Honkai Impact 3rd: Saving the Pre-Civilization by Crafting Black Tech from Scratch-Chapter 35

"The monitoring circuits in Training Area C malfunctioned because of the Herrscher of Consciousness's intrusion. Since everyone's been on holiday these past few days, they haven't been repaired yet." Prometheus sighed. "You told me before that Pardofelis was incredibly lucky. I've always found the concept of luck difficult to understand, but now I finally have a vague grasp of it."

Ai Yue wasn't surprised. Pardofelis's good luck had even worked on the Cocoon of Finality, let alone an Artificial Intelligence.

As they spoke, he had already pushed open the training room Pardofelis was using. In the spacious training area, a girl with short flaxen hair lay on the floor, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Clearly, she had just gone through a series of fierce battles.

Not far from her, a training robot covered in scars was also lying on the ground. It had obviously suffered quite a beating as well.

When she saw someone enter, Pardofelis glanced over instinctively. The moment she realized it was Ai Yue, she immediately turned away and presented her back to him, seemingly still holding a grudge over what had happened earlier.

"Still angry?" Ai Yue picked up a towel from the rack nearby, walked over, and sat down to wipe the sweat from the girl's face and neck. "I was wrong about this. I'm sorry for the trouble. Forgive me?"

"I'm not angry!" Pardofelis puffed up her cheeks and tried to move away from Ai Yue, but she was utterly exhausted, and Ai Yue held her down. As a result, she could only wriggle across the floor like a caterpillar. "Brother Yue, you big dummy!"

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

She was angry that she was too weak and couldn't help Ai Yue at all. Instead, she had forced him to start planning an escape route for her in advance. Not only could she do nothing to help, she had even become a burden.

Pardofelis, who had once struggled to survive alone on Twilight Street, knew all too well how terrifying it was to live while carrying a burden.

She wasn't worried that Ai Yue would abandon her. But precisely because she wasn't worried, she couldn't bring herself to enjoy his protection with a clear conscience.

If only I could become a little more useful—even if it just meant no one had to worry about me...

"All right, no more sulking. We're going back." Ai Yue forcibly held down the struggling Pardofelis and picked her up. "Some things can't be forced, Pardo."

"What do you mean by that, Brother Yue?" Pardofelis struggled to raise her head and glared at Ai Yue, her little face flushed red with anger. "I'm not going to stay this weak forever! I don't want to be your burden!"

"Pardo." Ai Yue suddenly became serious. He set Pardofelis down, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly, "You've never been a burden. You're my anchor. Do you understand?"

Perhaps because the system was so powerful, Ai Yue often developed the illusory feeling that he was living inside a game. Whenever that feeling appeared, he found it easy to overlook other people's emotions. He would forget that every person in this world had a unique life of their own, rather than being data meant to decorate the world.

Whenever that happened, the memories of when he had first arrived in this world and been rescued by Pardofelis would remind him not to lose himself in that overwhelming power.

Back then, Ai Yue still couldn't use the system's abilities to give himself a comfortable life. The two of them often shared a single can of Canned Food, fought over the only blanket that could keep them warm, and sheltered from the rain together beneath a bridge. They had been incredibly difficult memories, but looking back on them now made him happy.

Pardofelis obviously couldn't understand Ai Yue's complicated thoughts. She only nodded with partial comprehension while wondering what a "cat anchor" was supposed to be.

"Enough talk. Go take a shower." Seizing the opportunity, Ai Yue quickly disrupted Pardofelis's train of thought and pushed her toward the exit. "I'll take you out for something delicious later."

That said, it really was time to make proper plans for how to improve the overall strength of the Moth to Fire.

As Ai Yue supported Pardofelis, whose legs were still weak, out of the training area, he began sketching out a new plan in his mind.

Chapter Three: They All Care

Although the Moth to Fire was an organization that fought the Honkai, the atmosphere at its headquarters didn't remain tense and battle-ready at all times. To help everyone relieve stress, the Moth to Fire had built many facilities for relaxation and entertainment.

The banquet hall used for dances, for example, was a large building. Besides the biggest main hall, it contained many smaller halls. Whenever someone wanted to hold an event there, they only needed to submit an application. Once it was approved, they could use the venue.

