Chapter 101

"Is there anything else to discuss at the end of this meeting?"

He looked at Dr. Mei beside him and asked, "Could it be that these people came all this way just to compete for a seat?"

"That's theoretically true, since if the seats aren't finalized, many subsequent tasks will be difficult to carry out,"

Dr. Mei sighed, "But perhaps your interruption will calm everyone down a bit."

"Then I won't play along."

Ai Yue shrugged. "I'll leave this to you, Dr. Mei. Once their argument is over, just distribute this thing as well."

As he spoke, he took a tablet out of his pocket and handed it to the other person.

"What's this?"

Dr. Mei glanced at the information displayed above. "Infrastructure Plan... Fortress City? Isn't this the project that Vill-V is currently in charge of?"

She looked at Ai Yue with some confusion, not understanding why he would give this to her.

"Well, it's obvious that Vill-V can't handle it all by herself. It would be good if she could produce a few to show everyone."

Ai Yue nodded. "The plan includes a complete set of Heavy Engineering Machinery design drawings. Since they're going to do infrastructure construction anyway, why not do it all at once?"

After saying this, Ai Yue didn't wait for Dr. Mei's response, but said goodbye and turned to leave.

"Is this a plan to unleash a massive technology demonstration?"

To avoid interrupting their conversation, Kevin, who had been mostly silent, finally came over. "Ai Yue is really generous."

"At this time, stinginess will only make humanity's future even bleaker."

Dr. Mei shook her head slightly and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps this will be a good start."

Kevin had attended various meetings, large and small, with Dr. Mei and had gained some understanding of the matter. He quickly realized what the other person was talking about. "You mean, accelerating the pace of Technology Sharing?"

"Yes, although United Earth Government has been established, many countries feel that it is just a stopgap measure. How many people really want to use this platform to do something practical?"

Dr. Mei sighed as she spoke, "I know this will take time, but what we lack most right now is time."

At this point, she smiled slightly, "Ai Yue's actions will undoubtedly set an example. Such cutting-edge technology, which he has so frankly disclosed, will surely have some impact on other countries."

"Ai Yue just mentioned that the plan for the Fortress City also included blueprints for a complete set of equipment?"

Upon hearing Dr. Mei's description, Kevin recalled what Ai Yue had just said, "He wouldn't really intend to share everything, would he?"

"That's probably true. As long as the core technology is in his hands, there's no need to worry about these countries causing any major trouble."

Dr. Mei flipped through the tablet. "Besides, showcasing results is also a way to attract investment—perhaps the funding for Moth to Fire can be increased later."

"So, Ai Yue's thinking is indeed quite profound."

As Kevin spoke, he suddenly frowned. "But I feel like you're overthinking it?"

Perhaps it was some kind of intuition, but Kevin always felt that Ai Yue hadn't thought that much about it at all.

52

Chapter 52 I will keep an eye on you.

Of course, Ai Yue was unaware of what Dr. Mei and Kevin were saying about him behind his back. Now that he had gotten rid of all the troublesome matters, he returned to his experimental base to prepare for a new round of research projects.

"Brother Yue, you're back!"

As soon as Ai Yue stepped out of the Teleportation Gate, he saw Pardofelis hanging herself from the ceiling in an unbelievable way—her hands and feet were strangely embedded in the ceiling, as if she had become one with it, using this method to resist the pull of gravity.

This is a kind of development of Pardofelis's ability, which allows her to maintain her state at a certain "density" so that she can cleverly blend with other substances. In this way, she can accomplish this without the help of any external objects.

While this technique may not be very useful from a practical standpoint, it is still very beneficial for training Pardofelis's ability to control herself.

Seeing Ai Yue emerge from the Teleportation Gate, Pardofelis simply deactivated her powers and then detached herself from the ceiling, plummeting towards the ground.

Ai Yue instinctively rushed over to catch him, but Pardofelis deftly twisted her body in mid-air, changing direction like a cat, dodging Ai Yue's position, and then landed lightly, her bare feet touching the ground without making a sound.

"Brother Yue, you're underestimating me too much."

Ai Yue was about to lecture her about not doing such a dangerous thing, but Pardofelis spoke up first, "Landing from this height is a piece of cake for me. What if you run over to catch me and get hit?"

