I am a hero of the former civilization.

Ding.

As Ryan approached, the automatic doors opened to the sides, and a tall figure stepped out. She was carrying a pile of things that obscured her face, and only her gray pencil skirt and black stockings were visible.

Ryan didn't pay any attention, only glancing at those perfect legs before walking past the woman and taking two more steps forward.

Ok?

As if realizing something, he paused, instinctively turned around, and saw that the woman had also stopped and turned around.

"It's you!?"

Ryan's constricted pupils reflected the image of the woman in front of him.

She has long green hair, golden eyes, and is about 170cm tall. She wears a white shirt that is too tight, making her chest appear unusually full, while her lower body is covered by a narrow skirt that outlines her perfect body curves.

Those legs, encased in black stockings, were particularly eye-catching—straight, long, and perfectly proportioned without needing any photo editing or stretching.

As seen in the photo, she is a mature and alluring woman with a captivating body, yet her expression is filled with rationality and indifference, creating a strange contrast.

But this didn't appeal to Ryan much; after the initial shock, a strong sense of wariness arose within him.

Möbius, director of the Fifth Research Institute of the Moth of Fire, is a genius comparable to Möbius, with extremely high attainments in engineering, biology, and genetics.

However, this woman is extremely dangerous; she is willing to sacrifice herself for her ideals.

As for him personally, there's not much to say. This woman has been pestering him for several years now, and of course, it has nothing to do with any youthful ambiguity. She's only interested in getting his secrets out of him.

How did she end up in Changkong City? No, there's no such thing as a coincidence.

"You've come to spy on me again? Wasn't the lesson learned last time enough?"

“Yes, thanks to you, the higher-ups cut a huge amount of my funding.” Möbius hid his surprise, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, his tone somewhat sarcastic: “Don’t be so narcissistic. I just happened to be in Changkong City for tourism, and I just happened to run into you while buying dinner.”

Ryan noticed that the woman was carrying instant noodles and suddenly remembered that she had been living in a state of financial hardship for a long time.

"Taking a vacation? You think I'd believe that?"

"Hehe, believe it or not, do you think I would lay a hand on you?" The woman smiled insincerely, looking somewhat mysterious in the dim streetlights.

"Heh, you have neither authority nor power, what can you do to me?" Ryan laughed, his laughter completely different from when he met Alicia a few days ago, now filled with aggression.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Mebius wasn't as crazy as he had been in the Paradise of the Past, and was still quite 'reasonable'.

Mebius's smile froze, and she gave the man in front of her a cold look, as if he had her Achilles' heel.

This feeling of intense longing, yet being unable to obtain it, is truly unbearable.

"Be careful, don't fall into my hands."

"Don't worry, I'm not some softie who'd take pity on women. You'd better not do anything reckless." Ryan smiled insincerely and pointed in the direction they came from: "Just a friendly reminder, there are some thugs over there. Dressed so alluringly at night, I don't want to see you on the news the next day."

“You don’t need to worry about that. In fact, I just ran into some thugs.” Mebius wasn’t embarrassed or annoyed, and pointed to the alley in the distance as well. “Now, their bodily fluids should be flowing into the sewers.”

She's definitely not an ordinary woman.

Ryan's eyes twitched. He knew, of course, that Mebius wasn't some innocent little rabbit, and he had no interest in continuing the argument. Anyway, he was careful with what he ate and slept these past few days, and the woman would naturally go back once she couldn't find an opportunity.

Möbius is very smart. He not only knows how to weigh the pros and cons, but he also won't act rashly without absolute certainty. So, the two of them have only had some entanglements over the years.

"Hurry back to Mu Continent, it's very dangerous outside."

"Where I am is none of your business."

Mebius returned her words verbatim, frowning slightly as she watched the automatic door close. Indeed, she had secretly left the base these past few days, hoping to find an opportunity to dig a pit and then quietly hunt down her prey, but the man in front of her gave her no chance at all.

It's not just powerful, but also mysterious, making it impossible for people to see through its depths. Without certainty, she had no choice but to suppress her desire to explore.

"The remaining money can only last for five days of instant noodles, and then I'll have to slink back home. It's really a headache."

Mebius smoothed his hair, his mind preoccupied with figuring out his next move.

Boom!

After the muffled thud, Mebius, who had only taken two steps, immediately turned red in the face and slowly squatted down, only to find that there was actually a piece of iron pillar on the ground in front of him.

It hurts...

She gripped her leather shoes, glanced discreetly behind her, then slowly stood up and limped away into the distance.

Pfft, serves you right for not paying attention while walking.

Ryan, who was slurping noodles by the window, couldn't help but laugh out loud and quickly took out his phone to take a picture of his back.

Ryan gloated, but in reality, he had no personal grudge against Mebius. Apart from trying to dig a pit, Mebius hadn't actually done anything.

But Ryan knew her purpose and wouldn't take the bait no matter what.

"You saw the battle report and came here because you smelled it?" Ryan stopped smiling. Mebius was somewhat dangerous to him because he was always paying attention and could always find some clues. Fortunately, he had taken precautions in advance.

Unfortunately, this danger cannot be eliminated, and Mebius's importance is no less than that of May.