The dinner Elysia had organized specifically for the Fused Warriors was being held in one of the smaller halls. It was some distance from the main hall's dance, so there was no need to worry about interference.

By the time Ai Yue brought Pardofelis to the dinner, almost everyone had arrived.

"Oh my, isn't this the star of the evening? You finally made it?"

Elysia, who was standing at the entrance to welcome the guests, wore a maid outfit. She playfully winked at Pardofelis. "Well, if it isn't Little Pardo! It's been ages!"

"Sister Ai Li!" The moment Pardofelis saw Elysia, she ran over without another thought for Ai Yue. "I missed you so much!"

The Fused Warriors and ordinary soldiers not only lived in different areas, their missions were also worlds apart. On top of that, their daily schedules differed greatly, so even when they were stationed at the same base, they rarely had the chance to run into each other.

After all, not everyone was as free as Ai Yue, who would run to the ordinary soldiers' cafeteria for a meal whenever he had nothing else to do.

While the two of them chatted, Ai Yue walked straight inside. The dinner wasn't very large-scale; even counting everyone, there were fewer than twenty people. However, the decorations were warm and cozy. It was clear that Elysia had put a great deal of effort into it over the past few days.

"Doctor Ai Yue, over here!"

Ai Yue was still looking around from the entrance when a voice drew his attention. Hen stood by the dessert table on the left, waving at him with a smile.

Standing beside him was a woman with shoulder-length silver hair. In Hen's arms, he held a little girl who was trying desperately to grab a doughnut but kept falling just short because of her father's restraint.

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

"This is my wife, Blanca." When Ai Yue approached, Hen happily introduced the woman beside him. "She may be working a desk job now, but she used to be a senior researcher at the First Research Institute. She was Doctor Mobius's assistant!"

"Hello, Doctor Ai Yue." Blanca had beautiful features and a gentle smile. She looked every bit the devoted wife and loving mother. She gave Ai Yue a slight bow in greeting. "Thank you for your contributions in this war, and for helping my Hen return safely from the battlefield."

"Hello." Ai Yue nodded in return. "I couldn't have ended the war by myself. Hen's contributions were just as crucial."

"Oh, don't say that." Hen looked a little embarrassed, as though he felt ashamed that he hadn't contributed much on the battlefield. "Ahem, and this is our precious daughter, Griseo. Come on, Griseo, say hello to Doctor Ai Yue~"

Hen grabbed one of Griseo's arms and waved it, apparently helping his daughter greet Ai Yue. Blanca thoughtfully picked up the doughnut Griseo had been longing for and placed it in the girl's hand.

Only after grabbing the doughnut did Griseo finally pull her attention away from it. She raised her head, looked at the young man before her, and waved the doughnut in her hand. "Doctor Ai Yue... big brother."

"Just call me Brother Ai Yue." Ai Yue smiled and waved back at Griseo. At the same time, he took a beautiful crystal pendant from his pocket. "It's our first time meeting, and I didn't have anything prepared. Here, this little gift is for you."

"How could we accept this..."

Blanca instinctively tried to refuse. After all, accepting someone else's gift at their first meeting was indeed a little inappropriate. But Hen was quick enough to snatch it away. Grinning, he put it around Griseo's neck. "Thanks, Doctor Ai Yue! Come on, Griseo, put it on and let Daddy see how it looks!"

Ai Yue didn't disturb the family's happy life any further. After taking another look at the three of them, he turned and left.

He could vaguely hear the couple's conversation behind him.

"What's wrong with you? How can you be so shameless?"

"Oh, what do you know? Doctor Ai Yue isn't stingy. Besides, he's incredibly capable. Anything he gives away has to be good!"

As someone who had personally experienced the weapons Ai Yue produced, Hen naturally understood his abilities. Besides, the crystal pendant clearly wasn't ordinary. It suited his daughter perfectly!

Griseo didn't give her opinion, but judging from the way she clutched the crystal pendant with both hands and ignored the doughnut after it fell to the floor, she probably liked it very much.

Of course, no food would be wasted that evening. Any food the daughter didn't want would naturally be dealt with by her father.

Listening to their conversation behind him, Ai Yue finally couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face.

