Necromancer, but pre-collapse civilization

　In such dire circumstances, sensible people can only rely on highly automated industrial and agricultural systems to painstakingly maintain the supply of basic necessities for survival.

　It is clear to anyone that if a solution to sleeping sickness is not found soon, human society will face annihilation.

　Against this backdrop, the immense responsibility borne by Dr. May and Dr. Spassy is self-evident.

　As for the necromancer, he naturally knew the root of the Sleeping Collapse, but he had no intention of letting human society easily get rid of its current predicament.

　He still vividly remembers the "friction" that nearly broke out into a full-scale war with human society a few days ago.

　The necromancer's retaliatory actions against the powerful and wealthy are actually very dangerous.

　Had it not been proven that the Underwater City of Abyss and the Lunar City of Neo-Atlantis were unable to stop the necromancer's curse spells, a global war would have already broken out.

　In this situation, it is already extremely rare for Moros to exercise restraint and tolerance by not taking advantage of the plight of human society on this planet, out of consideration for Alicia and Eden.

　Do we want him to lend a helping hand and assist the Fire-Chasing Moth and human society in overcoming their difficulties?

　It’s simply a fool’s errand!

　Indeed, the shadow of sleeping sickness also looms over the necromancer's territory, causing tens of thousands of people to fall into a deep sleep.

　However, due to the existence of the [Territory-level Soul Collection Array], from a short-sighted perspective, Moros not only did not suffer any losses from this disaster, but unexpectedly gained even greater short-term benefits.

　Therefore, despite the anxiety and panic from the outside world, Moros remained calm and composed and did not rush to take action.

　He viewed the loss of long-term benefits caused by sleeping sickness as a "strategic cost" that had to be paid to exert influence on human society and slow its development.

　Getting back to the main point, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Fire Chaser research team and, more importantly, Dr. Mei's exceptional abilities, Fire Chaser finally dispelled the fog of mystery and confirmed the root cause of [Sleeping Syndrome].

　The disease called "Sleeping Syndrome" is not a real disease, but rather the power of Honkai.

　The individual who triggers the "sleeping disorder" is identified as the Eighth Herald.

　Based on the research of Dr. Mei and the Fire-Chasing Moth research team, they unanimously concluded that the Eighth Herrscher...

　Its capability is a meme weapon.

　After seeing words that have been contaminated by Him, a person's spirit will be infected and they will fall into a dream controlled by Him.

　But research progress on the fire-chasing moth has stopped there.

　Although they revealed the connection between [Sleeping Syndrome] and the Eighth Herrscher, many mysteries surrounding this enigmatic Herrscher remain shrouded in mystery.

　What exactly is the Eighth Herrscher? Where is He located? How can they defeat Him?

　Furthermore, why does He keep changing the words used to describe pollution? What is He looking for?

　These questions, like the sword of Damocles hanging over the horizon, have left scientists, including Dr. May, who are like moths drawn to a flame, feeling perplexed and anxious.

　Faced with this series of unsolved mysteries, Dr. Mei knew that with the existing strength and resources of the Fire-Chasing Moth, it would be difficult to find the answers and completely solve the problem in a short period of time.

　So she decided to take a bold and risky strategy—to seek cooperation with the necromancer.

　Since science cannot pinpoint the location of the Eighth Herrscher in such a short time, we should seek help from non-scientific means.

　If it were Mei from the real world, she wouldn't have such thoughts.

　After all, in that world, magic and all supernatural forces other than the Honkai were considered nonsense and strictly excluded from the mainstream cognitive system.

　But on this planet, the situation has changed dramatically.

　The power of necromancers has been fully verified and demonstrated in numerous real-world battles.

　For the higher-ups in this moth-to-a-flame movement, unscientific methods are not some far-fetched fantasy.

　That is precisely why Dr. Mei had such an idea.

　Unfortunately, Dr. May's proposal to seek help from necromancers was thwarted in the Moth Council and was rejected on the spot.

　Looking back, necromancers have played a key role in several Herrscher-slaying operations, and their dominant position is unshakeable.

　In contrast, although the Fire Moths are nominally the main force against the Honkai, their performance in the previous major Honkai events has been relatively lackluster.

　If this trend continues, the very existence of the moth that chases the flame will be seriously questioned.

　For the survival and development of the organization, all the members of the Firemoth Council unanimously agreed that, if they could resolve the Herrscher threat on their own, they should avoid seeking external assistance as much as possible.

