Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

The cat looked bewildered.

What's wrong? What happened? Why are you looking at me like that? What did you discover just from your casual remark? What did you prove? What are the keywords?

For the first time, the cat began to seriously doubt the difference in intelligence between itself and Eve.

Wait a minute, you have a share of my genes, so why does it feel like your brain was entirely provided by Sister Mei and Sister Snake?! Doll, you just woke up and you're already acting like you "know everything about the case"—what's with that?!

“But it’s possible there’s more than one keyword.” Shen Liang closed his eyes. “Dobia encountered a Honkai attack. Hmm, according to Kosmo, this is the ‘Eighth Honkai’.”

Useless, but cute cat.jpg

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Chapter Thirty-Nine: I Know the Nine of Us Will Fall in Love with Him Sooner or Later

"Hey, baby, what's going on?" the cat asked cautiously.

The yacht docked at a secluded island beach. Shen Liang casually threw the anchor out and tied it on the shore with a few knots. Then he turned back to look at the sleeping Daisy Dobby.

"Let's sort out the intelligence first. The Eighth Honkai Impact has begun. The specific way the calamity will descend is unknown. Mei and the others have determined that it is related to 'words'. Judging from the information Dobia saw in the text message, the keyword should be after 'pursue'. It could be two words, four words, or even the whole sentence after 'pursue'. You can think about it first, but be careful not to say the words after 'pursue' out loud. I don't want to fall into a deep sleep with you."

Pado thought to herself, "I'm already stupid, it's too much to ask me to think." But since Shen Liang had brought this up, she quickly realized that the key words for Daisy Dobia's dizziness were likely "chasing fire" or "moth chasing fire" or the whole sentence that followed, but the possibility of "the whole sentence" was unlikely.

Shen Liang glanced at her, guessing that she probably already knew what was going on, and continued.

"Based on the available intelligence, we can draw the following conclusions: First, the Eighth Herrscher's ability has a viral infectiousness; second, the Eighth Herrscher's ability has a limited range, and outside the base, only the three of us who received Kosma's information may be in danger; third, the base has already collapsed; fourth, this ability will unconditionally put people into a deep sleep rather than cause death or fainting; fifth, we will not receive support from the base and will become an isolated island outside."

"Hey, hey, hey, how did you come to these conclusions?!"

Although Pado always equated his intelligence with that of a cat, he never thought the doll's intelligence was that outrageous before; sometimes he was even adorably clueless. "Based on the available information," Pado had absolutely no idea what information he had to offer. This way of speaking must have been learned from Sister Mei and Sister Snake, right? Have some consideration for ordinary people!

Shen Liang glanced at the cat again.

The cat felt subtly slighted by the doll.

"Tell me! Where did you get this information?!" Pado was frantic, unable to understand.

"It's a very simple logic. Mei and Mebius from the base are smarter than me. What I can see, they can also see. If the Eighth Herrscher's power range were infinite, the base's advertisements would be everywhere. Just now, the movie screening on the beach had our sponsor logo. The whole world would have been in a mass coma long ago... But that didn't happen, so the Herrscher's power range should be limited."

"At the same time, the base urgently requested a power and internet shutdown because it was discovered that this ability requires a text carrier and a display device. The internet shutdown was due to the suspicion that the Herrscher's ability could be transmitted through human-to-human contact. Dobia received the message from Kosmo and was infected, which proves this point, that is, viral infection."

"As long as we don't look at Kosmo's information and avoid encountering those keywords in our daily lives, we should be safe. Conversely, since the Herrscher's abilities can't prevent it, the base must have already put a large number of people into a state of sleep and is in a state of collapse. Further, since the collapsed base dares not contact anyone, we will not receive any support."

Pado was stunned. Shen Liang's calm and methodical analysis of the situation was incredibly imposing, and she was overwhelmed in an instant.

There's no way around it; they're not on the same intellectual level. It seems her genetic doll inherited nothing except for cuteness.

"But how do you know that the Herrscher's abilities really can't affect us through this medium? What if, as you said... it's some kind of viral spread, and once it spreads to us, it can already affect us?" Pado was still pondering.

If we happen to see or hear the words "moth chasing the flame" in advertisements on the streets... it's impossible to guard against.

