Mei and Su Qing'an's Conversation

Mei had pondered just how extraordinary Su Qing'an's physical data was. In the past six months, through extensive research, experimentation, and comparison of Honkai Beast's structures and Herrscher levels, she had developed her own insights, leading to countless hypotheses.

Since they can stand up to the Herrscher, then surpassing the Emperor-class Honkai Beast is a basic requirement.

As for just how strong the Herrscher are, this information is based on the blood and bones of those who came before, and it is only through such experience that we can learn from it today.

Since humanity was initially unaware of the existence of Herrscher, and even more so of their dangers and the limits of their powers, the battles between the first Second Herrscher remain the two longest battles ever fought against Herrscher.

This has led to the First Herrscher and the Second Herrscher having a relatively clear power balance, allowing a large amount of data and video information to be preserved.

Although the subsequent Third Herrscher never truly came into the official view, and its complete data was recorded before it was reduced to ashes by the Honkai Fission Bomb, the Honkai Energy level it unleashed proved the theory that Herrscher do indeed become stronger and stronger.

Forced by reality, the official solution to deal with the Fourth Herrscher was to kill her outright. At that time, civilization could hardly withstand the loss of the entire New Zealand turning into a battlefield. Sacrificing Orank with Honkai Fission Bomb was the only acceptable loss. Therefore, the final assessment of the Fourth Herrscher's combat power could only remain in imagination.

However, Mei was able to grasp the differences somewhat through the data from those Herrscher Core.

Even the weakest First Herrscher in theory possesses the power to control infinite Honkai Energy. The Herrscher Core is linked to the Imaginary Space, a fundamental ability possessed by every Herrscher.

The reason for the change in strength, apart from the difference in basic powers, is mainly because each Herrscher Core is essentially a key to unlocking the Imaginary Space.

Mei speculates that if the Herrscher Core is indeed likened to a key, then each key possesses different permissions. The so-called infinite Honkai Energy merely the basic ability obtained after opening the door, while other elements depend on the specific permissions granted.

Therefore, one of the reasons why Herrscher are getting stronger and stronger is that their permission to link to the Imaginary Space is getting higher and higher, and the strength and upper limit they can expend are becoming more and more terrifying.

As for the other factors, Mei believes that the only possible explanation lies in the mysterious and unknown Herrscher entity.

Since understanding the essence of each power, Mei has come to realize that the very fact that humanity has survived to this day implies that there are certain flaws and limitations in the use of powers by the Herrscher.

Otherwise, taking herself as an example, she could confidently restart and rebuild the entire continental surface of civilization within a day by choosing any Herrscher's power to manipulate it, wiping out all life.

After experiencing Su Qing'an's theory about the soul, the possibility that the Honkai Consciousness possesses related abilities has greatly increased. Therefore, Mei does not believe that the Honkai Consciousness is unable to transmit the corresponding knowledge for its control.

Looking beyond appearances to the essence, the Honkai couldn't possibly have deliberately spared humanity; that only means that doing so would have been futile.

The so-called power is a mighty force that even humans chosen to become Herrscher cannot fully control.

Mei trusted Su Qing'an's claim about the existence of souls not only because he had no reason to lie and because of experimental verification, but also because of the information the boy had told Himeko beforehand.

The existence of the soul, the link between the Honkai Consciousness and the Herrscher's physical body.

Himeko had already provided this information to the higher-ups before the Yakarta incident. Unless Su Qing'an was already prepared to use this as a pretext to kill people at that time, he was most likely not lying about the existence of souls.

Now that this has been confirmed, what if we connect the soul and power themselves?

This was a baseless guess, but it was the correct answer that Mei instinctively grasped.

But regardless of the relationship between power and soul, the reality that the Herrscher will only become stronger will not change.

Even the person who actually fought the Third Herrscher, who once made the Honkai Consciousness suffer a setback, and who even took the Honkai Fission Bomb himself, made this judgment, so we can't help but take it seriously.

