With Chen Ran's current identity, wanting to obtain a Herrscher Core was naturally a pipe dream.
He was neither a senior member of Fire Moth, nor had he made any significant contributions to Fire Moth so far.
But he was confident.
Fire Moth was a platform for exchanging interests; as long as he could offer equivalent value for exchange, obtaining a Herrscher Core was not impossible. Moreover, he only wanted the right to use the Cosmic Juggernaut, not ownership.
Once he thought of this, it became feasible with a little maneuvering.
Chen Ran even thought that if he could swallow his pride, he could directly ask Mobius for help.
However, he would never do that.
Chen Ran's bottom line was quite flexible.
After simply sorting out what he needed to do, Chen Ran headed towards the First Research Institute.
What he could offer was actually not much; aside from his own body, there was only one thing left: the Stigmata gene activation agent.
The agent he had prepared for Wendy at the end of the first simulation scenario could perfectly activate the Stigmata gene. At that time, his condition was not great, but theoretically, the agent's effect should reach the expected target.
However, this era currently did not have Stigmata, so he needed to readjust the agent.
"System, can I set instructions for hosting?"
Chen Ran suddenly asked the system.
At this moment, he felt an increasing sense of urgency; whether in simulation or reality, he was stretched thin. If 666 could share some of the burden, that would be even better.
[The host only needs to set a goal in their consciousness, and the hosting will determine this as a priority task and complete it first.]
Although this system was quite embarrassing, it still relieved Chen Ran.
Being able to set a goal meant that after simulation, 666 could help him complete many complicated tasks.
"Thank you then."
He sighed in relief and arrived at the First Research Institute.
At this time, Mobius was not inside, and Blanca seemed to be taking Griseo for a physical examination. Only a small number of non-staff members were maintaining daily operations in the research institute.
Currently, MEI had just begun to emerge, and the First Research Institute and Mu Continent were both undertaking a large amount of research for Fire Moth.
When he arrived, he saw Nuwa walking over.
"Senior Chen Ran, have some milk tea."
Chen Ran looked at her in confusion.
Nuwa hurriedly said, "I saw a new milk tea shop in the break room; the milk tea is really good, so I got you some."
He couldn't help but chuckle, "You might as well just tell me what you want; your expression can't hide anything."
Although they were both from Shenzhou, Chen Ran and Nuwa were not particularly close at this time.
Fuxi sighed from the side, saying, "Senior Chen Ran, the truth is, we don't know what we should do right now."
Although the two were geniuses sent from Shenzhou to learn about Honkai Energy, the First Research Institute had too many things they could not touch. Their current job was merely to assist Chen Ran in experiments, hoping that he could provide them with some resources.
Chen Ran thought for a moment and understood the awkwardness of the two sisters.
After all, this was not a game; the entire organization was like a loving family.
Fuxi and Nuwa had only the right to know about everything in Fire Moth, but no right to suggest. The fact that they could argue with Mobius over some plans showed that they had not deeply understood the power dynamics within this organization.
He thought about what he was about to do.
"Alright, since you are willing to help me, then I won't feel guilty about exploiting you."
He paused and said, "I'll accept the milk tea, and then you will do as I say. And this is very dangerous, okay?"
Chen Ran planned to implant the Stigmata gene into the two sisters.
He wanted to prove the value of the drug, and he needed witnesses. Currently, his body could be considered a 'Honkai Impact 3rd 60 full package,' which meant he was immune to all poisons... or rather, immune to all toxins.
Thus, the variables based on his body had no reference significance.
But Fuxi and Nuwa were different.
"This is also the door you have always longed to open."
…
…
Twelve hours later.
Chen Ran stared expressionlessly at the display device connected to Nuwa's body, with Durandal serving as the computational center for this experiment.
In the experimental chamber, Nuwa had her eyes tightly shut, completely naked.
A strong sense of shame surged within her; she never expected that the experiment she was about to undergo would be like this.
When Chen Ran said he needed one person as experimental material and another as an assistant, she volunteered to be the experimental material.
