Chapter 173

Ai Yue walked back to the ground along the corridor, but even when he returned to the Moth to Fire's branch in Atra City, it was still deserted.

Judging from the environment, this place and the Sea of Quantum Teleportation Gate Research Base were abandoned at almost the same time.

"An organism has been detected approaching,"

Just then, Prometheus Unit 1 suddenly alerted, "According to the scan results, the enemy is wearing the standard soldier armor of the Moth to Fire."

That must be one of our own... probably.

The next second, a fully armed figure appeared in front of Ai Yue. His movements and posture were quite relaxed, and he did not look like a soldier of the Moth to Fire at all.

It should be noted that the soldiers who can join the Moth to Fire nowadays are all elite warriors who have undergone rigorous selection. Even during rest and relaxation time, they can still exude a sharp and capable aura from every move they make. The person in front of you doesn't even hold a gun properly. Such a person would never be qualified to receive standard armor in the Moth to Fire.

Just as Ai Yue was still wondering if there was something wrong with the Moth to Fire, the other person immediately knelt down the moment he saw him, and then crawled towards him on all fours. "Is it, is it Doctor Ai Yue! Is it Doctor Ai Yue?!"

The other person's movements, though weak in the limbs, still trying to get closer, looked quite comical, so much so that Ai Yue was momentarily taken aback. However, the fact that the other person could recognize his armor at least meant that he should indeed be a member of the Moth to Fire.

"It's me, calm down."

Ai Yue, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and scooped the other person up from the ground. "What's wrong with you? What's going on here? And what's the date today?"

"I am Bobbit, and this is the abandoned Moth to Fire branch,"

The other person hurriedly removed their helmet, revealing an aged face, and then said indistinctly, "Doctor Ai Yue, it has been a full 72 days since you disappeared in the Sea of Quantum!"

Two and a half months? That long?

Ai Yue was still pondering why time flowed so rapidly in the Sea of Quantum and the Real Number World when he suddenly realized that something was off about the person in front of him. "Wait, you're Dr. Bobbit, right? I remember you're a scholar from the Sea of Quantum experimental base. Why are you here wearing armor?"

Ai Yue remembered him because he had seen him once when the members came to inspect the Sea of Quantum Experimental Base. The other party could be said to be the core backbone of the entire experimental base, but now he was wearing standard armor and doing patrol or guard work, which was obviously unreasonable.

Even if all projects related to the Sea of Quantum are suspended, someone of his caliber wouldn't be able to do this kind of work. Could it be that all the Fused Warrior have died?

"You actually remember my name?"

Ai Yue's words clearly made the old man in front of him smile, but then he gave a wry smile because of the other party's question, "Doctor Ai Yue, a lot has happened during the time you were missing, so even an old man like me has to do these manual labor jobs."

"That doesn't make sense. Even if all the Fused Warrior are dead, there are still drones and regular soldiers. How could it be your turn?"

Ai Yue said, somewhat puzzled, then, seeing Bobbit's expression, his face darkened, "The Fused Warrior can't all really be..."

He turned to look outside, but the Atra City outside the window was still filled with tall buildings. Although he didn't know why the advertising screens and lights had disappeared, it at least meant that the time for the extinction of human civilization had not yet come.

"Things are far stranger than you can imagine."

Bobbit sighed. "The Fused Warrior aren't all dead; in fact, you could say they're all still alive, but..."

Seeing Bobbit's embarrassed expression, Ai Yue had no choice but to close his eyes and call out Aponia's name in his heart.

As long as he is on Earth, if he calls out to Aponia, he will definitely receive a response within five seconds.

But ten seconds passed, and he still didn't hear that gentle and familiar voice.

"What exactly happened?"

Ai Yue looked at Bobbit again, his tone now cold and menacing, "What exactly happened to the Fused Warrior?"

"Well... I'm not really sure either."

Bobbit hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "By the way, Miss Eden is still in Atra City. Shall I take you there to see her?"

Seeing the other party's evasive attitude, Ai Yue did not press the matter, but simply nodded. "Lead the way."

Chapter 53 Eden, you've gotten so fat?

There must be some major problem with the Fused Warrior. This problem not only prevents them from being used as combat forces against the Honkai, but has also made them a burden on humanity, drawing criticism and attacks from many people.

Although Ai Yue doesn't usually interact with strangers, he could tell from Bobbit's reaction that the reason the other person kept stammering was because he was worried that if he spoke, he would become the target of Ai Yue's anger.

He naturally understood this common human sentiment, so there was no need to get entangled with Bobbit. Since Eden was still in Atra City, he would know everything once he saw her.

