Chapter 254: The Alert "Evolution"

["Sleeping sickness," this somewhat strange special event that spreads very quickly and affects a wide range of people, ended so suddenly and inexplicably, leaving "Fire Moth" a little confused for a while.]

[After all, according to the inference of "Fire Moth," this extremely special thing is most likely related to Honkai, and there may even be a "Herrscher"... But in the end, nothing extra or extremely serious happened, which is very confusing.]

[And according to subsequent investigations and inquiries, it seems that all the affected people had two "dreams" in succession.]

[The first time was a very ordinary, happy, and joyful "dream." In this "dream," everyone was different and happy in their own way... and more importantly, most people would not have a clear memory of this "dream." After waking up, the things they described were very vague and general, which was consistent with people's performance when they woke up.]

[The second time was a little strange. Everyone described this "dream" very clearly, and their memory was also quite clear. In fact, to them, this "dream" was so clear that it seemed like it really happened.]

[More importantly... the "dreams" on this level are too consistent. Everyone appears in a coastal area shrouded in thick fog, and they all feel a certain call from the sea... This is too weird.]

[It was as if a certain "Herrscher" who controlled the mind appeared, and then pulled the minds of others into the realm it created, intending to carry out some evil and terrible plan... No, considering it was a "Herrscher," it should be very simple, just die.]

[But fortunately, with the help of Irine's team, the "light" illuminated the thick fog and created a safe area for the people trapped in it, so that they would not have to suffer the temptation of Honkai there. In addition, Hua, who was affected, also saved many people.]

[But according to Hus and Irine's reports and narration, they also saw the people they cared about in this so-called "dream"... namely, Himeko and you who have already sacrificed.]

[Although both of them realized that this was most likely an illusion created by Honkai, and they successfully got rid of this terrible temptation, it still affected their mood to some extent—their mood became worse, and their disgust for Honkai was raised to a higher level again.]

[Next is the report from Dystopia and Aponia.]

[Dystopia seemed to be unlucky. When she entered the coastal area shrouded in thick fog, she met a girl with white hair and red eyes wearing a bright red dress... Coupled with the faint hostility emanating from her and the terrifying aura surrounding her, Dystopia subconsciously judged her as an enemy.]

[This was beyond Dystopia's judgment. Especially after she sensed the dampness on her body, she became more and more certain that the other party was a dangerous Honkai creature, and even... was very likely a Herrscher.]

[After making such a judgment, Dystopia also simply tested her a few times before officially fighting her. As the fight lasted longer and longer, Dystopia became more and more convinced that the person in front of her was the "Herrscher" hiding in the sea!]

[After all, the power exerted by the girl in front of her has always been related to seawater. She even deliberately led the battlefield to the sea several times, which was a sign that she wanted to take her into the sea... Fortunately, she has now learned how to use "telekinesis" to make herself "fly"; otherwise, she might really be dragged down by the girl.]

[But unfortunately, although Dystopia was not fooled by her, she could not do anything to her... She was even suppressed and beaten by her for a while. The spikes and water blades flying from the sea really made Dystopia suffer. She had to increase her altitude to buy herself more reaction time.]

[Fortunately, Aponia arrived in the end, and the two fought together and successfully turned the situation around. The girl saw this and did not get too entangled. She turned back to the sea and disappeared... After that, Dystopia woke up.]

[Aponia's report is somewhat similar to Irine's. As someone with special abilities and extremely strong in the spiritual realm, she naturally took on the responsibility of exploring that spiritual realm. At the same time, if they really encounter the "Herrscher," she will also become the main force.]

[But according to Aponia, she explored as many areas as possible, but in the end, she was unable to see the inland, as if there was only a coast with no boundaries... At the same time, she did not find the enemy who created this spiritual realm.]

[Don't mention the "Herrscher." Apart from seeing illusion on the other side of the ocean, just like Irine, she didn't encounter anything else. In the end, she returned to find Dystopia and assisted her in repelling the existence that might be the "mastermind"... and then she woke up.]

[The reports of both of them matched each other, so "Fire Moth" did not ask too many questions. What was more important now was the illusion that appeared on the sea... Could it be that it was another new job that Honkai had given them? Or was it that the "Herrscher" in the ocean was bewitching people in a special way?]

[After all, almost all fusion warriors have reported that as long as they stay on the coastal defense line for a long time, the "auditory hallucinations" in their minds will become more and more serious, and the calls from the sea will become clearer and clearer... After this incident, not to mention fusion warriors, even ordinary soldiers have similar reports.]

