I am a hero of the former civilization.

Hmph, that long-eared fox.

Mebius snorted coldly. If she hadn't arrived in time, Ryan would have already run off to Sakura's room for lunch, and none of this would have happened. As for the skills of both of them...

At worst, I'll have Klein teach me!

Ryan had no idea that Mebius was so dramatic. He greeted Sakura with a smile. This assassin was his most reliable partner because the internal conflicts within the Fire Moth were gradually escalating, and the other side had even used ballistic missiles to assassinate him.

Mei was in danger, and Kevin couldn't stay by her side forever, so Ryan made arrangements for Sakura in advance.

'I was originally going to ask Alicia for help, but that idiot talked too much nonsense and Mei kicked her out of the lab.'

He slowly approached, about to say hello, when he saw Sakura take a silver thermos flask out of her handbag.

"Ryan, since you didn't come for lunch, I brewed some tea for you in advance, the usual proportions."

"Thanks, looks like I'll be more alert for the meeting this afternoon." Ryan took the tea; he really liked the flower tea Sakura brewed and casually put it in his pocket. Seeing Sakura hesitate, he asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Have you had lunch yet? If not, I brought some..."

“He’s already eaten. It was Chinese cuisine that I made myself. He even ate a huge bowl of rice.” Möbius suddenly stepped forward, his face beaming.

Wow, you lie without even blinking! What kind of Chinese cuisine is this? It's more like bizarre, culinary disaster!

Ryan was complaining about Möbius's shamelessness when he saw Sakura's expression darken slightly. She stuffed the lunchbox back into her bag, paused, and then asked with interest, "Dr. Möbius can cook?"

"I'm a jack-of-all-trades, what are mere life skills compared to that?"

"Then you must let me try it next time. Also, what kind of cuisine do you specialize in?"

"That depends on my mood. Alright, alright, let's get to the meeting." Möbius realized that if he kept talking, he would definitely give himself away, so he quickly pushed Ryan into the core area and winked as he brushed past Sakura.

"From now on, just leave these little things to me. Ryan has to stay in my lab every day, it's too much trouble for him to run back and forth."

Their eyes met, then quickly looked away. The blast door behind them closed, and Sakura stood there blankly for a few seconds before slightly tightening her grip on the knife.

For some reason, she felt inexplicably angry.

Chapter 184 The Sacred Mark Project

The First Research Institute occupied most of the twenty underground floors and had the largest staff. It explored imaginary numbers on one hand and coordinated the planning of all research on the other.

This can be considered the brain of human technological civilization. In Ryan's eyes, its value is even greater than that of the entire Fire Moth, which is why he specially sent a strong person like Sakura, who specializes in 'anti-human attacks', to guard this place.

The second phase of the super-mutant factor has been injected. In this narrow space, Sakura's combat power is enough to rank among the top three. Even Ryan might accidentally capsize in the ditch.

Ryan looked around and everything was in good order. Nearly a hundred people were going in and out of the hall and various laboratories, carrying various documents in their arms. Then he saw a familiar face come to him.

"Dr. May is already waiting for you two." Serene was expressionless, her clothes were without a single wrinkle, and she looked extremely meticulous.

It turns out he's a man who's secretly passionate but actually quite reserved.

Ryan added in his mind, nodded slightly, and followed with Mebius, then listened to Serene introduce the different departments.

Planning Section, Auditing Section, Intelligence Analysis Section, General Office, Logistics Office, Tactical Research Association...

With all departments in place and each fulfilling its responsibilities, Mei had set up the framework in less than a year, essentially creating an independently operating department within the Firefly.

'Using the guise of coordination to perfect responsibilities is like a small moth drawn to a flame; if the entire organization were shrunk by a hundredfold, the research committee could be completely replaced.'

This political maneuvering is so powerful; it's like a gentle rain, subtly influencing everything.

Ryan curled the corners of his mouth and looked at Serene in front of him. This guy may be a bit of a brooding type, but he's quite knowledgeable and can explain all the departments clearly.

"Are you now Dr. Mei's assistant?"

“Just doing odd jobs and running errands. According to Dr. Mei, my personality is very suitable for these kinds of things.” He brushed a strand of hair that was hanging down behind his head and said calmly, “How should I put it? I’m very good at finding loopholes. It’s like there’s a black spot on a white sheet of paper. I feel uncomfortable if I don’t fix it.”

Got it, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Ryan licked his lips. This May is quite good at recognizing and utilizing people. Someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder like her is suitable to be an assistant. She often points out things that you haven't even noticed.

She wandered around the hall, then slipped into a dimly lit corridor. Along the way, Sene picked up trash ten times, smoothed out the wrinkles on five notices, and, thinking she was being discreet, peeked at the young researcher's stockings seven times and his chest three times.

He finally stopped in the innermost room and gestured for them to enter: "Dr. Mei is waiting for you inside."

"Tsk, so mysterious."

Mebius pursed his lips and went inside first, while Ryan lags behind by half a step, glancing at his assistant with a hint of amusement.

"I have a question."

"please say."

"Why didn't you look at Möbius even once the whole way? Is she not attractive enough?"

Serene blushed instantly, realizing that her little trick had been observed. She didn't dare to argue with Ryan and could only lower her voice.

"Because peeping at Dr. Möbius can be disastrous; one of my colleagues learned this the hard way."

Mebius doesn't allow people to watch? But I was really enjoying watching him before.

Leaving aside other things, just when he was cooking, his gaze was fixed on her buttocks, while Mebius acted as if nothing was wrong.

Right, my gaze is much more discreet than this repressed man's; it's a pure appreciation of human beauty, without any lewd thoughts.