Although Aponia did not respond, according to Bobbit, at least they should not be in any danger to their lives.

Normally, he only needs to connect to the Prometheus Network to directly grasp the global situation, but now it feels like he has been transported back five hundred years to an era when long-distance communication relied on letters, so much so that Ai Yue is still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"Speaking of which, why is the internet down too?"

Thinking of this, Ai Yue spoke again, "Surely we can talk about this now?"

"Haha, you noticed too?"

Bobbit could naturally sense Ai Yue's dissatisfaction from his tone, and could only laugh awkwardly, "Regarding the network, all I know is that it was forced to shut down due to some kind of special interference. As you know, my access is not high, so I don't know anything more."

"You don't have enough privileges?"

Ai Yue couldn't help but show a surprised expression, "Aren't you Dr. Mei's direct subordinate? How could you not have high authority?"

"That's all in the past."

Bobbit glanced back at Ai Yue. "Ever since you disappeared into the Teleportation Gate, our entire project team has been stripped of our privileges and benefits. Otherwise, an old man like me wouldn't be out on patrol, would I?"

In response to Bobbit's reply, Ai Yue turned his head away somewhat awkwardly. "Sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. Although I don't know what you encountered after entering the Sea of Quantum, it must have been you who closed the Teleportation Gate that allowed us to survive."

Bobbit shook his head. "I'm saying this just to let you know that I really don't know. As for patrolling... it's actually something we do voluntarily."

He said this with a slightly smug smile, "We all firmly believe that you will definitely come back, which is why we chose to stay in Atra City as patrol guards. If you come back, we can find out immediately."

Ai Yue nodded and said nothing more.

The two walked through the quiet streets. Although the buildings were unchanged from before, it was clear that the city had lost its vitality, as if the people who lived here had disappeared, leaving only an empty shell.

Where have all the people gone?

Ai Yue couldn't help but ask, "This place doesn't look like it's been attacked, does it?"

At first, he thought that the Atra City had been attacked by Honkai Beast, which was why it had become so quiet. But judging from the current situation, the buildings here are quite intact. It seems that only the power supply has been cut off, and there are no signs of damage.

"Because the network is unavailable, everyone has been gathered together and is currently in the Fortress City."

Bobbit pointed to a shadowy spot in the distance, obscured by the buildings. "Everyone's over there."

Oh, it's a city. I thought it was a mountain.

Ai Yue looked up and, with the enhanced vision of the armor, finally saw the truth behind the shadow—it was a thick city wall, exactly as depicted in the design drawings by Vill-V.

"Although we can already see the outline, it's still quite far away. We need to..."

Bobbit was still giving his presentation when he felt Ai Yue grab the armor on the back of his neck. "Doctor Ai Yue, what's going on?"

Fast forward a bit.

Ai Yue smiled. "Bobbit, put on your helmet."

After Bobbit hurriedly put on his helmet, Ai Yue leaped up and raced toward the city wall.

The originally distant distance was reduced to less than five seconds in an instant, but the side effect was that Bobbit, the little old man, felt a bit nauseous.

Are you alright?

Ai Yue patted the other person's back apologetically, "Sorry, I forgot your physical fitness hasn't been enhanced."

"Fortunately, at least for this period of time, ugh... the patrol life... ugh... has been helpful to me, ugh..."

After a short while, Bobbit finally composed himself and led Ai Yue toward the city gate.

Upon arriving here, Ai Yue finally saw the electronic equipment. Besides the soldiers guarding the city gates, there was also a smart surveillance system to record the identity of everyone entering and leaving the city. Bobbit took out his ID card and swiped it, then suddenly remembered something. "Doctor Ai Yue, haven't you...?"

The city's intelligent surveillance system is not connected to the network and can only operate locally, so it may not have recorded Ai Yue's identity.

Ai Yue then pressed a button on the recognition device, and the red light prohibiting passage immediately turned into a green light.

What a joke! With Prometheus around, would he be afraid of being stopped by a mere gate?

Bobbit watched this scene and suddenly smiled with relief, "That's true."

How could a city built by the Moth to Fire not have Doctor Ai Yue's identity record?

After crossing the city wall and then the military blockade zone, the two finally arrived at the area where ordinary people lived and lived. Looking at the lively scene in front of him, Ai Yue finally had a sense of "returning to the human world".

The experience of walking through a dead-end city is just too depressing.

"Just follow this road straight and you'll enter the core area. From there, I doubt anyone will be able to stop you."

