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

"The surveillance circuits in training area C malfunctioned due to the Herrscher of Consciousness's invasion. Since it's a holiday these past few days, they haven't been repaired yet," Prometheus sighed. "You told me before that Pardofelis has very good luck, and I always had trouble understanding the concept of luck. Now, I finally have a vague understanding."

Ai Yue wasn't surprised by this at all. Pardofelis's good luck could even affect the Herrscher of the End's cocoon, let alone an Artificial Intelligence?

As they spoke, he had already pushed open the training room Pardofelis was using. In the empty space, a girl with short, flaxen hair was lying on the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, clearly having undergone a series of intense battles.

Not far from her, a heavily damaged training robot also lay on the ground, having evidently endured its own share of torment.

Seeing someone enter, Pardofelis instinctively glanced over. Upon realizing it was Ai Yue, she immediately turned her body away, her back to him, seemingly still holding a bit of resentment over what happened earlier.

"Still angry?" Ai Yue picked up a towel from a nearby rack, walked over, and sat down, helping the girl wipe the sweat from her face and neck. "I was wrong about this matter. I apologize. Will you forgive me?"

"I'm not angry," Pardofelis huffed, trying to distance herself from Ai Yue. However, being utterly exhausted, and with Ai Yue holding her down, she could only squirm on the ground like a caterpillar. "Brother Yue is a big dummy!"

How could she possibly bear to be angry with Ai Yue? From beginning to end, Pardofelis was only angry at herself.

Angry at herself for being too weak to help Ai Yue, and even having Ai Yue consider a fallback plan for her in advance. This way, not only could she not help at all, but she also became a burden.

Pardofelis, who had struggled to survive alone in Twilight Street in the past, knew very well how terrifying it was to live with a burden.

She wasn't worried that Ai Yue would abandon her, but precisely because of that, she couldn't comfortably enjoy his protection.

If only she could become a little more useful, even if it was just not to worry him…

"Alright, no more sulking. Let's go back," Ai Yue forcibly held down the struggling Pardofelis and picked her up. "Some things can't be forced, Pardo."

"Brother Yue, what do you mean!" Pardofelis struggled to lift her head and glare at Ai Yue, her small face flushed red. "I won't always be this weak! I don't want to be your burden!"

"Pardo." Hearing this, Ai Yue suddenly became serious. He put Pardo down, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly, "You are never a burden. You are my anchor, understand?"

Perhaps it was because the System was too powerful, but Ai Yue often felt a sense of unreality, as if he were living in a game. When that feeling arose, he would easily overlook the feelings of others, forgetting that everyone in this world had their own unique life, not just data to adorn the world.

Every time this happened, it was the memory of when Ai Yue first arrived in this world and was saved by Pardofelis that reminded him not to get lost in that power.

At that time, Ai Yue couldn't yet use the System's abilities to live a good life. Therefore, the two of them often shared a single can of food, fought over the only blanket for warmth, and sheltered from the rain under a bridge. Although these were difficult memories, they made him happy now.

However, Pardofelis clearly couldn't understand Ai Yue's complex thoughts. She just nodded with a partial understanding, while pondering in her mind what a "cat point" was.

"Let's not talk about it anymore. Let's go back and take a bath quickly," Ai Yue took this opportunity to quickly disrupt Pardofelis's train of thought and pushed her towards the exit. "I'll take you to eat something delicious later."

But then again, at this point, it was indeed time to properly plan how to improve the overall strength of Moth to Fire.

As Ai Yue supported the wobbly-legged Pardofelis out of the training area, he was sketching out new plans in his mind.

Chapter 3: They All Care

Although Moth to Fire was an organization fighting against Honkai, the atmosphere at headquarters wasn't always in a state of tense combat readiness. In order to relieve everyone's stress on normal days, Moth to Fire had also built many facilities for relaxation and entertainment.

For example, the banquet hall used for hosting dances was a large building. Besides the main hall, there were many smaller halls. If someone wanted to use the venue for an event, they only needed to submit an application to the higher-ups, and they could use it after it was approved.

Elysia's private banquet for the Fused Warriors was held in one of the smaller halls, far from the main hall's dance, so there was no need to worry about being disturbed.

By the time Ai Yue brought Pardofelis to the banquet venue, most people had already arrived.

