Chapter 49

[The operation was a complete failure.]

[And failure itself wasn't terrifying. What was truly terrifying was that a single mistake had ruined everything.]

[Elysia was a Herrscher. She won, everyone was happy, and everyone would overlook this because of the aphorism.]

[But she lost. And why had Elysia, as a Herrscher, made such a fatal mistake?]

[The thriving atmosphere instantly plunged to freezing point.]

[But at this moment, none of the higher-ups would question Elysia, because humanity's true genius had died in the previous battle.]

"Heh, hehehe..."

After examining Kevin's corpse, Mei felt conflicted. Though this extremist had been detestable and had ruined her life, he truly had been a hero.

Humanity's only hope.

When Mei returned to the ward, there wasn't a single mirror in the room. The medical staff had received orders to look after her emotional state.

Mobius's projection appeared in the room again.

"You should leave me some privacy. I won't kill myself."

Noticing the sound of electricity nearby, Mei took small sips of cold water. Even drinking was uncomfortable; every movement sent pain through her entire body.

"I can't see the scene... Mei, how's the atmosphere over there?"

"Not bad. Elysia is very popular here. Most people haven't considered that possibility, so don't worry about her losing support."

Mei's voice was calm. The best news for now was that Elysia truly was harmless. No one could have anticipated how the previous battle would end.

After all, the Herrscher Core had been removed and her heart had suffered severe damage. Not only Elysia—even Kalpas, who had always loved battle, had no desire to torture a dead person.

Yet the Herrscher had lived.

"They've never participated in ordinary people's wars, after all." Mobius sighed.

Not wars against Honkai, but wars between nations and armies—pure meat-grinder warfare.

They were too strong. Elysia, Kevin, even Kalpas—they were all too strong, so they couldn't understand an individual's numbness.

Replace them with an old veteran, and he would've already whipped the corpse several times, just in case the other side still had a breath left and could raise a gun to shoot him.

"Yeah, they love communicating too much."

Who would give you time to chat in a real war?

Mei sneered. "People who believe communication can solve problems will sooner or later be solved by their problems."

If communication could really solve every problem, Mobius would've become a chatterbox for her dreams long ago.

Only those who had never been beaten down by society would believe that. And only kind-hearted people, or those carrying ideals and faith, would let such chatter solve their problems.

"What did you come to see me for, Senior?"

"Elysia told me you and Kevin were close. I was afraid you might do something foolish."

Elysia should've been the one comforting her, but Elysia's mindset had completely collapsed. Every time she reviewed the battle, her guilt grew heavier.

Because she truly had had a chance to kill the Herrscher.

"Why would such a rumor spread?"

Mobius didn't know that when Elysia had worked at the First Laboratory, she'd occasionally complained that it would've been nice if her younger brother were there—even though Elysia was an orphan.

That child had strange ideas anyway.

"Don't worry about me, Senior. I have my own thoughts."

You'd better not have your own thoughts right now.

But Mobius didn't say it aloud.

[Night fell, and everything was pitch-black.]

[An Yu had never felt this terrible before. His damaged heart could indeed be stimulated with electric current, maintaining its contractions and pumping blood.]

[And he hadn't cleared this stage yet. He didn't know what would happen if he failed.]

[Maybe he'd have to start over, but An Yu really didn't like replaying the same stage from the beginning.]

"Hello, Student An Yu."

The noisy voice made An Yu frown slightly, but before he could kill her, he recognized the girl holding both hands high.

She was the high school girl he'd forced to do homework before.

But now, her appearance seemed somewhat... miserable. An Yu had only recognized her because of her red-name boss frame.

"Looks like you still care about appearances. Otherwise, with my current reputation, you shouldn't be this calm."

An Yu lowered his hand. A temporary hospital was no match for a proper one; the corridors lacked specialized lighting and could only use ordinary incandescent bulbs. They had been turned off in the middle of the night.

"I want to talk to you."

He couldn't understand her, so An Yu kept walking. What he needed was a local doctor, preferably someone highly respected... but his identity was special, so he should find someone afraid of death instead.

Mei hurried after him. The excessive movement made her whole body ache, but she held up her phone.