“In theory, it’s not difficult to consciously avoid words that start with ‘zhu’. You can wear sunglasses. The dark filter of sunglasses can ensure that most of the details of life will be blurred in your eyes, making it less likely to notice keywords that start with ‘zhu’,” Shen Liang said calmly.

"I'm a fusion warrior, my eyesight is excellent! There are ads all over the world that start with 'first letter', our base advertises and gets a lot of sponsorships! Besides, we have audio, what if someone plays a base ad on the street and we hear it?"

"Theoretically, the base should immediately notify the United Nations to remove any video or audio information about the base worldwide in case the Herrscher's abilities change. Secondly, you can wear earplugs; the Herrscher's abilities should not be triggered unless you are clearly aware that you have seen or heard the 'keyword'."

"So many details...that's too much trouble."

"And, kitty, take off your pants."

"Huh?" Padre was taken aback. "I'm only wearing a swimsuit, where am I supposed to take it off... Okay, it's not that I don't want to play with you, but at a time like this, we should be thinking about how to rescue Dobiya and how to get back to the base, right? Although I think if something big happens at the base, we can just settle down in Pattaya instead of going back. Padre, you have a lot of money, let's calculate our luggage, find a hotel to stay in, and wait for Boss Kevin to deal with the Herrscher before we go out, so we don't accidentally see any keywords and faint together. If it takes a year or two to deal with the Eighth Herrscher, how about I help you get pregnant..."

Shen Liang's face was expressionless, her hands on her hips. "Shut up, have you forgotten that the clothes we're wearing are uniforms, including our swimsuits?"

It was only then that Pado realized that he had been wrapped in a white towel from the beginning and had thrown all his previous clothes into the sea. Pado subconsciously looked over, but Shen Liang suddenly covered her eyes. She was stunned for a moment before she understood.

Their costumes were designed by the Fire Moths; not only the clothes, but even the belts had the Fire Moths logo on them.

“We must be careful under any circumstances. Because of Kosmo’s text messages, we will face the same situation as the people inside the base. We must avoid these keywords at all times,” Shen Liang said in a low voice. “But the scariest thing is that new keywords may appear, and these keywords need to be tested by someone, just like Dobia.”

------------

Area A5, Experimental Building, Biochemical Storage Room – Confinement Room.

After the incident was named the "Herrscher of Knowledge Collapse," the confinement room was heavily guarded.

Because the Herrscher of Knowledge directly attacked the Fire Chaser Base instead of wreaking havoc worldwide, it's hard not to suspect that its target might be the previous Herrschers who are still alive. Therefore, the confinement room is no longer guarded by ordinary people, but by Fusion Warriors, and not even ordinary Fusion Warriors.

Instead, it was the first generation of fusion warriors, codenamed CM-002, Alicia, and codenamed CM-004, Sakura.

"Alicia, do you have the authority to reject my application? Give me a reason, such as the ridiculous argument that my genes are too high in the doll's bloodline, and that having offspring might result in deformed children. Ha, you're good at lying through your teeth anyway."

In the solitary confinement cell on the seventh basement level, in the pitch-black air filled with the smell of formaldehyde, a tall, mature woman with long, slender fox ears leaned against the glass of a life support tank, her arms crossed over her chest, with a Zhoubo knife standing beside her.

Across from her, a fairy-like girl with pink hair casually pulled up a deck chair and sat down opposite her, next to a small table and a drawer full of snacks. There was even a half-finished bottle of milk beer on the table. Alicia was comfortably reclining in front of the air conditioner vent, looking completely different from Sakura, who was also on duty.

"I wouldn't use such a stupid statement. Thirty years ago, technology could perform gene adjustments on fetuses, so no one could give birth to a deformed child. Besides, everyone's proportion is the same, one in nine, which is very fair. Of course, nowadays, babies absorb so many girls' genes, so it's hard to say whether our proportion is still one in nine~" Alicia chuckled.

"Besides, how could I possibly refuse the lovely Sakura? The approval of these applications is decided by the higher-ups. For super-strong and powerful fusion warriors like you and me, wanting to leave offspring to pass on our genes... is not easy at all. Not just the... base, there are plenty of stinky guys who want to voice their opinions!"

"The superior refers to..."

