"Uh, guide it with mental power?" Su closed his eyes and frowned slightly. After a while, he opened them again, confusion in his gaze. "How exactly do I do that?"
"Fair enough. You only just obtained this power, so it's normal not to know how to use it." Ai Yue glanced at his phone. "What a coincidence. Desdrobia and the others just returned to headquarters after completing their mission. I'll call her over to teach you."
"No need." Su suddenly raised one arm slowly. "I think I know what to do now."
"Not bad." Ai Yue was briefly stunned, then nodded. "As expected of you."
Known for his wisdom in the original story, Su displayed extraordinary comprehension. After only a moment of confusion upon waking, he gradually mastered this power that had never belonged to him.
After half an hour of observation, once it was confirmed that Su showed no abnormalities or adverse reactions, he had essentially mastered his abilities and fully recovered from the anesthesia.
Unlike Desdrobia's telekinesis and Aponia's hypnosis, Su's ability was Mental Interference. By disturbing another person's mind, it could scramble their senses and create illusions.
With sufficient skill, it could even create lifelike illusions and trap its victims in a false world.
From that perspective, if Su could develop this ability to its peak, he might one day recreate the Eighth Herrscher's "Spiderweb Dreamscape." However, given his personality, he might not be willing to pursue that direction.
But it didn't matter. I had already obtained this power.
Ai Yue put a small tube of Su's blood into his pocket, delight showing on his face.
Although he already possessed the Herrscher of Consciousness's genetic information and technically no longer needed the abilities of any Mental Perception Fused Warrior, he was still addicted to the feeling of filling out his collection.
At the same time, Ai Yue realized another significance the Superpower Instrument held for him.
If he could record the genetic information of all humanity inside it, then even if he ultimately failed to defeat the Finality, the instrument would leave civilization a path toward reconstruction.
Of course, it would be best if that path never had to be used.
"So what are we doing now?" After sending Su back to rest, Kevin followed Ai Yue to the training grounds. "Cosmo said you've been developing new equipment that Fused Warriors can use. Is this what it's for?"
"New equipment?" Mobius, who had come along as well, suspiciously looked at Ai Yue. "You've been conducting other research behind my back again?"
That Cosmo was way too excited.
And Mobius, what was with that tone?
"No. Those devices still need more time to design." Ai Yue waved away the subject. "I asked you two here mainly to test another invention of mine."
Ai Yue turned to face Kevin. Under the control of his mental fluctuations, the Superpower Instrument on his wrist activated. Soon, the temperature around him began to plummet.
"What...?"
Kevin and Mobius's expressions changed at once. Kevin looked stunned, while Mobius looked furious.
"You finally decided to experiment on yourself?" Mobius stepped forward to examine Ai Yue more closely, but the extreme cold made her frown. "Then why are you using Parvati's genes?"
After becoming a Fused Warrior, she had begun to hate low temperatures. Perhaps that was the influence of the "snake" within her.
"No. I don't sense the aura of a fellow species." Kevin's instincts were even sharper than Mobius's, but that only deepened his confusion. "But this feeling... is it me?"
Indeed, if he closed his eyes and "observed" Ai Yue entirely through perception, Kevin would feel that the person before him was a weaker version of himself.
"What a sharp instinct. Fortunately, I don't dislike it." Ai Yue smiled, having nearly delivered a villain's line, and simply confessed. "That's right. This equipment can imitate your abilities, though for now I'm the only one who can use it."
"Are we testing its strength?" Kevin extended a hand. Frost gradually gathered in his palm, forming a greatsword. "I'll be careful."
"Wait, no!" Just as the two reached an understanding, Mobius rushed between them. "Ai Yue, you absolutely cannot suffer even the slightest injury!"
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Experts Really Are Experts—They Understand at Once
Mobius was adamant because she knew that if humanity truly had a chance to defeat Honkai, Ai Yue could not afford to die.
She knew Kevin's strength well. In a head-on battle, even the Herrscher of Flame was no match for him. As long as no even more outrageous Herrscher appeared, Kevin was the strongest creature on the planet.
