Honkai Impact 3rd, Starting by Hand-Crafting Black Tech to Save the Pre-Civilization

Since it was categorized as a special project by the System, it might not be very powerful, but it should at least have its own unique value.

Speaking of which, why can't I choose the special projects myself? This gacha-like selection process really messes with people's heads.

I'll put it aside for now and study it slowly when I get back.

"Rose, delete all the specific procedures and data from today's experiment," Ai Yue said, refocusing his attention on the experiment before him, and immediately issued a command to Prometheus. "Destroy the results as well, ensuring that no one other than myself can obtain the specific information from today's experiment."

"Understood, processing now," Prometheus replied calmly. "Do you need me to go offline temporarily?"

For Prometheus, Ai Yue's commands were the highest priority. Although she could sense that he was hiding a great secret, she had no intention of prying into it.

"Go offline temporarily. I'll call you if I need you," Ai Yue nodded. "I can handle the rest myself."

Once Prometheus's sub-unit on Ai Yue had completely disconnected from the main unit, Ai Yue reached up and removed the horn-shaped energy collector from the top of the device.

The main component of this thing wasn't mysterious; it was the core used in the Honkai Energy Absorber. Of course, Ai Yue had improved it. The core he was using now could hold an energy density two hundred times that of a conventional core.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fuse the energy contained within the Honkai energy crystals.

For safety's sake, Ai Yue put on a new Limited Gauntlet to prevent direct contact between his flesh and the core, and then took out the absorption core from the energy extraction device.

At this moment, the absorption core had formed some irregular crystals on its surface due to absorbing too much energy. However, unlike the pale purple of the original Honkai energy crystals, these crystals were a white color, like salt.

The System's prompt was also quite interesting.

"Unedited Honkai Energy Crystal (Precious): Usable Value 100%."

"When invested in research related to 'Energy,' it will additionally increase research progress by 50% and provide one Optimization Point."

It's only "Precious," what a shame.

Seeing the grade of this energy sample, Ai Yue couldn't help but curl his lips. "Precious" grade materials only provided one more Optimization Point than "Rare" grade materials, but Optimization Points weren't very useful for the research projects provided by the System. They could generally only be used to improve existing human technology.

It would have been great if it were a "Unique" grade material, which could directly unlock related research projects and save a lot of trouble.

Perhaps it was because he had encountered too many "Unique" grade materials recently, but Ai Yue had actually started to look down on "Precious" grade materials.

But in reality, under normal circumstances, he most often used "Common" and "Rare" grade materials. "Precious" used to be something that you only had one of and then it was gone.

After all, the Honkai Energy Absorber back then was painstakingly built by Ai Yue from countless "Common" grade materials in Twilight Street. It could only be said that having too good a life really corrupts one's will.

So, what should he do with this thing?

Ai Yue's gaze fell on the words "Unedited."

Editing energy... that certainly sounds like a very challenging project.

Chapter 19: A Laboratory Should Be Built Where There Are Plenty of Experimental Materials

The System was still busy advancing the research project for "artificial synthesis of Honkai energy crystals technology." As a major project that could solve energy problems, Ai Yue clearly couldn't let it take precedence over projects related to "energy editing."

However, conducting some basic tests first was definitely fine.

Ai Yue first took off the Limited Gauntlet and directly grabbed the crystal with his hand to test if it possessed the corrosive properties of ordinary Honkai energy.

It's just that now we have the Honkai Sickness Serum. Otherwise, if an ordinary person directly came into contact with Honkai energy of this concentration, the best outcome would be instant death.

However, the white Honkai energy was not corrosive. Even though Ai Yue deliberately cut his hand to allow it to corrode his body better, these white Honkai energy crystals had no effect.

Although this method was not rigorous, it at least proved that the corrosiveness of Honkai energy came from those mysterious fragments of will.

However, Ai Yue still felt that something was not quite right—if this mystery could be solved so easily, there was no reason why Dr. Mei and the others wouldn't have thought of such a method.

Was there something he had overlooked?

As Ai Yue pondered, he sealed the harmless version of the Honkai energy crystal in his hand, saving it for later use.

Since the potentially explosive experiment was completed, there was no need for him to stay here any longer. It was time to return to the Moth to Fire headquarters.

At the airport of the Spiral Workshop, Hua was still guarding the airplane door, just as she was when Ai Yue left. Seeing Ai Yue appear, the girl took two steps forward. "Dr. Ai Yue, are you leaving?"

"Yes," Ai Yue nodded. "It's time to go back. I have other things to do."

"I understand," Hua pulled open the cabin door and gestured for Ai Yue to board first.

The two sat in the cabin, and neither spoke for a time.

During this period of interaction, Ai Yue had gained a deeper understanding of Hua's personality. It was hard to imagine that a girl in the prime of her youth would have such a silent and go-with-the-flow personality.

If no one spoke to Hua, she could remain quiet for an entire day. Her melancholic personality even made Prometheus worry that she might develop autism, so during her free time, the AI girl would proactively invite Hua to play online games.

