Chapter 77

"It's because you're not here that things aren't going well."

Kevin scratched his head and sighed, "After you left, no one spoke. I didn't know how to communicate with them, so I had to hastily disperse them. They said they were just getting to know each other, but it was just matching names with faces."

Finally, Kevin looked at Elysia with an apologetic gaze. "I'm sorry, I've let you down."

He was well aware that Elysia's intention was to foster harmony among the Fused Warrior, preventing discord due to different batches and the formation of cliques that could disrupt the battle plan. However, it seemed that he had become less adept at communicating with strangers.

"After all, you are the recognized strongest Fused Warrior of the Moth to Fire, a great hero with numerous battle achievements."

Elysia patted Kevin on the shoulder understandingly, "This can't be entirely your fault. People are probably too intimidated by you, which is why they don't dare to approach you easily."

"So you don't want to go to the ball because you're afraid of ruining the atmosphere?"

Ai Yue understood Kevin's thoughts, "But you can't keep avoiding these kinds of occasions. If you continue like this, you'll only drift further and further away from everyone."

"I understand, that's why I was thinking about whether Mei could come with me."

Kevin gave a helpless smile. "As you can see, Mei couldn't leave."

"Bringing in the nominal top management of Moth to Fire will only make the atmosphere more awkward, won't it?"

Ai Yue couldn't help but sigh, "Alright, let's come together. With Elysia here this time, what are you afraid of?"

"That's right, don't worry, I'll take care of it!"

Elysia patted her chest and said, "Before we all go our separate ways, I promise I'll get this sorted out for you!"

Speaking of parting, Kevin couldn't help but sigh again.

Seeing his reaction, Elysia couldn't help but take a half step back and secretly glance at Ai Yue: "Uh, did I say something wrong?"

Ai Yue couldn't help but glance at her sideways— Elysia would say the wrong thing? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!

"I'm fine, I just remembered what happened with Senior Hen."

Elysia's voice naturally didn't escape Kevin's ears. He waved his hand, his expression gradually becoming serious. "Doctor Ai Yue, is it true that Hen is retiring?"

Even Elysia couldn't help but show a surprised expression. "Huh? Is that so?"

4

Chapter Four: Giving Children a Complete Family.

Hen is retiring.

This is not a secret. After all, in the "Poison Pupa Unit Reorganization Plan", the only word regarding the follow-up arrangements for Hen was "pending". Not making specific arrangements for him at this time is itself a kind of arrangement.

However, using "retirement" to describe it is not accurate.

Who told you he's retiring?

Ai Yue shook his head. "The number of Fused Warrior is indeed increasing, but it's not enough to allow for anyone to retire, is it?"

What exactly does "pending" mean?

Kevin pressed on, "Even May won't tell me. Are you going to arrange for him to do some dangerous work?"

"The reason I'm not telling you is because it's still in the 'pending' stage."

Ai Yue pushed up his glasses, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "Perfect timing. Hen is already at the banquet hall. If you want to know, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Kevin paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Elysia.

Elysia returned a helpless look. "You don't think I've corrupted Ai Yue, do you? He's actually been a bad guy all along, you know?"

In any case, Kevin finally agreed to the invitation to the ball, and as he walked into the banquet hall with his conspicuous white hair, the entire ball fell silent.

Everyone who noticed him couldn't help but stop what they were doing and follow the most legendary hero of the Moth to Fire with their eyes. As more and more people noticed this scene, the entire ball entered a strange state of stagnation.

"Hey, what are you all standing there for? The night is so short, let's not waste it!"

Elysia immediately stepped forward, attracting some attention, and then looked at the band that had stopped playing, "Everyone, keep playing!"

With Elysia's intervention, the ball gradually returned to its previous state, but anyone who paid a little attention could see that everyone's movements had become much stiffer than before.

However, Kevin had no time to pay attention to any of that. Instead, he was searching for something in the hall, and wherever he went, everyone respectfully made way for him.

