To be honest, Ryan could be a bit irritating. While everyone was dreaming of the unknown, he insisted on dragging them back to reality, and whenever he spoke, it was always about the most unpleasant topics.
Möbius shot him a quick glance. She had been lost in thought about parallel worlds, with all those interesting hypotheses, but reality was a pit, without an end in sight, and no reward for victory.
Today, humanity lost a village, tomorrow a small town, and the day after, they wiped out hundreds of Honkai Beast. No matter how optimistic someone might be, once they were at the frontlines, all that remained was mud and filth.
Slaughtering to the point of numbness, with enemies endless and capable of appearing from any direction, today's comrade might be tomorrow's memory. Yet no matter how revolting, they had to face it. Right now, only news about killing the Herrschers could boost morale, even though no one knew which Herrscher would be the last one.
"I can't answer this question. There's still so much we don't know about Corruption. All we know is that the energy needs to accumulate to a certain level before the next Herrscher is born," Möbius replied in a low voice, taking a gentle breath.
"On paper, the Herrschers no longer hold the advantage. However, through your report, we've proven that they can replenish their power through two avenues," she continued.
"Controlling the omnipresent Honkai Beast, and the pseudo-Herrscher, especially the latter. Their intelligence is high, and their abilities are strange."
She had already seen the report from Snow Prison Town, and it gave her a headache. Destruction didn't necessarily have strong direct destructive power. If Ryan hadn't acted in time, that pseudo-Herrscher would have caused catastrophic losses for humanity.
For instance, the fortress, built at great expense, could be visited and left at will by that Herrscher.
Who knows how many powers remain to be discovered? Möbius even felt that Corruption was frightening to the point of abnormality, like a game designer adding difficulty just for the sake of it.
"Pseudo-Herrscher, over time, might evolve into a real Herrscher, filling the gaps in their abilities," Möbius added, aligning with her view of evolution. Her tone then turned sharp and mocking.
"And right under our noses, they've created a bunch of strong enemies, which effectively cancels out the advantages of the Fused Warrior Program. I suspect this is intentional. Without the Fused Warriors, perhaps this change wouldn't have occurred."
Clever, quickly figuring out the truth. Before reaching the limit, Corruption has countless ways to target them.
Ryan had reduced human losses by creating high-end combatants in advance. If they didn't counterattack, wouldn't it be humiliating?
Ryan, having sat for most of the day, felt a little tired, and Möbius's foot repeatedly rubbing against his leg didn't help his focus. So, he stood up and began pacing around the conference room.
"And thirdly, Honkai can make its methods more subtle, filled with temptation. After all, some of these scientific theories are hard to understand and some aren't even willing to listen. If Honkai wears the cloak of theology, it becomes far more persuasive."
The believers, even among civilians, weren't few.
Mei expression grew cloudy. This couldn't be eradicated because self-deception was something ingrained in the soul of humanity.
"They believe it's a test from God. Even death would lead them to heaven. It fits with their instincts, but it's quite tragic."
"Yeah, I saw that in San Diego. After a hard-fought battle with the storm alongside Elysia, some people actually thought we were interfering, blocking their path to divinity," Ryan said expressionlessly. He was too tired to mock them. "Those people won't stir up much trouble, but inside Fire Moth, it's a different story."
"I understand. I've already started preparing for that," Mei replied.
"Yeah, I can tell," Ryan nodded. Mei was already preparing to take over, though the scale was small. She couldn't take over the global forces.
For someone like Mei, who valued absolute rationality, loyalty didn't exist. She only chose the path most beneficial to humanity.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Mei spoke with a detached tone, "I've asked Vil-V to monitor all internal communications, and during meetings, to track the IP addresses of each attendee. But I need time. Acting hastily would cause a rift among humans, so it's better to maintain the status quo for now."
"I'm not a fool. Once we act, every delegate becomes an enemy. Even if you find solid information, I can't take them all down at once. The remaining ones will use their power to control some of the military force and become warlords," Ryan scratched his face, thinking that if he could do it just by killing, he would have done so long ago.
"That's the difficulty. At the very least, we need to find a way to gather them together," Möbius explained.
"So, you support the construction of this fortress? Makes sense. The world's becoming more dangerous. They're the ones most afraid of death. When the situation goes beyond control, they'll naturally seek refuge," Ryan observed.
"But it requires a terrifying sacrifice. Only a fraction of humanity will survive," Mei gently shook her head. The cost was immense. Only if over eighty percent of humanity and their territories were lost could Fire Moth fully gather.
"Don't worry. Maybe Dr. Vidich has a solution for evacuating useless populations."
The Sea Of Quanta?
