Chapter 185

This unusual change did not last long. Soon, the black ice crystals that occupied half of the room contracted again, and their transparency gradually returned to its initial state, revealing Kevin inside.

This time, Kevin, who appeared before them, had finally returned to his human form.

It means... she wasn't wearing any clothes.

Chapter 65 Dude, did you wander onto the wrong set?

When Kevin regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Dr. Mei looking at him with concern.

"You really did it, Kevin."

Seeing her lover open her eyes, Dr. Mei's eyes also reddened a little. "How are you feeling?"

Although Kevin was the one suffering from the aberration, Dr. Mei hadn't had an easy time either—because the fact that this had lasted for nearly three months was ultimately due to her tacit approval.

In other words, she herself chose to leave Kevin in such a hellish place.

This sense of guilt even surpasses the one I felt when I personally sent Kevin to the operating table for the Fusion Warrior Project.

Every time Dr. Mei came to observe Kevin's changes, she would repeatedly ask herself: Is this really what Kevin wants? What if he was begging for help back then? What if he is actually on the verge of his limit and about to give up? Then, should she stop all of this?

Even if this is something Kevin himself wanted to accomplish, they now have a more stable and secure solution, so there's no need to take such a risky attempt, right?

If it fails, if...

Every time she saw Kevin encased in ice crystals, these emotional voices would echo in her mind, but in the end, they would be overwhelmed by reason.

Because Kevin hasn't given up yet.

The gradually shrinking body size, the gradually corrected facial deformities, and the gradually accelerating frequency of changes all indicate that Kevin is still constantly fighting against the forces of distortion. Since Kevin has not given up, how can she give up for him?

Even so, the inner struggle and wavering could not be stopped.

Only at this moment, when Kevin had finally fully recovered, did everything finally settle down.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Mei."

Kevin forced a smile. "I'm fine now, so everything's alright."

After saying this, the two looked at each other, as if everything was understood without words.

Only Ai Yue, standing to the side, felt a little awkward and wanted to leave—after all, in the current atmosphere, it would be a bit too cold to start talking about work right away, wouldn't it?

No, in the end, I should have left as soon as I confirmed that Kevin was alright, but I missed the right opportunity, and it seems a bit impolite to run now.

Fortunately, Dr. Mei did not intend to put on a sweet love story in front of Ai Yue. After confirming that Kevin had indeed gotten rid of the effects of the mutation, rationality regained its advantage and suppressed the emotions back into the girl's heart.

After returning to her usual routine, Dr. Mei turned to Ai Yue decisively and said, "Doctor Ai Yue, I'd like to trouble you to take a look at Kevin's test results."

Although she has reached a conclusion, Ai Yue is definitely more professional in comparison.

At this moment, Kevin finally noticed that there was another person in the room, and he felt a little embarrassed. However, after realizing who the other person was, he struggled to stand up. "Ai Yue? You came back from the Sea of Quantum? When did that happen?"

"More than a month ago,"

Ai Yue walked over with a smile, and gestured for him not to move, "You'd better behave, or your clothes will fall down."

Kevin felt a little embarrassed and pressed down on the white coat covering him, returning to his half-lying position on the ground.

"It's hard to see the problem from the data, after all, Kevin has now even surpassed the category of Fused Warrior,"

Ai Yue glanced at the information on the testing equipment and shook his head. "But at least I didn't sense any residual distorted energy from him. If we really want a result, we'll have to do a detailed examination."

Due to the unique nature of Kevin's condition, conventional testing methods are essentially meaningless for him. Ai Yue can only rely on the power of restraint to make judgments at present, and more accurate results still need to be analyzed using laboratory equipment.

However, judging from Kevin's current performance, he should not be affected by the distortion. After all, Ai Yue has seen many distorted Fused Warrior during this period, and none of them can maintain clear rationality under the influence of distortion. Even with just a little bit of distortion energy, the first thing to be affected is the mind rather than the external environment.

It was precisely because of this that Ai Yue realized just how important the mental defense network established by Aponia was. Without this defense, out of the entire 100,000 Fused Warrior, no more than a few hundred would survive. If this were to happen, the consequences would be unimaginably tragic.

After all, this is fundamentally different from the methods of the Herrscher of Binding. The Herrscher of Binding simply kills the Fused Warrior, while the Herrscher of Aberration can turn the Fused Warrior into berserk monsters. These monsters can also cause secondary damage to humans, and the degree of threat to humans is naturally incomparable.

Ai Yue was still lost in his own thoughts, while Dr. Mei on the other side had already begun to interrogate Kevin: "Kevin, were you conscious during the process of resisting the mutation? What did the whole process feel like? Could you feel the changes in your body?"

