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

The place has now been completely emptied. Ai Yue sent all the supplies he had accumulated over the past six months to the sanatorium (transported by Kalpas). The remaining materials and various items he had manufactured were also packed and temporarily stored at the sanatorium, to be taken away when they leave.

However, Ai Yue still left behind a box, placing it on the coffee table in the living room.

Inside were some things he had prepared that Pardofelis might find useful, such as a special steel wire rope, an instant smoke bomb, and shock-absorbing insoles.

These items might not be of much use on the battlefield, but they were more than enough for petty theft.

Yet, upon returning this time, the box was still sitting on the table, clearly indicating that Pardofelis had not been here in the past thirty-odd hours.

Ai Yue sighed, having expected to see Pardofelis sleeping on the sofa when he came in this time.

After closing the door, Ai Yue went to the western market again. Every day, people would put out things they once treasured, or their entire savings, just to exchange them for a little more food.

Pardofelis would occasionally bring some easily sellable items here to pawn, but unfortunately, Ai Yue didn't see her today. Instead, he bought a few new items that could be used for research.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Ai Yue still couldn't find Pardofelis. Although he knew very well that with her luck, she could survive until the end of the world, he still felt a little disappointed.

What a shame, all that effort building up favor for half a year wasted like this.

But he couldn't bring himself to force Pardofelis into Moth to Fire for his own purposes.

"Ai Yue!"

Elysia waved at him from a distance. The plane to take them to Moth to Fire headquarters had landed. "Ready to go?"

"Coming!"

Ai Yue took one last look at the settlement where he had lived for over half a year, a sense of pride rising in his heart.

In the original storyline, this place had already turned into desolate streets due to the spread of Honkai Energy, with less than one survivor in ten, each person scrutinizing the world with cold and wary eyes.

But through his own efforts, Twilight Street was now as peaceful and serene as it was at the beginning. With Moth to Fire establishing a presence here, it would likely become the safest settlement in the vicinity, perhaps even regaining its former glory as a city someday.

Although this change was insignificant compared to the apocalypse looming over the entire era, it was still a small alteration to the future, right?

Ai Yue walked towards the transport plane, various future possibilities flashing through his mind.

The lesions that gradually erode civilization, I will find a cure for each of them.

Let everything end in this era, end in my hands.

"What's wrong, Ai Yue?" Elysia asked, looking at him from across the troop transport bay inside the plane's belly. "You look a bit serious, are you feeling carsick?"

"No, I was just thinking about something." Ai Yue snapped back to reality, his expression quickly returning to normal. "I'm more curious about what Moth to Fire headquarters looks like."

"In about... hmm, three hours, you'll know." Elysia glanced at her watch. "At this time, if there are no special circumstances, everyone should be there. I can introduce you to many new friends?"

"That would be great."

Just as Ai Yue was about to seize the opportunity to ask more about Dr. Mei and Kevin, Sakura, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and placed her hand on her sword hilt. "There's movement... in the cargo hold."

Aponia also tilted her head slightly, then showed a look of surprise before looking at Ai Yue. "It's our old friend, Mr. Ai Yue."

Old friend... no way!

Ai Yue froze for a moment, then rushed towards the cargo hold ahead of Sakura.

"Bang!"

"Ouch!"

Ai Yue violently flung open the cargo hold door, followed by the sound of an object hitting the ground and a groggy voice crying out in pain.

The person who had fallen in the open space in the center of the cargo hold was the one Ai Yue had spent all this time looking for.

"Pardo?" Ai Yue's eyes widened. "How did you get on the plane?"

"Ahahaha, Brother Yue..." Pardo pushed himself up, kneeling on the ground with a fawning smile on his face. "Um, you're not going to kick me off the plane, are you?"

Chapter 11: Joining Comes with a Free Detached Villa

"Name?"

"Ai Yue."

"Age?"

"Hmm... 20, I guess?"

"Gender?"

"Attack helicopter."

"What?"

Hearing Ai Yue's absurd statement, the person responsible for registering his information looked up, their face filled with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"You don't allow 'attack helicopter' here? That's not politically correct." Ai Yue quipped, then shrugged. "Of course, that was a joke. I just thought the atmosphere was a bit dull."

"You'd better be serious." The registrar frowned, trying to bring the man before him back to reality. "Where do you think you are? At Moth to Fire, there are plenty of people like you!"

"I don't believe you." Ai Yue escalated, even resting his leg on the table in front of him. "Go ask your superior if they dare say that? I was personally invited back by Dr. Mei and Elysia, understand?"

As they say, having connections makes things easier. Thinking of his backing, Ai Yue felt his confidence surge.