"Oh my, isn't this our protagonist today? Finally here?"

Elysia, who was guarding the entrance to welcome guests, was wearing a maid outfit and playfully winked at Pardofelis. "Isn't this Little Pardo? It's been a long time."

"Sister Elysia!" As soon as Pardofelis saw Elysia, she immediately ran over, forgetting about Ai Yue. "I missed you so much!"

Fused Warriors and ordinary soldiers not only lived in different areas but also performed vastly different missions. In addition, their daily routines were quite different. Therefore, even when they were in the same base, they rarely had a chance to meet.

After all, not everyone could be like Ai Yue, who would go to the ordinary soldiers' mess hall to eat whenever he was bored.

While the two were still chatting, Ai Yue walked straight in. The banquet was not large, with no more than twenty people in total. However, the decorations were very warm and cozy, showing that Elysia had put in a lot of effort these past two days.

"Dr. Ai Yue, over here!"

As Ai Yue was observing at the entrance, a voice caught his attention. Hen stood in the dessert area on the left, smiling and waving at him.

Beside him stood a woman with shoulder-length silver hair. In Hen's arms was a little girl who was trying hard to reach for a donut but always fell just short due to her father's restraint.

The girl looked about five or six years old, but her father was still reluctant to let go, showing how much he loved his daughter.

"This is my wife, Blanca," Hen said happily as Ai Yue approached, introducing the woman beside him. "Although she's on leave now, she was once a senior researcher at the First Research Institute and Dr. Mobius's assistant!"

"Hello, Dr. Ai Yue," Blanca was beautiful and had a gentle smile, clearly a good wife and mother. She bowed slightly to Ai Yue in greeting. "Thank you for your contributions to this war, for allowing my Hen to return safely from the battlefield."

"Hello," Ai Yue nodded in return. "I couldn't have ended the war alone. Hen's role was equally crucial."

"Oh, why talk about that," Hen said a little awkwardly, as if not having played much of a role on the battlefield was something he was embarrassed about. "Ahem, and this is our precious daughter, Griseo. Come, Griseo, say hello to Dr. Ai Yue~"

Hen reached out and grabbed one of Griseo's arms, waving it as if to have his daughter greet him. Blanca, meanwhile, thoughtfully picked up the donut that her daughter had been eyeing and placed it in the girl's hand.

Only when she grasped the donut did the girl finally shift her attention away from it. She looked up at the young man in front of her and waved the donut in her hand. "Dr. Ai Yue… Brother."

"Just call me Brother Ai Yue," Ai Yue smiled and waved at Griseo. He then took a beautiful crystal pendant out of his pocket. "This is my first time meeting you, and I didn't prepare much. Please accept this small gift."

"This really isn't appropriate…"

Blanca instinctively wanted to refuse, as accepting a gift from someone on the first meeting was a bit awkward. However, Hen quickly took it and then happily put it around Griseo's neck. "Thanks, Dr. Ai Yue. Come on, Griseo, put it on so Daddy can see how pretty it looks!"

Ai Yue didn't linger to disturb the happy family any further. He glanced at the three of them again before turning to leave.

He could faintly hear the couple's conversation.

"What's wrong with you? Why weren't you more polite!"

"Oh, what do you know? Dr. Ai Yue isn't a stingy person, and he's incredibly powerful. Anything he gives must be a good item!"

Having personally experienced weapons produced by Brother Yue, Hen naturally understood Brother Yue's skill level. Moreover, this crystal pendant looked extraordinary, and it was perfect for his daughter!

Griseo didn't offer any opinion, but seeing her holding the crystal pendant with both hands, not even caring when her donut fell to the ground, suggested she liked it very much.

Of course, no food was wasted tonight. Any food his daughter didn't want would naturally be taken care of by her father.

Listening to the conversation behind him, a smile finally couldn't help but appear on Brother Yue's face.

In the original plot, Blanca would fall into a dreamscape created by the Eighth Herrscher and eventually die from organ failure. Although Griseo managed to last until the dreamscape shattered, she was still on the brink of death, forcing Mobius to perform the Fused Warrior surgery against everyone's advice to save her life.

However, even though Griseo was fortunate enough to survive thanks to the Fused Warrior surgery, the higher-ups of Moth to Fire were wary of the strange abilities she displayed and ultimately banished her to The Deepest Place.

