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

It hasn't even been 30 hours!

"I told you, it's just an experimental product," Ai Yue shook his head, not directly answering the question. "Where are the other patients?"

A single case wasn't enough to prove the potion's reliability. Even if it was just to collect data, they needed to—

Spasi finally remembered the many light blue potions in the box Ai Yue was holding. This dispelled his last shred of doubt, but he still subconsciously said, "Potions that haven't undergone animal testing cannot be—"

Before he could finish, he slapped himself and walked to the front. "Follow me."

The above-ground buildings of the Fifth Science Department were less like a hospital for treating Honkai Sickness patients and more like a place for palliative care and data collection. Since its establishment, the hospital had only cured one patient: Su.

Many scholars at the Fifth Science Department would jokingly refer to it as a graveyard. They, the so-called doctors, would watch patients being sent here, collect data on Honkai Sickness from them, but be completely unable to cure them. After the patients died, they would even extract the Honkai Sickness Antibodies from their bodies. They were practically ghouls.

For these patients, even if the potion in Ai Yue's hand could only give them a brief resurgence, extending their nearing end of life by a mere few days, or even hours, it would still far exceed all the efforts the Fifth Science Department had ever made. Given that, why should he still adhere to those stale doctrines?

Special matters naturally called for special methods.

Ai Yue still had 19 doses of the potion, so Spasi selected 19 patients with the most severe conditions. Accompanied by more and more doctors who had heard the news, all 19 patients recovered after receiving the potion.

"Everything is arranged. Each patient will undergo a complete physical examination and a one-week observation period." In the office, Su knocked and then walked in, looking at his teacher and Ai Yue. "However, from the current perspective, the effect of the serum provided by Dr. Ai Yue is basically the same as the serum used on me back then."

"There is still a difference," Ai Yue said from the sofa without looking up. "My potion takes effect faster."

"So, how did you achieve this ultimate feat?" Su now felt a sense of "fear" towards Ai Yue. "To be honest, I really can't understand."

Most people feel fear when faced with things they cannot understand, and Su was no exception.

Before this, Su's understanding of Ai Yue mostly came from rumors online and descriptions from friends. These accounts were more or less distorted, making it difficult for Su to intuitively grasp the extent of Ai Yue's capabilities.

But today, he had experienced it all firsthand.

Could one person truly solve a problem that the entire Fifth Science Department had struggled with for nearly a decade within a single day?

Su couldn't imagine what Ai Yue was like in his laboratory, but he knew that even just designing the formula for the Honkai Sickness inhibitor would take him much longer.

This didn't even include the subsequent steps of repeated experimentation and refinement.

And Su was already recognized as a genius by the Fifth Science Department. Spasi was even willing to use a dose of Honkai Sickness serum, painstakingly created from the bodies of a thousand patients, for him. But compared to Ai Yue, what was he?

In his eyes at this moment, Ai Yue's figure had become distorted and enlarged, transforming into some incomprehensible entity. Only something that surpassed the limits of human imagination could possess the ability to do such a thing.

Mobius's evaluation was not wrong in the slightest; Ai Yue was indeed a miracle worker.

Su couldn't help but look at his teacher.

Spasi was a person who appeared gentle and kind but was actually very stubborn deep down. He was extremely confident in his abilities and proud of his work, constantly striving forward. Even though he was now disabled and elderly, he still worked as hard as a young man, sometimes even more so than Su.

Could such a person accept that his long-term efforts had been so easily surpassed by someone else?

However, to his surprise, Spasi was smiling.

He wasn't looking at Ai Yue or Su, but gazing out the window with a smile of relief.

It was as if Ai Yue's actions hadn't struck him at all; instead, they had liberated him from some long-standing, inescapable shackles.

A moment later, Spasi regained his scattered thoughts. He stood up and, with a solemn expression, bowed deeply to Ai Yue. "Dr. Ai Yue, thank you."

