Chapter 104

Ai Yue revealed a profound expression, "At least I should be stronger than you."

"Then I'd like to ask you something,"

Cosmo's expression suddenly became somewhat reserved, and he began to consider his words carefully, "If I were to give a gift to a woman... well, someone around my age, what would be a good choice?"

57

Chapter 57 Even those with chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) have the right to fall in love?

You've confessed without being asked, haven't you?

Ai Yue looked at Cosmo, who had a serious expression, with a subtle look in his eyes.

He was just pondering how to ask Cosmo to confirm his thoughts without him noticing, but the kid just blurted it out himself.

Who else could be a girl his age besides Desdrobia?

Of course, just to be on the safe side, Ai Yue still wanted to confirm. "The woman you mentioned who is about your age should be Desdrobia, right?"

"Was it really too obvious after all?"

Cosmo scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Why is everyone's first reaction Daisy?"

"Is there anyone else among Desdrobia peers who is close enough to exchange gifts with you?"

Ai Yue couldn't help but roll her eyes. "So you asked other people? What did they say?"

"Yes, I asked Boss Kevin, Captain Hen, Dr. Su, and Elysia."

Cosmo recalled earnestly, "Boss Kevin said we could give a very large plush toy, Captain Hen said we could take the other person to a high-end restaurant for dinner, Dr. Su said the most important thing about giving a gift is the sentiment, so we could give a handmade item made by ourselves, Elysia..."

Cosmo scratched his head, a hint of confusion on his face. "Elysia said I can give her anything, isn't that strange?"

No, not at all surprising—in fact, this is the most plausible answer.

Of course, it can't be said that other people's suggestions are wrong. It's just that everyone is giving advice to Cosmo from their own perspective, but these specific suggestions may not necessarily be suitable for Cosmo and Desdrobia's situation.

Kevin and Hen's suggestions were clearly based on their own perspectives on how to treat their lovers. Sue's answer was so standard it sounded like it was copied from a textbook. Elysia's answer was practically nothing, but considering Desdrobia's situation, perhaps it really wouldn't matter what she gave her.

However, judging from these answers, it's common knowledge that Desdrobia's feelings are probably not genuine...

Ai Yue shook his head slightly, silently mourning for the girl's reserve for three seconds, without saying what was on his mind, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked you the purpose of giving this gift yet."

"Purpose... oh right, purpose."

Cosmo paused for a moment, then nodded, revealing an expression of agreement. "It seems you're the first person to ask me about the purpose of my gift, Doctor Ai Yue. You're certainly very experienced."

That's because others saw through you long ago, right?

Ai Yue suppressed the urge to complain and silently stared at him.

"In short, regarding the purpose..."

Under Ai Yue's gaze, Cosmo also became serious, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Is it just to express gratitude?"

Ai Yue's expression didn't change much; he simply raised his chin and said, "Tell me in detail."

"That's right. Daisy has been helping me for a long time, both in the past and now, including these two teams. In fact, she is in charge of management most of the time. I'm really not good at this kind of thing."

Cosmo said somewhat haltingly, "So I thought I'd give back a little something."

That's it?

Ai Yue finally couldn't help but frown. "To be honest, don't you have any other thoughts at all?"

Ai Yue certainly didn't think that this was Cosmo's true feeling, because he clearly remembered what happened in the original plot.

Desdrobia is someone who likes to leave a deep impression on others by giving them birthday gifts. In this way, even if someone dies in the war, Desdrobia can rely on these thickened memories to delay the time it takes for them to be forgotten as much as possible.

However, in the original storyline, she was the first Fused Warrior to sacrifice herself.

After that, Cosmo continued Desdrobia's habit, and began to give gifts to others on her behalf. However, this time the purpose was to make others remember Desdrobia for a longer time.

The person who could make Cosmo do such a thing must naturally hold a very important place in his heart. Considering Kosmo's slow-witted nature, Ai Yue could only conclude that Cosmo had not yet realized his true feelings.

How should I put it?

Cosmo pondered, seemingly struggling with how to describe his thoughts, "Of course it's not just that, but..."

"But?"

"...nothing."

Cosmo hesitated for a long time, but in the end he could only shake his head.

"You're going to make me so angry."

