I am the former civilized hero.

Ryan didn't think much about it. Reconnaissance definitely requires setting targets. After the charge just now, most of the task has been completed. The remaining part is to go in and take a look.

"Brother, everything has been resolved."

Ryan turned his head and saw that except for the additional shots, the battle was over. The jungle was silent again, and Hua was breathing slightly, obviously not expending too much energy.

"Well, I won't bother you later. You can have a good look around. Do you feel relaxed?"

"Yes, without you, I would have 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 live or die, and they use their numbers to deplete their energy. I have to take some risks myself to cover their retreat." Hua raised his head, his eyes filled with admiration. Among all the people around Ryan, Hua was definitely the one he trusted the most without a second thought.

"It is precisely because they don't know life or death that we can lure them out and kill them continuously. If they really have emotions, it will be even more troublesome."

"Like the Herrscher?"

"No, more like those traitors, go gather the team." Ryan answered casually, and stood aside silently. As an examiner, he couldn't help Hua cheat every time.

After a fierce charge, only two people of the Tenth Detachment were seriously injured and five were slightly injured. More than half of the Honkai energy and ammunition were consumed. In terms of the results of the battle, this loss can be ignored. It should be noted that it has only been an hour and a half since the war started.

The rotorcraft immediately picked up the wounded, and the rest took a short rest and then formed a battle formation again.

Hua had to pretend that Ryan didn't exist, so he first sent a three-person team to search the delta, and the others were fully prepared to respond at any time. Then, they found clues in the camera's field of view.

The people here evacuated in a hurry, obviously disturbed by the battle. Ryan did not have any regrets, as he had not intended to capture a few people alive.

He had come into contact with those products, and they were almost incapable of communication and would only self-destruct. The key targets would definitely run away at the first possible moment, and then the alarmed Honkai beasts would destroy the broken things completely, leaving nothing behind.

So he also entered the research institute, where there was still electricity, and took the elevator to the underground. Some instruments were still running, some documents were scattered on the ground, and several soldiers who were former scouts were taking pictures for record.

Judging from the preserved signature, this place belongs to the defected Dr. Damian, but the last research record was three days ago, which means that even if Ryan raids this place directly, he won't be able to catch anyone.

The scale of the research institute is not very large and the equipment is very ordinary, but it is enough for a small team.

When another layer of explosion-proof door was cracked and opened, Ryan, who was standing at the door, frowned.

The ceiling lights turned on one by one, illuminating the hall, which was densely packed with glass vessels filled with green liquid that occasionally emitted a bubble. Upon closer inspection, they were all strange human tissues.

"The South American Research Institute does not have a self-destruct device. It was originally used to study plant mutations in a Houkai environment. The danger is very low."

Ryan stepped in and walked past the glassware. These things were recycled, as what the traitors needed most was high-tech equipment.

"Install the bomb and destroy them all later."

"Yes." Freya nodded and called several blasting experts to do the work.

Hua Ze followed behind Ryan, his face full of disgust: "Brother, were all these made by Dr. Damian?"

"Well, we are old acquaintances. Without the restrictions of the Fire Moth, I can let myself go a little." Ryan moved closer to a glass jar, which contained a crystallized heart. Obviously, this was not formed naturally.

"This person is very persistent. He has always wanted to compete with Mei, but the gap between their talents is too great. If he wants to catch up with Mei, he can only take unconventional approaches."

"He wants to surpass Dr. May so much?"

"It's just pure jealousy. It's all a waste of effort. But do you think this mission went smoothly?"

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

That made sense, and Ryan didn't refute it. He turned to look at these "performance arts" from a scientist's perspective.

Some are crystallized internal organs, some are chimera-like fusion monsters, and some look abominable.

Ryan stopped in front of a giant glass jar with a diameter of three meters and saw the specimen inside. It had only half a body, a bit like the body of the Emperor of Honkai Impact 3rd with a girl's head added, and its fairly pretty face had only half of its skin covered.

