I am a hero of the former civilization.

The proportions were perfect, the skin was fair and supple, just like a black ice cream, making people very 'appetized'. He slowly stretched out his right hand and grasped the ankle, while his other hand turned into a hammer.

Mebius felt his heart race as he watched the man lower his head, a mixture of mockery and excitement washing over him, and then—

"Ouch, that hurts..."

She tensed instantly, twisting into a ball on the wicker chair, staring intently at Ryan with a professional smile, like a craftsman.

"Your kidneys aren't doing well. Come on, let me give you a good treatment. You also have a big problem with your prostate. I'll help you clear it up."

"Ryan, you dare mess with me!"

"No way, I'm a professional foot massager. I guarantee you'll feel completely refreshed after a good night's sleep, but first you have to get some sleep."

"Remember this, after I finish my surgery..."

Hehe, these two are really intense.

Alicia pressed her ear to the door, turned her head and made a 'shh' gesture to Mei, who couldn't help but hum softly.

She came to see Ryan with important business. They had agreed to talk about the Fourth Herrscher after everyone went to sleep, but Alicia stopped her before she even reached the rooftop, saying she wanted to see a good show.

Given their competitive natures, what's the point of watching this show? It's like whoever gives in will lose; it's so childish.

Mei calmly analyzed the situation, but was startled again upon hearing Mebius's shout, and instinctively stood up.

The analysis is flawed; this is far too extreme.

"What are those two doing? Why does it sound like Mebius is screaming in pain?"

"The book says it's always very painful the first time. Is this Ellie's physiology lecture?"

"Nonsense, even if it hurts, it can't last that long."

"That's possible, perhaps Mei—do you have experience?"

The aloof girl immediately fell silent. This touched upon a blind spot in her knowledge, and even a trace of fear welled up within her, rendering all her previous resolve meaningless.

"Is Ryan hitting Mebius?"

“How could that be? Ryan is an elegant gentleman, how could he hit a girl?” Alicia scoffed.

"Gentleman, I think he's more like a pervert."

Clang.

The door was suddenly pulled open, and Ryan stood in the doorway, his hair covered in sweat, wiping his hands as he smiled at the two of them.

He appeared refreshed and gave an elegant smile: "It would be perverted to eavesdrop, dear Alicia and Dr. May."

"Oh, what a coincidence! We just happened to be here to see the snow. Since you're busy, let's go somewhere else." Alicia tilted her head, stuck out her tongue, and just as she turned around—

Snapped.

A hand rested on her shoulder, and the kind and elegant Ryan leaned closer.

"Don't try to get away with it by being cute. Since you're here, let's talk business."

"Wait, aren't you going to tidy up a bit?"

Alicia was dragged directly to the rooftop. Covering her face, she peeked through her fingers and saw Mebius lying on the chair, his clothes disheveled, his body twitching slightly, and his eyes rolling back. She quickly sewed her fingers back up.

"I didn't see anything!"

"What did you see? I just gave this weird snake a little lesson, massaged her feet, and told her not to overthink things."

Ryan's lips twitched, thinking to himself that these three people combined didn't learn as much as he had from the teachers in Japan.

How can a foot massage turn into this?

Mei looked at Ryan indifferently, pondering her words for a long time: "When it comes to being a monster, you are still the stronger one."

“You’re the pervert. Alright, alright, I’m not going to argue with you anymore.” Ryan took a sip of tea, knowing that the more he argued, the less he could clear his name, so he simply skipped the topic. “I’ve already told Mebius about the Fourth Herrscher. She’ll tell you the truth when she wakes up.”

"The truth after purification?" Mei narrowed her eyes, suddenly becoming serious. She didn't care about Ryan's private life.

“Yes, the truth you should know, Mei. You’re too rational. I’m afraid I’ll dig a hole for myself.” Ryan put down his teacup, not trying to hide anything, and sighed, “I can only tell you that the Herrschers will change considerably in the future, and saving this world will become much more difficult.”

Would killing you make things easier?

"No, even without me, human civilization would surely perish, but with me, there might be a glimmer of hope."

Ryan met that cold gaze decisively, his heart at ease, without the slightest fear.

Because this is reality. Even if the timeline is restarted, this world without itself will inevitably be destroyed. Adding countless more layers of difficulty makes no difference.

We're already at the bottom of the valley; no matter which way we go, it's all upwards.

Alicia kept looking at the two of them, wondering whether she should smooth things over, when Mei nodded slightly.

"I believe you."

“You have to trust me. This road leads straight to the abyss. There’s a variable that will always change the outcome.” Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these past few years hadn’t been wasted.

"Then tell me specifically, what changes will occur to the Herrscher?"

Ryan glanced at Alicia and watched as the snow fell back and forth: "They have undergone unknown changes, and for now, they won't be coming to deliver them one by one."

"To generate organization and strategy?"

"It's very likely that we'll face multiple Herrschers."

Mei took a deep breath. This was a potentially fatal change; the fire-chasing moth had long been accustomed to that simpler routine.

When the Herrschers appeared, she concentrated her forces to wipe them out. She thought that after promoting the Fusion Warriors and using technology to assist, she could easily eliminate at least five Herrschers.

"What's the reason?"

"Unknown, at least I can't figure it out." Ryan wasn't deliberately hiding it; he genuinely didn't know, just like that strange dream, and why he was the only one who had awakened to his destiny.

