Chapter 83
Su nodded and began to take off her clothes. "By the way, is this surgery... very painful?"
"It's okay, we can give you anesthesia."
Ai Yue smiled and said, "Of course, if your pursuit of scientific research is extreme enough, you can choose not to take anesthesia like Mobius did."
"Dr. Mobius didn't administer anesthesia?"
Su was taken aback. "That must be very painful, right?"
According to her own account, it's actually not bad.
Ai Yue said, "It's much lighter than I imagined, and it's nothing compared to her previous experiments."
Sue then remembered that although her teacher had some reservations about Mobius, he did not choose to try various methods to stop Mobius's experiments because the other party would always use himself as a guinea pig before selecting "volunteers".
Faced with such a person, Spasi, though disagreeing with their views and actions, had nothing to say.
Although the thought flashed through her mind, Su still asked curiously, "But why not use anesthesia?"
"She said that numbing your senses would make you miss a lot of details, things that can only be perceived through firsthand experience,"
Ai Yue turned around and controlled the huge equipment to move to the front of the operating table. "If we can find more problems from these details, we can improve the subsequent surgical plan in time, thereby reducing the risk to others."
"I see,"
Sue nodded, her expression somewhat subtle. "Dr. Mobius is truly a scholar worthy of respect."
"Unfortunately, it was all in vain."
Ai Yue smiled smugly, "How could my technique possibly have any room for her to improve? That girl screamed in pain after getting off the operating table, and in the end, after studying it for three days, she couldn't come up with any useful suggestions. She was so angry that she said, 'I should have used anesthesia.'"
Why do you look so happy...?
Su looked at Ai Yue with a somewhat speechless expression, and this thought popped into her mind.
The close relationship between the other party and Mobius was not exactly a secret within the Moth to Fire. After all, there were two gossip kings in the First Research Institute, making them a complete sieve. Although Dr. Mei had a special way of controlling the speed at which related rumors circulated, gossip was something that could not be stopped in the end. At most, everyone could only keep it to themselves.
Therefore, Sue really didn't understand why Ai Yue was so happy to see Mobius suffering meaningless pain.
Of course, if he knew the specifics of the bet the two made, he could only helplessly say, "You guys are really playing dirty tricks," and then offer no further comment.
"Alright, is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Ai Yue also suppressed his smile, after all, some things are better left unsaid to outsiders. "If you want to back out, this is your last chance."
"Let's continue. I have no reason to back out."
Su shook her head, looking at the huge surgical equipment floating above her, and finally added, "But don't forget to give me anesthesia."
He had barely finished speaking when he felt his consciousness begin to blur and he gradually became drowsy.
A strange thought flashed through Sue's mind a second before she fell into a deep sleep.
What kind of anesthetic is this? It works so well!
Standing beside the operating table Ai Yue looked at Su, who had fallen into a deep sleep, and nodded in satisfaction before putting away the Herrscher Core of the Eighth Herrscher.
Anesthetic? That stuff is nowhere near as effective as Herrscher Core.
When Su woke up again, it was all over. Ai Yue was standing next to him with a sinister smile, "Congratulations, the surgery was a success. You're a girl now!"
"This joke has already been told once, Doctor Ai Yue."
Su smiled helplessly, and was about to sit up from the operating table when she suddenly realized something was wrong. "Wait, what's wrong with me...?"
He lowered his head slightly, and was squinted by a dazzling light.
At this moment, Su had lost his original human form. His body was covered with a layer of gorgeous feathers, and his subconscious gesture of raising his hand could stir up a wave of air in the room. What his two eyes saw was completely different—he had become a bird.
"To be precise, it's a peacock."
Ai Yue snapped his fingers, and an image was immediately projected in front of Su's eyes. "Don't worry, this is a necessary process. Just wait a little longer."
The image shows a huge and magnificent peacock whose body exceeds the limit of the operating table. So it is actually lying on the ground. Its tail feathers, which take up the most space, are so long that they need to bend around a corner to be accommodated in the laboratory. Even so, they cover almost a third of the laboratory floor.
