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

Ling didn't seem to be very old either. It would be best to arrange for her to go directly to Twilight Street and have Kalpas or Aponia stationed there to directly resolve all safety hazards.

This way, the Honkai Sickness vaccine would need to be resolved quickly.

Chapter 7: Vill-V, Withering

Elysia was clearly very good at organizing group activities. Tonight's banquet was prepared quite thoroughly, and everyone, adults and children alike, had a great time.

In the end, the vast majority of people became captives of alcohol, making the entire venue even more lively.

Because Genshin needed to sleep early, she had to be carried out of the venue by Blanca. After the restraint of his own wife was gone, Hen quickly entered a drunken state and began to tell everyone about the hardships he had endured over the years, sacrificing his life and blood for Moth to Fire. He denounced the higher-ups for treating him like cattle, forcing him to fight on the front lines for so many years without any hope of promotion.

Of course, not many people actually listened to the old social animal vent his dissatisfaction. Most of them offered perfunctory responses before finding excuses to leave. But two people remained.

One was the honest Hua, who was accustomed to obeying orders and dared not disobey superiors, and the other was Su, who was kind-hearted and tried to alleviate Hen's psychological stress.

The other side, however, was much more chaotic.

Mobius, who had almost never attended such events, was the first to get drunk. Perhaps the alcohol released her long-suppressed emotions, causing her to exclaim that one day she would drag Ai Yue into the operating room for a thorough study, which drew a hidden and subtle gaze from Aponia.

"You know she's just throwing a tantrum, right?" Elysia said with a smile. "Mobius, she only shouts things like that when she knows for sure it's impossible to achieve."

"Who knows? Maybe she just wants to lower others' guard this way," Aponia's brow furrowed, not relaxing even with Elysia's words. She used her wine glass to shield her slightly flushed cheeks, her gaze shifting between Mobius and Ai Yue. "Speaking of which, if throwing a drunken fit is acceptable, then I..."

"Someone who can say such things won't be considered to be just throwing a drunken fit when they act," Eden said with a smile from the side. "However, I can see that you care a lot about Mr. Ai Yue."

"Of course," Aponia replied without hesitation. "To me, Ai Yue is a very important person."

"It really startled me back then," Elysia recalled how Aponia, who had always appeared calm, suddenly grabbed Ai Yue's arm tightly and expressed clear opposition to her at the convent. She couldn't help but laugh. "Eden, you don't know, Aponia is terrifying when she's angry!"

"I can probably imagine," Eden replied with a smile. "However, if she can make Miss Aponia angry, the other person must have truly done something wrong."

"What do you mean, Eden? You're not even taking my side!" Elysia said, feigning grievance. "You've forgotten your old friends for new ones? I'm so sad, boohoohoo..."

Facing Elysia's deliberately exaggerated fake crying, Eden couldn't help but raise her glass to Aponia, with an expression that seemed to say, "Isn't she cute?"

Aponia smiled helplessly and no longer dwelled on Mobius's matter.

After calming down, she realized that Mobius could only talk big. After all, as long as Ai Yue himself didn't agree, Mobius would absolutely not be able to get him onto the operating table.

It seems I'm really a bit drunk... So if I'm really drunk, can I do something?

Aponia looked at the swirling liquid in her wine glass and decided to drink more.

However, at this moment, the lights in the banquet hall suddenly went out.

Everyone, whether sober or not, fell silent for a moment due to the sudden change. Then, a single spotlight turned on, illuminating the center of the banquet hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Vill-V, who had somehow changed into a magician's outfit, stood there. "Next, please enjoy the most magnificent magic performance of the century, brought to you by none other than myself, Vill-V!"

"Rose, turn on the lights," Ai Yue's cold voice interrupted Vill-V's performance. Immediately, the banquet hall was illuminated again.

"Eh, wait?" Vill-V suddenly panicked. "Rose, you said you'd help me just now!"

"I apologize," Prometheus's voice came from her earpiece. "But after calculation, I believe disobeying Dr. Ai Yue's orders would have more severe consequences."

"Damn it, you biased fellow!"

"Still have the energy to care about that?" Ai Yue approached Vill-V step by step, a ferocious smile on his face. "I was wondering why you never showed up. So you planned to wait until everyone was drunk before causing trouble, right? Mobius, hold her down!"

