Honkai Impact 3rd: Starting with Handcrafted Black Tech to Save the Pre-Civilization, Chapter 38

"Eh? What?" Elysia looked at Ai Yue in confusion, but he had already begun walking outside with light steps. "Wait, explain yourself! What do you mean by saving humanity?"

Ai Yue naturally couldn't tell Elysia about the Psychic Plague. No matter what the final result was, he had already decided to bear it alone. After all, only someone who had become a savior could shoulder such a heavy responsibility. Everyone else just had to obediently work like oxen and horses for him.

Of course, more importantly, although Elysia had just said that she didn't object to modifying all of humanity, if she learned what the modification actually involved, she would probably point her bow and arrows straight at Ai Yue's forehead.

Come to think of it, shouldn't he find a way to improve his own strength as well?

But modifying his own body felt strange somehow. As expected, he should go with the rich man's solution first.

After reactivating the research on "Portable Nanite Armor," Ai Yue returned home.

"Welcome back, Doctor Ai Yue." Prometheus greeted him at the door as usual, though for some reason there was a "holding back laughter" soybean emoticon floating above her head. "Please remember to go to bed early."

"Oh, I'm going to sleep now." Ai Yue nodded, not paying attention to anything strange about Prometheus. "Don't launch so many games at once tonight. The cooling system gets too noisy."

"Don't worry, Doctor Ai Yue." Prometheus watched Ai Yue's back as he went upstairs, while the emoticon above her head changed to one of "laughter." "You probably won't have time to worry about noise later."

Ai Yue didn't hear the second half of Prometheus's sentence. Otherwise, he might have become somewhat wary, instead of only realizing something was wrong when a figure pounced on him and knocked him onto the bed.

"A-Aponia?" Smelling the strong alcohol on her and feeling that familiar touch, Ai Yue immediately recognized her. "Why are you in my house?!"

"I don't know." Aponia was displaying a completely different side from her usual calm self. With a hint of coquettishness, she buried her head in Ai Yue's arms. "I'm drunk."

Although she said that, her hands moved with remarkable efficiency. Ai Yue tried to stop her, but he couldn't restrain her hands as they roamed all over him.

"Wait, something's wrong here! How did things suddenly turn into this... Hey, don't touch there!"

The buildings of Moth to Fire were extremely sturdy, so no one noticed that Prometheus's cooling system was much noisier than usual that night.

Not the Tenth Chapter, Bro

The next morning, at the Fifth Science Department.

Su stood at the entrance, a peculiar expression on his face as he appeared to be waiting for someone.

Every so often, he lowered his head to check his phone. There was a message from Ai Yue sent several hours earlier, roughly saying that he wanted to visit the Fifth Science Department today.

Su couldn't help recalling his conversation with Ai Yue the previous evening. Ai Yue had indeed been very curious about the Fifth Science Department and had said that he would visit sometime, but Su hadn't expected him to come so suddenly.

He wondered what kind of reaction his teacher would have. Hopefully, the two of them wouldn't start arguing.

Before he could think further, a rumble approached from a distance. Su raised his head and looked ahead, soon spotting a sedan driving toward him.

When the sedan stopped beside Su, Ai Yue leaned his face out of the car. "Thanks for your hard work. Sorry for making you wait outside, Su."

"It was nothing, Doctor Ai Yue." Su smiled and nodded as Ai Yue got out of the car. "Then I'll take you to meet my teacher, Department Head Spasi."

"Sure." Ai Yue nodded, then turned toward Hua, who was driving. "Hua, come find me after you park the car."

Hua, who was temporarily responsible for protecting Ai Yue, nodded and slowly drove toward the parking lot.

The Fifth Science Department consisted of two parts. Its surface section was a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with Honkai Sickness, while the underground section was its research center. Nearly all of Moth to Fire's medical technology projects were concentrated there.

"Healing Honkai Sickness" was the core subject of this base. It could be said that eighty percent of the Fifth Science Department's research projects revolved around Honkai Sickness.

Led by Su, Ai Yue soon arrived at Spasi's office and met the "stubborn old fool" Mobius had mentioned.

