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

``` "New material acquired: Mobius's Saliva (Precious)."

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

"Invest in the current research project, 'Fusion Warrior Project,' to additionally increase research progress by 50% and obtain 1 optimization point."

A moment later, at the First Research Institute.

"Doctor, you're back?" A woman with messy, medium-length green hair raised her head from a mountain of documents, revealing a haggard face marked by heavy dark circles. "Oh? The newcomer you mentioned wasn't supposed to return with you?"

"Klein, don't mention him!" Mobius returned to the laboratory bench in a fury and began taking out her anger on the equipment. "That arrogant bastard actually dared to look down on our work..."

"He actually managed to make you this angry..." The woman named Klein adjusted the hairpin holding back her bangs and couldn't help smiling oddly. "He must really be a genius."

"A genius? No, that's not it." Mobius suddenly calmed down, as if she had realized something. "His attitude isn't confidence in his own talent. It's more like... something else."

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

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

So arrogant that... he seemed to stand above the entire world.

Chapter Twenty-One: What Kind of Heavenly-Born Strongman Are You?

Ai Yue naturally had no idea that Mobius's impression of him had already changed. At that moment, he was still studying her saliva.

Or, more accurately, a precious research material.

Kevin's hair was also material of the same grade, but saliva was temporary. If he didn't use it soon, it might dry out, so Ai Yue didn't bother hesitating and directly put it into the research project.

Although the "Fusion Warrior Project" was also a research project, it differed from the previous projects Ai Yue had worked on that could ultimately produce physical objects. For now, it could only construct a theoretical model, so the internal components of the project were different as well.

Since there was no physical object to construct, the basic material analysis stage was absent. In its place was theoretical model deduction. "Prototype Framework Construction" had also become "Model Optimization Construction." Ai Yue guessed that this was probably related to the "optimization points" provided by precious-grade materials.

Precious-grade materials were truly powerful. Although the saliva remaining on the straw could only provide forty percent of its full research value, that portion alone had nearly completed the entire subproject Mobius had given him, leaving only 12.6% of the total progress.

That amount of progress did not require Kevin's hair at all. Ai Yue casually found several ordinary-grade materials in the bag he had brought out of Twilight Street and finished it directly.

As a theoretical model, the "Fusion Warrior Project" was essentially a deduction of the possibility of combining Honkai Beast genes with human genes. At the beginning, it had no practical foundation, because even in theory, its success rate had always been zero percent.

In other words, if humanity had not truly reached a desperate situation, this project could only have remained at the theoretical stage and would never have had a chance to enter actual experimentation.

The reason Kevin's surgery had succeeded was partly due to luck, but also because Dr. Mei 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. It was the Honkai Beast Dr. Mei had studied for the longest time, and also the one most compatible with Kevin. Only after the genes extracted from it had been processed through gene-editing technology into a "Hypervariable Factor" had success barely become possible.

It was called "barely" because although Kevin had survived and gained immense strength and abilities, the Fusion Warrior surgery had still left him with severe aftereffects.

His body temperature was almost permanently fixed at thirty degrees below zero—a temperature at which water froze instantly. Even if he wanted to cry, his tears would turn into ice chips the moment they left his eyes. From then on, he could no longer have close contact with other people.

And that was only one of the aftereffects. The various physiological mutations, the criticism caused by his awkward position in human society, and the increasingly severe feeling of being inhuman deep within his heart would all gradually manifest in Kevin.

It was precisely because this world would never see the arrival of peace that Fusion Warriors could become the "Flame-Chasers." Otherwise, once the threat brought by the Honkai ended, Fusion Warriors like Kevin would inevitably be rejected by human society, ultimately triggering another doomsday for civilization.

Ai Yue had seen too many similar stories. He could visualize the entire scene without even needing to think hard.

Fortunately, as long as he worked hard enough, that future would never come to pass.

But those were matters for later. For now, he should finish the project at hand.

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

Only after completing the project did he understand why Mobius's saliva had allowed him to finish most of the research. The Fusion Warrior Project was more like a formula. Understanding the formula alone was not enough; each type of Honkai Beast gene still had to be processed and tested separately.

Processing the genes of various Honkai Beasts and turning them into different types of Hypervariable Factors was the most crucial part of the entire Fusion Warrior Project.

Among the documents Mobius had given him was genomic data from a Honkai Beast codenamed Garuda.

His task was to use gene-editing technology to cut away the portions harmful to the human body. While preserving as much of the Honkai Beast gene structure as possible, he had to reduce its contamination of human genes as far as he could.

No wonder Mobius thought Ai Yue was unbearably arrogant. Even if Mobius did the work herself, she would need professional equipment, a great deal of time, and hundreds of repeated experiments before finding the optimal solution among the few successful cases.

Even then, that "optimal solution" would only be optimal in a subjective sense. Finding the objectively optimal solution would take several times longer.

But things were different for Ai Yue. With the system assisting him, it was simply that easy.

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

It was the ideal model of the "Fusion Warrior Project," jointly researched and developed by Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius. Yet within the system's construction, this ideal model displayed numerous flaws and deformities. Clearly, there was still tremendous room for optimization.