[I want to talk to you!]

Only then did An Yu become a little interested. "Talk? About what?"

Was he deaf? Hearing-impaired? Or was it some more science-fiction-like module contamination?

Mei thought for a moment, then pulled up the note she'd prepared earlier.

[I can help you replace your heart.]

An Yu froze for a moment. "You? A high school girl?"

[Although I'm the daughter of a physicist, my research into the human body isn't shallow. Besides, Student An Yu doesn't have anyone he can trust right now, does he?]

An Yu almost laughed. He didn't take her seriously at all.

What did she mean, no one he could trust?

Since this was a large world, wouldn't it be easy enough to capture a doctor and his family?

Then he could find whoever cried the hardest and worried most about their family. Wouldn't they be far more trustworthy than her?

[I know where there is the strongest heart.]

An Yu became slightly interested.

There were differences between hearts, especially in a world with supernatural powers.

More importantly, the heart secreted certain hormones and endocrine cells. Generally speaking, that was something that really needed to be selected carefully.

"Where?"

[In the cryogenic chamber. There's the corpse of humanity's strongest person there, and his body was still warm when he was frozen.]

Who?

After thinking for a moment, An Yu realized it was the boss from daytime.

He had indeed been quite strong. An Yu hadn't even dared to take time to seize the Key of the Void, afraid the others would react and not even give him time to escape.

"Lead the way."

[I have questions to ask you.]

"Do I look like an idiot?"

[...Then how can I trust you?]

"Now that you're standing here, you can only trust me."

Mei: ...

That stung, but it was true. Once the surveillance footage was exposed, even if there were no lights and everything was dark, many things could no longer be concealed.

If she wanted to be accepted again, she could only prove her value.

The cryogenic chamber was in the hospital, and Mei had confirmed its location during the day.

The alarms? No need to worry. The Herrscher of electromagnetism was just that reliable.

An Yu opened the cryogenic chamber and touched the corpse, while also picking up the two attribute cards he'd missed earlier.

[Please select attribute upgrade]

Elemental Overflow 5 → Overload

Attack Speed 4 → 5

Attack Power 0 → 1

Main skill without thinking.

[Please select attribute upgrade]

Attack Speed 4 → 5

Attack Power 0 → 1

Movement Speed 0 → 1

Attack Speed without thinking.

Herrscher: An Yu

Level: 13

Skills: Twin Familiars, Echo, Lord of Myriad Phenomena, Overload

Attributes: Attack Speed 5

[Overload]

Active: Efficiency in utilizing residual energy increased by 100%. The effect can be additionally increased by 0 → 80% depending on the degree of focus.

Passive: Initial magnitude increased by 500

Why Destroy the World? Because It's Fun

"If you're going to be a good person, go all the way. Who's the best doctor here?"

An Yu adapted to Overload. It was especially useful for a Herrscher whose residual lightning utilization was high and whose core concept was electromagnetic fields.

As for heart replacement surgery, An Yu didn't know the game's settings. But outside, the success rate of such operations was already infinitely close to 100%; only the ten-year postoperative survival rate had yet to approach 100%.

Mei pointed at herself.

An Yu glanced at her.

"You have no value to me now, girl."

Don't push your luck.

It would be different if the model looked good, but they didn't even have faces. And even if he could see her appearance clearly... this boss probably looked terrifying.

Mei still pointed at herself.

[This is a temporary hospital. Most doctors are staying at the guesthouses next door.]

And there weren't many patients. Herrschers generally didn't leave survivors, and as for Honkai Beasts?

Unfortunately, current technology had no way to treat Honkai Disease.

"Then go find one."

[Ai...]

After typing one character, Mei suddenly realized that Student An Yu didn't know Elysia. On top of that, he couldn't hear, so there was no way he could know Elysia's name.

[The pink-haired girl from daytime and the masked person are both over there.]

[You can trust me once. After all, even if I really have bad intentions, you should be able to kill me before then, right?]

Probably. If the Herrscher truly had no ability to resist, Mei wouldn't mind being a hero for once.

After all, there was no trust between them.

[Heart replacement surgery is extremely complicated.]