Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"You... what nonsense are you talking about!"

Ellie forced out an awkward smile and pulled her hand back.

"Perhaps... maybe you've been under too much pressure lately? Don't worry, there won't be any Herrschers for a while. Let's take this opportunity to take a vacation and rest? Captain Himeko still owes us two tickets to Eden's concert! Don't you really like Eden? Let's go together! Elysia will always be by your side! How about it!"

Elysia's voice was like a pair of invisible hands, her warm fingertips pressing on Michael's tightly furrowed brows, the just-right pressure slowly relaxing them.

Michael took a light breath, casually picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank it down in one gulp, as if to relieve his earlier lapse.

"Ugh! Cough cough cough!"

The spicy, burning sensation grew from the tip of his tongue, quickly spreading along his esophagus, directly into his lungs.

"Elysia, when did you pour the wine!"

"Just now! Didn't you see? Hmm... isn't it said that drinking when you're sad can relieve your worries? Why doesn't it seem to work on you, Michael!"

"Maybe it's because... I don't like drinking?" Michael said, tilting his head.

"Huh! Have you ever drunk before! Quick! Confess honestly! When was it!" Ellie asked, smiling mischievously.

Michael smiled and shook his head, not answering.

He extended his index finger and gently tapped the rim of the wine glass. A faint blue light flashed, and the glass was once again filled with wine.

Elysia glanced at it first, not paying much attention.

Three seconds later, she picked up the glass with a suspicious look and sniffed it, her delicate features instantly contorted into a twisted shape.

But then she tilted her head and thought for a moment, then took a hesitant sip.

"Cough cough cough!"

Michael took the wine glass from Elysia's hand and drank it all in one gulp.

"Huff! Good thing I only took a small sip... Huh! How come you... you said you didn't like to drink!"

"Drinking or not drinking has no absolute connection with liking or disliking it."

Ellie wrinkled her nose, clearly dissatisfied with Michael's explanation.

But she quickly cheered up again.

"It looks like your control over the Herrscher powers is getting more and more proficient. The structure of wine requires knowledge related to microorganisms, which is much more difficult than mecha!"

"Elysia..."

"Hmm?"

"Have you forgotten about my arm..."

"Of course not! But in the end, people are always more familiar with their own bodies, and not necessarily with other creatures."

As Ellie spoke, she puffed out her cheeks, and Michael couldn't help but poke them with his index finger.

In an instant, they both felt a little dazed, as if they had returned to that day six years ago, when Mom Celia was serving warm chicken soup...

"Ah!"

Michael covered his index finger in his palm, gently rubbing it.

Looking down, there was a neat row of teeth marks on his index finger.

Michael looked up, and Elysia was tilting her head, her arm draped over the back of the chair, a smile on her lips, looking at him.

So he smiled as well.

"Grumble..."

Elysia's smile gradually widened, looking at Michael's hand covering his stomach.

"Grumble grumble..."

Unexpectedly, the next moment, her stomach responded enthusiastically as well.

"Let's go, let's get something to eat."

The moment he stood up from his seat, Michael felt as if he had forgotten something.

But for a moment, it was difficult to recall.

At this time, Himeko, who had been forgotten by the two, had already arrived at Phamas's office.

Unsurprisingly, Dr. Mobius was biting her finger on the sofa, occasionally changing her sitting posture, looking very impatient.

Besides her, there was a fourth person in the room. He was covered in a black robe, with a Honkai beast mask on his face, making it impossible to tell if he was male or female. Only the three small numbers on his collar, 007, indicated his identity to some extent.

Himeko only glanced at him and immediately sensed a dangerous aura, her entire body becoming stiff with vigilance.

"Captain Himeko, please sit down."

"The reason for inviting you all here is also because of Captain Himeko's report... Captain Himeko, are you sure that you single-handedly killed a Chariot-Class Honkai beast about ten meters tall with a greatsword very easily? Because your camera was damaged at the time, headquarters cannot confirm this achievement."

"I'm sure."

Himeko replied in a deep voice.

When she submitted the battle report, she had anticipated this moment.

The office fell silent for a moment.

Phamas lit a cigarette, as if no one else was there, and took a few puffs.

"Dr. Mobius, what do you think?"

"Heh, I'd use my feet to look at it..." she mocked softly.

"Dr. Mobius?"