This is what it looks like when it's folded up; if it were unfolded, the entire laboratory probably wouldn't be able to contain it.
Is this what my Overweight Hypermutation? It's a bit...
"This, this is too outrageous?"
Su gave another awkward laugh. "Isn't there a more discreet way?"
Such an exaggerated appearance made Su, who was used to a low-key life, very uncomfortable. If the appearance of the Overweight Hypermutation is like this, then the Mutated Weapon that is transformed from this posture is probably similar, right?
"There's nothing we can do about it. It's your own fault for fusing with Honkai Beast that was a giant peacock."
Ai Yue shrugged. "Don't worry, a flashy paint palette goes against my aesthetic, so I'll make sure to change it for you when designing."
"Thank you very much, Doctor Ai Yue."
Su said gratefully, then suddenly made a strange sound, "Uh, wait, this feeling is..."
"Oh, is the real Mutated Weapon about to begin?"
Ai Yue immediately moved the equipment next to him over and pointed it at Su again. "Don't be nervous, this process will be quick, less than a minute."
"I know, but this feeling... is really strange."
Sue's body began to writhe restlessly, her tail feathers sweeping around the room, just like Mobius had done back then.
Fortunately, the process was indeed very short. After the process of the body shrinking and changing, the bones dissolving and recasting, the internal organs deforming and shifting, and the facial features distorting and deforming ended, Su finally felt his body return to human form.
He stood up and saw his reflection from a strange perspective.
Compared to her previous dazzling appearance, which seemed to be draped in a rainbow, she now looks much simpler, mainly green with blue and dark brown accents, which Su is very satisfied with. The cape on her back seems to have originated from that exaggerated tail feathers, and the tail feather patterns on it have also been preserved.
"Alright, that concludes our appreciation session."
Ai Yue clapped his hands, drawing Su's attention back. "Next, it's time to test the strength of your abilities."
16
Chapter Sixteen: Oh no, it's a trap!
The results of the ability test were exactly as Ai Yue had expected.
First, there's the change in mental strength. After completing the Mutated Weapon, the potential of the Honkai Beast genes was maximized, giving Su a qualitative leap in mental strength. Although he's still somewhat weaker than Aponia, considering the compatibility of their abilities, it can be said that Su is at least capable of fighting Aponia.
Moreover, he also mastered the ability of "Māhori," the Honkai Beast gene source fused with Su. It was the ability to release a special pheromone similar to a neurotoxin. This pheromone seemed to possess both material and spiritual properties. It could work through direct contact with the human body, as well as be spread and released through mental impact.
And after combining with Su herself, this ability exhibited new changes—
Watching the Honkai Beast fall one by one, Su, who was standing not far away, turned back to Ai Yue in disbelief. "This ability works on Honkai Beast too?"
"That seems to be the case at the moment."
Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "Congratulations! Your Mental Perception Fused Warrior can finally play a role on the front lines."
"That's true... at least it can be put to more use."
Su also smiled, "I just don't know if this ability will work on stronger Honkai Beast."
"It's a bit difficult to estimate the direct lethality, but we can change our approach and start by weakening the opponent."
Ai Yue said, "Based on Mobius's situation, you should be able to change the effect of this ability by mastering the power of the Mutated Weapon. However, this cannot be rushed; you can train slowly."
The Mutated Weapon is not simply about turning the Overweight Hypermutation power into armor covering the human body. In essence, it only maintains the Fused Warrior in human form. Although Su looks no different from Kevin and the others using the armor system, a systematic examination of him at this moment would reveal that Su's internal body structure is now basically unrelated to humans.
In this situation, Fused Warrior are able to do some incredible things.
For example, Mobius can control her special organs to secrete various toxins under such circumstances. She can even analyze herself by consuming enemy body fragments during battle, thereby secreting targeted toxins. This ability also played a huge role in the previous battle against the Herrscher of Domination, enabling Elysia's arrows to be fatal in one hit.
