Chapter 117

79

Chapter Seventy-Nine: This is My Suicide Plan (4,000 words)

As Prometheus finished speaking, the office fell into a deathly silence; even the sound of breathing could barely be heard.

Fortunately, everyone here is a seasoned individual who has weathered many storms, so while the news was certainly shocking, it wasn't enough to make them give up the fight.

"What exactly is Ai Yue planning?"

Mobius was the first to come to his senses. "Was becoming Herrscher also part of his plan?"

Of all those present, she was the one most unable to accept this fact, because she knew very well how desperate it would be if Ai Yue, with his talent, became an enemy of humanity.

Before this, Ai Yue might have had the weakness of being weak, but after becoming Herrscher, even that weakness has been overcome. If you add the resources he has, Mobius can't even imagine how to fight this battle.

Therefore, the only hope lies in the fact that "becoming Herrscher" was originally part of Ai Yue's plan.

"Yes."

Prometheus's response relieved Mobius somewhat, "This is exactly part of Doctor Ai Yue's plan."

"But how exactly did they do that?"

Compared to Mobius's concerns, Dr. Mei was more curious about something else. "I've never heard of Herrscher being able to designate a candidate. Does that mean that as long as there is only one human within the Great Honkai area, that person will definitely become the Herrscher?"

"That's not the case, Dr. Mei, you've got the cause and effect backwards."

Prometheus said, "It was the birth of the Herrscher that triggered the Great Honkai, not the Great Honkai itself that created the Herrscher. The Great Honkai is a symptom that occurs Honkai Energy flow from the Imaginary Tree to the Imaginary Singularity of Real Time."

"That doesn't explain how Ai Yue became Herrscher... Never mind, now is not the time to dwell on this."

Dr. Mei didn't like to waste energy on things that had already happened. Anyway, if she had the chance, she could ask Ai Yue for clarification. "Since this is part of Doctor Ai Yue's plan, there must be a reason, right?"

"The reason is simple: Doctor Ai Yue predicts that the next Herrscher may be more powerful than we imagine."

Prometheus said, "Under such circumstances, only by human intervention in the birth of Herrscher can the losses be minimized."

"Reduce it to the minimum? The losses seem even more severe now, don't they?"

Mobius couldn't help but let out a cold, ambiguous laugh. "Does that guy Ai Yue even realize how important he is?"

"I think I can understand his thinking now."

At this moment, Aponia said, "Letting the Great Honkai erupt in the no-man's-land can at least prevent the loss of a city, right?"

This time, Mobius said nothing more—although to her, Ai Yue was clearly much more important than a city, she also knew very well that Ai Yue himself would never put his life above anyone else's.

Given that guy's personality, he would only think that exchanging his own safety for a city is a worthwhile deal.

"But how do we solve the next problem?"

Kevin asked the most crucial question, "Does Ai Yue have a way to guarantee that he can still stand on the side of humanity while in his Herrscher form?"

Herrscher are not to be trusted. Although they have human appearances and may even retain some human emotions, in the end, they are no longer human, but rather enemies of humanity.

This was a lesson Kevin had learned at a terrible cost, but at this moment, because the other party was Ai Yue, he was willing to trust him again.

"No, the Herrscher are the enemy of humanity, and that will not change, at least not in this plan."

The projection of Prometheus turned its head slightly, as if glancing at a corner, and then said, "Doctor Ai Yue's plan requires all of you here to be responsible for dealing with him."

"Shall we attack Ai Yue?"

Cosmo couldn't help but ask, "Really?"

"It feels a bit unrealistic,"

Desdrobia chimed in, "Doctor Ai Yue knows our strength inside and out, not to mention that most of our equipment and weapons come from him. Under these circumstances, do we really have any chance of winning?"

Nobody wants to be enemies with someone who knows all their secrets, let alone someone who is a true Herrscher even if all that is left aside.

Moreover, they still know nothing about Ai Yue in his Herrscherization —what kind of powers he possesses, to what extent he can exert them, and how many Honkai Beast there are in Australia are all unknowns.

Information is a crucial element in warfare. The current situation is that the enemy has a wallhack, while our map is completely black. How can we fight like this?

"Don't worry, Doctor Ai Yue has already made follow-up plans."

Prometheus said, "If things go smoothly, we have a seventy percent chance of winning."

"Only seventy percent?"

Vill-V couldn't help but show a puzzled expression. "This isn't Ai Yue's style. That guy never comes up with a plan that has a success rate of less than 90%."

"The remaining 30 percent will depend on Doctor Ai Yue."

Prometheus replied, "Please do not worry. Doctor Ai Yue said that this war will inevitably end in the victory of mankind, it is only a matter of whether it is a small victory or a great victory."

What is the result of a narrow victory?

Elysia suddenly asked, "What will happen to Ai Yue in this ending?"

She keenly sensed something from Prometheus's evasive remarks.

"The result of this small victory is that we defeat the Herrscher at the cost of Doctor Ai Yue's death, paving the way for final victory."

Prometheus remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "I did not mean to hide it from you, but I did not want to add to your already heavy burden."

Kalpas, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly walked towards the door. Ying, who had been entrusted by Ai Yue to "keep an eye on Kalpas," blocked his way. "Kalpas, where are you going?"

"I'm fine with going anywhere, I just don't want to waste my time here."

After experiencing the effects of school life, Kalpas became much easier to communicate with. "Ask and ask, ask and ask, but hesitation won't change the facts we're about to face. Ai Yue has left the rest to us. Can just having a meeting here really change anything?"

After saying that, he darted past Sakura and left without looking back. Sakura nodded to everyone and then chased after him.

She absolutely couldn't mess up the task Ai Yue had given her.

