Honkai Impact 3: Saving the former civilization by rubbing the black technology

Things with Aponya must be handled step by step. Telling her too much now might backfire.

But it's not all bad news - at least when facing the next Herrscher, with the power of Aponia, things will be much simpler.

Chapter 16 Calm down, we are a legal organization

Aponya didn't know what the source of Ai Yue's solemn expression was.

But she knew that Ai Yue never spoke without a purpose, and rarely showed this kind of expression. Even when he saw so many patients with Honkai disease in urgent need of treatment in the sanatorium, he remained calm and could even comfort himself.

So, did she really do something wrong?

Aponia lowered her head and looked at herself through the water in the cup.

She recalled that several years ago, she saw a person suffering from Honkai disease huddled in pain on the side of the road.

At that time, because I couldn't bear to see these patients die in pain, I used the church as a sanatorium and admitted a large number of patients.

Although they said they were admitting patients for treatment, in reality, they could only provide them with a shelter from the wind and rain and a way to barely feed themselves. As for curing their illnesses or alleviating their pain, Aponya could do none of that.

She could only kneel before the statue, pray devoutly over and over again, placing her hopes on the illusory god.

However, it was not until Ai Yue appeared in front of her that she realized how big a mistake she had made.

The concentration of Honkai disease patients gathered together will cause the local Honkai energy concentration to continue to deepen, which will not only aggravate their symptoms, but may even spread outward.

If the concentration of Honkai energy reaches a certain value, the entire sanatorium will turn into a huge source of infection, spreading this "disease" to the entire Dusk Street. At that time, except for a few people who are resistant to Honkai energy, everyone else will die.

So, by choosing to undergo the Fusion Warrior surgery, was I somehow doing something wrong, just like choosing to concentrate my treatment on patients?

Ah, ah ah... now that things have come to this, the only thing left is—

Ai Yue was still recalling what infuriating things Aponya had done after mastering this power, when he saw the nun suddenly struggle to stand up, then kneel down on the bed facing him.

...No way, again?

Aponia stared into Ai Yue's eyes, then bent down, clasped her hands in front of her chest, pressed her forehead against the bed, and made a look of kneeling devoutly.

"I beg your pardon—"

“Aponia, although I have said this many times,” Ai Yue sighed, “I am really not your God, nor am I sent by your God.”

He even regretted calling himself the savior in front of Aponiya.

But Aponya did not move.

"I beg your pardon—"

"You should also understand that even if I say I forgive you, it won't change the reality, nor does it mean that the mistakes you made will disappear, right?"

"I beg your pardon—"

"You..." Ai Yue sighed, "Okay, I forgive you."

As he said this, he placed his hand on Aponya's head, completing a certain ritual - this was what Aponya asked him to do last time.

However, this time Aponya still did not stand up, but continued to say: "Please guide--"

"Okay, okay, I'll guide you." Ai Yue said as if coaxing a child, "But whether you listen or not is another matter."

"Please save—"

"Yes, save him, of course." Ai Yue withdrew his hand. "So, you have to find a way to save yourself too, understand?"

"Of course I understand." Aponya finally sat up, her face as calm as ever. "But, what should I do?"

"Why do I feel that you are not that kind of person?" Ai Yue looked at Aponya who cast a questioning look at him, and couldn't help but reveal a pensive expression, "Shouldn't you be more...stronger?"

"If children fall down alone, they'll try to get up on their own. But if their parents or elders are around, they'll just sit there and cry and make a fuss, hoping for care and comfort." Aponya smiled faintly. "Sometimes, strength comes simply from having no one to rely on."

If Ai Yue had not appeared in front of Aponya as a savior and eliminated the hidden dangers of the sanatorium, then Aponya might not have shown such a weak side in front of him.

In that case, how many mistakes will the "strong" self make by insisting on his own way?

"So you think I'm to blame?" Ai Yue didn't notice Aponya's thoughts, but seeing that she seemed to have unloaded some of the burden, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, if you're okay, then have a good rest. There's still a lot to do in the future."

"What do you want me to do?" Aponya looked at him. "I don't trust Fire Moth, but I am willing to trust you."

The ugly behavior displayed by Fire Moth during today's interrogation was really unbearable for Aponia. If she didn't understand that such a person could not represent the entire Fire Moth, she probably wouldn't have this attitude now.

"Qianjie has been taken to the Deep Abyss. If possible, I hope you can go there and use the 'Discipline' to temporarily control the situation there." Ai Yue told Aponya about Qianjie and the Deep Abyss. "Then I might need your help. As for what happens next, you can make the decision yourself."

Considering the need to deal with the Eighth Herrscher who may appear at any time, Ai Yue had to rely on the power of Aponia to make some advance preparations. According to the original plot, the "commandments" imposed by Aponia could help the fusion warriors resist the power of the Eighth Herrscher. If everything goes well, Ai Yue will be able to minimize the harm caused by this disaster.

