Chapter 147

At that time, Mobius claimed that he killed Sesha, but later, after Shesa became Fused Warrior, he showed many characteristics similar to Sesha, which led to rumors circulating within the Moth to Fire that "Mobius used Sesha's genes".

As a witness to the Canghai City incident, Hua had seen the giant serpentine Honkai Beast from afar once. She felt a little grateful to Mobius for killing it and using it as a synthetic gene for the Fused Warrior.

After all, without Mobius, the most Hua and the others could do was to kill Sesha completely. But to turn Sesha's power into their own and use it to serve humanity, as they have done now, is something only Dr. Mobius could do.

Oh, Doctor Ai Yue should be able to as well, but he wasn't part of the Moth to Fire back then.

So, where exactly is Doctor Ai Yue from?

Hua's thoughts began to wander involuntarily, and she turned slightly to look at Ai Yue.

But then he discovered that the other person was also looking at him.

Hua didn't pay attention at first, but she soon realized that Ai Yue wasn't just glancing at her, but staring at her intently. This made her feel a little flustered, and she wondered if something was wrong with her.

"Doctor Ai Yue, what's wrong with me?"

After examining herself for a while without finding anything wrong, Hua hesitated for a moment before finally taking the initiative to ask, "You seem to have been looking at me the whole time?"

"Are you really okay? I remember you have a deep connection with Canghai City,"

Ai Yue then said in a low voice, "You don't need to force yourself."

"It's alright, Doctor Ai Yue."

Hua then realized that the other party had been worried about him all along, and couldn't help but smile. "On the contrary, seeing the city I used to know begin to recover is actually a good thing for me."

As she spoke, she looked out the window again.

Canghai City was not her hometown, but it was where she studied. There, she met her best friend, encountered the disaster that would change her life, and the person who saved her life.

Now, the opportunity to see this city regain its former glory—even if it may not be able to fully restore its former prosperity—is a comfort to the Chinese.

Everything will be alright. The collapsed city will be rebuilt, the fallen heroes will be honored, and I will surely fulfill my own mission.

As Hua thought this, he strained to look into the distance, and finally saw something blurry at the edge of his vision.

"That's Canghai City!"

After trying to decipher it for a long time, Hua finally found a sense of familiarity in the scene before him, and his tone became slightly more excited, "We're almost there!"

Since Canghai City was far from being completed, there were no fixed transportation routes between it and other cities, let alone any tourist routes. Therefore, Ai Yue and the others eventually took a plane from the headquarters of the Moth to Fire to the largest branch in Shenzhou, and then transferred to a cargo plane from the branch to reach Canghai City.

What appeared before them was a city in its early stages, with tall and thick walls and countless workers and construction machinery at work.

The plane quickly landed outside the Fortress City, and Ai Yue and the others emerged from it, experiencing firsthand the awe-inspiring atmosphere of the city.

"This is the brand new... Fortress City?"

Standing at the foot of the city wall, Pardofelis couldn't help but look up, but even with all her might, she still couldn't see the end of the wall. "Such a high wall, it's probably hard to climb over."

Although Pardofelis no longer works as a "righteous thief," she still enjoys observing the world from the perspective of petty theft out of habit.

"It looks magnificent from a distance, but standing up close, it's breathtaking."

"The Fortress City is truly a behemoth," Aponia said.

"After all, it is a defensive line against the attack of Honkai Beast, so of course we must do our best."

Ai Yue chimed in, "Moreover, the current size of Canghai City only looks exaggerated. In terms of actual size, it is far smaller than the Canghai City of the past."

Pardofelis and Aponia couldn't help but look at each other with curiosity, as if they were asking if the statement was true.

After all, the two of them had grown up in places like Twilight Street and had never had the chance to experience a real big city.

"Yes, the original Canghai City was probably about four times larger than it is now."

Hua chimed in, "However, it's unrealistic to expect to restore the city to its original state all at once. Besides, it seems that Canghai City's current status is different from what it used to be?"

Canghai City was once the economic center of Shenzhou, and its development can be said to have been supported by the entire country. However, Shenzhou has now shifted its economic center to other places, so there is naturally no need to build a second city with the same status.

