270. The Human Perfection Project
Returning to the Fire Moth, Ling carefully swept away all traces of his surroundings, ensuring nothing was left behind, including anything resembling a surveillance camera.
He then picked up a childhood photo of Mobius, sat down at the lab table, and stared at it for a long time before putting it back.
As expected, he had aroused suspicion among some people, but he had anticipated this. After all, how could an innocent scholar be associated with Mobius?
"Ai, report on the experimental subject's condition." Ling used his watch to establish a connection with someone in the distance.
"Subject 3021 has perfectly fused with the Honkai serum, but has shown a strong rejection reaction to the Herrscher blood, exhibiting characteristics of becoming a zombie."
"...Attempt to restore her using reagent #8, and report back as needed." Ling calmly instructed.
"Yes." Ai received the order and immediately began to act.
Ling turned off his watch and continued his other research.
Six months passed quickly, and the Third Honkai Impact erupted; this time, the place it erupted was at the city where Mei's high school was located.
Ling went to visit Mei again and unexpectedly encountered a... natural-born warrior.
It was said that he single-handedly defeated a Chariot-class Honkai Beast, wielding only a baseball bat...
This couldn't be explained by mere athletic ability; after all, Chariot-class Honkai Beasts are at least over ten meters tall, typically requiring a well-trained squad to kill.
While Kevin himself admitted there was an element of luck involved, this feat was still remarkable.
"Come on, let's get you checked out," Ling called to Kevin.
"Huh?" Kevin scratched his head, looking at the staff at the medical station sitting upright, confused about what had happened.
"This is Dr. Ling, our most outstanding scientist at Fire Moth," a staff member explained.
"No need for such praise. Adding 'one of' after 'most outstanding' would be better," Ling reminded him.
"Okay...okay," the staff member nodded immediately.
Kevin's expression turned solemn after hearing the staff's explanation.
Dr. Ling, a doctor with extremely high public recognition, was now standing before him.
Ling drew some of Kevin's blood for testing.
"Alright, there's nothing too seriously wrong with your body. Just rest these few days," Ling reminded him.
"Thank you, Dr. Ling," Kevin said gratefully.
Ling nodded, and after Kevin left, carefully sealed the bottle of blood.
"Well, Mei, have you made up your mind?" Mobius looked at Mei.
Although she had just experienced the Third Honkai Impact, Mei had calmed down and was beginning to consider her future.
"Yes, I've made up my mind. I want to join Dr. Ling's laboratory," Mei nodded.
"Tsk..."
Although not surprised by the result, Mobius was still somewhat annoyed because she felt outshone.
Mobius swayed her slender waist and left. Soon after, Ling, having finished examining Kevin, arrived.
"Since you've decided to join my lab, I will teach you everything I know. You're very smart; you should be able to catch up with me, or even surpass me, very quickly." Ling led Mei to his lab.
"Yes!" Mei replied earnestly.
Soon, Ling's lab gained an assistant: Mei.
Just as Ling and Mobius had predicted, this girl possessed exceptional talent and a strong inner strength, capable of assessing situations accurately.
She was a natural leader, though she didn't yet have that aura, but with a little guidance, she could easily rise to the top.
Ling and Möbius tacitly chose her because the current leader of the Fire Moth was too inflexible.
Relying on outdated dogmas to restrict modern scientists will only lead humanity step by step towards extinction.
Therefore, both Ling and Möbius urgently need someone to replace the leader of the Firemoth.
Perhaps Ling could do it, but he wants to devote more time to research.
Initially, Ling did consider this possibility, but ultimately chose to find a replacement.
And Mei was that person.
Even if Mei might become an obstacle for the two in the future, it certainly won't be worse than the current situation.
At least the military won't be constantly monitoring Mobius's movements.
As for supporting a puppet...
It can only be said that although the Fire Moth is currently ruled by conservatives, it doesn't mean they are all idiots; they can distinguish between a puppet and a real leader.
Mei is not only talented but also has a very high level of enthusiasm for learning, and her progress is quite rapid.
Kevin, whom we met before, occasionally visits Ling's lab, ostensibly for a medical check-up, but actually just to see Mei.
Ling didn't stop him; on the contrary, he welcomed it warmly.
He had tested Kevin's body; it possessed extremely high Honkai energy resistance, several times that of an ordinary person!
Furthermore, his physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people; he was the best laboratory subject he had ever seen.
"Ai, monitor the condition of test subject K-032," Ling called out to his watch.
"K-032's condition is currently stable. It has perfectly fused with the Honkai serum, perfectly fused with the Herrscher blood, and experienced some conflict with the Honkai Beast ICHOR."
"Continue observation."
"Roger."
Ling closed the communication.
He had been secretly conducting these experiments all along.
Even before joining the Fire Moth.
But such experiments, currently, even within the Fire Moth, would be the kind that warranted execution.
Therefore, after joining the Fire Moth, he separated from Mobius, fearing that his experiments would implicate her.
Although they were top scientists, they were still ordinary people, and could die from a bullet.
Ling named his project the 'Human Perfection Project'.
He experimented with every known method to combat Honkai.
Currently, the first batch of clones with Honkai resistance has unknowingly entered human society.
Their offspring will possess corresponding Honkai resistance.
Honkai cannot be cured by vaccination; it requires genetic modification.
Kevin, this special individual, has shown terrifying inclusiveness among the newly cloned individuals.
His clone is also the only one currently capable of successfully fusing with Herrscher's blood.
However, it doesn't exhibit any authority, only a slight improvement in physical attributes, which puzzles Ling.
Of course, he guesses it might be because the authority comes from the 'Herrscher Core'; a Herrscher without the core cannot use the power of authority.
However, the Herrscher Core is tightly guarded, and he has no way to verify his idea.
…