He rubbed his head. The only way to deal with this persistent woman was to ignore her and then use some methods to cut research funding until she felt the pinch.

'Looks like I need to find an opportunity to get back at Changkong City. It won't be good to break ties with her.' Ryan threw the empty box into the trash can, slowly got up, and just as he picked up the instant coffee on the table, he paused again.

earthquake?

The ground was trembling slightly, imperceptible to ordinary people. The next moment, Ryan raised his head.

Right where Mebius had just suffered a setback, the 'iron pillar' suddenly rose, and then the ground arched up, revealing a square mechanical head emerging from the earth.

Ryan's first thought was that the woman had finally made her move, but he quickly realized something was wrong. The machine arched out halfway and fired several miniature missiles from behind, their bright exhaust flames illuminating the night sky.

Flying towards Möbius!

Chapter Eighteen: Can't you be a little more gentlemanly?

Honestly, why don't those people understand?

Mebius was very unwilling. It was obvious that Ryan had a problem, but those short-sighted higher-ups just wouldn't agree to let her do the research, and they wouldn't even let someone like Alicia cooperate with the research.

I've always been very gentle with these precious white mice, but they forced me to come to Changkong City.

A piercing pain shot through her foot, and without even needing an examination, she knew it was a fracture. Then she thought of Ryan's head.

Why is this person so wary of me? I was so friendly and approachable when we first met, exuding the mature charm that he likes most at his age. Does he have some kind of mind-reading ability?

The more curious she became, the more unwilling she was to give up. Yet, she couldn't do anything about Ryan. After much thought, the only breakthrough she could find was through Alicia, but even that woman left her helpless.

How can things go smoothly?

Mebius fell into deep thought, and just then, she heard a noise behind her.

Boom—whoosh.

First came the sound of breaking ground, then a huge object emerged. Before she could even see it clearly, several silver missiles flew towards her at high speed, magnifying in her blue pupils. Everything happened too suddenly, and her mind hadn't even processed it yet.

what?

The world seemed to freeze. She could clearly see the warhead growing larger and larger, falling straight down in front of her.

Boom boom boom!

The explosion shattered the silent night; shrapnel sliced ​​through streetlights like blades; water pipes were severed and jets of water shot into the air; and the windows of roadside shops shattered completely.

Mebius blinked, everything seemed to slow down in her eyes. She slowly turned around and saw the man grabbing her collar and fleeing quickly from the center of the explosion.

Ryan, like a chick being picked up, suddenly appeared from the side, grabbed Mebius, and left, not even puzzled as he watched the mushroom cloud rise.

The enemies of the Fire Moth are the Honkai, but not only the Honkai; there are many other strange and unusual organizations.

He landed on the ground, turned his head to look at Mebius, and found that this woman who had just escaped death showed no fear whatsoever.

"Heh, you're actually getting this close to me. Aren't you afraid this time?"

"You think I want to make a move?" Ryan retorted decisively, but he knew that Mebius couldn't die; many important studies were done by her. "Let's put our business aside for now. Who is this guy?"

The machine is moving forward, and it's supposed to be high-tech, possessing powerful unmanned autonomy. However, its body structure is extremely crude, and its tracks look like they were taken from some tractor. Its square head is covered with a samurai helmet, making it look both shabby and childish.

"A self-righteous person who thinks the Honkai is caused by the Moths and is always making trouble for us."

What a mess.

Ryan frowned as he saw the machine's chest open, revealing two Gatling guns.

"hide."

"Could you please stop being so rude...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Ryan had already picked her up and jumped out. A series of loud 'rat-a-tat-tat' sounds filled the air as the ground was torn to shreds and cars parked on the side of the road were instantly blown to pieces.

The firepower was strong, and Ryan did not underestimate these civilized weapons. Apart from being able to mobilize Honkai energy, he was still made of flesh and blood, and his physical strength was not high enough to withstand 30mm armor-piercing rounds.

In the blink of an eye, he dragged Mebius into the alley and saw the miniature missiles falling from above.

Automatic search? Self-configured tactics? Such advanced artificial intelligence.

He tossed Mebius aside, then lifted his trench coat, drew his dagger, and casually slashed it towards the sky.

Honkai energy formed crimson blades that disappeared into the night, blasting the missiles apart in mid-air.

boom--

Several fireballs illuminated the dark alley and also Möbius's eyes, but instead of the joy of surviving a disaster, her eyes were filled with curiosity.

Manipulating energy with human power.

Boom!

A machine several meters tall landed in front of the two men, and a giant machete popped out under the action of hydraulic pressure. Ryan stepped forward and held the short sword horizontally above his head.

clang! !

The wind whipped Mebius's hair, and she saw a white shockwave rise, the ground cracking under its force, and she could even see the Honkai energy swirling around the man.

To wrestle with machines using the human body.

Really...

How beautiful!

With a teeth-grinding sound, the machine's joints twisted, some rivets were flung off, and just as the chest cannon spun, Ryan's bent knee thrust upwards—

crunch.

The machine, which was more than three meters tall, tilted backward. Before it could stand up, a crimson blade flashed.