Chapter 128

However, he himself was not sure how much time he could buy. After all, there was no shortage of clever people in the Moth to Fire, and his bluff might be seen through by others, or even have the opposite effect.

Of course, I'm not without countermeasures, but...

Forget it, now is not the time to think about these things. Instead of engaging in meaningless internal conflict, it's better to quickly adjust our mindset and try again next time.

Herrscher Ai Yue shook his head, adjusted his state, and then closed his eyes again.

He had just vaguely sensed that there was some kind of tangible constraint hidden deep within his consciousness—if he could break that constraint, he should be able to obtain Ai Yue's complete talents.

When that time comes, I can simply abandon Australia and hide somewhere. With Ai Yue's talent, I will be able to completely destroy all of human civilization in less than six months.

Perhaps because he was too focused, the Herrscher Ai Yue did not notice that the Prometheus extension in the corner seemed to shake almost imperceptibly.

While the Herrscher Ai Yue was focused on breaking through the shackles of consciousness, experiments were also being carried out in full swing at the Star of Light experimental base.

As it turned out, Vill-V's concerns were correct. The special field generator she created couldn't even withstand the extreme cold created by Kevin, and it was frozen to the point of being unusable.

"Sorry, did I use too much force?"

Seeing the metal box shattered into pieces on the ground, Kevin quickly stopped releasing the chilling energy. "But this level isn't actually my limit..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already quite clear—if even this level of influence couldn't be isolated, then this thing would only suffer an even more gruesome death when facing the domain of the Herrscher Ai Yue.

"It seems the power is still too low, but if it's too high, the fuselage could easily explode..."

Vill-V squatted in front of the wreckage of the metal box, reading the remaining data inside. "Or is it that I've overlooked something?"

"It's not a big problem if the fuselage can't withstand the pressure, right?"

Eden, standing nearby, raised his own question, "After all, within the Herrscher's domain, if the effects of the domain cannot be completely blocked, then the power of the field generator will definitely be affected."

"I understand the logic, but right now there's no environment that can affect the aircraft's power. If I increase the power, I won't even be able to do the experiment."

Vill-V scratched her head anxiously, "We can't just use Herrscher for experiments, can we?"

At this point, she seemed to realize something, and her whole body seemed to freeze on the ground.

"Vill-V? Are you alright?"

Elysia noticed her unusual behavior and leaned closer. "It's okay if you fail, we still have time..."

At that moment, Vill-V suddenly jumped up and found the design drawings to examine them repeatedly. "So that's how it is. I was wrong. This thing is not for protecting you. It's for restricting the Herrscher!"

As if enlightened, the light in Vill-V's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "There's no need to consider any endurance. Just make them consumables and fire them at the Herrscher. I see, I see!"

With that, she ignored everyone else present and began to control her mechanical spider legs as they worked on the experimental table.

"Uh, it seems like we're no longer needed?"

Elysia couldn't help but smile subtly. "Perhaps we shouldn't disturb her for now?"

The others nodded silently and then left the laboratory.

Just then, Kevin received a message from Dr. Mei: "Kevin, Su has arrived on the Star of Light. You guys come to the lobby too, there's new information."

Kevin's eyes widened immediately, and then he led Elysia and the others toward the hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw his long-lost best friend standing in Teleportation Gate, carrying a box in his hand. When Kevin strode into the hall, he smiled and greeted him, "Long time no see, Kevin."

Kevin didn't say anything, but simply returned a warm hug to express his excitement.

"I won't bother with pleasantries. This is the third-generation Soul Steel brought from the lunar laboratory."

Su placed the box on the table. "By fusing the special metals obtained from excavating lunar ruins, the improved Soulium possesses entirely new properties, and its resistance to Honkai Energy has also been further enhanced. This may be helpful in the upcoming battles."

"You're a doctor, why are you researching metals?"

Kevin said with some surprise, "I thought you were researching vaccines on the moon."

"Vaccines are also being researched. The special environment of the moon does indeed help to catalyze the development of vaccines. The Soulium project is actually mainly being managed by Prometheus."

Sue smiled. "What should we do with these metals? Let's hand them over to Vill-V later. May, what's the new information?"

"Pardofelis sent a message,"

Dr. Mei stated succinctly, "She said she has found Ai Yue's location."

99

Chapter 99: Herrscher will die if killed.

"Found it?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing Dr. Mei's words.

How can such high efficiency be achieved in such a short time?

"Pardofelis didn't go into the details, but she received a signal from a Prometheus extension that was operating independently."

Dr. Mei continued, "And according to Prometheus, when Ai Yue finally left the Star of Light experimental base, he did take away a branch unit that was not connected to the network."

"Does the Herrscher still have that extension phone?"

Kevin couldn't help but show a surprised expression. "Something sounds weird. Prometheus's sub-unit shouldn't be capable of betraying us, right?"

"Please do not question my bottom line. Protecting humanity is one of the core instructions Doctor Ai Yue gave me, and even the extension will strictly abide by this instruction."

Prometheus protested, "Moreover, according to Doctor Ai Yue's own request, after he became Herrscher, he lost all command authority over Artificial Intelligence, so there is no need to worry about my clone aiding and abetting evil."

"If that's the case, what does he want to do with this extension phone?"

Elysia asked doubtfully, "Shouldn't a machine that I can't control and that might even reveal my location be destroyed or kept away from directly? Could this be a trap?"

"Perhaps he believes he will eventually break through the restrictions set by Ai Yue and gain access to the Prometheus extension, or perhaps it is indeed a trap, but no one can be sure until they see it with their own eyes."

Dr. Mei said, "Whether or not you go and find out is the choice you make."

"Of course I'll go."

Kevin agreed without hesitation, "Since the signal did indeed come from Prometheus's sub-unit, even if it's a trap, it must contain valuable bait."

