Honkai Impact 3rd: Saving the Previous Civilization by Handcrafting Black Technology

"Acquired new material: Mobius's Saliva (Precious)."

"Mobius's Saliva (Precious): Usable value 100%."

"Invest in the current R&D project 'Fusion Warrior Project' to increase scientific research progress by an additional 50% and gain 1 Optimization Point."

A moment later, at the First Research Institute.

"Doctor, you're back?" A woman with messy, medium-length green hair looked up from a mountain of files, revealing a haggard face with dark circles under her eyes. "Huh? Wasn't the newcomer you mentioned supposed to come back with you?"

"Klein, don't mention him!" Mobius snapped, returning to the lab bench and starting to vent her frustration on the equipment. "That arrogant guy, how dare he look down on our work..."

"To think he could make you this angry..." The woman named Klein adjusted the hairpin holding her bangs and couldn't help but smile strangely. "It seems he's quite the genius after all."

"Genius? No, that's not it." As if realizing something, Mobius suddenly calmed down. "His attitude, rather than confidence in his talent, felt more like something... else..."

Recalling Ai Yue's attitude just now, Mobius couldn't help but frown.

She suddenly realized that Ai Yue might be the most arrogant person she had ever met.

So arrogant... as if he were above this world.

Chapter 21: What kind of sudden hero is this?

Naturally, Ai Yue was unaware that his image in Mobius's mind had taken a turn. He was currently studying her saliva.

Or, to be precise, a precious research material.

Although Kevin's hair was also a material of the same caliber, saliva had a temporary nature; it might dry up soon if not used. Thus, Ai Yue couldn't afford to hesitate and directly put it into the research project.

While the "Fusion Warrior Project" was also a research project, it differed from the projects Ai Yue had worked on before that could produce tangible results. Currently, it could only construct theoretical models, so the internal components of the research project were also different.

Since there was no physical object to construct, the basic material analysis phase was omitted. Instead, it was replaced by theoretical model deduction. "Prototype framework construction" became "model optimization construction." Ai Yue guessed this was related to the "Optimization Points" provided by precious materials.

It had to be said that precious materials were indeed powerful. Although the saliva remaining on the straw only provided 40% of the complete research value, this portion had almost completed the sub-project Mobius had left him, leaving only 12.6% of the total progress.

This little bit of progress didn't require Kevin's hair at all. Ai Yue casually grabbed a few common-grade materials from the bag he brought from Twilight Street and finished it.

The "Fusion Warrior Project," as a theoretical model, was essentially an attempt to deduce the possibility of combining Honkai Beast genes with human genes. It did not initially have a practical basis because, even in theoretical deduction, the success rate of this thing had always been zero.

In other words, if humanity hadn't truly reached a dead end, this project would have remained purely theoretical, never to be experimented on.

The success of Kevin's surgery was not only due to a significant amount of luck but also because Dr. Mobius had specifically optimized the Fusion Warrior surgery for him.

The Honkai Beast genes integrated into Kevin's body came from the Emperor-class Honkai Beast "Parvati." This was the Honkai Beast Dr. Mobius had studied the longest and had the best compatibility with Kevin. Genes extracted from it, and then processed into "Hypervariable Factors" using gene editing technology, barely achieved success.

The reason it was called "barely" was that even though Kevin survived and gained immense power and abilities, the Fusion Warrior surgery still left him with severe sequelae.

His body temperature was almost constantly maintained at minus thirty degrees Celsius, a temperature where water would freeze instantly. Even if he wanted to cry, his tears would turn into ice shards the moment they left his eyes, making intimate contact with others impossible from then on.

And this was only one of the sequelae. The various physiological deformities, the awkward social status that led to public criticism, and the growing sense of inhumanity deep within his heart – each sequela would gradually manifest in Kevin.

It was precisely because this world would never see peace that Fusion Warriors could become "Serpents." Otherwise, once the threat of the Honkai was over, Fusion Warriors like Kevin would inevitably be rejected by human society, ultimately leading to another kind of civilization's doomsday.

Ai Yue had seen too many similar stories; he could visualize them with his eyes closed.