Kevin looked at Dr. Mei with some helplessness. "How about we talk somewhere else?"

He looked down at himself and then at the two people standing in front of him, feeling as strange as a third party caught in the act of adultery.

"Perfect timing, I also need to go back to the lab to prepare."

Ai Yue finally found a reason to leave, turned around and walked towards the door, saying, "Come find me at the First Research Institute in a while."

As it turns out, Dr. Mei is a completely rational devil once she gets into work mode. Ai Yue had just returned to the First Research Institute when the two of them arrived. Judging by their speed, Kevin only had to go back and change his clothes. They didn't waste any time on personal feelings at all.

While Ai Yue was conducting analysis by extracting Kevin's gene sample according to the normal procedure, Kevin began to organize his thoughts and recount his struggle against the mutation.

"The whole process was actually quite strange, and I don't know if I can explain it clearly in words,"

"First of all, it can be confirmed that there was a gap between when the aberration occurred, when I used my last strength to freeze myself, and when I regained consciousness," Kevin said while lying on the operating table.

"I can prove that."

Dr. Mei showed the photos taken earlier, saying, "In the first twenty days or so, your body did not undergo any subtle changes, which is enough to show that you did not have the ability to resist the distortion at the beginning."

"Does this mean that you gained the ability to combat the aberrations because of some specific event?"

Ai Yue also turned his gaze to the photo, "So what could it be because of?"

The image of Elysia flashed through his mind—could it be because of the departure of the Herrscher of Aberration?

When the Herrscher of Aberration first parasitized Elysia, it was undoubtedly the moment when she most deeply infected the Fused Warrior of the Moth to Fire. However, Kevin was not an ordinary Fused Warrior. The powerful and complex genes that the "Brahma Project" endowed him with were enough to allow him to withstand the power of Aberration without directly falling into madness.

Ai Yue once used the data left by Kevin to build a virtual model and conducted a simulation experiment. The results of the simulation experiment proved that, in order to trigger the distortion, the Herrscher of Aberration would have to expend more than ten times the power of infecting an ordinary Fused Warrior to cause Kevin's distortion.

But this is only the beginning, because the effects of the "Brahma Project" are far from simple. This experiment not only made the genes in Kevin's body complex and powerful, but also made them exhibit extremely absurd adaptability and inclusiveness. This characteristic allows the complex genes in Kevin's body to "coexist harmoniously" with each other, even the aberrant energy from outsiders.

In other words, if the Herrscher of Aberration cannot gradually increase the release of this power, then as long as Kevin is not completely crushed, he will eventually be able to adapt to this distortion.

Once the Herrscher of Aberration enters the network and is trapped by the two super Artificial Intelligence, it will naturally lose the opportunity to continue suppressing Kevin, and the timing will be about right.

However, Ai Yue hasn't told anyone that Elysia is the host of the Herrscher of Aberration, so Kevin and Dr. Mei shouldn't suspect her yet.

While Ai Yue was Ai Yue, Kevin also gave his answer.

"It could be because of Aponia."

Kevin pondered for a moment and said, "When I regained consciousness, I heard her voice. Perhaps she awakened me with her mental power."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out; Aponia is indeed protecting the consciousness of the Fused Warrior,"

Dr. Mei nodded, then looked somewhat puzzled. "But why wait more than twenty days to wake Kevin? Could it be that she hadn't successfully established a mental defense network by then?"

"It's also possible that it took so long to finally awaken Kevin? After all, the power of the aberration isn't so easy to fight against."

Realizing that Dr. Mei was likely to discover the problem, Ai Yue quickly changed the subject, "However, it is more likely that Kevin's body only adapted to the mutated power more than twenty days later."

"It's not impossible, after all, without a physical foundation, it's difficult for consciousness to return to normal."

Dr. Mei nodded, then turned her gaze back to Ai Yue's face. "After that, how did you manage to control your body and recover?"

"This process is rather... well, it's hard to describe,"

Kevin looked troubled. "How should I put it? After I regained consciousness, I could feel tearing and twisting pain in every corner of my body, as well as a very strange energy. The recovery process was the process of controlling my power to assimilate this energy. Only after I absorbed this strange energy did I completely regain control of my body."

"Assimilation?"

Dr. Mei noticed the key point. "So, you've also absorbed this power that can cause distortion? Are you able to exert its effects now?"

"Uh, it should be okay?"

Kevin glanced at Dr. Mei with some hesitation. "But you should be prepared. May might be a bit scary."

"Who do you think is responsible for recording every single change in you after your mutation?"

Upon hearing this, Dr. Mei adjusted her glasses and then smiled, "No matter what kind of person you are, I won't be afraid."