Fighting someone like that, even in a spar, carried immense risks—perhaps even greater than facing the Eighth Herrscher.
When facing the Eighth Herrscher, Ai Yue had at least had Aponia beside him as insurance, with mental strength no weaker than his opponent's. But now, Mobius was the only one present, and she had no confidence that she could protect Ai Yue.
Of course, Mobius was not trying to stop Ai Yue from testing his new equipment. Her demand was simple: Kevin was not allowed to fight back.
Thus, Kevin helplessly changed the greatsword into a shield to block Ai Yue's attacks.
Ai Yue did not mind. He only wanted to see how much of the original's strength the Superpower Instrument's energy mimicry could display. Whether he fought a real opponent or an unmoving target made little difference.
The final result was merely passable. According to Kevin's evaluation, the current output limit of the energy mimicry was only about forty percent of Kevin's full strength. That was still enough for Ai Yue to wipe out an entire fully staffed company of soldiers instantly, but against a Fused Warrior, he might not even beat a scientist like Mobius.
"What do you mean?" Mobius glared at Kevin. "Are you looking down on me? What does 'I might not even beat her' mean?"
"I didn't mean to belittle you, Doctor Mobius." Kevin looked awkward. "But it's true. You aren't good at fighting, are you?"
"Enough. Don't dwell on it." Ai Yue patted Mobius's shoulder. "It's equipment. We can iterate and upgrade it gradually."
As for the Superpower Instrument's performance, Ai Yue could only say it was within expectations. Energy mimicry was merely one application of the instrument, so insufficient output was normal.
Moreover, Ai Yue had faintly sensed the root of the problem: the energy system.
Low energy-supply efficiency resulted in insufficient output, while excessive efficiency caused the core to heat rapidly and overload. The current efficiency was therefore a necessary compromise.
Unfortunately, the Herrscher of Ice had died too suddenly. Her remains had not been preserved in time, and her existence had been too brief for her to leave behind any decent accompanying materials. Now only her Herrscher Core remained, and Vill-V had taken it to improve machine efficiency. It probably would not be back anytime soon.
Ai Yue could not ask her for it, either. After all, she was currently working for him.
"What are you thinking about?" Mobius's voice interrupted Ai Yue. "Kevin has already left. Are you still going to continue the experiment?"
"Forget it. There's no point for now. Let's go back." Ai Yue shook his head and looked at the ruined training room. "Someone will handle this place, right?"
He had originally wanted to try mimicking Mobius's abilities to see whether it would grant him the ability to regenerate severed limbs. But that seemed difficult for now, so he might as well wait until the next upgrade.
"Relax. It's just a simple modular replacement. The Logistics Department is used to it." Mobius shook her head. "Kevin and the others caused much greater damage back then."
Remembering how Kevin had once frozen the entire training room into rubble with a single unreserved strike, Mobius still felt shaken. That was also why she insisted Kevin not fight back.
At that thought, she could not help saying, "Before conducting experiments like this in the future, could you tell me first? Using a Fused Warrior for live combat training on a whim—are you trying to die?"
"Next time, definitely." Ai Yue waved dismissively and headed for the door. "I didn't expect you to worry so much about my safety. When we first met, you were practically gnashing your teeth at me."
"Back then, I was worried that my funding would be taken by a useless pretty face. Who knew a true dragon would arrive?" Mobius shook her head. "Now, even if human civilization is destroyed, you must survive, Ai Yue."
"Why the sudden heavy declaration?" Ai Yue looked at her in surprise. "You're that reluctant to lose me?"
"Of course. You're arrogant, strange, and always exploit me, but you really are the person most likely to lead humanity to victory over Honkai." Perhaps because she had already let go of her grudges, Mobius spoke easily. "Even if you truly fail in the end and the world is destroyed, you'll surely be capable of rebuilding everything from the ruins..."