Do you want to hear what you're saying?

Ai Yue unceremoniously pinched the cat ears on the other person's head, "You're the one who did the dangerous thing, aren't you? What do you mean by turning around and saying I'm the one?"

Pardofelis nimbly leaped backward, trying to dodge Ai Yue's clutches. "But I'm a Fused Warrior now!"

Ai Yue anticipated Pardofelis's movements, took a step forward, and still managed to pinch her ear. "I'm Fused Warrior too, so what?"

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Pardofelis, whose ears were being pinched, apologized obediently, "It won't happen again next time."

Although he couldn't detect a trace of remorse in Pardofelis's words, Ai Yue still let go of her hand. After all, such an interaction was just a formality and had no real meaning.

"Is that coalition government issue resolved?"

Pardofelis twitched her ears, then followed Ai Yue curiously, "Didn't you say you were expected to be back tonight?"

"I was originally planning to see what they did at the meeting, but it turned out to be completely boring."

Ai Yue sighed, "Even the tea break isn't good, so what's the point of wasting time?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a bag of snacks he had packed from his pocket. "This is for you."

"Yay, there are small cakes!"

Pardofelis excitedly took the bag, then jumped onto Ai Yue's back, "Brother Yue!"

Ai Yue subconsciously reached out and supported Pardofelis's thigh to prevent her from slipping down. Then he sighed and said, "Pardo, I know you are usually very lazy, but you should still dress properly, right? Even if no one comes here usually, you can't just run around in a shirt, especially since you're wearing my shirt."

But then again, has this guy really developed so well in just one year?

"Is this comfortable?"

Pardofelis twisted around on Ai Yue's back a couple of times, finally resting her chin on Ai Yue's head. "Don't worry, if there were any outsiders, I definitely wouldn't be dressed like this."

"I kind of regret agreeing to your Redundant Aberration scheme; you're really starting to look like a cat now."

Ai Yue sighed, then let go of her hand. "Alright, go play now, I need to get back to work."

Instead of getting down, Pardofelis wrapped her legs around Ai Yue's waist and said, "I'll stay with you. I'll just stay here and won't bother you!"

"I take back what I just said. Most cats aren't that clingy."

Ai Yue smiled and didn't refuse. "Okay, but you must behave yourself and don't push my experimental equipment to the ground all the time."

"Don't actually think of us as cats!"

Ai Yue didn't dwell too much on Pardofelis's attitude, since she had done the same thing before, so he didn't realize that Pardofelis was actually doing this to take care of him.

Pardofelis knows Ai Yue no less Aponia; in fact, she is arguably the person who knows Ai Yue best in the world.

So after arriving on the Star of Light and "living" with Ai Yue again for a few days, Pardofelis keenly noticed the eerie feeling about Ai Yue, as if he were detached from the world.

This feeling is most pronounced when Ai Yue is alone. Once he enters a solitary mode, his emotions quickly dissipate, eventually turning him into a cold, indifferent statue.

But as long as someone is around him, even if that person does nothing but simply exists, it will affect Ai Yue and prevent the strange phenomenon from occurring.

It's like tying a weight to a balloon.

Although Pardofelis didn't understand the underlying principle at all, she knew that she was the only one who could tie down Ai Yue like a balloon.

After all, everyone is very capable and has their own things to do, but I am weak and useless, so I am very free and can stay by Ai Yue's side 24 hours a day!

Pardofelis thought this to herself with a smug satisfaction, completely oblivious to the fact that there was anything wrong with her idea.

After all, Ai Yue had told her before that the weak also have the right to survive, and that the reason why mankind was able to build a glorious civilization was because it gave everyone the opportunity to survive.

The strong protect the weak, and the weak follow the strong... That's right, so all she needs to do is follow Ai Yue, and Ai Yue will definitely defeat the Honkai!

"Shouldn't we get off now?"

Ai Yue's voice brought Pardofelis back to her senses, "Laughing so happily, don't drool on my head."

"Where's the drool?!"

Pardofelis wiped her mouth, then jumped off Ai Yue. "Alright, you get back to work, Brother Yue. I won't bother you!"

As she spoke, she laid her precious floor mat in the corner and began to concentrate on enjoying the bag of pastries that Ai Yue had brought her.

Ai Yue shook his head, then opened the file sent from Aponia.