Hearing this, Kevin looked at his lover with a touched expression. "May..."

Then he heard Dr. Mei's emotionless urging. "Alright, let's get started."

Kevin could only sigh helplessly, then raised one hand—

The next second, his entire arm began to swell and twist, and black substance surged out of his arm, intertwining with his mutated body, transforming into a ferocious claw covered in scales and barbs.

Ai Yue, standing to the side, instantly revealed a subtle expression—Holy crap, the XX virus!

"This power seems to allow me to more freely mobilize the Honkai Beast genes mixed within my body,"

After restoring his arms to their original shape, Kevin said, "I seem to be able to make them look the same on my body at will, but it may take some time to get used to doing it skillfully."

"The alienation of parts of the body is indeed a breakthrough."

Ai Yue nodded, trying his best not to make his expression look strange, "If this method could be applied to all Fused Warrior..."

"That would cause a public outcry, Ai Yue."

Dr. Mei sighed, "At least the appearance of the Mutated Weapon can be explained by technology, but this... you should know that there are quite a few people who are against Fused Warrior because of their special appearance, right?"

Today's Fused Warrior, some of whom opt for the more complex and distorted surgical versions in pursuit of greater power, often possess non-human features such as animal ears or horns, which makes them feared by many.

"What does it matter? With Prometheus around, nothing can be done."

Ai Yue seemed indifferent to this, saying, "Besides, one day everyone... never mind, it's nothing."

Ai Yue realized he had gotten a little carried away halfway through his sentence and quickly shut his mouth. "In short, I'll listen to you."

"It's best to keep this power a secret for now. I'll have Sakura and Kalpas assist you with the subsequent tests."

Dr. Mei glanced at Ai Yue, but didn't say anything more. Instead, she returned to the main topic, "After all, aberration is a power that none of us understand very well. Therefore, when using this power, one of us— Ai Yue, or Mobius— must be present. Do you understand?"

"Good."

Kevin agreed without hesitation. "Is there anything else besides that?"

Dr. Mei thought for a moment, then shook her head and looked at Ai Yue.

"The test results are in, and there are no abnormalities, so it seems there is indeed no problem."

Ai Yue added, "After that, as long as you remember to cooperate with me in the experiments, there doesn't seem to be anything else?"

After drawing another amount of blood from Kevin, Ai Yue signaled that he could get down.

"In that case, we'll take our leave now. I'll come to the lab regularly to assist with experiments."

Kevin rolled off the operating table and quickly got to work. "May, are there any tasks that need to be handled recently?"

"That's a lot."

Recalling the backlog of documents, Mei couldn't help but shake her head. "But now that you're back, there are some things that should be resolved."

After leaving the First Research Institute, Dr. Mei took Kevin back to her office, found several of the most challenging tasks from the backlog of reports, and assigned them to Kevin: "Do you need to send anyone else to help you?"

"No need, everyone is probably too busy right now, I can manage on my own."

Kevin glanced at the documents in his hand briefly, then nodded. "If that's all, we should still be able to make it for dinner tonight."

However, after saying this, he did not rush to leave the office. Instead, he went back to the door and locked it again.

Dr. Mei paused for a moment, then frowned. "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Knowing Kevin as she did, he would never want to do anything private under these circumstances. Therefore, this action could only be explained as Kevin having something he couldn't tell a third person.

There were some things I didn't say in front of Ai Yue.

Kevin nodded and said seriously, "Actually, before I heard Aponia's voice, I wasn't completely unconscious. It's just that my consciousness was intermittent at that time, like I was dreaming, so I couldn't control my body."

"What's there to hide?"

Dr. Mei blinked, not quite understanding Kevin's reason for concealing this fact. "Even if you don't say it, I think Ai Yue can deduce it from the test results. You can't hide it from him."

"If that's all there is to it, of course I wouldn't need to hide it from Ai Yue,"

Kevin shook his head. "But during this experience, I could occasionally hear another person's voice."

Dr. Mei stood up abruptly, her expression turning extremely serious. "Are you sure this isn't some kind of hallucination?"

The voice Kevin heard during his uncontrollable phase could almost only come from one person—the mastermind behind everything, the Twelfth Herrscher, tentatively codenamed "Aberration".

"Even if it's a hallucination, it can't be a hallucination that comes out of nowhere, right?"

Kevin said calmly, "Moreover, that voice was full of disdain for humanity and for me. I think the only person who would have such an attitude is Herrscher, right?"

"So what did you hear?"

Dr. Mei continued, "Is there any valuable information inside?"

"I think probably not, but the sound itself is the most valuable information."