Because the other half is all Honkai energy mutants, just like a bunch of enoki mushrooms, slowly floating with the bubbles. As for the broken lower part, it is even more eye-catching, with countless granulations that seem to be growing out.

"Can I blow this up first?" Hua's scalp tingled and he simply turned his head away.

Ryan was unusually calm. He looked at it with admiration and exclaimed: "Damian has gone a long way in combining the human body with Honkai energy. This operation based on grafting technology is very exciting. Even Mebius has to give some praise."

Wonderful? This monster is just terrifying.

Hua suddenly felt that Ryan in scientist mode was the most difficult to deal with, so he took a look and said, "Even Dr. Mobius can't beat him?"

"She is also researching artificial life, but she has recently hit a bottleneck. Apparently Damian has surpassed her."

"Are there no moral restrictions so strong?"

"Morality is only one aspect. Fundamentally, the goals are different. It seems that I have a rough idea of ​​it after all this time." Ryan shook his head. What Hua couldn't understand, he could see very clearly.

All the experiments were extensions of the Fusion Warrior Project, but they were different in nature, because his and Mobius' core research was to utilize as much Honkai energy as possible while maintaining "humanity", which was equivalent to learning from the barbarians in order to defeat them. It was a confrontational behavior, which was why they were struggling.

But Damian is different. His core research is on "fusion". Whether or not human emotions and rationality can be preserved is not important at all. All he wants is a new race, a new race that is completely compatible with Honkai in terms of soul and body.

If he succeeds, human civilization will still exist, the new race will not be afraid of Honkai energy at all, and can even live in harmony with Honkai beasts, and there will be no crisis of world destruction.

This was consistent with the ideas of the believers, and there was also room for philosophical debate, but Ryan never thought of arguing with them, and the reason was very simple.

Human civilization may be able to continue in another way, but he will definitely die.

"His research is about embracing the collapse. It seems that the Herrscher of Death also provided a lot of help. There are traces of authority left."

"You are truly a traitor who deserves to die!" Hua cursed immediately, which made Ryan smile. Even if all of humanity rebelled, Hua would definitely believe in himself.

Just then, Freya came running from the front.

"Director, we have made a discovery in the data center. The network is still connected."

"I noticed it when I came in." Ryan had the power of thunder, and these signs could not be hidden from him at all. He quickened his pace and walked to a messy data center.

Several screens were showing surveillance footage from various parts of the institute, but the one in the middle was pitch black, then suddenly flickered when he entered.

It was a familiar face, with long blond hair and a handsome middle-aged face. He raised his hand gracefully and greeted me.

"Good afternoon, fellow Fire Moth colleagues."

Chapter 339: Is this the truth?

It's him?

Ryan raised his eyebrows. Isn't this the former chief of staff of Fire Moth, Calis, who is known as the brain of the organization?

The two had cooperated many times and also fought against each other several times. Ryan had to admit that this was a tough opponent. He didn't expect that he would show up at this time. It seemed as if it was planned.

The helmet concealed his expression very well, and Ryan didn't think twice and switched to Andevich's voice.

"Who are you to be compared to? You are a traitor who deserves death!"

The sudden change of voice reminded everyone that another advantage of this armor is that in an emergency, it can at least make it difficult for the other party to determine the identity.

The other soldiers all looked angry, and the hacker even accessed the network and began to reversely trace the IP address.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what you said is really hurtful. Don't forget who introduced you to join the Fire Moth after the first collapse." Calis said in a brisk tone, as if he was too lazy to doubt Ryan's identity.

Is there such a thing?

He hadn't done his homework on Andevich, and would be exposed if he talked too much, so he simply raised his chainsaw halberd and prepared to chop.

"Want to delay time? That's pointless."

"That's not necessary. The Herrscher is indeed in Rio, but it will take another half an hour for him to reach you. There's no need to be nervous."

