Chapter 82

Ai Yue raised his chin. "Don't talk, keep watching."

As a massive device enveloped Mobius, the subsequent surgical procedure was skipped. With a slight fluctuation in the image, the device was quickly removed. By this time, Mobius's clothes had disappeared, replaced by a strange set of close-fitting clothing that shimmered with an eerie light.

It was called clothing, but it was actually more like the armor Su had seen with Kevin. However, compared to the armor Kevin used, the one Mobius was wearing was much more form-fitting, so much so that it looked like it was growing out of her body.

Is this what the surgery entails? Could it be that the procedure Ai Yue was referring to is subcutaneous implantation of armor?

But shouldn't such a project involve a non-combatant like him?

A lot of information flashed through Sue's mind, but she was then shocked by the scene before her. As something like armor completely enveloped Mobius struggled even more, writhing on the operating table, as if something was surging inside her.

Subsequently, more and more black matter poured out of her body, merging with the armor and beginning to change Mobius's appearance.

They surged, twisted, and coalesced, eventually transforming into a gigantic half-human, half-serpent creature with Mobius at its core.

The video ends here.

"How?"

Ai Yue tapped the screen with his thumb, a smug look on his face, "Cool, right!"

Su looked at Ai Yue with a hint of guilt in her eyes. "It's all my fault, Doctor Ai Yue. I shouldn't have let you and Dr. Mobius get so close..."

Look what Mobius has done! Ai Yue, such a pure and good young man, has been led astray by her to start doing all sorts of messy things like human body modification!

"What are you thinking? This is just tapping into the power of the Fused Warrior itself."

Ai Yue naturally understood Su's meaning and couldn't help but explain, "Mobius called it 'Overweight Hypermutation,' but with my improvements, it should be considered 'Mutated Weapon.'"

"So, how about it? Want to give it a try?"

14

Chapter Fourteen: I knew no man could refuse.

"Mutated Weapon?"

Upon hearing this word, Su looked confused, with a hint of oddness in her expression. "What is that? It sounds like some kind of... uh, setting from a children's cartoon."

In the past, there were many children in the hospital who were Honkai Sickness. In order to help them temporarily forget their pain, Su would sometimes watch anime or comics with them. I have seen similar things many times.

But hearing it from the mouth of one of the world's top scientists still gives it a very strange feeling.

Come to think of it, Ai Yue's boastful attitude just now made him seem like a child who had just received a new toy...

"What are you saying? What are you saying?!"

Ai Yue glared at Su, interrupting her train of thought, "How can they be the same? This is a technology that can actually be implemented!"

"Okay, okay,"

Seeing Ai Yue's reaction, Su immediately tried to comfort him, "So what exactly is this seemingly amazing technology?"

Although Su's tone sounded like he was coaxing a child, Ai Yue didn't argue with him. He simply opened the relevant documents and blueprints as if nothing had happened and began to explain his technology.

"Before you understand the Mutated Weapon, you must first have a deep enough understanding of the Fused Warrior."

Ai Yue pointed to the first picture, which had a human-shaped outline in the center, covered with intricate and complex information, even more dizzying than a human meridian diagram. "Su, from your perspective, what is Fused Warrior?"

"From my perspective..."

Su pondered for a moment, "A cyborg created by fusing Honkai Beast genes with human genes?"

"It's a very superficial conclusion, but you really don't know much, and that's not your fault."

Ai Yue nodded, not surprised by Su's words. "But in reality, although they are called Fused Warrior, the genes of humans and Honkai Beast have not been 'fused' to the point of being 'fused'. Even with the latest and most advanced technology, they can only coexist in the same body."

"Just coexistence?"

Su frowned. "So, the Mutated Weapon is the true fusion?"

"That's one way to understand it,"

Ai Yue nodded. "Of course, the Mutated Weapon is the result of human intervention, while you should have seen cases of fusion under normal circumstances."

"You mean..."

Sue's face darkened as he recalled the files his teacher Spasi had shown him. "Those people who turned into monsters because of surgery?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances, when human genes combine with the genes of Honkai Beast, the end result is that they become monsters."

Ai Yue nodded. "After all, from a biological point of view, compared to the genes of Honkai Beast, human genes are still too weak."

The strong will devour the weak; this is not only the law of survival among living things, but also applies to the genetic level.

"In other words, can the Mutated Weapon solve this problem?"

Su recalled the scene from earlier, "But it still looks like it's turned into a monster?"

"That's just Mobius's own aesthetic sense; that's just how she is,"

Ai Yue waved his hand, "Moreover, the Mutated Weapon allows Fused Warrior to switch freely between two forms, so turning into a monster is not the most important thing."