　This decision was supported by well-thought-out analysis from their think tank.

　According to the analysis of their think tank, the Eighth Herrscher is very likely to lack the ability to fight head-on.

　In other words, once the hiding place of the God's Apostle who created the "Sleeping Syndrome" is located, Moths of Flame will not need to use their precious Fusion Warriors. A single, precisely calculated nuclear bomb drop will be enough to completely eliminate the threat of the Eighth Herrscher.

　This analysis by the think tanks was not unfounded, but based on rigorous logical reasoning.

　They reminisced about the spectacular scenes when the previous Herrschers descended.

　Those Heralds all announced their arrival with earth-shattering destruction, as if to make the whole world tremble at their coming.

　However, the Eighth Herald adopted a completely different strategy.

　It chose silence and concealment, daring not to reveal its true form before the fire-chasing moth. This abnormal behavior undoubtedly exposed a certain deficiency in its power.

　Therefore, the think tank has reason to believe that the Eighth Herrscher adopted such a cautious strategy precisely because it understood that it lacked the power to directly confront the Moths of Flame.

　Faced with such a seemingly "fragile" enemy, the high-ranking members of the Moth of Fire Council were naturally unwilling to miss this rare opportunity.

　They were eager to use this opportunity to demonstrate their power and consolidate their position.

　As for the innocent people who will lose their lives because of their actions, the high-ranking legislators don't care at all.

Chapter 413 Countermeasures against the Fire-Chasing Moth

　Faced with strong united pressure from within the Moth of Flame Council, even though Dr. May firmly believed deep down that cooperating with necromancers was the best way to deal with the threat of the Eighth Herrscher, she had no choice but to temporarily set aside her personal views and compromise.

　She was neither as unconventional as Mebius nor as whimsical as Vervière, but rather the most composed and best at weighing the pros and cons among the three.

　This quality of prioritizing the overall situation, while earning her respect and trust among the moths, also inadvertently became her weakness.

　It's common knowledge that good people are often threatened with guns.

　The members of the Firemoth Council valued her rare sense of responsibility and spirit of sacrifice, which made them even more unscrupulous in imposing their will on her.

　With Dr. Mei's intelligence, she was certainly aware of this.

　However, considering the importance of the Moth Chaser Council to the entire organization, and the chaos and turmoil that might result if these councilors were to encounter any mishap, Dr. May had no choice but to temporarily set aside her personal feelings and resolutely choose to prioritize the overall situation and continue to play her role well.

　After recovering from the frustration of her proposal being rejected, Dr. Mei addressed her personal setback.

　The feelings were buried deep in the corner of his heart, but he turned to the arduous task of fighting against the Eighth Herrscher with a more determined and resolute attitude.

　With only the resources of the Flame-Chasing Moths at their disposal, Dr. May, with her exceptional wisdom, devised a plan that was both bold and insane.

　By voluntarily stepping into the dream world meticulously constructed by the Eighth Herrscher, one can trace the whereabouts of this divine apostle in the real world within that labyrinth woven from memories and thoughts.

　At the heart of this plan is the research achievement that the Fifth Research Institute is so proud of – the [Observation Hub].

　This device, originally designed to observe the deepest aspects of human consciousness and reveal the laws governing the operation of the human mind, has now been given a completely new mission.

　It will become a magical key connecting reality and dreams, allowing warriors' consciousness to temporarily break free from the constraints of their bodies and freely travel between reality and dreams.

　In theory, the [Observation Hub] can not only safely send warriors into the dream world, but also continuously track and locate their positions, ensuring that they can be pulled back to reality from the dream created by the Herrscher at critical moments.

　That does sound reassuring.

　However, when facing the Eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Consciousness, who specializes in the realm of consciousness, whether the power of the [Observation Hub] can truly bring the warrior who has entered the dream realm back to the real world safely is filled with great uncertainty.

　Even so, faced with numerous difficulties and unpredictable risks, Dr. Mei still firmly chose this path.

　In her view, this is the most feasible solution under the current circumstances, and the only way to save more innocent lives.

　There was nothing they could do. Even as the Fire Moth confirmed that the mastermind behind the Sleeping Disease was the Eighth Herrscher, this apostle of God did not stop.

　She is like a cunning hunter, constantly changing the words infected by memes, further shrouding the shadow of "sleeping sickness" in every corner of the world.