The spear paused. This was not Ryan's acting. This was somewhat unexpected. Putting aside the feasibility, the content alone was explosive enough.

"Do you want to atone for your sins? Or do you want to hedge your bets?"

"I don't want to do anything. I just found out that I was deceived. But now that it has come to this, I think it's impossible to turn back."

No one answered him. Of course it was impossible. The impact of Kallis's defection was too bad. He had to die. There was no other way.

"You can't have honor anymore, but if you want to atone for your sins, at least you have some value."

"Sorry, I'm not interested in this. Time is limited and I'm too lazy to beat around the bush." ​​Calis smiled bitterly and looked at it intently. Even through the screen, it made people feel a little nervous.

"After coming here, I have confirmed one thing. The collapse is not just a natural disaster, and it does not hate civilization. It has other wishes."

Ryan held his breath for a moment, not quite understanding why Calis said this, but he was very interested. After all, the fate of these people was unprecedentedly developed.

In the original world line, Calis could not become a traitor, let alone contact the Herrscher. He should have died as an unknown hero in a certain crusade and become a stepping stone for the continuation of civilization.

"Are you trying to say that all this destruction, all this death is just a game?"

"It's not a game. Well, I think it's more like a test, except the final answers are already written. If you don't answer the questions according to the answers, you will get zero points."

It has actually reached this point? That's right, he is very smart, and he is next to the Herrscher, so he should be able to find some clues.

Ryan is a skipper, but he has been in this world for more than 20 years and has been studying imaginary space for more than five years. It is normal for him to notice the problem through the foresight of a time traveler, but this Calis is very powerful. You know, Mei is still not sure.

"So what's the final answer?"

"Don't fight against the collapse. Find a way to embrace it. Even if you lose 99% of the population, the remaining people can still cross the end." Calis answered firmly, grinning elegantly, "Dr. Damian and I found the answer, but Dr. Ryan chose the wrong answer..."

boom!

As soon as he finished speaking, the chainsaw halberd had already cut the screen and the entire console into two pieces. The soldiers turned around to see, but no one was surprised.

"That's complete nonsense. What is the correct answer?"

"You are indeed a traitor. How shameless."

"This is to disrupt our morale. Are the Faithful betraying humanity for such a ridiculous reason?!"

There were curses everywhere, and of course they were all sincere. The winner is the king. At least at this time no one would listen to the loser's words. Only Hua turned her head quietly. She knew Ryan too well and didn't think it was fake.

This is the truth. Regardless of the plot, based on what Ryan has observed now, this is very possible, and he also knows the outcome of the Stigmata Project.

Wouldn't that mean sacrificing the vast majority of people, changing the definition of "humanity", actively embracing collapse and skipping the end?

Sure enough, there are many smart people in the world, and this Calis actually noticed it.

This answer was horrifying, but it had no effect on Ryan, because no matter what the purpose of the collapse was, one thing would not change:

Everyone can embrace Honkai, but I can't. He must exclude me as a cheater.

"This traitor is really crazy. I thought he could turn over a new leaf, but he's still plotting and scheming. Who of you wants to become the monster in the glass container outside?"

Ryan drew out his halberd calmly, thinking that it was a good thing that he had come along out of boredom. He didn't know what purpose this Calis had, but a seed had been sown.

When the world truly falls into despair, this seed will take root and sprout, and the instinct for survival will make people feel that as long as they can stay alive, appearance seems to be not so important.

Apart from anything else, if fusion warriors really want to embrace Honkai, the elimination rate will definitely be very low.

Everyone shook their heads desperately. This was what the commander-in-chief said. Who would dare to question it? Did they really want to be purged?

"It's almost time, Hua, arrange for retreat, don't leave anything here behind."

"it is good."

"Freya, notify the transport plane to come over. The Herrscher really stayed in his lair and didn't run around. Notify the 11th Squadron to pick him up."