Even without Mobius saying the rest, Fu Hua understood instantly.
When the internal genes remain unchanged, the human form remains unchanged, no grotesque mutations occur, and even cultural inheritance remains intact—then the enhanced human soldiers under Selene's command were nothing less than the human evolution template that MOTH had been relentlessly researching.
The sheer scale of those soldiers was something meta-morph surgery could never hope to match.
That's right. Once a MANTIS underwent meta-morph surgery, their body would permanently freeze at the moment of the procedure. One could call it eternal youth. It even seemed that, thanks to Honkai Beast DNA, they gained numerous excellent buffs—able to eat endlessly without gaining weight, maintain perfect curves without training.
But the flaw of the "Project MANTIS" was glaringly obvious: the success rate of meta-morph surgery was far too low.
So low that every volunteer who participated in the "Project MANTIS" was regarded by researchers as committing suicide.
That grotesque Honkai creature "Tlaloc," killed by Bronya in the Eye of the Deep, seemed to be connected to the failed products of MOTH's Project MANTIS from the Previous Era.
MANTIS soldiers were not so easily created. The failure rate was extraordinarily high. At best, it could turn a human into a mindless monster. At worst, it would result in mass human death.
One must remember that at MOTH's peak, the number of active MANTIS soldiers barely reached a few hundred. And that was selected from a global population of billions—the absolute elite among humanity.
"It's truly fortunate that Kevin never succeeded in implementing the 'Project STIGMA,' forcibly carrying out meta-morph surgery on all of humanity... Just imagining it is terrifying."
Mobius smiled sweetly as she spoke, extending her tongue to lick her lips like a serpent tasting the air.
Chew chew~
The "Project STIGMA" aimed to transform all of humanity into MANTIS soldiers—a final, desperate measure of mutual destruction. If Kevin's plan had been successfully implemented, at least ninety-nine percent of the human population would have died instantly.
To put it simply, imagine that at some unknown time in the future—perhaps one day later, perhaps a year, perhaps a hundred years, perhaps a thousand—there would come a certain day when everyone in the world would die.
Now imagine there was a button. If you pressed it, a tiny fraction of the global population would have a chance to survive—perhaps one in a hundred million. When would you choose to press it?
Perhaps the analogy is imperfect, but that was essentially what the Project STIGMA represented.
Most ordinary people would neither want nor be willing to become that denominator. After all, who could say for certain when the end of the world would truly arrive?
Many would cling to a gambler's hope. Why couldn't Finality descend only after I and my family have already died? Leave the choice to future generations. After death, let the floodwaters rise—what does it matter?
Even someone as mad as Otto would not attempt such a plan. Only those who hated the Honkai to their very core would pay any price—forcing the entire world to bear the cost—to defeat it utterly.
Most critically, after meta-morph surgery succeeded, the upper and lower limits of a MANTIS' power varied drastically. They were extremely unstable. The strong could reach Kevin Kaslana's level. The weak, like Pardofelis, would be panting after fighting just a few lower-tier Honkai Beasts.
The cost of creation did not match the output. It was like opening blind boxes.
And post-surgery training seemed to have limited effect. Aside from rare special traits gained at the outset, further improvement was minimal. There was no supporting, systematic enhancement method.
"What fascinates me most is this—those soldiers... are controllable. They are variable. They can continue to strengthen! That is the mark of infinite evolution!"
(Chew chew~)
Mobius could see clearly that the power hierarchy within the Astartes Legions was simple and crude, yet intuitive. The larger the physique, the more ornate the power armor, the higher the rank and position—the greater the strength.
Those Astartes officers whose chest plates bore sashes and medals—none of them were weak. The explosive energy fluctuations emanating from them rose one higher than the next.
Observing their genetic level, there was little difference from ordinary Astartes warriors. Except that their compatibility with Honkai energy was higher. Every cell was more robust. Their regenerative abilities were stronger. The energy contained within them was greater.
Undoubtedly, this was a trainable, systematic path.
In nature, biological evolution is uncontrollable. Every organism evolves merely to adapt to its environment. No one knows whether the direction of evolution is right or wrong.
Yet in Selene's hands, Mobius saw a reality that shattered all conventional understanding. How could she not be exhilarated?
"To personally research them, to explore the mysteries of life, to step onto a mature path of evolution filled with infinite possibilities—what a... what an exhilarating thing that is!"