　Under His careful planning, to date, more than ten million people have unfortunately been infected with sleeping sickness and fallen into a coma from which they cannot wake up.

　Preliminary estimates suggest that, at the current rate of spread, the number of victims of sleeping sickness will exceed 100 million in just ten days.

　Three hours later.

　Before completing the final adjustments to the [Observation Hub].

　After a rapid and meticulous selection process by the Fire Moth, a group of warriors deemed to possess exceptional psychological qualities and unwavering spirit were brought together.

　They are about to receive the cutting-edge drug developed by Dr. May and Dr. Spassy – the "Mind Lock".

　This is the key weapon against the Eighth Herrscher.

　Thanks to the Eighth Herrscher's arrogance regarding her control over [consciousness], the brainwave frequencies of all victims infected with [Sleeping Syndrome] exhibit a striking similarity.

　This gave the moths that chase the flame an opportunity to take advantage.

　Dr. May and Dr. Spassy used this common ground to develop a revolutionary drug called "Mind Lock".

　[Mind Lock] is a drug that causes disorientation and cognitive impairment.

　It allows users to actively filter when they see specific keywords.

　However, the effectiveness of this drug is limited.

　As the number of keywords contaminated by the Eighth Herrscher increases, the effect of [Consciousness Shackles] will also become ineffective.

　Therefore, before the Eighth Herrscher is completely defeated, they must race against time and seize the fleeting opportunity.

　"Everyone, are you all ready?"

　Dr. Mei's gaze swept over the resolute faces of the seven Fusion Warriors and the many other Firemoth Warriors who were ordinary people, a complex emotion that was hard to describe flashing in her eyes.

　As the planner of this project, she knew better than anyone that although the technology of the [Observation Hub] was advanced, its protective function was extremely fragile in the face of the unimaginable power of the Eighth Herrscher.

　In other words, most of these brave and fearless soldiers will not be able to return alive.

　"I'll reiterate the key points of this operation one last time. However, since the [Mind Lock] is already in effect, I'll use other pronouns to refer to our objective."

　"In five minutes, you will enter the [Observation Hub] and, through the [Observation Hub], enter His dream. Your task is to find His location in the dream."

　Dr. Mei paused deliberately for a moment, giving the soldiers time to digest the information and adjust their mindset.

　She then continued.

　“In dreams, you will face His power directly, so do not believe anything you see. It is a trap He has set for you. If you cannot resist the temptation, you will never be able to get out.”

　The illusion created by the Eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Consciousness, is so exquisite and perfect that it cannot be compared to any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

　That is a spiritual realm constructed by the power of [Will], where every detail has been meticulously crafted, reaching a state of near perfection.

　In the dream woven by this apostle of God, the Firemoth warriors who venture into it will confront the deepest desires and temptations within their hearts.

　Those who can remain clear-headed and choose to refuse what they most desire are far fewer than those who believe they can do it.

　"Even if we defeat Him and break the dream, you won't be able to come back..."

　Dr. Mei's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible sadness.

　"I don't want you to be carried out of the [Observation Hub], do you understand?"

　"understand!"

　Looking at these soldiers who remained steadfast despite knowing the enormous risks involved in this operation, Dr. Mei nodded.

　"Now, let's make the final preparations."

　After saying that, she left with Kevin.

　This provides a peaceful space for these warriors who are about to embark on the perilous battlefield of consciousness.

Chapter 414 The Necromancer's Thoughts and the Eighth Herrscher

　Time moves forward.

　When the shadow of the Sleeping Disease suddenly enveloped the land, and before the Fire Moths had truly confirmed its connection to the Honkai, Mebius and Velvet had already hidden themselves in his demiplane according to Moros's previous warning.

　Recalling the necromancer's solemn expression when he persuaded them to retreat into the demiplane, and the secrets he revealed about the [Sleeping Syndrome] and the Eighth Herrscher, the two women's hearts were once again stirred.

　Although Mebius and Velvet believed the necromancer's words without question, when the shadow of the Eighth Herrscher truly enveloped the planet and the terrifying power of [Sleeping Syndrome] was mercilessly displayed, an indescribable shock and astonishment inevitably welled up in their hearts.

　"The Eighth Herrscher?"

　Mebius's voice trembled slightly, tinged with disbelief.

　"I'm afraid so."

　Vilvi took over the conversation.

　Without a word, a tacit exchange of glances was enough for Mebius and Vervière to feel the turmoil in each other's hearts.