"Fuxi is smarter and calmer than I am; she would learn more as an assistant."
At that time, Chen Ran did not object.
But...
The first step to becoming an assistant was to strip completely.
The girl's face flushed, as if it were bleeding.
She suddenly recalled that when Mobius was studying Chen Ran, he was also completely naked...
Could this be a tradition of the First Research Institute?
Her mind began to swirl with countless chaotic thoughts, but she did not refuse.
Nuwa always knew this was one of her few opportunities.
She and Fuxi were not Misses from wealthy families; they came bearing an important mission.
To understand Honkai, to fight against Honkai.
This was the reason they were chosen.
This path would be simple, but she and Fuxi had sworn that no matter what they had to sacrifice, she must learn this knowledge and then pass it back to Shenzhou.
So, she stripped.
And she did so in front of Chen Ran.
Fortunately, what reassured Nuwa was that Chen Ran did not make any further excessive demands.
The young man let her enter the experimental chamber.
He initially wanted to inject Nuwa with anesthesia, but Nuwa refused.
She wanted to feel what it was like to be an experimental subject, even though Chen Ran reminded her that the process might be somewhat painful.
After soaking in the specially prepared solution, the cold temperature temporarily left her with no other thoughts, instinctively curling up like a human embryo.
And this was also what Chen Ran intended to do.
From a biological perspective, at the moment the fertilized egg is formed, human genes are already determined; they are difficult to change at any time unless subjected to strong radiation or stimulating energy.
Such as Honkai Energy.
Whether it was the Sirin plan executed by Schicksal, the X-10 experiment conducted by Anti-Entropy, or the Herrscher Core injection experiment that had occurred on Wendy, or Jackal's planned Project Stigma in Tianqiong City...
At their core, they all followed the same logic: relying on Honkai to highlight the mutated Stigmata genes within humans.
These experiments had different names, but the principles were the same.
And the experiment Chen Ran was conducting was even more dangerous because Nuwa did not possess Stigmata.
What he was doing was using the experimental agent to gradually change the stable genes in Nuwa's body into an unstable state, thereby implanting the pre-prepared memory genes to counter Honkai.
Essentially, this was a weakened version of the MANTIS transformation experiment, theoretically without side effects, but in reality, it would alter Nuwa's physiological structure.
MANTIS itself was hard to redefine as human.
And that was not all.
A mere weakened version of MANTIS was not inherently superior to strong warriors like Kevin, and naturally could not exchange for a Herrscher Core.
The premise of interest exchange was equivalence.
Either let the higher-ups see the potential in Chen Ran, or let them see what Chen Ran could offer.
"The experimental data is generally normal."
Fuxi looked at Nuwa in the experimental chamber, hearing Chen Ran's indifferent voice: "Prepare to add the previous agent."
"Understood."
Fuxi complied.
No experiment should start directly with a human; Chen Ran clearly violated the world's underlying ethical rules.
But she did not dare to resist in the slightest; this was Nuwa's hard-won opportunity, and even if her heart was in pain, she had to continue.
"Bia, calculate the upper limit of the threshold that Nuwa's body can withstand."
"Calculating successfully now!"
With her multi-domain learning ability, Durandal quickly provided Chen Ran with data: "Detected Nuwa's suitability for Honkai Energy; she can withstand a concentration of no more than 700hw of Honkai Energy."
"That's not bad."
A hint of surprise appeared in Chen Ran's eyes.
The minimum Honkai Energy concentration required to produce a Herrscher was around 1500hw, and Nuwa now barely counted as half of a Herrscher. Her suitability for Honkai Energy was also quite outstanding.
"Then let's go with the highest specifications; notify me when her genetic traits begin to change."
"Okay!"
Durandal was excited.
In fact, aside from the thrill of pushing boundaries, Durandal also enjoyed learning new knowledge. For her, the new experiment Chen Ran was conducting was also a new field she had never understood before.
Although Durandal had developed human-like thinking, she was still fundamentally a biological computer, with underlying code logic that constructed her operations.
