I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

Perhaps he was too happy, because Mebius slightly adjusted the corners of his mouth that were constantly turning up, but he still couldn't stop smiling.

"Ha... I knew it! You still couldn't escape my grasp, you little guinea pig! And I never expected you to come willingly... This really makes me... happy!"

"I'm actually starting to like you now~"

"Well... as a return gift, I'll answer your questions—to the best of my knowledge."

Mebius approached casually and sat down at a very close distance to Xiwang, his dangerous snake-like eyes meeting his gaze.

"...Why did Alicia undergo surgery?"

"Ha~ So you really care about this? But you might be disappointed. She suddenly barged into my lab and suddenly asked me to perform surgery on her. Otherwise, I would be the second [Fusion Warrior] now, not her."

At this point, Mebius frowned slightly, as if he was somewhat uncertain.

"However, even though I say that, I don't have much of an impression of Alicia's surgery... but there are indeed records of her surgery. Perhaps the side effects of the [Super Mutant Factor] affected us to some extent, after all, our research on Honkai is not thorough enough."

She didn't seem to care much about the issue. She was aware that something was wrong, but she didn't take it to heart, or perhaps it was because it was related to Alicia that she didn't care.

"Is that so... Then why is Alicia still on the [list]?"

"When did your brain become so stupid, you guinea pig? You could easily guess what those people were thinking... Of course, it's to show others that 'everything is going according to plan' and to show others the success rate of the 'Fusion Warrior Project' to slightly increase the enrollment rate."

"After all, even Alicia, the first one to actively participate, succeeded. Add to that Kevin at the beginning and me later, and the success of the three of us will give others the illusion that 'maybe the success rate of this experiment is very high'... It's really incomprehensible that those people would rather believe in this kind of baseless deduction than in the clear data that has been published."

Mebius shrugged, seemingly puzzled, but then a slightly sarcastic smile appeared on her lips.

"But that's just how people are, isn't it?"

"So Alicia's name was added later...?"

Xi Wang roughly understood Alicia's situation. Although he felt somewhat helpless about Alicia's willful actions, well... that's just Alicia... and no matter what, she's still alive in the end, and he can see her again, so that's good.

“Sakura…she did it willingly, right?”

"That's right~ Didn't you just find out from her?"

"...If you were to have the surgery earlier than scheduled, how long would it take to prepare?"

"The specific arrangements will still follow their wishes, since I don't care about that aspect, but..."

Mebius leaned forward slightly, getting close to Xi Wang, his fingertips lightly touching his chest, and said with a sweet and seductive tone.

"If you're the guinea pig, you can do it anytime!"

"After all, I've done so much preparation for you~"

This time, Xi Wang neither dodged nor pushed Mebius away, but simply let her touch him. Seeing this, Mebius became even bolder, curiously examining his body with a strange kind of desire in her eyes.

"Finally... what would be the consequences if we eliminated a high-ranking member of the Firemoth class who is similar to you or of a lower rank?"

"...If you want to die, I recommend that you don't take Alicia with you, don't take Sakura with you, and don't take anyone else with you."

Mebius's tone instantly turned cold, and the tips of her green hair began to move unconsciously, like Medusa's "snake hair" in legend. The aura she exuded also became like that of a "snake," dangerous and deadly.

"If you had this idea earlier, you might have only been put on trial and, besides dying, caused some minor trouble for others... Although I hate them, at this moment, they have surprisingly put aside their conflicts and started to do things properly."

"Although there are still many hidden problems, they will absolutely not let any of them die now. The Moth of Fire cannot withstand any power turmoil. If such a thing happens, you will definitely be exposed, no matter who you killed, and everyone related to you will suffer as a result."

"What if it's after surgery?"

"While I'm glad you have the confidence to have survived, do you want to hear what you just said, you guinea pig?"

Mebius was almost laughing in exasperation.

"I might need to reassess you. Has your brain been damaged by love lately? Or has it been filled with Alicia's mischievous ideas? You've become so dull... or do you get happy by dragging others down with you?"