Although entertainment development in this era had almost stagnated or died out due to continuous natural disasters, at least the works left behind would not disappear because of it.

Speaking of which, when I was chatting with Eden earlier, we did discuss this matter. It is said that a media outlet conducted a survey and found that after the "Australian Bushfire Incident (the official explanation for the outbreak of the Seventh Honkai)," the public was almost unwilling to participate in entertainment activities, and thus the entire social atmosphere began to slide towards a deep abyss of despair.

If people are to be motivated, perhaps blindly concealing the truth is not the best approach.

But Ai Yue could also understand the UN's concealment of the truth. After all, Herrschers were not just simple natural disasters. If ordinary people knew that such terrifying entities were hostile to humanity, it might even accelerate the collapse of civilization.

I must think of a way.

Ai Yue scratched his head, and a smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth—why not let the Fused Warriors debut as idols? Packaging the warriors as invincible heroes could also inspire ordinary people, right?

However, the only one who would agree to this plan was probably Elysia.

While lost in thought, Ai Yue suddenly noticed Hua's gaze. She had been looking at him from time to time since a while ago, with a look of wanting to speak but hesitating, which was quite conspicuous.

"What's wrong?" After waiting for a long time without hearing her voice, Ai Yue took the initiative to speak. "Hua, I've told you many times, you don't need to be so reserved."

"Sorry, I just... I'm used to it," Hua lowered her head slightly in embarrassment, then looked up at Ai Yue. "Dr. Ai Yue, I heard Minister Vill-V is in charge of building your new experimental base, is that right?"

Ai Yue nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but at the banquet that day, I overheard Minister Vill-V's drunken ramblings," Hua continued, "You chose the location for the new base... in Australia?"

Recalling Vill-V's drunken words that night – "Ai Yue actually dumped me in that place full of Honkai Beasts to work, I'm going to charge him extra" – Hua became even more certain of her guess.

If there was any place in the world that fit Vill-V's description, it could only be Australia.

Australia, burned to a scorched earth by the Seventh Herrscher, remained a territory of Honkai Beasts. Even though Moth to Fire and various countries had stationed troops on the continent's edges, they could only manage to blockade Australia and prevent Honkai Beasts from gathering and rioting.

Establishing an experimental base in a place like that seemed far too risky.

"Are you scared?" Ai Yue looked at Hua, implicitly confirming her question. "Afraid to return to that land and face your past?"

"...I can't deny that I am a little scared to go back," Hua said after a moment of silence, finally admitting it frankly. "But comparatively, I'm more worried about you, Doctor, encountering danger."

"No need to worry, I believe you can protect me," Ai Yue smiled. "Of course, choosing that location wasn't because of you."

He turned to look out the window. "Australia is the land of us humans. How can we let a bunch of beasts occupy it forever?"

Hua looked at Ai Yue with some surprise. This seemed to be the first time she had heard such "sharp" words from him.

In the girl's impression, Ai Yue had always been a gentle scholar. Although he liked to be on the front lines when doing things, he was, fundamentally, still a scholar.

But in that instant, the aura that emanated from his eyes gave Hua a strange illusion.

It was as if she was facing not a scholar, but an emperor who considered Earth his own possession.

"I will do my best to ensure your safety, Dr. Ai Yue," Hua snapped out of her momentary illusion and continued their previous topic. "But my current strength is not enough to bear this heavy responsibility, so I would like to request if I could undergo the Fused Warrior surgery?"

Ai Yue refocused his gaze on Hua. "That Mobius fellow said something unnecessary to you again, didn't she?"

"Yes... no, I don't think it was unnecessary. Dr. Mobius made a lot of sense," Hua quickly explained. "After all, it's impossible to establish a foothold in a place like Australia without sufficient strength. If you, Dr. Ai Yue, don't plan to increase manpower, then I must..."

"You should stay away from Mobius in the future; you're too easily deceived," Ai Yue interrupted Hua, then sighed. "Never mind. Although it's not completely finished yet, I should tell you now."

"I already have a way to gain great power without undergoing surgery."

Chapter 20: Forbidden Transformation... Oh, This Transformation

In the training grounds, Hua walked out of the changing room with her arms crossed, looking a bit embarrassed.

She was wearing a full-body, skin-tight suit that covered her limbs, similar to a competitive swimsuit.

This kind of suit was a base layer designed to be worn with external armor. Its purpose was to protect the fighter's body from direct contact with the armor, preventing discomfort or malfunctions caused by temperature, humidity, or other factors that could harm the user.

Wearing it by itself now felt a bit strange...

"Changed already?" Ai Yue naturally noticed the subtle shift in the girl's emotions but didn't react particularly. He simply opened the box he had brought. "Then take these with you."

"What are these?"

Hua knelt down and took the items from Ai Yue's hands. She glanced over them and saw that they were mostly ring-shaped metal devices.

"You'll know soon enough," Ai Yue said mysteriously. Seeing her blank expression as she held the metal devices, he finally placed them on her wrists himself. "This one goes here."