Research on the transformation of genetic traits in mature humans was also a new area for Durandal.
Meanwhile, Fuxi was keeping an eye on Nuwa's condition while also memorizing the data as quickly as possible.
At this moment, she did not fully understand the significance of this experiment; she was merely relying on her talent to forcibly remember these things.
However, they did not know that while Chen Ran was conducting such experiments with the equipment of the First Research Institute, Mobius was observing everything from another room.
"Genetic traits interacting with Honkai?"
"I thought you were a morally upright person, but it seems your thoughts are even crazier than mine."
"What should I do? I'm starting to like you a bit, Chen Ran."
...
...
After 18 hours had passed, only four people remained in the First Research Institute.
Besides Chen Ran, Nuwa, and Fuxi, there was also MEI.
She was asked by Chen Ran to bring food, as both Chen Ran and Fuxi were on the verge of fainting from hunger.
MEI initially didn't want to heed Chen Ran's request, after all, she had her own experiments that required a lot of preparatory work. But after Chen Ran briefly explained the experiment's content, she came.
She even brought a large amount of convenience food.
"The experiment is going even smoother than I expected. Nuwa's body has already shown significant genetic changes, almost like intense nuclear radiation," Chen Ran explained to MEI and Fuxi while slurping his noodles. "Afterward, the genetic module that counters Honkai memories will be fully integrated into Nuwa's genes, becoming a part of her body."
Fuxi nervously asked, "What will happen to Nuwa in the end?"
"She will become a very talented and powerful artificial warrior."
Chen Ran paused and added, "Of course, becoming a warrior requires not just talent, but also willpower and insight, so I won't push Nuwa onto the battlefield. You can rest assured about that."
"I'm just verifying another possibility."
MEI's eyes were filled with contemplation. "Is it the possibility of pushing humans towards Honkai?"
"To be precise, it's the possibility of pushing Honkai towards humans." He paused, "You can understand it as me redefining humanity."
MEI fell silent, while Fuxi looked at Nuwa, her eyes revealing such concern.
The dangerous experiment that Chen Ran spoke of was not the experiment itself, but what would happen afterward.
If a person's genes have been completely modified, can that person still be called human? Will society still accept her?
Chen Ran added, "But you can rest assured, at least I haven't made Nuwa grow cat ears or a fox tail. Her form still retains the appearance of a human, and there won't be any obvious differences in her looks."
He said, "As long as everyone keeps it a secret, no one will know."
Fuxi couldn't help but look at MEI.
MEI ignored Fuxi's gaze and continued to ponder.
"I always feel like you're unleashing something very terrifying," she said. "Have you thought about what would happen if such experiments were widely adopted…"
Chen Ran picked up on her words: "The ideal outcome would be that Honkai coexists with humanity, and Fire Moth would no longer have any reason to exist."
——
Fifty thousand years later, Schicksal Headquarters.
After more than a day of sparring and mutual training with Durandal, Wendy finally received news from Otto.
In matters like this, Otto was even more eager than she was.
"This is the device I built to simulate the Elysian Realm based on your description, a place that can store human consciousness data. In there, you can create anything with your imagination."
Otto paused and said, "I know you've already undergone a consciousness traversal once, but I wasn't involved in that. So, you'll need to conduct another consciousness traversal experiment."
"Use all your strength to achieve what you described as resonating with Chen Ran, thus influencing the world."
He needed data.
A lot of data.
So, what Wendy had done before needed to be repeated, only this time, the participant would be Otto instead of Mobius and Vill-V.
Wendy nodded, "I understand, Bishop."
Compared to Mobius and Vill-V, she actually trusted Otto a bit more.
After all, at this time, Otto had not revealed all his plans, and in the Valkyrie's heart, he was an excellent leader.
Even with experiments like the one at the Ocean Branch, it hadn't affected her view of Otto.
After all, she had already known the risks and accepted them before the experiment.
"Very well, since you trust me, I naturally won't let you down," Otto smiled. "Next, I will connect your consciousness with the terminal device, and let's witness what the world originally looks like."
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