Deep under the sea, a city had already taken shape. In the central data room of Sea Abyss City, a gigantic holographic screen was flashing with a model, an inverted triangle, which was filled with countless icons.
Dr. Vidic, who called himself a '20-year-old programmer,' kept observing the model, occasionally giving pointers to his subordinates. His bald head was already covered in sweat.
Bringing the Commander back in a short time was an impossible mission. The Sea of Quanta was vast and boundless, almost another universe. Without a rough coordinate, it was ten thousand times more difficult than the legendary task of finding a needle in a haystack.
But with Dr. Mei standing next to him, he had to do his best to find it. At least detecting a tiny bit of strong Honkai energy reaction was purely a matter of luck. If it was in the depths of the sea, even the Cocoon of Finality might not be able to cause too much of a ripple.
"Why isn't Ryan back yet?" Elysia couldn't understand the data and yawned boredly.
It had been half a month, and there was no news at all. Even she was getting a little anxious.
"Anxious?" Mei glanced at her. The relevant contingency plans had already been activated.
"Mei, don't you want Ryan to come back?"
"At least not as much as you do, and not as much as Sakura does. It's very contradictory." Mei shook her head. From a rational point of view, it was beneficial for Ryan to be buried deep in the sea. He could escape the end of the world and become the most important part of the Fire Seed Plan.
Just think, tens of thousands of years from now, the Post-Civilization, which had inherited her legacy, would welcome a new leader with full combat power, charisma, and intelligence. If even that couldn't get them through the end, no one could.
"The one thing I lack the most is time. Even if it's a bit cruel to everyone, it's the safest plan."
Elysia was slightly stunned but didn't get angry. Instead, she said with a grin: "You have to ask the person involved what they think. I think Ryan would definitely not be willing to leave everyone behind."
"That's a given. But aren't you afraid that he might never come back, or that he might just die in the sea?"
"No, I'm not." Elysia blinked lightly, her smile becoming even sweeter: "Because Ryan has already promised me that he will bear that fate. He has always been a man who keeps his promises."
Under the cold moon, in a sea of flowers, the man made a promise, and the girl happily accepted it. From then on, she would never have any doubts.
'Your matter is indeed troublesome. Perhaps only he can solve it.'
Mei looked at Elysia, obviously knowing everything. If it weren't for the Fire Seed Plan, she wouldn't have to unravel that fate. She was truly bound to Ryan.
'If I really dare to act on my own, Ryan will be furious.' Mei smiled at herself. Although she was conflicted, she didn't stop doing things.
'I have to bring him back, and then use the fate of the entire civilization to take a gamble.'
"Dr. Mei, an urgent telegram from headquarters."
At this moment, a soldier in a military uniform named Serene rushed in. Without waiting for Mei's command, he quickly read it out.
"Madrid has been breached. A new plague is spreading across the peninsula. The potion left by Dr. Mobius has lost its effect."
Bad news. Another base was gone. Fortunately, most of the population had been evacuated.
"The Herrscher of Death has moved again. Even though Ryan took the Ninth and Tenth Herrschers away, our pressure is still very high." Mei silently took the document and ordered: "[Trailblazers] and [Discipline] squads are stationed in Great Britain to be on alert. The remaining population in Western Europe must be transported to the island as soon as possible. The [Righteous] squad will maintain the Atlantic shipping route. Let's do this for now."
"Yes."
Except for the severely injured disabled, most of the Fusion Warriors had recovered. Mei now had cards to play. Even if a squad couldn't defeat a Herrscher, they could withdraw with alternating cover.
"Aren't you going to praise my genius idea?" Elysia leaned her face over, with her hands on her hips, looking proud.
"Elysia, I've already praised you several times." Mei rolled her eyes, and estimated in her heart: "Anna is dead, Mobius and Hua have sunk into the sea with Ryan, and our opponent is still terrifying."
"The Herrscher of Binding's power can't trap so many of us, and haven't those Honkai beasts and traitors suffered heavy losses?"
"So they are accumulating strength, and as long as the Herrscher of Domination and the Herrscher of Binding don't show up, I'll always be worried about a conspiracy. We are waiting, and they are also waiting." Mei sighed. She finally understood what Ryan meant by 'waiting is the most painful thing.'
There was no need to worry, there must be a conspiracy. The main problem of the Herrscher of Binding now was that her own energy was not enough. If there was a way to make her energy level soar, it would be terrifying.
When the main force retreated, the power of binding was more concentrated. Even Ryan wouldn't be able to move an inch. Fortunately, the Herrscher of Blood was designed to be taken away. Otherwise, if these two Herrschers cooperated, humanity would have already lost.
"It's a bit too much for me to play this game against Honkai alone. A small mistake could lead to the end of civilization."
Mei muttered to herself. In the battle of South America, she was the one who was most afraid. If Ryan hadn't considered the worst-case scenario, they would all be dead.
"Dr. Mei, we have the latest news from headquarters." Serene returned, his face looking even worse.