It's half true and half false; it relates to his origins, an origin even more mysterious than Alicia's.

Mei made a decision in an instant, pulled out a chair and sat down. After a long silence, she asked, "So what's your suggestion?"

"First, we must fully advance the Fusion Warrior and Divine Key projects. No matter what the Honkai becomes, we must improve our combat power as soon as possible."

"Like Kevin, Su, Hua, Ying, and the others?"

"Yes, I've been prepared for this for a long time. They will become the backbone of humanity's fighting force, even rivaling the Herrschers," Ryan replied frankly.

"I can tell that none of the people who came to this party are simple-minded. And then what?"

"Increase investment in the Third Research Institute; the Sea of ​​Quanta must be explored as soon as possible."

Quantum Sea?

Mei was slightly lost in thought. That thing was very different from her research. Since it was not a topic about fighting the Honkai, the Second Research Institute had the fewest resources.

"Are you trying to find a way out for humanity?"

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from you. You calculate defeat before victory, and it's always good to leave yourself an escape route. You've also seen their preliminary research. Honkai energy can hardly survive there for long, just like positive and negative numbers, which are completely opposite spaces."

May nodded, indicating that she understood. She even realized that the power she now possessed was the result of Ryan's manipulation behind the scenes.

The hero who united humanity in advance, and used the internal strife among the Fire Moths to control the direction of his research—what a grand scheme! Is he a time traveler?

As Mei was making her judgment, the wind and snow outside the glass room suddenly intensified. Ryan and Alicia's expressions changed simultaneously, and they looked into the distance.

Through the dense snow and the pitch-black night, it seemed as if a figure was floating in the air in the distance, but disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The two exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of regret, before relaxing their tense muscles.

"He has come?" Mei quickly realized what was happening.

"Hmm, but the Fourth Herrscher is smarter than I imagined. Unlike the previous Herrschers, she doesn't attack without regard for anything in order to achieve her goal." Alicia clapped her hands with a smile, but when she looked at Ryan, she became unusually serious.

"But this will put a heavy burden on you. Can you bear the weight of the name of Yingjie?"

Ryan remained silent. A multitude of images flashed through his mind, along with many grand and glorious adjectives. Gazing at the snowflakes outside, he finally settled on one sentence:

"It is my duty!"

Chapter 122 That's Ryan!

The wind and snow were like a tapestry, with dense snowflakes covering the space between the sea and the sky, and even the more distant areas were hidden in the snow.

In the direction Ryan was gazing, a girl with short, gray-gold hair was floating in the snowstorm, surrounded by the cold winds of the high altitude like fairies. In terms of aerial maneuverability, no one could rival her.

The Herrscher stood in the wind, staring expressionlessly at the distant island. Her face was no different from the Third Herrscher's, except that her eyes were more lively.

“I can’t go, he’s waiting for me.”

After standing there for a long time, the Herrscher came to a conclusion: if the intelligence department of the Firemoth saw this, they would probably have another headache.

The Herrscher actually abandoned the battle, instead of charging in headfirst as usual, and suppressed its Honkai energy, thus remaining undetected even so close to the military base.

This is extremely disadvantageous for humanity, and it's no wonder that in the original timeline, Kevin was momentarily soft-hearted when the Herrscher of Death begged for mercy, since the Herrscher's appearance was too deceptive and she didn't look ferocious or terrifying at all.

But Ryan wasn't surprised at all. Herrschers inherently possess intelligence and consciousness, but they are too lazy to use them due to their arrogance. In the post-civilization era, Herrschers will truly possess emotions and learn to be affectionate.

However, the Herrscher of Wind did not take that step, even though she had discovered that there were many important targets there. After calculating the success rate, she chose to give up.

"Humans really are a kind of creature that likes to struggle when they're dying."

She shook her head indifferently, searching for the original memories of this body, and began to plan based on the knowledge and experience of that lieutenant.

Honkai energy is still gathering, and it will take time before the next Herrscher is born. I cannot accomplish both goals on my own, and humanity's combat power is increasing rapidly. With the power I was hastily created, I am no match for them.

So, should we approach the moths drawn to the flame and incite them to fight amongst themselves?

After a moment's hesitation, she chose to reject the idea. Her authority was not suited for infiltration, and outsmarting or outmaneuvering was not a safe option.

But continuing to wait like this is not a solution; that extraterrestrial being will surely try to eliminate him.

Rose raised her head, as if she could see a satellite streaking across the sky. The Fire Moths were doing everything they could to find her and tightening their encirclement, but the suppressed Honkai energy was not enough to allow her to escape quickly.

She had already seen the data on the fates of the previous three Herrschers once she was entangled with them. Furthermore, in terms of pure combat strength, she was inferior to the Herrscher of Thunder.

Then let's go say hello, use fear and destruction to mobilize humanity, and break out of the encirclement first.

She opened her arms, and the wind at ten thousand meters high propelled her forward like flowing water, while an invisible energy spread towards the sea, sending out a message in the manner she was accustomed to naming the moths after the flame.

Wake up, Varuna, it's time to get things done.

Deep in the dark ocean, on the seabed, a blue Honkai Beast with four wings on its back and a dragon-like body opened its eyes. Its streamlined body slowly rose up, letting out a roar that tore through the water.

Roar--