I am a hero of the former civilization.

Ryan didn't think much of it. Reconnaissance definitely requires setting targets. After the recent charge, most of the mission was already accomplished. The remaining part was just going in to take a look.

"Senior brother, it's all taken care of."

Ryan turned his head and saw that, as expected, the battle was over except for the follow-up shot. The jungle returned to silence, and Hua was slightly out of breath, obviously not having expended too much strength.

"Well, there won't be any disturbances later, and you can have a proper tour. Doesn't that feel relaxing?"

"Yes, without you, I would have had no choice but to retreat in a battle of this scale. The most annoying thing about Honkai Beasts is that they don't know whether they are alive or dead. They wear down our energy with sheer numbers, and I would have had to take some risks to cover the retreat." Hua looked up, her eyes filled with admiration. Among the people around Ryan, Hua was definitely the most blindly trusting.

"It is precisely because they are unaware of life and death that they can be continuously lured out and killed. If they develop emotions, it will be even more troublesome."

"Like the Herrscher?"

“No, more like those traitors. Go and gather the team,” Ryan replied casually, then stood silently to the side. As the inspector, he couldn’t help Hua cheat every time.

After a fierce battle, the 10th Squadron suffered only two serious injuries and five minor injuries. They had consumed more than half of their Honkai energy and ammunition. In terms of results, such losses were negligible, considering that it had only been an hour and a half since the start of the battle.

The rotorcraft immediately took away the wounded, while the remaining personnel rested briefly before regrouping into combat formation.

Hua also acted as if Ryan didn't exist, first sending a three-person team to search Delta, while the rest were fully prepared to provide support at any time. Sure enough, they found clues in the camera's field of vision.

The people here evacuated in a hurry, obviously alarmed by the battle. Ryan had no regrets, as he hadn't intended to capture any survivors anyway.

He had come into contact with those products; they were almost impossible to communicate with, they would only self-destruct, and the key targets would definitely run away immediately, and then the alarmed Honkai Beasts would destroy the entire place, leaving nothing behind.

So he entered the research institute, where there was still electricity. He took the elevator down to the underground, where some instruments were still running, some documents were scattered on the ground, and several soldiers who had been scouts were taking pictures for record-keeping.

Judging from the handwriting of the remaining signature, this place belongs to the defector Dr. Damian. However, the last research record was three days ago, which means that even if Ryan raided this place directly, he would not be able to catch him.

The research institute is not large, and the equipment is quite basic, but it is sufficient for a small team.

When another blast door was breached and opened, Ryan, who was standing at the doorway, frowned.

The overhead lights turned on one by one, illuminating the hall, which was densely packed with glass containers filled with green liquid. Occasionally, a bubble would rise from the container, and upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be bizarre human tissue.

"The South American Research Institute is not equipped with a self-destruct device. It was originally used to study plant mutations in a collapsed environment, so the danger is very low."

Ryan stepped inside, walking past glasswares one by one. These things were recycled waste; what those traitors lacked most was high-tech equipment.

"Plant bombs and destroy everything later."

"Yes." Freya nodded and gathered several explosives experts to get to work.

Hua followed behind Ryan, his face full of disgust: "Senior brother, did that Dr. Damian do all this?"

"Hmm, we're old acquaintances. Without the restrictions of the Fire Moth, you're letting loose a bit." Ryan leaned closer to a glass jar containing a crystallized heart, clearly not formed naturally.

"This person is very persistent and has always wanted to compete with Mei, but the difference in their talents is too great. The only way to catch up with Mei is to take an unconventional approach."

"Does he really want to surpass Dr. Mei?"

"It's just pure jealousy, all for nothing. But don't you think this mission went very smoothly?"

"Well, isn't it because you're here? If it were just me, we would have retreated long ago."

That made sense, and Lane didn't refute it, instead looking at these 'performance art' from a scientist's perspective.

Some had crystallized internal organs, some were chimera-like fused monsters, and some were simply hideous.

Ryan stopped in front of a giant glass jar three meters in diameter and saw the specimen inside. It only had half a body, somewhat like the body of the Honkai Emperor with the head of a girl added. The fairly pretty face only had half a face.

Because the other half was entirely composed of Honkai energy mutants, like a large bunch of enoki mushrooms, it was slowly drifting with the bubbles. The severed lower body was even more eye-catching, as it was covered with countless fleshy buds, as if they were growing out.

"Can I blow this up first?" Hua felt a chill run down his spine and simply turned his head away.

Ryan remained unusually calm, giving it an appreciative look before exclaiming, "In combining the human body with Honkai energy, Damian has already taken the lead. This grafting technique-based surgery is truly remarkable; even Mebius would have to offer some praise."

Amazing? This monster only inspires terror.

Hua suddenly realized that Ryan in his scientist mode was the most difficult to deal with, and forced a glance at him: "Even Dr. Mebius can't compare?"

"She is also researching artificial life, but she has recently encountered a bottleneck. Damian has obviously caught up."

"Is it really that powerful without moral constraints?"

"Morality is only one aspect; fundamentally, it's about different goals. I think I've grasped that concept after all this time." Ryan shook his head. What Hua couldn't understand, he saw very clearly.

All the experiments were extensions of the Fusion Warrior Project, but they were different in essence because his and Mebius's core research was to make as much use of Honkai energy as possible while maintaining 'humanity,' which was equivalent to learning from the enemy's strengths to defeat the enemy. This was an act of confrontation, which is why it was so difficult to move forward.

But Damian is different. His core research lies in 'fusion'. Whether or not human emotions and rationality can be preserved is completely irrelevant. All he wants is a new race, a new race that is completely compatible with the Honkai in both soul and body.

If he succeeds, human civilization will still exist, and the new race will be completely unafraid of Honkai energy, and can even coexist peacefully with Honkai Beasts, thus eliminating the threat of world destruction.

This aligns with the ideas of the faith faction and presents a philosophical debate, but Lane never considered arguing with them, for a simple reason.

Human civilization may be able to continue in another way, but it will certainly die.

"His research is embracing Honkai, and it seems that the Herrscher of Death also provided a lot of help, as there are traces of residual authority."

"Truly a traitor who deserves to die!" Hua immediately cursed, which made Ryan smile. Even if all of humanity betrayed him, Hua would still believe in him.

Just then, Freya came running from the front.

"Chief, we've made a discovery in the data center; the network is still connected."

“I noticed it as soon as I came in.” Ryan had the authority of thunder, so these signs couldn’t be hidden from him. He quickened his pace and walked to a messy data center.

Several screens displayed surveillance footage from various parts of the research institute, while the one in the middle, which was completely black, suddenly flickered when he entered.

It was a familiar face, with long golden hair and a handsome middle-aged man's features. He elegantly raised his hand and greeted him.

Good afternoon, fellow members of the Moth of Fire.