Mei, Fusion Warrior Project.

The turmoil that should have escalated finally came to an end, but Fu Hua found it difficult to feel any joy.

She followed the tide of the troops, collecting the corpses one by one, her lips pressed together in silence.

Those faces, frozen in their expressions before death, suddenly seemed so unreal and surreal in her pupils. In a daze, the girl glanced at the faces of her colleagues, most of whom harbored fear.

She thought to herself that perhaps this was the only right thing to do.

How could I not be afraid?

It's like being drowning in a dream, dying without knowing anything—no one wants to experience such an empty death with no room for struggle.

The streets were filled with people lying unconscious on the ground. After discovering the first brain-dead corpse, even she felt for a moment that the dead might be an endless, transparent sea, and the people in her field of vision piled up like a mountain of unfathomable sins, making her feel suffocated for a moment.

It's perfectly normal to feel fear.

Even Fu Hua, who thought she knew Su Qing'an very well, felt fear as her first reaction.

She was still a 16-year-old girl after all, and she couldn't help but be afraid.

The source of this fear was not this incredible power, but rather the incomprehensible motive for murder.

This indifference and unfamiliarity created a sense of distance that drew out a deep darkness, plunging Fu Hua into a vortex.

Why do this?

Why kill?

Was it intentional? Was it a mistake? Was there a reason? Was it necessary to do it this way? Was it done arbitrarily? Did they think it was the right thing to do?

Is the result of doing this correct?

Countless questions swirled in my mind, yet I could never find the answers.

She understood that the other person was trying to end the turmoil, and she also knew that the Su Qing'an she knew was a gentle person.

But after discovering that his mental state and emotions had become largely empty, Fu Hua had no choice but to think of the worst possible outcome from her extremely chaotic thoughts.

For Master Su now, is killing someone also something he feels no emotion about?

She clearly told him that no matter what, Su Qing'an is Su Qing'an.

Yet, even now, I still feel lost and bewildered by this unfamiliarity.

Fu Hua felt guilty about her helplessness, while simultaneously struggling with a dilemma that seemed impossible to resolve.

What should we do?

Should we question the correctness of this action?

Should we distance ourselves from him because of the 1257 lives lost?

Just like that... is it enough to trust someone completely without reservation?

It's impossible.

She feared receiving an undesirable answer; she was hesitant and unable to be completely open and honest...

Even so, distancing herself from Su Qing'an is something Fu Hua would never do.

I can't do it; it seems like even if this person becomes worse, I can't distance myself from them.

But after realizing this reality, Fu Hua suddenly understood another reality.

Even if I get the answer I least want to hear, I still hopelessly feel that I can't live without this person.

Is this a double standard or favoritism? Once these things are discovered, what they actually are becomes irrelevant.

Therefore, asking directly will not cause any substantial change.

However, keeping it to oneself and making unfounded assumptions would be even more unfair to Su Qing'an, who is currently incredibly oblivious.

So... just ask directly.

Lost in a daze, the girl finally made up her mind as the plane was about to arrive in Australia. Staring at the other's long lower eyelashes, ignoring the gazes of Carole and Shiyu Qiluo and the strange, stiff atmosphere in the cabin, she watched as the boy's gaze was forced to turn to her face.

Fu Hua asked seriously:

"Why did Master Su kill those people? If it was just to stop the current situation, simply letting them fall asleep would have done the same thing."

This is nothing like Hua.

After those words were spoken in the cabin, Carole and Shiyu Qiluo exchanged a glance, their thoughts almost identical.

In their view, given the other person's personality, it's normal for them to keep these questions to themselves and never voice them, and to remain timid.

But the situation is completely the opposite at present, which shows that Teacher Su is indeed very special in some sense.

Su Qing'an only realized after hearing this that this was a question that needed to be explained.

The lack of emotional connection has affected his ability to empathize to some extent, making it difficult for him to simulate other people's thinking and see things from other people's perspectives. This has indirectly led to poor communication skills and various forms of dullness.

Even if this person is Fu Hua, the young man today would not be able to understand her well.

But after the little girl pointed it out, Su Qing'an understood the doubt that should have existed.

He considered his words carefully before responding:

"Has Hua ever heard of the concept of the soul?"

Fu Hua paused for a moment, feeling that the topic had jumped a little too quickly.

The specific examples and questions suddenly veered into a topic combining theology and religion, but she still vaguely understood that it was related to the answers to follow, so she honestly replied:

I've heard some of it.

Su Qing'an said softly:

Before answering this question, I need to tell you a fact.

"The soul exists; at least in my eyes, there are subtle differences in the soul aura between people."

"Even without using any physical senses or experience, I can recognize who is who through these subtle differences."

