beginning, we never needed to agonize over which world to choose. We just need to pick a world best suited for early development and start there."

"By then, we can establish an Experimental Base in the One Punch World. If we want to study Monsters, we study Monsters. If we want to study Terra people, we go to the Arknights World and capture Terra people. If we want to study monsters, we go to the DanMachi world and capture monsters."

"Or we can be even bolder. I can conduct research in the One Punch World while you go mooch off others in other worlds, do whatever interests you, and see if you can gather some experimental materials while you're at it."

"In that regard, we're actually very free."

After hearing Mobius's explanation, An Xiu finally realized it.

The system really did not seem to impose any restrictions on the number of times the world-travel function could be used. In other words, whether it was him or clones like Mobius, they could freely travel back and forth between different worlds.

All worlds listed as options by the world-travel function were interconnected for An Xiu and his clones. There was no point in agonizing over which world to visit. They could simply go take a look first, and if it did not suit them, switch worlds directly.

With that in mind, One-Punch Man was clearly the most suitable of the three new worlds to serve as an outpost. Compared with Terra's chaos and the DanMachi world being filled with Gods, the Monsters in the One-Punch Man world were only a minor problem.

After all, the bald guy could handle the strong ones, while the weak ones posed no threat to An Xiu and his clones. Besides, since humanity in the One Punch World could still maintain a stable social order, powerful Monsters capable of destroying huge swathes of a city were clearly very rare under normal circumstances.

"Then let's go to the One-Punch Man world."

He opened the system's world-travel interface and selected the One-Punch Man world.

A portal immediately appeared before An Xiu and Mobius.

Only An Xiu and those authorized by him could open and pass through this portal. Unauthorized people could not even see the portal itself.

An Xiu and Mobius stepped into the portal, and the scenery around them immediately shifted.

When they came back to their senses, they were already in an unfamiliar city. A bustling street was nearby, while An Xiu and Mobius stood in an alley.

"So this is the One-Punch Man world?"

Mobius looked around with great interest at the scenery, which was completely different from the villa they had been in before, then walked toward the street.

"First, let's confirm which city we're in. Then we can determine the timeline and see whether the original plot has already begun."

It was worth mentioning that the One Punch World had no concept of countries. The entire world consisted of twenty-six major cities, named after the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, from City A to City Z.

"That should be easy. We can probably find out just by asking someone."

An Xiu nodded from the side. He and Mobius walked out of the alley, casually stopped a few passersby to ask questions, and quickly confirmed both their location and the time.

"We're currently in City Y. The Hero Association was established two and a half years ago, which means there are still six months before the plot begins."

In the original story, Saitama, the protagonist, had already been active as a hero for three years by the start of the plot. The Hero Association had been established around the same time Saitama began training and working as a hero. In other words, the third year after the Hero Association's establishment was roughly when the plot began.

With half a year left before the plot began, they did not need to worry for now about villains like the Monster Association appearing too early to cause trouble. The only issue was how to acquire a laboratory and a large amount of funding for Mobius's research in the shortest time possible while having no money at all.

Fortunately, this problem was not difficult for the two of them. Mobius held a large golden cup in her hand—the Holy Grail An Xiu had previously bought from the system shop.

Acquiring a Research Base, Flame Chaser Surgery

"I need a fully equipped biological research base and a large amount of legally obtained funds that will not attract attention."

As an item An Xiu had spent a full 6,400 points to purchase in the discount section, the Holy Grail's effectiveness was naturally guaranteed.

After Mobius made her wish, she and An Xiu successfully used the Holy Grail's power to legally obtain a fully equipped biological research base in this world, along with an enormous fortune stored within it.

As for the research base's location, Mobius chose City A, the most developed and safest city in the One Punch World. In the original work, the Hero Association headquarters was located in City A.

Although City A would one day be destroyed during the invasion of Boros, the first arc's final boss, that was a matter for the future. Since Mobius knew the original plot, she had plenty of ways to prevent it from happening.

In fact, aside from using the Holy Grail to make a wish and solve everything in one go, there was another way to obtain a laboratory suitable for Mobius's research and a large amount of funding: robbing the House of Evolution from the original plot.

As a villainous organization that had created countless monsters in the original work, the House of Evolution was quite compatible with Mobius's style. As long as she could successfully take over the organization, its vast research materials on monster modification would allow Mobius to immediately gain a foothold in this world and begin all kinds of monster-related research, saving a great deal of early development time.

Unfortunately, the original work did not seem to provide any information about the House of Evolution's exact location. At least, An Xiu could not remember it. Finding it would probably take quite some time, far less convenient than using the Holy Grail.

Following the location information conveyed by the Holy Grail in his mind, An Xiu used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power to take Mobius to their destination.

"It looks fairly decent."

Looking at the research base before her, Mobius said nothing more and entered with An Xiu.

"The equipment is indeed comprehensive. It basically has everything necessary. Although it lacks some research equipment unique to the Honkai World, that isn't a major problem."

"With this research base and the funds stored here, once we purchase some experimental materials, we can more or less begin researching Kryptonian Bloodline and Monsters."

