Mobius Extra: Ascender

"So... you want to participate in this still-unproven project too?" she asked, looking at the young man before her. "You know, the Fusion Warrior project was proposed by Mei. She herself can't guarantee the success rate of this technology, let alone me."

The young man was silent for a moment before replying, "But besides you, I can't think of any other way to become a Fusion Warrior."

She sized up the young man from the European branch. She heard he was originally part of that woman Elysia's squad, but for some reason, he left the team and went to the European branch.

"Let's get this straight, I don't do pointless things," she said. Coincidentally, the Fusion Warrior project proposed by Mei had the potential to be a path for humanity's future evolution in her eyes, so getting a test subject to practice on beforehand wouldn't be bad.

"I understand. It's just an exchange of equivalent value. If I die during this surgery, my remains can be used for your research," the young man said expressionlessly. "At the same time, if this surgery is successful, whatever you need, as long as I can do it, I will bring it to you."

Heh, an interesting fellow.

She lightly curved her lips. "Then it's settled. Klein, go prepare the relevant paperwork."

The young man signed the agreement, then looked up at her. "Dr. Mobius, I'd like to know the soonest the surgery can be performed."

"Don't worry, you can have the surgery at the same time as Kevin," she said, flipping through the theories Mei had proposed. "However, little mouse, you'd better think carefully. The theoretical success rate of this surgery is currently zero. This is basically no different from sending yourself to your death."

"If I can't successfully pass this surgery, then there's no point in me staying in this world," the young man said.

Her hands paused, and she looked at the young man with a hint of surprise. The young man's expression remained unchanged, but his gaze was exceptionally firm.

"Fine, whatever you want. But I'm very curious, why do you want to rush to your death so badly?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm.

The young man stood up to leave. "Just trying to get closer to someone I admire... If I can't stand by her side, at least let me be qualified to fight alongside her."

Her? Could she be referring to Elysia? After all, according to the information I found about the young man, his combat record is quite excellent. But compared to Kevin and Elysia, his achievements are barely worth mentioning.

She scoffed, "A boring reason."

After the young man left, his deputy came to her laboratory.

"And who are you?" she asked, looking at the silver-haired woman. Why were so many people running into her lab without fear of death lately?

The woman smiled and introduced herself. "Hello, Dr. Mobius, I am Feng's deputy, Lilith. Feng seems to be preparing to participate in this Fusion Warrior project, so I wanted to ask, is the current success rate of this project really zero?"

"If he's preparing to participate, wouldn't you know as his deputy?" she continued to focus on her experiment. "The agreement has already been signed. If no miracle occurs, you can probably start preparing to take his place."

Lilith's voice was filled with worry. "So the rumors are true? Feng is really... even for Elysia, he's too careless with his life."

***

It really is Elysia.

She thought to herself, but she wasn't particularly interested in other people's gossip. She simply said, "If there's nothing else, you can leave."

Although Lilith's voice was full of emotion, she could still detect the hidden malice and excitement within it. Where did that guy find such a deputy? Wasn't he afraid of being backstabbed by Lilith one day?

The experiment proceeded as scheduled. Compared to Kevin, whose vital signs had dropped to zero during his surgery, the surgery for this young man named "Yu Feng" went relatively smoothly, at least on the surface.

As soon as the surgery was completed, the two of them immediately rushed to the Australian battlefield. One went to the location of the Seventh Herrscher, and the other went to the location of the Judgment Level Honkai Beast Surya. They each killed their targets individually.

Compared to Surya, the Seventh Herrscher, Sirin, dealt a more severe blow to Fire Moth. Therefore, at the subsequent celebration banquet, Kevin was the protagonist, receiving all the praise and blessings.

Meanwhile, Yu Feng was lying in her laboratory undergoing examination.

"Little mouse, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"

He said, "...Tell me both."

"The good news is that your Honkai energy resistance has been greatly improved compared to before the surgery. As for the bad news... the reason you have burning pain all over your body is because the Hypervariable Factor is constantly stimulating your nervous system. Compared to Kevin's extremely low body temperature, your side effects are more severe than his," she stated her examination results.

Yu Feng remained silent, perhaps because the constant burning sensation left him with no mood to comment.

"Regretting it?" she asked, looking at the young man playfully. "This pain will accompany you for the rest of your life, until you die."

"To be honest, a little," Yu Feng said. "After all, I'm not like Kevin. He's a divinely appointed hero, while I'm just an ordinary person..."

If you can be considered an ordinary person after undergoing an unproven surgery, then others aren't even fit to be called ordinary. She thought to herself.