"Enough. Let's not discuss something so grim." Seeing that she was about to plant a death flag on him, Ai Yue hurriedly stopped her. "Speaking of which, aren't you curious how I mastered Kevin's abilities?"
"If it's something you can tell me, you definitely won't be able to keep it hidden. If it's something you can't tell me, you definitely won't tell me." Mobius rolled her eyes. "Just like that new equipment Cosmo mentioned, right?"
"Ahem. That's only a prototype. There's nothing to say about it." Ai Yue rubbed his nose, feeling slightly guilty.
"Spare me. If you give something to someone else, you must be hiding something better." Mobius wore an expression that said she knew him completely, but did not press further. "So how did you do it? Through that watch?"
"Heh-heh." Ai Yue smiled proudly. "Have you heard of the 'Data Transcription Technology for Genetic Information'?"
After Mobius's earlier words, Ai Yue knew she would never betray him. They were walking the same path.
Since that was the case, he could share some matters with her, pool their ideas, and see whether she had any useful suggestions.
In any case, even Ai Yue himself had not figured out the technology's exact principles, so he did not need to worry about Mobius conducting some unexpected research behind his back.
"Energy mimicry? You're using it wrong." After hearing Ai Yue's brief explanation, Mobius was still confused, but as a top genetic scholar, she had found the blind spot. "After converting genetic information into data, shouldn't the most logical application be to research data and electronic simulation?"
Electronic? Electronic...
Ai Yue suddenly froze. When Mobius reached out to tug at his clothes, he abruptly pulled her into his arms and spun twice on the spot. "Mobius, you're a damn genius!"
"Huh? What?"
By the time Mobius recovered, Ai Yue had already run off and disappeared.
That was it. Electronic. How had I not thought of that?
Convert genetic information into data, then redesign and output it. He had clearly seen this technology before.
The electronic armor monsters in Ultraman X were made that way!
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ai Yue, I'm Done Being Human
Virtual Monster Technology.
It converted a monster's genetic information from matter into data, allowing specialized equipment to use electronic recombination to transform it into equipment or an Electronic Solidified Monster and utilize its abilities.
Perhaps because he had been captivated by energy mimicry, Ai Yue's thoughts had raced toward the Superpower Instrument from the very beginning, causing him to forget the conventional approach to digitizing genetic information.
Once genetic information was digitized, data could be edited and restored. By taking advantage of those strengths, one could conduct endless virtual-model experiments and find the method that maximized the potential of the genetic information. Even if it could not be made physical again, the data could still be applied to countless scenarios.
That was the theory, but practical operation was extremely difficult.
Although Ai Yue could use Data Transcription Technology for Genetic Information instead of the original work's biological information digitization technology, turning the data back into matter was still beyond him. In the original work, that ability belonged exclusively to Ultraman X and was not something he could imitate casually.
Still, it was at least a direction worth exploring, and it was more versatile than energy mimicry.
Even if he ultimately failed to achieve data materialization, producing an Electronic Solidified Monster like Virtual Gomora would still be worthwhile.
Compared with ordinary weapons, Electronic Solidified Monsters had the advantage of requiring no maintenance. They were essentially electronic particles bound by a field, condensed into electronic monsters through resonance between digitized biological information and human mental fluctuations. Even if severe damage dispersed their forms, they could be manifested again as long as the relevant equipment remained intact.
Such special weapons would be far more useful than ordinary equipment on battlefields against Honkai Beasts.
Of course, the technical problems he needed to overcome far exceeded Ai Yue's expectations.
"Is this guy really all right?"
Outside Ai Yue's laboratory, Mobius paced back and forth, deep worry showing on her face.
Two weeks had passed since Ai Yue had suddenly picked her up, spun her around, and rushed home. Yet even today, he had not left the house, which naturally aroused Mobius's curiosity.
What kind of research project could keep Ai Yue in seclusion for so long?
Mobius seriously suspected that he might eventually emerge holding something and declare, "This is the Honkai Bracelet. With it, we can defeat every Herrscher."