"Of course, we can't just rush straight in like that, right?"

Elysia added, "Why don't we wait and see what new things Vill-V makes?"

"I just told her about the third-generation Soul Steel,"

Sue said from the side, "She should be here soon."

No sooner had Su finished speaking than a figure rushed over swiftly.

"Soulium! Where can I find Soulium!?"

Like a hungry beast, Vill-V rushed into the hall and looked around. She soon spotted the box that Su had placed on the table. "Hehehe, found you!"

Then, to everyone's astonishment, she lunged forward viciously and carried away the box along with it.

Seeing Vill-V's desperate attempt to use all four limbs, Kevin looked puzzled. "Is Vill-V... usually this crazy?"

"Maybe he was too excited."

Elysia's expression was also somewhat subtle, but she still tried her best not to laugh out loud. "After all, scientists are all a little strange, it's normal."

"Who said that? Mei just..."

Kevin instinctively wanted to refute, but then suddenly remembered something and shut his mouth. "Okay, that's true."

"Kevin, I'm listening."

Dr. Mei's meaningful voice came from the side, "After things are over in Australia, I want you to explain to me in person how it 'is indeed like that'."

Kevin's expression immediately became subtle, and Elysia finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Alright, let's get down to business,"

After skipping over this little incident, Dr. Mei's tone became serious, "The following deductions may be helpful in your battle."

Kevin also showed a serious expression, and at the same time, Su summoned the others through the mental link.

"First, let's talk about the first inference, which is that attacks with physical form may have a surprising effect on Herrscher."

As Dr. Mei spoke, she had Prometheus add illustrations beside her, "Based on the analysis of previous battles, the more complex the physical structure of an attack, the more energy it takes for Herrscherization it."

Prometheus simultaneously displayed the different reactions of the Herrscher to flames, icebergs, and crystal arrows. It was clear that the Herrscher was becoming increasingly serious when facing these three types of attacks.

He didn't make a single move when facing the fire wave at first, but he needed to concentrate when facing the ice mountain. The appearance of the crystal arrow made him prepare in advance, which is enough to illustrate the problem.

"In that case, wouldn't it be better to just use stones or something similar?"

Elysia said, "Icebergs and crystal arrows are essentially made of Honkai Energy, so they can be countered by the Herrscher's power. But if it's pure matter like stone, he should have a hard time dealing with it, right?"

"If he can manipulate vectors, then there will be no difference in essence. The only difference is that the Herrscher cannot directly disintegrate the stone."

Dr. Mei said, "The most crucial point is that most Herrscher are very confident in their powers, and this time is no exception."

"The Herrscher could have dodged these attacks beforehand, but he chose not to, instead choosing to confront them head-on. This shows that the Herrscher's innate arrogance doesn't allow him to evade his area of expertise,"

Dr. Mei continued her analysis, "However, I cannot be certain of this either, after all, human nature is the most difficult thing to predict, we can only wait and see."

"At least we understand that attacks based on pure energy are ineffective against him,"

Kevin nodded. "In that case, you might need to be the main force in the upcoming battles, Elysia."

"Then leave it to me."

Elysia agreed without hesitation, "I'll try my best to give that guy a surprise."

"I think this matter still needs to be discussed, because it relates to the second inference,"

Dr. Mei said, "I might know why the Herrscher attacked Sakura first."

"Why?"

Even Sakura herself couldn't help but express her doubts.

"Because he was wary of Sakura."

Dr. Mei said in a subtle tone, "Perhaps in the eyes of the Herrscher, the most likely threatening person among the Fused Warrior is her."

"I don't think I have anything to offer..."

Sakura said subconsciously, then realized, "No, if there's anything I'm most confident in, it's speed."

"That's right. If we were to extract the most important theory from our past battles with the Herrscher, it would be that the Herrscher themselves are often their weaknesses."

Dr. Mei nodded. "So far, we have almost never directly defeated the power of the Herrscher, but those who wield this power are, in the end, nothing more than flesh and blood."

"Therefore, I speculate that the Eleventh Herrscher believed she could not cope with Sakura's speed, so she severely injured her in advance."

100

Chapter 100: Underneath the trump card lies another trump card.

The weakness of Herrscher is the Herrscher himself.

This statement may seem like a truism, but it highlights the fundamental reason why humanity has been able to defeat the Herrscher all along.

As Dr. Mei said, since the Herrscher is born from humanity, no matter how powerful his authority is, it is still in the hands of a flesh and blood body.

This is precisely why the upper limit of Herrscher authority depends on the user themselves.

Humanity's combat strategy has always been quite simple—they may not be able to solve the problem, but they can solve the people who create the problem.

This line of thinking still applies to this operation—although Ai Yue had already become Fused Warrior before, his own strength was limited, and even with the blessing of power, he could not hide his own "vulnerability."

"That makes sense."

Having figured this out, Kevin nodded. "Even I can't handle Sakura's ultimate strike. Starting from this point might indeed be a viable approach."

"Then, please let me participate in the next battle."

Sakura said seriously, "As long as I can find an opening, I might be able to dismantle the Herrscher's combat power without endangering Ai Yue's life."

"Don't fight with that kind of thinking, Sakura."

Elysia shook her head. "Casualties are unavoidable. If you hesitate or become lax in battle, you may not achieve the result you want."

Those who aim high will achieve something in the middle. If you start with the idea of "sparing the enemy's life," you might reveal a weakness that the enemy can exploit.

Sakura's ears twitched slightly, then she lowered her head. "I understand."

Sakura also realized that her idea was not advisable, but she had received too much kindness from Ai Yue, and it would be too harsh for her to kill her benefactor with her own hands.

"In that case, the three of us will temporarily carry out the operation plan."