She continued, "However, seeing as you brought back the remains of Surya for me alone, I can try to develop a corresponding drug to suppress this pain."

"I understand. Consider it a contract. If you need any experimental materials or test subjects in the future, you can come to me."

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

"Oh? No hesitation? Associating with Mobius isn't exactly a good thing within Fire Moth, little mouse."

"I never care about anyone's gaze. What they think, what they do, it has nothing to do with me," Yu Feng's voice was very cold.

She laughed. Suddenly, she felt that this young man was indeed quite interesting. At least... the feeling of getting along with him wasn't bad.

Not long after she developed the corresponding medicine for him, Yu Feng proposed another possible plan to her: "The Chimera Project."

That project, which would later make her wish it had never existed.

Based on Fusion Warriors, it involved incorporating as many Honkai Beasts as possible into their bodies as materials for secondary or even multiple surgeries. The final stage of this project was what she personally named the "Project: Ascend to Divinity."

She watched firsthand as the young man completed surgery after surgery, and also witnessed his side effects gradually worsen. She had once asked, "Is that woman Elysia really worth you doing this?"

Yu Feng's answer was, "It's not just for her, but for the many people I care about."

Tsk, she couldn't detect any falsehood in his words.

"Your answer is even more boring than before... Heh, considering you're at least a useful collaborator, I won't call you little mouse anymore, Yu Feng."

"It's my honor."

Speaking of which, she was probably the only one who had witnessed Lilith's feelings for Yu Feng change firsthand. From the initial insincere pretense, to the later tacit understanding, and finally... her eyes being filled only with him.

"Doctor, it seems Lilith confessed to Feng." Klein said while organizing experimental data.

"Heh, what does that have to do with me?" she replied, but for some reason, her mood soured.

Lilith became a Fusion Warrior a while before the Eighth Herrscher incident. After the incident, she voluntarily joined the Chimera Project and became its second executor.

Unit Zero was Yu Feng, and Unit One was Kevin.

At that time, she said something similar to what Yu Feng had first told her: "I want to stand by his side; at the very least, I need to have that qualification."

Fragments of Yu Feng and Lilith appearing in her mind would intermittently surface, making her even more agitated.

"I suppose Yu Feng will agree to Lilith's confession. After all, they've been together for so long," she said stiffly. "Klein, there's no need to pay attention to these trivial matters."

Klein: "...Understood, Doctor."

But she had only mentioned it casually after hearing it from someone else. Did that count as paying too much attention?

During the Tenth Herrscher incident, Klein, as an individual entity of the Tenth Herrscher, died. After that, Yu Feng took over her daily life, including her meals and living arrangements.

Yu Feng, after investigating the truth behind Klein's death, told her. She had once collapsed from guilt over killing Klein and even cursed him for leaving Fire Moth to go to Africa at that time, thinking everything might have been different if he had stayed. But Yu Feng had simply stood there waiting for her to vent, without saying a word.

During the battle to defeat the Eleventh Herrscher, a tragedy of restraint, the Fallen Angel Squad was almost wiped out. The once-large Fusion Warrior unit was now reduced to only fourteen people. After killing the Eleventh Herrscher, Yu Feng brought the puppet Klein back and handed her over, then spent the night alone with the Fallen Angels.

"Don't you hate Elysia?"

"If she hadn't done that, she wouldn't be Elysia."

He said this while lying in a container, with the bodies of twelve Fallen Angels beside him. He was about to undergo a most desperate surgery, using Vishnu's characteristics to devour all twelve Fallen Angels to achieve ultimate "evolution."

After the surgery, the side effects became increasingly severe, and even the medicine he developed himself couldn't suppress the pain. She could only watch him suffer sleepless nights, enduring such agony while others remained oblivious.

During the Twelfth Herrscher incident, he was shot with Honkai energy interference rounds by soldiers while protecting the bell. Many Hypervariable Factors within him then began to repel each other. He nearly died at the hands of the very people he had sworn to protect.

It wasn't until then, when she realized he might die because of it, that she understood her true feelings for him. Anger and regret caused her to reveal the pain he had been bearing to all the Schicksals present.

She berated them for their uselessness, their incompetence, and, in turn, berated herself.

In the final battle against Finality, she witnessed the destination he had reached. She saw him, in his human form, ascend to the throne of the gods, the ultimate evolution of humanity that she pursued.

And she also saw... the fall of the [Ascender].

She reached for the infinite, but in the end, she couldn't save even one person. The one who had always walked the path of ascension with her, the one she finally understood until the very end, the one she loved, her confidant.

Infinity... without him, even if she reached her ideal future, it would be meaningless.