I Told You This Isn't a Life Simulation Game! Part 49

The good news was that Elysia was still alive, Sakura was still alive, and Ling was safe as well.

The bad news was that Elysia and Sakura were both away on combat missions and would not be back for some time, so he could not see them right away.

Furthermore, Xi Wang could not go looking for them, nor could he go see Ling. Moth to Fire had only agreed to bring Ling to him.

Moth to Fire gave no reason, merely informing Xi Wang that he was not allowed to leave. Even when he pressed them for an answer, they only told him to stay at the base and rest properly, and not go out for the time being.

Xi Wang realized that something might have happened to his body.

"Doctor, he's gone."

Klein stood by the door and spoke softly.

"...Mm."

Mobius sat beside the operating table and responded quietly, her lowered eyes filled with exhaustion and dejection.

Only when there were no outsiders around would Mobius reveal even a sliver of her vulnerability... No, she normally would not even do that. It was just that now...

"..."

She raised her head slightly and looked at Griseo, sleeping on the operating table. Her peaceful sleeping face stood in stark contrast to her obviously abnormally weak breathing... Mobius had only just pulled this adorable girl back from the brink of death. It was only by becoming a Fusion Warrior that Griseo had barely survived.

Mobius knew she had made a terrible choice, sending a child she cared for into an operation whose success rate even she acknowledged was minuscule. But at that time, she had no other choice. Griseo's health had never been good to begin with, and after being affected by the Herrscher's power, her condition visibly deteriorated. If Mobius had not made a decision, Griseo might very well have died on the spot.

She had merely chosen between two equally terrible outcomes: certain death, or a very high chance of death.

She had used every method at her disposal, doing everything as perfectly as possible in the shortest amount of time, all to raise Griseo's chances of surviving the operation... Fortunately, she had won.

"...Thank goodness you survived, Griseo."

Mobius reached out and gently brushed aside the bangs on Griseo's forehead, speaking in an unusually gentle voice.

Griseo continued breathing steadily, as though Mobius's movements had not disturbed her dreams.

Mobius extended a finger and gently stopped Griseo from turning onto her side, softly stroking her head as she slowly soothed her.

"Doctor, Miss Griseo's condition has stabilized."

Klein spoke at the right moment.

"...Mm."

Mobius nodded, and the gentleness on her face gradually faded—she returned to her usual self.

Then, she removed the injection needle from Griseo's body and carefully transferred the dark blue liquid inside back into a container she had prepared beforehand, making sure not a single drop was wasted.

If Xi Wang saw this stuff, he would surely recognize it. It was the same as the "blood" that had dripped down at the end of his dream... No, was this thing really "blood" at all?

Mobius had not lied. At the end of the Herrscher Subjugation Battle against the Herrscher of the Eighth, she had taken charge of two Fusion Warriors trapped in nightmares. While Xi Wang was unconscious, she had indeed given him a physical examination and naturally collected a little "fee."

Perhaps something had happened to Xi Wang in his nightmare, because the Honkai Beast genes in his body had begun to become active. They had even unconsciously started emitting Honkai Energy. Though the range was small, this was already an extremely dangerous sign.

Naturally, Mobius seized the opportunity to examine Xi Wang's physical condition. She discovered that the part of his body that counted as "blood" had begun to mutate. Some of his blood rapidly transformed into this dark blue liquid, while Xi Wang's regenerative ability became terrifyingly powerful in an instant. The many injuries inflicted by the Herrscher of the Eighth visibly healed, and in barely a few blinks, Xi Wang had returned to normal. Even the incision Mobius had made for research purposes had healed shut.

At the same time, this mutated "blood" seemed to be alive. Once extracted from Xi Wang's body, it would unconsciously move toward him, as if trying to return to his body. Yet it was neither forceful nor frantic, merely gentle, slow, and silent—natural as water flowing along rivers into the sea.

But after a while, Xi Wang himself returned to normal. He stopped emitting Honkai Energy, and his blood regained its usual red color. Yet the portion Mobius had extracted remained dark blue. After Xi Wang recovered, it fell still and no longer moved toward him, as if it had become nothing more than a slightly unusual liquid.

However, Mobius had had no time to study Xi Wang's abnormal "blood" then... After the physical coordinates of the Herrscher of the Eighth had been locked down, it launched one final attack against Moth to Fire. Although drugs that resisted mental attacks had already been distributed, there were still not enough to cover everyone. Countless people fell into deep sleep in an instant, while some were directly controlled by the Herrscher of the Eighth and began indiscriminately slaughtering those around them.

At the final moment, the Herrscher of the Eighth concentrated its power and forcibly broke through Moth to Fire's medication. Disregarding itself, it spread its ability across a vast area, causing "Sleep Sickness" to spread through several cities in an instant. Before dying, it inflicted another tremendous loss upon humanity.

