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

"It's not your line yet, Elysia." Mobius finally caught Elysia's slip-up. "This one belongs to Mei."

"Huh? Is that so?" Elysia said, sounding a little surprised. "Is that what it says on the script I gave you?"

Heng couldn't help but laugh. "Elysia, you didn't actually read the script you wrote yourself, did you?"

"I... I definitely memorized everything I wrote!" Even though the candlelight in the room was dim and her appearance wasn't clear, everyone could imagine Elysia blushing and defending herself. "You must be looking at the pre-revision script. This is the final version!"

Amidst everyone's playful banter, Kevin finally couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

He was reminded of his peaceful past, when he was still a student and could smile carefree.

It felt so good to be able to experience this feeling again.

A thought flashed through Kevin's mind, and he silently made his wish before lowering his head and blowing out all the candles.

The next second, the lights came back on, and everyone applauded Kevin. Heng, holding the cake knife, cut the largest slice and handed it to Kevin. "Here you go, Kevin. You're the star today, so you get the biggest piece!"

Kevin smiled as he took the cake, but he just held it in his hands. The moment the cake touched him, it began to stiffen and freeze, and the moisture that quickly separated formed a layer of frost on the surface.

It was difficult for him to enjoy food like a normal person, but on such a happy occasion, there was no need to dampen everyone's spirits.

The birthday party wasn't long, and it was drawing to a close after the cake was distributed. After all, everyone had their own things to do, and it was already quite rare for them to gather together so perfectly.

The first to leave was Heng. As a married man with children, his wife and daughter were waiting for him at home.

Mobius followed closely behind, but her willingness to come at all had exceeded everyone's expectations.

Next to say goodbye were Desdrobia and Cosmo, who had other training sessions that evening.

Sakura left without a sound, just bidding farewell to Elysia. Ai Yue didn't even notice when she disappeared.

In the end, only Kevin, Mei, Elysia, and Ai Yue remained.

As the host of the house, Elysia naturally couldn't leave. Kevin and Mei planned to help her tidy up the room before they left. It was only then that Ai Yue put down the cake plate, which he had already cleaned, and stood up.

However, he wasn't planning to leave. Instead, he took out a beautifully wrapped box from his pocket and pushed it towards Kevin. "This is for you, Kevin. Happy birthday."

"Thank you." Kevin also stood up and took the box. He looked at Ai Yue, vaguely understanding what he meant. "Do you want me to open it now?"

The fact that he waited until most people had left to present the gift must have had a special meaning.

After Ai Yue nodded, Kevin opened it and took out a tube of dark red liquid.

Even in contact with Kevin's body temperature of minus thirty degrees Celsius, the liquid did not freeze and continued to flow within the container.

"I'll temporarily name it 'Salvation Fire'," Ai Yue said, giving it a rather cliché name, and then looked at Kevin with a smile. "As for its effects, you'll understand once you drink it. How about it, dare you drink it?"

"What on earth is this? Why so mysterious?" Elysia looked at the tube of liquid with curiosity. "Could it be some kind of super strong liquor that makes you sleep for a day after one sip?"

Mei, standing beside her, had a guess. Her eyes widened slightly, and her face was filled with complex emotions.

It was a look of disbelief, yet also a desire to believe.

Kevin didn't hesitate much. On one hand, he was confident that ordinary things wouldn't pose a threat to him. On the other hand, he trusted Ai Yue.

He believed that Ai Yue, as the inventor of the Honkai Energy Absorber, was a like-minded companion.

Kevin easily opened the cap and downed the red liquid in one gulp. The fiery liquid flowed down his throat like a flame, as if igniting his body.

But Kevin showed no reaction, because he was very familiar with this feeling. He had tried all sorts of strong liquors in the past, just to experience that fleeting warmth.

However, this feeling was always fleeting, like a little girl's match used to long for a beautiful life—

No, that's not right!

A moment later, Kevin stood up unsteadily and reached for the button at the collar of his tuxedo. "So... so hot..."

Elysia looked at Ai Yue in astonishment.

How could someone whose body temperature was constantly at minus thirty degrees Celsius feel hot?

Unless, unless his body temperature was rising!

Chapter 40: What's the Bad News?

Kevin's body temperature was indeed rising, and rapidly at that.

Normal human body temperature is around 37°C. Kevin's body temperature, influenced by Honkai Beast genes, was constantly at minus thirty degrees Celsius, a difference of nearly 70°. It could be said that if he weren't a Fused Warrior with a strong physique, the process of just rising in temperature would have turned his internal organs to slag.

But even though Kevin's body could withstand the damage caused by such a temperature increase, the process was still a form of torture for him.

Even Ai Yue, the creator of "Salvation Fire," frowned as he watched. Although he believed Kevin wouldn't be defeated by such a thing, seeing the other man's contorted face and trembling body resisting the torment of the rising temperature made him unable to help but feel a bead of sweat.

