Honkai Impact 3rd: Saving Pre-Civilization Through Hand-Crafted Black Tech

As the pilot had said, Aponia had changed The Deepest Place, allowing planes that could only circle in the air to now land smoothly, robbing Ai Yue of a chance to experience skydiving.

As soon as he got off the plane, he saw a familiar figure appear before him not far away.

It was Aponia, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Long time no see, Aponia," Ai Yue greeted her proactively. "Do you feel like you've gotten fairer?"

"Perhaps. After all, spending a long time in a place without sunlight, it's normal for skin to become pale," Aponia said with a gentle smile, as if the darkness of The Deepest Place had no effect on her. "It seems you've finally done what you promised him."

"Yeah, it took a while. I hope Kalpas doesn't mind," Ai Yue shrugged. "Are you getting used to living here?"

"It's not much different from my past life. Praying, patrolling, easing others' worries, guiding people not to give up hope," Aponia said as she walked. Seeing Ai Yue's hesitant expression, she couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, just like you said, I rarely use 'Judgment' unless it's absolutely necessary."

The Gate to The Deepest Place was made of a special alloy. Designed by Vill-V, it couldn't be opened from the inside. However, Aponia could open the gate from the outside using her Fused Warrior abilities, making her the only one who could freely enter and exit The Deepest Place.

As the Gate to The Deepest Place opened, its interior came into Ai Yue's view.

In the dim light, almost no details could be seen. Only a figure stood motionless in the center of the space, like a sculpture.

Only when he saw Ai Yue did the figure walk forward, exposing himself to the light.

"You're here?" Kalpas said calmly, seemingly unaffected by The Deepest Place. "I've done everything I promised you. Can I leave now?"

"Of course," Ai Yue said with a smile, extending his hand. "Let's go, I'll take you home to see."

Kalpas seemed to pause for a moment, but he didn't take Ai Yue's hand, only nodding slightly.

"Mm."

Chapter 50: Ahead Lies Hell

Twilight Street, Church.

"Are you sure we're not lost?"

The two men stood at the entrance of the sanatorium, looking at each other. Kalpas was the first to speak. "Does this place look anything like it used to?"

The sanatorium had undergone a complete transformation. The old, dilapidated church was now brand new, and next to it, a three-story building had sprung up. Everything was completely different from Kalpas's memory.

If not for the familiar figures playing in the courtyard between the two buildings, Kalpas would have turned and left.

"It seems Moth to Fire did a good job and didn't cut corners," Ai Yue nodded. "Alright, shall we go in?"

"Why go in?" Kalpas said, though his gaze remained fixed on the courtyard. "Just one look is enough. Let's go..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ai Yue pressed the doorbell nearby. Instantly, all the children in the courtyard turned their attention to the iron gate.

Upon seeing the familiar mask, the children first fell silent, then erupted in cheers of surprise.

"It's the delivery man uncle!"

"The delivery man uncle is back!"

"Quick, go call the teacher to open the door!"

"Hey, Ai Yue!"

Kalpas finally reacted, turning to look towards Ai Yue, but the latter had already slipped out of the children's sight. He didn't forget to wave at Kalpas, giving him a "You just enjoy it" look, before turning and disappearing around the corner.

Damn it, you tricked me!

Kalpas's blood pressure surged. Looking at the group of little ones rushing towards the iron gate, his first instinct was to run before the gate opened.

However, his brain gave the command, but his body didn't move.

He couldn't move even a single step until the children, swarming forward, grabbed his clothes and arms through the iron gate.

"Alright, stop shouting," Kalpas said in a low voice, looking at the chaotic little rascals in front of him. "I can't run away anyway, what's the rush?"

The man who could break free even when bound by alloy chains was now easily restrained by a few children.

It could be said that he was all talk.

Ai Yue stood on the roof of a nearby building, watching Kalpas being led into the courtyard by a group of children. He couldn't help but comment, "He's always liked children, hasn't he?"

In his mind, Aponia's voice sounded softly.

At this moment, using a sculpture previously gifted by Aponia, the two had established a telepathic link across thousands of miles. Relying on Aponia's powerful mental strength, they could share vision, communicate mentally, and so on. However, such a mental link was difficult to maintain. Currently, Aponia could only sustain it for about half an hour at most.

"Speaking of which, this place is really well done," Ai Yue surveyed the surroundings. "How much funding did Dr. Mei pour into this?"

"It's said that the sanatorium is being treated as a pilot project to observe the changes in children wearing Honkai Energy Absorbers as they grow, hence the considerable funding," Aponia knew more about this than Ai Yue. "The project leader was also personally selected by Dr. Mei and is trustworthy in all aspects."

"I remember you came back to see it once before. Since you say it's fine, it must be fine," Ai Yue nodded reassuringly, then turned and jumped off the roof, activating the recoil buffer on the soles of his shoes before landing smoothly. "Let's go, we'll explore the area for a while first, and then come back for Kalpas later."

"Don't you want to go in and see? The children miss you too."

