I am a hero of the former civilization.

Even the most introverted guys couldn't stay any longer. The campus, which originally housed tens of thousands of students, was reduced to just a few faculty and staff members. The physics lab, ironically, became the liveliest place.

Ryan picked up the coffee on the table, took a small sip, and looked down with his gray eyes. He could see a man and a woman chatting in the small garden.

On the bench, a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail was quietly flipping through an experimental report, her expression calm and focused, while a white-haired young man sat beside her, constantly stuffing dumplings into her mouth.

He moved very gently, as if afraid of disturbing the girl's thoughts, and his expression was equally focused, staring intently at the girl's face.

belch--

Ryan suddenly let out a burp. Damn, he hadn't even had dinner yet and his stomach was already full of dog food. For some reason, he suddenly remembered that book friend who said he was coming to Changkong City on a business trip.

Impossible, that's just a burly man picking his toes.

Reason extinguished the budding fantasy, and Ryan rested his chin on his hand, his brows furrowed.

"If it weren't for the damn Honkai, with my reincarnation skills, I could have been a spoiled brat who spends his days raising birds and watching the sunrise."

The resentment vanished in an instant. There was no other way but to keep going. He just stood there in a daze, eating dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), until finally he couldn't take it anymore. He picked up the black cloth bag leaning against the table and walked down.

Kevin, that idiot, fed me dumplings and then water, then peeled an apple. My coffee got cold, and this is what you two show me?

"Hey, can you two stop showing off your love everywhere and think about how we single people feel?"

"Ryan, when did you get here?" Kevin turned around and subconsciously peeled off a piece of apple. "Want some apple? I just peeled it. And have you had dinner yet?"

"I haven't eaten, but I'm already full from dog food." Ryan waved his hand, walked up to the two, coughed lightly, and said, "The experiment starts in half an hour. There's a good spot behind the garden, usually deserted..."

"okay!"

Before she could finish speaking, Mei interrupted her with a shrill voice. Her breathing seemed to quicken, and it took a long time for her slightly flushed face to return to normal.

"Kevin, wait here for a while. The experiment will be over around 11 o'clock. Come with me for a walk around the school then."

It would take at least five hours, but Kevin wasn't impatient at all. He just smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."

"Let's go, hurry up and finish the experiment. You can do whatever you want with these three days." Ryan smiled at the odd couple and walked into the laboratory first.

The explosion-proof door opened, and a group of people in white coats were already waiting in the control room. Various numbers were flashing on the computer screens, and outside the glass was the huge collider.

"Dr. Mei, all equipment is ready."

"Power can be injected at any time, trial operation has been completed, and all subsystems are functioning normally."

Reports rang out all around, and the girl who had been shy just moments before had changed her expression. She was calm and composed, radiating an extremely rational aura, as she continued to sign various reports.

Everything was ready, just waiting for her to press the button. Mei turned her head and looked at Ryan, who was leisurely drinking coffee: "Are you really going down? And what's that thing you're carrying?"

“The gym equipment, I’ll work out after the experiment.” Ryan shrugged and put the cup on the table. “We’ve already left enough margin of error, and this thing isn’t dangerous. I’ll just record the data and analyze it later. That brilliant spark might just inspire me.”

"Weirdo, how can you see a fraction of a second with the naked eye? Fine, if you want to be lazy, go ahead."

A burst of laughter erupted in the control room. Everyone knew about Dr. Ryan's tendency to be lazy, but it couldn't be denied that his occasional flashes of inspiration often provided the right direction.

Ryan chuckled self-deprecatingly. He just found staying in the control room rather boring, and besides, he didn't need to see with his eyes. At the moment when the particles collided and released imaginary internal energy, an indescribable feeling would emerge.

Down the stairs, Ryan simply walked into the huge laboratory. The two circular colliders were not far in front of him. Because the power consumption during acceleration would emit strong heat, he did not dare to get too close.

I sat down at the end of the stairs and pressed the headset button: "Let's begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ryan could no longer see any spectacular scene. He could only hear the buzzing sound of the radiator starting up, which sounded like a train rumbling by.

buzzing...

Electricity was injected, the radiator was activated, and the particles were spiraling and accelerating in a circular orbit. Ryan leaned forward, staring intently at the vacuum tube in the center.

coming soon.

Ryan, who had participated in several experiments, silently counted in his mind, then a thought struck him, and an image appeared in his mind:

Particles traveling in opposite directions collide at the speed of light, emitting a light invisible to the naked eye. This dazzling spark will ignite within a thousandth of a second, and only the most advanced detectors can capture its shadow.

Honkai energy will surge momentarily, briefly connecting to the imaginary space for data observation, before instantly annihilating due to lack of follow-through...

"wrong."

In that instant, Ryan's pupils contracted sharply. He did indeed sense the Honkai energy, but instead of extinguishing, it became more and more obvious and familiar.

It's the Honkai!

At the same time, chaos erupted in the control room, with red lights flashing and piercing alarms blaring all around.

"The experiment has gone out of control; the energy has exceeded the critical value!"

"The accelerator structure is damaged, the detection system is malfunctioning, and data cannot be captured."

"Dr. Mei, look!"

No detectors are needed anymore; Mei can see with the naked eye that the vacuum tube is being burst by a red energy ball, and even high-strength alloys begin to melt where it touches.

"How...how could this be?" Even Mei was a little confused. How could observing the microscopic world cause such a commotion?

The experiment itself is like pricking a hole in the wall of a space that isolates you from reality. The hole would have healed in an instant, but now it's not only not healed, but it's as if something is squeezing out on its own.

The piercing alarm was unsettling, but Mei remained calm and loudly ordered, "Experiment failed. Everyone evacuate. I will take responsibility."