And Griseo and her mother, Blanca... had also been within the attack range of the Herrscher of the Eighth.

Even taking the medicine beforehand had been useless. A Herrscher that commanded the power of the mind could not be resisted with medicine alone, much less during its final desperate counterattack.

Blanca fell unconscious in the blink of an eye and lost his life within a few breaths. Had Griseo not remained in Mobius's laboratory for long periods due to her health, allowing Mobius to notice the abnormality the moment it appeared, Griseo's life might have vanished as well.

At the time, Mobius had acted like a madwoman, using every method at her disposal to sustain Griseo's life. But in the end, she had no choice but to choose the Fusion Warrior operation, with its extremely low success rate, because it had been the only way to keep Griseo alive.

Mobius had made the operation as perfect as she possibly could. She had even won her final gamble and successfully turned Griseo into a Fusion Warrior, but... Griseo was still trapped in a dream, and her body remained weak, showing no signs of returning to normal. Or rather, she was recovering exceptionally slowly.

To save Griseo's life and prevent her from dying from physical weakness, Mobius began seeking all kinds of methods to accelerate the recovery of Griseo's vital signs. Then, by chance, she thought of the abnormal "blood" extracted from Xi Wang's body, which had seemed almost alive.

After several tests, she confirmed that this dark blue liquid, with its extraordinary vitality, was harmless to humans... or rather, to Fusion Warriors. Once it entered a Fusion Warrior's body, the dark blue liquid would become a unique form of "nutrient," nourishing the Honkai Beast genes within and activating them to a certain extent. This, in turn, stimulated a Fusion Warrior's natural recovery ability. It was somewhat like a potent nutritional supplement made specifically for Fusion Warriors.

As for how Mobius knew... Wasn't she herself excellent test material?

After confirming that this method worked, Mobius injected Griseo with the abnormal "blood." But she also knew full well that this was ultimately something obtained from one of Xi Wang's "mutations," so she stopped immediately once Griseo's condition stabilized.

As for the remaining abnormal "blood"... she needed to keep it for research. Perhaps she could discover something else.

But those matters could wait until tomorrow.

Mobius had no mood to continue her research now.

"Klein."

"I'm here, Doctor."

"I feel like drinking."

"There's still research tomorrow, Doctor."

"It's alright, just tonight... just tonight."

The Herrscher Subjugation Battle against the Eighth had come to an end. Though many lives had still been lost, they had... won in the end.

That night, after the fallen had been laid to rest, Moth to Fire held a dance party as usual to celebrate this victory.

Though many familiar faces were gone, no longer able to dance beneath the lights and music with them, they still had to be happy now. They had to celebrate their victory.

No matter how sorrowful they felt, they could not show it at this moment. Even those immersed in grief would not reveal it. They merely stayed at the edge of the dance floor, silently admiring everyone's happy faces and returning their polite smiles.

Everyone here had tasted the bitter fruit of grief. There was no need to bring it up again now.

You got your wish and saw Elysia and Sakura. They seemed somewhat rushed; clearly, they had hurried to the dance party after completing their mission and changing into formal attire. They had not even put on makeup.

Perhaps noticing that you were not in high spirits, Elysia unusually did not come over with Sakura to tease you. Instead, she naturally stepped forward and invited you to dance with her for the first song. Sakura had no objection to it either.

To the beautiful dance music Eden played, you held her hand and danced beneath the lights. Smiling, she hummed along with the melody, her steps falling on the beat as she drew closer to you.

You subconsciously tightened your grip on her hand, as though afraid she would suddenly disappear. In response, she gently squeezed your palm.

"Don't worry. I'm right here in front of you, aren't I, Wang?" she said, comforting your slightly tense mind.

Then, following the dance steps, Elysia gently led you to the edge of the dance floor and placed your hand in Sakura's, letting the two of you dance to the second song.

Feeling the familiar floral fragrance so close by, your heart calmed somewhat. That inexplicable sense of tension vanished, and your resentment toward the "Herrscher of the Eighth" and that nightmare gradually faded away.

Let it be like this, you thought.

Being able to stay by each other's side was already the greatest happiness.

Griseo's Paint and Paintings

After a night of revelry, you still had to face the aftermath caused by the "Eighth Great Collapse." Because of the Herrscher of the Eighth's unique abilities, combat personnel like you found it difficult to be of much use... because the mental blow the Herrscher of the Eighth dealt to humanity far outweighed its actual physical damage.

Even though Moth to Fire had locked onto its physical coordinates and dispatched Sakura to swiftly eliminate it, and even though Aponia had provided advance support and control, ensuring that the Herrscher of the Eighth's final large-scale indiscriminate release of "Sleep Sickness" did not actually kill many people—after all, even if time flowed differently in reality and the Dreamscape, there was still a process between falling asleep and dying after sinking into the Dreamscape. Sakura and Aponia had killed it precisely within that window.