"Whoa, don't do that," Ai Yue scrambled off the sofa, avoiding the direction of the bow. "You're too old, I can't accept it."

"No, you can accept it," Spasi remained in his bowed position. "Thank you for saving us from the mire of despair and numbness."

"All that is in the past," Ai Yue waved his hand. "Now, can we discuss the conditions we talked about earlier?"

"You won," Spasi finally straightened up. "No matter what conditions you propose, I will accept them."

Ai Yue's face showed a playful smile. "Even if I demand the dissolution of the Fifth Science Department?"

Chapter Twelve: Sounding the Horn of Counterattack

"Teacher, you really agreed?"

Even after Ai Yue left, Su was still a bit dazed.

Ai Yue's demand to "dissolve the Fifth Science Department" was already outrageous enough, but what was even more outrageous was that Spasi agreed without much hesitation.

This left Su utterly bewildered. He had only joined the Fifth Science Department not long ago, and now his "home" was about to be disbanded?

"Why not?" Spasi retorted. "Su, eighty percent of the Fifth Science Department's projects are related to Honkai Sickness serum. Now that synthetic Honkai Sickness serum has been developed, are these projects still necessary?"

"If eighty percent of the Fifth Science Department's projects cease to exist, then this place can naturally be disbanded, can't it?"

"But, as the world's leading medical research institution, the Fifth Science Department isn't just about researching Honkai Sickness serum!" Su countered. "There are so many diseases in the world that need to be conquered, shouldn't we be solving them?"

"Su, you need to understand that the Fifth Science Department is an affiliated organization of Moth to Fire," Spasi shook his head. "From its inception, Moth to Fire has had only one goal: to completely eradicate the threat of Honkai to humanity."

"What you're saying is important, but compared to Honkai, it's insignificant." Spasi lowered his head. On his desk lay a document Ai Yue had left behind before departing. "Moreover, the dissolution of the Fifth Science Department is not a bad thing."

As he spoke, he handed the document to Su, signaling him to open it.

"This..." Su skimmed through it briefly and then looked at Spasi. "So, it's not a dissolution, but a decentralization?"

"Decentralization, I like that term," Spasi smiled. "So, what do you think now?"

"I have to admit, this plan is excellent," Su opened his mouth, then sighed. "I can't think of any problems with it for the moment."

Ai Yue's plan was simple. The advent of artificially synthesized Honkai Sickness serum meant that the production of this drug would no longer be constrained by the number of patient bodies, greatly increasing production efficiency. Coupled with the mass production of Honkai Energy Absorbers, it was now possible to treat ordinary patients without sending them all to the Fifth Science Department to await death.

Therefore, Ai Yue planned to establish specialized hospitals for treating Honkai Sickness in various large cities, thereby launching a "counterattack" against the disease.

Establishing a hospital naturally requires experienced and seasoned doctors. Where in the world could one find doctors with experience treating the Honkai Sickness?

The answer, of course, is the Fifth Science Department.

Therefore, in Ai Yue's plan, aside from retaining a small number of research talents to continue projects like optimizing the cost of Honkai Sickness serum, all other personnel were to be assigned to hospitals in various regions. This is why the idea of disbanding the Fifth Science Department arose.

Of course, this plan was not to be implemented starting today. Thus, when Ai Yue handed the plan to Spasi, it was also a way of saying, "You handle it."

He even left behind detailed information on the artificial synthesis of Honkai Energy serum, clearly intending to wash his hands of the matter.

From this point on, whether Spasi decided to keep the Fifth Science Department, execute Ai Yue's plan, or had other ideas, Ai Yue would no longer interfere.

It was as if his visit was simply to help them overcome this most difficult hurdle.

"Su, I've made up my mind," Spasi suddenly said. "The Fifth Science Department will retain one laboratory to continue researching and optimizing the Honkai Sickness serum. This laboratory will be under your charge."

"Teacher?" Su was taken aback. He never imagined that after only recently joining the Fifth Science Department, he would be put in charge of something so important. "What about you? Are you planning to retire?"