However, this plan was already the best version he could achieve after repeated simulations. Anything else would either raise the temperature faster and higher, or be too slow, diminishing the effectiveness of the medicine to the point of being useless.

Fortunately, Kevin, as the person involved, had no complaints about this torment. Despite the veins bulging on his forehead and his entire face contorted in agony, Kevin slowly smiled.

Because he could clearly feel his body temperature gradually returning to the normal human range. Even if this was just a dream, it meant he could embrace his loved ones tightly in his dreams.

How could this not bring him joy?

Five minutes later, the intense heating reaction finally ended. Kevin collapsed backward as if drained of all strength, but was immediately embraced tightly by Mei, who rushed forward. The two of them fell onto the sofa.

"Mei!" Kevin instinctively tried to pull away, but he was too weak at the moment to move much. "Don't..."

"It's okay now, it's okay!" Mei held Kevin tightly, feeling the warmth of her lover, something she hadn't experienced in a long time, and couldn't help but shed tears. "You don't have to be scared anymore, you won't hurt me now!"

Only then did Kevin feel the sweat that had frozen on his face melt and flow down, almost covering his entire face. He struggled to lift his arm and hugged Mei back. "I..."

He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Kevin had dreamt of this scene countless times, dreaming of becoming a normal person again, embracing Mei closely, the two of them just lying there, saying things they never had the chance to say, and then doing nothing, until they woke up.

But when the beautiful dream became reality, he found himself somewhat dull.

It wasn't like this before; he used to be the best at making Mei laugh.

Come on, remember, Kevin, think about how you used to do it!

The young couple, now lost in their own world, wouldn't notice Ai Yue standing by, looking on with a gratified expression.

So good, so good.JPG

Reversing tragedy, making up for regrets—isn't this exactly what he wanted to do by transmigrating to this world?

Just then, he felt a gentle pat on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Elysia looking at him, her eyes sparkling.

"Shall we go out first?" Elysia leaned in and whispered in Ai Yue's ear, her breath tickling his ear. "Let's leave this place to them."

Ai Yue naturally wouldn't refuse the suggestion, so the two of them quietly walked out of the house one after the other, and gently closed the door, thus temporarily guarding the door from the outside.

"This is the first time I've seen Mei lose her composure like this," Elysia said with a smile. "But even so, a crying Mei is still very cute, isn't she?"

Ai Yue shrugged, offering no comment.

"Thank you, Ai Yue," Elysia continued. "I'm sure this is the best birthday gift Kevin has ever received."

Speaking of which, she had a look of sudden realization. "Ah, speaking of which, you asked Mei to make more time for you before, was it for this?"

"Yes, Mei is also part of the gift," Ai Yue smiled. "Otherwise, this birthday party wouldn't be perfect, right?"

"You're so wicked~" Elysia covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving. "But I like this part very much!"

Ai Yue's well-intentioned mischief was precisely his way of actively getting closer to others. It was worth noting that nowadays, many scholars in Moth to Fire were becoming increasingly reclusive on the path of scientific research, eventually almost giving up on interacting with others, which caused some misunderstandings that could have been resolved to become more profound.

In Elysia's opinion, such a gap should clearly not exist, but there were some things that were indeed difficult for her to resolve.

The two waited outside the door for a moment before the door opened. Mei poked her head out from inside, her face flushed. "Um, you guys should come in?"

"Then we'll be intruding?" Elysia teased Mei as she walked inside. "Kevin, are you okay?"

"I'm very good." Kevin managed to sit up straight on the sofa, showing a rare smile. "I haven't felt this good in a long time... Thank you, Ai Yue."

"Just a byproduct of my research; it's good that it's useful," Ai Yue nodded and pulled up a chair to sit down. "But I have some bad news and some good news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Mei sat beside Kevin, holding his hand. The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Bad news."

"The bad news is that the effect of this potion isn't permanent," Ai Yue said. "The principle behind this medicine... never mind, let's skip that. In short, this potion only lasts for three hours. After that, Kevin's body temperature will drop back to minus thirty degrees Celsius."

Based on the gene samples obtained from Kevin, Ai Yue determined that his body temperature was so low primarily because, after being infused with the genes of the Honkai Beast "Parvati," it interfered with the part of the nervous system that regulated body temperature, causing the nerves to judge Kevin's normal body temperature to be minus thirty degrees Celsius.

Therefore, the principle of "Salvation Fire" was actually quite simple: it used the genes of another Honkai Beast with a higher body temperature to create a temporary Hypervariable Factor, causing it to re-evaluate Kevin's normal body temperature.

"Three hours?" Kevin looked surprised. "That long?"

Ai Yue: "Huh?"

"I thought for a potion like this, lasting for an hour would be pretty good," Mei chuckled from the side. "We were mentally prepared, but... Dr. Ai Yue, this doesn't sound like bad news."

