Honkai Impact 3rd: Saving the Pre-Civilization by Hand-Crafting Black Tech

The next second, with a violent roar, Mobius's body exploded into pieces in front of Ai Yue. Blood and various shattered remains splattered across the entire glass wall, completely obscuring Ai Yue's vision.

The instruments next to Ai Yue, which had been monitoring Mobius's physiological data, instantly flatlined, indicating her death.

Soon, various cleanup machines in the operating room automatically activated. Sprinklers at the top of the glass wall sprayed water to wash away the bloodstains, clearing Ai Yue's view again.

At this moment, only the bloodied skeleton from the neck to the pelvis remained where Mobius had been sitting.

However, Ai Yue was no longer in the observation room. He turned and pushed the door open, grabbed the white coat Mobius had taken off, and walked into the operating room.

The process of Mobius dying and coming back to life wasn't something one could witness every day.

What's more...

The first thing Ai Yue did upon entering the operating room was to touch a bloodstain splattered on the door, then he raised an eyebrow.

"Remains of Simulated Defective Artificial Herrscher (Rare): 100% Utility Value."

"When invested in the research project 'Artificial Pseudo-Herrscher,' it can increase research progress by an additional fifty percent."

So, Ai Yue picked up the largest piece of flesh he could see and put it into the material containment box he carried with him.

At this time, Mobius's resurrection ability began to take effect. The Honkai Energy readings in the air decreased at a visible rate, eventually dropping to zero.

Ai Yue stared at the largest part of her skeleton left in place, but found that Mobius's revival wasn't centered there. He scanned the area and finally spotted Mobius's bloody head in the corner.

Soon, the dark, viscous, unknown substance Ai Yue had seen before spread throughout the operating room. It engulfed most of Mobius's remains and finally formed a "cocoon" that wrapped around Mobius's head, blocking Ai Yue's line of sight as he tried to investigate further.

Although he couldn't see, he could vaguely hear some chilling sounds. If someone with a vivid imagination were standing there, they could probably reconstruct the entire process of a human body gradually "growing" based on these sounds.

Judging by Ai Yue's increasingly expressive face, he was probably that kind of person.

Fortunately, the process ended quickly. About ten minutes later, a pair of fair, tender arms tore open the thick black cocoon, revealing Mobius's newly reborn body to Ai Yue.

Ai Yue's gaze naturally focused on the black and green things on her body.

He now understood why Mobius always wore clothes that covered her entire body. It was because on certain parts of her body, scales like those of a snake had grown.

"Had you seen enough?" Mobius suddenly covered her body with her arms, blocking the fine black-green scales. Ai Yue then looked up and saw Mobius's somewhat evasive expression. "If you've seen enough, give me my clothes."

Ai Yue casually tossed the white coat onto Mobius, then turned away, giving her some space—though it seemed rather pointless now.

"How do you feel?" Mobius quickly put on the clothes, standing barefoot on the damp floor.

"There's no need to make experimental reagents of this level; it's just a waste of materials and time, too immature," Ai Yue commented. "Even a Fused Warrior like you can't withstand it for more than ten seconds. It would be better to go through it more times in the simulation system. I'll find Vill-V to build a Prometheus's sub-unit here for you next time, and have her sort it out."

"I see." Mobius nodded, then suddenly asked, "What about me? How do I feel?"

Ai Yue realized then that she wasn't asking about the experiment.

"Not great," he shook his head, continuing as Mobius slightly lowered her gaze. "Your resurrection process was blocked by the black cocoon, I couldn't see anything. Two thumbs down."

Mobius looked up at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"What, what did you expect me to say?" Ai Yue turned and walked towards the exit of the operating room. "That I found you disgusting, or that you're a monster?"

"I didn't realize you had masochistic tendencies. I'll consider using those words next time."

"Who has masochistic tendencies? Don't think you can just say whatever you want because you came up with the project!" Mobius quickly followed him out. "Where are the experimental data? I want to see the experimental data!"

Mobius found it difficult to understand what she was thinking herself.

In front of anyone else, she probably wouldn't have so many messy emotions and thoughts, but it was specifically Ai Yue. In front of this existence that far surpassed the limits of human imagination, she always found herself doing unnecessary things.