In the past few days, she and Mobius have completed the physical examinations of all the current second-generation Fused Warrior.

The answer, however, greatly disappointed Ai Yue — Aponia had repeatedly confirmed the situation multiple times, but still could not sense anything like Kevin's from any of the second-generation Fused Warrior.

Could it be that my thinking is wrong?

53

Chapter Fifty-Three: New samples have been sent up.

The unidentified component extracted from Kevin's blood has been tentatively named the "Stigmata Factor" based on Ai Yue's speculation.

According to Ai Yue's deduction, if this component is indeed the prototype of the Stigmata, then it should not only exist in Kevin, but should be widely present in all Fused Warrior.

Even ordinary people, as long as their Honkai Energy resistance is high enough, may develop Stigmata Factor.

It is unlikely that the joint screening by Aponia and Mobius will be overlooked. After all, one of them is the strongest mental ability user in humankind, and the other is the most accomplished scientist in the field of genetics. If the Stigmata Factor really exists, the possibility of it being hidden from their screening is almost zero.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help."

During the video call, Aponia's face was full of apology. "Mobius said that perhaps the testing process was not precise enough, and she plans to improve it again and then test it again at a later time."

"No need. No answer is an answer in itself. Tell Mobius not to worry about it. I'll handle the rest."

Ai Yue snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head slightly. "Compared to that, business is more important—how is the Divine Tone Project going?"

"I don't know the specifics either, after all, I'm just an assistant."

Aponia said, "However, Mobius hasn't shown any dissatisfaction with the progress of the plan, so it should be considered acceptable?"

"As long as things go smoothly, just remember to keep an eye on Mobius and make sure she doesn't go too far."

Ai Yue gave a word of advice, and then asked, "Speaking of which, have you 'observed' Mobius?"

Aponia paused for a moment, then closed her eyes, before opening them again. "Nothing similar has happened to Mobius."

Ai Yue nodded thoughtfully. "Then I understand."

After ending the communication, Ai Yue fell into deep thought.

As he said, no result is also an answer. The failure to find the Stigmata Factor in the second-generation Fused Warrior overturned Ai Yue's previous guess, but it also brought a brand new possibility.

Clearly, the conditions for the birth of the Stigmata Factor are not simply excessive contact with Honkai Energy. Even Mobius had the longest contact with Honkai Energy, did not find similar components, which means that its birth requires other conditions.

As Ai Yue, he suddenly received another communication invitation. He looked down and was surprised to find that it was from an old friend he hadn't contacted in a long time.

"It's really rare that you would take the initiative to contact me, Sakura."

Ai Yue answered the call and smiled slightly, "How have the recent missions been going?"

Like Kevin and the others, Sakura is now in charge of managing a brand new Fused Warrior squad. However, considering her own situation, the members of this squad are all carefully selected Fused Warrior with a certain Swordsmanship Foundation.

This arrangement was naturally intended to help Sakura train these Fused Warriors to become elite swordsmen no less skilled than herself. It should be noted that although Sakura's strength as a Fused Warrior was inferior to Kevin and Elysia, she could unleash unexpected speed and power in an instant by relying on her excellent combat skills.

The power it displayed in that instant was so great that even Kevin had to back down.

If there were more swordsmen like this, humanity would be much more at ease when facing elite Honkai Beast with strong individual abilities.

"It's been a long time since I last greeted you, Doctor Ai Yue. Everything is going well for me."

Sakura's face remained as serious as ever, just like a rigid samurai. "I'm bothering you this time because I need your help with something."

"If you insist on saying it that way, then I will refuse."

Ai Yue frowned, feigning displeasure. "I don't know a rigid person like you. Where did you hide Sakura?"

Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, the pink-haired girl paused slightly, then a slow smile curved her lips, "Doctor Ai Yue, you really are..."

She then shook her head, as if adjusting her mindset, causing her long ears on top of her head to sway as well. "Sorry, I've been dealing with a lot of... uh, bureaucrats lately, so I just acted like that subconsciously."

Sakura doesn't actually like her ears, which make her feel like an outsider, so she would never make such a big wiggling motion with her ears unless she's in front of people she knows well.

"What's going on?"

Ai Yue then smiled and asked, "Is someone making things difficult for you?"