After all, no one in the world has more authority to speak on this matter than Su Qing'an, and Mei naturally has to treat the words of such a person with caution and respect.

Su Qing'an himself stated that the Honkai Fission Bomb could not kill Herrscher under normal circumstances; at most, it could severely injure them.

Reality has also proven that the two Herrscher died from the Honkai Fission Bomb were in an abnormal state. Even if it was just to prepare for the future, Mei had to ensure that the Fusion Warrior Project would begin to show results before the Herrscher's strength truly surpassed the limits of the Honkai Fission Bomb.

Whether it's about interests, suitability, or the alliance with Seele, Su Qing'an is the best choice right now.

But... to Mei's surprise, Su Qing'an's various indicators were dozens of times higher than the standard, just as she expected, but his Honkai Adaptability was far lower than she had imagined.

This is completely illogical.

Mei thought Su Qing'an must be an anomaly like Kevin, an outlier whose Honkai adaptability was naturally far beyond that of ordinary people. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain his ridiculously high combat ability and Honkai Energy micro-management.

However, the data monitoring results forced Mei to admit that Su Qing'an's Honkai Energy adaptability was not even enough to qualify him to wear armor inside the Moth to Fire. He was on the edge of not being Honkai Energy and was only suitable as a logistics personnel.

But after sighing at this reality, Mei found Su Qing'an even more unbelievable.

Regardless of the limitations that should exist, the reality is that the young man is able to stand up to the Herrscher.

Mei, while curious about the reason why he overcame countless despairs and impossibilities with such a weak foundation, also vaguely understood its uniqueness through intuition.

This unexpected factor forced Mei to rebuild the draft of the Fusion Warrior Project, but she almost immediately realized that Su Qing'an, who should have been the most suitable person to participate in the project, had become the least likely person to make the project succeed due to his poor adaptability to Honkai Energy.

Even after numerous trials and experiments, the fundamental qualities required to fuse the genes of Emperor-class Honkai Beast will not change with the maturation of the technology.

This is not a plan that can be made feasible by rebuilding. To make up for Su Qing'an's shortcomings, Mei needs to build a completely different plan.

This plan itself even contradicts the ideals of Fusion Warrior.

The Fusion Warrior Project aims to enable qualified individuals to fuse with the genes of Emperor-class Honkai Beast, thereby gaining greater power and even undergoing a comprehensive sublimation and qualitative change, potentially reaching a level comparable to the Herrscher.

However, trying to improve Honkai Energy literacy is like laying an unnecessary foundation.

To put it bluntly, what's needed right now is to create high-end combat power capable of going one-on-one with Herrscher.

The plan to compensate for the low level of Honkai Energy literacy goes against this, and Mei believes that such an accident as Su Qing'an is perhaps the only one of its kind in the entire world.

The initial intention was solely to enable one person to reach the threshold of the Fusion Battle Plan, thus embarking on this more challenging draft.

Such actions are completely inconsistent with Mei's efficiency-first style. Even though she admits that the plan will eventually be launched sooner or later to help all of humanity adapt to the Honkai environment, the Fusion Warrior Project is the more critical matter at present.

Su Qing'an gazed at the girl's silent demeanor, her heart remaining completely unmoved.

At the beginning, one might be surprised by the almost identical aura in the other person's appearance and soul.

But in today's world where personalities are not fully developed, teenagers can only simply understand one fact.

The concept of reincarnation may indeed exist.

The girl before me, with her fingertips slightly raised and her eyes slightly raised, exuded an intellectual air that was completely different from the Raiden Mei I had imagined. But that was only a subtle difference in temperament; in terms of overall appearance, there was almost no difference.

The Raiden Mei that Su Qing'an knew seemed like a dignified, aloof flower when they first met, but inside she was a gentle and well-educated young lady. However, because she had inherited her father Raiden Ryoma's swordsmanship from a young age, her figure could be described as well-proportioned yet supple.