Möbius immediately thought of this. Even though there was little information on the Sea Of Quanta, if Ryan mentioned it, there must be a solution.
She kept this in mind, preparing to increase the budget for the next step, and then addressed another difficulty.
"Fire Moth isn't stupid. The High Commander is still maintaining balance. Even if you want to use force, it won't be that easy. The Fused Warriors are a double-edged sword."
The contradiction was laid bare on the table. Ryan and the others had long known that Fire Moth had another system, conducting even more ruthless and in-depth research based on Möbius's results.
They weren't as 'gentle' as Ryan, and they didn't care about the death rate. Their goal was to squeeze the best combat power out of this trump card.
"Hmph, there's a guy named Ed in the First Squad. Such a valuable resource, and yet you won't share it with me. You really prioritize personal interests above everything else," Möbius snorted, her displeasure evident on her face.
Ed, the person who returned from Britannia after Corruption, was certainly valuable to Möbius, but Ryan wasn't angry. In fact, he understood.
"Those old foxes have seen it all. It would be strange if they didn't take precautions. I even suspect they have upper-level Corruption warriors," Ryan said. Now, the people conducting the surgery included Möbius, Kevin, Hua, and Sakura—none of them were entirely trustworthy, and regular Fused Warriors would be lucky to stay neutral.
"Don't doubt it. The third and fourth batches of Fused Warriors are already complete. The number of high-level Fused Warriors I know is already in the double digits. When I have time, I'll send you the information," Mei glanced sideways at him, her eyes full of mirth. "So, is it really worth it to go through with this?"
Well, that was fast. It makes sense, considering the previous civilization didn't lack materials or motivation. Even the Vinal group, which had been assembling for less than half a year, was already producing evolutionary products.
Ryan hesitated for a moment, thinking about the world line where they fought against the restraining Herrscher. They could gather thousands of Fused Warriors, and even if several had died in previous raids, he estimated that they would still have dozens of high-level ones.
Thankfully, most of that force was loyal to Fire Moth, not any one individual, so they could be considered obstacles, but not enemies.
"It's necessary. I'm grateful for what Fire Moth has done for humanity, but at the right moment, I hope they can retire with dignity."
"I have reservations. At least for now, it's not time, and there's no need to take risks," Mei adjusted her glasses, then shifted the conversation. "What if they refuse to step down?"
"Then I will give them a dignified way out," Ryan said as he adjusted his glasses. His gray eyes glinted with sharpness.
His strong confidence left Möbius no room for mockery, and even the absent Vil-V raised her head.
These four people, sitting in the heart of Fire Moth, discussing rebellion—it was just too cool.
Möbius's gaze was calm, as though she was waiting for Ryan to speak. She agreed with his philosophy.
Fire Moth was still useful for now. At least it had taken on responsibility, uniting all of humanity. But in the future, overly complex organizations would become obstacles, draining humanity's power.
So, they would ruthlessly reform it. But the actions needed to be subtle and done in the most rational way to minimize losses.
"Let's start preparations. I'll handle the coordination. Möbius, you're in charge of the Fused Warriors. Vil-V will help with intelligence. As for you, Ryan, I only have one request—"
"As the core, don't die at the hands of the Herrscher, and don't recklessly break the rules. That would benefit no one."
When did I become the core? Isn't that your job?
Ryan was stunned for a moment, but couldn't argue. This web, radiating from him to Kevin and even Trace and Empress, was a network. Many of them wouldn't follow Möbius.
"The Herrscher has no obvious flaws, but whether facing them or Fire Moth, we need to enhance our power."
"I agree with that."
With that, Ryan glanced at Vil-V, who had finally stopped fiddling with her phone. Noticing his gaze, she casually gave him a thumbs up, causing his eye to twitch. Then, suddenly, a mechanical arm shot out from the table.
It seemed to grow from the table itself, grabbing the empty coffee cups and refilling them, delivering them to everyone.
"Seeing how focused you all are, I've prepared the after-service. Try my fully automated coffee arm. It can even make cola!"
The three of them stared, their mouths dry. Vil-V, acting like a mischievous student, was clearly pleased with herself as she picked up her cup.
"It tastes good. I'll have one installed in my office later."
"Hmph, you break the meeting table, and it'll be deducted from your funds," Mei commented, her eyes glinting with a smile.
"Hey, hey, hey, you're drinking my stuff and still want to exploit me!"
"Where were we?" Ryan, interrupted in his thoughts, had to pause for a moment.
"Right, I have an excellent target in mind, one that could greatly enhance our combat power. It's a place called—"
He turned to Vil-V, finally realizing where his inspiration came from.
"Sundown Alley."