"Dr. Mei? Dr. Mei?" Elysia might be one thing, but the mention of Dr. Mei's name made the registrar freeze. "That's impossible, we haven't received any relevant notification recently?"

"That means your clearance level isn't high enough." Ai Yue put on an impatient air. "Alright, hurry up and finish the process, I have things to do."

He did this specifically to intimidate the other party. After all, his background couldn't withstand close scrutiny. Although he had taken some measures to conceal it, anyone with the intention to investigate carefully would easily find his tracks.

Fortunately, the other party was indeed intimidated by Dr. Mei's reputation, and the subsequent registration went very smoothly.

After completing the registration, Ai Yue received his own Moth to Fire emblem. The front of the emblem bore the same pattern that was once printed on the tactical case Pardofelis had stolen, while the back was engraved with his name and the exact date he joined Moth to Fire.

Alright, next, I should go see Pardo.

He hesitated for a moment before starting to inquire about Pardofelis's whereabouts.

Ai Yue's feelings about Pardofelis being willing to accompany him to Moth to Fire were a mix of joy and concern.

He was happy that Pardofelis was willing to trust him and choose to stay by his side. This way, he could rely on her good luck in the future for projects that required a gamble on success rates.

He was concerned, however, that given Pardo's current lazy demeanor and her identity as a righteous thief, it remained to be seen whether she could settle in within Moth to Fire.

If all else failed, he could simply register Pardo as a dependent and have her settle in the city. After all, he wasn't worried about not being able to support a stray cat.

Deep down, Ai Yue hoped that Pardo could stay away from danger.

However, before he could find Pardofelis's registration room, Elysia found him first. The girl with long pink hair stood at the corner of the corridor and waved at him, "Ai Yue, over here!"

Ai Yue walked towards Elysia, and the registration officer, who had emerged from the registration room a step behind him, also saw this scene. The officer, who had been somewhat skeptical, was now completely convinced by Ai Yue's previous claims.

Someone who was valued by Dr. Mei and personally brought back to Moth to Fire? The last one was already...

His expression shifted unpredictably before he turned and squeezed back into the crowd. It was foreseeable that this news would soon spread throughout Moth to Fire.

"Did you need me for something?" Ai Yue asked as he reached Elysia's side. "Do you know where Pardo was taken?"

The four of them had been registered separately, as each person's situation was different. Ai Yue was classified as a scientist, Aponia as a psychic, and Kalpas as a "thug with terrifying strength."

Pardofelis was the most normal among them. However, because she had managed to sneak onto Moth to Fire's transport plane undetected by two Fused Warriors, she stood out remarkably.

At least, there were more people who came to escort Pardofelis away than there were for Aponia.

"Little Pardo, you don't need to worry. Sakura is watching over her," Elysia said with a smile. "Dr. Mei is with Aponia, and Kevin is handling Kalpas... Oh my, looking at it this way, you guys are really receiving top-tier treatment."

Elysia was still marveling at the situation, but Ai Yue remained unfazed.

Setting aside Kalpas and Pardofelis for the moment, Aponia was receiving such attention because the information hidden within the ballad had led Moth to Fire to misunderstand something.

He had been considering whether to go and check on Aponia, to prevent her from undergoing any further torture, but since Dr. Mei was present, it seemed there was no need to worry about it.

As for Kalpas, would there really not be a fight?

"Oh, let's not talk about that," Elysia said, returning to the main topic. "Come on, let me show you the laboratory Dr. Mei specially prepared for you! You must be most excited about this, right?"

Elysia, naturally unaware that Ai Yue was a fraud, assumed that a researcher like him would be most concerned about future research conditions. Ai Yue couldn't possibly say that he was more interested in whether the dormitory beds at Moth to Fire were soft, so he had no choice but to follow the girl.

Moth to Fire's headquarters wasn't a single building but a designated area within the city developed into a comprehensive campus.

Within this campus, combat personnel, researchers, logistics staff, and administrative staff were all assigned to specific zones according to their duties and functions. Ai Yue was no exception.

"This is it."

After taking an internal shuttle within the campus, the two finally arrived at their destination ten minutes later. Elysia stood in front of a three-story building and gestured for him to enter, "Ta-da~ What do you think? Do you like it?"

"A standalone building?" Ai Yue was a little surprised. "This is for me?"

Ai Yue felt like he was dreaming right now. His ultimate dream as a salaryman in his previous life was probably to buy a house like this.

He never expected that after dying on the road, he would fulfill this dream by transmigrating to this world.

"Of course! We at Moth to Fire are very generous to geniuses!" Elysia said with a smile. "Since most researchers have similar personalities, this building also includes a living area, which can save you time."

"Words are not as good as seeing for yourself. Come on, I'll give you a tour."