"Alright, contentment is also a good thing," Ai Yue shook his head and said nothing more to the two hopeless individuals. "Then, the second piece of good news is—"

He took out a flat metal medicine box from his pocket and showed the three of them the ten vials laid out inside: "There's still quite a bit of this stuff."

Chapter 41: If You Want It, I'll Give It to You

"So many?"

Looking at the ten vials Ai Yue displayed, even Mei couldn't help but show a surprised expression. "Is the success rate of this thing very high?"

She then remembered the "100% success rate" Hypervariable Factor that Ai Yue had made before.

"It's hard to fail anyway, and the output is large each time," Ai Yue shrugged. "This outfit I'm wearing today can't hold much. The rest are at Mobius's laboratory."

His own laboratory was currently crammed with a supercomputer, leaving no room for other equipment, so he had to borrow Mobius's place to make this.

Moreover, compared to the unlucky Herrscher of Ice who was instantly killed upon appearing, the Herrscher of Flame had rampaged across the Australian continent for a long time, leading to Honkai Beasts with similar attributes being everywhere in Australia. There was no shortage of related Honkai Beast genes, so the cost of this thing was very low.

If it weren't for the torment of feeling like he was jumping into an alchemist's furnace every time he used "Salvation Fire," Kevin could actually drink this stuff like water.

"Okay, okay, don't waste time here with us." Seeing Mei's scholarly mind starting to act up again, about to discuss with Ai Yue until dawn, Elysia quickly stepped forward to interrupt their conversation. "Mei, you take Kevin to rest. Make good use of this rare time, okay?"

The implication in her words couldn't be more obvious, so much so that the two who immediately understood blushed.

"Um," Kevin stood up, feeling his body, which had recovered from the pain. "We'll clean up here first..."

"There are less than three hours left, and you still want to waste time in a place like this?" Ai Yue unceremoniously pushed Kevin towards the door. "Don't waste my potion, alright? Even if it's cheap, it still cost money!"

After directly pushing the two out the door, Ai Yue and Elysia exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.

"Such a nagging old married couple," Ai Yue chuckled. "Alright, I'll help you clean this up, and then I'll be going back."

"Thank you, Ai Yue," Elysia suddenly stood in front of Ai Yue and said in a serious and formal tone, "Thank you so much."

"What's this for?" Ai Yue frowned. "I feel like you don't see me as a friend, but rather as a doctor you hired to treat Kevin."

"Oh, that's not what I meant," Elysia immediately returned to her usual lively demeanor. "How should I put it... I really like everyone, and because of that, I've always felt sad about Kevin and Mei's situation..."

"Every time I see them wanting to get closer but having to keep their distance, I think," Elysia showed a rare hint of melancholy on her face, "if I had been the first person to undergo the Fused Warrior surgery, would they have become like this?"

"Don't torture yourself with things that are already in the past," Ai Yue thought for a moment before deciding to offer some words of comfort. "Would simply swapping Kevin for you fundamentally solve the problem? It would just be a different person making the sacrifice."

"That's precisely why I thank you," Elysia said softly. "Thank you for providing a perfect solution to this trolley problem."

"This is just the beginning; it's only a temporary solution," Ai Yue shook his head. "Actually, Kevin's problem can be solved permanently, but it's still a bit far off for now, which is why I didn't mention it."

"Really?" Elysia's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! You're amazing, Ai Yue!"

After saying this, she wore a thoughtful expression and fell silent again.

Ai Yue didn't pay it much mind and turned to start tidying up the decorations hanging on the wall.

Even though only two people were left to clean up the mess, simply dismantling things was easier than dealing with decorations. It didn't take them long to restore the living room to its original state.

"Alright, I should be going now," Ai Yue said, picking up a few trash bags. "See you around."

"Ah, wait a moment!" Elysia finally spoke again. She stood in front of Ai Yue, as if she had made up her mind.

To Ai Yue's surprise, she cut a lock of hair from the side of her face, wrapped it in paper, and handed it to him.

"You really wanted this, didn't you?" Elysia smiled. "Surprised? But your gaze back then was quite telling; you noticed it right away."

"Did I?" Ai Yue felt a little awkward being called out on his thoughts. "Well, it was for a certain research purpose..."

"I know," Elysia nodded, a smile on her face that was different from her usual one. "So, I decided to be proactive. While giving my hair as a gift might be a bit strange, since this is what you wanted, you won't dislike it, right?"

"Of course not," Ai Yue took the paper-wrapped hair and put it in his pocket. "I won't betray this trust."

Honestly, Ai Yue hadn't expected his actions today to earn Elysia's trust. It was truly an unexpected joy.

But precisely because of this, he understood that Elysia's action undoubtedly carried a huge risk. Therefore, even though neither of them explicitly stated it, he made his promise.

"I believe you," Elysia nodded and added a reminder, "But don't be disappointed if you don't achieve any special results, okay?"

"Don't worry," Ai Yue looked down at the word "Rare" floating above his pocket, speaking with a double meaning. "I won't be disappointed."