272. Getting on the Pirate Ship
After the Fifth Honkai Impact, with the support of Ling and Mobius, and with K-series clones secretly clearing obstacles for her, Mei quickly became the most popular successor to the leadership within the Fire Moth. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, her succession was practically guaranteed.
This clash wasn't just between successors; it was also a clash between the conservatives and the reformers.
If Mei became the leader of the Fire Moth, it meant the reformers would take power, and Mobius's experiments would be greatly relaxed, all for the sake of humanity's survival.
After dissecting Subject 7325, Ling discovered the extent of her injuries was beyond imagination. Upon questioning Kevin, he learned that the Herrscher of Ice was already dead when they arrived.
This made Ling curious: who had defeated the Herrscher of Ice?
Ling dispatched K-series clones to investigate, discovering that the people in that area seemed to have a ritualistic practice.
"A person fell from the sky, wearing a terrifying mask, yet possessing terrifying power capable of fighting Honkai Beasts."
"After the initial fear, the villagers worshipped him as a god, binding him to a cross, slashing his wrists, and drinking his blood, hoping to gain divine protection and cure the incurable disease called 'Honkai Disease.'"
The record of that mysterious person consisted of only these few sentences, but it was the only possible clue to the killing of the Herrscher of Ice.
After on-site monitoring by the K-series clones, a place resembling a sacrificial site was indeed found. The parched land emitted dense Honkai energy, giving rise to numerous Honkai Beasts.
The land was dark red, very likely stained by the blood of that 'god.'
Sending the land to Ai for testing confirmed Ling's prediction.
"Have the K-series clones continue tracking. If the target is found, do not act rashly," Ling instructed.
"Yes," Ai replied.
To be able to create a Honkai Beast from blood alone… and in human form at that… perhaps this is also a direction of human evolution?
He had heard that the blood of some powerful Judgment-class Honkai Beasts was accompanied by a dense Honkai energy reaction, but this was the first time he had seen this in a human.
Or perhaps that being wasn't human?
After arranging everything, Ling continued with other matters.
Heard that Mobius was currently working on some kind of 'Stigmata Project,' he decided to go check it out.
Ling stepped out of the laboratory. The dazzling sunlight felt somewhat blinding; perhaps it was because he hadn't left the lab in so long, but he actually missed the warmth of the sun.
Indeed, while air conditioning is a good thing, one can become somewhat averse to it after a while.
Not far from Ling's laboratory was Mobius's laboratory. Although Ling had resolutely chosen to separate from Mobius, they were only a few hundred meters apart, just a few steps away.
Arriving at Mobius's laboratory, the troops that had been stationed there were gone; it seemed the conservatives were preoccupied with their own problems.
The heat-sensor automatically opened the door, revealing the laboratory interior.
"Klein, working overtime again?"
"Yes... Dr. Ling, I'll go get Dr. Mobius right away..."
Klein looked up, her dark circles almost touching the floor.
Shortly after the Third Honkai Impact, Blanca was 'tricked' away by a warrior named Ato and even had a child.
Klein was recommended to Mobius by Blanca. She was more focused than Blanca, even...obedient.
However, Klein's potential wasn't as high as Blanca's in the past.
As for why the past, and not the present...
The current Blanca had a family, and weighing the laboratory against her family, Blanca chose her family.
Given Mobius's stubborn and obsessive personality, it was easy to imagine how far she would stray from the right path.
So, that day, she got drunk and stumbled into Ling's lab.
She kept muttering things like, "One by one, they've all left me,"
"Dad too, Ling too, and now even Blanca," and similar phrases.
Drunk, Mobius was like a little girl venting her frustrations, just like before. So Mobius had never changed; she simply hid her true self behind a facade of maturity.
Klein gradually became a balm for Mobius, even though Mobius had initially deliberately made things difficult for her.
But Klein worked tirelessly until she collapsed from low blood sugar due to continuous overtime to meet Mobius's targets. Only then did Mobius begin to trust her.
Klein's parents had both died from Honkai Impact, and she held the two people who created the Honkai serum in the highest esteem, even harboring deep admiration for them.
"No need, you get some rest. I'll go find her." Ling waved his hand.
"Hmm, oh, right, Dr. Mei is here too." Klein sat down, then suddenly remembered something and reminded him.
"Okay, I understand." Ling nodded and walked towards the laboratory.
Ignoring the sign that read "Ling and dogs not allowed," he pushed open the door and entered.
As soon as he entered, a bullet grazed Ling's cheek, leaving a wound.
"Is this the welcoming ceremony? It's quite unique." Ling couldn't help but remark.
"Who told you to come in without knocking?" Mobius glared at him.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Ling, I didn't mean to…" Dr. Mei said somewhat awkwardly.
She had only intended to kill the assassin, but the bullet had pierced the assassin's brain and almost hit Ling directly.
"It's alright... It seems the 'Stigmata Project' isn't progressing very well?"
Ling looked at the fallen assassin, whose appearance was barely recognizable as 'human'.
"If you came here to mock my experimental progress, then congratulations, you've succeeded."
Mobius casually kicked the assassin's corpse aside and answered nonchalantly.
"Dr. Mei joined, too?" Ling asked.
"...Yes."
"Then we're on the same boat now." Ling joked.
"Hey, I never agreed to let you join." Mobius glared at Ling, annoyed.
"I have some good experimental data here, want to take a look?" Ling calmly produced a document.
Mobius snatched it without ceremony, immediately captivated by the data. She flipped through it page by page, finishing it before she knew it.
To someone unaware, it was just a few scraps of paper.
But for Mobius, this data was like an explosion suddenly erupting in stagnant water.
Mobius took a deep breath, her hand holding the paper, clenching slightly. She'd lost again...
"How about this as a welcoming gift for joining the 'Stigmata Project'?" Ling pressed.
"Whatever you like." Mobius tossed the paper to Dr. Mei beside her.
Dr. Mei curiously flipped through it, but with each page she turned, her expression grew more blank.
She couldn't believe that the data on it was compiled by Ling.
Only now did Dr. Mei realize just how deep Ling's hidden abilities were.
Thinking back to how she had previously looked down on Ling, Dr. Mei suddenly felt a pang of shame.
Then she suddenly remembered what Ling had just said.
'From now on, we're all on the same boat'...
It seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
...