Vill-V felt a sense of dread and instinctively tried to slip away, but it was too late.

A soft yet slightly cold body pressed against her back, restraining both her arms. Vill-V only had to turn her head to smell the strong scent of alcohol on the other person: "Mobius, are you really willing to be ordered around by Ai Yue!"

"Idiot, at a time like this, those things don't matter," Mobius said drunkenly. "You, you should suffer a little, shouldn't you?"

Vill-V wanted to say something else, but she caught sight of Ai Yue approaching her with a wine glass out of the corner of her eye, her expression changing drastically: "Wait, you're not going to force me to drink, are you? That's immoral!"

"What is the latecomer saying?" Ai Yue pressed closer, his expression growing more gleeful. "According to the rules in my hometown, you have to drink three penalty cups. This is only one cup, so you're getting off easy."

"But isn't the capacity of this cup a bit too large!" Vill-V's eyes widened as she looked at the cup in his hand, which held at least five hundred milliliters. Her face turned pale. "Wait, I was wrong, I was really wrong! Alcohol is harmful to the brain! Don't force... Wuwuwuwuwu!"

Of course, Vill-V didn't fail to try to struggle, but she was just an ordinary person now. How could she break free from the restraint of a Fused Warrior?

So in the end, she was forcefully made to drink by Ai Yue.

Ai Yue didn't just do this because she was late. The main reason was that Prometheus had already revealed her entire plan, and the victim of the plan was himself. This guy planned to drop a giant cake on his head at the end of the magic show and then make a quick getaway, leaving him to make a fool of himself. How could Ai Yue let her off easily?

Thus, the first victim of this banquet was born.

Chapter 8: Surpassing Even Light

With Vill-V's downfall, the entire banquet drew to a close.

Hen had already been picked up by Blanca, and Hua and Su had also bid farewell. Aponia and Eden, not having had enough to drink, went together to Eden's residence to continue their tasting. Pardofelis, after a night of hearty eating, had entered a drowsy state and curled up in a corner, fast asleep. So Ai Yue asked Sakura to take her home. As for Kevin and Dr. Mei, they were likely among the first to slip away.

Kalpas, on the other hand, had plundered a pile of desserts and gone home, forcing the pastry chefs to work overtime to make another batch.

After Elysia also left to take Vill-V to rest, Ai Yue and Mobius were the only ones left who were relatively sober.

"How are you feeling?" Ai Yue looked at Mobius, who was also starting to feel sleepy, and couldn't help but shake his head. "If you're not good at drinking, then drink less."

"I'll do as I please!" Mobius suddenly looked up, then drooped her head again. "Ugh, my head is so dizzy. I'm going to sleep for a whole day..."

"Not doing experiments?" Ai Yue chuckled. "Weren't you just clamoring about surpassing me sooner or later?"

"Can't surpass you," Mobius said, hitting him without looking up. "Someone like you, how could I possibly surpass you..."

Perhaps it was because she was drunk, but some things were easier to say. At least Ai Yue couldn't imagine Mobius frankly admitting this when she was sober.

But then, he heard Mobius continue, "However, that's still not enough."

Ai Yue blinked, "What's not enough?"

"You! You're still not fast enough!" Mobius suddenly looked up, staring intently at Ai Yue, "You need to be faster! Faster than Honkai, faster than the Herrschers! Only by evolving faster than them can you defeat them!"

"I must... be a little faster..."

She mumbled this sentence, slowly closed her eyes, and suddenly collapsed into Ai Yue's arms, falling asleep.

"Excuse me."

At this moment, Klein's voice suddenly entered his ears. Ai Yue realized then that she had appeared before him at some unknown time.

The assistant, whose dark circles had noticeably improved, gave Ai Yue a slight nod. "I'm here to take Doctor Mobius back."

"Then I'll leave her to you." Ai Yue transferred Mobius, who was in his arms, to Klein. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Klein, you must have heard what Mobius just said, right? What do you think?"

"Doctor Mobius has actually been very anxious," Klein explained. "She once said that if human civilization continues to develop at this rate, it will be absolutely impossible to defeat Honkai. So for the future of humanity, she cannot afford to relax even a little."

