The next day, Chen Ran did not go to the First Research Institute. Blanca sent him a message, asking him to wait in the break room of Fire Moth.
Chen Ran brought Durandal to the break room and then saw Nuwa waving: "Chen Ran Senior, over here."
His eyes flashed with a hint of surprise: "You were also called here by Blanca?"
"Yes."
Nuwa said joyfully: "Senior Blanca said she would take us to another department for exchange and learning."
Since that experiment, Nuwa had been down for a few days; after all, some concepts from Shenzhou always made the girl feel heavy.
But soon she realized that no one cared about what happened to her, and she quickly adjusted herself back to normal.
What made her happy was that the sacrifice of that day was not in vain.
Fuxi and Nuwa indeed learned a lot from that experiment. However, once the door named Honkai is opened, it becomes very difficult to close it again.
Fuxi, who was beside her, simply greeted Chen Ran.
Later, she checked Nuwa's body again and found that although Nuwa's appearance had not changed, the genetic traits of the two sisters had become vastly different.
She didn't know if this was good or bad, but for now, it seemed that she and Nuwa could not leave the First Research Institute.
"Oh, did Senior Blanca say anything else?"
Chen Ran didn't pay attention to the sisters' feelings but curiously asked: "For example, where is the exchange and learning taking place, and how long will it last?"
Nuwa shook her head: "I don't know."
The girl blinked her eyes, looking at Chen Ran with curiosity: "By the way, Chen Ran Senior, you already have a girlfriend, huh?"
"Girlfriend?"
"Yes, it's all over the Fire Moth intranet."
Chen Ran hurriedly opened the intranet on his communicator and saw that his 'interactions' with Vill-V from yesterday had already been filmed, edited, and uploaded to the intranet.
And below were a series of blessings... it looked like some water army, very harmonious.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth, and it was clear now that this was Vill-V's intention.
However, Chen Ran had no plans to explain.
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend."
Regardless of whether Vill-V was sincere or not, he simply admitted it. Although he felt a bit guilty towards Wendy, at least for now, it seemed that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
After all, Vill-V was the head of the engineering department.
Internally, Fire Moth needed to band together to survive, and this was Vill-V's unique way of doing so.
The resources that the engineering department could mobilize were limited, but Vill-V's talent was enough to leverage more resources, so it was necessary to broaden the resource pathways. For her, having the opportunity to obtain the Herrscher Core from Chen Ran was undoubtedly a good choice.
And Chen Ran also had places where he needed Vill-V's talent.
He didn't want to offend that woman for the time being.
Nuwa let out a sigh of relief.
Her mind often wandered to some dirty thoughts, fearing that one day Chen Ran would do this or that to her.
Now it seemed there was no need to worry.
Because no matter how one looked at it, the figure of that engineering department head was much better than hers.
Although this fact made her feel even more upset.
While the two were chatting casually, Blanca arrived, holding Griseo's hand.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Blanca paused slightly and said, "The reason for gathering everyone here today is to discuss experiments related to combating the Honkai gene with other departments. This is also what you have been busy with during this time, isn't it?"
As she spoke, she looked at Chen Ran.
Fuxi and Nuwa instinctively covered their mouths, their eyes filled with a hint of astonishment as they looked at Chen Ran.
The experiments they were conducting were supposed to be absolutely confidential; otherwise, the special Nuwa would definitely become the new subject of research.
Chen Ran instinctively frowned and said to Blanca, "Senior Blanca, are you referring to..."
"It's the part you did with MEI before."
Chen Ran let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Of course, this part of the experiment will be explained by Nuwa and Fuxi, so you don't need to participate." Blanca looked at Chen Ran and said, "You don't have to follow us, and I brought you here because Dr. Mobius will also be appearing shortly."
"During this time, the assistant's work will be handed over to you."
Chen Ran hadn't reacted yet when Blanca took Griseo and led Fuxi and Nuwa away.
Griseo still felt a bit reluctant to part with Durandal but still said goodbye.
He only felt a bit of a headache.
Since yesterday, Chen Ran had regarded Mobius as the most dangerous terrorist. Even if those things seemed like benefits to others, to him, they were merely traps set by a snake to catch its prey.
Being Mobius's lab rat wasn't scary because she wasn't someone who enjoyed tormenting lab rats for fun.
But being Mobius's prey was terrifying.
However, Chen Ran couldn't escape yet.
Whether for the Herrscher of the Void's core or for the 'Wendy' in the future, he couldn't give up the resources of the First Research Institute.
He had to conquer this beautiful snake.
Even if she was Medusa, he had to become Perseus.
Just as he was pondering, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Look, whose lab rat is pondering life here?"
Chen Ran turned his head and saw Mobius, unusually not wearing her white lab coat, but a light gray jacket with a turquoise shirt underneath, and simple black casual pants.
Despite the simple outfit, her proud figure made her incredibly alluring.
Chen Ran instinctively distanced himself from her: "Good morning, Doctor."
