I am a hero of the former civilization.

Vinal shook his head, thinking that Ryan probably wanted to ask him something, but Ryan was a nice person, and he didn't mind spending more time with him.

"Let's go for a walk in the garden."

"to make."

The two patients slipped downstairs and chatted along the way. It was then that Ryan learned that the twelve-man squad had lost three men and seriously wounded five others. After their trip to Britain, they had almost lost their ability to fight.

In fact, there are quite a few Fusion Warriors. In the original timeline, the number of warriors sent to defeat the Herrscher of Binding could be in the thousands. But just like this unknown Vinal next to me.

They were all living, breathing human beings; they felt pain and fear. But Ryan didn't sigh deeply; he simply leaned on the railing and gazed at the river.

"The Battle of Britain resulted in heavy losses for all units, and Europe will need a period of rest and reorganization."

“Yes, but without you, humanity would have been utterly defeated in this battle.” Vinal said earnestly, and Ryan readily accepted this flattery.

Exchanging a dozen or so fusion warriors and nearly ten thousand soldiers' lives for a single Herrscher isn't a bad deal.

“These are all headaches for the higher-ups, Captain Vinal. I want to ask you something.” Ryan turned around, his expression serious.

"Is Ed from your team a mutant?"

Chapter 149 Please Call Me a Straight-A Science and Engineering Guy!

It was early spring, and a warm breeze swept across the river, causing the plants in the garden to sway gently. If it weren't for the wounded soldiers with missing limbs scattered throughout the yard, one could hardly smell the scent of war.

It's been less than a year since the Canghai incident, but many things have changed. The memories of the past have become like bubbles, strange and illusory.

Ryan had seen too much this year: the desolation of the Gobi Desert, the turmoil of the sea outside Singapore, and the hell on earth in northern Britain. Standing in this garden now, he really felt like he was dreaming.

In less than a year, he had already single-handedly defeated the Herrscher, which was no slow pace whatsoever.

Vinal fell silent. He had thought Ryan would inquire about how his superiors were going to deal with him, but to his surprise, Ryan seemed to have no regard for the aftermath.

“I almost forgot, your main job is as a scientist, just a little different.” He gave another wry smile and cleared his throat. “Ed has already been picked up by people from headquarters, but not sent to the Fifth Research Institute.”

“I know.” Ryan nodded. If it were the Fifth Research Institute, Mebius would have come to show off long ago. He heard this news from Sakura.

“Ed lost his mind in that battle and charged into the Honkai Beasts to fight alone. Not only did his body mutate, but his consciousness also became somewhat blurred. My injury—” Vinar pointed to his head, which was wrapped in bandages, and spread his hands, “was caused by Ed when I brought him back.”

Post-operative changes, loss of reason...

Ryan stroked his beard and casually asked, "So, is he back?"

"After I subdued him, Ed regained consciousness, but I was unable to speak with him in detail. The explanation given above was that he went berserk."

"Rampage?"

"Well, I don't understand the scientific terms, but he really pushed his limits, like a bloodthirsty monster, leaving corpses all over the ground. If he doesn't come back, I'll have to kill him." Vinar's breathing quickened, and he felt that something was wrong with his body, and he thought that the excitement he felt when he first gained the power was childish and ridiculous.

In this world, all forces have their value predetermined in secret.

Ryan paused, having almost figured it out. He just hadn't expected the other battlefield to be so exciting. That phenomenon was manifesting in an unknown person. If he remembered correctly, it should be the 'evolution' initiated by Kosmo.

Of course, nobody knows where Kosmo is now.

As one of the leaders of the Fusion Warriors project, Ryan didn't need 'precognition' abilities to roughly understand the reason.

The fusion warriors were injected with a super-mutant factor, which gave them superhuman power, but this factor was not fully activated.

According to Mebius's hypothesis and Ryan's foresight, activating it requires talent and experiencing life and death, so the Fusion Warriors themselves are also progressing, but this progress comes at a great cost.

"It's a bit like a warrior from a certain anime, merging with the flesh and blood of a demon to become a half-human, half-demon being, then leveling up through mutation, and once it exceeds a certain limit, it becomes the monster itself."

Ryan was filled with the interest of a scientist. Actually, activating the super-mutant factor was not difficult; the difficulty lay in turning into a monster and coming back. He couldn't help but think of that boy.

It must be a deep-seated hatred for the destruction, a willingness to die rather than become one of them.

"What are you thinking about?" Vinal asked hurriedly, still concerned about his subordinates.

“Some interesting speculations, but he was taken away by the council, so I can’t verify them. But don’t worry, his return is a miracle. It’s just a pity that Ed couldn’t fuse with the superior Honkai Beast factor.”

"If he's in a higher position, he probably won't be able to come back."

This answer was tinged with resentment, after all, there are quite a few Firemoth Fusion Warriors now, but only a few have the Upper Honkai Beast Factor, such as the man in front of him.

Haha, it does seem a bit like Versailles.

Ryan gave an awkward smile and started walking towards the inpatient department: "It's terribly cold, let's go back to our room."

"Have you finished asking?"

"Well, that's all. As you guessed, I don't care about the reaction from above, or rather, I can guess what they're up to." Ryan blinked, knowing that Vinal had just returned from a video conference.

Why rush to take Ed away? It's all about gaining more power. This has nothing to do with courting death; it's just human instinct to seek security.

This time it was Vinar's turn to be embarrassed, and he could only manage a forced smile.