"For some reason, my soul is far stronger than that of a normal person, so I can use my own soul aura to suppress the souls below me, indirectly causing them to fall into a coma or even die."

This is incredible, but it makes perfect sense in the context of the previous horrific incident where the entire city fell silent and millions were unconscious.

Compared to some incomprehensible conceptual strange abilities, Su Qing'an's concept of the soul is at least an unproven concept that has been passed down throughout human history.

Even though it still carries an air of mystery, compared to the initial complete ignorance, the understanding afterward diminishes the terrifying elements and makes it somewhat more understandable.

Su Qing'an continued:

"There are some strange things going on in this unrest. You probably already have some suspicions. After all, the betrayal of the local government and the defection of the Moth of Moth to Fire soldiers are both illogical and strange situations. But I can tell you some of the reasons now."

"There are strange things about the souls of these perpetrators, and almost everyone I've seen is deliberately escalating the situation in their own way. And those Honkai Cultists are almost all members whose souls have undergone mutations."

Because the boy didn't lower his voice, Carole and Shiyu Qiluo, who were quietly listening intently, also heard all of this shocking information.

Compared to the mystery surrounding Su Qing'an, an ally, the incomprehensibility of the enemy is far more terrifying.

At this moment, a deep chill ran through everyone. If these words were true, then the Honkai tendrils had silently reappeared, and perhaps had already caused some damage and sacrifice before that.

It was like an invisible, tiny bloodsucking worm, slowly and steadily drawing blood and life from the body, injecting minute amounts of deadly toxins.

By the time they realized it, most of the blood in their bodies had already been gradually replaced by a ghostly green venom; it was too late for regrets.

Carole found this ability easy to understand; it was similar to mind control or personality rewriting in comics, capable of quickly turning a normal person into Honkai Cultist in a short period of time.

If this ability had a wider scope and fewer restrictions on its use, then after humanity has defeated all the terrifying enemies on paper and is in the midst of rebuilding, it may face a massive wave of betrayal, representing a percentage of the world's population.

Even if we manage to win then, will humanity truly have any hope of victory in subsequent wars?

If these claims are true, the higher-ups should be thankful for Su Qing'an's mysterious and uncontrollable power; otherwise, everyone would only find it suspicious but would hardly suspect that other factors were at play.

Su Qing'an didn't notice the changes in their hearts, and he continued:

"Later, in order to further confirm the authenticity of my idea, I went to the government center to observe the two officials who had previously tried to smear the government before taking action."

"After receiving the same answer, the result is what you see."

"The higher-ups won't believe my talk of souls anytime soon, and even if I can sense something is wrong, I'm powerless to address these symptoms. So choosing to keep them around will only keep Yakarta being pulled into a vicious cycle."

"Killing these humans with abnormal souls is, in my opinion, the most realistic solution and the best way to avoid further casualties."

Fu Hua was stunned and speechless. If this was the other party's judgment, then she would not doubt it.

The feelings following the murder may not be vivid in Master Su's current state, but if his emotions gradually recover, will the past recklessness in trampling on life and the sense of fragility in his hands have a negative impact on him during this process?

She naturally hoped that Su Qing'an would return to her original state, but after this incident, it seemed that even such a beautiful possibility would gradually be shrouded in a dark shadow during the process.

Fu Hua knew all too well about some of Su Qing'an's affairs.

She had previously harbored doubts about the boy's claims that he came from another world.

But after joining the Moth to Fire and gradually broadening her horizons, she finally understood just how advanced the Void Sword Qi truly was.

These seemingly trivial details, combined with the fact that Fu Hua learned about Su Qing'an's blank past from Himeko, forced her to admit that the absurd reason had been revealed in all the signs.

Assumption.

Assuming that Master Su is truly not from this world, then everything he experienced here is irrelevant to him. Regardless of whether he possesses the power to change things, Su Qing'an doesn't need to bear the consequences.

In a world where empathy has been lost and emotions have become cold, the reasons why a teenager would choose to take action are quite obvious.

Perhaps the families of the dead have the right to blame him, perhaps those in power have reason to question him, and perhaps the warriors of the Moth to Fire can rightfully fear him.

They can condemn, distrust, and despise Su Qing'an; they can secretly call Su Qing'an a demon, or openly denounce this mountain of sins.

But she can't.

She's the only one who can't do it.

Therefore, Fu Hua forced herself not to doubt anything, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, no matter how much common sense took time to accept, and no matter how much suspicion was a part of human instinct, she still trusted everything completely.

Su Qing'an said softly:

"Although the intention was to eliminate the root of the problem, the true culprit was still not identified by any clues."

"Based on my understanding of Honkai, Honkai Beast with the ability to manipulate human minds and wills do not exist, but now it seems that there may be exceptions."