If this situation is not unique to Mobius, then Sue should also be able to master a similar ability.
"It seems like it might actually work..."
Su closed his eyes in thought. As he gradually became more familiar with his current body, he seemed to be able to sense that there was still a lot of power that had not been fully tapped. "However, I still need time."
"Take your time. It's not like I'm asking you to go to the battlefield right now, or to fight against the Herrscher."
Ai Yue smiled and said, "Just report any changes to me promptly, and then come for a check-up every five days."
"I understand, I will cooperate with the subsequent related experiments."
Su nodded. "But you also said before that you would give me more responsibility, right? What is that?"
"Oh, that? It's still just a vague plan for now,"
Ai Yue hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "However, it's not impossible to talk to you about it beforehand."
As he spoke, Ai Yue pointed his finger to the sky, a teasing smile on his face, "Su, are you interested in developing your career there?"
Su subconsciously looked up. It was late at night, and a lonely crescent moon hung quietly in the night sky, its dim moonlight shining down and reflecting in Su's eyes.
"To... the moon?"
Two weeks later, the first batch of Fused Warrior received an invitation from the Star of Light Experiment Base.
What's puzzling is that although the invitation came from the Star of Light Experiment Base, the signature on the invitation was not Ai Yue's, but Elysia's.
"Why are those two together again?"
Kevin looked at the invitation in his hand, a conflicted expression on his face. "I have a feeling that if those two get together, something really bad will happen to us..."
"Is there?"
Dr. Mei was also holding a similar invitation, clearly indicating that others besides the Fused Warrior had received invitations as well. "So you're not planning to go?"
She looked at Kevin with a slight smile on her face, as if she knew something inside, but Kevin, with his brows furrowed, did not notice this detail.
"If we don't go, the problems will be even bigger, so of course we have to go."
Kevin put the invitation in his pocket. "May, what about you?"
"It's rare to have a day like this... no, it's nothing."
Mei stretched and then stood up. "Let's go, let's see what Elysia and Ai Yue are up to this time."
So the two headed toward the facility with the Teleportation Gate, and on the way, they unexpectedly encountered someone.
"Mobius?"
Seeing the figure with long green hair walking towards her, Dr. Mei called out to her, "It's quite unusual to see you out at this hour."
"Oh, it's May, and Kevin too."
Mobius looked over and casually greeted them, "I had to go out for a bit earlier. Where are you headed?"
"Go to Ai Yue's place."
Kevin said, then looked at Mobius with a puzzled expression, "Didn't Ai Yue send you an invitation? That shouldn't be the case."
"Oh, that? That has nothing to do with me, I don't want to go."
Mobius subconsciously turned his head away, but quickly turned back, giving Kevin a subtle look. "But you... well, you'd better keep it up."
She patted Kevin on the shoulder and then left on her own.
"Strange, has nothing to do with Mobius?"
Kevin glanced at her retreating figure with some confusion. "I thought she was involved in almost everything Doctor Ai Yue did."
And when she patted her own shoulder just now, did she stand on tiptoe?
"Mobius also has his own things to do."
Dr. Mei quickly grabbed Kevin's hand, "Alright, let's go quickly, Elysia is still waiting."
And so, Kevin missed his last chance to find out the truth through thought, and was pulled into the Teleportation Gate by Dr. Mei.
The next second, they arrived at the Star of Light experimental base in Australia.
"Welcome! You've finally arrived!"
Kevin had just regained his sight when he saw Elysia waving a small flag excitedly in front of him. But before he could greet her, he saw a banner hanging above her head.
"Stage Plan Internal Screening".
Kevin, realizing what was happening, immediately changed his expression and turned to try and go back through the Teleportation Gate.
However, when he turned around, he found that the light inside the Teleportation Gate had dimmed, and on the other side of the Teleportation Gate, Vill-V, who had appeared at some point, was holding a pair of connecting wires and smiling at him.
17