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

Elysia clearly realized how the others would react once Mobius joined the birthday party.

But even so, she still welcomed her and, being tactful, didn't pry into why Mobius had changed her mind.

"You're really not popular, are you?" Ai Yue asked in a low voice as he walked alongside Mobius behind Elysia. "Is it necessary to present yourself like this?"

"It's only natural to keep my distance from vulgar people; it reduces a lot of unnecessary social interaction and trouble," Mobius replied with a subtle expression. "Ever since I realized some people think their own prestige is very useful, I've been doing this."

Sounds like she's been through a lot of trouble.

Ai Yue shook his head and said nothing more.

"Ding ding~ Here we are," Elysia quickly led the two to their destination. "Be friendly with everyone once we go inside, okay?"

"Isn't this your dorm?" Ai Yue asked, surprised. "Wouldn't it be easy for news to leak if you prepared it here?"

The dormitories for the Fused Warriors were essentially apartment buildings, with each Fused Warrior having their own independent three-bedroom, two-living-room unit. It was a small perk for these warriors who had made great sacrifices to fight the Honkai.

However, not many people were currently living there, and with the continuous increase in the number of Fused Warriors, it was clear that such treatment wouldn't be available to everyone in the future.

Of course, these weren't the main points. The main point was that Kevin's dorm was diagonally across from Elysia's. Was it really okay to be so blatant?

"Kevin usually stays in the training room and doesn't come back to sleep until very late, so don't worry," Elysia said with a smile. "Besides, Mei will help us keep an eye on him."

With that, she pushed open the door and entered.

"Oh, Elysia's back!"

A deep, steady male voice came from inside. However, his tone shifted noticeably after seeing who was behind Elysia: "Uh, who is this... Wait, Doctor Mobius?"

A hint of barely perceptible fear crept into his voice, causing Ai Yue to glance at the green-haired woman beside him.

"What are you looking at me for? I told you this is normal," Mobius retorted with a roll of her eyes, then gave him a teasing smile. "How is it, Hen? The power of a Fused Warrior is quite useful, isn't it?"

The man called Hen was powerfully built, with a rugged, messy hairstyle. His slightly longer hair was tied back simply, giving him a wild appearance. The scar that ran across his nose only deepened this impression.

However, this seemingly unrestrained man was currently wearing a silver-white suit with a black inner lining, which added a touch of mature stability to his look.

"Ahahaha, indeed, indeed," Hen mumbled, scratching his head, and could only offer a perfunctory answer with an awkward laugh.

After saying that, Mobius quieted down and found a corner to sit by herself, clearly not intending to get involved in tonight's events, as if she were just there for a free meal.

The man Mobius called Hen quickly approached Elysia. "Hey Ai, how did you convince Doctor Mobius? That's amazing!"

"That's not my credit," Elysia redirected his gaze to Ai Yue. "Let me introduce you, this is the most promising new scholar of Moth to Fire, Ai Yue!"

"Ohhh, so you're Doctor Ai Yue!" Hen exclaimed, finally understanding. He enthusiastically extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Hen, Kevin's captain. Kevin mentioned you a few days ago, but I didn't expect you to be so young. It's truly surprising!"

It's really easy to interact with normal people.

"Hello," Ai Yue extended his hand and shook Hen's. "I haven't met Kevin much, but we're sort of friends, so I took the liberty of coming over."

"Nonsense, meeting is fate!" Hen said familiarly. "Besides, we're all working towards the same goal, so we're naturally comrades. He'll definitely be happy you came!"

Whether he'll be happy I came, I don't know, but he'll definitely be happy about the gift I brought.

Ai Yue naturally withdrew his hand. Seeing that Hen hadn't noticed his fingernails had quietly shortened a bit, he smiled with satisfaction.

Another Fused Warrior's material acquired. This technique seems quite effective.

With that thought, he glanced at Elysia. She had already gone over to Mobius, and he wondered what they were talking about, as she kept looking over here.

Hen, with his straightforward personality, probably wouldn't care about the length of his fingernails, but Elysia, who loved to dress up, would likely notice.

Most importantly, the side effect of Elysia becoming a Fused Warrior seemed to be that her body stopped growing. Would this mean her hair and nails wouldn't grow either?

It would be more reliable to check if she's shedding hair in the bathroom.

"Oh, right, did Ai tell you?" Hen continued, not noticing Ai Yue's distraction. "Two more people are coming later..."

"We're here!"

"Hello everyone... Wait, Mei, Doctor Mobius?"

Hen was still talking to Ai Yue when he was interrupted by two people pushing open the door. Ai Yue turned his head and saw a man and a woman entering, carrying large bags of items.

The girl had gorgeous long blonde hair, tied into a high ponytail at the back, giving her a very heroic look. The boy had dark green, medium-short hair, and looked less like a warrior and more like a student who hadn't even finished high school.

"The procurement team is back?" Elysia immediately came over, drawing their attention back to Ai Yue. "Come welcome our new companion, Ai Yue!"

"Doctor Ai Yue?!" The blonde girl seemed to recognize him. "Aren't you that super rookie who's been all over the internal network recently?"

