Hen probably wouldn't die, right?
The moment this hypothesis came up, Su Nian suddenly recalled that red-haired figure.
No, it seemed like he might...
Whether they made it into the banner or not, they'd get killed off. Important characters got killed off, and even random passersby got killed off.
MiHoYo's world was one giant blade.
The Herrscher had been successfully killed by Kevin, but Cosmo could not understand any of it.
Just as Su Nian had analyzed before, Cosmo was a teenager—a teenager with a sense of justice.
"A teenager is like this: hot-blooded, unable to tolerate darkness. The dissatisfaction building up in his heart will not wait until some later day to erupt."
He had watched a senior he respected end up without even a corpse left behind, all because of a single order.
Even the Herrscher had a chance to leave behind a body, yet Hen, a veteran who had fought Honkai from the very beginning, could not even have that.
Darkness. It was simply too dark!
Seeing this scene, Cosmo's fury ran so deep that even the force of his gesture intensified without his noticing.
"We could clearly have done it... He died for nothing... All because you were unwilling to take the risk..."
Kevin, who had once told him to "live on," now said nothing at all. He was so quiet.
This was not an outcome any of them wanted to see.
But reality was this cruel. There would be even more sacrifices like this in the future, and Kevin's silence had let Cosmo guess as much.
"Another decision by Moth of the Fire... isn't it?"
When weighing the lesser of two evils, they had no other choice. Under those circumstances, only Hen could...
Cosmo found that his anger was so grave that the badge Kevin had personally awarded him—the one he had once treasured as his life—was gradually slipping away from him.
Under the control of his rage, Cosmo's hand... turned into a demon's claw.
That day, the power—or perhaps curse—later known as Over-mutation revealed itself to the public for the first time.
Over-mutation was man-made Honkai. Before the incident at the First Research Institute, it had been a line Flame Chasers could never cross.
It meant lifting the restrictions of Hypermutation Surgery, abandoning one's human form, and completely assimilating oneself with a Honkai Beast.
Among them, Mobius's Over-mutation was extraordinarily formidable. It took Su, Hua, and Sakura, three Flame-Chasers, working together to successfully suppress her. She was invincible in a one-against-three.
And as the first case, Cosmo's Over-mutation was exceptionally rare. This state could even enhance his strength.
The Honkai Beast Vishnu he had fused with possessed the trait of devouring other Honkai Beasts and evolving without limit. Thus, while in the man-made Honkai state of Over-mutation, Cosmo could absorb the abilities of other Honkai Beasts a second time, allowing the Vishnu factors within him to continuously grow.
When Vishnu was originally killed in the Previous Civilization, it had merely been rated as Judgment-class. After continuously evolving within Cosmo, it was ultimately "posthumously recognized" as End-class.
Taking Cosmo as the blueprint, the Previous Civilization even developed the Chimera Project, allowing Flame Chasers to fuse with multiple Honkai Beasts and become stronger.
Kevin, who underwent the experiment, had fused with more than just Parvati. The line he spoke in his Asura state—"The hundred beasts of Brahma, be added unto this body..." —was because he had undergone the Chimera Project.
In a fit of rage, Cosmo underwent Over-mutation, directly opening the door to the upper limit of the Flame-Chasers' power—and kicking open the door to the Chimera Project as well.
That was what made it so terrifying.
Other than causing losses, every Honkai eruption did not actually have any especially important points.
But the various disturbances caused by Honkai within human society, and the growth and changes they brought about, were what truly mattered.
In miHoYo's Honkai IP series, Honkai was never the greatest enemy.
Humanity itself was.
The Previous Civilization had people with vastly different intentions, people of extreme rationality, and emotional people as well.
Just as the Thousand-Man Herrscher of the current civilization once said, "Disasters did not break us, but our fellow humans did!"
Her words might have been sophistry, but honestly... every sentence made sense.
The same applied to the Previous Civilization.
This world had never been beautiful!
After thinking it over, Su Nian returned her thoughts to the main subject.
There was not much content for the Ninth Honkai, and it was time to bring it to an end.
After this incident, Cosmo and Kevin broke apart.
Book recommendation
I, Lynn, a judge of the Luofu, only wanted to slack off with Qingque while outwitting our boss. But after transmigrating, there was a system called Aha in my head.
I, Aha, Aeon of Elation, picked up a strange soul after climbing a tree. Let me see... Honkai: Star Rail? Here comes the fun!
As long as I made choices through the Elation System that pleased Aha, I could receive rewards. But why did it have to be in the form of a gacha?
Kafka hypnotizes me? I'll hypnotize Kafka!
I'll hug Asta's thigh and shout, "Rich lady, hungry, need a ship!"
Use a Herta Doll as a body pillow.
Infiltrate the Medicine King's Secret Art and yell, "Hunt Lan group!" Then occasionally check whether there are any Abundance Fiends around...