Perhaps because of Mobius's influence, Ai Yue had always imagined Spasi as a short, irritable, stubborn old man with an unkempt appearance and a long beard. In reality, however, Spasi was a refined old gentleman. Judging from his build and appearance, it was easy to tell that he had been the sort of handsome man who captivated countless young women in his youth.

"Doctor Ai Yue, it's a pleasure to meet you." Spasi extended his right hand with a warm smile. "We're still analyzing the formula you sent us last time. It truly was a brilliant idea."

"The situation was urgent at the time, so I used some crude methods. I hope you won't take offense, Department Head Spasi." Ai Yue glanced at Spasi's white-gloved left hand before extending his own to shake it. "I mainly came to see the progress of your department's research on 'Honkai Sickness Serum.' I'm very interested in this technology."

"Of course. Your current clearance is high enough, after all." Spasi smiled, and no particular emotion could be seen on his face. "Then please follow me."

The three of them soon arrived at the research room next door. Using Spasi's authorization, they opened the computer and retrieved the information on Honkai Sickness Serum.

"I'm ashamed to say that since we began our research, we still haven't made any substantial progress on artificially synthesizing Honkai Sickness Serum." Spasi's expression was slightly helpless. "The Honkai Sickness Serum we have today is essentially still the antibodies naturally produced by Honkai Sickness patients. Even extracting them from the bodies of deceased patients is already the limit of what we can do."

"We... can't even analyze the composition and structure of the Honkai Sickness Antibody."

Ai Yue said nothing, merely browsing the various reports and data concerning Honkai Sickness Serum.

The contents of the vast majority of the reports all described failure—failure to analyze the composition, failure to simulate the environment needed to generate antibodies, failure in inhibitor research, failure in surgery to remove the affected areas...

Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure!

In the war against Honkai Sickness, the Fifth Science Department had been beaten back at every turn. From the words in these reports, Ai Yue could even sense the despair deep in the scholars' hearts.

They hadn't even fully understood the pathology of this disease. How could they possibly defeat it?

"One dose of Honkai Sickness Serum requires the antibodies extracted from the bodies of one thousand patients."

Ai Yue read aloud the conclusion in one of the few successful reports—the report on producing the serum. He couldn't help laughing. "In other words, if Honkai Sickness broke out across the world, our best-case scenario would be for one-thousandth of the population to survive?"

Neither Spasi nor Su said anything, because they knew that even the best-case scenario wouldn't leave one-thousandth of the population alive.

"But I think I understand now." Ai Yue lifted his left hand from the computer case. A barely perceptible black wisp retracted into his sleeve. "Department Head Spasi, does the Fifth Science Department currently have any Honkai Sickness Serum?"

"Of course, but apart from the portions used for experimental research, the rest is kept under strict protection for emergencies." Spasi said, "A single dose of Honkai Sickness Serum can save a vital researcher at a critical moment. To Moth to Fire, it can be considered a strategic resource. Without authorization from the higher-ups, it can't be used recklessly."

"Then give me the portion you can authorize." Ai Yue could naturally produce the so-called authorization, but he felt there was no need. "I want all the Honkai Energy Serum your Fifth Academy of Sciences has for research."

"Doctor Ai Yue, isn't that a little..." Seeing the atmosphere between them suddenly become tense, Su stepped forward to mediate. "Why don't you explain what you need it for first? Then we can see if there's another solution."

"Judging from the current situation, the Fifth Science Department clearly can't complete artificial synthesis of the Honkai Energy Antibody, reduce its cost, and mass-produce it within a short period." Ai Yue spoke calmly. "So I'll take over the project."

Even Su didn't know what to say this time.

Do you want to listen to what you're saying?

The entire Fifth Science Department had more than two hundred doctoral experts in the medical field. They had been researching the Honkai Energy Antibody for at least five years, yet even now they could only extract antibodies from the bodies of patients.

At this rate, going from artificial synthesis to cost reduction and finally mass production would take at least ten to fifteen years, even by the most optimistic estimate.

Yet Ai Yue's attitude made it seem as if he would produce results the day after receiving the Honkai Energy Antibody.

Even Su, who revered Ai Yue, didn't know what to say.

