Interlude

The Eleventh Honkai, from its outbreak to its end, caused tens of millions of deaths, yet most buildings remained intact. Thus, the Eleventh Honkai was also hailed as the "least destructive Honkai disaster." Of course, Honkai will continue to erupt, and this title might still have a tiny chance of being taken away.

Kevin and Sakura, who were hovering on the brink of life and death, were saved by the timely arrival of the wielder of the Second Divine Key. As long as they weren't completely dead, Black Abyss White Flower could pull them back from the clutches of death.

Kevin sat on the hospital bed and said to Sakura, who was standing beside him, "Sakura, you worked hard this time. You performed very well in the battle against the Eleventh Law-Ruler." Their bodies had already fully recovered under the Divine Key's zero-rated power, but Kevin's spirit was still a little fatigued.

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

"Don't worry. You were absolutely instrumental in smoothly slaying the Law-Ruler this time."

Originally, the Twelfth Honkai was supposed to erupt at the end of the Eleventh Honkai. However, this Law-Ruler only survived for a mere day, meaning there were still several days, or even dozens of days, to prepare for the Twelfth Honkai.

Moreover, the disaster caused by this Honkai was not as severe as imagined, allowing humanity to catch its breath with half its body still standing. The industrial transfer in the Fire Moth Project was already 80% complete. As long as they could endure the Twelfth Honkai, all production lines would be transferred into underground storage warehouses, leaving a precious legacy for the previous civilization.

In a blue-black corridor, a researcher was holding his PAD. He had come to the Base for research right after graduating from graduate school. Before the war, he never would have imagined this. This was, after all, a doctor's job; how could it be his turn as a graduate student? But it was understandable. In this era, even junior college graduates were scarce talents, let alone graduate students who used to assist various academic cliques before the war.

After walking for a few minutes, the researcher stood before a door. The iris scanner aimed at his eyes. With a soft "beep," the heavy electronic door opened. "Welcome, Mr. Pierce Hopkins."

Upon entering, he saw Dr. Mei seemingly busy with something.

"Just put the documents on the desk," Dr. Mei said indifferently without even looking at Pierce. She then became engrossed in the experiment before her.

After Pierce placed a stack of data reports on the desk, he stood behind Dr. Mei, waiting for a full half hour.

Dr. Mei relaxed her wrist and looked at the T-1000, who had transformed into a researcher behind her. "It's rare for you to seek me out."

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

"Are you here to ask a favor, or do you want to continue discussing the Twelfth Law-Ruler?" The Law-Ruler of Restraint being killed in such a short time, Qin Su's contribution was undeniable, and the reward was commensurate.

"Several years ago, the United Nations' Mars Landing Project was declared a failure due to insufficient funding against the backdrop of the Third Law-Ruler's emergence. However, this project was not entirely fruitless. At least among the four forward stations built for the project, one named RS-1 was completed. What I want is the control authority of this station."

"No problem," Dr. Mei agreed readily. A worthless red desert was too distant for present-day humanity. Being realistic was better for everyone.

That's right, Qin Su wanted to leave Earth. If he chose to stay, given his rate of development, the exponentially growing Honkai energy would accelerate the arrival of the Herrscher of the End for the second time by thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Law-Rulers were born from their original species. The so-called Spark Project and Moonlight Throne Project were methods of reducing Honkai energy to prevent the birth of Law-Rulers, though the Spark Project was significantly more brutal.

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

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

So, this desolate red desert was suitable as a new starting point.

"You have now completely mastered the Law-Ruler Core. Although it's only one, you are the first artificial Law-Ruler in the world. Yet, you are different from most Law-Rulers – you are not driven by blind hatred." Qin Su spoke to the blonde, burly man kneeling on one knee before him, his right hand on his chest.

In just a few months, the young blonde boy's body had grown rapidly, completing a second growth spurt, transforming from a frail youth into a burly man 2.4 meters tall. This was the Law-Ruler Core strengthening his body, and this process was not yet over.

"Now, Constantine, let's test your true combat power." Qin Su's phantom pointed at a T-X that was on standby. The white circular arena instantly transformed into a city with clear undulations, layers, and divisions, and the dome turned into a clear blue sky.

"As you command, Father." Constantine stood up and assumed a combat stance towards the T-X.

"Kleist, Lex, be ready. After Constantine's test, you two will continue," Qin Su turned to the other two burly men present.

"Yes, Father." Kleist and Lex responded in unison, then sat cross-legged, quietly watching Constantine's battle with the T-X.

The mass-production Law-Ruler project ultimately produced only three successful cases, each differing in personality, race, and even Honkai energy resistance.

Lex belonged to the American race, Constantine to the European race, and Kleist to the West Asian race. Constantine's original body had extremely poor resistance to Honkai energy. Constantine's sample was only used for a control experiment, but it unexpectedly became a success. Lex's sample had only below-average resistance to Honkai energy, while Kleist's Honkai energy resistance was at the very top of humanity's pyramid.

In the subsequent project, the Law-Ruler cloning plan had completely failed. None of the over 6,000 experimental subjects were successful, and the production cost far exceeded that of manufacturing a T-X. The three successful samples seemed to exhibit infinite potential, but in the face of a civilization-level war, it was questionable whether the strength of three individuals could make a difference. This plan had been shut down, and no new cloned Law-Rulers would be produced. Most of the remaining Law-Ruler Cores were used to create the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Terminator T-X.

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

"I will follow your instructions."

Qin Su nodded slightly, and then his phantom dissolved into blue specks of light. Finally, in this virtual city and world, only Constantine remained.