Ai Yue froze for a moment and remained silent.

"However, since you arrived, Doctor Mobius hasn't said that much anymore," Klein said, supporting Mobius by her waist and giving Ai Yue a slight smile. "Now, the Doctor is even willing to spend time at this kind of party and get this drunk. It's probably because she feels that with you here, there's no need to be so rushed."

After saying this, Klein nodded to Ai Yue again and then, with some effort, helped Mobius leave.

Faster than Honkai?

The words Mobius had just spoken replayed in Ai Yue's mind, and he couldn't help but smile.

From her words, he vaguely saw the deepest worries hidden in Mobius's heart.

From the day Herrschers were born, they hadn't given humanity much time to breathe. From the First Herrscher to the Herrscher of the End, not even fifty years had passed between them.

And the gap in Herrscher strength had expanded from simply analyzing human technology and using Honkai Energy to imitate it, to controlling almost infinite Honkai Energy, capable of easily wiping out entire surface civilizations with a mere gesture.

Such a numerical expansion, if it were in a game, would be enough for players to curse the developers' entire lineage from modern times all the way back to the caveman era. Yet, this was the desperate future humanity had to face.

Even with the constant emergence of brilliant individuals like Dr. Mei among humans, they could only barely preserve a spark of civilization, which then barely allowed the new civilization 50,000 years later the "possibility" to defeat the Herrscher of the End.

To avoid such an outcome and achieve a perfect ending in the first playthrough, what Ai Yue needed to do was far more complex than Mobius had anticipated.

Faster than the Herrschers? No, that would be too boring.

Ai Yue looked down at his palm and slowly clenched it into a fist. "My evolution speed is going to surpass the speed of light."

"Surpass the speed of light? What are you talking about?"

Elysia's voice suddenly came from behind him. The pink-haired girl leaned curiously in front of Ai Yue's eyes. "Ai Yue, you're saying strange things again."

"Just setting a small goal for myself." Ai Yue created a little distance between himself and Elysia, then asked, "Is Vill-V okay?"

"If you were worried, you shouldn't have gotten her so drunk," Elysia shook her head slightly, but then winked mischievously. "But it's okay, Vill-V sobered up after she left here. She said she had long foreseen the outcome and took medicine in advance."

"That medicine of hers is useless," Ai Yue waved his hand dismissively. "She'll be miserable all day tomorrow, I guarantee it."

Prometheus had already established a personality model for Vill-V, capable of analyzing her details based on her every move. Although Vill-V's struggle when Ai Yue was plying her with alcohol was intense, her eyes hadn't shown much change. It was then that Ai Yue knew this matter was also within her calculations.

So, the real revenge on Vill-V was to use the act of getting her drunk to conceal the mental interference.

"Oh, then I'll have to witness it properly," Elysia said with a smile, as if she had already decided to watch Vill-V make a fool of herself tomorrow. "Did you have fun today?"

"It was pretty good. You're the one who should organize these kinds of events," Ai Yue nodded. "So don't do it again next time."

"Ehh, why are you like this~" Elysia pouted, then suddenly stared into Ai Yue's eyes. "But you don't seem very happy. Are you troubled by something?"

Ai Yue met Elysia's gaze calmly and suddenly said, "Elysia, if, I mean, if someone wanted to carry out some kind of... uh, modification on the entire human race for the sake of humanity's future, what would you do?"

"You're not talking about Doctor Mobius, are you?" Elysia looked at him with some confusion, then her expression turned thoughtful. "Hmm, how should I put it? If this kind of modification is truly for the future of humanity, then it could be worth trying."

"Then what if the consequences of this modification are unpredictable, and it could even lead humanity to ruin?" Ai Yue continued to ask.

"Then at least we tried, right?" Elysia said with a smile. "Is the future of humanity so bright right now?"

Looking at Ai Yue's expression, Elysia continued, "Of course, since it concerns the future of humanity, it must be done with extreme caution. If I can help in any way, I would be very happy to do so?"

"I understand," Ai Yue closed his eyes and nodded.

In the darkness, a star was gradually enlarging, emitting a unique light—

Simulated Herrscher Authority: Psychic Plague.

