I am a hero of the former civilization.

"What if it really is him?"

The gentleman leaned back slightly, his eyes filled with a smile.

"We will continue to wait, until the day when humanity's potential is exhausted and power ebbs and flows, and you must know—"

"Our limits far surpass those of humanity!"

......

"Fortunately, we weren't exposed, and Qianjie even diverted some attention."

On Dusk Street, Ryan lay on his back on the roof, his hands behind his head, looking at the bright moon.

There were no clouds tonight, and no industry on Dusk Street, so he could comfortably gaze at the starry sky, though his mind never stopped working.

The night was like a chessboard, the stars like chess pieces, and Ryan's thoughts seemed to have traveled to the outer atmosphere, standing on the moon and looking down at this blue star.

Having done so much, the power of the Flame Chaser is definitely stronger than that of the Honkai. It can be said that the two sides are clearly going to have a decisive battle. Those two or three Herrschers will be ganged up on and turned into dust. Even Mei thinks the situation is good.

Unfortunately, there are two major drawbacks to this.

The first issue lies with humanity itself; even in the face of the apocalypse, they will not truly unite. This can be seen by simply looking at the original timeline.

Even though there are only thirteen fusion warriors left, and only tens of thousands of humans left, some people are still relentlessly sabotaging the effort, forcing Alicia to secretly organize the Thirteen Heroes.

The second is the ebb and flow of power. The Fusion Warriors are essentially squeezing the potential of humanity, but population and resources are not infinite and will eventually reach their peak.

Even the Honkai has its limits, namely the Herrscher of the End. But these limits are too high. Even if Mei tries her best, she can only entrust her hopes to future generations.

"My efforts have only reduced internal friction and raised the limits of humanity a little higher, but we are still far from the end."

Ryan sighed, turned his head and looked through the hole into the room where Padofelis was fast asleep. A dandruff dangled from the corner of her mouth, and she was occasionally talking in her sleep.

He chuckled unconsciously, then slowly clenched his fist.

That's not enough, far from enough. What I need to do is not just add icing on the cake. Even without me, the tragedy would only be more intense, and the end would still be resolved 50,000 years later.

Therefore, these two points must be resolved in order to find even a sliver of hope; otherwise, it would be better to stay in the underground fortress of New York and spend every day laughing and joking with Mebius and the others.

He's already working on the first point, and being ruthless isn't a big problem; the second point is more troublesome, as crossing the end isn't something you can just boast about.

"The only variable is me. Only I can get close to the end. Even if you raise Kevin, you can't do it."

Ryan was very clear-headed, which was why he was most afraid that the Herrscher would put on a truce, making it impossible to raise the limit. After all, this wasn't simply about killing to level up; each type of authority required a lot of time to master.

"We must force out the Heralds, even just one, and we must open up new paths, drawing power from various dimensions."

Thinking of this, he suddenly sat up, took out his phone, and didn't want to wait even a moment longer.

After a brief busy signal, a clear, cold female voice rang out: "They're keeping a close eye on you. You shouldn't have called."

“You always find a way to bypass surveillance. I just want to know how headquarters reacts to a surprise.”

In the lab, Mei waved her hand, signaling her assistant to take over her observations, then adjusted her glasses and answered with a jumble of incoherent words.

The subject, verb, and object were all scrambled, making it sound like some new language, which even Ryan struggled to decipher.

"Two squads of the Sword of Punishment have already gone to Southern Europe, and a secret team from the intelligence department has also set off. It is estimated that they will arrive at Twilight Street."

"Hmm, that's a raise. Anything else?"

"Sakura reported that surveillance has been intensified, and that 'Black Dog' has surfaced. Do you know how he surfaced?" Mei didn't like to keep people in suspense, so she answered her own question: "He sent assassins, but Sakura has already taken care of them. From the survivors, we learned the whereabouts of Black Dog."

Ryan was silent for a moment, then said dismissively, "This is too deliberate."

"Yes, it sounds like a desperate person's counterattack, but it's definitely deliberate to show it now. I think they're observing your subsequent reactions."

May didn't need to explain her reaction; despite various attempts to induce and conceal, she couldn't fool May and Ryan.

“Such a desperate measure, even somewhat hasty.” Ryan waved his hand, and the spreading shadow grabbed a thin person and pulled him in front of him, staring at the bulging eyes as the neck was squeezed.

"It seems they really want to figure out where I am."

Chapter 232 The Actors Are in Position!

"Yes, I was wondering why we suddenly had a lead. Okay, I understand what to do."

In the dimly lit basement, Sakura hung up the phone, closed her eyes and pondered for a few seconds before slowly opening them.

According to Ryan, the operation is more than 70% complete, and he and Dr. May are basically certain that some members of the Fire Moth have made direct contact with the Herrscher.

Since the current covert operation is already completely concealed, and 'Ryan' is on the peninsula, there is no need to force a probe; doing so would only expose the traces.

Sakura only needs to maintain her identity and do her 'utmost' to uncover the truth.

“But the ‘black dog’ that I couldn’t find suddenly retaliated, and I said that was strange.”

The girl was silent for a few seconds, feeling that her intuition was good and that her intelligence still had room for improvement. After Ryan analyzed the strange question, she suddenly understood.

The reason for turning the tables is simple: they know Ryan has the ability to travel from the peninsula to Twilight Street on the other side of the world in a short time. This creates a paradox:

Why would they know?

"How can we defeat the Honkai while surrounded by these insects?" Sakura slowly clenched her fist, her killing intent needing no concealment.