"In terms of scale, this place is actually not comparable to other Fortress City."

Mobius chimed in, "I remember that New Canghai City was primarily built as a 'military stronghold,' wasn't it?"

"Yes, after all, this place was once the landing site of the Honkai Beast, so it naturally has strategic value."

Ai Yue nodded. "Building a fortress here can greatly reduce the damage that Honkai Beast attacking from the sea can cause to other cities."

Canghai City already possesses exceptionally favorable geographical resources. Most importantly, it is situated on a plain, serving as a hub connecting the ocean and the inland.

Although Canghai City was destroyed by the Honkai Beast, it was precisely because of this that the Honkai Beast did not invade the inland areas and cause even greater disasters. Although no disasters of the same scale have occurred along the coast of Shenzhou since then, it is obviously necessary to build a fortified city in this place in order to prevent future disasters.

"After all this talk, how are we supposed to get in?"

Pardofelis was clearly not interested in these technical things; she just wanted to go inside and take a look. "How about I take you inside?"

There was an entrance not far from them, but it didn't seem to be opening at all.

"Of course, you need to go through the proper procedures to get into a place like this,"

Ai Yue reassured Pardofelis, "I gave them advance notice, so someone should be coming to pick us up soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door next to him slowly opened, and a figure that everyone was familiar with walked out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone."

Vill-V smiled and bowed, "Welcome to my latest masterpiece— New Canghai City!"

7

Chapter Seven: No matter who you are, come and beat me to a pulp.

When they saw Vill-V's somewhat flamboyant entrance, everyone was stunned for a moment, but then they accepted it.

"Is this also under your responsibility?"

Mobius was the first to react, looking at her suspiciously. "I remember that the construction of all the new Fortress City in Shenzhou was entirely their own responsibility. Why would they look for you?"

"That is incorrect, Mobius,"

Vill-V raised her chin smugly. "Standing in front of you is the chief engineer of the United Earth Government's 'Global Fortress City Project.' What's so strange about him being here? New Canghai City is a specialized Fortress City. You don't think you can just use the blueprints by scaling them up proportionally, do you?"

"I see. So this is a project you personally oversaw, right?"

Mobius nodded, then looked at Ai Yue beside him, "Ai Yue, quickly investigate this girl, I know without even thinking that she definitely added her own agenda!"

"What are you saying? What are you saying?!"

Vill-V immediately protested, "I've devoted myself to this project, and you dare to doubt me like this! Ai Yue, you have to stand up for me!"

"Alright, alright, let's talk about it inside."

Ai Yue quickly pulled the two apart, "Vill-V, lead the way."

"Okay!"

Vill-V readily agreed, glanced at Mobius again, and then turned and walked into the fortress with her head held high.

As the two most notorious money pits in the Moth to Fire, Vill-V and Mobius have always been at odds. They may be able to get along peacefully when there is trouble, but once the crisis is over, the two of them are likely to turn against each other.

However, judging from the current situation, it has eased up a lot and is basically maintained at the level of friends teasing each other.

After entering the gate, Vill-V invited everyone to ride in her vehicle – after all, although New Canghai City is indeed relatively small among Fortress City, it is definitely not an easy task to measure it on foot.

Passing through the thick city walls, the group finally saw the true face of the fortress—within the thick protective walls, a bustling scene unfolded. Workers wearing protective gear were working hard, giant construction machinery was running non-stop, and countless vehicles loaded with various construction tools shuttled back and forth between the construction sites. In the distance, a huge figure could be seen waving its countless mechanical arms...

"Wait, what's that thing?"

Looking at the enormous figure that was faintly visible amidst the swirling smoke and dust in the distance, even Ai Yue couldn't help but show a shocked expression. "You created the Mechanical Evil God?"

To be honest, seeing a huge, mysterious figure with countless tentacles extending from its body amidst the swirling mist and clouds is indeed a somewhat eerie experience.

Fortunately, Ai Yue could still tell that the thing was made of steel, which lessened the eerie feeling somewhat.

"What mechanical evil god? That's my Super Engineering God of War 2.0!"

Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, Vill-V exclaimed, "That's an engineering marvel! A super engineering machine that can single-handedly complete the work of twenty construction teams in a month!"