"I'll pass for now, maybe next time," Ai Yue said, walking further away from the sanatorium with his back to it. "After all, the technology tree for medicine is really hard to climb."

Embracing Honkai and rejecting Honkai were two extremes on the same line. Although Ai Yue had basically mastered the perfect solution for the Fused Warrior Formula, he still hadn't even touched the threshold of treating Honkai Sickness. Naturally, he found it difficult to face the children who placed their hopes on him.

"In that case, go see the kind person who has been donating supplies to the church for me," Aponia said.

Aponia didn't insist. She knew very well that although Ai Yue appeared easygoing on the surface, sometimes even appearing frivolous, he carried an immense burden in his heart. Even a tip of the iceberg of this pressure, when he had shown it to her before, had almost driven her mental state to the brink of collapse.

Therefore, Aponia no longer hoped to change the fate of this world, but she still wished to find various ways to alleviate Ai Yue's inner pressure as much as possible.

Unless the situation was special, she would generally comply with Ai Yue's choices.

By the time Ai Yue returned to the sanatorium, it was already evening. In the quiet night, the children had all returned to their dormitories. Only Kalpas was still in the courtyard sweeping the grounds, just as he had been doing before he left.

"How are you feeling?"

Ai Yue easily vaulted over the wall and landed on the ground, greeting Kalpas. "The kids still like you so much."

"Hmph, they chatter so loudly, it's not as quiet as that dungeon," Kalpas said, but he didn't stop what he was doing. "Are you leaving? Wait a moment, I'll be done sweeping soon."

"No rush," Ai Yue said with a smile. "And I brought you back this time to give you a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to come back to Moth to Fire with me," Ai Yue looked at Kalpas. "Staying at the sanatorium and being the 'Uncle Mover' again, isn't that good too?"

"Interesting." Kalpas stopped his movements, his tone betraying little emotion. "Will Moth to Fire agree so easily?"

"Once you make your choice, I'll handle things on their end," Ai Yue replied. "Although it might sound hypocritical, I truly wish for all of you to live peaceful lives."

As for who exactly the "all of you" in his words referred to – Kalpas and the children at the sanatorium, or someone else entirely – it was likely only Ai Yue himself knew.

"It's already become very good here," Kalpas said after a moment of silence, then looked up at the three-story building. "So good that it doesn't need me anymore."

From time to time, faint lights would drift within the building; these were the lanterns carried by the teachers on patrol at night.

"I don't think you can say that..."

Ai Yue instinctively tried to backtrack, but Kalpas interrupted him.

"All this time, it's actually been me who needed this place more," Kalpas's tone held a hint of special emotion. "So, this is enough."

Without waiting for Ai Yue's reaction, he continued, "Don't forget, you also promised me an endless war."

"That was just an excuse to persuade you to come with me back then," Ai Yue scratched his head. "You actually don't like war, do you?"

"I don't like it, but I need it," Kalpas showed a ferocious smile. "I need war to settle an unending score with those things."

"So, stop with the nonsense and let's go quickly." He leaned the broom he was holding against the wall and walked towards the door. "Whether you treat me as a weapon or something else, it's up to you."

Chapter 51: I Didn't Do Anything, She Just Exploded Herself (Four Thousand Character Chapter)

Although the details of the meeting regarding Kalpas's release were not made public, some parts of the discussion leaked out and quickly spread throughout Moth to Fire.

When everyone heard that Ai Yue had exchanged a valuable patent for the release of a prisoner, they were all shocked. They flooded the internal network of Moth to Fire, asking, "Who is Ai Yue?"

Soon, a helpful netizen pointed out that Ai Yue was a genius scientist recently introduced to Moth to Fire by Dr. Mei. He possessed a very high level of expertise in many fields. His Honkai Energy Absorber was currently the product with the best overall performance among all similar products. It was precisely because of this that the patent was targeted by those with ulterior motives, leading to the planning of this incident.

However, such discussions were quickly suppressed by administrators on the internal network. All related posts were deleted, and the topic soon lost its heat. But the administrators' actions only served to further confirm the netizen's words, thereby increasing Ai Yue's fame within Moth to Fire.

"A clever move, Dr. Ai Yue."

In the First Research Institute, Mobius sipped her milk tea and teased Ai Yue. "Applying pressure on the higher-ups through public opinion, and simultaneously boosting your own reputation. It's killing multiple birds with one stone."

"What calculation?" Ai Yue looked genuinely bewildered. He put down the book he was holding. "Have you finished this batch of books? Remember to get me a new set."

"Can't you go borrow them yourself!" Mobius said irritably. "Do you think this is a library?"

Despite her words, she still took the books Ai Yue had finished, put them in a nearby bag, and prepared to order the two lazy individuals to run errands.

"It's because you have high clearance and can access things that ordinary people can't," Ai Yue picked up the next book, using this method to supplement his own lack of technological knowledge. "Speaking of which, are you quite free today? Not doing any experiments?"