"Relax. What could happen to Ai Yue?" Vill-V stood nearby, looking down at her phone. "Besides, Prometheus said everything was normal. What's there to worry about?"
"Doctor Ai Yue's physiological data is within healthy parameters. Please rest assured." Prometheus's voice came from Vill-V's phone. "His mental state is not entirely normal, of course, but considering the usual condition of scholars, I believe it remains within acceptable limits."
"Did you just say that all of us are abnormal?" Mobius narrowed her eyes at Vill-V, then suddenly remembered something. "Wait. Aren't you supposed to be in Australia doing construction work? Why did you suddenly come back?"
She had merely taken her usual walk here and stopped by to see whether Ai Yue had emerged. Meeting Vill-V had been a coincidence.
"Because I finished, of course." Vill-V looked up with a smug smile. "Fifty days. A large research institute covering ten thousand square meters, with two aboveground floors, three underground floors, and an independent oversized combat-training room. Impressive, right?"
"It took you much longer to build The Deepest Place, didn't it?" Mobius looked at her former rival and no longer dwelled on those matters. "How much did Ai Yue pay you?"
"I can't tell you. You'll only get jealous." Vill-V teased her, then became serious. "Besides, it wasn't only about money. Ai Yue improved quite a few of my devices. Without that, the efficiency could never have been this high."
"Improved them?" Mobius immediately saw through her lie. "I'd guess he completely redesigned them."
"It was still based on my original equipment!" Vill-V clearly looked embarrassed, then sighed. "Fine, there's no shame in admitting it. Ai Yue is simply outrageous. Losing to him isn't humiliating."
Unlike Mobius, Vill-V's outlook was similar to hers, but she had none of a genius's pride.
To Vill-V, she was not a genius, merely a fraud. Pretending to be an expert in mechanical engineering had only been a means of entering the Moth to Fire.
That was why, after discovering that Ai Yue was so absurdly capable that he barely seemed human, Vill-V accepted it with ease.
Mobius still saw through her. "But you don't actually want to lose, do you? What does it feel like to meet someone you can't defeat, Vill-V?"
The smile faded from Vill-V's face. "What are you trying to say, Mobius?"
"I'm only trying to help." This time, Mobius smiled. "The human body has limits. Machines are useful, but they are still external tools. So when you, as a human, feel that you've reached your limit, why not try... breaking through that restriction?"
"Become a Fused Warrior, right?" Vill-V's expression turned strange. "Just like everyone says, you really don't let any opportunity slip by."
Vill-V was about to say more when she laughed. "But it really is a good proposal. I admit I've taken the bait—when do we start?"
At that moment, the long-sealed door finally opened from inside.
"Start what?" Ai Yue emerged from the house, unshaven, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, and a strange odor about him. Seeing the two people inexplicably standing outside his home, he looked confused. "Why are you here?"
"We happened to run into each other." Mobius exchanged a glance with Vill-V. Both tacitly kept silent about what had just happened. "Is that the result of your sleepless work these past few days?"
Ai Yue held a helmet-like object in his arms. It looked brand-new, forming a sharp contrast with his disheveled appearance.
"You noticed." Ai Yue could barely contain his smile. "Come on. Get Kevin and head to the Special Training Ground. I'll open your eyes."
Chapter Thirty: The Honkai-Pokémon Era Is About to Begin
The Special Training Ground was designed to simulate battlefields. It had vast internal space, captured living Honkai Beasts, and extremely high Honkai Energy concentrations. It was only activated during large-scale combat exercises.
Of course, with Ai Yue's current authority in the Moth to Fire, nobody would object even if he used it every day.
"What is it this time... Why did you turn yourself into this?" Kevin happened to be on standby at headquarters. After receiving the message, he immediately came to the Special Training Ground, only to be shocked by Ai Yue's appearance. "Why don't you rest first?"
To be honest, this was the first time Kevin had seen Ai Yue reduce himself to such a state. What had he invented? It couldn't be a weapon capable of killing a Herrscher with one shot, could it?
Before you continue