"Do you want them to reject the Fusion Warrior Project, to think that the Fusion Warriors after surgery are unable to obey commands and fight the Honkai, and then maximize their fear of us?"

"Or do you think that because you're a fusion warrior, they won't care? Don't be ridiculous. They'll only be afraid of you and us when it comes to a power that can resist or even harm them."

"At that time, not only you and me, but also Alicia and Sakura, or Kevin and Mei, everyone will be taken down by you and disposed of by them."

"We might not die, but our movements will definitely be completely restricted... Do you think that's fun?"

This is the first time Mebius has shown such anger in front of you; clearly, something in Xiwang's question just now hit a nerve with her.

"I see... I understand."

Xi Wang closed her eyes, readjusted her breathing, and quickly calmed her mind. Then she opened her eyes again, but the faint golden light in her pupils had expanded slightly, making it difficult to notice.

"...I've finished asking."

"Oh? Is that all? I thought you had more to ask, little guinea pig~"

Mebius resumed her usual provocative and seductive tone, and at the same time, she became more proactive and more... aggressive in her actions.

"So... as agreed, you belong to me now, right?"

He pressed Xi Wang against the wall with a force that Xi Wang, a fusion warrior, could hardly resist. He moved closer to him, almost touching him, and his fingertips gradually moved up from Xi Wang's chest, across his neck, and finally gently lifted his chin.

"It will only be for a limited time."

"Yes, yes~ I won't embarrass you too much~"

Mebius smiled with satisfaction and waved slightly, gesturing to his assistants on the other side of the one-way glass.

"Alright, Klein, let's leave the work at hand to Cangxuan and Danzhu for now. We have more important things to deal with."

"Don't worry, little lab rat!"

Mebius and Xiwang looked at each other with considerable satisfaction at his seemingly unchanging pupils.

"I believe our time together will be very pleasant—whether it's experiments or surgery, I will choose the best and most suitable options for you."

"Well then... let's begin! Let's see what new possibilities your [trait] will bring!"

"........."

Xi Wang merely squinted, completely ignoring her seemingly seductive yet insane tone.

----------

[Möbius forcefully rejected all subsequent experiments and surgeries, and in the same manner rejected all your future missions, citing the need for your cooperation in the "Fusion Warrior" research experiments.]

Although other senior executives had many questions and complaints about this, they couldn't do anything about it and could only threaten her with the lab's funding to prevent her from dragging things out for too long.

[And what followed was a period in Möbius's laboratory that wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't terrible either. Perhaps because your "special trait" was unique, Möbius was very restrained in his experiments on you. Even though he knew you had that unusual regenerative ability, he didn't cut off your limbs to test whether you had the ability to regenerate limbs. He only performed "minor injuries" such as peeling off some skin, removing a piece of muscle, breaking some organs, or breaking a few bones.]

The final test results delighted Möbius—all injuries healed gradually over time, fully recovering by the seventh day, and any remaining traces disappeared within the next one to two days. The overall error was no more than 12 hours, and the recovery time could be shortened if the patient consumed plenty of nutrients during the recovery period.

[If it weren't for the Moth of Flames starting to urge them, which also made the situation on the front lines tense, Mebius would have even considered spending more time studying you.]

[Your surgery has reached a point where it has to be done. Moth of the Flame urgently needs to see the results, otherwise Möbius will face accusations of "passive resistance" and "mistreatment of soldiers."]

However, in the end, she also planned to use this last opportunity to conduct one last experiment.

Although Mebius himself had gained the ability to "resurrect" by fusing with the genes of the serpentine Honkai Beast "Shesa", there were still some limitations. He needed to absorb a large amount of Honkai energy after death to be able to "resurrect".

Even though she gained a form of "infinite life" as a result, she was not satisfied with that. She wanted to go further and explore more and more precise powers of "immortality."

[And your peculiar "trait" naturally made you her best experimental subject. Correspondingly, she did prepare the best and most suitable Honkai Beast gene for you—"Gabriel".]