If she hadn't received Aponia's care there, it would have been difficult for a girl less than ten years old like Griseo to survive in such a place.

And then there was Desdrobia. As a Mental Perception Fused Warrior, she must have played a crucial role in the original battle, sacrificing herself in the process.

But none of that happened. The family of three still lived together harmoniously, and Cosmo didn't lose someone important to him—all because Brother Yue changed what was supposed to happen.

Seeing those who were supposed to die still alive was indeed a wondrous experience. Even if no one knew what had happened, even if no one could be credited for it, Brother Yue was still happy for his efforts.

Children could still grow up happily under their parents' care, and naive young boys and girls still had the chance to develop deeper feelings for each other in the future. What a good thing.

This was probably the meaning of his transmigration to this world.

Chapter 4: Treasures from the Ancient Era, Now Given Away for Free

After bidding farewell to Griseo's family, Brother Yue soon encountered the second beneficiary.

"Hello, Dr. Brother Yue!"

The energetic girl, Desdrobia, dragged Cosmo over. While greeting him, she handed him a delicately wrapped box. "This is a gift for you!"

"For me?" Brother Yue raised an eyebrow and accepted it. "Thank you. I haven't received a gift in quite a while."

"Actually, it's more of a housewarming gift, but everyone was busy preparing for Captain Kevin's birthday party back then, so I didn't have time to prepare one," Desdrobia nudged Cosmo with her elbow. "Hurry up and open it. I wonder if you'll like it."

"I picked the gift, Dr. Brother Yue," Cosmo finally spoke. "Because Desdrobia said that as fellow males, I might understand your preferences better. However, I'm not really good at giving gifts. If you don't like it, I can exchange it..."

He couldn't finish his sentence because Desdrobia elbowed him.

The girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at him—silly Cosmo, who says things like that when giving a gift!

After Brother Yue opened the packaging, he took out a box of... model kits.

"This is a very popular mecha-themed model kit recently, and it's a limited edition color variant. It's really cool, but also very hard to get..." Cosmo explained while observing Brother Yue's expression. "Uh, you don't like it?"

"I'm just a little surprised," Brother Yue said, stroking the image on the box with a subtle expression. "I didn't expect to still be stuck with this even after coming here."

Indeed, no world can do without greedy companies selling toys to make money... wouldn't you agree, X-gen?

"In any case, I like it very much." Brother Yue set it aside for the moment and reached into his pocket. "Also, since we have this opportunity, I might as well give you these two items."

As he spoke, he pulled out two items resembling headbands from his pocket.

"Isn't this... the 'Soul Guardian' from before?" Cosmo quickly recognized the items in Brother Yue's hand. "Don't we already have a pair?"

"These are different. These are special tools made specifically for you two," Brother Yue explained. "I recall you two act together, right?"

"Yes, Desdrobia usually takes the lead in offense, while I handle protection and breaking through enemy lines," Cosmo nodded. "Desdrobia's ability is very efficient for clearing mobs... I mean, dealing with waves of Honkai Beasts."

Perhaps sensing that Brother Yue was somewhat similar to him, Cosmo couldn't help but get excited and almost blurted out game terminology.

In the current tactical arrangements, Kevin's squad primarily focused on decapitation strikes against powerful individual Honkai Beasts. However, every King-class or even higher-class Honkai Beast would inevitably appear alongside massive waves of Honkai Beasts. How to quickly carve a path through these hordes while minimizing energy expenditure was Desdrobia's responsibility.

"These two items are prototypes developed with inspiration from the Herrscher of the Eighth's authority," Brother Yue said, handing one to each of them. "When activated, they can cause the mental energy of the two wearers to resonate, unleashing special effects."

"Resonance?" Desdrobia and Cosmo exchanged glances, seeing a deep curiosity in each other's eyes. "What kind of special effects?"

"Experimental results show that it can share the mental burden between two people," Brother Yue thought for a moment and explained. "For example, Desdrobia, you can have Cosmo share your mental exhaustion, and Cosmo, after resonating with your mental energy, can also gain corresponding benefits."

"That's amazing?" Cosmo's eyes widened. "I thought equipment with this kind of effect only existed in games."