Was she trying to show her true self through this? Or was she trying to tell Ai Yue that she would one day catch up to him with her own methods? Or perhaps...

Never mind, it was what it was. Seeing the experimental data was more important for now.

Mobius quickly put aside these inexplicable psychological activities.

She caught up to Ai Yue, who had suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Mobius asked subconsciously, but saw an expression on his face she had never seen before. "You look..."

It was an expression as if he knew a ticking time bomb had finally exploded and he had to go deal with the aftermath.

"It's nothing, you carry on. I have to go," Ai Yue pushed his glasses up his nose. "Right, I might be going on a trip for a while. Can you look after Pardo and the others for me?"

"You're not afraid of me getting close to her now?"

Mobius teased instinctively, but found that he didn't respond at all. She then strode towards the door.

After leaving the First Research Institute, Ai Yue once again activated the display mode on his glasses and reread the message Prometheus had sent.

It was a screenshot of a post from some forum.

"[Help Post]My daughter suddenly fell into a coma several days ago. I've taken her to several hospitals, but they couldn't diagnose the problem. Please, online gods, help me take a look!"

Chapter Fifty-Two: Completely Set Up (Combined Chapter)

Falling into a deep sleep for unknown reasons, unable to be awakened by existing medical technology, this was a manifestation of the power of the Eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Consciousness.

The appearance of such a case indicated that the Eighth Herrscher had descended.

Mobius didn't understand why Ai Yue had suddenly made this decision, but she soon received a message from higher-ups.

The Eighth Great Honkai Outbreak had begun.

When Mobius arrived at the conference room, all the Fused Warriors except Aponia were already gathered there. Along with Mei, they were in the middle of a combat meeting.

You can tell from the crucifix placed at the corner of the conference table that Aponia was actually paying attention to this place.

"Where's the Herrscher?"

Mobius's first words upon entering were this.

"No sightings," Mei said from her seat at the head of the table, her brow furrowed. "This Great Honkai is unlike any before. There are no Herrscher traces at the scene, only Honkai Beasts."

"No Herrscher? Impossible." Mobius paused, then flipped through the information on her phone. "A Great Honkai of this scale couldn't possibly not give birth to a Herrscher. Is she hiding?"

"That's the most likely scenario. This Herrscher probably isn't the type to excel in direct combat, which is why she's chosen to hide herself," said Dr. Mei. "Just like how Fused Warriors are divided into Mental Perception types and Physical Enhancement types."

Mental Perception type and Physical Enhancement type were two official classifications ultimately derived for Fused Warriors in different situations. The former, like Aponia and Desdrobia, involved significant mutations in their mental power, or rather, their souls, allowing them to wield telekinesis, connect minds, and perform many unbelievable feats.

However, their physical bodies were relatively fragile. While still far superior to ordinary humans, they were no match for Physical Enhancement type Fused Warriors like Kevin or Hen.

"Rather than saying Fused Warriors have differences, it's more accurate to say Honkai Beasts themselves have such distinctions," Mobius corrected. "So, it's not strange for Herrschers to exhibit similar differences."

"Therefore, this operation must be carried out with extra caution. A Herrscher hiding in the shadows, whose authority might involve the mental plane, is definitely more terrifying than one out in the open," Dr. Mei said with a frown. "Unfortunately, there's no news from the area where the Great Honkai erupted, only blurry satellite photos. We can't determine the extent of the damage yet."

Great Honkai events often occurred in densely populated areas, causing devastating destruction to the local social structure. Of the seven Great Honkai events experienced so far, all but one, where the losses were suppressed to a minimum due to unforeseen circumstances, resulted in the destruction of at least one city.

The most terrifying was the Seventh Herrscher. As an existence whose power far surpassed human imagination, the Seventh Herrscher destroyed the entire continent of Australia in just one week. Currently, there is no space for human survival on the continent, only uncleaned-up MANTIS and Honkai Beasts roaming.

"Speaking of which, are you the only one in charge here?" Mobius finally felt something was missing in the conference room. "Where are those big shots?"

"The Great Honkai involves many things. All countries should be in a state of preparation. Moth to Fire is temporarily under my command," Dr. Mei sighed, a rare hint of emotion in her voice. "As for the others... it's probably because the network signal in the shelters is poor."