[This is somewhat of a headache for "Fire Moth," after all, the number of soldiers' rotations needs to increase, and the required manpower also needs to increase...]

[However, there is some good news in this incident. they know that the "Herrscher" in the sea is a girl with white hair, red eyes, and red clothes. We also confirmed that the "auditory hallucinations" of the defenders were all caused by the ocean and were caused by the "Herrscher" in the sea.]

[After knowing this, things are a little easier. All we need to do next is find her and defeat her... Oh, she's in the sea, so that's fine.]

[Tsk, as expected, the ocean is a big problem. Not to mention that the environment in the ocean is extremely unfavorable to humans, the massive amount of Honkai beasts alone is enough to make humans suffer... Let's stabilize the defense line first, and then consider a counterattack.]

[At worst, they have to wait for the Research Department to develop an object that allows people to move freely underwater. At least the combat capability of the fusion warriors must not be compromised underwater. Only then can we consider how to defeat the "Herrscher" in the sea.]

[As for how to find the Herrscher in such a vast ocean... we can only talk about it when the time comes.]

[However, when the "Fire Moth" was trying to figure out how to deal with the "auditory hallucination" problem of the soldiers, the ocean, or rather the Honkai, did not give people time to breathe.]

[One day, a certain defense zone suddenly lost contact with the "Fire Moth." After repeated attempts without any response, the "Fire Moth" called the nearby garrison personnel to investigate the situation.]

[Then they discovered that the defense zone... had fallen.]

[It fell so suddenly, and there was not even any news. The entire defense zone was empty. In addition to the damp air everywhere and an inexplicable fishy smell, the personnel who came to investigate could only see a blue substance like moss that almost covered the entire defense zone... This thing looked like it was alive! It even moved!]

[As for people... they didn't see any. Not to mention the alive, there were no dead people, not even corpses. The entire defense zone was empty and terribly silent.]

[This sudden incident undoubtedly alerted the "Fire Moth." On the one hand, it sent people to investigate the true cause of the incident, and on the other hand, it began to increase its vigilance against the ocean... At the same time, it also had to rebuild the defense zone and collect samples for investigation...]

[For a while, "Fire Moth" became busy again. Mobius and Mei studied the blue substance that looked like moss, while Vill-V and the engineering department focused on studying some targeted props. Eden and Sakura also cooperated with "Fire Moth" to appease the people...]

[As fusion warriors, Kevin and others who have been on the front line for a long time need to be more vigilant and guard against the attacks and temptations of the ocean, especially the "new life" of the Honkai... You know, this is a defense zone that suddenly lost contact and disappeared in an instant!]

[And from the subsequent investigation, the resistance in this defense zone was surprisingly... less?! There were no signs of fighting in many places. It was as if... it was as if... the people here were living and patrolling naturally, and then suddenly disappeared.]

[No... No, this is a sign that something went wrong inside the defense zone, and it was a serious problem, so serious that the people defending here didn't notice it, and then it was solved, so there are so few signs of resistance!]

[In other words... there is a traitor?!]

[That's not right? This is impossible. Under the hard work of "Fire Moth" in promoting and controlling public opinion, the public's attitude towards Honkai is definitely against it. And under the leadership of "Fire Moth," the public is very enthusiastic about resisting Honkai...]

[This is the benefit of having a big star like Eden and a well-known model like Sakura to promote the company. In terms of public opinion, "Fire Moth" has a huge advantage.]

[Because of this, "Fire Moth" can conclude that unless they are madmen, there will be no traitors among humans who are willing to break the law... and it is even less likely that such a situation will occur among the "Fire Moth" soldiers who have been screened.]

[But the various clues and inferences found so far seem to prove that a "traitor" has appeared in the human defense zone. Even as "Fire Moth" was thinking about a solution, several defense zones suddenly fell silent.]

[When "Fire Moth" went to investigate, the situation was exactly the same— the entire defense zone was most likely collapsed from the inside, and... there were still few signs of resistance.]

[Just when "Fire Moth" was getting more and more anxious, and was about to raise their doubts, and had to raise them... finally, there was some "good news" from the front line.]

[First, the news came from Irine...]

[After a defensive battle, the place she was in charge of also began to clean up the battlefield as usual and began to count the injured and provide timely treatment to the injured... After all, those who crawled out of the sea were all Honkai beasts, and the concentration of Honkai energy around them was not low. If they were injured, they would still be infected.]

