The T-800 wandered through humanity's largest city, while other infiltrating T-800s moved through various locations. Information such as population movements caused by geological disasters and changes to Fire Moth bases all needed to be gathered.
With its hands tucked into the pockets of its trench coat, it walked around aimlessly. Although Qin Su possessed complete records on this so-called "humanity's largest city," most of the information had been uploaded before the Herrscher of Earth appeared. Many newly formed ruins had not been recorded. Some roads had collapsed or were blocked by debris from fallen buildings. That was why it wandered around the city—following the map was worse than simply roaming at random.
Fire Moth insignias could be seen everywhere throughout the city. Fully armed soldiers patrolled every corner, and armored vehicles were stationed at every intersection. Cranes hoisted massive chunks of rubble from collapsed buildings and placed them on open ground nearby. Small groups of workers held blueprints, discussing reconstruction plans with grave expressions. Only scattered pedestrians walked the desolate streets, their faces filled with sorrow and their steps dragging. It seemed people had lost the strength to be happy.
"Few skyscrapers have been damaged. Most of the destruction is limited to small shops and malls. As expected, most of this city's ruined buildings were destroyed by people, not Honkai." Qin Su could not help sighing as he looked at the damaged district in the city center.
"Expecting humanity to remain rational forever truly is asking too much."
A voice sounded in front of him. "Hello, friend." He turned around, and the man before him took out an electronic tablet. "Please show your identification."
Qin Su froze for a moment, then said, "Oh... all right. But I didn't bring physical identification. Is electronic ID acceptable?"
"No problem, friend." The patrolling officer handed him the tablet. Qin Su entered the electronic ID code he had prepared long ago, then carefully studied the officer before him.
In the T-800's HUD, the officer's facial model was continuously compared against the database.
He had a head full of silver hair and a valiant bearing. He wore a silver-white trench coat over a black shirt, and his blue eyes gave Qin Su an illusion—they were like glaciers floating upon the Arctic Ocean. The T-800's built-in Honkai energy detection equipment indicated that this officer was likely a Fusion Warrior. Yet the energy level of the person before him was unimaginably high, perhaps even surpassing certain Herrschers.
Qin Su glanced at his waist. Two guns hung there. Comparison confirmed that they were Divine Keys, and among pistol-type Divine Keys, only Fire of Heaven's Judgment fit the description.
So it really is you, Kevin. The database comparison had yielded the result, and the Fire of Heaven's Judgment at his waist further confirmed the man's identity.
Kevin Kaslana. At this point, the Kaslana surname did not yet exist. The strongest human of both the Previous Era and the Current Era—only the Herrscher of the End could defeat him.
"Welcome, comrade from Fire Moth, survivor of Mu Continent." Kevin smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
Pretending to be surprised, Qin Su extended his hand. "I didn't expect to encounter our strongest Fusion Warrior here."
"Hello." Kevin shook his hand with a polite smile. Qin Su carefully analyzed his expression, but he seemed unable to detect anything unusual.
"Would you like me to show you around the city? I rarely meet someone who isn't afraid of the cold." Kevin was humanity's first Fusion Warrior and also the strongest, but immense power often brought unexpected side effects. Kevin's body remained at a constant minus thirty degrees Celsius.
Qin Su's T-800 possessed exceptional temperature resistance and could even briefly endure extreme heat or cold. At minus thirty degrees Celsius, the T-800 could function perfectly normally. Even an ordinary A-rank Valkyrie could not possibly match the T-800's tolerance for temperature. Qin Su had designed it this way for future contingencies, though on Earth's surface, such a design was excessive for the T-800.
He cautiously asked Kevin, "Don't you need to be on duty?" A top-tier Fusion Warrior was being so friendly toward him that he had no choice but to remain wary. Kevin saw that Qin Su was completely unafraid of the freezing air around him, yet showed no suspicion. Perhaps Kevin truly believed there was nothing wrong with him—constantly keeping one's nerves taut would exhaust even a Fusion Warrior.