"Retire? Of course not." Spasi smiled, unconsciously clenching his right hand. "The Honkai took everything from me, so I will fight it until my last breath."

"I will work on the front lines of the hospital until the day I die."

Spasi's wife and daughter both died from the Honkai Sickness. When they fell ill, Spasi was present. Because he refused to let go of their hands even as they died, his left hand was also infected, ultimately requiring amputation to save his life.

Although Spasi now used a prosthetic limb, due to a certain inner resistance, he rarely used that arm.

However, today, he made an effort to control his prosthetic, opened a long-sealed drawer, and took out a flat, curved flask of liquor.

"Come, have a drink with me, Su," Spasi said, raising the flask and smiling happily. "We might not have another chance."

"Teacher..." Su looked at Spasi, who seemed to have aged considerably. After much hesitation, he finally spoke, "There's something I want to tell you."

"A couple of days ago, I met Doctor Mobius."

Ai Yue, of course, had no idea what conversation took place between the master and disciple after he left. He had already returned to his room, wanting nothing more than a good night's sleep.

In order to complete the research project on artificially synthesized serum as quickly as possible, Ai Yue had been awake for nearly thirty hours. After all, technology in the medical field had always been his weak point. If it weren't for Prometheus obtaining all the basic knowledge related to the Honkai Sickness from Spasi's computer, he probably wouldn't have been able to complete this project today.

Of course, the artificial synthesis of Honkai Sickness serum wasn't an overly difficult technology. After all, in the future, fifty thousand years later, a certain blonde, eccentric man, relying on the knowledge of his predecessors and his own efforts, also completed this project.

However, compared to the version Ai Yue had, even the "HSN-b64 serum" seemed slightly inferior.

After all, the version Ai Yue possessed only required minor optimization before it could be mass-produced, unlike those that couldn't be manufactured without specific materials.

As he thought about it, Ai Yue couldn't help but yawn.

Although this level of fatigue was nothing to him now, Ai Yue, being a lover of sleep, simply couldn't allow himself to go so long without sleeping.

However, before going to sleep, he made a phone call.

"Doctor Ai Yue?"

Sakura's slightly puzzled voice came from the other end of the line. "Calling me at this hour, do you have a mission?"

"No, it's just that the problems on my end have basically been resolved," Ai Yue said directly. "When are we going to pick up your sister?"

Chapter 13: Such Powerful Gravity

To Ai Yue, Sakura's request was very important.

On one hand, Sakura's willingness to entrust her most important family member to Ai Yue not only indicated her recognition of his abilities but also her trust in him, thus exposing her most critical vulnerability.

On the other hand, Ling herself was also very special.

In the original storyline, she was the host of the twelfth Herrscher, the "Herrscher of Erosion." She appeared no different from an ordinary person, but after Ling's death, the ultimate virus known as the "Herrscher of Erosion" would awaken, becoming the last straw that would crush human civilization.

If possible, Ai Yue naturally wished to avoid such an outcome. Even if it were impossible to prevent the appearance of the twelfth Herrscher by protecting Ling, he could at least change the tragedy that befell these two sisters.

Therefore, he chose the safest option currently available.

The next morning, Ai Yue was awakened by the doorbell. He rubbed his eyes and went downstairs, only to see Prometheus's projection also floating out with its eyes rubbed: "Miss Sakura is at the door. Strange, why is she looking for you so early?"

"She's probably a bit impatient," Ai Yue said with a smile, looking at her strangely. "You don't feel fatigue or drowsiness, so why are you rubbing your eyes?"

"This is a way I'm learning to become human," Prometheus blinked, a yellow bean emoji with rolled eyes appearing above its head. "Humans do this, so I must do it too."

"So, you didn't sleep well last night, did you?" Ai Yue nodded thoughtfully. "Rose, I told you not to play games too late, right?"

Prometheus instantly removed the emoji above its head and nonchalantly turned to float back into the laboratory. "I have work to do. Goodbye, Doctor Ai Yue."