"Mm-hmm, there's no doctor today."
Mobius paused and said, "Today, I am your lab rat."
She emphasized, "I had Blanca take everyone away from the First Research Institute for ten days. During these ten days, all work will be handled remotely by Blanca, and your time is limited to this."
She wrapped her arms around his waist, inching closer: "In these ten days, you can do whatever you want to me."
Chen Ran nearly lost control.
The most terrifying aspect of the beautiful snake was that even if you realized her danger and uniqueness, you still couldn't help but draw closer.
You always think you're a special prey, but in the end, you fall into the predator's mouth.
On the surface, Mobius and Vill-V were the same kind of person.
They were both intelligent, proud, and self-important.
But in reality, the two were the most different.
Vill-V would use everything as her tool, including her own body. Even becoming Chen Ran's so-called 'girlfriend' was merely to facilitate her contact with the Honkai.
But one very important point was that Vill-V had spent time in society.
Because of this, her common sense and bottom line were much higher than Mobius's due to her education. Although she seemed indifferent to the concept of chastity, there had been no other males around her except for Chen Ran.
She had different thoughts about Chen Ran, not just purely as a tool.
But Mobius was different.
Chen Ran felt that if he could let Mobius obtain her pursuit of the Infinite, even if it meant letting her die immediately, she wouldn't care.
Let alone the concept of chastity, which was of no value to Mobius.
He smiled wryly and said, "Doctor, I don't want to be a scumbag who plays both sides in Fire Moth. After all, I can't rely on my IQ to make a living like you."
Mobius's eyes revealed a hint of intrigue: "Oh? Is it Vill-V?"
"Heh, she acts quickly."
That said, she did distance herself from Chen Ran a bit.
As a Senior, she naturally didn't want rumors to spread about her competing with her junior for a man in Fire Moth.
Mobius lacking a bottom line was one thing, but having pride was another.
She wouldn't abandon her pride in front of others.
Chen Ran let out a slight sigh of relief; he seemed to have found a way to deal with Mobius.
In simple terms: Mobius still cared about her reputation.
...
"So in the end, we still came to the First Research Institute. What was the point of the Fire Moth lounge?"
Upon returning to the First Research Institute, Chen Ran couldn't help but complain.
He had just taken a stroll with Mobius in the lounge, but they hadn't bought anything or entertained themselves.
They were just wandering around.
Durandal raised her little hand and excitedly replied, "I know, I know."
"According to the latest knowledge I've learned, this is called vanity." She said, "Dr. Mobius doing this will make you look very impressive!"
Chen Ran couldn't help but ruffle Durandal's hair: "You're becoming more and more like a person."
"Mm-hmm, is that a compliment?"
This biological computer had been loaded with artificial modules, absorbed a wealth of knowledge, and even developed her own preferences.
If you set aside her appearance and structure, saying she was human was almost accurate.
Durandal said, "Express delivery, express delivery, I want to see your delivery information!"
The figurine Chen Ran ordered half a month ago still hadn't arrived, and she couldn't wait any longer.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth: "I'll give it to you after the experiment is done."
"Yay!"
Mobius frowned as she looked at Durandal.
She actually didn't like this little one, not only because this little one had stolen Griseo's attention but also due to her dissatisfaction with Mu Continent.
Mu Continent created such an excellent biological computer, only for her to become human?
What a luxurious waste.
She couldn't agree with Mu Continent's philosophy, so she naturally hated everything about it.
Everything about Durandal was perfect, but it was a pity she was too much like a human.
"Let's get started; our time is limited." Mobius paused and said, "The reason we just went to the lounge isn't the part Durandal mentioned; I'm not that shallow."
"Of course, if you want to satisfy your vanity, I don't mind cooperating with you, as this is also one of the joys of being human."
Chen Ran only heard Mobius say lightly, "I just renovated the First Research Institute; it seems the workers cleaned up very well."
"Renovated?"
He surveyed the entire research institute and didn't see any differences from yesterday.
Mobius explained, "I had someone install devices to shield external signals and set up a secure firewall for the internal local network."
"At the same time, I also purchased a large amount of drinking water and convenience food. For these ten days, the First Research Institute will be a black box."
"What you want to do to me, everyone outside won't know."
Chen Ran: "..."
"I always feel like you're the one who wants to do something to me, Doctor."
He spread his hands: "I'm not someone who can take jokes, so it's best to make fewer jokes like this."
If he were to do something to Mobius...
Who was the hunter and who was the prey was still uncertain.
Even if Wendy said Mobius had those kinds of thoughts about him, Chen Ran didn't think that the current Mobius had already fallen for him.
You couldn't use future events to define the present; he was very clear about that.
Mobius squinted her eyes: "I'm not joking; at least one thing isn't wrong."
"In these ten days, you can do whatever you want to me; my only goal is for the experiment to be completed."
She anticipated that Chen Ran would fall.
