Chapter 210

"Kevin had a big smile on his face when he got back. What happened?"

Elysia walked over to Ai Yue and looked curiously at the screen in front of him. "Have you guys come up with something new again? The 'Giant of Light Project'... what is that?"

"No, it's nothing."

Ai Yue calmly closed the document. "How does it feel?"

"It's great, absolutely perfect!"

Elysia gave a thumbs up, "Although I didn't use my powers just to be on the safe side, I can say I used all my strength otherwise, and I'm perfectly fine."

Although Elysia had verified the reliability of Ai Yue's creations by using her powers multiple times, she was still being cautious this time because she was going to a densely populated place like Fortress City.

"That's good. You've worked hard too, so you should get some rest."

Ai Yue nodded and added, "I'll have to trouble you to switch shifts with Cosmo tomorrow. I need him to come over."

"Of course, no problem."

Elysia nodded. "But isn't it too early to rest now? Are you hungry? I'll go make something to eat."

Before Ai Yue could say anything, Pardofelis, who was in the corner, suddenly looked up and said, "I want to eat too!"

"Of course I won't forget you, Phyllis,"

Elysia laughed and said, "But instead of ordering food, why don't we go to the kitchen together?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Ai Yue.

Pardofelis seemed to remember something as well, and also glanced at Ai Yue.

"What's the meaning?"

Ai Yue didn't understand what the two of them meant. "You're not expecting me to cook, are you?"

Although he can be considered Shenzhou, Ai Yue is a person who has no need for food. His only requirement is to be able to eat his fill. As for whether the food he eats is delicious or not, he doesn't care.

That's why he can't cook at all.

"You work so hard, how could we possibly let you cook again?"

Elysia said with a smile, "But cooking is also a way to express feelings."

"Sister Ai Li is right. Brother Yue, you're so busy with work, so let us take care of the cooking."

Pardofelis also came over at this moment, "Let's go Sister Ai Li, let's go to the kitchen!"

After saying that, the two left chatting and laughing, leaving Ai Yue alone, scratching his head in a bit of confusion.

What does it mean to express emotions...? What emotions are you trying to express?

A slight confusion flashed through Ai Yue's mind, but he quickly put it aside.

His mind was completely focused on the Giant of Light Project; he didn't have the extra computing power to worry about these things.

After some mental calculations, Ai Yue could only come to a rather awkward conclusion.

Without relying on the system, I would probably find it difficult to complete this plan in a short time. Even with Kevin as a precedent to study, the time and effort required would be excessive.

Transforming a miracle that belongs to one person into a power that everyone can possess requires an effort that cannot be explained in a few words.

After a moment of contemplation, Ai Yue reopened the file titled "Origin Project".

Since there's no clue here and it's too difficult to get things done, we might as well get the projects that are already showing some promise sorted out first.

This will put Dr. Mei and the others at ease.

The next day, Cosmo arrived as promised.

The once naive boy has matured considerably after experiencing the trials of many wars. However, Ai Yue could still see that the other party had simply hidden his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) nature even more deeply.

"Doctor Ai Yue."

Cosmo nodded to Ai Yue as a greeting, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Show me your Stigmata Space."

Ai Yue didn't waste any words; he always spoke his mind. "Let me see if Mobius's research findings are reliable."

Evolving into power possessing the same Stigmata power seems reasonable, since Cosmo obtained the power to be exempt from Authority of Binding in this way.

However, the Stigmata Space is quite different from other things. It is essentially a product of the high integration of a person's spirit, body, and power. In other words, the Stigmata Project is the prototype of the three-phase fusion. This characteristic means that each person's Stigmata and Stigmata Space are not the same.

Even twins born at the same age cannot have completely similar experiences, and those differences will be reflected in the Stigmata Space.

Therefore, it is theoretically impossible for Cosmo to awaken simply by absorbing the power of other people's Stigmata.

Could Vishnu's ability to devour things really be that outrageous?

"Good."

Cosmo didn't think too much about it. After hearing Ai Yue's request, he closed his eyes.