If it were compared to a painting, what appeared before Ai Yue was a strange creature with six eyes, three nostrils, no teeth, limbs of different lengths, a sunken chest, a waist thinner than its neck, and abnormally developed sexual characteristics.

If Ai Yue had previously lacked a direct understanding of how insane the Fusion Warrior Project was, then seeing the ideal model constructed by the system finally made him understand how lucky Kevin truly was.

After undergoing such a haphazard surgery, he had still managed to retain a human appearance and a sound mind. His only aftereffect was a slightly low body temperature. He truly deserved to be the irreplaceable protagonist of the current storyline.

In this situation, optimization points could conveniently be used to correct the model little by little through options such as "Optimize Aftereffects," "Optimize Effects," and "Optimize Popularization Rate," turning it into a refined and beautiful human figure.

Of course, since Ai Yue only had one optimization point, he had to use it in the most critical place.

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

The next second, the ideal model changed, and a new understanding appeared in Ai Yue's mind.

I see. Removing this section of information can reduce the probability of mutation...

His gaze shifted to Garuda's genomic data, and he drew a black line across one group of genetic information.

The basic theoretical construction was complete. Next came the practical stage. Speaking of which, who was Garuda meant for in the future?

The thought flashed through Ai Yue's mind before he tossed it aside.

The targeted optimization of Honkai Beast genes could not be established as an independent research project within the system. Instead, it was intelligently attached to the Fusion Warrior Project as a subproject, allowing it to use all the data and functions of the parent project. What Ai Yue had to do now was use the ideal model obtained from the Fusion Warrior Project to edit Garuda's genome.

He would then combine it with human genes, simulate the results of the Fusion Warrior surgery, and repeatedly adjust the editing direction through trial and error until he obtained the objectively optimal solution.

In truth, Mobius's requirements only asked Ai Yue to perform the simplest processing of Garuda's genomic data according to the formula of the Fusion Warrior Project. In cooking terms, it was roughly equivalent to sorting vegetables. But Ai Yue naturally would not do work with so little value. Since the ingredients were already in his hands, he would decide what dish to make with them.

However, after finishing the first version of the gene editing, he encountered a problem: he had no human genomic data and could not conduct experimental simulations.

The problem was solved in a single second. Ai Yue pulled out one of his hairs, tossed it into the system, and directly chose to use his own genome as the experimental template.

After all, the experiments were only simulations within the system. He was not actually going to turn himself into a Fusion Warrior.

The results of the first version of the Fusion Warrior surgery were not ideal. In the simulated experiment, Ai Yue directly became a man of fire. The flames burning outside his body symbolized the passive burning of his life force. In other words, this version's aftereffect was an inability to control his power. Even though Garuda's genes granted him a long lifespan, they only allowed that reckless burning to continue for several decades.

Ai Yue therefore modified the second version, deleting more information related to the eruption of abilities.

This time, the burning stopped, but the bad news was that it could no longer burn at all. After the fusion, only the long lifespan and enhanced physical qualities remained. Everything else was gone.

Ai Yue kept the data from this version, since it might prove useful elsewhere, and then began his third attempt.

Then came the fourth, the fifth...

The next morning, Mobius arrived an hour earlier than she had the previous day, with distinctly malicious intentions.

According to her guess, Ai Yue had certainly stayed up all night in the laboratory constructing the theoretical model to fulfill the boast he had made. Even if he had truly managed to finish it, he would still be completing the final touches at this hour.

By coming over now, she could catch him off guard, pretend to act casually, effortlessly take over his final work, and establish an impressive image of a senior in front of him. It would also serve as a powerful rebuttal to his arrogance the previous day.

Thinking of this, Mobius couldn't help yawning and rubbed her eyes.

Beneath her exquisite makeup were dark circles carefully concealed. To finish the preliminary editing of Garuda's genomic data before Ai Yue, Mobius had dragged everyone at the First Research Institute into staying up all night.

Two of them could only hold her back, but fortunately, they had still finished in the end.

Regardless of whether Ai Yue's talent truly deserved the arrogance he displayed, she was determined to vent this grievance today!

She seemed to imagine Ai Yue's astonished expression, and Mobius was so pleased that she nearly began humming.

Unable to wait to see Ai Yue suffer, she tidied her appearance one last time. Only after making sure the relaxed confidence on her face would be obvious did Mobius press the doorbell.

...Thirty seconds passed, but there was no response.

Could this guy have fallen asleep from exhaustion?

That thought appeared in Mobius's mind, and she began pressing the doorbell repeatedly.

Only after the doorbell had rung for five minutes did a drowsy voice come from above Mobius's head. "Huh? Dr. Mobius, aren't you a little early today?"

Mobius looked up and saw Ai Yue leaning out from the second floor, his hair sticking up messily.

"Early? Do you know what time it is?" Mobius pretended to be stern. "Do you even take the project seriously? I took a huge risk before handing it to you!"

Come to think of it, the upper floor of a house like this should be the living area, right? Could it be that this brat had not stayed up all night in the laboratory, but had gone to bed instead?

Damn it. How can someone your age sleep so soundly?