At this point, Dr. Mei glanced at Mobius again. "Where's Ai Yue? Didn't he come with you?"

"He said he had something to do and was going out..." Mobius replied subconsciously, then her expression changed. "That guy, he wouldn't be planning to go alone, would he?"

No scientist could resist the temptation of researching Herrschers, and Mobius was no exception.

But she also knew clearly that no matter how resilient one was, it was absolutely impossible to contend with a Herrscher single-handedly.

But Ai Yue... did that guy really have such a perception?

Mobius instinctively felt that the man truly believed he could handle a Herrscher.

Just then, the projector on the conference room ceiling suddenly activated. It rotated a few times, projecting a figure in front of everyone.

"Hello everyone, it's been a while for some, and nice to meet you all for the first time. I am the Artificial Intelligence 'Prometheus' from Research Institute X, here to discuss the next plan on behalf of Dr. Ai Yue's will."

Kevin, Hen, and the others exchanged glances. They didn't know about the existence of the Artificial Intelligence Project like Dr. Mei, nor had they seen Prometheus with their own eyes like Sakura. Therefore, seeing an Artificial Intelligence that looked not much different from a human girl for the first time, they were naturally a bit surprised.

"Where is Ai Yue?" Dr. Mei was the first to ask. "Did he go alone to find the Herrscher?"

"Firstly, Dr. Ai Yue is not acting alone. He has a meticulous plan and reliable teammates," Prometheus said calmly. "Secondly, regarding the search for the Herrscher, that is precisely what I am about to discuss."

"First, please look at the big screen."

Prometheus gestured backward, and several other projectors began to work, displaying the content designated by Prometheus onto the projection wall behind them.

These were screenshots of information from various social media platforms and even some chat applications. The text described, for the most part, similar situations, all conveying one meaning: people had inexplicably fallen into a coma, and hospitals were powerless to help.

"This is information I've gathered by monitoring the global network," Prometheus said, displaying more content. "By analyzing posts, blogs, or chat records, it appears these individuals were basically using the internet before falling into a coma."

"Are you suggesting that the Herrscher caused these incidents?" Dr. Mei's brow furrowed. "A Herrscher... who can wield her authority through the network?"

After a moment of thought, she decisively said, "Prometheus, can you disconnect Moth to Fire from the external network?"

If the Herrscher could indeed use the network to spread her power, then it would only be a matter of time before she found Moth to Fire. Before that happened, they had to conceal their location, otherwise, their decapitation strike against the Herrscher would fail before they even found her.

"The network connection was severed ten minutes ago," Prometheus nodded. "Currently, Moth to Fire can only use its internal network. With me here, it's possible to prevent external intrusion for at least a short period."

"That's good." Dr. Mei then looked at Kevin and the others. "Temporarily halt the operation plan. Kevin, without sufficient mental protection, rashly engaging the Herrscher could lead to meaningless sacrifices."

"Dr. Ai Yue has already made preparations for this," Prometheus said at this moment. "Research Institute X has special equipment prepared for Fused Warriors that can resist mental interference."

Dr. Mei: "Huh?"

After a moment, she recovered. "Very good. This at least guarantees the safety of some individuals. Next, Mobius, let's go to the Fifth Science Department together and find Minister Spasi to research an antidote for mental interference to ensure the safety of ordinary soldiers."

Ordinary soldiers didn't need to face the risk of confronting a Herrscher directly like Fused Warriors, but that didn't mean their lives could be sacrificed carelessly. Therefore, necessary protection was still needed.

If the more expensive resistance equipment couldn't cover all troops, then they would use cheaper medicine for temporary protection.

"Dr. Ai Yue has already made preparations for this," Prometheus said again. "The formula for the antidote against mental interference has already been sent to the Fifth Science Department. Dr. Mei, I hope you can go to the Fifth Science Department to persuade them and coordinate the transportation of raw materials and production, aiming for mass production as quickly as possible."

The sudden appearance of an unfamiliar formula wouldn't convince the staff of the Fifth Science Department entirely. At this point, Dr. Mei's reputation would be needed to persuade them, allowing the drug mass production plan to be implemented as quickly as possible.