"Des, that's a bit rude," the boy said, putting down his items and extending his hand. "Hello, Doctor Ai Yue, my name is Cosmo. I'm a member of Captain Hen and Vice-Captain Kevin's team."

"Sorry, Doctor Ai Yue, I got a little excited," the blonde girl calmed down after a moment, flashing a sweet smile. "My name is Desdrobia. You can call me Des like everyone else. It's nice to meet you."

Ai Yue smiled back, as if seeing his Fused Warrior formula nearing completion. "Me too, it's nice to meet you both."

Chapter 38: The Most Human Episode

Desdrobia was a lively girl. With her and Elysia livening up the atmosphere, the entire living room instantly became lively.

It wasn't until Elysia asked, "By the way, Hen, I thought Mei came with you? Where are they?"

"Oh, she's in the kitchen," Hen replied casually, drawing everyone's attention.

Even Mobius's expression turned subtle. "You let Mei... into the kitchen?"

As everyone knew, Mei and the kitchen were incompatible.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just putting the ingredients in the fridge, it's not a big deal," Hen waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down.

As his words fell, the kitchen door was opened from the inside, and Mei walked out with a hint of embarrassment on her face. "Uh, the fridge seems to have broken down suddenly. Can anyone fix it?"

Clearly, scholars of quantum mechanics couldn't solve a minor refrigerator issue.

But the problem was, why did simply putting things in the fridge cause a malfunction?

Yet, no one present seemed surprised by this. Even Hen, the culprit, wore an expression of "So the legend is true," before turning his gaze to Ai Yue.

Huh, me?

Seeing everyone's eyes shift to him, Ai Yue couldn't help but show a confused expression.

"Don't just stand there," Mobius finally spoke. "If anyone here can fix a fridge, it's only you."

What does that mean? I can build a Honkai Energy Absorber, therefore I understand mechanical engineering, therefore I can fix a fridge? Is this any different from asking an IT major to fix a computer?

But Ai Yue didn't object, because he actually could fix refrigerators.

Fortunately, it wasn't a major issue. It was likely that some unintentional action by Mei had affected a sensor inside the fridge, causing it to report errors. Ai Yue simply adjusted the sensor's status, gave the fridge a few firm pats, and the problem was solved.

After Ai Yue resolved this minor trouble, Elysia blocked him at the kitchen door.

She handed him a bag with an expectant look on her face. "Come on, Ai Yue, try this outfit on."

"A suit?" Ai Yue opened the bag and took a look, surprised. "Don't tell me you prepared one for everyone?"

He had thought the suit Hen was wearing was his own, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Of course! Since it's a birthday party, we have to dress formally," Elysia said with a smile. "I know you don't have a tuxedo, so I specially found a talented friend to prepare one for you." She suddenly thought of something. "Oh dear, speaking of which, I haven't prepared one for Mobius yet. This is going to be difficult. I wonder if there's still time..."

Clearly, since Mobius had initially refused to attend, Elysia hadn't prepared anything special for her.

"So, you plan for me to change here?" Ai Yue glanced at the kitchen behind him. "Even if you don't let me go to the bedroom, you could at least lend me the bathroom, right?"

"I'm sorry, the bathroom is occupied right now," Elysia clasped her hands together, looking at Ai Yue with a "Please?" expression. "I'll have to trouble you to bear with it, okay~?"

Ai Yue nodded in understanding, then closed the kitchen door, keeping Elysia outside.

Fortunately, the clothes Elysia provided didn't include undergarments, and only the top needed to be changed for trying on the suit. So, after a short while, Ai Yue walked out wearing the black suit.

"Mmm... you look really good," seeing the transformed Ai Yue, Elysia couldn't help but take a few extra glances. "Ai Yue, you really shouldn't just wear that white coat all the time, it's such a waste."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but lean closer to Ai Yue and start tidying his hair.

A suit is a very demanding piece of clothing; if one's physique isn't suitable, it can look quite strange. However, although Ai Yue didn't usually exercise, his natural bone structure and height gave him a perfect build. Combined with the fact that this suit was made for him, the two elements created an effect greater than the sum of their parts.

If the usual Ai Yue, draped in a white coat, looked like an ordinary scholar one might see anywhere, then the Ai Yue in this suit was like the noble son of a wealthy family. Even with his messy hair, he exuded an air of freedom and rebelliousness.

"It's quite well-fitting," Ai Yue moved his arms, nodded, and a strange expression appeared on his face. "So, why is it so well-fitting?"

How could he not remember leaking any of his physical data?

"Of course, I measured it with my eyes! My judgment is very sharp, isn't it?" Elysia finished styling Ai Yue's hair and then, smiling, linked her arm with his, heading towards the living room. "Come on, let everyone else give their opinion too."

As it turned out, Elysia's judgment was indeed excellent. The clothes perfectly complemented the wearer's temperament, and combined with Ai Yue's already good looks and physique, his appearance immediately made everyone's eyes light up.

"Cosmo, look, look!" Desdrobia nudged Cosmo, who was busy arranging the string lights, her eyes filled with surprise as she looked at Ai Yue. "Dr. Ai Yue looks so handsome with his bangs pushed up!"