"Kalpas is right. Constantly looking ahead and behind will only waste time."

Kevin then asked, "Prometheus, what are Ai Yue's specific plans?"

"Doctor Ai Yue has made individual arrangements for each person,"

Prometheus said, turning his gaze to the side, "Dr. Mei, Pardofelis should have handed over what Doctor Ai Yue arranged to you, right?"

"You mean this?"

Dr. Mei took a metal box out of the drawer. "I've tried it, this one has a password, I can't open it."

"I don't know the password either,"

Prometheus glanced around. "But Doctor Ai Yue should have the appropriate arrangements."

"Yes, the password is my fingerprint,"

Elysia nodded, stepped forward, and activated the metal box. "Sorry, Ai Yue told me not to say anything before."

"What's inside? It's so mysterious..."

Dr. Mei took something out of there and then fell silent.

Not only her, but everyone who saw it fell silent.

It was a transparent container divided into several spaces, containing several crystals that everyone was familiar with.

That was the Herrscher Core that was originally placed at the Star of Light experimental base.

"It seems that at least we don't have to worry about Doctor Ai Yue taking over all eleven Herrscher Core and wiping us out."

Cosmo said in a low voice.

"Is it possible that even without these core components, Doctor Ai Yue could still defeat us?"

Desdrobia responded softly.

"No matter what, with these core players, our chances of winning have at least increased."

Dr. Mei looked at Vill-V, "Vill-V, how's the 'Divine Keys' project going?"

Although Ai Yue took all the cores, he also made some modifications to the "Divine Keys" project for Vill-V, so that it would not necessarily be bound to a certain Herrscher Core, but could release different powers according to different Herrscher Core.

Furthermore, with the added benefits of "Soulium," the Divine Keys are no longer confined to a fixed shape. Instead, they can transform into different weapons according to the user's needs, transforming them from specific equipment into universal equipment and greatly improving their versatility.

"Everything is ready, nine in total."

Vill-V response, "In addition, there are secondary Divine Keys that can be adapted to the core of the Herrscher of Domination, which can be equipped for the second batch of Fused Warrior."

"No, they have no place in this war."

Prometheus, however, said, "Do not involve others in the battle, to avoid unnecessary sacrifices."

"So what is the specific plan?"

Kevin's biggest concern was this. "We can't just use a decapitation strike and rush in to kill Ai Yue, can we?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know either."

Prometheus said, "Because I also had the possibility of betraying humanity before, Doctor Ai Yue did not tell me the plan directly as a precaution."

"The specific arrangements are all in here."

Dr. Mei was still taking things out of the metal box when she quickly found a stack of envelopes. "These have our names on them. Come and take them yourselves."

Everyone took an envelope with their name on it, and Kevin also took Sakura's and Kalpas's. "I'll take the things to them."

He had already read his own copy, which contained a simple message: "Once you find my location, attack with all your might."

Upon seeing the contents, Kevin couldn't help but wonder if everyone responsible for participating in the battle had received the same arrangement.

Soon, only two envelopes remained on the table, one from Sue and the other from Pardofelis.

"Speaking of which, where did Pardo go?"

It was only then that Aponia belatedly realized the problem. "I remember at the very beginning, she was still here."

"I don't know. She's always been free to come and go as she pleases. Let Prometheus worry about it."

Mobius looked at the contents of the letter and actually smiled. "Anyway, it's very difficult to get to Australia now, so there's no need to worry about her running around."

"Su, can you see?"

Dr. Mei then opened the letter that belonged to Su and showed its contents to the other party's camera.

"Dr. Mei, Su has been out of contact for ten minutes."

Prometheus then pointed out, "The signal between the Earth and the Moon is still not stable enough. According to feedback from the satellite, it will take another twenty minutes to reconnect."

"So that's how it is. No wonder he didn't say anything."

Dr. Mei put down the letter in her hand. "Mobius, what's the situation on your end?"

"Keep it a secret."

Mobius put away the letter, but it was clear that she was in a much better mood. "According to the plan, I have no plans for the time being. I'll head back to the research institute first."

"Dr. Mobius, please wait a moment."

Eden then walked over and handed his letter to Mobius. "Doctor Ai Yue has made the detailed arrangements for my Fused Warrior surgery. If you have time, could you perform the surgery on me now?"

Why are you in such a hurry?

Mobius looked at her but didn't take the letter from her hand. "You're not planning to go to the battlefield too, are you?"

"Doctor Ai Yue said that the Fused Warrior surgery can only be done when he returns. If you really can't wait, you can contact me, Mobius."

Eden smiled and said, "Since I'm going to become Fused Warrior sooner or later, and the situation is so urgent right now, why not do more?"

"He definitely won't include your part in the plan."

Mobius frowned. "So even if you didn't do that, we would still win."

Eden was a very approachable person, and most importantly, she also appreciated Mobius's aesthetics. Naturally, Mobius did not want her to take any risks for this matter.

"It's precisely because Doctor Ai Yue doesn't calculate my variables that my involvement can further increase the success rate, isn't it?"

Eden maintained his gentle smile, but his tone was filled with unwavering determination. "Doctor Ai Yue is also my friend, and I don't want this plan to end with only a 'minor victory'."

"...Oh well,"

Perhaps it was her last sentence that had an effect, Mobius still took the letter from Eden's hand, "Come with me."

"Something feels off."

When Dr. Mei looked up again, only Elysia was left in the office. "It was a very serious, even somewhat desperate scene, but why... did I feel a sense of relief?"

She still remembers that when she first heard from Prometheus that "the Herrscher is Ai Yue," the atmosphere in the office was still quite heavy, but it seemed that things became simpler after she got Ai Yue's specific plan.