He eventually found Hen in the dessert area—along with Hen's family.

"Oh, Kevin's here? And Doctor Ai Yue too,"

Before Kevin could even speak, Hen took the initiative to greet him, "You're still so eye-catching. As soon as I heard the music stop, I knew it must be you."

Blanca, who was standing next to him, held Griseo's hand and nodded to Kevin and Ai Yue.

"Senior, I have something to ask you,"

Kevin let out a long breath and calmed himself down. "How about we go somewhere else?"

"Oh, isn't this place just fine?"

Hen stroked Griseo's hair. "I don't spend much time with little Griseo, so just say what you want to say."

"Then I'll just say it directly,"

Kevin looked at Blanca and Griseo, and said hesitantly, "Are you planning to retire?"

"Retirement? What retirement?"

Hen looked at Kevin with some surprise, "The Moth to Fire has a retirement system? I always thought that the only way to rest was to make sacrifices."

He had barely finished speaking when Blanca quietly pinched him, "What unlucky things are you saying in front of the child!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry."

Hen smiled and apologized to his wife, then hugged Griseo in his arms and rubbed his stubble against his daughter's face. "Griseo won't mind at all, right?"

"Dad, I hate it."

Feeling a little uncomfortable from the stubble Griseo pushed away the face of the scar, then looked at the desserts on the side. "I want to eat cake."

"Okay, okay, let's eat cake."

Hen put Griseo down, looked at Kevin who was still waiting for his reply, and then at Ai Yue beside him. "Alright, Doctor Ai Yue is here too, so let's take this opportunity to tell you first, Kevin."

He put on a serious expression, then laughed again, "I'm going to step down and become an instructor."

"Huh?"

Kevin blinked, surprised by the answer, before realizing what he meant. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Haha, how should I put it?"

Hen paused for a moment, then looked at Ai Yue beside him, "I still have to Doctor Ai Yue for giving me this opportunity."

"The performance of the second batch of Fused Warrior has been very stable, and considering future plans, the third batch of Fused Warrior will no longer be limited to within the Moth to Fire, but will be recruited worldwide,"

Ai Yue also explained, "In this case, we need to arrange suitable candidates to train future soldiers. Currently, only Hen is qualified for this position."

In the original storyline, the world was plagued by frequent Honkai disasters, and the Fused Warrior had no time for systematic training. Their first lesson was often learned on the battlefield, at the cost of their own or their comrades' sacrifice.

But things are different now.

After the combined offensive of the Herrscher of Rock and the Herrscher of Domination ended, the Honkai calamities worldwide showed signs of diminishing. This means that the Cocoon of Finality will enter a period of low ebb and it will be difficult to unleash the same fierce calamities as before.

This period of time may only last a few months, but it undoubtedly gives humanity a chance to catch its breath. After having time to rest and develop, the survival rate of the Fused Warrior must naturally be considered.

Systematic training before going into battle is a good approach, and among all the Fused Warrior, only Hen meets the criteria of being "experienced" and "qualified to lead."

Therefore, Ai Yue gave him another option while arranging a new team for him, and before Hen was confirmed, he could only be marked as "pending".

"That's great!"

After Kevin understood everything, a joyful smile appeared on his face. He blinked repeatedly, as if trying to stop something from flowing from his eyes. "This deserves a proper celebration!"

"There's nothing to celebrate,"

Hen waved his hand. "If you really want to celebrate, why don't you have a few drinks with me?"

"No problem!"

Kevin rarely drinks alcohol, agreed without hesitation, "Nobody's leaving tonight!"

"Alright, let's see what your skill level really is!"

Hen responded with a smile, then realized what he was saying and cautiously looked at Blanca beside him, "Um, wife? That should be okay, right? Hehehe..."

"Go ahead, I'll take good care of Griseo."

Blanca shook her head helplessly and shoved Hen with a smile, "Make sure you explain everything clearly."

