I am a hero of the former civilization.

“This is none of your business.” Sakura shook her head, refusing to utter a single word.

Mei didn't press the matter, but instead used a small detail to deduce that Ryan was weaving a web that even she couldn't understand. For example, this Sakura had a high compatibility with the Super-Transformation Factor and the potential to fuse with a Judgment-level Honkai Beast.

Why did she survive out of so many poisonous pupae? Why did you risk everything to save Velvet? Why did you help purge the pureblood faction? Are you so certain that technology cannot defeat the Honkai?

Are these all coincidences?

She had no answer, only muttering to herself.

If this era is destined to perish, and we need to pass on the torch to future generations, then your life has a greater significance than mine.

What I possess is knowledge, but you can have everything if you want!

Chapter Ninety-Seven: I am, the enhanced version of Kevin?

Ryan was unaware that things had only just begun, while May was already envisioning the end. He hurried to the auditorium on the tenth floor, only to find it already full when he opened the door.

Oh no, we lost track of time while we were chatting.

On the stage, Kevin and Hua stood side by side, each wearing the Human Courage Medal of the Fire Moth on their chests. This medal was awarded to outstanding recruits, either for single-handedly defeating Honkai Beasts of the Honkai Emperor level or higher, or for risking their lives to save their teammates.

Nowadays, as humanity continues to tighten its defenses, there are quite a few people who can obtain it.

Honors earned with one's life are truly precious.

Ryan looked at her with gentle eyes, found a seat nearby, and then joined the hundreds of spectators in applauding.

clap clap.

The applause was thunderous. No matter how many conspiracies there were, the Moth of Fire was essentially a fighting organization that held great respect for powerful warriors. Amid the thunderous applause, the two people on the stage had different expressions.

The two were strangers to each other. Kevin's face was tense, and he looked somewhat nervous. The image of the battlefield and the scene in the auditorium intertwined, and there was some impatience deep in his eyes.

Hua remained expressionless, his eyes scanning the room below, his face growing increasingly somber. When he saw Ryan waving and greeting him from the last row, he blinked and a subtle smile appeared on his face.

"Everyone, Hua and Kevin are just representatives. Since the Third Honkai Impact, more and more people around the world have joined the Firemoth, willing to become heroes who protect humanity. Do you know why?"

Just as Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, Commander-in-Chief Carius strode to the podium. This nominal commander of the Fire Moth looked very capable, with his gray hair neatly combed back, and his voice was firm and loud.

"As Sergeant Kevin just said in his speech, some joined to protect their loved ones, some joined for justice, and some joined for rewards. Whatever the reason, the Firemoth will provide them with the best platform to fulfill their wishes."

"Whether you're a logistics worker, a soldier, a scientist, or a politician, you can realize your ideals while simultaneously upholding the highest justice—"

"Protect human civilization!!"

Crash.

The applause was thunderous, and even Ryan put in a little more force. It was their first meeting, and this Commander Karius was quite formidable.

Since the chief executive is replaced every four years and cannot be re-elected, aside from other matters, this speech was already quite profound.

There was no empty talk about lofty ideals; they even admitted that some people joined Moth Chaser just for the money. They didn't talk about how powerful the Honkai was; they only explained that Moth Chaser was a platform for realizing ideals, and that the first thing to do was to lure people in.

So even after the Honkai Impact 3rd is over, you still have ideas, right?

Ryan's smile turned mocking again. Forget it, he was too lazy to talk about this old problem anymore. While Karius left and a group of people were singing the 'anthem' loudly, he took a good look at the two people on the stage.

Hua's anger had turned to joy, which goes without saying. Kevin, on the other hand, was somewhat strange, as if he didn't fit into the exciting scene. His eyes, in particular, looked tired and weary, like an outsider coldly watching the revelry.

As expected, it was affected by the battlefield, and the impact is only getting deeper.

Ryan sighed. Kevin was constantly moving between battlefields, not on a picnic. Normally, some psychological counseling would suffice, but well...