This was betrayal, a direct threat to Ling's life, so she accepted the order without hesitation.

She needed to retaliate like Ryan, but she couldn't reveal her identity, especially the latter. Sakura always felt that the man was plotting something again.

Was it because they weren't prepared for a falling out? Or...?

As a knife, she didn't think much, but simply opened the door to the room and quietly looked at the rather elegant middle-aged woman.

This is also a loophole. According to Ryan, they could silence her, but Sakura doesn't want to go that far.

"Has the matter been investigated and clarified?"

“My people saw ‘Black Dog’ at the Seaside Hotel with their own eyes.”

"Is that correct?"

“I used to work with this guy, so he should be fine.” The woman nodded, went into the room, and took out a map, spreading it on the table. “But it’s very difficult. There are many guards there, as well as fusion warriors of the Firemoth. Are you really going to do it?”

Sakura didn't say anything, but looked at the map over and over again, memorizing every detail. Ryan had already predicted this, but since she was going to play him, she had to learn it to the end.

Regardless of their identities, she would simply eliminate them all; how to resolve the situation afterward was not her concern.

Sakura even ignored the risks this would pose to her younger sister; she had only one thought in her mind:

Since it was his request, I will do my best.

"Burn all of this, then hide and don't let the Fire Moths find you." Sakura glanced at the woman whose body was trembling slightly, said these words, and turned to leave.

The woman gripped the table with both hands, an expression of disbelief in her eyes. She wasn't stupid; although she didn't know what these two were up to, she knew it was something secretive, and her presence was a loophole.

Why don't you kill me?

The woman pursed her lips, not asking the question aloud, but lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you."

The soft footsteps paused for a moment, then resumed. Sakura, carrying a long black sword, silently walked through the corridor, stepped onto the decaying steps, and lifted the wooden planks.

This was a stronghold of the resistance, well hidden enough. She didn't say a word as she walked through the alley and soon arrived on the main street. After looking around, she crossed the road and headed straight for the shop across the street.

jingle.

Pushing open the door, at first glance it looked like a lottery ticket shop. About four or five people, including the owner, turned to look, their faces showing surprise.

Sakura didn't speak, glancing at the camera in the corner. Unlike Ryan, who could destroy entire areas with electromagnetic force, she went directly to the counter and spoke in Ryan's voice:

"You've been following me for quite a few days now. Just give me your orders. Is someone at headquarters looking to see me?"

The middle-aged man who looked like the boss twitched slightly at the corner of his eye, put down the phone, and realized that it was indeed the case, but he wouldn't admit it until the order was given.

So he forced a smile and said, "Sir, I don't understand what you're saying. Do you want to buy the latest lottery ticket?"

Just as Ryan predicted, as long as I arrived quickly enough, they wouldn't admit my identity. So I raised my scabbard and slammed it hard on the counter.

boom--

The glass cabinet shattered instantly, and guns and ammunition fell out, instantly creating a tense atmosphere in the room.

Sakura glanced at the dazed people and gently gripped the hilt of her knife: "So, with your possession of firearms, I have reason to suspect you are a resistance fighter."

Huh? How did we become a rebel army?

The boss shuddered, suddenly snapping back to reality, and quickly stammered, "Wait, we are...!"

puff.

The sharp blade pierced through her chin and exited through her head, splashing red and white liquid all over the wall. The girl's indifferent eyes, combined with Ryan's face, were remarkably similar, perhaps even eight or nine out of ten.

She glanced back at the men who had drawn their guns, her tone as cold as ice.

"It's no use talking more."

With flashes of light, Sakura was no slower than Ryan in terms of speed alone. In the blink of an eye, the lottery shop had been transformed into a slaughterhouse, and no one could even fire a single shot.

Blood dripped from the blade. Sakura glanced around and saw that all the surveillance cameras were destroyed, and the pedestrians on the street outside had not noticed anything.

Smelling the strong stench of blood, she pressed her face against it. The light distorted, but her figure remained the same; she had simply changed into a black night-clothes outfit, practically making the word 'assassin' written all over her forehead.

He then took out his phone and said softly, "The first step is complete. They've confirmed that it was you who made the move, but I can't guarantee the second step. If there's a high-level fusion warrior, they might expose the disguise."

"Let's do our best. Being seen as a traitor is troublesome, but our own safety is our top priority. This operation will be very difficult."

The goal is to take the head of the black dog amidst heavy guards and extract information, while simultaneously concealing one's own identity, just as the Japanese had done before.

You know I did it, but you can't find any evidence.

But the moth that chases the flame isn't stupid; having learned its lesson once, it will surely be more cautious.

"It's okay." Sakura walked through the store and slipped into the alley through the back door.

“If it were a simple matter, you wouldn’t need me to do it.”

Sakura is so reliable, she's definitely the most reliable teammate I have.

Ryan hung up the phone, a smile spreading across his face. This girl was meticulous in her work, and entrusting troublesome matters to her was definitely the right thing to do. He was not only touched but also full of confidence.

There won't be any problem. She'll definitely be able to play my role well. So now that I'm confirmed to still be on the peninsula, what are your plans?

Ryan snorted. From this anomaly, he was basically certain that some people in the Firemoth were in contact with the Herrscher and must have provided intelligence.

“You can play it safe when facing me, but now there’s bait in front of you, and I don’t believe you can resist.”

Adam was the bait. When Ryan impersonated him, he had already planned his next move. It was no fun to lure out a few human traitors; he wanted to lure out a Herrscher.