Mei, on the other hand, possesses an innate wisdom and a cool rationality, and her figure, clad in a white lab coat, appears even more slender and frail.

Different life experiences can indeed make the same person look completely different; at least Su Qing'an never thought that Raiden Mei had such a terrifying possibility.

But... perhaps everything comes at a price.

The boy gazed at her pale face, but could vaguely sense a life force much weaker than normal beneath it, and a faint Honkai Energy quietly entangled within her body.

Is it true that great wisdom inevitably leads to harm? Although her Honkai Energy adaptability is better than mine, it is still worlds apart from Raiden Mei, who was born with Stigmata in the later era.

However, if she were truly born with such talent, would she have ended up on the path she is today?

Mei's existence is a blessing for humanity, and her destiny may well be a crucial tributary influencing the course of human civilization.

Su Qing'an reached out and brushed his hand across the girl's shoulder. While she was still stunned, the [Stigmata] absorbed all the Honkai Energy within her. He whispered:

"Your Honkai Energy awareness is slightly better than mine, but it's not to the point where you can act recklessly."

Mei felt her body suddenly become a little lighter, but the girl's motor skills were really poor, so much so that if it weren't for the boy's words, she would have thought it was an illusion caused by doing an experiment for a long time.

She tapped the watch face and said:

"Prometheus, analyze my physical data."

The light and shadow converged to form a familiar figure that Su Qing'an should have found somewhat absurd. A stream of shimmering blue data surrounded the girl, and her soft yet slightly cold voice filled the room:

"Dr. Mei, your measurements are 85-58-87. Based on your overall data, we suggest you eat three regular meals a day while slightly increasing your energy intake to regulate your body."

89, 62, 90.

Su Qing'an almost instantly recalled the mysterious number Kiana had revealed that day, but even now, he himself had no interest in the skill that Siegfried had taught Kiana.

Actually, it wouldn't be difficult for one to figure it out on their own.

Mei added quietly:

"I'm referring to changes in the trace amounts of Honkai Energy accumulated within the body."

Prometheus stated:

"No signs of Honkai Energy reaction were detected, and it cannot be ruled out that it has weakened to an unobservable level."

"The anticipated effects on lifespan and physical condition have almost completely disappeared, and there is no trace of them in the replay of previous data records and the flow of the Honkai Energy field."

"Therefore, we can only predict that Mr. Su possesses some kind of power that Honkai Energy erase the Honkai energy within the Doctor's body, but the specific operating mode cannot be observed."

Mei frowned in thought, then asked directly:

"Mr. Su, is this power?"

Su Qing'an didn't intend to hide anything further, he said:

"No, you can think of it as a product of the materialization of the soul."

The boy wasn't lying; that's the essence of [Stigmata].

"You must be wondering how I, with my Honkai Energy proficiency, managed to fight Herrscher. Its existence is part of the reason."

Mei didn't dwell on this ability. She didn't intend to figure out things beyond her understanding right away, and she had no interest in questioning them pointlessly.

After all, when it comes to the soul, such an ethereal and unobservable external factor, any kind of incredible phenomenon is acceptable.

Moreover, the two are on a cooperative and equal footing. If Su Qing'an is unwilling to speak or has concerns about it, then there is no need for her to help him expel the lesions.

Since the boy was still willing to reveal this information after being betrayed by his superiors once, Mei naturally wouldn't question this trust unless absolutely necessary.

At the same time, Mei also roughly understood why the other party was able to fight against the Herrscher with such Honkai Energy proficiency.

If Su Qing'an's true Honkai Energy proficiency is only at this level, then theoretically he can only barely avoid Honkai Infection in a high-concentration Honkai Energy environment.

However, if one is near Herrscher, the nearby Honkai Energy environment alone is enough to cause them to contract Honkai Sickness in a short period of time.