No matter the method, once he fell to the point of losing his so-called bottom line, there would definitely be more surprises and unexpected events.
This was Mobius's judgment.
She believed in this judgment.
Chen Ran frowned.
He wanted to use the method he used on Vill-V to deal with Mobius, but he never had the courage to do so.
This woman was on a whole different level.
If he were Sima Yi, then Mobius was Zhuge Liang using the empty city plan to scare him away.
He said, "We still have some materials left from the previous experiment, Doctor. Let's get started."
"Wait, use this."
Mobius handed a vial to Chen Ran.
"What is this..."
"This is a potion I formulated based on your experimental data, but it contains the Honkai gene of the Herrscher of Thunder."
She didn't want to become a weakened version of MANTIS like Nuwa.
That had no future.
Mobius wanted to conduct an experiment, so naturally, she would use the best.
Chen Ran's hand couldn't help but tremble slightly: "Doctor, are you serious?"
Even the people from the pre-civilization era in the storyline used Honkai Beast genes for fusion instead of Herrscher genes. It was almost predictable how domineering and rejecting these Herrscher genes would be to the human body.
Not everyone can become Kiana; for ordinary people, the greater probability of fusing Herrscher genes would be death.
Even he wouldn't think of trying to conduct the MANTIS experiment using Herrscher genes.
That would be too dangerous, simply irresponsible towards one's own life.
Mobius said lightly, "Of course, I'm not joking."
She continued, "I understand your concerns, but I also believe that you won't let me down, will you?"
Under Chen Ran's astonished gaze, she even lightly kissed his cheek: "Consider this a pre-experiment encouragement. I told you, for these ten days, you can do whatever you want with me."
She placed Chen Ran's hand on her chest.
"Then, let the experiment begin."
…
…
Durandal reconnected to the computer terminal used during Nuwa's experiment.
Mobius lay naked in a specially designed nutrient solution.
This time, Chen Ran had no assistant; even MEI wouldn't be allowed to participate in this experiment.
Mobius didn't particularly like MEI, of course, that was just one reason.
The most important reason was that this experiment was too radical, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
Mobius was attempting to steal the authority of the Herrscher in this way.
This was a very unconventional and extremely dangerous artificial Herrscher experiment.
This experiment had previously been conducted under Mobius's supervision, consuming an unknown number of death row inmates, and was even regarded by Mobius as a lifelong disgrace, leading her to destroy all the data.
But after many experiments with Chen Ran and MEI, she was astonished to discover that such experiments really had a chance of success.
And after Chen Ran conducted a special, weakened version of the MANTIS and Stigmata gene implantation experiment on Nuwa, she realized that the theoretical framework for the artificial Herrscher experiment had been completely filled.
Thus, she wanted to become the first god.
Mobius was no longer satisfied with the status quo. As she grew older, she could feel her physiological functions beginning to decline.
She wasn't afraid of aging, but she was very fearful of the degradation of her intelligence and logical abilities that came with it.
She was even more terrified that this reason would turn her pursuit of the Infinite into something absurd.
Therefore, Mobius was very radical, desperately wanting to change the current situation.
Now, her desire finally had an opportunity.
This beautiful serpent curled up like an embryo, the specially formulated potion temporarily putting her in a baby-like state.
Durandal began calculating the data from Mobius's body, and to Chen Ran's surprise, despite being inside Fire Moth, Mobius's body, at least for now, was no different from that of an ordinary person.
She hadn't used any strange potions to alter her limbs, not even a potion to enhance her mental state.
Although the output from the First Research Institute was sufficient, Mobius was surprisingly cautious in this regard.
But without any successful precedents, why had Mobius become an unusually radical experimenter?
Chen Ran couldn't understand.
Now, all the pressure was on him.
Even though Mobius said the risks of the experiment were on her, he couldn't let Mobius actually die; otherwise, he would have no place in Fire Moth.
He was at Mobius's mercy.
A person who always considered benefits could never escape the prison formed by Mobius's intelligence; the only ones who could remain unaffected by Mobius were beasts like Kalpas.
He was not Kalpas.
His every move was within the realm of normal people.
So, he could only act like a lab rat; whatever Mobius wanted him to do, he had to do.
"This is really giving me a headache."
Chen Ran thought of what Wendy had said, that Mobius's relationship with him would become intimate in the future.
At that time, he might have felt a sense of secret delight, after all, this was a testament to a man's charm.
But now, it seemed, this was not a good thing.
Chen Ran discarded all thoughts and began to prepare the potion, configuring the best ratio based on the data provided by Bia.
"Bia, start the injection."
He didn't know if this experiment would succeed.
But he had no other choice.
Chen Ran's gaze was fixed on Mobius; at this moment, he didn't want to believe in rational data.
He could only pray for a miracle of life.
"If this experiment succeeds, I must find a way to make this woman suffer once; otherwise, I would be letting myself down!" Chen Ran gritted his teeth, praying for success.
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