After listening to this, Mobius turned to Ai Yue and said, "I knew she must have mixed in her own interests, right?"

Clearly, she was quite familiar with Vill-V's character.

"How can this be called 'adulterating personal interests'!"

Vill-V continued to argue, "In engineering matters, efficiency is paramount. My super engineering god is so efficient, how can that be considered personal favoritism!"

Ai Yue simply stared at her silently. "Tell me honestly, how much did this thing cost?"

Based on Ai Yue's understanding of Vill-V, a large portion of the funds they control are definitely invested in this kind of thing.

Vill-V opened her mouth, then silently turned her head away and said, "Anyway, it's very cost-effective."

"Nobody would believe you,"

As the crowd drew closer, Ai Yue gradually saw some details of the so-called Super Engineering War God. "It's obviously made up of several engineering machines. Just the transformation and combination function alone must have cost a fortune. I could hire a construction team for the same amount of money, and two hundred of them would be enough, right?"

"That's not how it works,"

Vill-V was still trying to resist, "This is so cool, I think it's great, isn't it?"

Ai Yue wanted to say something more, but suddenly touched his chin and said, "That's true."

Mobius, standing to the side, immediately gave him a subtle look. "Your betrayal came a little too quickly, didn't it?"

"Well, in short, the funds weren't given to you to use like this!"

Ai Yue cleared his throat. "The blueprints are confiscated. We'll talk about the rest after your project is finished."

Vill-V was overjoyed. She knew Ai Yue's temperament well and knew that since he had said such a thing, the matter was basically over.

It was definitely the right decision to expose this while the other party was on vacation. It's said that Shenzhou people become particularly tolerant when they travel, and that's certainly true.

Thank you, Sue!

"Wait, what's that over there?"

Just after this matter came to an end, Pardofelis suddenly pointed to a figure not far away and said, "I think I just saw Honkai Beast?"

Everyone turned their attention to this place—seeing Honkai Beast here was not a good thing.

"Oh, it should be virtual Honkai Beast, it's fine."

Only Vill-V waved her hand, looking unconcerned, "Those are used to assist in the construction; it's a kind of application of Virtual Honkai Beast Technology."

Ai Yue stared at the direction Pardofelis pointed for a while, and sure enough, he saw a military green-haired Parvati carrying a bunch of construction equipment as he walked out step by step.

Well, how should I put it?

Mobius, standing nearby, commented, "It looks like the efficiency is quite low."

"After all, it wasn't just about assisting with construction in the first place,"

"It 'Vill-V said that after the military implemented the Virtual Honkai Beast Technology, there weren't many opportunities for actual combat, so they were just doing internal training all day. Then they figured that training was just as good as training, so they sent these people over here to be beaten to a pulp," Wilvi explained.

"Is this even possible?"

Hearing this, Hua couldn't hold back anymore. "But... well, how should I put it, it does seem to have a military style."

"There's nothing wrong with being pragmatic, and according to data, this method does indeed enhance the pilot's control over the virtual Honkai Beast,"

Vill-V nodded approvingly, "I heard that it has already started to be promoted in other countries. It just so happens that some classified projects are indeed not suitable for using ordinary engineering teams."

Mobius, standing nearby, quietly nudged Ai Yue's arm, a teasing expression on his face. "How does it feel to see your hard work being used in this kind of place?"

"Ah?"

Ai Yue was taken aback for a moment, then smiled faintly, "Isn't this good?"

Technology is meant to serve humanity. If virtual Honkai Beast can find new uses outside of combat, they will likely not be viewed merely as weapons of war.

Thinking of this, Ai Yue couldn't help but stroke his chin.

Perhaps he can bring different possibilities to the virtual Honkai Beast?

8

Chapter Eight: This is my talent!

Ai Yue's initial concept for the virtual Honkai Beast was simply a low-cost weapon of war. As long as a few key issues could be resolved, it would even be possible to eliminate the need for humans on the battlefield.

But what he saw before him told him that the virtual Honkai Beast could have even more possibilities.

So much so that he began to wonder if it was possible to apply virtual Honkai Beast to more places?