"So, those who have undergone Mutated Weapon still retain their self-awareness, right?"

Recalling the details Kevin had told him about the Australia campaign, Sue realized that this technology had already been used in actual combat. "But what is the principle behind this technology?"

He still didn't quite understand. If true gene fusion only turned people into monsters, then why were Fused Warrior able to possess self-awareness? Could it be that after the modification, the human body had adapted to the Honkai Beast genes, and was therefore able to withstand the effects of the drastic changes?

"Simply put, it's the adaptability of organisms,"

Ai Yue explained simply, "Since you're a doctor, you should be familiar with this concept, right?"

Su nodded. The adaptability of organisms is not complicated. Birds grow wings to fly, beetles grow elytra to protect their fragile bodies, and even plants, such as cacti, will degenerate their leaves into thorns in order to survive in the desert and reduce water loss.

But ultimately, all of these are caused by external environmental factors. Moreover, this adaptation process takes a long time and involves the evolution of species reproduction. How could it possibly apply to Fused Warrior?

This technology is barely over a year old, from its inception to today!

"The human body is amazing, isn't it?"

Ai Yue looked at the obvious confusion on Su's face and couldn't help but laugh. "Of course, strictly speaking, both humans and Honkai Beast are very magical beings."

"Please explain in detail,"

Su had already entered research mode and began to ask, "What secrets lie within this?"

"Fused Warrior are essentially a special kind of chimera. The coexistence of human and Honkai Beast genes makes their bodies unique, and this mutation also affects their minds,"

Ai Yue said, "However, Honkai Beast do not have a spirit in the conventional sense, so the combination of the two will ultimately be dominated by humans."

"Changes in mental state..."

Su frowned. As Fused Warrior with a mental perception ability, he naturally had a lot to say on this topic. "I know that. It's not just the mental perception type; the mental states of all Fused Warrior are actually different from those of ordinary people. But does that explain the theoretical basis of the Mutated Weapon?"

"Simply put, the human spirit has changed under the influence of the Honkai Beast genes, and the changed spirit, in turn, controls the Honkai Beast genes in the body. The two influence and respond to each other, and this is the foundation."

Ai Yue corrected, "We know very little about the spiritual realm, but what is certain is that only after conquering the Honkai Beast genes within their bodies can the Fused Warrior have the possibility of further evolution."

"Then what?"

Su frowned and continued to ask, "Can this evolution really be considered evolution?"

"I can't say for humans, but for Fused Warrior it's definitely an evolution."

Ai Yue said with a smile, then switched to the next picture, "In addition, this also involves emotional issues. We all know that the human body will undergo corresponding changes under the influence of extreme emotions. Extreme negative emotions can lead to physical illness, while extreme intense emotions may cause the human body to unleash powerful forces. However, the Honkai Beast genes originally did not have similar characteristics."

"Because Honkai Beast don't have a spirit in the conventional sense, they also don't have emotions, so naturally they don't have this kind of mutual influence..."

Sue suddenly realized, "But Fused Warrior possess both!"

Honkai Beast will not have any explosive power. All their power is displayed directly from the beginning. They may weaken due to injury, but they will never unleash their full power like humans when faced with the threat of death.

This is both their advantage and their disadvantage. The advantage is that even when faced with dire situations, they will not collapse, run away, beg for mercy, or lose their fighting ability like humans. However, the disadvantage is that their upper limit is locked, and they will not exhibit performance that exceeds the limit of observed data.

However, the Fused Warrior are still human at heart, which means that the Honkai Beast genes in their bodies will be affected by emotions and other mental factors, resulting in new changes.

"Yes, under the influence of mental fluctuations, the Honkai Beast genes will undergo new changes, which is the predecessor of the Mutated Weapon, the principle of Overweight Hypermutation."

Ai Yue pointed to the second picture, "Under the stimulation of extreme emotions, the Honkai Beast genes in the Fused Warrior's body will become violently active. They will multiply rapidly in a short period of time until they completely suppress the part of the genes that originally belonged to humans, thus showing a completely different appearance from humans."

"Is that the principle behind turning into a monster?"

Su nodded, finally understanding everything. "But on the other hand, the human spirit, which has already formed a close connection with the Honkai Beast genes, will not Honkai and perish because of this. Instead, it can maintain its rationality and thus turn this rampaging power into its own use, right?"

"Yes, after adapting to the Honkai Beast genes, the Fused Warrior will not turn into mindless beasts like those failed cases, but will become rational monsters."

Ai Yue nodded. "Under these circumstances, even if their appearance, abilities, and even physical structure have undergone tremendous changes, they are still human beings in spirit."

