It was nearly early spring, and the mild breeze blew across the river, making the plants in the garden sway gently. If it weren't for the numerous injured soldiers scattered around the yard, you could hardly smell the smell of war..
It has been less than a year since the event in the ocean, but so much has changed. The memories of the past feel like bubbles, strange and illusory.
In this year, Ryan had seen far too much—desolation in the desert, the explosive release off the coast of Lion City, and the human purgatory of Northern Britain. Now, standing in this garden, he really felt like he was in a dream.
In less than a year, he had single-handedly killed a Herrscher. No matter how you looked at it, that was quite fast.
Vinal fell silent. He had expected Ryan to inquire about how the higher-ups were planning to deal with him, but to his surprise, it seemed as though Ryan didn't care about the aftermath at all.
"I almost forgot, your main job is being a scientist, just with a little twist," Vinal said with a bitter smile, clearing his throat. "Ed has been picked up by headquarters, but he wasn't taken to the Fifth Research Institute."
"I know," Ryan nodded. If it were the Fifth Research Institute, Mobius would have been here showing off by now, and this was news he heard from Sakura. "Ed lost some of his sanity during that battle. He charged into the Honkai Beast alone, and not only did his body mutate, but his mind also became blurry. As for my injury…" Vinal pointed to his bandaged head and shrugged. "I was injured by Ed when we were bringing him back."
The mutation after surgery, the loss of sanity...
Ryan stroked his chin, casually asking, "Has he come back?"
"After we controlled him, Ed regained his consciousness, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him. The official explanation from above is that he went berserk."
"Berserk?"
"Yeah, I don't understand the scientific terms, but he definitely broke through his own limits. It was like a bloodthirsty monster, leaving a pile of corpses behind. If he couldn't come back, I'd have had to kill him." Vinal's breath quickened as he spoke, feeling something not quite right in his own body, remembering the naive excitement when he first gained his powers.
In this world, all power is secretly assigned its value.
Ryan fingers paused as he roughly understood, but he hadn't expected another battlefield to be so intriguing. This phenomenon appeared in an unknown person. If he remembered correctly, it should have been the 'evolution' initiated by Kosma.
Of course, no one knew where Kosma was right now.
As one of the leaders of the Fusion Warrior project, Ryan didn't need "precognition" to figure out the cause.
The Fusion Warriors had been injected with super-altering factors to gain inhuman powers, but this factor hadn't been fully activated. According to Mobius' hypothesis and Ryan own foresight, activating it required talent and life-or-death experience. Therefore, the Fusion Warriors were constantly evolving, but this progress came at a heavy price.
"It's a bit like the warriors in some anime, fusing with the blood and flesh of monsters, becoming half-human, half-demon beings, and then leveling up through mutations. Once they surpass a certain limit, they become monsters themselves." Ryan was filled with a scientist's enthusiasm. Actually, activating the super-altering factor wasn't hard; what was difficult was transforming into a monster and then coming back. This reminded him of that boy.
It must be the deep hatred for the Corruption, preferring to die rather than become one of them.
"What are you thinking about?" Vinal asked urgently. He still cared about his subordinates.
"Some interesting speculations, but since the person was taken by the council, I can't verify them. But don't worry, he'll return—it's a rare encounter. It's just a shame that Ed didn't fuse with the higher-level Corrupted Beast's factor."
"If it had been the higher level, he probably wouldn't have made it back."
That response carried a hint of resentment. After all, many Fusion Warriors had fused with Honkai Beast factors, but only a few had the higher-level factors, like the man in front of him.
Heh, sounds a bit like Versailles.
Ryan smiled awkwardly and walked toward the hospital building. "It's really cold, let's go back to the room."
"Have you finished asking?" Vinal asked.
"Yeah, that's all. As you can guess, I'm not concerned about their reaction from above, or rather, I can already guess what they want to do." Ryan blinked, knowing that Vinal had just finished a video conference.
The hurry to take Ed away was clearly to gain more power, nothing to do with courting death. Seeking security is a basic human instinct.
This time, it was Vinal's turn to feel awkward, only managing to force a smile.
"Let's go, it's almost lunchtime." The two weren't really friends. Ryan didn't have a habit of making friends, but at least they shared common interests. They had both witnessed the brutality of war.
Only those who have experienced it firsthand truly understand that the British war was just a small phase; the backlash in the future will only become more intense.
Ryan declined the invitation to have lunch together. This was part of his self-protection intelligence, much like Alice, who he had once dated, only to die on the battlefield in an instant.
The deeper the feelings, the more painful it would be later. Having fewer friends could be beneficial.