Fortunately, as long as he worked hard enough, such a future would not come to pass.

However, these were things to consider for later. For now, he needed to resolve the project at hand.

Ai Yue pushed the chaotic thoughts in his mind aside and refocused his attention on the Fusion Warrior Project.

After completing this project, he understood why Mobius's saliva was enough to advance the entire research so much – the Fusion Warrior Project was more like a formula. Understanding the formula alone wasn't enough; it required separate processing and experimentation based on different Honkai Beast genes.

Processing various Honkai Beast genes and creating different "Hypervariable Factors" for each was the most crucial part of the entire Fusion Warrior Project.

The files Mobius had given him contained the genomic data of a Honkai Beast codenamed "Garuda."

His task was to use gene editing technology to trim away the parts of the data harmful to the human body, preserving the main body of the Honkai Beast genes to the greatest extent possible while minimizing the contamination of human genes.

No wonder Mobius thought Ai Yue was too arrogant. After all, even Mobius herself would need professional equipment and extensive time, with hundreds of repeated experiments, to find the optimal solution from a handful of successful cases when performing such work.

Even so, this "optimal solution" was subjective. To find an objectively optimal solution would require several times more time.

However, this kind of thing was different for Ai Yue – it was this easy with system assistance.

After completing the most basic part of the Fusion Warrior Project, Ai Yue successfully activated the "Model Optimization Construction" system, and a brand-new interface appeared before him.

This was the ideal model of the "Fusion Warrior Project" jointly researched and developed by Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius. However, in the system's construction, this ideal model presented numerous flaws and deformities, clearly indicating significant room for optimization.

If one were to use painting as an analogy, what appeared before Ai Yue was a strange creature with six eyes, three nostrils, no teeth in its mouth, limbs of unequal length, a sunken chest, a waist thinner than its neck, and deformed sexual characteristics.

If Ai Yue hadn't had a direct understanding of the madness of the Fusion Warrior Project before, then upon seeing the ideal model constructed by the system, he finally understood how lucky Kevin truly was.

To have maintained a human appearance and a sound mind after such a haphazard surgery, with the only sequela being slightly low body temperature – he could only say it was befitting the irreplaceable protagonist's fate in the current storyline.

In this situation, using Optimization Points could conveniently correct it bit by bit into an exquisite and beautiful human form, focusing on aspects like "sequela optimization," "effect optimization," and "popularization rate optimization."

Of course, given that Ai Yue only had one Optimization Point at hand, he had to use it in the most critical area.

Considering Kevin's condition and his own future plans, Ai Yue chose to optimize the sequelae of the Fusion Warrior surgery.

The next second, the ideal model changed, and a realization dawned upon Ai Yue's mind.

So that's how it is, removing this piece of information can reduce the probability of mutation...

His gaze shifted to the genomic data of Garuda, and he drew a black line through a set of genetic information.

With the basic theoretical framework completed, it was time to move on to the practical application phase. Speaking of which, who was Garuda intended for in the future?

Ai Yue dismissed the thought that flashed through his mind, tossing it aside.

The targeted optimization of Honkai Beast genes couldn't be established as an independent research project within the system. Instead, it was intelligently integrated as a sub-project under the Fusion Warrior Project, allowing it to utilize all the data and functions of the parent project. What Ai Yue needed to do now was to use the ideal model obtained from the Fusion Warrior Project to edit Garuda's genome.

Then, he would combine it with human genes, simulate the results of the Fusion Warrior surgery, and continuously adjust the editing direction through trial and error to obtain the optimal solution in an objective sense.

In reality, Mobius's task requirement was simply for Ai Yue to perform the most basic processing of Garuda's genomic data according to the Fusion Warrior Project's formula. In terms of cooking, this would be equivalent to just picking vegetables. However, Ai Yue naturally wouldn't do such a low-value job. Since the ingredients were already in his hands, he would decide what dish to make in the end.

However, as soon as he finished the first version of the gene editing, he encountered a problem: he didn't have human genomic data, so he couldn't perform experimental simulations.

But this problem was solved in just one second: Ai Yue plucked a strand of his own hair and put it into the system, directly choosing to use his own genome as the baseline for the experiment.