"Of course I do, but that doesn't stop me from introducing our city to you. Patrol duty is part of being on duty. Wandering around also counts as a form of patrol, doesn't it?" Kevin put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him forward in long strides.
"By the way, I'm curious about something. Since you're only an ordinary person, why aren't you afraid of the cold?" His intent was obvious, but Kevin had dealt with so many Herrschers that he could see at a glance whether Qin Su was one. That lowered Kevin's guard to some extent. Since its founding, Fire Moth had never had any human enemies.
Qin Su returned the question. "Since you know you're cold, why are you approaching me?" He began calculating escape routes. Escaping Kevin's grasp was impossible. If this T-800 were discovered, it would have only one fate—self-destruction. Qin Su was merely calculating which route would allow the T-800's self-destruction to cause the least possible disturbance to Fire Moth.
Kevin laughed heartily. "Everyone has their own secrets. I have no intention of prying into yours. I was just thinking that with such a strong physique, if you became a Fire Moth soldier, you might become the next Fusion Warrior."
Qin Su tapped his head and replied with the same smile, "Compared to fighting, I prefer knowledge." This T-800's assigned identity was that of a researcher who had luckily escaped disaster on Mu Continent.
Kevin did not respond to Qin Su's words. Instead, he spoke about the city's history and its current status. He understood as well just how low the survival rate of Fire Moth's combat forces was.
At first, Kevin had not been so cold-hearted that he could sacrifice countless people merely for that one-in-ten-thousand chance of evolution. Just as Kiana had initially been nothing more than an innocent and ignorant girl, the current Kevin was only a man covered in coldness, yet still unable to extinguish the fire in his heart—as long as Mei was alive.
"While we're at it, let me clear up your previous misunderstanding about this city." Kevin and Qin Su walked side by side down the broad avenue. The sidewalks were not bustling, but they were far from deserted.
Kevin pointed at a burning building in the distance. Fire Moth's emblem stood out prominently on it, while many firefighters rushed about below. Yet a dense crowd of protesters surrounded the building not far away.
"The destruction couldn't be helped. Who could have expected the Ninth Law-Ruler to make the most prosperous Mu Continent vanish beyond a black hole's event horizon? No Herrscher before had ever accomplished anything like that. Anyone who saw such a scene would think humanity was about to perish, wouldn't they? Besides, it's already fortunate that people are only venting their anger on buildings and that no large-scale bloodshed has occurred."
"Fire Moth has tried to conceal the increasingly frequent Honkai disasters of recent years, but ordinary people obviously realize something is wrong and question us about it. Naturally, we can't tell them the whole truth. How could Fire Moth possibly say that humanity is racing down the road to extinction? We can only keep using incomprehensible scientific terminology to offer incomprehensible stock responses."
Kevin walked ahead of Qin Su, pointing at another blazing tower as he spoke.
"They don't understand what we mean. The only thing they hear is—this is a very, very rare natural phenomenon. So they become even angrier, but there's no other way."
An inefficient strategy, he assessed.
"I have a question: why are you here, carrying out tasks that fall within an ordinary soldier's duties?"
Kevin glanced back at him before explaining, "As you know, many soldiers have died in the fight against Honkai. We're short on personnel now, so even Fusion Warriors are basically assigned to patrols. Not even I'm an exception."
The two of them arrived at a checkpoint at an intersection. Kevin took out the tablet, checked the information, and entered it into a computer. Before long, the printer beside them produced a sheet labeled "Entry and Exit Permit." Kevin handed it to Qin Su.
"This way, you won't need to enter your electronic ID number again."
"Still, there are benefits to patrolling as ordinary soldiers. If Honkai appears, we can respond immediately instead of waiting for someone to notify us."
P.S.: The phrase "Mu Continent vanished beyond a black hole's event horizon" was an exaggeration. Kevin merely used it to emphasize how dangerous the Herrscher was. The black hole created by the Ninth Law-Ruler only made the Mu Continent tectonic plate extremely unstable, causing exposed land to sink beneath the water. If the black hole had truly been that large, Earth would already have been swallowed.
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