Honkai Impact 3rd: Starting to Save the Pre-Civilization with Hand-Crafted Black Tech

"What are you doing!" Ai Yue exclaimed in shock, instinctively gripping the table beside him. "Let go... Damn, where did you get this strength!"

It was only then that he remembered that the seemingly frail scholar before him was also a Fused Warrior.

"Cut the crap, come with me to the institute!" Mobius didn't even turn her head. "I need to verify the authenticity of your results!"

"Can I at least eat first? And brush my teeth at least!"

"If your results are usable, I'll treat you to meals for a year!"

Ai Yue knew very well that ordinary people stood no chance against a Fused Warrior, so he gave up struggling.

The two quickly arrived at the First Research Institute. Upon entering, they saw a figure in a white lab coat busy at a workbench.

"Dr. Mobius, weren't you going back to rest?" Klein, who was still processing documents, looked up and saw Mobius dragging a strange man into the institute. "Oh, you must be Mr. Ai Yue? Hello, I'm Klein, the Doctor's assistant."

"You..." Ai Yue wanted to greet Klein in his human form, but Mobius had no intention of stopping. She dragged him directly to the innermost room, so he could only wave goodbye, leaving behind a disheveled figure. "Okay."

"This is it." Mobius activated the instruments in the room, and the display screen quickly lit up. "Input the data you obtained. This machine will simulate the results of fusing the Hypervariable Factor with the human genome. Although the current sample size is too small and the simulated results may not be entirely reliable, it's sufficient as a reference to verify your findings."

Ai Yue quickly entered the information about the Hypervariable Factor he had compiled into the machine. Mobius, without any hesitation, initiated a hundred consecutive draws... I mean, a hundred consecutive simulations of the Fused Warrior surgery.

If the success rate was truly as high as he claimed... no, forget 96%, even 9.6% would be enough to elevate Ai Yue's status within Moth to Fire to an unimaginable height.

Even Mobius was secretly anticipating, hoping for at least ten successful fusions among the hundred simulation results.

However, the outcome far exceeded her expectations.

Simulation results were usually indicated by green circles for success and red crosses for failure. When Mobius ran simulations in the past, it was typically one green among thousands of red. But today was completely different.

Green circles filled the entire screen. Mobius flipped through them repeatedly, unable to find a single failed simulation.

"This..." she instinctively patted the display. "Is this thing broken? Did that guy just make some disposable item to fool me again?"

"Indeed, it feels like something's wrong," Ai Yue said with a serious expression. "Statistically, there should have been a few failures. It seems this simulator isn't accurate enough."

Mobius looked at him, but this time, she didn't voice any suspicion.

Facts spoke louder than words. Since such results were laid out before her, Mobius could only accept reality.

However, this made things even more troublesome.

With that thought, Mobius took out her communicator and dialed a number.

"Mei, come to the institute immediately," Mobius's tone was extremely serious. "There's a very important matter that requires a face-to-face discussion – don't tell anyone except your little follower."

A moment later, Dr. Mei also appeared before the simulator.

She looked at the results displayed on the screen, pondered for a moment, and then exclaimed, "Dr. Mobius, I didn't expect you to have researched the Garuda genome to this extent. It seems it can be put into use soon."

"It wasn't me," Mobius sighed and pointed to the side. "It was him."

Dr. Mei turned to look and saw Ai Yue flipping through Mobius's various experimental notes. "Mr. Ai Yue?"

"Huh?" Ai Yue, who was taking this opportunity to frantically feed data into the System, looked up and saw Dr. Mei pointing at the display screen with a confused expression. "Oh, I did it."

Dr. Mei looked at Ai Yue, then at Mobius. "Mr. Ai Yue, you did this alone?"

Mobius nodded.

"In just one day?"

Mobius nodded.

"A hundred percent success rate?"

"He himself said 96%," Mobius said with a complex tone. "He also said this simulator isn't accurate enough."

"After all, Vill-V only took three days to make it, so it's reasonable for its performance to be a bit lower," Dr. Mei nodded, then her expression turned peculiar. "But, can something like this really happen?"

Mobius remained silent, simply handing over a piece of paper – the formula Ai Yue had given her earlier, which could filter redundant information based on patterns.