Ai Yue rolled her eyes, but ultimately decided not to argue with a child with delusions of grandeur. "You want to give a gift, right? It's simple, just combine the suggestions those people gave you before, won't you?"

"Let's take it all into account?"

Cosmo blinked. "You mean, all of them?"

"Yes, after all, they don't conflict with each other."

Ai Yue shrugged. "Look, you could make a teddy bear by hand, then invite Desdrobia to a fancy restaurant, and give the bear to her as a gift afterward. Wouldn't that perfectly match all the suggestions?"

"Doctor Ai Yue, you are a true genius."

Cosmo thought for a moment, then sighed sincerely, "It seems that's indeed the case."

"Finally, here's some personal advice,"

Ai Yue continued, "Su is actually right about one thing: the most important thing about a gift is the sentiment behind it. If you don't say certain things to me, I can not care, but if you still can't say them to Desdrobia, then it's no different from not existing, understand?"

"I don't really understand."

Cosmo responded honestly, and seeing that Ai Yue was about to glare at him again, he quickly added, "But I will seriously consider what you said!"

"That's more like it."

Ai Yue sighed, worried about Desdrobia's future. "Also, hand over the driver."

"Ah?"

Cosmo instinctively clutched his lower back. "Doctor Ai Yue, I was really wrong. Was it really necessary to confiscate my driver?"

Confiscating his driver is tantamount to taking his life!

Do I look like a petty person?

Ai Yue rolled his eyes. "It's a system upgrade. If you don't need it, then forget it."

Due to the characteristics of Vishnu fused with Cosmo, he possesses unlimited potential for growth. Under these circumstances, Ai Yue cannot yet limit the evolution of the Honkai Beast genes within him through Mutated Weapon. Therefore, as compensation, he can only upgrade his system to prevent Cosmo from falling too far behind others.

"Yes, yes, of course I want it!"

Cosmo swiftly shoved the armor drive into Ai Yue's hand, then leaned closer, "Well, Doctor Ai Yue, I have a few ideas about armor upgrades..."

58

Chapter Fifty-Eight: You've even evolved into a younger brother.

Although he ultimately failed to ascertain Cosmo's feelings for Desdrobia, Ai Yue still managed to uncover his plans.

"You mean, Mobius is planning to give me a gift next week on his day off?"

After Desdrobia finished her medical examination, Ai Yue made up an excuse to send Cosmo away and then told Desdrobia the news.

"That's his plan."

Ai Yue shrugged. "So remember to make time for it. I think he's planning to tell you at the last minute."

"I didn't have any plans, and we basically spend all our time together even during our breaks."

Desdrobia fiddled with a strand of hair that fell beside her ear, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Thank you, Doctor Ai Yue."

"No need to be polite. After all, I also hope that guy can figure it out soon."

Ai Yue shrugged. "Although I gave him a hint, it's hard to say whether he'll come to his senses. If all else fails, we'll have to resort to the last resort."

"The last resort?"

Desdrobia looked at him curiously, "Do you have any other ideas?"

"You should know that some people only learn to cherish something after they've lost it,"

Ai Yue said in a very sinister tone, "So I'll just use my authority to separate you two for ten days or half a month, and he'll know just how important you are."

Desdrobia instinctively shook her head. "That won't do!"

The room fell silent after he said that.

A moment later, Ai Yue looked at Desdrobia, whose face was flushed, and couldn't help but show a strange expression. "So, it's actually you who can't live without him, right?"

Desdrobia, quite pathetically, covered her face and nodded.

Girl, how come you're still so love-struck?!

"It's my problem; I didn't consider things comprehensively enough."

Ai Yue sighed, realizing for the first time how difficult it was to matchmake young couples. "But it's okay, what if he finally gets it this time?"

"I'm back, Doctor Ai Yue!"

As soon as Ai Yue finished speaking, Cosmo came back excitedly. "The armor paint really can be changed at will, that's amazing! Can I come back later to change the paint again?"

Desdrobia glanced silently at Ai Yue sighed, "Alright, I take back what I just said."

After saying goodbye to the young couple whose future seemed uncertain, Prometheus's blood sample analysis also yielded results.

Interestingly, the cases of Cosmo and Desdrobia are quite different from the previous ones. Although the Stigmata Factor was detected in both of their expressions, the levels were very low.