A group of people had been waiting for her to say that. Who knew if the ever-expanding energy would cause an explosion? They quickly dropped their work and left through the escape route. Mei was the last to leave, and she connected to her headset amidst the loud interference.

"Ryan, retreat quickly."

"Too late, this is not as simple as a laboratory explosion."

Inside the laboratory, the temperature was rising rapidly, and the concentration here was enough to cause mutations in the human body. He stood on the stairs and silently opened the cloth bag.

"What are you saying? Hurry up and go! It's dangerous to be exposed to imaginary energy without protection." Mei's voice became anxious.

"Don't worry, this amount of energy won't affect me." Ryan shook his head. He didn't have time to dwell on the reason, nor did he take the crack in front of him seriously.

Above the ground and in the sky, a calamity called Honkai is gathering, far exceeding the scale of the apartment area from a few days ago.

It makes no sense, just like randomness.

"Put on your protective suits, go find Kevin, and leave the school as soon as possible."

"What on earth do you want to do!?"

Click.

The two-meter-long spear was assembled, its tip striking the steps with a crisp sound. His gray eyes were extremely calm as he turned to look at the wall to one side.

Rumbling--

The thick wall suddenly exploded, and amidst the flying debris, a Honkai Beast more than two meters tall suddenly rushed out. Honkai Beasts do not need to grow; they will appear on their own when the energy is high enough.

Energy-producing beings?

This was the first time Mei had ever seen such a monster in person. Whether it was fear or a researcher's instinct, she forgot to run and watched as the monster charged towards the control room, smashing through everything in its path. And just then...

A crimson spiral appeared on the side, knocking the massive monster away and pinning it to the wall with a thud. At the other end of the spear, a familiar-looking man was holding the spear with one hand.

He stood ramrod straight, his white coat billowing slowly in the air, and then Mei heard a more familiar voice.

"Of course, it's to clean up the mess as a researcher."

Chapter Nine: Pioneers, Never Back Down!

Like a flash of lightning, the nearly two-meter-tall Honkai Beast was pierced through.

All distracting thoughts were severed by that single shot. Amidst the dense aura of collapse, his chest filled with a yearning for the unknown, Ryan felt himself enter a state of purity, thinking of nothing, simply—

Draw your gun, twist your body, and thrust!

A 'knight' that had just pierced through the floor took off instantly, its head sinking into the ceiling, half of its body swinging back and forth. Ryan didn't even look, raising his spear above his head and wielding it with the speed of a shield.

bang bang bang...  

Several 'mosquitoes' that rushed out of the pipes crashed into it. The next moment, these half-human-sized Honkai beasts were thrown back, smashing various instruments and causing them to tilt and emit bright blue arcs of electricity.

Ryan lunged forward, gun in one hand, when he was drawn by the heavy, rumbling footsteps. He vaguely saw a huge shadow emerging from the end of the corridor, two or three meters tall, filling the entire corridor.

Like a chariot, it is slowly rolling in.

"A tank-class Honkai Beast, judging by its size, it's a small species."

With a slight furrow in his brow, Ryan extended his spear, picked up the scattered instruments around him, sending these hundreds-of-pound iron blocks flying through the air, and then kicked them.

shhh-

He used the equipment, worth millions of euros, as a concealed weapon. With tremendous force, it moved extremely fast. The 'chariot' quickly stopped and crossed its large hands in front of its head.

Thump, thump!

The force was enough to flatten a car, but it only made the Honkai Beast retreat, leaving some shallow dents on its arms.

The tank-class Honkai Beast's shell was tough enough to withstand anti-materiel rifles, but as soon as its hind legs touched the ground, the crimson spiral pierced through the countless electronic components and debris.

Ryan glided forward and thrust his spear without hesitation, aiming straight at the spiraling, shattered arms, and plunged it into the Honkai Beast's head. The remaining Honkai energy pierced through the body, turning another Knight-class Honkai Beast behind it into minced meat.

Physical strength is not very useful in this world; manipulating Honkai energy is the key. Just like the Honkai bombs of the Fire Moth, their destructive power is much stronger than that of ordinary firearms.

"Scientifically speaking, it's about condensing and accelerating Honkai energy to create a drill-like breakthrough point at the top." Ryan smiled with satisfaction. There are no mystical mysteries in the world; it's simply the application of physics.

What I learned while traveling across China were physical skills, but that doctoral degree is the true source of power.

Ryan drew his spear, turned around, and saw that the glass of the control room had been completely shattered, and a Knight-class Honkai Beast was flying out. His smile froze again.

To retract the foreword, some people completely disregard science.

Hu Hu Hu.

Kevin, leaning on a baseball bat, was panting heavily. He had rushed down without thinking after hearing the commotion.

Then he saw a white-skinned monster about to attack Mei. He grabbed a baseball bat from the side of the door, mustered all his strength, and knocked it away. When he came to his senses, his mind went blank.

What is that? Am I dreaming from watching too many movies?

Kevin looked completely bewildered and raised his head in confusion. He was even more confused when he saw the scene inside the laboratory.

Amidst the chaos, several equally bizarre corpses lay scattered about. At the end of the corridor, a familiar figure turned to look back, behind whom stood another, even larger monster.

"Ryan? Is he...is he Superman?"

Mei, who had already changed into her protective suit, glanced at the Honkai Beast that had been smashed away and thought to herself, "You're not bad either." Fortunately, she knew very well what the priority was right now.

"Kevin, this is not the time to talk about this. Let's get out of here."

"Oh, okay, let's get out of here quickly." Despite being full of questions, Kevin still obeyed without question. But as soon as he stood up, he leaped up and pushed Mei to the ground.