Dr. Mei, with her deep understanding of the Fused Warrior project, realized after a brief analysis that this formula was not false. In fact, the value of the underlying concept it embodied was even greater than the formula itself. If parts of the data within the formula could be modified based on this concept, it could even be used for information filtering in other areas.

Therefore, her expression also became strange.

The Fused Warrior project could be considered a theoretical system that Mei and Mobius had poured their hearts and souls into, spending countless hours and effort to finally develop. Although this system was still very rudimentary, and could even be said to rely on gambling and luck to create miracles, it was, nonetheless, the crystallization of their hard work.

Yet, here was someone who, in a single day, had perfected this crude and incomplete system to an unbelievable degree. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Dr. Mei would have believed it was some kind of hallucination.

But now, it had all happened.

Dr. Mei suddenly remembered a conversation she had with Aponia the previous night when she visited her.

With the power of a psychic Fused Warrior, Moth to Fire had completely lost the means to restrain Aponia. With just a few words, she could directly dismantle the entire Moth to Fire. Even if they wanted to use weapons of mass destruction, Aponia was fully capable of surviving them.

If Aponia harbored hostility towards Moth to Fire, humanity might not need to be destroyed by Herrschers.

Dr. Mei visited Aponia partly to conduct systematic research on her abilities, and partly to test Aponia's attitude, to see if she could persuade her to fight against the Honkai together.

However, after a brief conversation, Dr. Mei found that Aponia didn't seem to care much about the outside world. Instead, she had bound her will to Ai Yue, answering almost every question from Ai Yue's perspective.

Just as Dr. Mei thought Aponia's reaction stemmed from some kind of affection, Aponia's answer surprised her.

Aponia said, "I trust Mr. Ai Yue unconditionally because he is my savior. He once saved me from sin, and he will surely save this world from catastrophe in the future."

Dr. Mei was aware of the events on Twilight Street and knew that Ai Yue had used the Honkai Energy Absorber to resolve the potential Honkai outbreak at the sanatorium. Therefore, she initially dismissed Aponia's words as some kind of misunderstanding related to faith.

However, seeing what was happening before her eyes today, she realized that perhaps it wasn't a misunderstanding at all.

The Honkai Energy Absorber and the Fused Warrior project were fields so completely different that even with prior experience and knowledge, the other party would find it difficult to apply it to the Fused Warrior project.

Yet, they still managed to complete the gene editing of Garuda into a Hypervariable Factor in just one day.

This was no longer something that human intellect could explain... Could it be that gods truly exist in this world?

As a scholar, Dr. Mei rarely paid attention to matters in these fields.

But everything that happened today still made her unable to help but ponder this question.

"Stop spacing out, Mei," Mobius's voice pulled Dr. Mei from her thoughts. She looked up and saw Mobius frowning, "What do you think about Ai Yue's situation?"

Mei snapped back to reality, quickly understanding Mobius's meaning.

"It can't be spread outside for now," Dr. Mei said quickly, "Ai Yue's matter must also be kept secret. We can't let those people upstairs know, especially the 'Opposition Faction'."

Saving humanity is not an easy task, because when you extend your hand, some people will not only not be grateful but will try to drag you into the abyss to make room for themselves.

The "Opposition Faction" within Moth to Fire was precisely such a group. While some of them genuinely worried that "Fused Warriors" would become uncontrollable monsters and cause greater harm to human society, more of them feared that this uncontrollable power would affect their own status and interests.

For their own rights, these people were even willing to sell their lives to the Herrschers.

If these people were to learn of the terrifying talent Ai Yue possessed, they would absolutely not allow such a person to continue living.

These hidden dangers must be resolved as soon as possible.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Some People Live, But It's Better to Be Dead

If you were to ask Dr. Mei what the greatest crisis hanging over humanity was, she would say the Honkai and the Herrschers.

But if you were to ask her what crisis humanity needed to resolve most urgently right now, the answer would be completely different.

In Dr. Mei's eyes, the most urgent crisis to resolve was internal conflict within humanity.

Although under the immense external pressure of the Honkai and the Herrschers, humanity had reluctantly banded together to form Moth to Fire, an organization that oversaw the overall situation and fought against the Honkai, due to various reasons, Moth to Fire was not monolithic internally.