After all, the so-called experiments were all simulations within the system; he wasn't actually being turned into a Fusion Warrior.

The result of the first version of the Fusion Warrior surgery was not ideal. The simulated Ai Yue turned into a fireball, with the external flames symbolizing the passive burning of life force. This meant that the side effect of this version was the inability to control his own power. Even though Garuda's genes gave him a long life, this unrestrained burning only lasted for a few decades.

So, Ai Yue made modifications in the second version, removing more information about ability bursts.

This time, there was no burning, but the bad news was that he couldn't ignite at all. The abilities after fusion were limited to a long lifespan and enhanced physical quality, with nothing else.

Ai Yue saved the data from this version, thinking it might be useful elsewhere, and then began his third attempt.

Then came the fourth, the fifth...

The next morning, Mobius, with a mischievous intent, arrived an hour earlier than the previous day.

According to her prediction, Ai Yue, in order to fulfill his boast, must have been in the laboratory all night working on theoretical models. Even if he could figure it out, he would still be in the final stages of wrapping things up.

If she showed up now, she could catch him off guard and, under the guise of casualness, easily intercept his final work, establishing herself as a great senior in front of him. This would be a powerful retort to his arrogance from yesterday.

Thinking of this, Mobius couldn't help but yawn and rub her eyes.

Beneath her exquisite makeup were dark circles carefully concealed—to get ahead of Ai Yue in the initial editing of Garuda's genomic data, Mobius had kept everyone in the First Research Institute up all night.

Although two of them were only dragging her down, fortunately, they finally completed it.

Regardless of whether Ai Yue's talent matched his expressed arrogance, she was determined to get her revenge today!

Seemingly imagining Ai Yue's astonished expression, Mobius was in such a good mood that she almost started humming.

Eager to see Ai Yue flustered, she finally tidied her appearance, ensuring that her relaxed and carefree expression could be easily seen, before ringing the doorbell.

...Thirty seconds passed, and there was no response from inside.

Did this guy fall asleep from exhaustion?

Mobius had this thought, then began pressing the doorbell frantically.

It wasn't until the doorbell had been ringing for five minutes that a sleepy voice came from above her head: "Huh, Dr. Mobius, aren't you a bit early today?"

Mobius looked up and saw Ai Yue, with a head of messy, choppy hair, leaning out from the second floor.

"Early? What time is it now!" Mobius feigned seriousness. "Are you even taking this project seriously? I took a huge risk entrusting this project to you!"

Speaking of houses with this structure, the second floor and above are usually living areas, right? Could it be that this kid didn't stay up all night in the lab yesterday, but instead went to his bedroom to sleep?

Damn it, how can you sleep at your age!

But it didn't matter. Since he didn't stay up all night, his completion level would definitely be lower. Perhaps he despaired and chose to give up because he realized he couldn't finish it in a day, heh heh heh...

Mobius began to anticipate what expression would appear on Ai Yue's face when she slammed the completed plan onto his desk.

"Of course, I'm taking it seriously." Ai Yue was still savoring his pleasant dream from last night and naturally paid no attention to Mobius's inner monologue. "Wait a moment, I'll come down and open the door for you."

A moment later, Ai Yue finally invited Mobius into the laboratory.

"How's the project coming along?" Mobius asked impatiently as soon as she entered. Seeing that the laboratory was as tidy as when she had visited yesterday, she couldn't help but have a thought: "You didn't do anything at all, did you!?"

For a fleeting moment, Mobius thought Ai Yue had played a trick on her—perhaps he had figured out her temper, knowing she would stay up all night to finish, and deliberately provoked her while doing nothing himself, trying to get something for nothing?

You damn guy, what do you think research is!

"Oh, I did it, I did it." Ai Yue picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Mobius. "Here, the final result is here."

"What about the process? The plan? How can you compare the pros and cons if you only keep one result..." Mobius muttered as she took the paper from Ai Yue's hand. The moment she glanced at it, her expression couldn't hold back. "How did you cut it down so much!"