"Indeed," Cosmo looked at Ai Yue and commented seriously. "But I still think Vice-Captain Kevin is more handsome."

"Your Kevin bias is truly hopeless," the blonde girl sighed helplessly. "But Brother Kevin is indeed more handsome on the battlefield, that's undeniable."

"Very handsome, Dr. Ai Yue," Hen gave him a thumbs-up from the side. "I almost didn't recognize you just now."

"It seems Elysia really put a lot of thought into this. I just found out she prepared formal wear for everyone," Mei said, glancing towards Ai Yue from her seat next to Mobius before returning her gaze to Mobius. "I'm really happy you decided to come, thank you, Mobius."

"You're quite skilled at playing the hostess," Mobius teased Mei, only looking at Ai Yue again after she blushed shyly. "I didn't expect this guy to actually have such good looks."

Thinking about it, Ai Yue was smart, good-looking, and most importantly, had a good personality. He was a near-perfect person who seemed to have gotten all the advantages.

"Alright, alright, everyone stop what you're doing for a moment," after a while, as the living room decorations were nearing completion, Elysia produced a stack of papers from somewhere and distributed them to everyone. "These are the lines for the event. Everyone memorize them, and we'll rehearse shortly."

"There aren't that many lines, so there's no need to memorize them, right?" Hen looked at the paper in his hand, then glanced at Elysia, his eyes suddenly widening. "Wow, Eli, you assigned yourself so many lines, isn't that a bit much?"

"What's too much about it? I'm the host, after all," Elysia said righteously. "Okay, everyone listen to me. When Kevin walks into the room on the day of the birthday party, we'll all say together—"

"Happy Birthday!"

When Kevin walked into the unlit room a few nights later, he was met with this synchronized chorus of well wishes.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Kevin, he, Kevin is on fire!

The living room had completely transformed.

On the wall directly facing the door hung a "Kevin Happy Birthday" banner, with string lights and colorful flags decorating the surroundings, creating a festive atmosphere.

Surrounding the dining table, everyone was dressed in exquisite formal wear, holding congratulatory party poppers. As the birthday wish was uttered, they simultaneously set them off, showering the day's protagonist with a cascade of colorful confetti.

"Mei, Hen... and everyone?"

Kevin looked around the room in surprise. Besides his familiar lover and comrades, he also saw Sakura, who had once been an enemy but was now a friend; Mobius, who shouldn't have been interested in such things; and Ai Yue, whom he had only met a few times but unexpectedly felt a sense of kinship with.

Friends gathered together, all to celebrate his birthday.

Even though his body had become extremely cold due to the Honkai Beast genes, Kevin felt a warmth in his heart.

An out-of-tune melody began to play at that moment. It was Cosmo, trying his best to play the harmonica. However, he was clearly unskilled, his movements clumsy, and the pitch completely off. Although one could barely recognize it as the classic "Happy Birthday" song, it was so halting and stumbling that it was quite amusing.

"Sorry," Cosmo said, stopping his playing as he saw everyone struggling to hold back their laughter. He scratched his head sheepishly. "I should have practiced a few more times."

"It's okay, it was already very good," Desdrobia said, patting his shoulder encouragingly. "I think you look quite cool playing the harmonica."

Cosmo became even more embarrassed.

Fortunately, at that moment, a long, sacred hymn suddenly echoed, drawing everyone's attention to the source of the song.

"It's Aponia's blessing," Ai Yue said, shaking his phone. He was on a call with Aponia. "Actually, she wanted to sing directly into your hearts with her abilities, but I told her that would be a bit overkill and managed to talk her out of it."

"Please thank Miss Aponia for me, Mr. Ai Yue," Kevin nodded, finally speaking his first words since entering the room.

"Alright, don't just stand there, come sit!" Elysia gestured for Kevin to sit next to Mei, then looked at Desdrobia. "Little Des, bring the cake out!"

"Coming right up!" Desdrobia said, not moving from her seat. However, the cake from the kitchen flew out on its own and landed steadily on the table.

Along with the cake, everyone's carefully prepared gifts also arrived.

Desdrobia, a psychic Fused Warrior, possessed the ability of telekinesis.

The cake had three layers of color: white on top, blue in the middle, and black at the bottom. This was a deliberate design, representing Kevin's three colors.

Hen stared intently at the candles on the cake and suddenly asked Ai Yue in a low voice, "Ai Yue, do you think this candle is a bit too far to the left?"

"It's just your imagination, Hen," Ai Yue replied with some exasperation. "Besides, if we move the candles after they've been placed, the cake will look messy."

Hen hesitated for a moment but ultimately gave up on adjusting the candle's position.

Once the candles were lit, casting a warm glow, the silent fox-eared girl stood up and pressed a switch nearby.

The room plunged back into darkness, but this time it was different from before, as the candlelight still flickered.

"Let's blow out the candles, Kevin," Mei said softly. "But before that, don't forget to make a wish."

"Whatever wish you make, it's bound to come true!" Elysia added from the side. "Mhm, I'll make sure it happens~"