"Who else could be at the base? The United Nations, of course. We're highly anticipated super soldiers, the light of humanity. Many people certainly don't want the light of humanity to be tarnished." Alicia shrugged. "From the higher-ups' perspective, the doll is just a bio-weapon that Mebius created on a whim, treated the same as her Shesa—just a little monster. If word got out that the light of humanity and a little monster were to get together, the reputation of the fusion warriors would probably be tarnished!"

"It's a bit ridiculous, the fusion warriors are monsters themselves."

"Hmph, but the higher-ups don't think that way. They went to great lengths to portray us from monsters into great heroes. Take my dear Eden, for example, the beautiful and gentle Eden. You've met her, haven't you? She's the most famous superstar in the outside world! Her influence is probably more powerful than what the United Nations says. Just think about it, she's the face of our Fusion Warriors. If word got out that she'd been taken by a doll, a lot of people would be disillusioned."

Sakura was taken aback. "As expected, even Eden... Airi, you really have some tricks up your sleeve."

"What do you mean I have good methods? It was Eden who dragged me along, not the other way around. Sakura, you don't understand who the real culprit is at all!" Alicia put her hands on her hips. "I just made a suggestion, and Eden dragged me into it without saying a word."

"Then I'm quite curious. If the higher-ups don't approve of us as the face of the Fusion Warriors, how did you and Eden manage to do it?"

"We acted first and reported later." Alicia snapped her fingers, smiling as she looked at the astonished fox-like young lady. "I'm not like Sakura, who reports everything beforehand. I'd miss the opportunity. Anyway, the report would just be rejected. So let's eat the doll first. What can they do to punish my cuteness? Hmm~ After all, I'm the face of the Fusion Warriors."

Sakura silently stared at the mischievous Alicia, the adorable pink-haired fairy tilting her head and looking at her, her hair falling to her hips. Although it was a mischievous grin, the smile was clean and content, like a well-fed little female cat.

“Stealing a fish…” Sakura said coldly.

"Miss Fox, haven't you learned how to steal fish yet? The taste of stealing fish is wonderful!" Seeing Sakura's expression gradually becoming scary, Ellie quickly threw a bag of dried fish at her. "But Sakura, you don't spend much time with Doll, do you? Apart from taking care of Doll for a week when it's your turn, you're always away on fieldwork and rarely spend time with Doll, unlike us who even sleep and bathe together... You're actually not someone who needs a lot of comfort, so why do you want to tie your life to Doll?"

Sakura pondered for a moment, "I can't say I have no feelings for Wawa, after all, I watched him grow up... But I do, perhaps, feel more like an older sister's love for him. But we Asians value lifelong commitment, saying that if you meet the right person, you should walk together. I don't know if Wawa is the right person for me, but I don't have time to look for someone else. Maybe next year, maybe tomorrow, I'll die, so I might as well find someone I at least like now to secure my future."

"What is this called... the instinct of a living being to leave offspring before it dies?" Alicia smiled slightly. "But Sakura, the baby isn't mature enough to be a father yet. He's only been learning human values ​​and common sense for three years. Three years is barely enough for an ordinary human to learn to speak. Taking on the responsibility of a man is too far away for him. Right now, he only sees himself as an experimental product and can't even feel the love that everyone is pouring into him, Mei's love, my love, and all kinds of pure love with different purposes."

"These are not things I need to consider. Indeed, the child is naive, but naive people always grow up, and boys always become men," Sakura said softly. "I am selfish. He can live for a very long time and grow up. I hope he can live on with my love. Perhaps I cannot be a good mother or a good wife, but I long for a child to become a good husband and a good father. When, countless years later, he remembers me again from the cycle of reincarnation and finds that I have become an indelible mark on the depths of his soul... that will prove that I have ultimately left some trace in this world."

"The baby will be very lonely in the future," Alicia sighed.

"So I hope to make him as fulfilled and happy as possible while he's alive, so that in the millions of years of loneliness that follow, only our carefree and absurd life can slowly nourish him." Sakura tilted her head back and drank a can of milk beer, the liquid dripping down her neck. "I know that all nine of us will fall in love with him sooner or later, because none of us are selfless good women. Who can resist the temptation that even millions of years later, after all the changes in the world, we will still be engraved in someone's memory?"

"A night of pleasure exchanged for a thousand years of loneliness, we are indeed both bad women." Alicia clinked glasses with her from afar.