On the way back to his room, Ryan sent Ed's data and situation to Mobius. This case clearly had reference value. The message sank like a stone, and Ryan thought, "Did Mobius get really angry?" At that moment, he heard a "ding."
[Hmph, I'll forgive you for now.]
Ryan finally broke into a strange smile, content as he tucked his phone back into his pocket.
Hmph, try to mess with me? I can always handle you with just a little effort.
Ryan grinned and walked to his own room. This time, he learned his lesson and crept up, peering in through the gaps in the window before furrowing his brow.
Why did Elysia have cat ears all of a sudden?
On her pink head, a pair of cat ears had grown. She was looking down, letting Sakura touch them. Ryan then understood—they were fake ears. Then he heard Elysia complain.
"Ah, I really wish I had a pair of ears like these. They'd make me look so much more like a fairy. Even though I had Vil-V make me these ears that could pass for real, it's just not quite right~~~"
"Do you really want them?" Sakura fox ears twitched slightly. After spending time with Elysia, she knew she wouldn't lie just to comfort herself.
"Yeah, yeah! Even though mine move like this—" Elysia made the cat ears twitch, then suddenly poked Sakura ears. Sakura let out an "ah" and jumped several meters away, blushing furiously.
"But fake ears are still fake. They're nothing like yours, how cute they are♪"
After Ryan last psychological counseling, Sakura wasn't insecure about her ears anymore, but she still cared. Seeing Elysia envy them like this, she didn't know what to say.
One thing was certain: if Elysia grew these ears, she would definitely show them off everywhere and never see them as a flaw.
"Elysia, I really envy your confidence."
"Is this confidence? I think it's self-love, thinking that every strand of my hair is beautiful, and every word I speak is filled with love." She seemed to be glowing, and Sakura couldn't find anything to say. As a killer walking in the darkness, she felt like Elysia was from a completely different world. She remembered when she first came to the hospital, those nurses' strange stares made her feel uncomfortable, so she just hid in her room.
"I can't learn your confidence."
"So just be yourself! You're just as beautiful now, Sakura♪" Elysia clapped her hands and smiled. "And those who love you will never be affected by how you look."
Sakura eyes widened slightly, and she inhaled deeply. "Thank you, I feel much better."
"Well, as a return gift, can I touch your ears again?"
"Absolutely not!" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.
"Mean," Elysia pouted and looked at the door. "Ryan, eavesdropping on girls is so ungentlemanly. You're not expecting something, are you?" The door suddenly swung open, and Ryan stood in the doorway, looking calm.
"What could I expect?"
"Watching me bully Sakura, like this enthusiastic hug." Elysia lunged at Sakura, but Sakura was quick, dodging and causing Elysia to crash into the wall with a loud thud.
Ryan looked at her rubbing her head, speechless. Elysia was clearly teasing him, but fine, he did have a little expectation.
He coughed lightly and returned to his bed, waving at Sakura to stop peeling the apple, as it was just feeding the greedy little demon.
"By the way, hasn't the council urged you to return?"
"They have, but I applied for leave. York's a big construction site, and the noise is unbearable. But don't worry, I had Kevin take over the task. He was happy to agree."
Of course, he was happy. As long as Mobius is around, he could stay in the underground fortress forever without coming out. Speaking of which, isn't your vacation a bit too long? I, a temporary worker, am busy all day long.
Ryan mentally complained but then thought of the main issue.
"How's Kevin?"
"Didn't you ask Mobius?"
"If I ask her, that woman will start imagining things, thinking Kevin and I have some kind of special bond." Special bond? Oh, that kind of thing.
Elysia grinned, answering, "Kevin's gotten stronger, still a bit weaker than me, but his body's really cold."
Ryan brows furrowed immediately. "How cold?"
"Probably about ten degrees or so. Your expression makes it look like Kevin's turned into a giant ice block." Ten degrees? That's not too bad.
Ryan relaxed. Since time wasn't pressing, and he had risen through the ranks, it wasn't necessary for Kevin and the others to risk their lives. The fusion surgeries were done in stages, giving the body time to adapt and reducing the mutation rate, just like Sakura ears, which were shorter than before.
The downside was that the process would be slower, but the benefits were more, and he had fulfilled his agreement with Kevin.
'The sky may fall, but I'll be there to hold it up. As a friend, I've done all I can.'
This was the emotional thought, but rationally, as a scientist, he didn't believe in superstition. Things like risking lives were uncontrollable, so it was better to be cautious.
Ryan sighed, just as Elysia rummaged through her bag and pulled out a comic book.
"I've got something fun. Want to try it?"
Ryan turned his head. The mischievous grin on her face told him it wasn't anything good. He gave a disdainful look and adjusted his glasses.
"I'm not interested in literature. Please call me a steel science and engineering guy."