He had no intention of hiding the system entirely; that was unrealistic. For one thing, he would inevitably have chances to use his ability to control fluids in the future. Even if he did not go to the front lines, combat was unavoidable.
Perhaps the stigmata currently disguised by the system could be brought out for Mobius to study.
However, what Mobius might discover was beyond his control.
Calculated with pure rationality, agreeing to Mobius did more good than harm.
"Then all I can do is wish the doctor success with her experiment."
Under Mobius's arrangements, he took a shower.
Then he lay down on the operating table.
"Doctor, I've already informed the higher-ups of your request. They said they would arrange it as soon as possible... What is this?"
When Blanca returned to the institute, she saw Mobius already dressed in a white lab coat and conducting a biological experiment.
"Obviously, I've found a suitable test subject."
Mobius's eyes were filled with calm madness.
Blanca looked at the operating table, where Chen Ran lay quietly.
Her face paled slightly. "Doctor, if I remember correctly, experiments using humans as subjects require approval from the higher-ups."
Mobius had violated an important rule of civilization: ethics.
Ethics did not belong to any physical law, yet it was an important unwritten rule underpinning modern civilization. Its most important principle was this: humans were the primates of all things, occupying a transcendent position at the top of the food chain.
Even humans could not easily overturn that principle.
That was why any experiment based on human subjects had to be carried out with the utmost caution.
If human bodies were abused for experimentation, then ethics would soon become untenable. This was also why Fusion Warriors would later be rejected by ordinary soldiers.
Although Fusion Warriors felt a sense of belonging to the group known as "humanity," physiologically speaking, it was difficult to define them as "human" anymore.
Mobius said flatly, "If I listened to those old fossils, I'd never get any experiments done."
"Besides, the experiment has already begun."
Blanca looked hesitant.
She felt that there was still a divide between herself and this doctor.
Blanca was undoubtedly a good person, but within the Flame-Chaser, "good person" was the most meaningless evaluation of all.
"Enough standing around. Hand me the tools."
Mobius's expression became utterly focused.
Meanwhile, the computer connected to Chen Ran began calculating strings of obscure, incomprehensible data.
Chen Ran had a dream.
A very long dream.
In the dream, he met Wendy again. The girl frantically searched every corner of the world for traces of him, while countless forces formed into pursuers behind her.
She called his name over and over, and he answered her as well.
But she could not hear his response.
He could not be observed, could not be sensed, could not communicate...
His existence had been completely erased, every trace of him entirely concealed by an unknown force.
Other than Wendy, no one knew who "Chen Ran" was.
The final fragments of the dream became disjointed. He seemed to hear the sound of sobbing.
Then he woke up.
Chen Ran opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Are you alright? The doctor's experiment is over, but it seemed like you had a very long dream."
Blanca asked with concern, "The computer detected that your brainwave frequency was a little abnormal. Was it a nightmare?"
Chen Ran could not help frowning. "More or less. It's pretty hard to have a good dream in a place like this."
He joked half-heartedly, "My body hasn't had anything strange implanted in it, has it?"
Blanca shook her head. "No. But... the doctor said there was something special about your body."
"Ha, alright."
He knew that some part connected to the system must have been exposed.
But that was fine too.
Within the Flame-Chaser, one could only live better by having value to be used. Being completely useless was when one was most in danger.
And judging by Blanca's current reaction, Mobius had not yet learned very deeply about it.
That meant he could stay at the First Research Institute for quite some time.
And that time should be enough for him to absorb a great deal of knowledge.
The system alone was not enough to fight Honkai.
Preliminary Experiment of the Stigmata Project Succeeds
Chen Ran put his clothes back on and looked into the mirror.
The good news was that he had survived. He had not lost any arms or legs, and every part was intact. The bad news was that Mobius had taken an interest in him.
Because of the system, Chen Ran's body truly was different from ordinary people's. Stigmata that should not have existed in this era had appeared on him. Though they were a disguise created by the system, they still exceeded the limits of the era.
He could not really tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
If he wanted to ensure his own safety, he should have refused Mobius from the beginning. Then he could have lived until the end as an ordinary researcher.
Ordinary Flame-Chaser personnel also had a chance of surviving until the end, like Danzhu and Cang Xuan.
But that would also mean he could never come into contact with the Flame-Chaser's core.
If he wanted to understand Honkai better, he could only rely on two paths: the system and the Flame-Chaser. And having Mobius take an interest in him meant he would have more opportunities to learn advanced knowledge from her.