Ryan felt a sense of liberation, and he stepped inside with his head held high and chest out.

The meeting room was small, with just an oval table in the center, and the number of attendees was incomparable to yesterday's.

"Why are there only four of us?"

“Some things are better known to as few people as possible, and they weren’t originally within the scope of Dr. Vidic’s and others’ research.” May was hidden in the shadows, only her fair chin was visible, while next to her sat Velvi, who was excitedly greeting Ryan.

"A researcher among researchers, don't you think that's cool?"

“No, but I’d like to hear what research we need to discuss.” Ryan pulled out a chair and sat down, glancing casually at the large screen.

That's a real-time 'Skynet' map, with gray, blue, and red colors dividing the Earth like a jigsaw puzzle, and countless red dots that occasionally move and disappear.

The Herald is hidden among them, but there are too many targets to identify them one by one.

Mei took out a remote control, pressed a button, and said calmly, "On the surface, we should be discussing how to find the Fifth Herrscher and how to monitor the Sixth Herrscher, but after they changed their methods of combat, it's all a waste of time."

"So, what are they doing behind the scenes? Discussing the gene fragments I discovered, huh?" Möbius returned with a coffee cup. The instant coffee at Möbius's place was two dollars more expensive than hers on average, so of course she had to drink it to her heart's content.

"This is also one of the topics."

"Wait, what gene fragment?" Ryan raised his hand to ask, only to see May throw over a stack of documents. After flipping through a few pages, he immediately perked up.

This is Mebius's in-depth research on human genes, a byproduct of the Fusion Warrior project, because she wanted to understand why the same super-mutant factor produced different results in different human bodies.

'Through in-depth exploration of DNA, it has been discovered that Honkai energy adaptability is related to gene segments?'

Because Honkai energy adaptability is hidden within a large population base, it only becomes apparent when a disaster occurs. For example, some people will die on the spot, some will become suicide soldiers, and some will survive.

In the realm of theology, this is called the chosen ones, which Möbius, of course, scoffed at. The essence of science is to find patterns, and now she had enough data to support her claim.

From overpowered characters like Kevin to those who failed fusion surgeries, Mebius can explore to his heart's content.

"Approximately 15 percent of people possess Honkai energy adaptability, meaning they are unaffected by trace amounts of Honkai energy radiation?"

“Yes, this is experimental data involving tens of millions of people. I have already adjusted the variables,” Mei replied meticulously, then glanced at Mebius: “This is a byproduct of the Fusion Warrior Project. The Fire Moths conducted extensive screening and determined that one percent of them had the potential to undergo surgery.”

Their numbers are small, but it's already remarkable that they can withstand Honkai energy radiation. Just like in normal human society, warriors are always a minority.

"So, it's my research that helped you explore the essence of Honkai?" Mebius chuckled, his eyes darting around.

"You can think so."

"Could some of the funding be compensated?"

“No, on the contrary, I’ve diverted your funds to this investigation, screening billions of people. That’s an astronomical figure. The research funding from the Fifth Research Institute is the most appropriate.”

Mebius's smile froze instantly, and he stared in disbelief, never expecting this woman to be so shameless.

"you dare--"

She raised her hand, but Ryan grabbed it tightly, causing her snake eyes to turn red.

"You wouldn't be with her too..., would you?"

"No, I just wanted to remind you that if you break the table, the repair costs will be charged to you," Ryan calmly reminded you.

Mebius froze, but the hand still struck down, albeit very lightly, which greatly diminished his imposing presence.

"You're going too far!"

"It's not my problem. It's just that the funding allocated from above has decreased, and we also need to increase investment in exploring the Quanta Sea. Anyway, you and Velvey have other funding..."

Mei finished speaking, then glanced at Ryan teasingly. Ryan didn't flinch; he just smiled at her and silently mouthed something.

The meaning of these lip movements is simple: Kevin.

"Ahem, I'll consider it, but at least it won't go down from where it is now."

Mei gripped the pen tightly and silently made another note for Ryan; the man's meaning was simple.

If you mess with me, I'll mess with Kevin. We'll see who ends up getting the short end of the stick.

'She's definitely a smart person. Now we need to be wary of her revenge.' Ryan nodded in satisfaction. After being classmates for so many years, he knew this cunning woman all too well.

"So what's the point of implementing this plan?"

After the brief interlude, they immediately returned to the main topic, and Mei held her face, revealing obvious hesitation.

"I'm thinking that even in the worst-case scenario, some people might survive and become the lucky ones under global radiation, and then, based on genetics, perpetuate this trait."

What is your core argument?

“Let me answer that,” Möbius said, a smug smile on his face. “This special gene can be activated under high Honkai energy conditions, and may even resonate with imaginary energy, producing some strange changes.”

Mei tapped the table lightly, her expression serious, even somewhat cold.

"So Dr. Mebius and I decided to delve deeper into the research, to leave a way out for a terrible future, and to find a way to get the remaining 75 percent of humanity to join in."

"Of course, it's just a prototype right now. We need to conduct in-depth research based on the current situation and figure out how to integrate it with the Honkai. That way, there will be no need to confront the Herrscher head-on."

If you can't beat them, join them? Wait, does that sound familiar?

Ryan moved his head back and forth between Mebius and May, who were hidden in the shadows, appearing and disappearing intermittently. But he was sure that the two of them had definitely had a heated debate and were hiding some important information.

The Stigmata Project, it must be the Stigmata Project.

Ryan remained silent. He knew this was not only a scientific question, but also a cruel philosophical one, because the Stigmata Project would ultimately redefine 'humanity'.

'Has it appeared ahead of schedule as a byproduct of the Fusion Warrior Project?'