I am a hero of the former civilization.

Mebius frowned instantly at her smug look, but she couldn't refute it. She was alright in the field of biology, but Ryan was far superior to her in other areas. Of course, she could never admit it out loud.

So she didn't dare to be sarcastic or mean, and just kept eating her food in silence.

With Eden's singing in the background and Alicia occasionally joining in, Ryan focused intently on his meal, thoroughly enjoying the satisfied expressions on everyone's faces.

As a chef, this is the highest praise; beyond fighting and research, he has left more color in this world.

“Ryan, you seem to be in a good mood.” Alicia nudged him with her elbow.

"I just think it's nice to have a lively atmosphere." Ryan looked up, saw that Alicia's plate was empty, and scooped over the untouched omelet rice, saying with some emotion:

"At times like these, people always forget their terrible worries. I can't protect everyone, but as long as you're here, I'm not alone."

"Hmph, looks like I've succeeded. Looks like I'll have to bother you more often from now on." Alicia clapped her hands, it was unclear whether the first or second part of her statement was her true intention.

“Bring your own ingredients, I’ll take care of the cooking. Anyway, with what Wilvi did, I have a pretty complete set of cooking equipment here.” Ryan readily agreed, picked up his teacup and took a sip. “Ellie, how many plans do you still have up your sleeve?”

Alicia perked up immediately, counting on her fingers: "I want to go to the amusement park, the New Year's ball, a hot spring trip, a summer beach..."

She kept rambling on and on, leaving Ryan speechless with frustration. None of her plans involved combat; anyone who didn't know better would think she was in some kind of slice-of-life world.

Heartless? Ignorant of suffering?

No, it's precisely because the world is becoming increasingly broken that she wants to grasp the last bit of beauty, and what I'm doing is trying to preserve these beautiful things for a few more days.

"As expected of you, in a sense, you possess a strength that is hard for ordinary people to imagine. I have never even seen you sad."

"No, I sometimes cry secretly." Alicia made a face as if she was wiping her eyes.

"Come on, I don't want to see you like that, and I can't imagine a sad expression on your face."

"What if there's something I have no choice but to do?"

Ryan put down his teacup and stared at her intently: "Then I'll help you resolve this matter."

Her purple eyes widened slightly, and a hint of distress seemed to be hidden in her clear eyes, which slowly dissipated in her gaze. Distress should not be in Alicia's heart, so when Ryan saw it, his eyebrows furrowed.

Is it because the end is approaching, and she is gradually remembering something? With Alicia's intelligence, she can imagine the terrible consequences even from just a few words. If I hadn't been paying close attention, I wouldn't have known.

Ryan felt as if his heart had been squeezed, and his breathing became rapid. He suddenly remembered a problem he knew about but had always been unwilling to address.

This most beautiful, most passionate, never-desperate, and always loving girl is also a Herrscher!

"Cough cough, I really want to take a picture of you looking like a lecherous devil."

"Ryan, why are you staring at me like that again, especially in front of Mebius and the others? When did you become so bold?"

The two voices, one angry and one happy, made Ryan look away. He then glanced at the pink-haired girl's pure smile, which was not forced at all, as if the problem did not exist.

Faced with that smile, even the sorrow in his heart vanished.

No matter how hopeless the future may seem, she can always find beauty. That is Alicia, and it can only be Alicia.

Chapter 191 A Place of Outstanding People and Abundant Resources: Twilight Street

The meal lasted until 8 p.m., and in the end, Ryan didn't ask anything, because Alicia didn't need anyone's sympathy or comfort.

She simply wanted to enjoy the moment, to be true to herself, her eyes glued to the television, which was showing an interview with Eden, while she held her teacup and sipped her tea.

Even Ryan would have to give a thumbs up to this composure. If he were the one who had the chance to become one of those monsters, he would probably have racked his brains to save himself long ago.

Alicia is incredibly calm, why should I be in such a hurry? Although her fate is almost unsolvable, isn't my destiny specifically designed to solve the impossible?

Ryan also picked up his teacup and took a sip to calm himself down, then glanced around.

Sakura and Wilvi went to wash the dishes. The two of them, wearing aprons, chatted and laughed. Wilvi thought washing by hand was too troublesome and decided to develop a portable dishwasher when she got back.

Mebius lay sprawled on the sofa, covering his face with his hand, his chest rising and falling gently, and he actually fell asleep.