"What is the bad news? Just read it out directly."
"The Herrscher of Binding has appeared. She has just completely annihilated the Atlantic Second Fleet..."
As he was speaking, the big screen flashed and switched to a satellite image. More than twenty steel battleships were floating on the sea. The hundred-thousand-ton aircraft carrier was like a ghost ship. Under thermal detection, only the most piercing coldness could be found.
Not to mention the Honkai energy engines, cannons, and missiles, not even a single rat could be seen. The sea was covered with dead fish. In an instant, thousands of people died completely.
"She completely annihilated the Second Fleet and is heading to the Antarctic shelter." Serene read out the second half of the sentence bitterly.
Is that so, the Antarctic shelter?
Mei knew that a huge amount of materials was stored there. Besides military supplies and raw materials, there were also a lot of daily necessities and food to support the humans who now didn't have much arable land.
"Tell the garrison to retreat. The materials will be given to the Herrscher. There's no need for meaningless sacrifice." Mei thought for a second and made a decision. Millions of tons of materials were worthless like pieces of paper.
The central data room was dead silent. Everyone knew that by abandoning the shelter, even if Honkai did nothing, hunger alone would be enough to eliminate more than eighty percent of the human population.
Mei's face was expressionless, but she felt her body getting colder. There was nothing she could do. The Herrscher of Binding's cheat was too powerful. Besides concentrating their absolute force to share the binding, sending a few squads over was just sending meat. Their hearts would stop beating in an instant.
But the Herrscher of Binding not only had a cheat, but she was also incredibly shameless. How could they concentrate their forces with such a rapid movement?
She looked at the worried Elysia and said with a wry smile: "It seems that if he doesn't come back, it won't work."
...
"I wonder if Mei can handle it."
Ryan looked at the eternal night, his heart heavy. The strength of Honkai in the Pre-Civilization was already very great, and the Herrschers with subjective initiative would not go offline. He and Mei had always been barely coping.
"Senior brother, are you feeling sentimental?" Hua quietly approached. Her eyes were like night vision.
She could see that in just one day of darkness, the extremely rich fields outside the town had already started to have problems. The leaves were yellowing, the fruits were rotting, and the golden, wavy wheat fields were also withering.
"The destruction of a world will always make people sigh, because our hometown is not much better. There are too many loopholes that can be exploited. Before, all my plans were to take the initiative and hide these loopholes."
"And now you can't hide them anymore?"
"Yeah. Because I'm not here, the Herrschers can carry out their true mission and don't have to be led by the nose by me."
Ryan spread his hands. He had once created an illusion, which was to bind the individual with the entire human race. This had drawn enough hatred and made the Herrschers consider him the top priority.
This was very dangerous, but an individual didn't have as many loopholes as an entire race. So when the Herrscher of Death started to use guerrilla tactics, he was in a hurry to jump out and continue to draw hatred.
Hua pursed her lips. She used to think that Ryan was very important, but she didn't expect him to be so important. But worrying was useless. The Sea of Quanta was also full of dangers.
"Senior brother, why don't we..."
"Don't panic. The more critical the situation, the calmer you have to be. Don't let your emotions dictate your judgment, that will only lead to the worst choices." Ryan pressed down on the girl's head, his expression still indifferent.
Even though he didn't use much force, it was as if there was magic. Hua's wildly beating heart calmed down. When she heard footsteps, she maintained her cold composure as a martial artist.
"Miss Hua, Mr. Ryan, you're here." Vita climbed up the clock tower, gasping for breath, and quickly thanked them: "Thank you for covering us when we were harvesting the food. Otherwise, many more people would have died."
The monsters that looked a bit like Honkai beasts would suddenly appear in the dark. One punch would flatten several constables, and their flintlock guns weren't even an itch. In the end, it was Hua who kicked one into two halves.
"I've received payment, so of course I have to keep my promise." Ryan looked at her expressionlessly and spread his hands: "So, has the payment been delivered this time?"
"I've already organized it. Please take a look."
Vita quickly presented a stack of documents. She stood with her hands behind her back and peeked at him from the corner of her eye. This serious Mr. Ryan was too oppressive. She had tried to get closer several times but failed.
The payment was the history and secrets of the world bubble. On one hand, it was to cover up what she knew, and on the other hand, it was to check for any omissions. He quickly flipped through a few pages and indeed found some problems.
"What are the ancient ruins? Why does the Era of Abundance start from year 1000? What about the things before that?"
"Uh, according to historians, there was also a civilization before, but it was destroyed because the world was too barren. Then in the year 1000, some survivors found that if everyone prayed together, the rocky land would become suitable for farming, and the sky would have sunlight."
It was indeed feedback from 'wishes.' Wait a minute, this world bubble also has a Pre-Civilization? And the reason for its destruction was the eternal night?
He took a sharp breath. Could it be that the unknown being was from the Tongliao Kingdom and understood how to drain the pond to catch the fish in a sustainable way?