That girl, I'll switch her fiber optic cable to a telephone line later.

Muttering a complaint about his internet-addicted girl in his heart, Ai Yue quickly opened the door. The fox-eared girl standing straight outside immediately reacted upon seeing the sleepy Ai Yue. "I'm sorry, Doctor Ai Yue, I'll come back at noon."

She had been preoccupied with her sister's matters all last night and had overlooked that Ai Yue must also be exhausted, yet she had disturbed his rest.

"No need, come in and sit," Ai Yue, who had slept for about fifteen hours, waved his hand and invited Sakura in. "I'll get ready, and then we can leave. Rose, please entertain Miss Sakura."

"Then, I'll be intruding." Sakura hesitated before finally walking in. She then looked at Prometheus, who had floated out again. "Um, no need for entertainment."

"What a shame, I wanted to try saying 'Coffee or tea?'" Prometheus made a shrugging gesture and then added, "Miss Sakura, you're here about your sister, aren't you?"

Sakura wasn't surprised that Prometheus knew about this. Even someone like her, who wasn't good with the internet, knew how powerful Prometheus was. As Ai Yue's sole and most capable assistant, she must have played a significant role in this matter.

"Yes," Sakura nodded, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "My sister, Ling, she's a very cute child."

As she spoke, Sakura took out a photo she kept close and handed it to Prometheus, as if wanting the Artificial Intelligence to understand Ling's cuteness.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Sakura, my current form is just a projection." A yellow bean emoji with a sweatdrop appeared above Prometheus's head. "If you want to show me something, you need to place the photo here."

She pointed to her feet as she spoke. Sakura looked down and discovered a mobile device resembling a robot vacuum cleaner on the ground. It was the projector on top of it that was displaying Prometheus's image.

"Sorry, I forgot," Sakura nodded, then crouched down and placed the photo in front of the camera. "Can you see it now?"

"Yes, Miss Sakura," Prometheus nodded. "Judging from a human perspective, she is indeed a cute child."

Sakura smiled in response, seemingly pleased to hear someone praise her sister.

"Then, Miss Sakura, I have a question for you," Prometheus said after Sakura stood up. "For you, what does 'family' mean?"

"Hmm... If I had to explain it using Ling's words," Sakura pondered for a moment, then said, "Family is my everything."

"Everything?" Prometheus repeated. "It seems that Miss Ling is truly important to you, Miss Sakura."

"Ling and I escaped from our hometown. Our father and mother... stayed there." Perhaps because she was speaking to an artificial intelligence, Sakura became somewhat talkative. "Ling is the only family I have left. The reason I joined Moth to Fire, joined 'Poison Pupa,' was all so that Ling could live a good life. This is a sister's responsibility."

"If there were no sister, then a sister would naturally cease to exist, wouldn't she?"

Prometheus's expression didn't change at all, but a thoughtful emoji popped up above her head. "Miss Sakura, your words are a bit difficult to understand."

"I'm sorry, I'm really not good with words," Sakura blushed slightly. "Please forget what I said, it's not important."

Just then, Ai Yue finally came downstairs. "I'm done, let's go."

"Doctor Ai Yue, your 'tidying up' time has been shortened by another twenty seconds," Prometheus's head displayed a suspicious emoji. "Are you really taking care of yourself?"

"Men are quick when they go out, especially when someone is waiting for me today," Ai Yue waved his hand, unconcerned by such trivial matters. "Let's go, Sakura, Hua will be here soon."

"Okay, Doctor Ai Yue," Sakura nodded, then looked at Prometheus again. Even though she knew she was just a projection, Sakura habitually looked into her eyes. "Then we'll be taking our leave."

"No need to say goodbye, Miss Sakura." Prometheus's projection vanished from its spot, but her voice came from Ai Yue's body again. "I will go with you."

Sakura was slightly taken aback but said nothing more.

Ai Yue, meanwhile, pulled out his phone.