Her speech quickened. The more she spoke, the more excited she became. The frightening madness in her expression could no longer be concealed.
"The Imperial Capital! The Imperial Capital! The Imperial Capital! Ah—! I can hardly wait!"
For a scientific fanatic like Mobius, the existence of the Astartes was nothing less than a vast treasure trove waiting to be excavated.
Leaping to her feet, she grabbed Fu Hua by the shoulders and shouted almost hysterically, "Do you know? I'm absolutely high on this! They are miracles incarnate!"
(Chew chew~) ×2
"Wow! Hua, control these two, will you? They're so annoying! Can't you eat quietly?"
Interrupted, Mobius snapped out of her mad scientist state.
Frowning deeply, she turned her head. She could not endure it any longer. While she had been speaking, Senti and Li Sushang beside her had been chewing nonstop like hamsters, the constant chomp chomp right beside her ear.
"Nice job, good grand-disciple!"
Grinning at Mobius, Senti swallowed the skewer in her hand in one gulp, then cheerfully patted Li Sushang's back.
Li Sushang did not speak while eating, but her gaze shifted back and forth between Fu Hua and Senti.
"So you scientists are not only lunatics, but lunatics with too much nonsense to spout..."
Muttering her complaint, Senti suddenly flickered and popped between Fu Hua and Mobius, inserting herself between them. With a look of utter disgust, she pushed Mobius away with her small hands.
"Shoo, shoo... stay away from us, you stinky snake."
"Tch."
How could Mobius tolerate that? The counterattack sounded instantly.
"Ah~"
The expired green-haired loli covered her nearly nonexistent chest with exaggerated modesty and said coyly, "How could you treat a lady as delicate and beautiful as a flower like that? So rude. Hua, control your underling and make her show some respect to her senior."
Veins bulged at her temple, pressing into a cross shape. Her outstretched palm clenched into a fist with a crisp crack.
"You damn pervert! This immortal has tolerated you long enough! I'm challenging you to a duel!"
"Oh my~ A duel?" Mobius looked at her as if questioning her sanity. "Big sister here is just an ordinary researcher, you know. I've never been to the battlefield."
"You expect big sister to duel a brute like you?" Her tone rose into a rhetorical question. Then, covering her mouth with one hand and leaning back slightly, she let out a queenly three-stage laugh. "As if I would do something so beneath me. Hua, go on—beat her!"
Letting Senti, this freshly hatched bear cub, face off against Mobius, that mother snake, was still a bit too much for her.
Among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, aside from Elysia—that 'chubby lady'—I, Mobius, am invincible!
"Waaah! This immortal will definitely smash you!"
Thud! Thud!
"So noisy! You two! Quiet!"
...
While the chaos continued on one side, across the table, Kiana and the others exchanged smiles.
That's great. Class Monitor Fu Hua is back.
"Hey, kitty's here! Let me introduce myself. I'm Pardofelis. You can just call me Pardo. I'm a junior of Sister Hua and Sister Snake. Meow~"
Swaying her cat tail, Pardofelis was visibly excited. It looked like her beast-ear squad could reopen for business. "Wow, your horns and tails are real!"
"Liliya is curious. Are those really cat ears?"
With light blue long hair, a single horn growing from the left side of her head, and a black tail with a blue-tipped claw tied with a blue ribbon, Liliya pointed at Pardofelis' beast ears. Her flat tone could not conceal her intense curiosity.
Most girls had very little resistance to fluffy little animals.
"Same here! Same here! And can I touch them?" Leaning over Liliya's shoulder, her twin sister Rozaliya's eyes sparkled.
Unlike her sister, Rozaliya's voice was bright and energetic, matching her pink long hair. Her horn was on the right side of her head, and she had a pink-and-white tail with a pink claw at the tip, tied with a pink bow—perfectly mirroring Liliya.
"Rozaliya, idiot! That's so rude!"
"What? Liliya was thinking the same thing. Why not just ask?"
Stare!
"No touching! They're very sensitive!" Noticing the increasingly suspicious gazes directed at her cat ears, Pardofelis hurriedly jumped back.
"Pfft!"
From across the table, Senti curled her lip dismissively and cut in, "Didn't Finality grab you and rub them hard before?"