Kryptonian Bloodline, as a research project personally designated by An Xiu himself, held extremely high priority for Mobius.

However, because she possessed An Xiu's memories, Mobius knew perfectly well how absurd Kryptonians were. Researching them was definitely not something that could be rushed. Thus, while studying Kryptonian Bloodline, she did not mind expanding into other supplementary projects, such as Monsters.

Mobius was extremely interested in Monsters, these special lifeforms unique to the One Punch World. After all, the Monsters that appeared in the original work had more or less defied logic in both their origins and abilities.

They had clearly begun as ordinary humans, other creatures, or even objects, yet they could transform into Monsters for all sorts of bizarre reasons. Some of these Monsters were incredibly powerful, casually destroying towns or even threatening entire cities.

Watching from behind a screen before, she had already found it absurd. Now that she had truly come to this world, Mobius was not only baffled but also intensely intrigued.

However, whether it was Kryptonians or Monsters, formally beginning research would require waiting a while. The research base currently had nothing but equipment and funds. Even if they began purchasing experimental materials now, it would still take a day or two.

Before that, Mobius had one task that had to take priority: using the Sasha Gene An Xiu had previously given her to perform Flame Chaser Surgery on herself.

Because An Xiu had not granted Mobius any powers when he manifested her, she was, in the literal sense, just an ordinary scientist. In a world like One-Punch Man, lacking strength meant lacking the ability to protect herself. If she did not arrange Flame Chaser Surgery for herself soon, Mobius would feel very unsafe.

"Nothing will go wrong, right?"

Watching Mobius adjust various devices as she prepared to perform Flame Chaser Surgery on herself, An Xiu asked.

"Don't worry. The Sasha Gene is highly compatible with me, and the Flame Chaser technology in my memories is already very mature. As long as no serious mistakes occur, failure is impossible."

"Besides, with the resurrection function, even if an accident really does cause the surgery to fail, can't you revive us clones after twenty-four hours?"

Mobius answered carelessly while adjusting the equipment. It was clear she had no worries whatsoever about the coming surgery.

"Mm. The entire Flame Chaser Surgery process will take roughly four hours. During that time, I'll have to trouble you to stay alone for a while, Master. If you get bored, you can go out for a walk. I'll be fine by myself."

"Forget it. It would be bad if something really happened after I left. It's only four hours. It'll pass soon enough."

An Xiu shook his head at Mobius's suggestion.

He was just lying flat, not completely devoid of emotional intelligence. Leaving Mobius here alone under these circumstances would indeed be inappropriate. What if Mobius encountered danger after he left?

Though the resurrection function existed, it was still best to avoid anything that could be avoided.

"How rare. I never expected you to make that decision, Master. Should I be appropriately moved?"

After completing all the preparations, Mobius spoke while placing the Sasha Gene into the equipment. After carrying out a series of operations, she lay down on the operating table.

An Xiu, meanwhile, left the laboratory and found a random place to wait.

And so, four hours later.

With a series of sounds, the laboratory doors slowly opened.

Mobius walked out. Her appearance had not visibly changed, but her entire demeanor was completely different from before, and her aura was countless times more powerful.

Clearly, the Flame Chaser Surgery had gone very smoothly. Mobius had successfully fused with the Sasha Gene and regained the power from her memories.

"With my current strength, if I go all out, I'm probably around the level of a dragon-level monster in this world. As long as I don't provoke certain individuals, self-preservation should no longer be a problem."

Although Mobius was not among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers who excelled at combat or possessed overwhelming strength, with her Artificial Honkai transformation and the immortality granted by the Sasha Gene, there were probably no enemies in this world who could pose a fatal threat to her apart from the bald guy and a select few.

Release Announcement

There isn't really much to say. I'm just writing an ordinary book and putting it on the shelves ordinarily. These days, the threshold for becoming an author is low, so there isn't much to say about getting published.

As for updates, including the chapter just posted, I plan to release four chapters today. The remaining three will probably be released gradually from noon through the evening. After all, I have no stockpile; every chapter is written on the spot. When other people mass-release chapters, they're releasing saved drafts. When I do it, I'm just burning through sheer effort.

So, seeing how hard I'm working, please give this author your first subscription. These days, if the results are poor, even writing purely out of passion becomes impossible to sustain. Being broke is really too difficult.

Also, regarding the JOJO and KonoSuba worlds in the synopsis, they will be written later. The synopsis had a word limit, and I originally listed a whole bunch of worlds, but after cutting them down, only Jujutsu Kaisen, JOJO, and KonoSuba remained. Aside from those, other worlds that will appear include the One-Punch Man world currently being written, Arknights, DanMachi, Campione, Honkai: Star Rail, and a mixed anime worldscape of various slice-of-life series plus Miko and Spiritual Revival, among others. There is no particular order, so there's no need to worry if a world has not appeared yet.

If there are any worlds you want to see, you can also leave a comment here. If I see something suitable, I'll add it to the candidates.