The system's banners also seemed a little strange:
Wind Glider, Tears of Heaven, Darkin Blade Aatrox, Watchman P, Herta Doll, Battlefield Healing Needle, Undying Slash, Waterfowl Dance Sword Art, Twelve Talismans, Yamato, all kinds of bizarre curios, and a Penguin Logistics Party Invitation?
I was Aha's amusement, but was Aha not also my amusement?
Those who offend Xianzhou territory, Hen shall surely strike them down!
I shall draw the Imperial Bow like a full moon; Stars, watch as I shoot down the Plague of Longevity!
This strike shall pierce the stars!
The Hard-to-Control "Negative" Personality
Su Nian copied this segment of the story onto Kevin's character card and also explained what happened after Cosmo's Over-mutation.
After learning that he had become like this and could no longer be called human, Cosmo left behind the badge he had once regarded as his life. He left Moth of the Fire alone, hid inside a floating structure in the wilderness, and was spotted by others along the way.
He was called—the supreme evil writhing among demon hordes and the abyss.
Later, Mobius found Cosmo and made a deal with him. Mobius would help Cosmo regain his human form. In exchange, Cosmo had to bear the price Mobius incurred as a result and help her further understand the essence of Flame Chasers.
Cosmo rejoined Moth of the Fire, and Kevin was still the one who awarded him a badge this time.
Only this time, Cosmo did not return to Kevin's command. The two became strangers.
From Cosmo's perspective, the incident was finally over once it had been written to this point.
Su Nian let out a long breath and stood up to walk off her meal.
She had sat down to work immediately after eating. She had never worked herself so hard before.
Even though it did not feel like she had done much, she had still worked hard.
The judges' room.
At this moment, Otto and Welt had come down from the judges' seats prepared for the opening ceremony. The subsequent commentary work and livestream would take place here.
The livestream equipment here had not yet been turned on. Otto leisurely swirled the wineglass in his hand, feeling delighted as he looked at the perfectly colored wine within.
The life of a retired Schicksal Archbishop was often this simple, unadorned, and dull.
"Welt, do you know what is most important in life?"
It definitely would not be heat control.
"People need to learn how to enjoy life. Why are you still frowning?"
Otto asked and answered his own question, but Welt still ignored him, wholly engrossed in watching something on his tablet.
"Stop making noise. I'm thinking."
He was currently peeking into Su Nian's livestream.
But he would not tell Otto.
Why would he notify Otto about something this good? Obviously impossible.
Just like an otaku following an anime, waiting to be the first to see a great new episode was a joy.
Welt shot Otto a sidelong glance, pretended not to hear him, and put away the tablet as if nothing had happened.
Su Nian had introduced quite a few new things, and as a man of science and engineering, Welt immediately caught the name Mobius.
This was the third time the name Mobius had appeared before the audience in Su Nian's livestream.
Clearly, judging by the naming convention, Mobius was not Chinese. No Shenzhou characters had appeared in Su Nian's work so far either.
The name Mobius also revealed a piece of information.
Another translation of her English name was Möbius.
That could not help but remind Welt of a basic concept.
The Möbius strip.
It was a paper loop made by twisting a strip of paper 180 degrees and joining its two ends together, possessing almost magical properties.
And the shape of a Möbius strip closely resembled the symbol ∞.
Even though Welt had not yet grasped the meaning behind this name—and perhaps he was simply overthinking it, assigning special meaning to it himself—
The fun of speculation lay precisely there.
This time, Su Nian had also revealed one of the suspected drawbacks of Flame Chasers: when they lost control, they could turn into Honkai Beasts.
Did the Dragon Slayer Become Dragon?
They used Honkai's power and stole Honkai's authority, only to look back and discover that they had long since been assimilated?
Some things hidden within the story, not yet made explicit, seemed to be quietly surfacing.
If Su Nian could even make use of all this and have it serve the plot, then she truly was a genius!
The difficulty of creating this story was not low. Welt believed that even some seasoned veterans would not be able to flesh it out to this extent in four or five hours.
Every step connected perfectly.
Still, he did not know whether it was merely an illusion, but Welt felt that everything Su Nian was writing now was foreshadowing.
What was she foreshadowing?
Welt could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Even if he racked his brain, he would never guess it!
What Su Nian was writing now was the Previous Civilization of Honkai, but she had not made that clear.
If she had said from the beginning that it was the timeline of the Previous Civilization—
Wouldn't much of the fun have been lost?
If certain things were revealed before the mystery was solved, there would be far fewer surprises.
That was why some people did not like spoilers.
Before Welt noticed, Otto had already strolled behind him. At a glance, he saw the tablet Welt was holding, its camera aimed at that somewhat handsome young person.
Wasn't that Su Nian?!
Taking another look at the comments, they were all discussing plot points he had never seen before.
You sneaky Welt!
Wasn't it just a little "small" conflict?
He was secretly watching without bringing Otto along!
But when he saw the terms being discussed on the screen, Otto's emerald-green eyes immediately widened.
"...Doctor Mobius...?"
Otto immediately took out his communicator and searched for Su Nian's livestream.
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