The next second, an invisible force spread out from him, engulfing Ai Yue.

The surrounding scenery first faded and became pale, then was shrouded in a layer of white mist. After the mist dissipated, everything in Ai Yue's sight had completely changed.

"How?"

Cosmo asked casually, but if you listened carefully, you could sense a hint of expectation hidden beneath his calm tone.

It seems she wanted to receive praise from Ai Yue.

"Hmm... how should I put it?"

Ai Yue looked around at the surroundings, a strange expression on his face. "I didn't realize you liked this style."

In fact, Mobius's Stigmata Space already had a dark theme, but Cosmo's was even more exaggerated. The entire scene was almost completely shrouded in black, and the details around were completely obscured. Only a beam of light shone down from above, illuminating the two people.

Those in the know will understand that they have entered the Stigmata Space, but those who don't might think that someone turned off the laboratory lights.

"This environment suits me better."

Cosmo didn't dwell on the matter too much. "But what can we learn from this?"

"Not much can be discerned,"

Ai Yue gestured for Cosmo to retract his supernatural powers, "But at least we can rule out some of the problems."

He was initially worried that Cosmo, which evolved by absorbing some of Mobius's power, might be affected by the power of Mobius's Stigmata. However, there was no indication of this at all—at least in this place reflected by Cosmo's inner world, there were no traces left by Mobius.

It's just that there's some truth to the claim that Vishnu is classified as "End-of-Law class," since he can actually change himself by absorbing the power of Stigmata.

In that case, could we give Kevin's sample to him as well?

The idea flashed through Ai Yue's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Mobius doesn't have any cheat codes, so it's understandable that he would use this method to conduct his research. But if he has cheat codes and still does this, wouldn't he be embarrassing his cheat codes?

Cosmo's experiences in the original storyline were not good at all, and Ai Yue certainly didn't want to cause him any more trouble.

"Speaking of which, you were the one who took care of that elephant, weren't you?"

Ai Yue changed the subject, "So, is that your current Overweight Hypermutation?"

Of the three Herrscher-class Honkai Beasts that were killed, the elephant that exuded a chilling aura was crushed to death by a monster with a similarly enormous body. Among all the Fused Warrior, only Kevin and Cosmo were able to use similar methods.

Of course, Kevin can no longer turn into a monster.

"Yes, this can be considered a new ability I gained after obtaining the power of the Stigmata."

Cosmo nodded and said a few more words, "However, I still prefer the 'Mutated Weapon' method."

At this point, he couldn't help but glance at Ai Yue a few more times—the fact that he could summon armor to protect himself without the help of external forces was incredibly tempting for a teenager with delusions of grandeur. However, due to Ai Yue's plans, his "Mutated Weapon" had been put on hold, which made Cosmo somewhat upset.

So even though he completely trusted all of Ai Yue's decisions, he couldn't help but complain a little when the topic came up.

"If you really can't wait, I can perform the surgery on you right now."

Ai Yue pointed behind him, "They can do it next door."

Cosmo was silent for a moment, then finally shook his head. "Fine, I'll listen to you."

He was just a soldier, unlike people like Ai Yue who could pave the way and create the future. All he was good at and all he could do was kill the enemy.

If it can play a role in other aspects as well, then that's actually quite good.

Ai Yue nodded in agreement. "Then, for the next three days, follow my instructions."

After confirming that there was no problem with the power of the Stigmata on Cosmo, the next step was naturally to analyze and optimize it, and together with the case of Mobius, to develop a truly feasible mass production plan.

Three days?

Cosmo paused for a moment, a rare subtle emotion appearing on his face. "Um, I need to tell Daisy."

Ai Yue blinked, speechless.

No, can't you even stand being apart for three days?

You two young lovers, don't go too far!

In the following days, Ai Yue devoted all his attention to the Stigmata Project.

The experimental data sent by Mobius was very detailed, recording everything from Cosmo's data before he came into contact with the power of the Stigmata to the changes throughout the entire experiment. He even wrote down what he came into contact with and what he did before each experiment, for fear of missing any information.