[But fortunately, there is a fully automatic method of curing Honkai erosion that you left behind. As long as the prepared medicine is injected into the body and rest for a period of time in a specific environment, the Honkai erosion will naturally be cured.]

[This is not a big problem. The most important thing is that when Irine was counting and caring for the wounded as usual... she suddenly felt that there was something wrong with a few of the wounded.]

[When she approached them, their words were somewhat unfamiliar and stuttering... This was not a bad thing; at least it could be explained as "they were nervous about meeting their superiors."]

[But Irine noticed that they seemed to want to stay away from her, or rather... away from the "lantern" she was carrying, as if they didn't like the "light" burning in it very much.]

[This is not right. As someone who has studied with you for a long time, she knows very well what the "light" feels like. It is warm and reassuring. No one would dislike this feeling... Especially on this cold and dangerous front, this warmth and reassurance are particularly valuable. No one will dislike it, and no one will reject it.]

[Especially when rain clouds gather and the surroundings are covered by white rain, the light emitted by the "lantern" with its own uniqueness is extremely dazzling and extremely desirable. The light that suddenly lights up when facing enemies like a tide and in a high-pressure environment is extremely reassuring.]

[That is why, in "Fire Moth," especially on the front lines, no one hates "lights."]

[As the heir, Irine, who inherited your "lantern," is also very clear about this... Then, the performance of these Honkai beasts in front of her is very interesting.]

[Irine became alert and recalled what you had said about the "lantern"... For example, if someone holds it, a red flame will ignite, which is the "lantern" that is burning now.]

[But you didn't explain what would happen if a non-human being held the "lantern."]

[Will the flame still ignite, but in a slightly different way, or will nothing happen at all?]

[Irine didn't know, but she understood one thing—if it was true that a certain "non-human" held the "lantern," then a different situation would definitely occur...]

[she knows, that even beings like the Fusion Warrior, who have separated themselves from humanity to a certain extent and are taking steps towards being "non-human," will still light up a red "light" when they hold the "lantern."]

[In other words, if the "lantern" does not respond, or if the "light" shows any abnormality... then the person holding the "lantern" is definitely not a human, but something else!]

[Based on this idea, Irine asked the people in front of her to try to pick up the "lantern."]

[At first, the few people were reluctant, but under Irine's order, one of them picked up the "lantern" with great reluctance.]

[Then... a faint blue flame ignited in the "lantern," which did not give others a warm feeling, but instead filled them with dampness and coldness.]

[After realizing this, Irine immediately drew her sword and pierced the chest of the man in front of her. The blood that flowed out of his... no, the blood that flowed out of his chest was not bright red, but azure blue.]

[Seeing that their disguises were exposed, they no longer disguised themselves, removed and tore off their camouflage "skin," and attacked Irine, muttering in a strange language that was difficult to distinguish and made people's scalps numb.]

[But unfortunately, they were all killed one by one by Irine, who had been on guard for a long time.]

[Then, Irine picked up her "lantern" again and lit up the red "light." At the same time, she ordered others to take away the corpses of the Honkai beasts in front of them and seal them up, and at the same time wrote a report to the "Fire Moth."]

[At the same time, the defense areas in charge of Hua, Kevin, Dystopia, Hen, and others also submitted similar reports one after another. They were basically consistent with what Irine described. They all discovered "monsters" disguised as wounded soldiers while cleaning the battlefield and counting the wounded.]

[Okay, now "Fire Moth" knows who the "traitor" hiding on the human side is. After all this time, it's still the Honkai, or the ocean, it's the trick... There's even a high probability that it was caused by the "Herrscher" in the sea.]

[This somewhat relieved "Fire Moth's" mind... At least there were no problems with their control of public opinion on the human side and the selection of soldiers. No human had really betrayed them.]

[But at the same time, this also made "Fire Moth" feel anxious... because this Honkai beast that can disguise itself as a human is too dangerous.]

[Even in subsequent research, Mobius gave "Fire Moth" some very bad news—these Honkai beasts that can transform into humans are not fundamentally different from the Honkai beasts that crawled out of the sea in the past. They are the same type of Honkai beasts.]

[This is not a new type of Honkai beast... In other words, the previous Honkai beasts have improved, learned to imitate, and learned to wear human skin.]

[In simple terms, it is "evolution."]

[This is not good news.]