These two on stage are somewhat unlucky with their teammates; those who team up with them usually don't have a good ending.

Even Ryan couldn't change this kind of mystical situation. He had already read the information: Kevin had become a squad leader and led a special mobile force to sub-Saharan Africa, where they encountered an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

The squad suffered heavy casualties, but ultimately completed the mission. Kevin returned with a plane full of his teammates' corpses to receive his reward.

Mei is the one who can play a key role, but that woman is so focused on her work that she doesn't even attend the ceremony. What is she up to?

May definitely loves Kevin, but Ryan can't understand this woman either. It's possible she'll do something that's hard for ordinary people to comprehend. Also, what does she mean by saying a bunch of nonsensical things to me?

Ryan stroked his chin, deep in thought. May's vision extended to 50,000 years into the future. Although Kevin was saddened, it was her ultimate insurance policy, and in the end, it actually paid off.

The obsessive Kevin is the foundation for defeating the Honkai... Hey, you don't want me to go crazy, do you?

This idea popped into my head out of nowhere, but as I thought about it further, it actually made a lot of sense. Combat prowess, skill, academic background, and even prophetic planning—wasn't this just a super-powered version of Kevin?

It's no exaggeration to say that even if everyone in the previous civilization were to perish, Ryan could handle all the plans left behind by himself, and might even take them to the next level.

'You can't just suspect others without any basis. Mei isn't that pessimistic right now.'

Ryan shook his head, still making bold assumptions while carefully verifying them.

Now, the fusion warriors have been developed several years ahead of schedule, and the Divine Keys are also on the agenda. Although the territory controlled by humans is shrinking, the situation is very good. I haven't seen the commander-in-chief holding any kind of award ceremony.

But the Third Herrscher's phrase "a person from beyond the heavens" lingered in his mind like a curse, never fading away.

Snapped.

Just as Ryan was getting more and more engrossed in his thoughts, a small hand slapped the table, startling him awake. He looked around and realized that the awards ceremony had already ended and most of the people had left.

Hua, dressed in the female uniform of the Fire Moth, stood in front of him, a shiny medal pinned to her chest, wearing a rolled-brim hat. The crisp black uniform made her look tall and slender, and a pair of straight calves encased in flesh-colored stockings were revealed below the knee-length skirt.

The girl was capable and spirited, with an alluring quality reminiscent of a uniform, but her emerald eyes were filled with questions.

"Senior brother, what are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed."

“Oh, some trivial matters.” Ryan propped himself up on the table and looked Hua up and down. “Congratulations on achieving such an honor in less than half a year since you joined the Firemoth.”

Hua smiled, looking a little smug, but deliberately didn't show it: "This is all thanks to my senior brother's excellent teaching, and Miss Alicia has also taught me a lot."

Ryan nodded, readily accepting the flattery. Among the heroes, Hua was the one most influenced by him, and for the longest time. If it were truly no different from the original timeline, wouldn't he have wasted all these years?

The girl remained serious and reserved, but she was even more determined and strong.

“Kevin, don’t look surprised. This is my junior sister, Hua.” Ryan then looked at the young man who was spying nearby and beckoned him over.

Kevin had never met Hua, but he knew of her existence when he was at Qianyu Academy. Now, after hearing Ryan's introduction, he wasn't too surprised. The only thing that surprised him was Hua's appearance. He had originally thought that Ryan's junior sister was a muscular tank.

If the senior brother is this freakish, the junior sister can't be much weaker. Perhaps she was badly beaten by Ryan in the Far East, and the latter's combat power is extremely high in Kevin's mind.

He first shook hands lightly with Hua, then winked at Ryan, the meaning of which was quite clear.

'You're quite the ladies' man, aren't you? First Möbius, now your junior sister. How come I never noticed you were such a beast before?'

Ryan's eyes twitched, and he merely raised his fist slightly, his meaning equally simple.

'Say one more word and we'll have a spar?'