However, Spasi spoke at that moment.

"Fine." Spasi said, "But I have a condition."

Su turned back in astonishment to look at his teacher, but Spasi was staring intently at Ai Yue.

Ai Yue nodded. "Let's hear it."

"I can give you all the experimental antibodies currently possessed by the Fifth Science Department—one hundred doses of Honkai Sickness Serum in total." Spasi said, "But if you use all those antibodies and still fail to produce any effective research, you must join the Fifth Science Department and devote yourself to researching the antibodies."

Spasi paused, then slowly continued. "Doctor Ai Yue, I'm not looking down on you, but you need to understand how precious Honkai Sickness Serum is. Its value cannot be measured in money. It represents one living life after another! Without sufficient resolve, can you truly bear this responsibility?"

"I came precisely to shoulder that responsibility. In the end, you should even thank me." Ai Yue nodded calmly. "I accept the condition. If there are no other requirements, hurry up and bring me the serum."

Ai Yue didn't say, "What happens if I produce results?" because he knew very well that once he produced results, the entire Fifth Science Department would be at his command.

Spasi said nothing more this time. He simply left the research room. Su glanced at Ai Yue with an expression of wanting to say something, but in the end, he only told Ai Yue to wait there before chasing after his teacher.

He passed Hua in the corridor, then caught up with Spasi. "Teacher, I don't understand. Why did you agree to this?"

In Su's eyes, Spasi had always been a calm and professional scholar. There was no reason for him to accept such a rude request on a matter of such importance, much less use something like a "bet."

To Su, Spasi was clearly using the Honkai Energy Serum as bait to lure Ai Yue into the Fifth Science Department.

After all, he truly couldn't imagine how Ai Yue could use one hundred doses of serum to achieve a breakthrough that the entire Fifth Academy of Sciences had failed to achieve despite expending several times that amount of materials.

"It seems you think I'm playing tricks, right?" Spasi laughed. "Indeed, even I can't deny that I do harbor some such intentions."

Su said nothing, because he heard another emotion in Spasi's tone.

It was as if Spasi had begun to feel that he was no longer useful.

"But do you know how Mobius evaluates Ai Yue?" Spasi spoke slowly. Whether it was Su's imagination or not, he felt that his teacher seemed to have shrunk slightly. "She said that Ai Yue was someone capable of creating miracles."

Su knew very well that Spasi hated the words "miracle" more than anything. He had once told Su that there were neither miracles nor magic in this world. There were only countless people whose lives had been taken by Honkai Sickness, and doctors who continued moving forward atop their corpses.

"Perhaps I really am old." Spasi laughed twice, but it sounded as if he were crying. "I've actually begun hoping that there might be some kind of miracle in this world."

Thirty minutes later, Spasi and Su returned to the research room and solemnly placed a palm-sized box in Ai Yue's hand.

Inside the box was a container two sizes smaller than an eyedrop bottle, filled with pale blue liquid.

It looked very light, but when Spasi held it, it was as though he were carrying a massive stone.

"To be honest, reason tells me this is impossible." Spasi handed the box to Ai Yue, his expression complicated. "But I sincerely hope I won't see you at the Fifth Research Institute in the future."

"That's impossible." Ai Yue put away the box and smiled. "I still have to come back and guide your work."

With that, he turned and left the research room, finally waving his hand. "See you later."

His relaxed, cheerful tone made it sound as casual as arranging to go out and play with friends again the next day.

And then, the next day, Ai Yue really did come back.

When Su received the news and hurried from the ward back to the underground research institute's office, he saw Ai Yue sitting on the sofa and reading a book.

"Why are you back again?" Su asked in confusion. "Did you run into some kind of problem?"

"Not exactly." Ai Yue pointed at the box on the table. "I'm done with it."

"Done with it?" Seeing the box Spasi had only handed to Ai Yue yesterday, Su's mind went blank. "You used all one hundred doses of antibody?"

That was the entire Fifth Science Department's monthly research allocation! Many projects couldn't even obtain Honkai Sickness Antibody and could only conduct simulated experiments. Such a precious resource had actually been used up by Ai Yue in a single day?