Don't worry!

Overjoyed at receiving permission, the man immediately grabbed Kevin and pulled him to the other side, saying, "Come with me, let me tell you, this banquet today is something special, there are some good things!"

Watching the two figures leave, Ai Yue couldn't help but shake his head.

Suddenly, he felt someone tug at his sleeve.

He looked down and saw Griseo standing in front of him, holding up a small cake as if to hand it to him.

Ai Yue squatted down and smiled as he took the small cake from Griseo's hand, "Thank you."

"No, that's not right."

Griseo shook her head and said earnestly, "Thank you, thank you for protecting my father."

Ai Yue paused for a moment, then patted Griseo's head. "You're welcome."

Isn't this exactly what he wants?

5

Chapter Five: From this day forward, I will abstain from alcohol!

In the end, Kevin bridged the gap between himself and everyone in a way he never expected.

Kevin isn't actually good at drinking. On one hand, he rarely comes into contact with alcohol, and on the other hand, although Ai Yue has solved his hypothermia problem, his body temperature is still slightly lower than normal.

As we all know, low temperatures are not conducive to the evaporation and decomposition of alcohol—that's why he got drunk very quickly.

Ai Yue also witnessed a scene that would never have happened in the original storyline.

After getting drunk, Kevin seemed to have returned to six or seven years ago. He became cheerful and lively, almost like a different person. In this state, he could have normal conversations with strangers very naturally, and in the process, he would lavish praise on how cute Mei was.

"Is this really going to be a problem?"

Seeing the crowd that had completely surrounded Kevin, cheering and shouting from time to time, Ai Yue couldn't help but show a hint of worry on his face. "If Kevin sobers up and recalls this scene, won't he kill everyone here?"

"How could that be? Kevin will at most find an excuse to go on a mission and then not return to base for half a year."

Elysia laughed happily on the side. Although she didn't join in to cheer Kevin, she didn't intend to let him off the hook either. At this moment, the girl was standing on a chair, recording the scene in front of her with her pink camera. However, just like the previous Cosmo dance, it would be kept as excellent material.

"But his new jurisdiction is right at headquarters."

Ai Yue cautioned, "And be careful that the other party doesn't take their anger out on you for doing something like this."

Considering Kevin's relationship with May, and the fact that the Moth to Fire headquarters does indeed need a sufficiently powerful Fused Warrior to oversee things, Kevin was able to stay at headquarters after the Fused Warrior squad was reorganized. Although he would still be needed to deal with troublesome enemies, at least he could stay by Dr. Mei's side most of the time.

"Oh dear, everyone's focused on Kevin, they won't know about this!"

Elysia waved her hand, then suddenly realized what she meant and looked down at Ai Yue, "My dear Ai Yue, you'll definitely be on my side, right?"

"Theoretically speaking, I really have no reason to tell Kevin about this,"

Ai Yue looked back at Elysia with a meaningful gaze, "But are you sure you can really resist showing this video to Kevin?"

Based on his understanding of Elysia, he was certain that the pink-clad beauty in front of him couldn't hold back any longer.

"Ah, this..."

Elysia paused for a moment, then casually put away the camera and jumped off the chair. "Looks like this will have to remain a secret between us."

"It sounds like a good opportunity to raise prices on the spot."

Seeing the other person's reaction, Ai Yue couldn't help but laugh. "Don't you know Kevin and I are best buddies? You'll have to pay more!"

"Alright, alright, I'll do whatever you want!"

Elysia smiled and held up two fingers. "How about two promises then?"

In fact, Ai Yue knew that if he needed something, whether it was one promise or a hundred promises, Elysia would fulfill it. Elysia also understood that if Ai Yue wanted to do something, he would have a way to achieve his goal even without her making any promises. Therefore, the so-called "promise" was just a tacit excuse between the two parties from the beginning.

However, for two people who know the truth but pretend not to, it seems quite nice to tease each other in this way.