Those who opposed the Fused Warrior project were merely one aspect of this internal strife. The real internal struggle was far more complex than that.

Moth to Fire's funding sources were complex, including allocations from major countries, investments from multinational corporations, and income earned from internal patents or missions. It was precisely because of these diverse funding sources that the high-ranking officials of Moth to Fire were divided into various factions. And for the sake of their mutual interests, their struggles, though without smoke, were no less intense.

To restrain each other, they spared no expense in funds for espionage against opposing factions; to restrain each other, countless war weapons, even at the most critical moments, still aimed their muzzles at their own countrymen; to restrain each other, elite warriors who should have been bravely fighting on the front lines against the Honkai were instead pulled out to serve as private soldiers for assassination units...

If these were things Dr. Mei could still tolerate, then the actions of blocking and shelving projects that could benefit humanity for their own interests had touched her bottom line.

Dr. Mei could mediate between these factions to fight the Honkai and strive for more support, but if even "fighting the Honkai" itself was used as a bargaining chip by those people, what meaning would Moth to Fire's existence have left?

"Mr. Ai Yue." Dr. Mei seemed to have made up her mind. She pulled over a chair and sat down, clearly having a lot to say. "The following matters are very important. I hope to have your understanding and support."

"So serious?" Seeing Dr. Mei's expression, Ai Yue also put down the experimental data in his hands and pulled over a chair. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Finally made up your mind, Mei?" Mobius clearly sensed something and a smile appeared on her face. "That's right. Those who obstruct us should have been dealt with long ago."

"First, the first matter," Dr. Mei did not respond to Mobius's words but said to Ai Yue, "The patent application for the Honkai Energy Absorber has been temporarily frozen."

Before this, Dr. Mei had said she would help Ai Yue apply for a patent for the "Honkai Energy Absorber," so that if the Honkai Energy Absorber could be mass-produced in the future, Ai Yue would also receive patent fees.

Considering that the Honkai Energy Absorber itself was of high enough quality to stand out among similar products, there was naturally no need to worry about sales, so this patent fee would clearly not be a small sum.

However, it had failed before it even began. If anyone claimed there was no foul play behind this, even Pardofelis wouldn't believe it.

"I see, I understand," Ai Yue nodded, then asked, "Is there anything I need to do?"

"I'm afraid anything you do would be of little significance," Dr. Mei shook her head, and then seemed a bit surprised, "But you don't seem angry at all?"

"I'm new here and already taking people's jobs. It's a good thing I haven't been beaten up," Ai Yue shrugged. "Dr. Mei, don't think of me as someone who doesn't understand social graces. Just tell me what you need to say."

It was clear that Ai Yue had realized what Dr. Mei wanted to say.

"Then I'll be direct," Dr. Mei nodded. "Perhaps you don't fully understand what you did yesterday, but it was undoubtedly a remarkable achievement. Putting aside the Hypervariable Factor of Garuda, this formula alone can further perfect the Fused Warrior project—however, none of this can be published for now. Only a few of us can know about it."

"Understood," Ai Yue nodded. "I guess if this got out, I wouldn't be getting a promotion and a raise, right?"

"Yes, on the contrary, it would bring about a death sentence," Dr. Mei briefly explained the matter of the Opposition Faction. "Therefore, until this matter is resolved, I hope you can keep a low profile and try not to attract too much attention."

"Don't think about letting him stay out of it at a time like this, Mei," Mobius interjected from the side. "Ai Yue, why don't you join us and teach these scheming guys a lesson?"

"We don't have absolute certainty in this matter, how can we drag Mr. Ai Yue into it?" Dr. Mei shook her head and looked seriously at Ai Yue. "Mr. Ai Yue, you are very capable, probably more capable than both Mobius and I. If our plan fails, then I hope you can shoulder the responsibility of defeating the Honkai after us."

Dr. Mei's tone was firm, and at the same time, it revealed a sense of composure. It was clear that she had made up her mind and was well aware of the potential consequences of this matter.

"I think Dr. Mobius is quite right. If I do something after you fail, won't it be too late?" Ai Yue shook his head slightly. "Besides, now that things have come to this point, it's no longer possible to stay out of it. Why don't you tell me about your plan, Dr. Mei?"