He was not Mei. He could not rotate through every research institute, and trying to imitate Mei without Mei's talent would be pure overconfidence.
But what he was doing now undoubtedly increased the risk to his life. Mobius herself was the greatest source of danger.
All he could say was that there were gains and losses on both sides.
Fortunately, although Mobius was radical at present, she still retained some bottom lines.
Besides, compared to that, Chen Ran cared more about that dream.
Was it really a dream?
He frowned, and for a moment, he hesitated over whether to continue using the system.
But that hesitation did not last long before he suppressed it.
There was a very practical problem: Finality was not far away.
Even if he somehow survived into the next era, was he supposed to let the people of this era die for nothing?
If nothing unexpected happened, this era's chance of dealing with Finality rested on him. Compared to that, matters of the heart no longer seemed so important.
"I need to adjust my mood as soon as possible."
He took a deep breath and muttered, "Then use my advantages to find the optimal solution for fighting Honkai."
With that thought, Chen Ran did not leave immediately. Instead, he returned directly to his workstation.
Although he had already returned Durandal to Mei, because of Durandal, he had actually downloaded a great deal of cutting-edge knowledge related to this era.
Durandal could learn independently, saving him a great deal of time.
Yet when he sat down at his desk, Wendy once again surfaced in his mind despite himself.
The girl's tearful face as she cried out and searched for him was like a steel seal branded deep into his thoughts, always easily rising to the surface of his consciousness.
He could not help muttering, "The simulator really is poison."
Perhaps it was because the simulated scenario had already merged with his consciousness, or perhaps there was some other reason.
He found that he simply could not let Wendy go.
That dream felt like a reminder, making him constantly want to go back and take another look.
His mind was restless, and he had no heart for studying.
"Then I'll go back and look one more time."
Boys were always good at making excuses for themselves. He muttered, "One last time..."
While Chen Ran considered continuing the simulation, Mobius was examining the data from his body.
"Interesting."
That was her assessment.
Mobius herself was a leading authority in biology, proficient in every field related to living organisms. She was thoroughly familiar with normal human data; it could be said that a single glance at the numbers was enough for her to identify the problem.
But the current situation was that Chen Ran's bodily data was clearly abnormal, yet the cause of that abnormality was unknown.
The system-disguised stigmata were not easy to detect, but Chen Ran's adaptability to Honkai Energy had already exceeded its original range, even surpassing Kevin.
Kevin was currently the Flame-Chaser's most talented new recruit. His adaptability to Honkai Energy spoke for itself.
Many powers that normal people found difficult to wield could be brought out through Honkai, yet Chen Ran's bodily data indicated that with only a little training, he could even surpass Kevin.
That clearly violated objective laws.
Beyond that, she had also noticed a special Honkai source within Chen Ran's body.
Chen Ran did not possess a Herrscher Core, but he did have a core-like construct simulated by the system. This special Honkai source would have been difficult to discover with the Flame-Chaser's current capabilities unless Chen Ran actively revealed it.
And that was naturally why Mobius found him interesting.
"Humans and Honkai can actually combine so perfectly..."
She thought of her research on the other Herrschers.
The bodies of the Herrscher of the Void and the Third Herrscher were both kept at the First Research Institute. Much of Mobius's time was spent studying the cellular tissue on their bodies.
But compared to unconscious Herrschers, Chen Ran's body was clearly more variable.
And this allowed her to see the possibility of perfectly integrating Honkai into the human genome.
"Stigmata... sacred marks. The name is quite fitting."
"This at least confirms one of my hypotheses. Honkai truly is a special energy that allows humans to evolve; it is simply that the vast majority of living beings collapse during the process of evolution. Herrschers are currently the individuals most adapted to Honkai, but they cannot control their consciousness."
"Perfect evolution must involve trade-offs between consciousness and the body. The essence of this experiment is actually to create imitations of Herrschers."
"Stigmata probably correspond to Herrscher Cores."
The door called Honkai had now fully opened for Mobius.
"How delightful. So this is the truth of evolution. Then I'm even more eager to see Honkai's original face."
"And in that case, whether Honkai can be defeated is no longer important."
"Blanca."
Mobius finally deigned to leave her place in the laboratory and said to the assistant recording data nearby, "Bring me some instant noodles. I'm hungry."
Blanca tactfully replied, "Doctor, you should go to the cafeteria instead. Instant noodles are dehydrated and fried in palm oil. They cannot provide any nutrients besides starch and fat, and their sodium content is severely excessive..."
She was Mobius's assistant, and everything revolved around Mobius.
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