"I understand." Aponya nodded and took out a small statue from her bosom. "Then please accept this."

Looking at the familiar object, Ai Yue couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly: "You already... ahem, what is this for?"

In his impression, this thing seemed to be able to allow Aponya to complete extremely outrageous ultra-long-distance mental communication.

"You really know a lot, Mr. Ai Yue." Aponya glanced at Ai Yue with a half-smile, then said softly, "Please don't worry, just think of it as a talisman. With this thing, perhaps distance will not be a direct obstacle for us."

Ai Yue hesitated for a moment, but still put the statue into his pocket.

Psychic fusion warriors are not omnipotent, and this is reality, not a paradise in the afterlife built by spiritual power. Even with the help of a medium, what Aponya can do is very limited.

What's more, this world is so dangerous, maybe it can really come in handy?

Chapter 17: Enemy of the Herrscher

In the evening, Ai Yue returned to his current residence and laboratory alone.

Padofelice needed to live in the reconnaissance team's dormitory as arranged by Fire Moth, while Aponia was arranged to live in the fusion warrior base and temporarily live next to Alicia. Therefore, there was no one around him now and it suddenly became quiet.

After a few days of bustling life, Ai Yue was a little uncomfortable with the sudden return of silence.

He looked at the slightly empty room, sighed first, then took out some banknotes from his bag and began to write something down.

Successfully entering the Fire Moth means that his first goal has been achieved and it is time to re-formulate plans for the next stage.

Before that, let’s sort out the current intelligence.

Ai Yue wrote the words "Seventh Herrscher" and "Eighth Herrscher" at the top and bottom of the white paper respectively, confirming his current time point.

The Australian wildfires occurred about a few months ago, which was also the time when the first fusion warrior "Kevin Kaslana" was born.

Ai Yue wrote Kevin's name on the paper, and then wrote down the names of Alicia and Mebius in order.

In the plot he was familiar with, Alicia intercepted the fusion warrior surgery that Mebius prepared for herself, thus becoming the second fusion warrior, and Mebius followed closely behind as the third fusion warrior.

Following closely behind is Sakura, the fourth fusion warrior. The fox ears on her head are a sequelae of the operation.

Ai Yue wrote down Ying's name and circled it.

After Kevin became a fusion warrior, voices opposing the creation of monsters gradually emerged within the Fire Moth. These people believed that the presence of Honkai Beast genes in the bodies of fusion warriors was an unstable factor that could very likely cause a disaster.

In order to stop this plan, they chose to create a fusion warrior to assassinate the leader of the "Fusion Warrior Project", Dr. Mei, and the person chosen at this moment was Sakura.

However, judging from the relationship between Alicia and others and Sakura, the assassination should have ended. Dr. Mei obtained Sakura's joining through exchange of interests, thus making the opposition's plan fail.

Of course, Ai Yue is well aware that the opposition will not give up, but their subsequent plans will probably not be implemented in the short term.

After Sakura and before the Eighth Herrscher, there were four other people who became fusion warriors, including Aponia who had just undergone surgery today.

The other few people seemed to be called...

While thinking, Ai Yue wrote down the names "Kosmo" and "Hen", and stopped abruptly after writing "Daisy" for the last name.

Forget it, let’s do this for now.

After confirming the eight fusion warriors who were currently capable of becoming combat forces, Ai Yue couldn't help but nodded.

If one wants to defeat the Eighth Herrscher at the lowest cost, it is definitely not enough to rely on Ai Yue alone, so the combat power of the fusion warrior is also indispensable.

As for how to get closer to these people, Ai Yue wrote down the four words "birthday party".

The exact time of Kevin's birthday party is unclear, but it will happen after Aponia becomes a Fusion Warrior and before the Eighth Herrscher attacks, so he should have a chance to attend. If he can make a conspicuous enough performance at the birthday party, he might be able to easily gain the favor of several Fusion Warriors.

If Alicia didn't invite him to help organize the birthday party, then he would have no choice but to do it shamelessly.

As for gifts…

Ai Yue took out Kevin's hair, which had been carefully packed in a plastic bag, from his pocket and smiled.

His scientific research system can start corresponding scientific research projects based on the materials on the corresponding characters. For example, the "anti-Aponia filtering earmuffs" used by Ai Yue before were developed using Aponia's hair.

After establishing good relations with the fusion warriors, the next thing to do is to target the Eighth Herrscher.

There are two eighth Herrschers, the "Hersher of Consciousness", in Ai Yue's memory. The Herrscher of Consciousness he is more familiar with has become a funny character for some reason, so it is difficult for him to intuitively feel the other's power as a Herrscher.

But the Ruler of Consciousness that Ai Yue needs to consider right now is a mortal enemy of civilization. Once it appears, it will mercilessly cause disasters and try to destroy the entire world.