However, the two people had different reasons.

Ai Yue had read Desdrobia's combat records. She was mainly responsible for clearing out the grunts in the Mark Squad. In addition, with the protection of Cosmo, she had experienced a relatively limited number of dangerous situations. If the previous reasoning is correct, then it is reasonable that she has a low content of Stigmata Factor.

Cosmo's situation is rather strange, because not only is his Stigmata Factor present in low concentrations, but it also cannot be extracted from his blood sample.

Ai Yue tried various methods and finally discovered that the Stigmata Factor in Cosmo's blood was "entangled" with the Honkai Beast genes in his body in a very strange form, and could be described as "indistinguishable".

It's like spilling water on a beach; you can clearly see the traces of water, but you can no longer separate it from the sand.

This was unprecedented, so much so that when Ai Yue first discovered it, he thought there was something wrong with his previous reasoning.

Since there is no suitable way to preserve the Stigmata Factor completely dissipated during Ai Yue's repeated attempts. Therefore, Ai Yue finally had to call Cosmo back to draw a vial of blood before he could finally figure out what was going on.

The root of the problem lies in Vishnu's ability to devour the genes of other Honkai Beast and thus evolve a second time. This ability allowed it to grow from an "Emperor-class" Honkai Beast to a level that surpasses "Judgment-class," making it an extremely powerful and bizarre ability.

It was at this time that Ai Yue discovered that this characteristic of "Vishnu" could even be effective against Stigmata Factor.

In other words, the Honkai Beast genes within Cosmo's body are consuming his Stigmata Factor, which is why the amount of Stigmata Factor within Cosmo's body is so abnormally low.

But this is not the whole story of the secrets within Cosmo's body, because if that were all, then given the strength of the "Vishnu" gene, the Stigmata Factor within his body should not have such a distribution.

In fact, the reason why Ai Yue used "entanglement" to describe the current state of the two is because the word is very appropriate. Entanglement does not describe a one-sided phenomenon of devouring, but rather a state of "you in me and me in you" that occurs between the two sides in the constant confrontation and tug-of-war.

In other words, it is not that Vishnu's genes are unilaterally devouring the Stigmata Factor, but rather that the Stigmata Factor is also trying to assimilate Vishnu's genes.

It was only after Ai Yue had been busy until the next day that he was able to discern this result from the complete information of the Honkai Beast genes within Cosmo's body.

The analysis revealed a completely new evolutionary trend in the Honkai Beast genes within Cosmo's body, a trend entirely different from all the evolutionary trends he had previously exhibited after absorbing Honkai Beast genes.

If this is the new trend triggered by the entanglement with the Stigmata Factor, then if this evolutionary trend can be guided, Cosmo might have a chance to completely get rid of the Overweight Hypermutation and Vishnu Gene.

It should be noted that among all the Overweight Hypermutation individuals, Cosmo is the second most unstable. The uncontrollable consequences that may occur to him are second only to Elysia, who possesses the identity of a "Herrscher".

If he truly succumbs to the influence of Vishnu Gene and undergoes infinite evolution by devouring Honkai Beast, then the worst outcome would be that the human part of Cosmo would gradually disappear in the process, until it vanishes completely, and he would eventually become a completely new "Vishnu".

It's like adding honey to water. If you only add a few spoonfuls of honey to a cup of water, it's just honey water. But if you add a dozen or twenty cups of honey to a cup of water, it's just honey diluted with water. If you double the amount of honey until the proportion of water is negligible, then it's pure honey through and through.

Ai Yue had refrained from mentioning the Mutated Weapon to Cosmo precisely to avoid this situation, but the current discovery could completely reverse the situation.

If the Stigmata Factor can completely devour the Vishnu Gene within the Cosmo's body and, in turn, replace it as the source of Cosmo's power, then even if the Stigmata Factor also possesses the ability to "devour and evolve," wouldn't it prevent Cosmo from one day becoming an uncontrollable monster?

59

Chapter 59 This is the attack effect with a red buff.

Stigmata are a very mysterious thing.

It not only possesses the ability to help humanity resist Honkai erosion, but it can also serve as a medium for humanity to master the dangerous power of Honkai Energy. Even more remarkably, even with similar basic components, the Stigmata will exhibit different abilities in different individuals.