Chapter 108

Mobius glared at Ai Yue, but still consciously removed the monitoring device from his body, then got dressed and got out of bed. "Why do I feel like I'm doing two jobs?"

"That's right, that's how volunteers are, they wear many hats."

Ai Yue didn't even look up. "By the way, I haven't asked you yet. How did your body feel during that period of data chaos?"

"It's hard to describe. At first, it felt like it was falling apart, and then... I don't know what happened after that."

Mobius responded, "By the time I snapped out of Kevin's memories, the physical discomfort had subsided."

"Could this thing also damage the genes of Honkai Beast?"

Ai Yue frowned, carefully examining the equipment. "That can't be right, Kevin is still perfectly fine, isn't he?"

Is it possible that the Stigmata Factor is exclusive?

"Each person's Stigmata Factor has unique characteristics and cannot be merged with others," Mobius said.

"I'm not sure, but I'm more inclined to believe it's your problem, after all, you are quite special."

Ai Yue shook his head and took the syringe out of the device again. "So, the only way to verify this problem is through this method."

With that, he swiftly inserted the syringe into his arm, so fast that even Mobius, who was standing right next to him, couldn't react in time.

"Are you crazy!?"

Mobius lunged forward and pulled out the syringe, but all the Stigmata Factor inside had already been injected into Ai Yue's body. So Mobius immediately pinned this troublesome guy to the bed and began attaching various monitoring devices to him. "How do you feel now?"

"You seem really cold and heartless."

Ai Yue complained, "Can't you show a little more care?"

"What's done is done. What else can we do but collect the data as quickly as possible?"

Mobius said ruthlessly, "Enough talk, how does it feel?"

"I don't feel anything, perhaps because the Honkai Beast genes in my body are extremely adaptable,"

Ai Yue closed his eyes and said, "Don't worry, I only did this when I was sure I was right."

Mobius's physical condition was much more complicated than his, but he did not face any life-threatening danger after coming into contact with the Stigmata Factor. Ai Yue and Kevin share some of the same Honkai Beast genes, so even if the Stigmata Factor is truly unique, the rejection he experiences should be much less severe.

As Ai Yue had predicted, after a brief period of calm, he also mastered the ability to control ice. Although he was pitifully weak compared to Kevin, it at least proved that the Stigmata Factor itself would exhibit traits similar to its owner, and could be temporarily bestowed upon others through the transfer of the Stigmata Factor.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable feeling spread throughout Ai Yue's body. He could feel a tingling and itchy sensation in every corner of his body, as if a subtle yet wonderful force was circulating through his body, constantly affecting him.

However, if you try to feel it carefully, it is difficult to describe it in detail; it seems to be just some kind of misperception transmitted by the nerves.

"Look, everything is normal."

Ai Yue smiled as he looked at Mobius, who was staring intently at him, "And I didn't either..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a roar in his mind, and then his vision suddenly dimmed, as if something had blocked his visual nerves.

All of this came and went quickly. In just a moment, Ai Yue's "vision" returned to normal. However, this time he was not lying on the laboratory bed, but on the cold, hard floor.

Looking at the impossibly high ceiling, Ai Yue immediately realized—this was Kevin's memory.

But something just doesn't feel right...

64

Chapter Sixty-Four: You guys were spying on me just now, weren't you?

When Ai Yue returned to reality, the sensation in his body had completely disappeared. He stared at the ceiling for a while before hearing Mobius's voice beside him.

"It seems that, apart from the less intense physical reaction, your experience is not much different from mine,"

Mobius walked over with a stern face, removing the monitoring device from Ai Yue's body while observing his expression. "How are you feeling?"

"Not very good."

Ai Yue shook his head. "Having a past that doesn't belong to me in my mind is indeed a bit confusing."

"If you feel bad, don't act impulsively next time."

Seeing that Ai Yue's words and actions were not abnormal, Mobius was relieved and smiled slightly. "You don't think you have more experience than me in human experimentation, do you?"

"You really can't compare to that; you have a natural advantage."

Ai Yue sat up, but a smug expression appeared on his face. "But this time, none of us have any experience, which is actually my advantage."

"What have you discovered?"

Upon seeing Ai Yue's expression, Mobius knew that the other party must have gained something, and couldn't help but show a curious look, "Could it be that you weren't affected by Kevin's memories?"

"It has an impact."