"Additionally, Dr. Ai Yue took my portable sub-unit when he left. It's highly efficient in searching for Herrschers," Prometheus continued while Dr. Mei was lost in thought. "Once the Herrscher's location is determined, Dr. Ai Yue will contact me through my sub-unit. At that time, you can take action."

"Before that, do we have any assignments?" Hen, as the captain of the Fused Warrior squad, asked.

"Not yet. You can choose to wait in the base," Prometheus said. "Or you can go to the area where the Great Honkai erupted to deal with Honkai Beasts. I can always contact you anyway."

"In that case, let's get moving," Hen said, looking at Kevin, then at Cosmo and Desdrobia. After receiving everyone's agreement, he turned to Dr. Mei. "We'll head to the most severely affected area first to assist the local military with clearing operations and disaster relief. Is that okay?"

"Approved," Dr. Mei nodded. "A dedicated flight path has been cleared. Head to the airport to find your transport plane."

"Then we'll go get our equipment first."

Hen said and turned to leave, while Kevin looked at Sakura. "Sakura, I'm leaving Mei's safety to you."

As the strongest Fused Warrior, Kevin would inevitably be indispensable in this war, so the responsibility of protecting Dr. Mei had to fall on others.

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. "I won't let anyone hurt Dr. Mei."

"Actually, you can all act together. There's no need to worry about Dr. Mei's safety," Prometheus chimed in. "Before Dr. Ai Yue left, he authorized me to use 'Ultimate Alert Mode.' In this mode, all equipment within the entire Moth to Fire base will be under my control. The location of all personnel will be fed into my monitoring model, refreshing once per second. No suspicious individuals will have any possibility of contacting Dr. Mei in any way."

Dr. Mei: ?

Wait a minute, what do you mean all equipment within the entire Moth to Fire base is under your control?

"I have a feeling... am I being sidelined?" Dr. Mei's expression was a bit peculiar. "So, what should I do now?"

"Let's head to the Fifth Science Department first and resolve the issue with the mental resistance drugs," Mobius said, patting her shoulder with an expression that seemed to say, get used to it. "And after that... how about trying to take a vacation for yourself?"

Dr. Mei nodded slightly, unsure if she was contemplating the problem or if she found Mobius's suggestion not entirely unreasonable.

However, she was ultimately a veteran who had experienced several Honkai outbreaks. Although this was the first time she felt like she had nothing to do, Dr. Mei quickly regained her composure, assessed the current situation, and made a decision.

"Prometheus's performance is trustworthy. If she says it's fine, then it should be fine," Dr. Mei then looked at Sakura. "Sakura, you'll come with me to the Fifth Science Department to solve the mass production of the drugs. If everything goes smoothly, when I return to Moth to Fire headquarters, you can head to the front lines with the first batch of ordinary soldiers to receive the medication. Is that okay?"

The Fifth Science Department was not located within the Moth to Fire headquarters but in a separate branch base not far away. It was an extension of a hospital.

It was precisely because this place wasn't under Prometheus's jurisdiction that Dr. Mei needed Sakura to continue acting as her bodyguard.

"Mhm," Sakura nodded slightly, but the slight sway of her ears above her head betrayed her slightly excited mood. "Thank you, Dr. Mei."

"You're welcome. I can't go to the battlefield, so I can't keep someone capable of fighting by my side," Dr. Mei nodded, a slight smile appearing. "Don't forget to pick up your equipment from Ai Yue."

"Alright, since everyone has something to do, I'll be heading back now," Mobius said, waving her hand. "That old man Spasi always finds me annoying, so I won't go with you to bother him."

Without waiting for Dr. Mei's reaction, she left the room on her own.

"Dr. Mobius?"

Just then, a familiar voice called out to her. Mobius turned her head and saw Klein, who was supposed to be on vacation, standing on the other side of the hallway looking at her.

"Why are you here?" Mobius asked, looking at Klein's dark circles with a hint of helplessness. "You're not used to not working, are you, so you don't know what to do on your day off?"

"Not at all, I was reading at the library," Klein replied honestly, holding up his phone. "Besides, didn't you ask me to wait for you here?"