"Other Sister Hua, what are you saying! Th-That's different!"
"Hehe." With two soft chuckles, Senti regained her confidence from teasing the kitty and immediately charged back at Mobius.
A very lively and friendly girl.
Raiden Mei spoke up as well. "My name is Raiden Mei. Just call me Mei."
"Bronya," said the gray-haired girl with drill-like twin tails.
"Um, just call me Seele."
"I'm Kiana," Kiana added while playfully squabbling with Theresa at the banquet table.
"Really now, Kiana. I'm the principal. I'm your aunt. Show some respect—"
Just as she was about to introduce herself properly, Theresa suddenly froze.
She clutched her chest. For no apparent reason, a sharp, twisting pain bloomed in her heart. A sudden urge to cry welled up inside her, as if something had left her forever.
Yet before she could even cry out, the pain vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, as though it had never existed.
She stood there blankly.
"Principal? What's wrong?"
Stopping her food-snatching with Theresa, Kiana didn't even bother wiping the grease from her hands before stepping forward anxiously with a napkin.
"Principal?"
"Kiana..." After a long moment, tears slid down Theresa's face involuntarily. Surprise and apology colored her voice. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I suddenly felt like crying."
"It's nothing now." She wiped her tears, lifted her head, and looked at everyone who had gathered around her with concern. Once again, she revealed a smile. "Sorry, crying on a day like this."
"Everyone, sit down."
Picking up the unopened bottle of fruit wine on the table, she began pouring.
"Come, let's all have a toast."
Filling each glass one by one, the two sides rose together.
"Cheers!" ×12
Clink!
Twelve wine glasses filled with fruit wine rang out with a crisp chime.
That clink was a toast to their safety, a farewell to an elder, and the final chapter of a sinner.
And just as they drained their glasses in one gulp, the surrounding Imperial Army soldiers suddenly rose to their feet, heads bowed in silence.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From far to near, besides the heavy thud of magnetic boots striking metal plating, another set of footsteps—far heavier than those of the Astartes—gradually echoed across the entire deck.
"Him?"
Raiden Mei's body trembled instinctively.
That instantly drew Kiana and the others' attention. Following Mei's gaze, they all looked in the same direction.
They saw the Empire's Great General Budo leading Roboute, Leman Russ, and other Legion Commanders of the Astartes Legions down the deck corridor.
The Legion Commanders' steps upon the metal armor plates were especially thunderous, immediately drowning out the movements of the Honor Guard members of the other Legions. The bloodthirst and sharpness radiating from their very bones was chilling.
Seeing Budo and the others walking straight toward them, Raiden Mei hurriedly stood.
"Mei, who is he? He looks so serious... so fierce."
"Lord of the Retributors of the Second Astartes Legion, the Empire's Great General—Budo," Raiden Mei replied softly.
"We meet again, Raiden Mei."
Stopping before them, hands placed behind his cloak against his thighs, Budo examined Schicksal's elites at close range.
"Abandoning darkness for light was the correct choice. I am pleased that we shall now serve under the same banner."
He stood there like a blood-soaked fortress wall, upright and unmoving. The hardened lines of his face bore the marks of war. His giant eyes shone like torches. Yet his words were unexpectedly gentle.
This left Raiden Mei stunned. She raised her head, mouth slightly open, staring up at Budo, who towered over four meters tall.
After a pause, Budo continued, "I hold your potential in high regard. If possible, I would like you to join the Second Legion—"
"That won't be possible, Budo."
"Your Majesty?"
Everyone turned instinctively toward the voice. Budo was about to salute by reflex.
"No need."
With a casual wave of her hand, Selene—dressed in a white-and-gold gown—approached along the tree-lined path of the floating island, chatting leisurely with a tall, handsome silver-haired giant, with her little tail Arisa following behind.
"Leave it."
"I have other uses for them. Besides, she clearly isn't willing."
Passing through the group, Selene strode quickly to stand before the members of Schicksal.
She handed over a newly mended archbishop's robe. Judging by the size, it was clearly made for Theresa.
"Otto Apocalypse is dead," Selene said slowly.
Theresa's eyes widened abruptly. Her lips parted.
Ignoring the reaction, Selene placed the archbishop's attire into Theresa's hands and declared,
"The war is over."
"Prepare to return in triumph. The Imperial Capital will be your new home."