"How could I use that much? What are you thinking?" Ai Yue looked at him strangely. "Forget it, I didn't phrase that properly. I should've said that the rest is no longer needed."

There was still some left?

Su immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then hurried over to inspect the box. He frowned. "This... you don't need this anymore?"

Su had thought that only a tiny amount of the antibody would remain after Ai Yue brought it back. He hadn't expected the container to still hold so much pale blue liquid—far more than he had anticipated.

"About twenty doses. Your research was fairly useful and saved me quite a bit." Ai Yue stood up. "Speaking of which, where's Spasi?"

"He's still in the intensive care ward. When he heard you were here, he told me to receive you first. He'll be here soon." Only then did Su notice that Ai Yue was carrying a case. "What's that?"

"Oh, just a trial product." Ai Yue waved the case casually. "Since he doesn't need to come here now, let's go find him."

Although Su was somewhat puzzled, he didn't ask further. He quickly led Ai Yue to the hospital section aboveground, where they found Spasi examining patients in the intensive care ward.

"Su? Why did you bring Doctor Ai Yue here?" Spasi was wearing protective clothing. Seeing Ai Yue enter in nothing but a lab coat, he couldn't help frowning. "Doctor Ai Yue, you should pay more attention to protective measures."

"It's fine. What does this little bit of Honkai Energy radiation matter?" Ai Yue waved his hand dismissively. He had been in close contact with a Fused Warrior—that is, had Mobius blow up in his face. "Is this patient in serious condition?"

The wards for treating Honkai Sickness patients had all been specially designed. Every bed had a protective barrier to prevent Honkai Energy radiation from endangering more people.

He noticed the patient wearing a Honkai Energy Absorber around her neck and raised an eyebrow. Those people at the top may be greedy as hell, but at least they're doing something.

"The patient suddenly deteriorated an hour ago and fell into a deep coma. In this condition, neither the equipment nor the inhibitors are of any use." Spasi sighed, his voice filled with helplessness. "She probably has no more than twelve hours before she'll... Hey, what are you doing?"

Ai Yue swiftly opened the protective barrier around the bed, then opened the case in his hand. Only then did Su see that it was filled entirely with pale blue medicine.

As Spasi instinctively tried to stop him, Ai Yue grabbed a dose without hesitation and smoothly injected it into the patient's neck.

Three minutes later, the instruments monitoring the patient's vital signs began to change.

Five minutes later, the patient opened her eyes.

Ten minutes later, the patient who had already been sentenced to death could walk with Ai Yue supporting her.

Spasi and Su hadn't moved at all during the entire process, as if they had been struck by some kind of petrification curse.

Only after Ai Yue supported the patient out of the room did the teacher and student look at each other and utter the same syllable in unison.

"Ah?"

The Poet's Grip

Even after Ai Yue supported the patient around outside and returned, Spasi and Su still couldn't quite believe that what they were seeing was real.

"She seems fine, but her body has only just recovered, so she's still very weak." Looking at the patient, who had soon fallen asleep again, Ai Yue removed the Honkai Energy Absorber from her neck and helped her replace its core. "It's probably because of her prolonged illness. There's no need for modification..."

"Ai Yue!"

Only then did Spasi suddenly rush forward and grab Ai Yue's hand. "You, you really..."

"Calm down, Department Head Spasi." Ai Yue pointed at the sleeping patient, then at the door. "Don't disturb her rest."

The three of them left the ward and came to the corridor.

"You really... did it?" Even after forcing himself to calm down, Spasi still found it hard to believe what had just happened. "That was Honkai Sickness Serum! Did you really complete the artificial synthesis of Honkai Sickness Antibody?"

Spasi hadn't failed to consider the possibility that Ai Yue had somehow extracted Honkai Sickness Antibody from a thousand people and made it into serum. But to complete the extraction from one thousand people in such a short time, Ai Yue would have needed at least twice as many workers as the Fifth Science Department, and every one of them would have had to be a medical expert.

Since both possibilities were equally absurd, Spasi naturally hoped that Ai Yue had completed the research into artificially synthesizing Honkai Sickness Antibody.