Finally, please subscribe! Please subscribe! Please subscribe!!!

Improved Monster Cells and Limit Break Potion—Please Subscribe

"Do you have any concrete ideas for the next stage of research?"

An Xiu handed Mobius all of the Kryptonian Blood, the remaining Devil Fruits from the Devil Fruit gift pack he had purchased earlier, and Demon's Demonic Manifestation, then asked.

"I do have some ideas regarding Kryptonian Blood. Although this small amount of blood is not enough to transform you into that Superman from the DC universe, it should be no problem if we merely use it as material for Flame Chaser Surgery."

Having just completed Flame Chaser Surgery and in excellent condition, Mobius took the items An Xiu handed her. She pondered briefly before answering.

"As for the research into Devil Fruits and Teigu, that will also be placed on the agenda, though the specific timing will be pushed back slightly."

Compared with Kryptonian Blood, Devil Fruits and Teigu clearly had lower ceilings, so Mobius ranked them after monster research.

"Flame Chaser Surgery using Kryptonian Bloodline as material?"

An Xiu nodded upon hearing Mobius's words.

This really was the most feasible way to make use of Kryptonian Blood in the short term.

After all, Flame Chaser Surgery using merely Honkai Beasts as materials had been enough to create powerhouses like the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. If the material were changed to Kryptonians, it would definitely be a great help even to An Xiu as he was now.

"However, if we want to carry out Flame Chaser Surgery, the compatibility will need to be adjusted for a period of time first, so we need to wait. In addition, I intend to acquire the body tissue of some powerful Monsters in this world during that time and see whether they can also serve as fusion materials."

"Waiting is fine. I'm not in a hurry. But using Monsters as fusion materials... won't that cause any problems?"

Hearing that Mobius intended to include Monsters among the possible materials for Flame Chaser Surgery, An Xiu could not help asking an extra question.

"Don't worry. Before I have absolute certainty, I won't use this idea on you, Master."

As a manifested clone, An Xiu's safety was undoubtedly Mobius's highest priority. Even if An Xiu said nothing, she would never use experiments that might lead to dangerous consequences on him.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

During this time, Mobius used the funds in the research base to purchase body tissue from numerous powerful Monsters. At the same time, she spent a huge amount of money publicly registering a biotechnology company and recruiting several employees.

According to Mobius, while powerhouses in this world possessed unparalleled strength, that did not mean wealth was useless. On the contrary, even the Hero Association, which could mobilize numerous heroes, was controlled by money. Even S-Class heroes might be dispatched to protect wealthy individuals over trivial matters.

Since they had obtained enormous wealth out of thin air through the Holy Grail, they naturally needed to put it to good use. First, they would register a company publicly, then invest and become shareholders in the Hero Association. At that point, they could direct the Hero Association as shareholders.

With such an identity, An Xiu and Mobius would undoubtedly gain many conveniences in the One Punch World.

As for later? Once Makima finished dealing with the upper echelons of various countries in the Jujutsu Kaisen world and could spare the time to come to the One-Punch Man world, those wealthy people who were merely ordinary humans would have no later.

Compared with the bustling atmosphere on Mobius's side, An Xiu's side was far more relaxed.

After receiving a large sum of money from Mobius, An Xiu spent the past half month thoroughly experiencing the unique characteristics of the One Punch World.

For example, a monster would suddenly jump out from nowhere while he was walking down the street. The ingredients in a restaurant's kitchen would suddenly become monsters after he went there to eat. Or he would go somewhere less crowded to relax, only to run into another monster...

Although most of these Monsters were insignificant fodder that could be casually one-shotted, the frequency was simply too high. On average, he encountered two or three Monsters a day. He did not know whether his luck was terrible or whether ordinary people in this world truly lived such precarious lives.

It could be said that throughout the past half month, An Xiu had done little besides watching Monsters bare their teeth. He had barely enjoyed himself at all, to the point that he was considering switching worlds. Whether he went to Terra to look at animal-eared girls and all kinds of animal companions, or headed to the DanMachi world to form a Familia and have some fun, it all seemed better than watching all kinds of bizarre Monsters lose their minds in the One Punch World.

Fortunately, on this day, Mobius sent An Xiu a message telling him that the research had made new progress, temporarily dispelling his desire to leave.

Inside Mobius's research base in City A.

An Xiu looked at a chunk of flesh before him that pulsed continuously like the heart of some creature, as well as the golden liquid stored in a vial beside it, and could not help falling into thought.

"This is... Monster Cell?"

"To be precise, it's stabilized Monster Cell. Its effects are already vastly different from those of the original Monster Cell."

Mobius began explaining.

"The original Monster Cell's primary effect was to transform humans into Monsters, and its effect was extremely unstable. Once the transformation failed, death was the only outcome."

"After my detailed research into Monsterization, the main use of this new Monster Cell has shifted from turning people into Monsters back to its most fundamental effect: stimulating potential."

"Without Monsterization, merely consuming the Improved Monster Cell before us will stimulate the user's potential once on top of their existing foundation, greatly increasing their strength."