Finally, Ai Yue took out five metal rings from the box. There was a pair for her wrists and ankles, and the last one was placed around her neck. Then came two larger items: a headband for her head and a belt for her waist.

Hua initially wanted to put them on herself, but Ai Yue didn't give her the chance. She could only stand stiffly, like a puppet waiting to be adorned.

"There, all set," Ai Yue said, wrapping his hands around the girl's slender waist to fasten the belt at the small of her back. He then took two steps back and nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, Hua, say something."

"Huh?" Hua subconsciously looked up. "Say what?"

She could feel the metal ring on her neck vibrate slightly as she spoke.

"Voiceprint locked, identity confirmed. Owner: Hua. Initializing..."

A synthesized female voice suddenly came from the belt, causing Hua to look down at it before turning her gaze back to Ai Yue. "Dr. Ai Yue, what is this?"

"Just a special set of armor," Ai Yue instructed her to keep her stance and not move. "Wait a moment, it's still recording your data."

The next second, the belt spoke again: "Initialization complete. Please confirm activation command."

Hua looked at Ai Yue with a confused gaze, clearly asking what this "activation command" was.

"It's just a command to activate the armor system. It's only effective when spoken by the person whose voiceprint is locked," Ai Yue explained. "As for the content, you can choose freely. 'Transform,' 'Armament,' 'Combine,' even 'Evolve' are all fine."

Hua thought for a moment and decided to follow Ai Yue's suggestion: "Then, 'Transform'."

"Confirm 'Then, Transform' as the activation command?"

"...Transform."

"Confirm 'Transform' as the activation command?"

"Confirm."

"Confirmation successful." After saying this, the belt's tone suddenly became a little more lively, and it played an exciting piece of music. "'Primordial Armor,' permission to activate!"

The next second, all the metal devices Hua was wearing began to emit a faint golden light. Then, the girl felt something cold and viscous surge across her skin, starting from the metal rings. It was as if they were alive, gradually enveloping her entire body.

This strange, unprecedented feeling made Hua a little uneasy, but her soldier's discipline made her strictly adhere to Ai Yue's instructions. She stood still without wavering, closing her eyes to prevent the strange substance from getting into them.

Fortunately, the peculiar sensation quickly subsided, replaced by a firm touch. Even through the skin-tight suit, Hua could feel a special substance covering her body, perfectly encasing her.

She finally opened her eyes tentatively, only to find her vision covered by a faint blue hue. Everything she saw was labeled with pale blue text.

For example, Dr. Ai Yue, who was right in front of them, was marked as "Most Important, Do Not Harm," while the box by his hand was labeled "Container for Armor Storage System, Destruction Not Recommended."

This is...

Hua reached out to touch her face, only to feel her fingers brush against a cold, hard outer shell. She lowered her head and realized that her hands, arms, and even her entire body were encased in a set of blue armor.

"How does it feel?" Seeing Hua's movement, Ai Yue knew she was getting used to the armor. "Is it stuffy?"

"Not at all," Hua shook her head and couldn't help but look down at her legs again. "And... this armor is really cool."

"The appearance was designed by Rose and me. She said she took your preferences into account," Ai Yue smiled. "If you want to see the full picture, you can use 'Observer Mode'."

"Observer Mode?" Hua subconsciously repeated, and then heard a synthesized female voice in her ear, "Command confirmed, activating 'Observer Mode'."

The next second, Hua felt a lightness on her head, as if something had detached from the armor and floated away. Then, her field of vision changed. The view from a human eye suddenly shrunk to a corner, and a new perspective, rotating around her, occupied most of her vision.

From this angle, Hua could clearly see every detail of the armor she was wearing. Its main color was blue, with black as an accent, giving the streamlined armor a cold and serious demeanor. At the same time, the armor's design was simple and efficient, giving a clean and sharp impression, like a drawn short sword, sharp and dangerous.

Hua suddenly remembered playing a mech game with Prometheus a couple of days ago. Prometheus had asked her to choose her favorite design, and she had chosen a mech with a very similar color scheme and design.

Could "taking your preferences into account" have meant this?

"How does it feel?" Ai Yue looked at the two small cameras flying around Hua and smiled. "This is a function for the battlefield, it can prevent enemies from launching surprise attacks from blind spots."

"It's a great design, just a little... dizzying," Hua blinked, trying hard to suppress the feeling of dizziness. "I guess I need more time to get used to it."

"It's natural to feel unaccustomed when your perspective on the world suddenly changes, but you can overcome it with a little effort," Ai Yue said dismissively. "The armor has many other special functions that you can try out slowly later. For today, let's test its combat data."

"Okay." Hua then turned off Observer Mode and looked at the various equipment in the training ground. "Then I'll just now..."

"Hey, what can you test with a bunch of inanimate objects?" Ai Yue waved his hand and looked towards the entrance of the training ground. "I've found you a sparring partner. They should be here by now."

A sparring partner?

Just as Hua was about to speak, she saw a figure walk in, "Dr. Ai Yue, I've arrived. What is the mission... What is this!"