I am a hero of the former civilization.

Ryan was speechless. This Mebius was sharp-tongued and he couldn't argue with her. As a reasonable person, he wouldn't be unreasonable.

"You just want more funding, so I'll let you in on a heads-up: Mei will be in charge of this from now on. Start by building a good relationship with her."

"Hmph, that little girl has climbed over my head. Fine, I admit she's got some skills." Möbius wasn't jealous. She had read the internal documents and knew that the First Research Institute had made another breakthrough under Möbius's leadership. But then she rolled her eyes.

"Why should I try to get on her good side? I have you here."

So you want to exploit me even for this?

Ryan increasingly felt that Mebius should be fired; he actually wanted to use me as a crook of kin.

"You haven't clarified what happened before, so why should I help you?"

“You mean that matter…” Mebius played with a strand of hair by his ear, a strange smile on his face. “I didn’t lie, why should I clarify? Your genes are in my body right now. Genetically speaking, we’re practically father and daughter.”

This sounds even stranger, but it seems to make some sense.

Ryan knew that the special factor was extracted from his own blood, fused with Honkai Beast genes, and then injected into Mebius's body to change her cells and genes.

From a genetic point of view, Mebius already has his genetic fragments.

No, this is getting weirder and weirder. If I keep thinking about it, am I about to hear the call of my bloodline?

"You may be shameless, but I am. Don't talk nonsense."

"Who's talking nonsense? This is pure biology. Your thinking is too low. I've been thinking about a topic lately: if you and I really have a child, will the original gene fragments be purified?"

Ryan's eyes twitched violently, and he lowered his voice: "Are you serious?"

“Really? I’ve already prepared the test tubes.” Möbius leaned closer, rubbing his hands together like a fly. “It all depends on whether you can make a small contribution to science.”

Ryan took a deep breath, looked at Mebius's fair profile and the dangling gold earring, and decisively raised his middle finger.

......

The plane landed at the New York Air Force Base, where a convoy of black luxury cars was already waiting by the runway. A girl with long blue-gray hair stood beside the car, as straight as a pine tree.

Hua stood with her hands behind her back, her fingertips trembling slightly with unease. She didn't even care about the conversation between the elegant man next to her, only occasionally responding with a few "uh-huhs," even though he was her senior brother's older brother.

“They’re here.” Wayne pressed his hand to his top hat, a smile playing on his lips. “Hua, you’re lucky, otherwise you wouldn’t have made it to the Fifth Research Institute.”

"Yes, thank you for taking care of me." The girl still kept a straight face, her emerald eyes following the movement of the gliding plane, even though she knew that the person next to her was an important figure.

Her eyes were strange; they were filled with exhaustion and pain on the surface, yet deep within them burned hope, as if the object was a moving torch, attracting the gaze of moths.

The silver-white plane finally came to a stop, the cabin door opened, and Hua eagerly went to greet it, but stopped after taking only a few steps.

Ryan was the first to come out, looking quite impatient. A woman with long green hair was clinging to him; Hua recognized her.

Dr. Möbius, director of the Fifth Institute, and rumored girlfriend of her senior.

Hua had always scoffed at these rumors. She knew Ryan was intelligent but focused on saving the world and couldn't possibly have a girlfriend. But now she saw that when his pupils contracted, his brain crashed due to overload.

"Get out of here, I don't want the Moths to laugh at me." Ryan was impatiently pulling Mebius off, this woman kept pestering him to dedicate herself to science.

Are you kidding me? You haven't even offered yourself, yet you expect me to? No, why should I be your guinea pig?

Ryan, of course, would not agree. He was the one who used others as guinea pigs, not himself. He thought to himself that Mebius had been going too far lately and he had to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

Just as he pulled the snake away, he felt a familiar gaze. He looked over instinctively, and his lips twitched on the spot.

Hua? What's she doing in York?