Ai Yue knew very well that he had gotten into Moth to Fire through Dr. Mei's recommendation, and after joining, he had been taken care of by both Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius. In the eyes of others, he had undoubtedly been labeled as belonging to Dr. Mei's faction. If someone were to make a move against Dr. Mei, he wouldn't be able to escape.

Rather than hoping others would show mercy and let him off the hook, it was better to take control of the situation himself.

Moreover, how could Ai Yue miss such an opportunity to get closer to Dr. Mei and the others?

"Alright, if you insist," Dr. Mei sighed, not forcing him. "First, have you heard of 'Poison Pupa'?"

Ai Yue honestly shook his head—he knew, but of course, he couldn't show it at this time.

"Poison Pupa is an... assassination unit controlled by the high-ranking officials of Moth to Fire," Dr. Mei explained. "This unit is usually used by the higher-ups to deal with those... uh, dissenting opponents."

"Sakura came from Poison Pupa," Mobius explained from the side. "Mei met her because of an assassination."

"In short, if we want to solve the problem of internal friction, we must expand our voice," Dr. Mei continued. "And the best way to expand our voice is to possess sufficient military strength."

"I plan to destroy Poison Pupa and establish a new secret unit."

Chapter 24: I Miss You, Yuri

Might makes right, a principle Ai Yue also understood.

Therefore, he naturally supported Dr. Mei's plan—but he felt it wasn't enough.

"Forgive my bluntness, but simply expanding our influence might not be enough," Ai Yue said. "Using a secret unit to suppress internal conflicts within the organization is merely a temporary fix. Unless those people are willing to abandon their past grievances, your actions will only draw hatred towards yourself."

"They might not engage in open conflict, but they'll definitely find ways to annoy you at every possible moment."

Malice doesn't disappear with violence; it merely hides temporarily, only to erupt with greater force later.

"You're right, but there aren't any better options right now," Dr. Mei sighed, clearly aware of the plan's shortcomings. "If they could channel their energy and resources into more important areas, then being targeted is a small price to pay. I'm not afraid."

As she spoke, Dr. Mei flashed a smile, clearly thinking of Kevin.

"Why not just kill them all? A bunch of annoying pests," Mobius said impatiently. "Wipe out a few, and the rest will behave."

"Unless you can guarantee you can kill them all before anyone can react, it will only spark a larger civil war," Dr. Mei looked at Mobius as if to say, 'Are you really that naive?' "Most of the world's wealth and military power are currently in the hands of those people. Unless we have a meticulous plan for a decisive, decapitating strike, deterrence is our only option."

It was clear Dr. Mei had considered this option as well.

"Sigh, this won't work, that won't work, what should we do?" Mobius glanced at Ai Yue, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, that person who underwent the Fused Warrior surgery... Aponia? Isn't her ability mind control? Find an opportunity to gather all those higher-ups and have Aponia control them. Wouldn't that solve everything?"

"Aponia's 'Judgment' is quite different from true mind control, and her abilities are still in the observation and testing phase. They might not truly reach the level of mind control," Dr. Mei sighed. "Besides, do you think those higher-ups are unaware of Aponia's abilities? They might have received detailed reports even before you did."

The higher-ups of Moth to Fire were no fools who merely occupied their positions. Those who held a place among the leadership of Moth to Fire were certainly not simpletons.

Underestimating your enemy will only lead to your own ruin. Relying on your enemy's oversight to achieve your goals will never end well.

"I also don't recommend using Aponia's abilities for something like that," Ai Yue shook his head. Compared to the two scholars, his understanding of Aponia was much deeper. "The results of her actions usually diverge from her original intentions. You might simply want the higher-ups of Moth to Fire to unite against the Honkai, but if you use Aponia's abilities, you might very well create a group of warmongers obsessed with military expansion, pushing civilization towards extreme warfare."

Knowing the original plot's direction, Ai Yue was acutely aware of the consequences Aponia's abilities could bring. Some might believe her powerful abilities were a gift from the gods, but in Ai Yue's view, coupled with her compassionate nature, these abilities were precisely the manifestation of divine malice.

Judging by most of the outcomes caused by 'Judgment,' it felt less like a blessing and more like a curse.