"It's not hard to imagine, this is a very normal phenomenon. The reason why humans developed gunpowder weapons and electromagnetic weapons is because the strength of the human body has its limits, and it's not enough to support cold weapons with greater destructive power. These weapons are equivalent to raising the lower limit of human combat power, allowing an ordinary person to have standard combat power after simple training."

Mobius looked at Himeko with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "But Captain Himeko is another special case. Because her Honkai energy adaptability is very high, she can use a small amount of Honkai energy to fight, consciously or unconsciously. This makes her physical fitness in a short period of time far higher than that of an 'ordinary person'. In this case, firearms would limit her upper limit of combat power, while cold weapons are more suitable."

Phamas coughed twice, put out his cigarette, and muttered silently, "Dr. Mobius, in the end, you still want to restart the Soulium Project..."

Mobius's lips curled up slightly, "I don't understand, what's wrong with the Soulium Project, besides being a bit expensive?"

Phamas narrowed his eyes slightly and met Mobius's gaze. Mobius's frank admission didn't surprise him. But the more he saw this, the more he felt that Mobius was brewing some even more shocking plan. The Soulium Project, as Mobius said, had no flaws other than being expensive, and it wouldn't bring any risks.

This was too out of character for Mobius.

"It's a pity, if only we could plant a spy in Mobius's lab..."

But on the surface, he showed a helpless expression.

"Dr. Mobius, I must remind you that the cost of Soulium cannot be described by the word 'expensive'. According to your budget, the cost of one gram of Soulium is enough to rebuild Squad Five... Captain Himeko, please forgive me for saying this."

"Besides, how many warriors like Himeko can the entire Fire Moth find? Can they really play a role in the battlefield that surpasses an entire squad?"

Mobius chuckled lightly and handed Phamas a list.

"There are indeed only a few, but this is just the result of my rough investigation. What do you think, Phamas? The Soulium Project plus... hmm, the Honkai Energy Warrior Project, this is the most effective way for humanity to fight against the Honkai."

Phamas took a suspicious look. Right after Himeko's name was Ato, and the two surviving members of Squad Five.

The next one didn't have a name, only a description of her appearance: a woman with long pink hair, suspected to be from the Far East.

And the name ranked sixth, and also the last name, was written in green ink—

Mobius.

Phamas threw the list on the ground.

Mobius seemed to have expected this. She just sneered, "What? Did you bring Himeko here just to chat? You know in your heart that this is the best plan."

She picked up the list on the ground and left the office, talking to herself.

"Forget it, let's all go."

Even long after Mobius left, Phamas was still slumped in his chair.

"If Mobius's plan is only this... then so be it..."

He then looked at the masked person who had not yet left.

"007 Poison Cocoon, you will pass two orders to Vasak for me."

"First, focus on the survivors of Squad Five."

"Second... forget it, there is no second order for now."

"Understood."

Under the heavy mask, a clear and cold female voice came.

After confirming that no one was in front of him, Phamas turned around and opened his computer, creating a new encrypted document:

[Honkai Energy Warrior Project]

Required Synergy:

To be used in conjunction with the Soulium Project.

Eligible Personnel List:

1. Ato

2. Himeko

3. Michael

4. Elysia

5. 007 Poison Cocoon

Project Assessment: Risk Level: Extremely High

Key Concern: Prolonged usage of Honkai energy poses a significant risk of warriors succumbing to the influence of Honkai, potentially turning against humanity.

Efficiency Issue: The human body's current utilization rate of Honkai energy is extremely low, making it difficult to achieve desired outcomes.

Summary:

The project shows potential for future implementation under specific conditions:

If the situation continues to deteriorate. If a technological breakthrough significantly increases Honkai energy utilization efficiency.

Current Status:

For the limited number of warriors who have already mastered Honkai energy usage, it is advised to maintain the status quo and closely monitor their development.

---

Phamas lit another cigarette, and the office was once again shrouded in smoke.

"Sure enough, I don't get along well with Mobius..." he muttered to himself, half self-deprecating, half joking.

Mobius was right. The reason why he asked Himeko to confirm the situation was not to restart the Soulium Project and create warriors like her who could use Honkai energy?

In the end, he had become someone who opposed for the sake of opposing...

So he selected the document and prepared to send it to Mobius's email through the internal network, but after thinking about it, he changed it to a scheduled delivery for tomorrow morning.

As if he had remembered something, Phamas sent another letter to Dr. Spas: "Please be sure to give Captain Himeko of Squad Five the serum you mentioned the other day that can alleviate the symptoms of Honkai sickness."

Forgot to set a timer...