But it did not matter. Since he had not stayed up all night, his progress must be even worse. Perhaps he had realized that it was impossible to finish in a day and had given up in despair. Heh heh heh...

Mobius began anticipating the expression that would appear on Ai Yue's face when she slapped her completed solution down on his desk.

"Of course I took it seriously." Ai Yue was still savoring the beautiful dream he had had the previous night and naturally paid no attention to Mobius's thoughts. "Wait a moment. I'll come down and open the door."

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

"How is the project going?" Mobius asked impatiently the moment she entered. Seeing that the laboratory was as tidy as it had been when she visited the previous day, a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind. "You didn't do it at all, did you?"

For an instant, Mobius thought Ai Yue had played her. Had he figured out her temperament, realized she would work through the night, deliberately provoked her, and then done nothing himself in an attempt to get something for nothing?

What a detestable bastard. What do you think research is?

"Oh, I did it." Ai Yue picked up a sheet of paper from the desk and handed it to Mobius. "Here. The final result is on this."

"What about the process? The plan? How can you compare the advantages and disadvantages if you only kept one result..." Mobius took the paper while muttering. The moment she glanced at it, her expression fell apart. "How did you delete it down to this little?"

The paper Ai Yue gave her was densely covered with data. But compared to the original genomic data of the Honkai Beast, it was like cutting a hundred-thousand-word novel down to an eight-hundred-word essay.

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

"You only need to retain this information to make the Hypervariable Factor," Ai Yue said indifferently. "Adding more would affect the success rate."

"The success rate isn't something you need to worry ab—" Mobius stopped halfway and suddenly froze. "Wait. Did you say Hypervariable Factor?"

"This is data for a Hypervariable Factor?"

One person had completed the gene editing process from the complete genomic data of a Honkai Beast to a Hypervariable Factor in a single day?

Mobius held up the sheet of paper. Every line she had prepared vanished from her mind.

Chapter Twenty-Two: This World Cannot Allow Someone This Amazing to Exist

Mobius had always considered herself well-informed. Even when faced with situations incomprehensible to ordinary people, she could handle them with ease.

After all, ever since she had become thoroughly disappointed in her father at the age of nine and run away from home, she had struggled alone in society. What kind of hardships had she not seen?

But she had truly never seen this.

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

"It's all right," Ai Yue said vaguely. "Yes, more or less what you expected."

In truth, Ai Yue had nearly finished the subproject not long after Mobius left the previous day. Even including the time spent repeatedly deducing the optimal Hypervariable Factor, it had taken less than two hours.

While Mobius had been working herself to the bone optimizing the genome, Ai Yue had eaten lunch with Pardofelis, visited the recovering Aponia, gone shopping with Elysia at the Logistics Department for daily necessities, watched the soldiers train, and finally slept soundly in bed.

Naturally, he could not tell Mobius any of that. Partly, it was to protect his own secret, and partly, it was to prevent Mobius's already distorted worldview from suffering another blow.

But even the current version was more than Mobius could accept. "Impossible! Do you know how much information a Honkai Beast genome contains? Even the information in redundant regions cannot simply be discarded. Let alone calculating it manually, even using the most advanced computers would require a huge amount of time. Talent cannot shorten that kind of time!"

Not to mention that Ai Yue had only encountered the Fusion Warrior Project the previous day. Even if he merely wanted to fully understand its contents, he would need at least several hours, no matter how extraordinary his talent was.

In short, Mobius's attitude could be summed up in two words: He was putting on an act.

"Could it be that the Fusion Warrior Project isn't as complicated as you imagine?" Ai Yue looked at Mobius strangely. "The information in redundant genomes indeed can't simply be removed, but the useful information follows certain patterns. Once you understand the formula, you don't need extensive calculations and deductions."

"You make it sound so easy." Mobius sneered. "The formula..."

Before she could finish, Ai Yue had already picked up another sheet of paper and handed it to her.

Mobius lowered her head and repeatedly examined the contents. Only after a moment did she look up. "Even so, you don't have the corresponding human genomic data. How did you deduce the surgical results? Without theoretical model deduction, neither the success rate nor the effects can be guaranteed to be reasonable!"

As one of the people who had proposed the Fusion Warrior Project, Mobius quickly realized that Ai Yue was not speaking nonsense. However, as a scholar, she still chose to question him first. After all, this was simply too outrageous.

"The success rate is a little low." Ai Yue did not argue this time. "I tried several approaches. The highest was ninety-six percent with this one. Any higher, and I would have to sacrifice some of its performance."

"How much?" Mobius's eyes widened.

"Ninety-six percent. Don't worry, it's not a big problem." Ai Yue comforted her. "Even if the experimenter unfortunately falls into that four percent, they won't die. Their fused genome will merely switch to recessive expression. There should still be a way to activate it later."

Mobius looked at Ai Yue, then at the paper in her hands. She opened her mouth, but for a moment could not think of anything to say.

Was this even human speech? Why couldn't she understand a word of it?

After a brief silence, Mobius suddenly reached out, grabbed Ai Yue by the wrist, and dragged him outside without a word.