"Your understanding of humanity is becoming more and more similar to that of Dr. Mobius."

Faced with Ai Yue's words, Su could only smile helplessly, but she also breathed a sigh of relief. "However, hearing you still admit that you are human under these circumstances makes me feel somewhat at ease."

"I wouldn't even like to describe them as 'rational monsters'."

Ai Yue shrugged. "Although this sounds like something Mobius would say, it is nonetheless a direction for evolution."

For Ai Yue, all things lead to the same destination. As long as the soul still belongs to humanity, no matter what kind of evolution occurs in between, everyone will eventually become light.

Since the ending is already predetermined, the process is no longer important. If taking a longer route can make the journey to the ending smoother, then he doesn't mind going a little further.

"Let's talk about the Mutated Weapon."

Su clearly didn't want to continue the conversation on this topic. "I already understand Overweight Hypermutation, but what about Mutated Weapon?"

"This is simpler to explain, but it's actually more complicated,"

Ai Yue moved to the next image, saying, "The genes of Honkai Beast can also be edited. In fact, compared to human genes, their expandability is much stronger. If we can perform targeted editing on the basic Honkai Beast genes so that their proliferation can be artificially influenced and altered, then we can decide the results of the Overweight Hypermutation ourselves."

The images on the screen began to move under Ai Yue's control. It was a follow-up to Mobius's Mutated Weapon. The giant snake-humanoid creature began to shrink and change, and finally its snake tail turned into legs, transforming Mobius from a snake-humanoid monster into someone similar to Kevin after he put on his armor.

"So, the result of Overweight Hypermutation can be transformed into something similar to Bio-Armor?"

Su nodded. "No wonder it's called Mutated Weapon. Looking at it this way, it's quite fitting."

"Right?"

Ai Yue laughed smugly, "This is a technique that I... cough, went through a lot of trouble to develop, it's absolutely reliable!"

He almost blurted out that he had cheated.

The technology of the Mutated Weapon is a brand-new method created by Ai Yue after combining related technologies such as "Daishoka human body modification technology". In this way, the results of Overweight Hypermutation are targeted and concentrated, thereby changing the original diverse Overweight Hypermutation bodies and giving them a unified Bio-Armor, making this state more stable.

Compared to the original Overweight Hypermutation, the Mutated Weapon consumes far less energy and has a much smaller burden. It can maintain a combat posture for a long time and will not allow the Honkai Beast genes to excessively interfere with the human mind. This avoids the possibility that Fused Warrior might develop illusions such as "I am a snake" if they frequently use this method.

Of course, considering that the original Overweight Hypermutation possesses even more ferocious power and exaggerated size in certain situations, Ai Yue did not completely lock down the true form of the Overweight Hypermutation, but instead temporarily hid it as a backup method.

After all, a second transformation is a kind of romance, right?

"I understand the reasoning,"

Su nodded, agreeing with Ai Yue's words. "But why me? If you want to try more things, Doctor Ai Yue, you should have many options, right?"

"First, we need to collect data, and you are the most suitable candidate among the psycho-sensory types."

Ai Yue said decisively, "Secondly, I need you to take on more responsibility. Before that, I will naturally give you stronger power. Finally, I want to know if your power will change after you undergo Mutated Weapon."

Before undergoing her Overweight Hypermutation, Mobius's abilities were quite limited. Apart from being able to revive, she could only launch attacks by releasing a certain amount of electric current using the special substance that constructed her body.

After Mutated Weapon, this ability was greatly enhanced, to the point that she could almost unleash the power of Sesha, Emperor-class Honkai Beast under the Third Herrscher, which was close to the source of the Honkai Beast genes within her.

Such an increase is undoubtedly terrifying. With just this method, Mobius's combat power among the Fused Warrior can jump to the top, and he can even be comparable to Cosmo.

If Sue can also enhance his own abilities through this method, perhaps humanity will be able to obtain a psychic with abilities no less powerful than Aponia's.

"I see, I understand now."

Without further hesitation, Su asked directly, "So, when will the surgery begin?"

Ai Yue smiled knowingly, "I knew you wouldn't refuse: We can start anytime."

15

Chapter Fifteen: This is magical anesthesia.

Ai Yue is a very proactive person. Although Su likes to think things through before acting, since he has already agreed to participate in the test of the Mutated Weapon, he will naturally carry it out firmly.

Therefore, ten minutes later, the two arrived at the laboratory where they had previously performed surgery on Mobius.

"Lie down."

Ai Yue casually pointed and began operating the machine next to him. "By the way, if you want to keep this outfit, you'd better take it off first."

"Understood."