Bobbit glanced at the armor on Ai Yue's body, then said, "I still need to report my work to my superiors. Doctor Ai Yue, let's part ways here."

"Good."

Ai Yue nodded, then suddenly said, "These days will soon be over, Dr. Bobbit."

Bobbit glanced at Ai Yue with some surprise, then smiled and said, "I... no, we all firmly believe it."

After parting ways with Bobbit, Ai Yue headed straight for the city center. He did not conceal his identity. Although this special armor had not been seen often, since Bobbit recognized it, there must be others within the Moth to Fire who recognized it as well.

In this way, when you arrive at the core area, someone knowledgeable will naturally come out to greet you.

And that was indeed the case, except that Ai Yue did not expect that the person who came out to greet him would be Sōgen.

"It's so good to see you back safe and sound, Doctor Ai Yue."

Facing Ai Yue who appeared before her, Sōgen did not show much emotion. Judging from her heavy dark circles and undisguised fatigue, she probably didn't have the energy to be excited anymore. "What do you need now?"

"I've heard that Eden is here,"

Ai Yue didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, "What's her situation now?"

"Miss Eden is... doing alright now?"

Sōgen said with a somewhat subtle expression, "In short, please come with me, and you'll understand once you see it."

A moment later, Ai Yue saw what is now Eden.

He looked at the enormous whale in front of him, which was at least three stories high and fifty meters long, and turned to Sōgen beside him. "You call this 'not bad'?"

Chapter 54 The Earth will stop spinning without you? That's true.

Although Ai Yue had never seen Eden in this form before, if Sōgen had not misunderstood the target, then this was clearly the form Eden took after triggering the "Artificial Honkai Collapse".

It must be said that even as a whale, Eden is still a very elegant whale. However, at this moment, she is quietly floating in the giant tank specially prepared for her, without any reaction to the outside world, which makes Ai Yue wonder again.

"If vital signs are normal, isn't that good enough?"

Sōgen asked a question in return, then pressed the switch to block the water tank in front of him. "Let's find somewhere else to talk. Miss Eden doesn't like being stared at like this."

"So, what's going on?"

Ai Yue followed Sōgen up the stairs, then couldn't help but look back at the whale that was gradually being obscured. "How are the others? Are all the Fused Warrior having this problem? What about Mobius and Elysia?"

"Dr. Mei has tentatively concluded that this phenomenon is the work of a new Herrscher, but we do not yet know what this Herrscher's powers are or where they are currently hiding."

Sōgen's tone was very calm, as if long-term overwork had robbed her of the ability to express emotions. "As for the situation of the Fused Warrior... just as you thought, they have indeed all undergone mutations."

At this point, she couldn't help but turn and glance at Ai Yue: "But how did you know that Dr. Mobius and Miss Elysia were the only two Fused Warriors who were unaffected?"

Ai Yue was well aware of this, because Mobius had now transcended the original category of Fused Warrior and embarked on an unknown path of evolution. If this mutation was based on the Honkai Beast genes within the Fused Warrior, then Mobius, who had now perfectly combined spirit and flesh, was naturally capable of resisting it.

As for Elysia... to be honest, Ai Yue doesn't think this mutation will really have any impact on her.

However, according to Sōgen...

"You'll find out about these things later."

Ai Yue casually brushed aside the topic, then moved on to the key point he had been paying attention to, "You mean everyone except them has undergone mutation? So did this mutation affect all the Fused Warrior overnight, or was there a contagious process?"

"I don't know the specifics either, after all, I'm just temporarily in charge of managing this Fortress City."

Sōgen shrugged. "If you want to know more details, you'll have to go to Dr. Mobius or Dr. Mei."

Ai Yue then remembered that the girl in front of him was originally just a lazy dog who liked to slack off.

So he sighed and said, "Then tell me everything you know—start with Kevin and the others."

"The relevant documents have been prepared."

The two had just returned to Sōgen's office. Cang Xuan placed a document in front of Ai Yue and then returned to his desk. "I still have many things to deal with. I can only Doctor Ai Yue to read it by himself."

Ai Yue naturally did not refuse the suggestion, after all, reading documents is faster than listening to someone else's narration.

As he gradually browsed through the document, Ai Yue's brows furrowed tightly.

Things seemed to be more serious than he had imagined. Only now did he understand why Sōgen had said that Eden's situation was not bad—because the other Fused Warrior had not simply experienced Artificial Honkai Collapse.

Unlike Eden, who remained quietly in the water tank, most of the Fused Warrior were not so quiet. The mutations that occurred to them not only transformed them from humanoids to beast-like forms, but also stripped them of their sanity.