As a power possessed by every Herrscher, the Herrscher of Consciousness has the ability, just as her title suggests, to interfere with the mind, including but not limited to creating illusions, pulling people into dreams, interfering with the five senses, etc.

Although it may not sound scary, at least not as aggressive as the previous ones that were corrupt and withered or blazing, but such ability combined with the excellent personal attributes of the Ruler of Knowledge really made the Fire Moth suffer.

Just like a psychic fusion warrior like Aponia, who can activate her abilities from a great distance, the Herrscher of Consciousness doesn't even need to show up to easily pull a large number of humans into the dream world she creates. Such an operation can not only cause widespread panic and disaster, but also perfectly conceal the Herrscher of Consciousness's whereabouts, making it difficult for the Fire Moth to lock onto her position.

You know, even the Seventh Herrscher who was able to burn down the whole of Australia still died at the hands of the fusion warrior Kevin. But if you can't find the enemy at all, then even if you have great abilities, it will be difficult to actually fight.

Ai Yue finally wrote down two goals on the paper: "lock the target" and "avoid large-scale paralysis of civilization". The former is used to eliminate the Ruler of Consciousness as soon as possible, while the latter is to minimize the damage caused by the Ruler of Consciousness to civilization.

For Ai Yue, the second goal is even more important than the first, because the fundamental reason why the Herrschers can lead civilization to its end step by step is precisely because of their gradual erosion of human civilization.

The Seventh Herrscher reduced an entire continent to scorched earth. The Eighth Herrscher caused severe damage to major cities. The Ninth Herrscher destroyed another continent. The Tenth Herrscher damaged numerous important facilities. The Eleventh Herrscher nearly annihilated humanity's resistance. The Twelfth Herrscher reduced human civilization to just three refuges...

This disaster that gradually reduces the population and eats away at the foundations of civilization is the terrifying thing about the Herrscher as the "enemy of civilization."

But that's it.

Ai Yue was thinking about his plan in his mind, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

If the Ruler is the "enemy of civilization", then he will be the "enemy of the Ruler".

As someone who understands all the powers of the Herrscher, no one in this world is more suitable for this title than him.

Chapter 18: How can we fight against the collapse with such insects?

Ai Yue’s plan is great.

In his conception, if everything went smoothly, he should be able to complete the entire plan before the Eighth Herrscher, thus saving the lives of the vast majority of people.

But when he woke up from his dream the next day, what were waiting for him were piles of documents.

"What are all these?" Ai Yue flipped through the pile of documents in his hand. The various formulas and calculations inside made him dizzy. "Don't tell me these are all for me?"

"Yes, these are research projects released by several major research institutes." The man who delivered the documents wore a white coat and was clearly a researcher, though relatively young, likely an assistant to a doctor. "Dr. Mei said he'd send you a copy of each. You can try them out and see which one you're most confident in."

"Wait a minute, can I only take projects posted by other research institutes?"

Ai Yue took a quick look and realized that these were all detailed contents of the complete project, and most of them were "rough work" that required a lot of calculations and deductions.

In other words, these were basically odd jobs that were usually done by assistants in the laboratory, but now they were thrown to him.

Isn’t this bullying an honest person?

"What do you mean?" The other party showed a puzzled expression. "Could it be that you want to apply for a research project yourself?"

Ai Yue frowned: "Is it not possible?"

"Of course you can, but it might be a little difficult right now." The other person gave a look of "you know what I mean." "Mr. Ai Yue, Dr. Mei's original words were, 'Prove your worth to those suspicious guys.' As long as you're truly capable, there are some things you don't even need to ask for."

Tsk, I was wondering why I always felt like I forgot something, turns out I forgot about these bastards.

Seeing that the other party spoke so bluntly, Ai Yue no longer insisted. After sending the other party away, he sighed.

Yes, the Fire Moths are not some organization in science fiction that is united as one and exists only to defeat the Honkai.

Even at a critical moment of life and death, the powerful figures at the top will still fight for their own interests and set limits everywhere to control their subordinates, and even turn their guns on those who fight against the collapse for the sake of their own power.

So even though he took out things like the "Honkai Energy Adsorption Device" to prove his worth, and even though he had Dr. Mei as his recommender to join the Fire Moth, he still had to abide by the rules and regulations within the Fire Moth.

It is even possible that because I am too close to Dr. Mei, the people above me will deliberately make things difficult for me.

Thinking about it this way, it was really not easy for Dr. Mei to help me get an independent laboratory.

Should we change our plan first and get rid of all these bastards who are holding us back?

Ai Yue hesitated for a moment, but finally gave up this cool idea.

Before there is a way to eradicate the greed and evil thoughts in people's hearts, killing people will not solve the problem. Even if this group of people is gone, there will be a similar group of people to take their place. If we continue to fight with them, then humanity will really be hopeless.

The best way should be...