"According to Klein, she hasn't slept for five or six days. She's been frantically cultivating immortality in the body of a fusion warrior, right? And her sleeping posture is really terrible."

Even in her sleep, Mebius was restless, sometimes rolling inwards, sometimes rolling outwards. Her long, black-stockinged legs would occasionally part, revealing the dark abyss beneath her skirt, a depth that could swallow even the most discerning gaze.

However, she was wearing a beige coat over her legs at that moment. Sakura had noticed that Ryan was too focused on exploring the light and darkness, so she came over and quietly covered him up.

Ryan turned his head and looked into the kitchen, where two equally beautiful girls were washing dishes.

Wearing long boots, Vivi was slacking off on the table with her butt sticking out, while Sakura wore asymmetrical over-the-knee socks and her pink hair tied in a ponytail swayed back and forth.

Alicia took off her shoes, hugged her knees, revealing her fair and translucent toes. Even on the television screen, the elegant girl with long, wine-red hair was captivating.

It seems impolite to look at anything.

Ryan sighed, lowered his head and drank his tea. At this moment, Sakura and Wilvi also came out after washing the dishes. Sakura cut a few pieces of apple and put them on the table. Alicia, as if she had radar, was still staring at the TV screen while her hand was already stuffed into her mouth.

Velvi tiptoed over to Mebius, glanced at her curiously, and slowly reached out to poke her face.

"If you don't want to go to the operating table, don't mess with her."

"Is it so scary?"

Ryan put on a serious face: "Klein once woke up Möbius and he fainted on the spot. When he woke up, he was already lying on the operating table. According to her, Möbius has a habit of sleepwalking."

Sleepwalking is understandable, but performing surgery while sleepwalking is a scam, isn't it?

Sakura and Wilvi exchanged a glance, then decisively left the sofa and sat on the floor.

After dinner, the modular round table shrank by almost half, becoming a small coffee table. The four people knelt around it, eating apples and chatting.

“Miss Eden is so elegant. I’ve seen that jewel on her chest before; it’s worth about twenty million euros,” Sakura said casually.

"Where have you seen it?"

"The home of one of the targets of the poisonous pupa is that of one of the wealthiest businessmen in Australia. Wilwick, why do I feel there's something dangerous in your eyes?"

"Ahem, I'm a chivalrous thief, I would never lay a hand on a good person like Miss Eden." Wilvi took a sip of tea, concealing her desires; in truth, she was different from Möbius.

Mebius was poor and greedy, while Velvi thought it would be good to have money to get better equipment, but if they were too poor, they could go back to being a junk collector, which highlighted her easygoing nature.

"Aren't you a magician? When did you switch careers to become a Robin Hood?"

"Hmph, even a chivalrous thief is a magic trick. I've done it before on Twilight Street." Velvi puffed out her chest, looking smug.

"Stop arguing. By the way, I have something to ask you." Ryan sat up straighter, seamlessly switching into work mode. "Tell me the information about Twilight Street, and remember to be as detailed as possible."

“Let me think about it.” Wilvi put her hand to her lips, tilted her head and thought for a while: “That place has been poor since a long time ago, and then it was very chaotic. People always got sick for no reason. In the end, the government and the police left, so some people who couldn’t stay outside squeezed in.”

It sounds like an abandoned area from peacetime.

Ryan had a general idea of ​​what was going on. He subconsciously reached for the apple, only to find it empty. He glanced at Alicia, who was engrossed in watching TV but with her cheeks puffed out, and silently put his hand back on his lap.

"It must be due to long-term exposure to high concentrations of Honkai energy that a freak like you, uh, a genius, could grow."

"Right, right? I told you Twilight Street was a great place. Everyone there is talented and speaks so nicely."

"I told you long ago that Twilight Street is a place of outstanding people and resources." Ryan chuckled dryly, then turned slightly to look at the girl peeling an apple: "Sakura, have you found anything about what I asked you to investigate?"

“Dr. Mei hasn’t found many clues. There are very few descriptions of Twilight Street in the Fire Moth’s database. There’s only a C-level surveillance commission from the intelligence department, but Dr. Mei is still digging deeper.” Sakura answered calmly, cutting the apple into three pieces and handing it directly to Ryan.