In the original story, Blanca would fall into a dream created by the Eighth Herrscher and eventually die from organ failure. Although Griseo survived until the dream collapsed, she still remained on the brink of death, forcing Mobius to perform Fused Warrior surgery on her against everyone's objections in order to save her life.

Yet even after Griseo was lucky enough to survive the Fused Warrior surgery, the Moth to Fire's higher-ups became wary of her because of the strange abilities she displayed. In the end, they exiled her to The Deepest Place.

If she hadn't received Aponia's care there, it would have been nearly impossible for a girl under 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, which was why she ultimately sacrificed herself.

But none of that had happened. The family of three was still living together in warmth, and Cosmo had not lost someone important to him—all because Ai Yue had changed everything that would have happened.

Seeing people who should have died still living healthy lives was indeed a strange experience. Even though no one knew what had happened, and even though he had no one to tell about this achievement, Ai Yue was still happy with his efforts.

Children could continue growing up happily in the company of their parents. Naive young boys and girls still had the chance to develop deeper bonds in the years ahead. What could be better?

Perhaps that was the meaning of his transmigration into this world.

Chapter Four: Treasures from Ancient Times, Now Given Away for Free

After saying goodbye to Griseo's family, Ai Yue soon encountered a second beneficiary.

"Hello, Doctor Ai Yue!"

The energetic Daisy dragged Cosmo over. As she greeted him, she handed him an exquisitely wrapped box. "This is a gift for you!"

"For me?" Ai Yue raised his eyebrows and accepted it. "Thanks. It's been quite a while since I last received a gift."

"It should actually count as a meeting gift, but everyone was busy preparing Captain Kevin's birthday party at the time, so I didn't have time to prepare anything." Daisy nudged Cosmo with her elbow. "Go on, open it. I don't know if you'll like it."

"I chose the gift, Doctor Ai Yue." Cosmo finally spoke. "Daisy said that since we're both male, I might understand your preferences better. But I'm not very good at giving gifts either. If you don't like it, I can change it..."

He didn't get to finish, because Daisy's elbow struck him again.

The girl couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. Idiot Cosmo, who says something like that when giving someone a gift?

After Ai Yue opened the package, he took out a box of... a model kit.

"This is a model from a recently popular mecha series. It's also a limited-edition color variant, so it's very cool, but it was difficult to get..." Cosmo explained while watching Ai Yue's expression. "Um, do you not like it?"

"I'm just a little surprised." Ai Yue stroked the design on the box, his expression somewhat complicated. "I didn't expect to escape it even after coming here."

Of course, no world is complete without dog companies making money by selling toys... right, X-Generation?

"Anyway, I really like it." Ai Yue set it aside for the moment and reached into his pocket again. "Since we have this opportunity, I might as well give you two these as well."

As he spoke, he pulled out two items resembling forehead protectors.

"Isn't that... the Soul Guardian from before?" Cosmo quickly recognized the items in Ai Yue's hands. "Don't we already have one set?"

"These are different. They're special tools made specifically for the two of you." Ai Yue explained, "I remember that you two operate together, right?"

"Yes. Daisy usually handles offense, while I'm responsible for protection and breaking through defenses." Cosmo nodded. "Daisy is very efficient at clearing mobs... I mean, dealing with hordes of Honkai Beasts."

Perhaps because he vaguely sensed that Ai Yue was a kindred spirit, Cosmo became a little excited and nearly let a gaming term slip out.

Under the current tactical arrangements, Kevin's team was mainly responsible for decapitation operations targeting powerful individual Honkai Beasts. However, every Emperor-class or stronger Honkai Beast was bound to appear alongside a massive horde of Honkai Beasts. How to carve a path through that horde quickly while minimizing energy consumption was Daisy's responsibility.

"These two items are experimental prototypes developed based on the Eighth Herrscher's authority." Ai Yue handed one to each of them. "Once activated, they can cause the wearers' mental powers to resonate, producing a special effect."

"Resonate?" Daisy and Cosmo exchanged a glance, both of them showing intense curiosity. "What kind of special effect?"

"Experimental results show that they can distribute the mental burden between two people." Ai Yue thought for a moment before explaining, "For example, Daisy, Cosmo can share your mental expenditure. After resonating with your mental power, Cosmo can also gain corresponding benefits."

