Volume 1, Chapter 58: The Inescapable Destiny

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After traversing countless corridors, Xia Chen found himself at Dr. Mobius's office, guided by Ellie.

"Elysia? Haven't I told you not to visit my laboratory unless necessary?" Mobius remarked sarcastically upon seeing Ellie. "Well, well, and you even brought someone. What's this, delivering new lab rats?"

With a hint of disdain, she added, "Too bad, I don't need any more lab rats at the moment."

"Nope," Elysia replied with a grin. "This person asked me to find you, claiming we have quite a good relationship... Hmm, I don't even know your name yet."

"You can call me Xia Chen." Nodding, he turned directly towards Dr. Mobius and proposed, "Dr. Mobius, let's make a deal."

"A deal?" She scrutinized Xia Chen from head to toe. "Your physical attributes may be impressive, but what do you have that could interest me in a trade?"

"Information about Stigmata," Xia Chen stated plainly. "In exchange, I seek technology for extracting Herrscher Cores from human bodies or transferring them between individuals."

At its core, Stigmata is essentially an informational gene repository. Theoretically, all Xia Chen needed to provide was his blood.

"Stigmata? You possess it?" Mobius had indeed researched Stigmata before, but her current findings were far from ideal.

Without wasting words, Xia Chen concentrated cold energy in his right hand. Witnessing this display akin to a Herrscher's power, Dr. Mobius's gaze sharpened. In contrast, Elysia chimed in cheerfully, "Wow, amazing! What extraordinary abilities you have. By the way, has anyone ever told you how much you resemble Kevin?"

Xia Chen did not respond.

Indeed, Xia Chen possessed similar capabilities to a MANTIS fusion warrior, but Dr. Mobius should be able to distinguish between their abilities and those derived from Stigmata.

At least, there's no concept of artificially induced Honkai with Stigmata powers.

Mobius' eyes flickered. "It is indeed quite intriguing."

Xia Chen nodded, "So we have a deal?"

"What are you thinking?" Mobius replied with a faint smile, "Where would I find such subjects for experimentation... Unless, you can bring that little girl here."

"No need," Xia Chen responded promptly, "We can simulate experiments using the Soulium computer."

"Or more directly, by leveraging Prometheus."

From what Xia Chen understood, many advancements within the Fire Moth organization were achieved through the use of Soulium computers.

His task would involve recording the process via these computational devices, then utilizing Rin's ability to replicate it into his own brain.

Once back in reality, he could copy this memory onto the computer, send it to Alvitr, and request her assistance in finding someone suitable.

Schicksal couldn't afford to waste resources on training a potential future S-rank Valkyrie, so having access to this technology would undoubtedly improve Wendy's condition.

This plan, though simple, had a high likelihood of success.

Just as he was about to persuade Mobius, an alarm sounded from within the Fire Moth headquarters.

Honkai had begun again.

"Damn."

Xia Chen's expression darkened involuntarily. What is happening with Fire Moth?

This was the second time.

Despite being prepared, Rin still died for the second time.

There must be a traitor within Fire Moth.

He couldn't worry about Elysia and Mobius anymore; his immediate priority was to rush towards Fire Moth's armory.

Thanks to Ana's Stigmata, Xia Chen wasn't instantly corrupted or controlled this time. His primary task now was to sever the Herrscher of Corruption's control over human weaponry.

However, how could humans outpace a virus?

By the time he disabled the weapon source, the remaining three human cities had already been destroyed.

[Herrscher of Corruption has been retrieved by Fire Moth warrior Sakura.]

[You agreed to undergo the MANTIS transformation plan.]

[MANTIS transformation plan achieved remarkable success, and you participated in another experiment by Dr. Mei.]

[Chimera Experiment initiated.]

[You succumbed on the operating table.]

[Honkai World experience concluded. You can permanently retain the following items in the real world: Congratulations! Obtained Honkai Pieces *2, Fire Moth Experimental Data *1. Extract now?]

[Your Honkai Energy compatibility has increased.]

When Xia Chen woke up again, his body was unusually drenched in sweat.

He hadn't experienced such intense pain in a long time.

The Chimera Project aimed to surpass the limits of MANTIS soldiers. Initially, MANTIS soldiers were fused with only one Honkai Beast gene, but this experiment involved merging multiple Honkai Beast genes.

To Xia Chen's great surprise, despite his successful adaptation to previous fusion experiments, he encountered severe complications during the Chimera Experiment.

His body exhibited an extreme rejection reaction, so powerful that it shattered his consciousness.

Even now, Xia Chen had not fully recovered.

After a prolonged silence, he slowly asked, "Rin, are you still there?"

"Y-yes... I'm sorry."

Rin's voice trembled, sounding close to tears.

"Hmm, what happened?"

"It seems my involvement led to your experimental failure." The girl residing within the Red Sakura spoke hesitantly. "The Honkai Beast genes you were fusing scared me. Afraid it might consume me, I consumed it first."

"You mean... you can devour genes?"

"Genes are also part of informational data, and as long as it's information, I can consume it."

In a sense, Rin, possessing partial authority of the Herrscher of Corruption, has no inherent limit.

Her terrifying capability lies in her ability to corrupt any form of information carrier, whether it be human consciousness, machine records, or even genes.

The terror lay in her ability to corrupt any information carrier, be it human consciousness, machine data records, or even genes.

"So that's how it is," Xia Chen sighed.

He couldn't blame Rin for this.

Unwillingly, he got up from the bed, skillfully removed the bedsheets, and placed them into the washing machine.

A hint of fatigue flashed across his eyes.

"Would you like me to help dull your memories?"

"Hmm, not yet. Let me retain this painful feeling for now."

His gaze flickered with concern.

Xia Chen had a gut feeling that Rin was withholding something. It wasn't that she was lying, but rather, she seemed to be keeping crucial information from him.

In the System's simulation scenarios, even the Honkai Energy was artificial. Yet, Rin could still affect him through manipulating the data, as demonstrated during both the Second Honkai simulation and just moments ago.

Although Rin had apologized, he no longer dared to rely on her simulations fully.

It wasn't about doubting Rin's intentions. Rather, there was a possibility that this innocent girl might unknowingly be exploited by Honkai. After all, instances where good individuals inadvertently cause harm without realizing it were not unheard of.

Of course, he didn't completely dismiss using Rin's abilities either.

Whenever he sensed his memories becoming confused, Xia Chen would still need her assistance.

Regardless, it seemed he must visit the Elysian Realm at least once.

There might be answers to some inexplicable events of the current era within the Elysian Realm.

However, this matter would have to wait until after Ana's issue is resolved.

"I can only hope that this time, the System's reward will pleasantly surprise me."

Meanwhile, inside the World Serpent, at the Elysian Realm:

Mobius received her unwelcome guest.

"Hey, hey, Miss Mobius, I dreamed about you! Isn't it quite fate between us?"

The audacious Miss Pink Elf spoke boldly.