Ai Yue nodded, but said something that surprised Mobius: "However, in my personal opinion, that may not necessarily be Kevin's memory."

Just as Ai Yue said, although Mobius has extensive experience in self-human experimentation and can calmly deal with various situations that occur on his body, the Stigmata Factor is, after all, a completely new substance that has never appeared before. From this perspective, whether it is Ai Yue or Mobius, their understanding of the Stigmata Factor is actually the same.

However, Ai Yue's advantage in this regard is that he is very clear about the characteristics of "Stigmata" in the original storyline, and by using this understanding to deduce the situation he encountered, it is easy to discover its special features.

"Impossible,"

Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, Mobius instinctively retorted, "If that wasn't Kevin's memory, how could I possibly recall the training room at this time? I've never been to that place!"

"But memories need a carrier, and the core of a memory must be the owner of that memory."

Ai Yue retorted, "When you recalled those scenes, were you viewing them from Kevin's perspective?"

Previously, because he had only heard Mobius's description, Ai Yue followed Mobius's idea and believed that it was a fragment of Kevin's mental energy left in the Stigmata Factor.

But it wasn't until he experienced it himself that Ai Yue realized the strangeness of the matter.

If it's just fragments of memory, then even if Ai Yue can empathize and recall those scenes as if they were his own past, he cannot change the existence of the protagonist in the memory, namely Kevin.

In other words, if it really was just a memory, Ai Yue would have been able to tell the moment he sensed it, because the figure appearing in that memory wouldn't be himself, but Kevin.

Mobius had also mentioned this point, but neither of them paid attention to it at first. It wasn't until Ai Yue brought it up directly that Mobius belatedly realized it. "So that's how it is? No wonder I always felt something was off."

But then she asked, "If it's not a fragment of Kevin's memory, then what is it?"

Although Ai Yue's deduction has basically refuted the memory fragment theory, it cannot be denied that the scene definitely came from Kevin's Stigmata Factor.

"Take a look at this."

In response to Mobius's doubts, Ai Yue was prepared. He took out a document from the side and handed it to Mobius, saying, "I originally thought this was something that would only be usable in the next stage, but it seems that even though it is only a prototype, it has already exceeded everyone's expectations."

Mobius took the document and quickly flipped through it. After a moment, he looked up, a somewhat surprised expression on his face. "Stigmata... space?"

"Well, but this is only one possibility. Since the project was shut down previously, it couldn't be confirmed."

Ai Yue nodded. "But it seems that we can confirm it now—the images we saw when we injected the Stigmata Factor came from the prototype of Kevin's Stigmata Space..."

"Are you kidding me? When did this happen?"

Mobius's voice rose an octave, "I was the one who first proposed the 'Stigmata Project'! But I have absolutely no recollection of it?"

"Because this was improved and optimized by me using existing data after the project was terminated."

Ai Yue said without changing his expression, "It's normal that you don't know."

In this timeline influenced by Ai Yue, the Stigmata Project in Mobius's hands was basically only a rough prototype. She proposed this plan based on the concept of "Imaginary Space" put forward by Dr. Mei, which attempted to use Honkai Energy to directly connect human consciousness with Imaginary Space.

In the original storyline, the Stigmata Space was actually a compromise they made because they couldn't directly link human consciousness with the Imaginary Space.

In other words, the Stigmata Space is actually a transit point connecting human consciousness with the Imaginary Space. Through the Stigmata Space, humans are able to truly perceive the existence of the Imaginary Space and even the Imaginary Tree.

However, the plan was terminated before it was even officially launched due to the appearance of Ai Yue. Without any attempt, Mobius naturally did not have the opportunity to propose the idea of Stigmata Space, so the plan fell into Ai Yue's hands.

"So, you think that was the so-called Stigmata Space?"

Mobius frowned, seemingly accepting Ai Yue's explanation. "But how can we prove that? Even you can't be sure that it's the Stigmata Space, can you?"

"The simplest way is to confirm with the person in question."

Ai Yue took out his phone directly. "Although the Stigmata Space is only in its embryonic form and cannot be truly entered freely, it can only be accessed briefly and intermittently by purifying the Stigmata Factor and then injecting them. However, it is actually connected to Kevin's consciousness."

Mobius immediately understood Ai Yue's meaning. "So, if that really is the Stigmata Space, and we make contact here, Kevin will also notice?"