“This is not normal. I guess Twilight Street was the earliest human experimentation site, but the anomaly was formed naturally. Before the Herrscher appeared, ordinary people did not know what kind of strange disease it was, but the Fire-Chasing Moth, or its predecessor, must have known.”

Knowing the truth but ignoring it is like raising a treacherous insect, and then for some reason, failing to investigate further.

Ryan had a rough idea: Twilight Street was now in the abandoned area, making it even more difficult to access, and he had always found it strange.

Why would the Fire Chaser Council send Sakura, who has become a Fusion Warrior, and equip her with annihilation-class weapons in the original timeline? This is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Even if Sakura is not yet fully evolved, she is enough to wipe out an entire city.

The room quieted down, and everyone tacitly refrained from disturbing Ryan's thoughts, with only the sound of the interview on the television breaking the silence.

'There is danger, but the main danger lies with that sanatorium, or more precisely, with Thousand Calamities and Aponia.'

'But now that the Herrschers are of the "Greedy" type, they might also be involved. If they're not stupid, they'll keep infiltrating the Flame-Chasing Moths to find out my whereabouts. It's best to stay hidden in the shadows, like in the Norse kingdom.'

Ryan touched his forehead. He had always been both cooperative and wary, either going and returning quickly or going in circles.

"I'll be going to Twilight Street soon."

"What's so great about that place? No, do you want me to be your guide?" Wilvi perked up immediately; this was a perfect opportunity for a 'glorious return home'.

“I’m going there on business, not for a vacation. What’s all the excitement about?” Ryan gently tapped her head, glanced at the group in front of him, and quickly came up with a plan. “There’s an important target on Twilight Street. I have to go there myself, but before that, I need to take a detour and shake off the Firemoths’ surveillance.”

"Are you afraid they'll resort to underhanded tactics?" Sakura immediately understood; some people would even dare to touch Dr. Mei for their own benefit.

"We always have to be on guard. The Herrschers are getting smarter and smarter. Who knows what surprises they might give me? The people above probably don't know that I can move over long distances."

What if we knew?

“Then we can’t let them live.” Ryan’s face was expressionless, but there was a chilling coldness that went deep into his bones.

Few people know his background, and Mebius certainly wouldn't betray him. On the enemy's side, only the Herrscher of Ice knows that he possesses the power of wind.

If it can bite, then it proves that the fish has taken the bait and must be killed beforehand.

No one present was stupid; they knew that Ryan was going to use himself as bait to test the Firemoth's reaction.

"That distance needs to be far enough so that if you go missing, they can search the surrounding area..."

"That proves they're still clean. Mei's subtle research won't escape the intelligence department's notice, but if they can quickly pinpoint Twilight Street on the other side of the world, it proves they have another intelligence source."

"A direct connection with a Herrscher?" Sakura's pupils contracted slightly. Having fought alongside Ryan several times, she had long forgotten the 'impossible'.

"Yes, that crossed the line and was enough to make Mei make up her mind."

Ryan revealed the smile of a seasoned fisherman. In fact, he also hoped for a smooth transition, minimizing losses, and ideally eliminating the mole within the organization while preserving its structure.

"A fishing operation?" Alicia suddenly interjected, only then realizing that the interview had already finished airing.

"Yes, the first step is to cover my tracks and choose a place far away from Dusk Street so that the higher-ups can pinpoint my location first."

"How about we take a trip? Like to Hawaii, that's far enough from Dusk Street, isn't it?"

Do you want to play, or are you trying to help me figure something out?

When Ryan saw Alicia's eyes light up, he felt a headache coming on and quickly said, "I have my own plans. You guys come over for meals these few days to lull them into a false sense of security. Then I'll take a vacation as a matter of course."

"Yes, no, I will definitely follow your orders!" Alicia knelt on the ground and gave a strange military salute.

“But you buy the materials; I’m only responsible for the processing,” Ryan emphasized.

"Okay, so dear Möbius can't buy cheap rice anymore?"

Hahaha.

A group of people burst into laughter, causing Mebius, who was on the sofa, to frown slightly, wriggle a few times like a snake, and then turn over to lie down and sleep.

“It’s getting late, let’s go back first. Ellie, you need to practice hard tonight so you can help tomorrow.” Ellie said, then hugged Sakura tightly. “So Sakura, keep an eye on me. I’ll sleep at your place tonight.”