In an instant, several thoughts flashed through his mind. When he saw Wayne in the distance, his eyebrows furrowed and he quickly walked down the gangway.

"How did you come?"

"As a representative of the new recruits, I've come to participate in the medal-receiving ceremony and am here at the airport to greet you." Hua Zhan stood upright, his face naturally serious without any effort to appear composed.

Subordinate?

Ryan was taken aback. He wasn't stupid; he could tell Hua was angry. This kid wasn't good with words, and this was how he always looked when he was angry. He was used to it.

So his clever brain started working again, and he turned to look behind him.

Alright, it's you again, Möbius.

Ryan was exasperated. Did Mebius have a grudge against him? He was so quick to cause trouble.

But he didn't explain. First, with so many people watching, it wasn't a good time to speak. Second, he knew Hua too well; that girl was very stubborn and couldn't be fooled with just a few words.

"I'll tell you later." Ryan gently patted Hua's shoulder, removed the leaf from her hair, and walked towards the convoy.

The girl's stern face softened instantly, and she subconsciously raised her head slightly to look at Möbius on the gangway.

The two had actually met when Ryan was seriously injured and unconscious, but now that they met again, their gazes were somewhat different.

Mebius squinted, a forced smile on his face, his eyes scrutinizing as he replayed Ryan's actions over and over again.

Very gentle, and very natural.

She wasn't jealous, just instinctively a little annoyed.

Hua remained expressionless, his eyes filled with stubbornness, as he scrutinized the other person.

No one spoke, yet the early autumn air grew cold, and Klein, carrying his large and small suitcases, shrank back.

Humph.

After an unknown amount of time, the two of them turned their heads away at the same time.

Ryan had already sensed that something was wrong behind him, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he walked to the front of the convoy and looked at Wayne, who had a knowing smile on his face.

"why are you laughing?"

"No, I just feel that you've changed over the years. With your past indifference, you shouldn't have gotten into this kind of trouble." The man elegantly removed his top hat, concealing the surprise and joy in his eyes.

This joy was certainly not directed at Ryan's feelings, because cold and ruthless people are the hardest to control, and the family has worried a lot about him over the years.

From young ladies of noble families to aristocratic heiresses, if Ryan were to be indiscriminate in his pursuit of women, he could have a different maid every day, and none of them would be the same.

Ryan knew all this too. How should I put it? Just like those superheroes in movies, if you can't mess with them, you can mess with the people around you. Human emotions are the biggest weakness.

But he didn't regret it; Ryan wanted to be a human being, not a heartless ghost.

"So you specifically brought Hua here?"

"This has nothing to do with me. The medal ceremony was proposed by the Operations Department, and your junior sister has performed exceptionally well in the past two months. She and Kevin are both representatives. You know that propaganda is also very important."

Knowing full well that it's not that simple, yet unable to find fault with it, one can only say that those who become members of parliament are not fools.

Ryan waved for the bodyguards to leave, opened the car door himself, got into the back seat, and looked up at his brother.

"Then let's hurry up and do the task settlement."

Chapter Ninety-Four: A Dead Wooden Stake!

The turmoil in Mu Continent stemmed from a hint, also at the airport, where a hasty meeting decided the fate of several Fire Chasing Councilors and several multinational corporations.

Ryan perfectly fulfilled the implied meaning and didn't care about the nonsense in the council; all he wanted was the 'reward'.

The extended sedan is very luxurious, with soundproof glass separating the driver's cabin and the rear seats being like a small living room.

The leather seats are soft, with family patterns embroidered on the backrests. Cigars and wines are laid out on a small coffee table, and soothing music plays on the LCD screen. The shock absorption is excellent, making it almost impossible to feel the bumps of the car.

It was much more comfortable than that beat-up pickup truck, but Ryan was in a bad mood. If he had a choice, he would rather squeeze into the pickup truck with Mebius.