Kevin, who had recently become overconfident, was getting restless, but after receiving a terrifying feedback from his intuition, he surrendered.

Those two are really interesting.

Hua glanced back and forth. She had heard Ryan mention Kevin before, and now that she saw him, she found it quite strange. Just now on stage, he had that fierce aura like a battle-hardened veteran, but in front of Ryan, he was like a normal, sunny young man.

As expected of my senior, he unites everyone like a banner.

Ryan was unaware that he had been praised again. He was talking to Kevin about May when he heard that May was having a meeting upstairs. The young man's eyes dimmed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

He was used to it and understood his girlfriend's pursuit. In a sense, he and Hua were both pursuers.

"I get so angry just looking at you, like a little wife silently guarding your back. Can't you be a little more assertive?!"

"How tough should I be?" Kevin asked, looking for advice. He figured Ryan was better than him at playing both sides.

Ryan glanced at Hua, then leaned close to Kevin's ear and said, word by word, "Simple, sleep with her, let her know who's on top and who's on the bottom."

Kevin's lips twitched, and he quickly pressed down on Ryan's shoulder: "Don't talk nonsense..."

"Tsk, are you even a man? I gave you plenty of chances." Ryan was furious. In the original timeline, Kevin had become a human refrigerator due to the fusion surgery and had lost his ability to do anything.

That's not what I meant, it's just...

"Ryan, you're really good at coming up with ideas. I've never seen you so clever before."

A cold yet familiar voice came from Kevin's chest, startling Ryan. He looked at Kevin with a blank expression, while Kevin spread his hands and mouthed the words.

'Mei didn't have time to come, but she participated in another way.'

Live broadcast, huh? You're really something.

Ryan gritted his teeth, listening to the breathing inside the button, as if he could see the scheming woman's face flushed slightly with extreme anger. He said nothing, only raised his hand to remove the camera and crushed it to pieces.

"Kevin, you're my brother, right?"

"Yes."

“Then help me explain. I’m doing this entirely for your own good, to prevent May from taking revenge on me.” Ryan said expressionlessly. Seeing Kevin shake his head, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll treat you to dinner. You can choose any restaurant you like. Is that alright?”

"This... let me think about it?"

"Come on, you're getting a medal and I'm treating? Is there no justice in this world?" Ryan punched him in the chest, making Kevin clutch his chest and stumble back several steps. "Young man, your pecs have gotten even bigger, let me see them later?"

"Go to hell, you gay!"

The two seemed to have returned to their school days, the time when they were close friends who would prank each other, which made Hua chuckle. But when Ryan's gaze swept over, she became serious again.

"Okay, stop pretending to be serious, you come along too."

"Yes." The girl's face immediately lit up with joy, and she casually asked, "Senior brother, aren't you Dr. Möbius?"

Ryan and Kevin were walking out arm in arm, not thinking much of it: "She's busy, she doesn't have time to eat."

He didn't see that the girl behind him had a smile even more excited than when she received the medal, and she clenched her right fist.

Great!

Chapter Ninety-Eight: I'm not coming back tonight!

York is known as the city that never sleeps, and in the most bustling part of Manhattan, there are restaurants everywhere, and you can find almost any kind of cuisine from around the world here.

There were both sweaty, smelly bars and well-dressed French restaurants; since it was Kevin's choice, he chose without hesitation—

Slurp up the noodles!

In the dark alley, four steaming bowls of golden tonkotsu ramen were placed on the table, their aroma filling the air, while Hua's expression was somewhat blank.

She thought she was going to have a fancy meal, but Kevin wandered around and found an inconspicuous ramen shop in Manhattan, a city full of skyscrapers. As a person from Jiangnan, whose staple food is rice, she wasn't really interested in noodles.

“You’ll get used to it. This guy’s been eating noodles his whole life.” Ryan calmly broke apart his chopsticks, looking completely in control.

It's impossible for me to bleed money; everything is within my calculations.