"Let's go, it's lunchtime."

The two weren't exactly friends, and Ryan didn't have a habit of making friends everywhere, but at least their interests aligned, and they both witnessed the cruelty of war.

Only those who experienced it firsthand understand that the Battle of Britain was just a small phase, and the future backlash will only become more and more intense.

Ryan declined the invitation to dinner, which was a clever way for him to protect himself, just like Alice, who had been on a blind date and died on the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

The deeper the feelings, the more painful it will be later; having fewer friends is also a good thing.

On his way back to his room, he sent Ed's information and details to Mebius, as this case was clearly very valuable.

The message disappeared without a trace. Ryan wondered if Mebius was really angry. Just then, he heard a 'ding' sound.

Hmph, I'll forgive you for now.

A strange smile finally appeared on his face as he contentedly put his phone back in his pocket.

Hmph, you think you can mess with me? I can easily outmaneuver you with just a few random things.

Ryan grinned and walked to his hospital room. This time he was smarter and approached stealthily, peering through the crack in the window before frowning.

Why has Alicia grown ears after just a short absence?

A pair of cat ears grew out of the pink head, and it was bowing its head to let Sakura touch it. Only then did Ryan realize that it was a pair of fake ears. Then he heard Alicia complaining.

"Ah, I really wish I had a pair of ears. They'd be so beautiful, so much more like a fairy! Even though the ears I had Velvet make are incredibly realistic, they're still not quite there yet..."

"Do you really want to have a pair?" Sakura's fox ears twitched slightly. Having spent a lot of time with Alicia, she knew that Alicia wouldn't deliberately comfort her.

“Yes, yes, although mine can move—” Alicia said, making her cat ears twitch a few times, then suddenly poked Sakura’s ear. Sakura let out an “Ah!” and immediately jumped several meters away, her face flushed.

"But fake is fake, unlike your ears, which are so cute!"

After Ryan's counseling session, Sakura is no longer as self-conscious about her ears, but she still cares about them. Seeing Alicia's envious look, she doesn't know what to say.

One thing is certain: if Alicia had these ears, she would definitely show them off everywhere and wouldn't see them as a defect at all.

"Ellie, I really admire your strength."

"Is this strength? I think it should be confidence. I feel that every strand of my hair is full of beauty, and every word I say is full of love."

She seemed to be radiating light, leaving Sakura speechless. As an assassin who walked in the shadows, she was simply from a different world than Alicia. She remembered that when she first arrived at this hospital, the strange looks from the nurses made her feel very uncomfortable, so she simply hid in her room.

"I can't learn your confidence."

"So just be yourself, right? Sakura is just as beautiful as she is now!" Alicia clapped her hands and laughed, "And those who love you will never change no matter what you grow up to be."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, and she took a breath: "Thank you, I feel much better."

"As a return gift, may I touch your ear again?"

"Absolutely not!" Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You're so stingy." Alicia pouted and looked towards the door. "Ryan, it's not very gentlemanly of you to eavesdrop on girls talking bad things. You're not expecting anything, are you?"

Crash.

The door opened, and Ryan stood in the doorway, looking calm: "What can I expect?"

"Watch me bully Sakura, like this enthusiastic hug." Alicia pounced on her, but Sakura was prepared and quickly dodged, crashing into the wall with a thud.

Ryan was speechless as he saw her covering her head. This Alicia was really teasing him. Well, I did have a little bit of anticipation.

He coughed lightly, went back to bed, and waved his hand to tell Sakura to stop peeling apples, as it would only feed this gluttonous fat devil.

"By the way, hasn't the council urged you to go back yet?"

"They urged me, but I applied for leave. York is a huge construction site, and the constant noise is unbearable. But don't worry, I had Kevin take over the task, and he happily agreed."

Of course I'd be happy! As long as Mei is there, he could stay in the underground fortress forever. By the way, aren't you taking a lot of vacation time? I'm just a temporary worker, and I'm so busy I'm dizzy every day.

Ryan mentally complained, but then remembered the important matter at hand.

How is Kevin?

Didn't you ask Mebius?

"If I ask her, that woman will have a wild imagination and think that Kevin and I have some kind of homoerotic relationship."

Gay romance? Oh, you mean that kind of thing.

Alicia grinned mischievously and replied, "Kevin has become stronger, though he's still a tiny bit weaker than me, but his body is always cool to the touch."

Ryan frowned immediately: "How cold?"

"It's probably around ten degrees Celsius. Your expression is like Kevin has turned into a giant block of ice."

Tens of degrees Celsius? That's alright.

Ryan relaxed. Since time was not pressing and he had unexpectedly emerged as a leader, there was no need to risk Kevin and the others' lives.

Fusion surgeries are performed in stages to allow the body time to adapt and reduce the mutation rate. For example, Sakura's ears are now shorter than before.

The downside is that the cheating speed will be slower, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, as it fulfills the promise made to Kevin.

"Even if the sky falls, I'm tall enough to hold it up. As a friend, I've done more than enough."

This is an emotional thought. From a rational perspective, as a scientist, he doesn't believe in metaphysics. Since things like death are uncontrollable, it's better to be cautious.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, and then watched as Alicia rummaged through her handbag for a while and took out a comic book.

"I have some nice ones here, would you like to try them?"

Ryan turned his head, and from the wicked smile on her face, he knew it wasn't anything good. He gave her a disdainful look and adjusted his glasses.

"I have no interest in literary works, please call me a steel-willed STEM guy."