However, according to the preliminary physical examination, there were indeed signs of Honkai erosion in the other person's body, but they were all in a very shallow state.

Therefore, it seems that this so-called ability brought by the soul is the core reason why Su Qing'an has been able to survive to this day.

Mei almost instantly connected the dots to something deeper. In fact, before meeting Su Qing'an, she had always been very curious about how he could survive such a massive Honkai Fission Bomb.

From the current perspective, if Su Qing'an's ability was specifically designed to counter Honkai Energy, then it's not incomprehensible that he was able to survive.

However... the girl recalled the strength displayed by the opponent's data. Even with the Honkai Energy's own defense and the ability to absorb or eliminate Honkai Energy, it shouldn't be enough for her to survive.

Su Qing'an's abilities should be far beyond what I've seen on the surface.

Mei wasn't bothered by this at the time.

She was thinking about something else. Although she had initially invited Seele to participate in the plan in order to fulfill her promise to her, Su Qing'an's physical condition had made it almost hopeless for him to move forward on this path.

Mei didn't believe that Su Qing'an was meaningless to the Fusion Warrior Project. In fact, Su Qing'an's military strength alone was enough to help her obtain many experimental materials that even the higher-ups couldn't get.

This is easy to understand. Even though Mei displayed terrifying talent and outstanding achievements, it still couldn't make the authorities consider her requests as the highest priority.

The genes required for experiments within the Fusion Warrior Project all originate from Emperor-class Honkai Beast. Mei's current authority is insufficient to arbitrarily lay the groundwork and unfold this project.

Furthermore, the diverse genes of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast are an important factor in increasing the success rate of the Fusion Warrior Project, allowing more warriors to undergo appropriate adjustments.

Ganesha is the most common Emperor-class, so Mei doesn't need to worry about materials for this type for now.

Ganesha appears much more frequently than other Emperor-class. The remains of two Ganesha are still preserved in the laboratory's storage room.

Even though it was damaged beyond recognition, it was still sufficient for the experiments.

But the rest of the Emperor-class are quite different.

Even the Ganesha, considered a standard combat unit among the Emperor-class, was left with almost no wreckage after being bombarded by heavy weapons.

One of the Ganesha remains in Mei's lab warehouse was killed by Su Qing'an six months ago and subsequently obtained by her; the origin of the other remains is more complicated.

About a month ago, a squad of Moth to Fire unfortunately encountered the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha during a mission. In the end, their captain achieved a pyrrhic victory at the cost of almost total annihilation.

What they finally found was Ganesha's remains.

For the past six months, Mei's emotions had been in a state of utter stillness, but it was only after hearing about this matter that her emotions began to fluctuate dramatically for the first time.

Kevin Kaslana's survival and the injuries she sustained in that battle further solidified Mei's research into the Fusion Warrior Project.

It was at that time that Mei first truly understood Seele's feelings and determination.

In conclusion

Emperor-class materials are not easy to obtain, but Su Qing'an's existence is enough to make the resource accumulation for the Fusion Warrior Project no longer a difficult task.

However, since Mei couldn't offer the other party any benefits through the plan itself, she believed the transaction was no longer equitable.

Mei didn't want to add weight to the scales by drawing up a blueprint that even she herself found unrealistic.

Therefore, in the girl's mind, there was no need for the other party to participate in the Fusion Warrior Project.

But Su Qing'an seemed to understand the other's thoughts, and he glanced at Mei and said:

"I can roughly understand some of the materials you sent. I already knew before I came that my Honkai Energy knowledge was insufficient to become Fusion Warrior."

"In other words, once you understand that it's based on fusing the genes of Emperor-class Honkai Beast, the required Honkai Energy proficiency is naturally beyond my reach."

The boy loosened his shirt tie and said softly:

"I've come here to ask you to do something else."

Immediately, what appeared before Mei's eyes was a chaotic mess of bloody scars and a faint, mysterious pattern emanating from her back, which was slightly warm.

Stigmata.