Thus, the actual casualties caused by the Herrscher of the Eighth's dying counterattack were not as great as imagined. However, after it had dragged so many people into the Dreamscape, many developed psychological and even mental issues to varying degrees. That was the most troublesome part.

Even among Moth to Fire's own soldiers, some had become unwilling to accept reality because they yearned for the ideal world within the Dreamscape. In the end, they went mad and began attacking the companions around them, let alone ordinary people.

Unrest of varying severity broke out in cities everywhere, and vicious incidents emerged one after another. But at their root, all of it was caused by an inability to accept reality. After all, the Dreamscape was so beautiful that dying within a sweet dream did not seem to matter much.

More than that, though, people were rejecting this world where disasters occurred constantly and every day had to be spent in fear.

That was precisely why you, as Moth to Fire's vanguard and as Fusion Warriors, needed to fight even harder against the Honkai.

Everything was for humanity.

Everything was for defeating the Honkai.

Oh, speaking of Fusion Warriors, you had gained a new companion. In a sense, you already knew him—Su.

Just like Kevin, you had met the two of them when you and Sakura went to Eden's concert. You could say you had met before.

Naturally, you remembered them, since your memory had always been good. But like Kevin when he first saw you, Su merely found you somewhat familiar and could not recall who you were.

As for Su, he could be called a great contributor to the Herrscher Subjugation Battle against the Eighth. It was he who entered the mental world and further pinpointed the Herrscher of the Eighth's physical coordinates... Unfortunately, his mentor, Spasi, had died to ensure his survival.

Now, Su had taken over his mentor's position as head of Moth to Fire's Fifth Science Department, while also serving as Moth to Fire's "psychologist."

There was no helping it. The aftermath caused by the Herrscher of the Eighth was too severe. Many people had developed psychological problems, while those who already had such issues were in even worse condition. If psychologists were not arranged to help them recover, many Moth to Fire soldiers might suffer mental breakdowns.

Because of this, Moth to Fire planned to first arrange psychological counseling for combat personnel, especially Fusion Warrior members. They also discussed with Eden, the Superstar, holding several small dance parties and performances within Moth to Fire to ensure the soldiers' mental health remained within a safe range.

Naturally, you had to undergo psychological counseling as well, though you did not care much about it. You calmly answered Su's questions.

In the end, however, Su's evaluation of you... was not very good.

A dangerous individual disguised as a normal person—when simplified, that was his assessment of you.

You were perfectly normal in your usual state, even mild-tempered. If someone could accept your somewhat strange way of speaking, or perceive the emotions you hid away, then getting along with you would be quite pleasant. But once certain matters or words were touched upon, your emotions became especially... vivid. You even seemed somewhat obsessive, and could ultimately become extreme.

Although you did not see the detailed report in Su's hands, you could tell from his expression that he found you... somewhat troublesome.

Su began urging you to come in for psychological counseling more often, bringing it up almost every time he saw you. After all, your problems... were rather serious.

But you did not care much about that. Compared to Su, your new companion, you were more concerned about Griseo's condition.

Whenever you had free time lately, you would go to Mobius's laboratory to ask about her condition. But in the end, you were never permitted to enter. Even Hen, Griseo's father, was not allowed inside. The two of you had even been warned by Moth to Fire at one point, leaving you both baffled. At the same time, however, your hearts grew increasingly anxious.

Hen had already experienced the loss of his wife, and now he did not even have the chance to see his daughter. Moth to Fire even wanted to transfer him elsewhere. How could he not be anxious?

Hen knew this was his duty as a soldier, but... should Moth to Fire really be so cold and heartless? Was it truly impossible for him to see his daughter even once?

Not to mention that, judging from the current situation, Griseo's condition might be terrible. She might even... still be struggling on the brink of life and death.

Hen grew more and more anxious, and all you could do was comfort him again and again—after all, Moth to Fire had ordered you to remain at the base and forbidden you from going out, so you came to keep him company... Even Dottore had been permitted to leave on missions, while you still had to stay at the base. You realized that perhaps something truly was wrong with you.

Still, whenever you saw Hen's anxious expression, you occasionally thought about shooting a few of Moth to Fire's higher-ups—the ones who always made decisions as though their brains were full of holes. Maybe Moth to Fire would be better that way... like those Poison Chrysalis bastards who always liked using Ling and Sakura to threaten you.

There was absolutely no personal grudge involved. Yes, you were certain of it.

Fortunately, you did finally get to see Griseo. But what followed was bad news.

News that was... especially bad for Hen.