Interlude

The Eleventh Honkai, from its outbreak to its end, caused the deaths of tens of millions. Yet most buildings remained intact. Thus, the Eleventh Honkai was hailed as "the least destructive Honkai disaster." Of course, Honkai would continue to erupt, and there was still a tiny chance that this title would be taken away.

Kevin and Sakura, who had been teetering on the brink of death, were saved by the timely arrival of the wielder of the Second Divine Key. So long as they were not completely dead, Black Abyss White Flower could pull them back from Death's scythe.

Kevin sat on his hospital bed and said to Sakura, who stood beside him, "Sakura, you worked hard this time. You performed very well in the battle against the Eleventh Law-Ruler." Their bodies had long since fully recovered under the Divine Key's Zeroth Rated Power, but Kevin still felt somewhat mentally exhausted.

Sakura nodded slightly. "I only hope you can put in a good word for me with Dr. Mei, so I can take leave and return to the Far East to see my sister."

"Don't worry. You deserve absolute credit for successfully killing the Law-Ruler this time."

Originally, the Twelfth Honkai would have erupted as soon as the Eleventh Honkai ended. However, this Law-Ruler had survived for only a single day, which meant they still had several days, perhaps even dozens of days, to prepare for the Twelfth Honkai.

Moreover, the disaster caused by this Honkai had not been as severe as expected, allowing humanity to drag its half-broken body forward and catch one more breath. Fire Moth's industrial relocation plan was already 80% complete. If they could just endure the Twelfth Honkai, all production lines would be moved into underground storage facilities, leaving the previous civilization with a precious legacy.

In a dark blue corridor, a researcher carried his PAD in his arms. He had come to the base for research immediately after graduating from graduate school. Before the war, he would never have dared imagine it. This was work for PhDs, after all; how could it possibly fall to a mere graduate student like him? Still, it was understandable. In this era, even junior college graduates were scarce talents, let alone graduate students who had once served as assistants to all manner of academic magnates before the war.

After walking for several minutes, the researcher stopped before a door. The iris scanner aligned with his eyes, and with a soft beep, the heavy electronic door opened. "Welcome, Mr. Pierce Hopkins."

After entering, he saw that Dr. Mei seemed to be busy with something.

"Just put the materials on the table." Dr. Mei did not even glance at Pierce. She merely spoke calmly, then focused on the experiment before her.

After placing a stack of data reports on the table, Pierce stood behind Dr. Mei and waited for a full half hour.

Dr. Mei flexed her wrist and looked at the T-1000, disguised as a researcher, behind her. "You actually came to see me on your own initiative. That's rare."

"Fate has already tied us together with a single rope."

"Did you come to ask something of me this time, or do you wish to continue discussing the Twelfth Law-Ruler?" The Herrscher of Binding had been killed in such a short time, and Qin Su's contribution was beyond question. Naturally, the reward would match it.

"Several years ago, the United Nations' Mars Landing Project was declared a failure due to insufficient funds amid the birth of the Third Law-Ruler. But the project did not come to nothing. Of the four forward stations planned, one station named RS-1 was completed. What I want is control authority over that station."

"No problem." Dr. Mei agreed readily. A worthless red wasteland was far too distant for humanity now. Being practical was better for everyone.

That was right. Qin Su intended to leave Earth. If he chose to remain here, then at his rate of development, the exponentially increasing Honkai energy would hasten the Herrscher of the End's second arrival by thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of years.

Law-Rulers were born from the species they had once belonged to. Both the Spark Project and the Moonlight Throne Project sought to prevent the birth of Law-Rulers by using some method to reduce Honkai energy, though the Spark Project was far more cruel.

There was another way to prevent the birth of Law-Rulers: prevent contact between Honkai energy and humanity. Therefore, escaping Earth was the best choice. If possible, he even wanted to leave the solar system, only returning to Earth once he was certain he could defeat the Herrscher of the End or a planet-class Honkai Beast.

Faster-than-light travel was unrealistic, so Mars was a good choice. Judging by the moon, where the Honkai God had been sealed, Honkai energy did not spread into space. Otherwise, given the immense amount of Honkai energy on the moon, Earth would likely have been destroyed long ago.

This desolate red desert was therefore perfect as a new beginning.

"You have now completely mastered the Law-Ruler Core. Though it is only one, you are the world's first artificial Law-Ruler. Yet unlike most Law-Rulers, you will not be driven by blind hatred." Qin Su spoke to the burly blond man kneeling on one knee before him, his right hand pressed to his chest.

In only a few months, the blond youth's body had grown rapidly and undergone a second growth spurt. He had swiftly transformed from a frail boy into a burly man standing 2.4 meters tall. The Law-Ruler Core was strengthening his body, and the process was not yet complete.

"Now, Constantine, test your true combat strength." Qin Su's projection pointed at a T-X standing by nearby. The white circular fighting arena instantly transformed into a city of rolling terrain, clear layers, and distinct districts, while the dome became a brilliant blue sky.

"As you command, Father." Constantine rose to his feet and assumed a fighting stance toward the T-X.

"Kleist, Lex, prepare yourselves. After Constantine's test is over, you will continue." Qin Su turned to the other two burly men present.

"Yes, Father." Kleist and Lex replied in unison, then sat cross-legged and quietly watched the battle between Constantine and the T-X.

The mass-produced Law-Ruler project had ultimately produced only three successful cases. They differed in personality, ethnicity, and even resistance to Honkai energy.

Lex was of American descent, Constantine was of European descent, and Kleist was of West Asian descent. Constantine's original body could be said to have had extremely poor resistance to Honkai energy. His sample had been intended only for a control experiment, yet it unexpectedly became a success case. Lex's sample had merely below-average resistance to Honkai energy, while Kleist's resistance stood at the very peak of all humanity.

During the subsequent stages of the project, the Law-Ruler cloning plan had completely failed. More than 6,000 test subjects produced no successes, and the production cost had already far exceeded that of manufacturing a T-X. The previous three successful samples seemed to display limitless potential, but in a civilization-level war, whether the strength of three people could make any difference remained a question. The project had been shut down. No new cloned Law-Rulers would be created, and most of the remaining Law-Ruler Cores would be used to manufacture Emperor-class Honkai Beast Terminator T-Xs.

Qin Su's projection said behind Constantine, "Use your knowledge."

"I will heed your guidance."

Qin Su nodded slightly, then his projection dissolved into specks of blue light. In the end, Constantine was the only one left within this virtual cityscape.