The resonance of their mental energy, benefiting both of them, sounded like some kind of magic.

"This is still in the testing phase, so I need people to help collect experimental data," Brother Yue smiled. "Why don't you try it out now?"

The two exchanged glances, then attempted to put the equipment on their heads.

As the equipment activated, both felt a momentary dizziness. Fortunately, the sensation lasted only an instant and caused no lasting effects.

"It feels... different now?" Desdrobia looked around. With a slight raise of her hand, all the cutlery on the table floated up and began to dance in the air. "I can control more things! Cosmo, how are you? Do you feel dizzy?"

Desdrobia would experience dizziness and nosebleeds when attempting to use telekinesis beyond her limit. None of those symptoms appeared now, making her worry if Cosmo was bearing the consequences for her.

"No, I feel fine right now," Cosmo frowned with effort. "Although I don't feel any telekinetic presence, something does seem different."

He closed his eyes, and a peculiar sensation surged through him. Empowered by Desdrobia's strong mental energy, Cosmo could vaguely sense the location and individual energy intensity of everyone in the banquet hall.

The strongest person present was Elysia. Kevin, who should theoretically be stronger than him, was inexplicably somewhat weak, his energy signature slightly lower than Elysia's. Then came Hen, followed by...

Cosmo quickly opened his eyes and looked at Brother Yue with a suddenly strange expression.

He could sense everyone in the room, including Dr. Mei, whose energy signature was slightly below average, but he couldn't sense Brother Yue, who was right beside him.

If his eyes were closed, he wouldn't even realize someone was standing in front of him.

If the principle of mental perception was similar to radar, both detecting through emitted mental wave frequencies, wouldn't that mean Brother Yue could "absorb" the mental energy he emitted?

"What's wrong?" Brother Yue hadn't realized Cosmo's internal monologue. "If you feel unwell, remember to tell me."

"No, everything's fine," Cosmo didn't voice his inner thoughts, merely nodding. "This equipment is truly amazing. Does it have a name?"

"I originally wanted to call it 'Knight's Oath,' but after actually making it, I realized the effect was a bit off, so it doesn't have a name yet," Ai Yue said with a smile. "As the first people to use this pair of equipment, I'll leave the naming rights to you. You'd better think carefully."

Cosmo lowered his head and thought seriously, then looked at the girl beside him. "How about 'Soul Contract'?"

"That's really your style," Desdrobia put on an expression of 'I can't stand you,' but she didn't object. "But I can't think of any other names right now, so let's use this one for now."

Ai Yue smiled and remained silent, looking at the system interface before him.

"Mental Power Sample - Desdrobia (Rare): Usable Value 100%."

"Mental Power Sample - Cosmo (Rare): Usable Value 100%."

"Dess, what are you doing?" Just then, Kevin and Dr. Mei walked over. "Why are the cutlery suddenly floating?"

"Ah, ah, sorry, I'll stop now!" Desdrobia blushed instantly, quickly controlling the cutlery to return to their original positions, and then she and Cosmo quickly ran away.

Although it was a banquet, being with a superior like Dr. Mei was definitely stressful.

Ai Yue simply explained the situation to the two of them.

"I see. As expected of you," Dr. Mei looked at the equipment on their heads and couldn't help but sigh. "In just a few days, you've already achieved results in researching the authority of the Eighth Herrscher."

"It's just a simple application, not really an achievement," Ai Yue shook his head, not saying much more, but looked behind the two of them. "And who is this?"

Behind Kevin and Dr. Mei, a man with gray hair stood quietly. He had handsome features, so much so that he could easily be mistaken for a woman. Because he had been silent, he hadn't attracted the attention of Cosmo and the other.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you," Kevin rarely smiled, reaching out and pulling the man over. "This is Su. He's an old classmate of Mei and mine. He also joined Moth to Fire some time ago and is currently working as a doctor in the Fifth Science Department, researching ways to cure Honkai Sickness."

Kevin didn't hide anything, as he already knew about Ai Yue's clearance from Dr. Mei. Su's situation was clearly not beyond his clearance.

"Hello, Dr. Ai Yue. I've heard a lot about you," Su extended his hand and said in an admiring tone. "When my teacher and I received that formula back then, we thought it was someone's prank. I didn't expect it to be so effective."