Chapter 9: Saved the World Again Today

After analyzing most of the research projects related to the Herrscher of Consciousness by relying on the Herrscher Core, Ai Yue understood just how terrifying the Herrscher of Consciousness was to humanity.

Psychic Plague, as the name suggests, was a contagious mental "disease." Those infected with this disease would have their minds distorted, leading to personality deviations, emotional extremes, and even mental breakdowns.

Furthermore, the transmission conditions for this plague were extremely simple. Although it couldn't pull people into a dreamscape from a distance through the network like keyword hypnosis, as long as one spoke with an infected patient for more than ten minutes, the plague would spread to the other person.

The most terrifying aspect was that the Herrscher of Consciousness could use keyword hypnosis to arbitrarily control the activation time of the Psychic Plague's effects. And if this mental illness was in its latent period, it could not be detected by existing technological means.

In other words, if she had enough patience, she could wait until the Psychic Plague had spread globally before using the network to detonate it completely, plunging the entire human civilization into chaos and ultimately reducing it to ruins.

However, whether it was out of Herrscher arrogance or because she thought this method would take too much time, the Eighth Herrscher did not use this method. Otherwise, Ai Yue would have had a much harder time finding her trace in such a short period.

But although the Psychic Plague was terrifying, it was not impossible for it to become a beneficial medicine for human evolution. This was because its effect on the mind primarily depended on the mental suggestions hidden within the initial "virus."

For the Eighth Herrscher, she would naturally fill it with negative content such as "disgust" and "hatred." But if, conversely, positive information were to be recorded within it, could the Psychic Plague produce the completely opposite result?

This was the question Ai Yue had been pondering for three days. He had already overcome the technical hurdles of the Psychic Plague itself, but Ai Yue couldn't be sure if this technology would actually yield positive results.

From ancient times to the present, discussions about human nature have never ceased. Countless thinkers, philosophers, and educators have conducted innumerable studies and explorations into this complex and mysterious field, yet no conclusion that could convince everyone has emerged.

The only point everyone could agree on was that human nature is complex—no two people in the world are exactly alike, and therefore, no single standard could apply to everyone.

And any attempt to restrain humanity, to try and bind everyone's actions with a single code, would ultimately lead to immeasurable consequences.

Ai Yue could certainly spread the modified Psychic Plague throughout the world. He could even go further, subtly completing the Spiderweb Dreamscape that the Eighth Herrscher failed to achieve, bringing everyone under his control.

At that point, with a single thought, he could even bring about the ultimate outcome of mutual understanding for all people on Earth.

But Ai Yue also knew clearly that this would be nothing more than self-deception. If he truly did something like this, let alone becoming a beacon of light, it would be considered lenient if they weren't annihilated by the light.

This was not a digitized game; good intentions didn't always lead to good outcomes. Ai Yue didn't have a save-load button to undo his mistakes.

Once the Psychic Plague was unleashed, even Ai Yue couldn't predict the consequences. Perhaps humanity could truly achieve spiritual sublimation through this method, bringing the Earth closer to the perfect world he envisioned. But it was also possible for uncontrollable mutations to occur, leading to the destruction of the entire civilization.

Aponia's past experience still echoed in Ai Yue's mind. Therefore, even after gaining control of the Moth to Fire's higher-ups, Ai Yue had Prometheus monitoring their every move 24 hours a day to prevent any unforeseen developments.

It was precisely because he understood this that the Psychic Plague remained at the final step of project completion, not yet truly in Ai Yue's grasp.

After resolving the issue with Moth to Fire's leadership, no one in this world could stop Ai Yue's actions. But this also meant that regardless of the consequences his plan might trigger, Ai Yue would have to bear the responsibility.

Elysia's answer had made him re-examine the matter.

Human spiritual sublimation was necessary, but the Psychic Plague, in the end, was just one of the alternative options.

Using the authority he held, he would conduct small-scale experiments first.

"What's wrong? Your expression is so strange," Elysia's observation didn't miss Ai Yue's change in expression. She leaned in curiously, "It's like you've made some incredibly important decision."

"Elysia, you might have just saved all of human civilization," Ai Yue said, patting her shoulder with a serious expression. "Amazing, truly worthy of being the second strongest Fused Warrior!"