The paper Ai Yue gave her was densely packed with data, but compared to the original Honkai Beast genome, this amount was like reducing a hundred-thousand-word novel to an eight-hundred-word essay!

Even the final version of the "Hypervariable Factor" used for Kevin's surgery had more than this!

"To create the Hypervariable Factor, only this information needs to be retained," Ai Yue said nonchalantly. "Any more would affect the success rate."

"The success rate isn't something you need to worry about..." Mobius's words stopped abruptly halfway through. "Wait, you said Hypervariable Factor?"

"This is the information data for the Hypervariable Factor?"

One person, within a single day, completed the gene editing work from a complete Honkai Beast genome to the Hypervariable Factor?

Mobius held the piece of paper in her hand, all her prepared lines forgotten at this moment.

Chapter 22: This World Does Not Allow Such an Awesome Person to Exist

Mobius had always considered herself well-traveled and capable of facing any situation with ease, even those incomprehensible to ordinary people.

After all, ever since she left home at the age of nine, utterly disappointed in her father, she had struggled alone in the world. What storms hadn't she weathered?

But this, she had never seen before.

"You're saying this is the Garuda Hypervariable Factor you simulated and edited?" Mobius finally regained her senses after a moment. "In less than twenty-four hours? No, you weren't even in the lab last night, so it's not even twenty hours, is it?"

"It's alright," Ai Yue said vaguely, "Yeah, it's pretty much what you'd expect."

In reality, the moment Mobius left yesterday, Ai Yue had already finished that sub-project. Even with the time spent repeatedly deducing the optimal solution for the Hypervariable Factor, it hadn't taken more than two hours.

While Mobius was obsessively optimizing the genome, Ai Yue had accompanied Pardofelis for lunch, visited the recovering Aponia, gone with Elysia to the logistics department to procure daily necessities, toured the soldiers' training, and finally, had a good night's sleep.

Of course, none of this could be told to Mobius. On one hand, it was to protect Ai Yue's own secrets; on the other, it was to prevent Mobius's already twisted worldview from being further damaged.

But even with this current version, Mobius couldn't accept it. "Impossible! Do you know how much information is contained within a Honkai Beast's genome? Even the information expressed in redundant regions can't simply be discarded. Forget manual calculation; even with the most advanced computers, it would take an enormous amount of time. Such a timeframe cannot be shortened by talent alone!"

Moreover, the other party had only just encountered the Fusion Warrior Project yesterday. Even just fully grasping the project's content, assuming exceptional talent, should take at least several hours, right?

In short, Mobius's attitude could be summed up in two words: faking it.

"Is it possible the Fusion Warrior Project isn't as complicated as you think?" Ai Yue looked at Mobius with a strange expression. "The information in redundant genomes can't be directly removed, but there are patterns to the useful information. As long as you grasp the formula, you don't need extensive calculations and deductions?"

"Easier said than done," Mobius sneered. "The formula... Where is it?"

Before she could finish speaking, Ai Yue was already holding another piece of paper and handing it to her.

Mobius lowered her head and repeatedly scrutinized the contents of the paper. After a moment, she finally looked up. "Even so, without corresponding human genome information, how can you deduce the surgical outcome? Without a theoretical model for deduction, the rationality of both success rate and effectiveness cannot be guaranteed!"

As one of the originators of the Fusion Warrior Project, Mobius quickly realized Ai Yue wasn't lying. However, as a scholar, she chose to question it first, as such a thing was simply too outlandish.

"The success rate is a bit low," Ai Yue didn't argue this time. "I tried several schemes; the highest is ninety-six percent with this one. Any higher would require sacrificing some performance."

"How much?" Mobius's eyes widened.

"Ninety-six percent. Don't worry, it's not a big problem," Ai Yue reassured her. "Even if the test subject unfortunately falls into that four percent, they won't die. Their fused genome will just enter a dormant state, and there should be a way to reactivate it later."

Mobius looked at Ai Yue, then at the paper in her hand, and opened her mouth, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Is this even human language? I don't understand any of this!

After a brief silence, Mobius suddenly reached out and grabbed Ai Yue's wrist, dragging him outside without further ado.