“A premium Havala cigar, a 30-year-old whiskey, take your pick.” Wayne pointed to the coffee table, then, seeing Ryan’s expressionless face, gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I forgot, you don’t smoke or drink. You clearly possess that power, yet you live like an ascetic.”

“I’m just not interested in enjoyment, I’m not as noble as you think.” Ryan shook his head slightly. To put it bluntly, the pressure of the collapse left him no time to become corrupt.

He preferred listening to the sound of spatulas in his rented room in China, or eating junk food in the food streets that even big shots wouldn't bother to look at.

"So I find it strange that your background and behavior are completely inconsistent. What is the purpose of your life?"

"Difficult to understand?"

"No, I'm just a little curious."

Ryan gave a slight, disdainful smile and said calmly, "If someone born in the slums suddenly sat in this car and listened to you ask about the meaning of life, do you think he would become the vessel for a Herrscher?"

These words were somewhat cutting, causing the man's elegant smile to freeze, and he awkwardly put down his cigar.

He couldn't answer. Even the psychological warfare department of the Firefly Moth had given a pessimistic answer: humanity will never lack contradictions and darkness, which are the breeding ground for Herrschers.

Noble or lowly, rich or poor, healthy or sick, just like those sects that regard the Lawgivers as apostles sent by God, wishing that they would cleanse the world.

People are not equal in birth, only in death.

"I never expected you to say something like that; it's certainly not befitting your background."

“Perhaps I’ve seen too much, Wayne. Lower your head, and you’ll see many things you can’t understand.” Ryan smiled faintly. He didn’t go into details, but just mentioned the desert town he had just visited.

Living is hell; if a Herrscher were to instantly erase them, they might only receive gratitude for their liberation.

"I was going to give you some advice, but you ended up lecturing me instead." Wayne finally lit a cigar, his eyes sharp amidst the swirling white smoke. "Your thinking is really dangerous."

Are you afraid I'll become a Herrscher and turn around and kill you?

"You're overthinking it. I'm long past my teenage years and know the world isn't black and white. Of course, I can't be as optimistic as Alicia, but I'm also a human being, and that premise has never changed," Ryan replied seriously. He knew he had to say this sooner or later, and it would probably be on the chief of staff's desk in about two hours.

“Ryan, you’ve always been a wise man, so I trust you.” The man stubbed out his cigar, which cost several hundred euros, and sat up slightly. “Then let’s get down to business. Parliament has been reshuffled, and the six vacant seats are being discussed in terms of who gets them.”

“Yes, this is a hot commodity, enough to fight for more power for the Firemoth.” Ryan nodded, which was also the reason he helped, to let the Firemoth get a bigger slice of the pie.

Although the Fire Moth is terrible, nothing else in the world can replace it, because the rest of the organizations are even worse.

“This is something the Commander-in-Chief is concerned about. More money, supplies, and troops are certain, and we will have more and more trump cards to deal with the Honkai.” Wayne paused, then said, “The research committee’s proposal has also been approved. The five research institutes of the Fire Moth will conduct research under Dr. Mei’s coordination. To be honest, many people are not convinced, and it is a great challenge for her.”

"Don't worry, she can handle it." Ryan was full of confidence; May's methods had already been proven in the original history.

Alicia is the spiritual leader, while the last leader of humanity is May.

Wayne glanced at her, his confidence seemingly spurred on by the fact that the girl, barely in her early twenties, was the director of five research institutes, overseeing and managing hundreds of billions of dollars. Even he found it somewhat surreal.

But the situation is dire, and now is not the time to consider seniority. Let her do it for now, and if it really doesn't work out, we'll replace her.

The research committee has no real power and is not important.

"Finally, as you requested, I have already added Velvet and Forget-Me-Not to the Firemoth. To be honest, they are both talented individuals."

"The people I recommend can't be wrong."

“I wish I were wrong.” Wayne leaned forward and said, enunciating each word clearly, “It really seems like you’re trying to save the world.”

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