Honkai Impact, please stop imagining it.

Mebius was completely bewildered. "Go to Australia? Your recent research focus should be on mechanical engineering, right?"

Your research is different from mine. What's the point of you saying all this? You don't expect me to do mechanical research for you, do you?

"Headquarters has started studying human bodies, so why don't I jump on the bandwagon? You've probably had your budget cut recently because of the large number of deaths, right? Come to me, I'll provide you with plenty of funding."

Möbius's left eyebrow twitched. "You need to understand that scientific research costs a lot of money."

himeko: "10 billion every year, for a ten-year term. I only have one requirement for you: if you succeed, you take the money and leave; if you fail... then you have to start all over again."

himeko spends even more on military matters.

Möbius: "I admit, you've impressed me a little. What's the subject of your research?"

"First, sign a confidentiality agreement. All I can say is that this research is similar to what you're doing now."

Möbius: "......."

It's similar to what I'm doing now, so wouldn't it be better if I did it at headquarters? You give me funding, and the headquarters of Moth Chaser also gives me funding. Once I figure it out, I'll put your name on it and give it to you first.

Why bother doing it outside of the Firemoth headquarters? Anyway, once the research is done, it's all shared. You don't mean you want the Firemoth headquarters to not use it, do you?

Wait, could it be that...?

Mebius glanced at the research institute's door, and after confirming that Mei wasn't there, he frowned and said, "Is Lin Yu in your hands?"

himeko: "As expected, you guys need to find Lin Yu to do this research, right?"

Möbius: "You really captured Lin Yu and then made me do research on him? You..."

You here, me here, you.

In that instant, Mebius was astonished to find himself standing on a moral high ground, pointing fingers at Himeko and accusing her of trampling on human rights and being inhumane.

"I used to be an assistant to Lin Yu's father. Please give me some face and send Lin Yu back."

You want to use Lin Yu to research the Chimera, and you won't even share it with the Firemoth headquarters. I never expected you to be this kind of person. He's your teacher's son, and your teacher raised you for so long.

Is it possible for himeko to go to such lengths for power? Mebius already found the establishment of a 40,000-strong Sino-Australian cavalry force in Australia outrageous, but this is even more outrageous.

himeko scoffed, "If you want to see him and use him, then come over. I'm not going to send Lin Yu there. I'll only give you one day to think it over. Don't tell anyone. If anyone else finds out... you know I've always had a bad temper."

Send Lin Yu there? Let him walk into a trap and die?

To cure Lin Yu, his body will definitely be needed, but if Lin Yu is sent to the headquarters of the Fire Moth, what will happen to him is beyond Himeko's control.

But if I bring Möbius over, and both Lin Yu and Möbius are in Australia, then I won't have to worry about what Möbius might do to Lin Yu.

Chapter 55 Möbius's Two-Faced Approach, Bookmaker Behavior

Mei walked out of her lounge with a gloomy face. The data and information online are not accurate, or rather, there are always omissions or embellishments.

Who could tell me Himeko's true personality and actions in a serious, unbiased way, without any flattery or malice? Mei's first thought was Mebius.

Cold-blooded and ruthless, she will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, has no friends, and everyone thinks she is the villain, Mebius.

Mei re-entered Möbius's research institute and, seeing Möbius deep in thought while holding his phone, asked him her question.

"What kind of person do you think Himeko is?"

Mei didn't believe Mebius could understand what she meant; she already suspected that Mebius had arrested Lin Yu.

Möbius: "......."

Mebius didn't know how to answer, so he picked up the kettle and made himself a cup of coffee. "I'm not sure if I should tell you."

“I’ve already done things for you, and now we’re one, Mebius. I will help you, and I hope you can help me too.”

Mebius looked up at the ceiling, his expression conflicted. It was a tough choice: a hundred billion a year or a super-talented researcher with a strong belief who would definitely help him.

Or should we help whoever wins?

"Himeko is greedy and power-hungry."

Her desire to be sent to Australia for human experimentation, and the fact that she wouldn't share the results with the Moth of Fire headquarters, undoubtedly demonstrates her ambition for independence.

After splitting into the Fire Moth, she could become the leader of an extremely powerful organization, instead of just one of the leaders of the current extremely powerful organizations.

"You're ruthless and unscrupulous, just like me."

Mei frowned. "The same as me?"

Möbius: "She's been researching chimeras lately and just invited me to join her institute, giving me a grant of 10 billion a year, but I'm not allowed to tell anyone. I'm a little hesitant about whether to go."

Mei's eyes flickered. "The Chimera Project? Ten billion? An invitation to you? Without telling anyone?"

Möbius: "I hope you won't tell anyone else about this. I'm hesitant about whether to stay at the Firemoth headquarters or go to Australia with her. Recently, the Firemoth headquarters has reduced my funding."

Mei: "......Well, isn't it because all the funding went to the Quantum Research Institute to build Abyss City?"

Möbius nodded, stirring his coffee with a spoon. "So I'm thinking about whether or not to go."

"Of course you can't go. You said she's cold-blooded and ruthless. If you go, do you think you can come back?"

Mei panicked. She was also a physics student. With Möbius's help, she could barely manage to figure out the Chimera Project. Without Möbius, she couldn't do it alone.

"But we've run out of funds."

Mei: "I'll go ask for it."

"You haven't produced any research results since you came to the Fire Moth, and we've spent over a billion yuan. It's impossible for the Fire Moth project to be approved."

You're dreaming. When you first came here, we approved the funding because we hoped you could come up with something good. Now that you haven't made any progress, you're still desperately asking for more money. Do you think the headquarters of Moth Chaser would be happy about that?

“I’ll go to the Quantum Research Institute to research armor, and then trick them out of funding to transfer to you. Aren’t we working together? I’ll earn money to support you. Just for 10 billion a year, are you really going to give up your authority with the Moth of Fire? And what about your status and position? Think about it carefully.”