Elysia pulled Ai Yue into the building, which was divided into a living area and a testing area. The first floor and the specially designed and reinforced basement were laboratories, while the second and third floors were living quarters. All sorts of furniture, appliances, and daily necessities were provided. Ai Yue could even move in without bringing anything.

"Your belongings have already been sent here," Elysia said, pointing to several boxes placed in a corner. "But I wanted to ask earlier, you really don't have much stuff. Didn't you bring any of your old experimental equipment?"

"That was all crude stuff, it won't be useful anymore, why bother with the effort." Ai Yue looked at the instruments before him, some of which he couldn't even name, and didn't know how to react. "These things are really great."

Looking around, almost all the instruments and equipment in this laboratory could advance research projects, which was very useful for Ai Yue.

He decided to start with the instruments and report them as damaged in a few days.

Ai Yue had heard the story of a great magician who blew up his experimental workshop every day to demand more funding. Compared to that, him just reporting a few instruments as damaged should be considered quite mild, right?

"That's about it." Ai Yue took a brief look around the house and didn't linger. He directly went outside. "Let's go find Pardo and the others now."

"Huh, you're leaving already?" Elysia was a little surprised. "I thought you'd be a bit reluctant to leave. The environment here is much better than before, isn't it?"

"Much better is an understatement, it's incredibly better." Ai Yue placated Elysia as he walked towards the shuttle. "So let's hurry."

Elysia nodded thoughtfully behind him.

Instead of focusing on his new life, he cared more about his old friends. What a good person.

"I like this about you too," Elysia said aloud, lost in thought. Ai Yue gave her a bewildered look.

Clearly, Ai Yue didn't realize that his actions had further elevated his image in Elysia's eyes. However, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care.

If he were to rank the people he had met so far based on the difficulty of gaining their favor, the person who was the hardest to gain favor with might be debatable, but the person who was the easiest to gain favor with was definitely Elysia.

She loved this world so much that as long as you were a normal person—no, even if you weren't normal, she could find many shining points in you and develop a fondness for you.

But it was precisely because of this that so many people liked Elysia.

The two soon returned to the original integrated building. As Ai Yue stepped off the transport vehicle, he heard Pardofelis's energetic voice: "Brother Yue! Where did you two go!"

Pardofelis excitedly ran out of the building, with Sakura following at a leisurely pace behind her.

"Brother Yue, listen to me, those important people praised me!" Pardofelis ran up to Ai Yue in three quick steps, eager to take credit before she had even caught her breath. "They said I... Hey, Sister Sakura, what did they say I was?"

"They said you're agile, have keen senses, and are quick-witted," Sakura walked over with a slight smile. Facing such a childlike Pardofelis, she was always reminded of her own sister. "Suitable for reconnaissance, infiltration, and stealth missions."

"Right, right, exactly!" Pardofelis puffed out her chest proudly. "How about it, Brother Yue, aren't I amazing!"

Ai Yue naturally knew Pardofelis was amazing, but he didn't really want to engage with her on that topic right now, so he just offered a perfunctory reply: "Yeah, yeah, you're the most amazing, Twilight Street's righteous thief."

Pardofelis didn't notice the subtle shift in Ai Yue's tone and just kept smiling foolishly.

"Dr. Mei said Aponia's side will need a bit more time. How about we go check on Kalpas first?" Elysia chimed in at this moment. "I wonder if they'll be able to get along over there..."

"I doubt it," Ai Yue shrugged. He had absolute faith in Kalpas – faith that the other would definitely go berserk. "But with Kevin there, it should be fine. Didn't you say Kevin is even stronger than you?"

Honestly, after so much time had passed, Ai Yue had almost assumed Kalpas's rampage was already over.

"Just a little bit stronger," Elysia pinched her index finger and thumb together, leaving only a tiny gap. "Really, just a little!"

At this point in time, Kevin hadn't fused with as many Honkai Beast genes to become a "Chimera," so Elysia's statement was actually true.

However, before the group could even board the transport vehicle, they heard a sudden roar from not too far away.

Immediately after, a plume of black smoke shot up into the sky.

"That's... the training area!" Elysia and Sakura exchanged a look. "Did something really kick off over there?"

"Let's go!" Sakura didn't hesitate for a moment and dashed towards the direction where the black smoke was rising. Elysia followed closely behind, not forgetting to instruct, "You guys just follow in the transport vehicle!"

While the transport vehicle was much faster than ordinary people, it was still far from matching the speed of a Fused Warrior at full power.

"Will Brother Kalpas be alright?" Pardofelis also showed some concern. "Brother Yue, let's hurry too. After all, we all came from Twilight Street."

Although Pardofelis didn't have much interaction with Kalpas, they were all from the same place, and in this unfamiliar environment, they would naturally feel closer to each other.