Although she didn't know enough about the realm of consciousness, after being taught by Ai Yue, she roughly understood some characteristics of the spiritual realm.

Similar to the Dominion Network of the Herrscher of Domination, mental links can transcend the limitations of physical distance, especially for individuals with strong mental power, for whom physical distance is insignificant.

Ai Yue nodded, and then the call was answered. Kevin's voice came from the other end. "Doctor Ai Yue, what can I do for you?"

"There's something I'd like to confirm with you,"

Ai Yue glanced at the time, then turned on speakerphone. "Did anything unusual happen to you in the past half hour?"

"No, I don't think so..."

Kevin's tone was hesitant, as if he were seriously recalling something. "Why are you suddenly asking this? Do you have a more detailed description?"

"Any abnormality is acceptable, including whether there are any unconscious movements of the body, or whether there are any hallucinations,"

Ai Yue spoke in a casual tone, hiding the real question in the last sentence, "Or, have you ever been distracted and suddenly remembered something unrelated?"

"If that's the case, it does seem a bit like that,"

Kevin seemed to realize something at that moment, "Just now... about fifteen minutes ago? I suddenly thought of Dr. Mobius, and then just now, I suddenly thought of you. Is that unusual?"

"Hmm, I can't be sure yet, but I've written it down."

Ai Yue glanced at Mobius, and the two of them smiled at the same time. "Then let's leave it at that for now."

"Yes, Doctor Ai Yue."

After hanging up the phone, Ai Yue raised an eyebrow at Mobius, as if to say, "Am I right?"

"You win, okay?"

Mobius rolled his eyes, not intending to argue further with this guy who could be childish at times. "So, what's the next goal?"

"Start with the Stigmata Space and try to synthesize Stigmata Factor,"

Ai Yue said confidently, "I have a feeling that we will succeed this time!"

65

I forgot the beginning of Chapter Sixty-Five, but anyway, it's about terrifying beasts (4,000 words).

"Oh, the sun is really nice today."

At the highest point of the rooftop of the Star of Light, Pardofelis felt the warm sunlight and rolled over happily.

Vill-V originally wanted to design the top as a spire, but after Ai Yue saw the drawings, he asked her to change it to a flat surface so that if Pardofelis ever lived here, she could find a comfortable place to sunbathe.

Pardofelis was of course unaware of Ai Yue's good intentions, but that didn't stop her from thinking the position was great.

Unfortunately, if the weather gets any hotter, we'll have to find a shady spot.

After an unknown amount of time, Pardofelis finally sat up and stretched.

That's enough sunbathing for today. What should we do next?

Since Mobius arrived, she no longer needed to worry about Ai Yue, so these past few days, the unrestrained Pardofelis has been having a blast.

Pardofelis tidied up the mat she had laid out, and then her whole body began to slowly sink, eerily disappearing into the hard roof.

Since acquiring the ability to freely traverse matter, Pardofelis has never gone through the main entrance again.

Passing through the heavy roof and descending through several rooms, Pardofelis quickly returned to the central hall of the experimental base. Just as she was wondering whether to go to the headquarters of the Moth to Fire to visit some old friends, she happened to run into Hua walking in from outside.

The two looked at each other and were both taken aback.

Compared to the free-spirited Pardofelis, Hua's life is very regular. She goes for a morning run, then has breakfast, does basic training in the training room in the morning, takes a nap after lunch, goes outside for combat training after waking up, eats dinner, and then does two hours of meditation to enhance the effect of the Divine Tone Project. Only then does she have free time.

Of course, even during her free time, Hua has a strict schedule.

Before Ai Yue was around, Pardofelis lived a life with her days and nights reversed. During the day, she would find different places to sleep, and at night she would wander around the base. Although the two of them had been living in the same base for the past few days, they had never met, which is why the current situation had occurred.

Of course, this was only Pardofelis's opinion, because Hua could occasionally see Pardofelis sleeping in the corner, but she would not disturb her.

"Hey, Ahua,"

Finally, Pardofelis greeted them first, "Where are you going so early?"

"To the training room."

Hua raised her water bottle and shook it as a greeting, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Want to come together, Phyllis?"

Hua regretted saying those words as soon as she finished speaking—she had only uttered such polite words out of habit as Shenzhou person, but she had forgotten that Pardofelis was a free-spirited person who did not know the meaning of politeness. Making such an invitation rashly would only make both of them feel awkward.