"That powerful?" Cosmo's eyes widened. "I thought equipment with effects like this only existed in games."

Two people's mental powers resonating and allowing both of them to benefit sounded almost like magic.

"It's still only in the testing phase, so I need people to help collect experimental data." Ai Yue smiled. "Why don't you try them now?"

The two exchanged a glance, then tried putting the equipment on their heads.

As the equipment activated, both of them felt dizzy at the same time. Fortunately, the sensation lasted only an instant and caused no lasting effects.

"It really feels different?" Daisy looked around. With a slight raise of her hand, all the tableware on the tables floated into the air and began dancing around. "I can control more things! Cosmo, how do you feel? Are you dizzy?"

Whenever Daisy tried using telekinesis beyond her endurance limit, she would suffer symptoms such as dizziness and nosebleeds. Yet none of those symptoms appeared now, making her worry that Cosmo had taken on the consequences for her.

"No, I feel great." Cosmo frowned in concentration. "I can't actually sense telekinesis, but something does seem different."

He closed his eyes, and a strange sensation surged through his mind. Under the support of Daisy's powerful mental strength, Cosmo vaguely sensed the positions and individual energy levels of everyone in the banquet hall.

The strongest person here was Elysia. Kevin should theoretically have been stronger than him, yet for some reason, he seemed weak, with an energy response slightly lower than Elysia's. After him came Hen, and then...

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

He could sense everyone in the room, including Doctor Mei, whose energy response was slightly lower than an ordinary person's. Yet he alone couldn't sense Ai Yue, despite him being right in front of Cosmo.

If his eyes were closed, he wouldn't even have realized that someone was standing before him.

If mental perception worked on a principle similar to radar, detecting things by receiving the mental waves they emitted, didn't that mean Ai Yue could "absorb" the mental power he sent out?

"What's wrong?" Ai Yue hadn't noticed Cosmo's thoughts. "If you feel uncomfortable, be sure to tell me."

"No, everything's fine." Cosmo didn't reveal his thoughts and simply nodded. "This equipment is incredible. Does it have a name?"

"I originally wanted to call it the 'Knight's Oath,' but after actually making it, I found that its effects were somewhat different, so it doesn't have a name yet." Ai Yue smiled. "As the first people to use this pair of equipment, I'll leave the naming rights to you. Think carefully."

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

"That really is your style." Daisy gave him an expression that said she couldn't deal with him, but she didn't object. "I can't think of a better name right now either, so let's use this for now."

Ai Yue smiled without saying anything and simply looked at the system interface before him.

Mental Power Sample · Daisy (Rare): Usable Value 100%.

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

"Daisy, what are you doing?" Just then, Kevin and Doctor Mei walked over. "Why did you suddenly make all the tableware float?"

"Ah, sorry! I'll put everything back right now!" Daisy blushed and hurriedly controlled the tableware back into place. Then she and Cosmo quickly ran off together.

Although this was a party, spending time with a superior like Doctor Mei was bound to be stressful.

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

"I see. Should I say that's just like you?" Doctor Mei looked at the equipment on the two people's heads and couldn't help sighing. "It's only been a few days, and you've already achieved results in researching the Eighth Herrscher's authority."

"It's only a simple application. It hardly counts as an achievement." Ai Yue shook his head and didn't elaborate. Instead, he looked behind the two of them. "Who is this?"

Behind Kevin and Doctor Mei stood a gray-haired man in silence. He had handsome features and could easily be mistaken for a woman. Since he had remained quiet the whole time, he hadn't drawn Cosmo and Daisy's attention.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you." Kevin rarely showed a smile as he reached out and pulled the man over. "This is Su, a former classmate of mine and Mei's. He joined the Moth to Fire some time ago and is currently a doctor in the Fifth Science Department, researching ways to cure Honkai Sickness."

Kevin didn't hide anything. He had already learned about Ai Yue's clearance level from Doctor Mei, and Su's affairs clearly weren't above Ai Yue's authorization.

"Hello, Doctor Ai Yue. I've heard a great deal about you." Su extended his hand and spoke with admiration. "When my teacher and I received that formula, we thought it was someone's prank. We never expected it to be so powerful."