At this moment, the red-haired woman, who was floating in a life support tank filled with green liquid, silently opened her bright golden eyes.

"Oh, you're awake. Would you like something to drink?" Alicia waved her hand dismissively, but her eyes were filled with sorrow. "Herrscher of Flame, Ms. Himiko."

Chapter 40 Stripping the Herrscher Core

This Honkai event is the eighth Honkai, a calamity created by a Herrscher named "Herrscher of Knowledge".

Inside the confinement chamber were the first seven Herrschers, whose Honkai energy had been suppressed, who had been deprived of their physical senses, and who had become completely vegetative.

Understanding enables creation, and it can produce the Law of Reason whose army is almost conquering Africa.

The Herrscher of the Void, who controls space and is completely untraceable, causes small-scale destruction worldwide.

The Herrscher of Thunder, who wields the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces, and once disrupted communication between Asia and Europe for three days.

The Wind Ruler, who uses ideal fluids to create tornadoes that sweep across the Pacific Ocean.

The Herrscher of Ice was defeated by Qian Jie within half an hour.

The Sixth Herrscher, who has not yet demonstrated his Herrscher powers, is imprisoned in another solitary confinement cell.

And then there's the Herrscher of Flame, who truly makes people realize the terror of the Herrschers, capable of activating molecular motion and turning Australia into a sea of ​​fire all by herself.

After analyzing the abilities of the Herrschers, Moth Chaser concluded that, apart from the Sixth Herrscher who has not yet demonstrated her Herrscher abilities, the Herrschers are generally becoming more powerful and dangerous.

The Herrscher of Reason merely creates armies and weapons; the UN forces could easily defeat them during their production gaps. The Herrscher of Void is not even as powerful as the current Fusion Warriors, and even with a sweep across the entire Earth, there is nowhere for her to hide. But the Herrscher of Flame has reached a level of destructive power that humans cannot directly confront.

Himiko was captured by Kevin, who risked his life to participate in the super-transformation surgery and became the first fusion warrior. He used his extremely low temperature to suppress Himiko's flames, at the cost of burning down an entire continent, displacing millions of people, and even turning them into charred bones.

The current eighth Herrscher of Knowledge, though yet to be seen, is already terrifying in its presence. Leaving aside combat power, its mere appearance has already reduced the Fire Chaser Base by a third, with the fusion warriors and researchers in a deep slumber showing no signs of awakening. This is humanity's most crucial base in its fight against the Honkai; in some ways, it poses a greater threat than the Herrscher of Flame burning Australia.

Inside the life support tank, Himiko, the Herrscher of Flame, with her long, flowing red hair, looked down at the two guards with her golden eyes. Occasionally, her eyes would dart around, but her expression remained as blank as a wild beast. No one knew what she was thinking; after becoming a Herrscher, only her appearance remained human.

"You must be very sad, Himiko, the instructor of the Poison Chrysalis Squad. You and Hua's friend have become like this." Alicia looked up at Himiko.

She actually appeared to be unharmed, completely naked, with a tall and fit figure. Her red hair hung down in the water due to the density of the nutrient solution, making her look like a diver in an aquarium staring at them through the glass.

However, she was already critically injured and on the verge of death. In order to completely deprive the Herrscher of the ability to resist, nanorods made of Soul Steel alloy were inserted through her brainstem, her heart was sealed by a Soul Steel stent, and blockers were implanted in every joint. This prevented her from obtaining Honkai energy by contacting the Imaginary Dimension, and the Herrscher's regenerative ability could not expel the blockers in her joints, causing her to live in this life support tank forever.

Those horrific wounds are invisible on the surface of the flesh, and the reason why humans are so wary of Himiko is because her power comes from a realm that humans cannot understand at all. As long as she possesses Honkai energy, even the confinement chamber cannot stop her. The flames that attack her are enough to burn through tens of meters of rock, and the high temperature can even block the shock wave of a bunker buster bomb or a nuclear explosion.

Among the seven Herrschers, Himiko is somewhat different, not only because of her strength, but also because of her special identity. Coincidentally, before being chosen as a Herrscher, she was an instructor in the Flame Chaser unit, and many of the current Fusion Warriors are even friends with her.

Therefore, after she became a Herrscher, her blows to the Flame Chaser were even more severe.