Möbius: "...Do you want to CPU me?"

Isn't this happening to my CPU?

“I’m a researcher. The client is paying me, and the research direction is the same as what I’m doing now. If it succeeds, I’ll be at the top of the Sino-Australian alliance. It seems like I haven’t lost anything.”

"You've lost a very, very good friend, me! Think about it, can you live with yourself?"

Möbius: "...You are the first person to believe that I still have a conscience."

Mei: "I can research other projects to support you. I only care about the results. You can treat me as your client. I have a very good temper and a good personality. You think Himeko could even kidnap her teacher's son to do experiments? If you went there, would you have come back alive? I'm different. Mebius, wake up. Everyone else is lying to you. Only I can really help you."

"You're CPU-bound, but I have no proof. However, it's true that in the first half, I can't beat them physically."

Möbius shrugged. "What are your plans?"

Facing an army with an entire force and extremely strong combat capabilities, capable of easily sealing off two cities, clearing out the Honkai Beasts and zombies inside, and even losing its army leader who only had a few dozen men.

Mei's face darkened. "I don't know. I need to check if Lin Yu is with her."

"No need to check, he is indeed there. As long as I go there, she said she would let me study Lin Yu."

They've already made it public, and I've shared all the information. If you don't have a way to deal with Himeko, then I'm sorry, I'm going to defect to the enemy.

Mei: "Agree to her request, go to Australia, and after confirming Lin Yu's location, secretly rescue all of you."

"Um... just a little reminder, it seems our goals have diverged. My goal is to research the Chimera Project to make humanity more powerful, while your goal is to save Lin Yu."

Mebius picked up his coffee, took a sip, and licked his lips. "You want me to risk my life in Australia to bring your Lin Yu back, and then what? Moth Chaser and Himeko have fallen out, I've become Himeko's enemy, Moth Chaser won't give me any more funding, and maybe they'll even push me to Himeko's side to quell her anger."

"You got Lin Yu, but what did I get?"

Mei: "...Let me put it another way, Mebius, you are researching the Chimera in Australia, while I will try my best to research other directions to obtain funds from the Firemoth and climb up the ranks to control a portion of the Firemoth warriors."

"Right now, the biggest difference between Himeko and me is hard power. Once I improve my hard power, Himeko will have no way to ignore me and do anything to Lin Yu. My requirements are simple: Lin Yu must come back alive. Her requirement is the success of the Chimera Project. In other words, there are no conflicts between us on paper."

"As long as you treat Lin Yu well, I don't care about anything else."

Mebius was puzzled, utterly puzzled. This was too surreal. "You think you can switch from research to the military like Himeko, climb to the top, and acquire a large army to fight against her?"

Mei: "Why not? You and Kevin will help me, won't they?"

Möbius: "You overestimate me. I'm just an ordinary researcher, I don't have that kind of power."

"But once I climb up, I will give you a lot of resources."

Möbius: "To be honest, you can't fill your stomach with empty promises."

Mei: "Lin Yu is the first successful case of your experiment. Don't you want him to live?"

Mebius stroked his chin and nodded, seemingly understanding. "I won't let him die unless it's absolutely necessary."

It seems that's all you have to offer besides moral blackmail and empty promises. Sigh, I overestimated you, Miss Mei.

I thought you were going to tell me something else interesting.

“I will go to Australia to do research, not because you begged me, but voluntarily. However, I will not harm Lin Yu unless absolutely necessary, until you are truly capable of fighting Himeko. Whoever wins, I will help them, how about that?”

Mei: "Thank you. I feel relieved to hear that. I will definitely climb up the ranks, I will definitely get into the army, and I will get a lot of money."

Why not play both sides? Anyway, there's no conflict between the two of them. I'm just a researcher, so I don't need to worry about these messy things. Whoever wins, I'll work for them. Right now, Himeko is just a step ahead. But Mei, don't be too sad. If one day you really can surpass Himeko's power, maybe I really will do what you think and secretly run away with Lin Yu back to give to you.

Ha, this must be the legendary love, a love that transcends life itself. To think that someone could go to such lengths for Lin Yu. Möbius didn't understand, but he found it very interesting.

Mei, who is so indifferent to life, has gone to such lengths because of Lin Yu, an ordinary person.

You can dislocate a prisoner's shoulder blade with your bare hands, yet you worry that I might hurt someone you once loved.

That's too morbid.

To get someone as rational as Mei to do this, are you putting all your emotions into him alone?

Möbius had Klein compile their data and make a copy on a USB drive, then submitted a report to the Moth of Fire headquarters requesting a transfer to the Australian branch.

The report was approved in less than five minutes, which surprised the leaders of Moth Chasing Fire. Could such a good thing really happen?

They won't spend my money, and I won't even have to provide criminals anymore. They can't possibly ask me for funding after transferring them to that godforsaken place in Australia, right? What a great deal!

The process was completed in seconds. As for what Mebius wanted to take, they only gave it a cursory glance. She didn't want money or equipment, just some data that she had researched before but hadn't yet yielded any results on.

Less than half an hour later, two teams of elite Moth warriors, armed and in armor, knocked on the door of the Möbius Institute.

"Dr. Möbius, please."

Klein thought she wouldn't leave until at least tomorrow. She hadn't even packed her clothes. When she saw the soldiers, she was stunned. Was she still sleepwalking?

Why were we suddenly surrounded?

Mebius pulled Klein along and walked outside, head held high and a confident smile on his face. "It's a bet between two sides, and I'm the bookmaker."

Cangxuan and Danzhu were also awakened by the soldiers poking them with the muzzle of their guns. Still half asleep, the two followed Klein and Mebius.