"Our institute is on holiday today," Mobius stretched, showcasing her curves. "I've already sent Klein out to play, let alone those two who are naturally lazy."

Ai Yue glanced at her, a flicker of regret crossing his mind.

Frankly, the current Mobius was one of the most beautiful women in Moth to Fire. The thought of such a person gradually transforming into a cold, sharp-tongued, flat-chested brat made Ai Yue feel heartbroken.

"What are you thinking about? That look in your eyes isn't right," Mobius also noticed the change in Ai Yue's expression and frowned. "You fellow, you're not harboring any ill intentions towards me, are you?"

Since she had started slacking off, Mobius had become increasingly casual around Ai Yue.

"Big sister, you're a Fused Warrior. What ill intentions could I possibly have towards you?" Ai Yue rolled his eyes. "Rather, why are you giving those three a holiday but not yourself, and waiting for me to come over? Is there something illicit you need my help with?"

Ever since Prometheus's internet restrictions were lifted, Ai Yue's laboratory had been filled with the roar of machinery day in and day out. What's more, the AI girl, under the guise of "monitoring the entire internet requires a large amount of computational power," made it so Ai Yue couldn't fault her, forcing him to come out and occupy Mobius's laboratory.

After all, her facilities were well-equipped, and she had plenty of space, making it more comfortable than his own laboratory.

"Oh, you found out! I was still wondering how to ask," Mobius took out a syringe from her pocket, containing a rather peculiar-looking pale purple liquid. "There's been progress on the report you gave me earlier."

"You've already made a finished product?" Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you show me the theoretical model first?"

"That's too troublesome. It's better to let the experimental data speak for itself," Mobius smiled. "Come with me, find a place that doesn't mind getting dirty."

"You're already proceeding with the assumption of failure?" Ai Yue shook his head. "I can only say that being immortal is truly amazing."

As a Fused Warrior, Mobius possessed special abilities like Kevin's, such as manipulating ice and snow. Her ability was immortality – after suffering a fatal injury, she would enter a state of suspended animation and then regenerate by absorbing a large amount of energy.

Of course, this immortality also had its side effects. Each resurrection would cause Mobius's body to undergo reverse growth. With each use of her immortality, she would gradually become younger, even regressing into an infant.

For ordinary people, even if they were happy about this powerful ability, they would still consider the side effects and try to minimize the number of times the ability was triggered.

But Mobius was different. Possessing such an ability meant that even experiments with a 100% fatality rate could be conducted on herself.

Today was clearly one such experiment.

Ai Yue followed Mobius into the most special operating room, Number One. This room was clearly prepared by Mobius for herself. Although there were no peculiar odors inside, one could see solidified blood in various corners that had not been completely cleaned up.

At the same time, there were also various unremovable scorch marks and wounds caused by sharp objects on the floor, ceiling, and walls.

It's not hard to imagine what this place has been through.

"Alright, go wait for me in the next observation room." Mobius pointed to another door, then hung her white coat on a rack and walked into the operating room.

Ai Yue also entered the observation room, looking at Mobius through the thick, transparent glass wall. Various instruments in the observation room were also aimed at Mobius to prevent missing any detail of the surgery.

Mobius sat on the operating table, facing Ai Yue, and injected the serum into herself.

About ten seconds later, her face showed an expression of enduring pain. Faint purple patterns began to emerge from beneath her tightly fitting clothes, gradually spreading to her head and limbs.

At the same time, the concentration of Honkai Energy in the operating room increased. Fortunately, this place had undergone special protective treatment, so there were no leakage issues.

After about thirty seconds, Mobius's expression gradually returned to normal, meaning she had weathered the initial extreme effects of the serum. Then, Ai Yue saw her snake-like pupils suddenly become drenched in gold, transforming into more majestic golden vertical pupils.

"Mobius?" Ai Yue subconsciously called out, "Are you still conscious? If you are, wave your hand!"

As the operating room's speaker transmitted Ai Yue's words, Mobius reacted. She focused her gaze on the speaker and then waved her hand.

However, it wasn't a normal wave as Ai Yue had imagined—it was a gesture that could activate a special ability.

The next second, a bizarre spatial rift abruptly tore open at the speaker's location, directly swallowing it!

There was no doubt that this was the Second Herrscher's ability to manipulate space.

However, there was no joy on Ai Yue's face, because judging by Mobius's reaction, she had clearly been affected mentally by the serum. It was obviously not a good thing that she had gained such a dangerous ability in this state.

So, he unhesitatingly took out Pikachu, intending to unleash a full-power blast at Mobius, but hesitated as he pulled the trigger.

If Mobius were blown to smithereens, could she still be resurrected?

It was precisely this momentary hesitation that allowed Ai Yue to no longer worry about completely killing Mobius.

Because she blew herself up.

Almost at the same time Ai Yue drew his weapon, the purple cracks on her body suddenly brightened, as if some violent energy reaction was occurring within Mobius. Soon, the cracks turned into fissures, releasing countless blood and steam from Mobius's body, showing how intensely hot it was inside her.