Ai Yue gradually figured out the abilities that Cosmo gained after awakening his Stigmata.

Just as he said, the monster that Honkai Beast is Cosmo's current power.

Based on the Overweight Hypermutation, the monster that Cosmo transforms into can make different changes to different battlefield environments. If it needs to fight at high altitudes, it will grow wings and a jet system. If it enters the water, it will change its body structure to adapt to water pressure. It can also make adaptive changes when facing enemies of different sizes.

At the same time, Cosmo no longer needs to continuously devour Honkai Beast to maintain its sanity during its transformation. However, if the transformation lasts too long or its body becomes too large, it will still go into a berserk state after the safe period ends.

This ability is essentially an external manifestation of Cosmo's absorption of evolutionary power. Although it is nothing special, it can greatly enhance Cosmo's combat power, allowing him to unleash even greater strength.

As for his own ability to devour and evolve, it has not changed much. Mobius's research results suggest that Vishnu's genes have been completely integrated with Cosmo under the influence of this power, even overpowering the human part of Cosmo's body.

Therefore, rather than saying that Cosmo is Fused Warrior now, it would be more accurate to say that he has become a Honkai Beast in human skin.

This is why his Stigmata power is not actually very strong; he cannot even fully integrate his body and mind, and can only maintain a delicate balance.

If this continues, sooner or later Cosmo's humanity will dissipate completely with continuous evolution, but the birth of the power of the Stigmata has prevented this possibility from occurring.

Because the power of the Stigmata caused Cosmo's three phases to begin to merge, the intervention of spiritual power better suppressed the restlessness of the Honkai Beast genes. In this way, as long as it is not subjected to too strong stimulation, Cosmo will not meet the worst possible end.

Of course, Ai Yue couldn't let this hidden danger exist for too long.

With the cases of Cosmo and Mobius, the research on the Stigmata Project finally made a breakthrough.

Therefore, three days later, instead of letting Cosmo leave, Ai Yue transferred Desdrobia back to him.

"Doctor Ai Yue, you wanted to see me?"

After a long absence, Desdrobia appeared in the central hall through the Teleportation Gate. She exchanged glances with Cosmo before looking at Ai Yue.

The girl has shed her youthful naiveté and become increasingly radiant. Her former golden ponytail has been replaced by long, flowing hair, and she has transformed from a lively girl into a gentle and graceful one.

Could this be the power of love?

"I called you here for something."

Ai Yue, as usual, got straight to the point. "Are you willing to participate in the Stigmata Project?"

"Eh, me?"

Desdrobia paused for a moment, then looked somewhat puzzled. "If it's your request, then of course there's no problem."

"I have a question."

Cosmo looked at Ai Yue, "Why Daisy?"

Although Cosmo had a premonition that Ai Yue had summoned Desdrobia, hearing it from Ai Yue's mouth still made him instinctively want to object.

"Because she is a psychic-type Fused Warrior, and my current research shows that psychic-type fusion warriors have a higher success rate,"

Ai Yue said, "Besides that, the more important reason is that Desdrobia, who has the Stigmata, can better assist you."

After abandoning the idea of achieving a one-step solution, Ai Yue began to attempt a dual fusion study that combined the physical and mental aspects, and this time, he chose to start from the mental realm.

Ordinary people, as well as Fused Warrior with Physical Enhancement type, may find it difficult to truly fuse due to the mismatch between their physical strength and mental power, thus creating Stigmata. However, for Fused Warrior with mental perception abilities, the excessive strength of their mental power becomes an advantage.

After all, Ai Yue had quite a few ways to strengthen the body, but he had almost no means to strengthen the mind. If he started from the mental realm to guide the fusion experiment, the difficulty would be much smaller.

Of course, this achievement was made possible by the contributions of Mobius and Cosmo; otherwise, Ai Yue would not have approached Desdrobia so directly.

"Then there's even less of a problem."

Desdrobia walked up to Cosmo and took his hand. "I'm ready to be experimented on at any time."