"In order to quickly suppress the riot this time, we killed those people. Now it seems we should have kept some alive to see if we could get any clues out of them."

"The death toll I have caused in Yakarta is currently 1,351. Once you have completed the tally, it will be roughly this number."

The boy read the number indifferently, then began to analyze, word by word, what the missionary was revealing behind the veil he had just lifted:

"The sheer number of these people highlights a crucial issue: the perpetrators possess the ability to conceal themselves, whether through physical or psychological invisibility, or simply by using their size to avoid attracting attention."

"In short, if it doesn't have the ability to conceal its activities, unless its ability to manipulate humans is virtually limitless, some clues will inevitably be left behind."

"If the authorities are willing to believe these claims, they can try to verify in Yakarta whether similar information has appeared before. Regardless of whether they obtain any clues, they can still draw meaningful conclusions."

Su Qing'an lowered her eyes to look at the screen on the communicator, which had somehow been connected, and said softly:

"Dr. Mei, do you believe in the existence of the soul?"

Mei had been polite and hadn't interrupted the other person, but when the conversation seemed to be coming to a temporary end and the other person had taken the initiative to start a new topic, she said softly:

"I have seven or eight ways to do something similar, but I can't put the whole city to sleep as efficiently as Mr. Su did."

"Mr. Su's actions and words have a certain degree of credibility. If you are willing to conduct an experiment to prove the existence of soul energy, I can submit a corresponding report to the authorities so that this matter can receive the attention it deserves."

"But let's put those topics aside for now; I've come to see you with other purposes."

Mei glanced at Seele, who was playing a game with Prometheus beside her. She pursed her lips and shifted her gaze to the Fusion Warrior Project, which had been further improved over the past six months, on the screen in front of her. She said softly:

"Mr. Su, let me get straight to the point. You already possess individual combat strength at the pinnacle of humanity, do you still wish to become even stronger?"

Su Qing'an didn't feel particularly unfamiliar with Mei, because almost everything he had casually heard about recently came from her.

For example, the Soul Steel of later generations, the upgraded armor systems, the Yakarta plan that is about to be implemented, and even the medicine existing within Fu Xiuran's body...

Any one of these achievements would be a tremendous accomplishment or merit for any individual, but now they are all inexplicably concentrated on an underage girl, shaping Su Qing'an's initial impression of her.

Genius.

A genius who doesn't need to have any knowledge of scientific research to understand just how abnormal they are.

Su Qing'an had previously wondered what kind of person the founder of that plan would be, and after hearing about Mei, he felt that perhaps that person must be a genius no less than Mei.

He said:

"Dr. Mei, compared to a true Herrscher, I am still very weak."

Therefore, I have no reason not to become stronger.

Without the power of [Stigmata], Su Qing'an's combat level would be far below that of Herrscher. And after the Soul Scale could no longer be used almost unscathed, he would pale in comparison to the Herrscher who came after him.

Even after her emotions subsided, Su Qing'an's rationality led her to search for ways to become stronger.

Especially given the recent stagnation in the accumulation of sword heart towards the Void Realm, this idea has become even more urgent.

It seems that after being touched by Fu Xiuran's death, a sense of indifference led to the shelving of emotions that had been accumulating in his Mind Lake.

The only path to becoming stronger was blocked by this unexpected situation.

The divine version of the Void Sword Qi has strict requirements on willpower and mental state, and it is clear that Su Qing'an is not qualified to advance further at present.

Therefore, the boy could not ignore the topic raised by Dr. Mei, who had already established a strong aura around him.

Mei wasn't surprised; she said:

"About six months ago, I had a rough outline of this plan in my mind, and now it has taken initial shape and form."

"The information I'm about to send you will be a preliminary overview of the outcomes of this project if it succeeds. Mr. Su can consider it as he sees fit."

Looking at the large amount of data, various model structures, and even some experimental videos displayed on the communicator, Su Qing'an understood just how terrifying Dr. Mei's talent was within a short ten minutes.

At the same time, Su Qing'an also confirmed a fact.

What he had previously believed to be the Immortal Project was, in essence, the Fusion Warrior Project now unfolding before his eyes.

Dr. Mei is the originator of all this. Almost all the key things in the fight against Honkai are related to this girl who has only been in the field of Honkai technology for half a year. Even in a state of emotional deprivation, Su Qing'an can still feel a sense of unreality.

Time slowly passed, and Mei realized that Su Qing'an might be just like Seele back then, completely unable to understand this information. Just as she was about to send the simplified version, she heard the other party muttering:

"Lifespan, Honkai Energy adaptability, various basic human physical attributes, and whether the Honkai Beast's genes cause any other special changes, right?"

Su Qing'an said calmly:

"Dr. Mei, if your purpose in coming is to invite me to participate in this project..."

"I'd love to."