[The genes of this fiery moth-like Honkai Beast, which are difficult to define, possess an extremely vigorous vitality. If only a small part is extracted, and given a sufficient supply of Honkai energy, the extracted portion will quickly grow into a Honkai Beast.]

Furthermore, upon reanalyzing this newly formed Honkai Beast, no clear connection can be found between it and "Gabriel," making it seem as if it were a naturally generated Honkai Beast.

[Even newly born Honkai Beasts will undergo slight changes depending on their environment, in order to make them more adaptable to their surroundings.]

Finally, Gabriel's genes react specifically to water, becoming particularly active in environments with ample moisture.

This also helped everyone understand why "Gabriel" was able to summon the "Honkai Beast Tide" in the first place, and confirmed that the various "Honkai Beasts" that appeared on the beaches around the world at that time were indeed related to it.

And now, Mebius has modified its genes into your "hypermutant factor".

[Of course, this is extremely dangerous. If you're not careful, you're more likely to be affected by Gabriel's genes, lose your own consciousness, and end up in a worse situation than a "failure"—becoming a Honkai creature or a similar monster, and then being hunted down.]

Before the surgery began, Mebius repeatedly told you about the risks and that you had the right to refuse. After all, she had made many preparations for you, and you could have chosen other options instead of "Gabriel." However, "Gabriel" was her favorite.

You don't care about this, after all... you'll survive.

Mebius was exceptionally pleased and excited by your attitude; you could even vaguely see a peculiar possessiveness in her snake-like eyes—the kind that wanted to tie you to the operating table.

However, you can definitely sense that Möbius's attitude towards you has improved considerably. As a result, her touching of your body has become increasingly unrestrained, and her words to you are filled with all sorts of strange hints. Even the term "guinea pig" is almost becoming her exclusive nickname—ah, as expected, she still hasn't given up on her plan to keep you in the lab.

[And under Mebius's personal supervision, your surgery was completed, and it can even be said to have been very successful.]

You have successfully become a "Fusion Warrior", ID CM-005.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Fusion Warrior Who Controls "Water"

"Little lab rat, how does it feel to be reborn?"

"There's no difference."

"Really? I thought you'd need some time to adjust to your new body..."

"It doesn't have much of an impact; in fact... I'm more agile, which is great."

Xi Wang ran around the experimental area for a bit, moving quickly within the area according to his own combat style. Even Mebius, who was also a fusion warrior, could only vaguely see his moving figure, and could only see him clearly when he used force to turn in the middle.

He perfectly utilized this combat style, which rapidly transforms from a static state to a high-speed state in a short period of time, with his new body.

"This is...amazing!"

Mebius spoke with a mixture of exclamation and fervor.

"...Hmm? What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the lab rat?"

Suddenly noticing that Xiwang had stopped, Möbius lightly rubbed his lips with his fingertips and asked.

"...No, it's nothing."

Xi Wang looked at her arm with some confusion, then relaxed her body slightly, shook her head, and didn't say anything.

Perhaps as a side effect of the surgery, he felt that his frame had become smaller, and the lines of his body had become softer, making him look as smooth and silky as a mountain stream, losing his original rugged style.

A slight dampness permeated his body. Although he was in a dry indoor environment, he had the illusion of being at the seaside. At the same time, he inexplicably disliked dry places and would unconsciously emit a special aura that made his body damp, somewhat similar to the cold aura surrounding Kevin. Both were uncontrollable.

Fortunately, Xi Wang's clothes had been specially treated by Vilvi, otherwise his clothes would have been soaked in water in less than half a day.

These are the most direct side effects of the surgery. In addition, five dark lines appeared on his body, which seemed to be derivative effects. Four of them were on his body, resembling chains or flowing water, and even appearing to flow. The other one was on his neck, forming a ring around his neck. If you didn't look closely, you might think that his head and body had been separated.

This is also why Mebius pays special attention to Xiwang. She seems to believe that the [marks] on Xiwang's body are related to his [traits], and that they can also provide her with some different ideas for the [Stigmata Project], which is still in its initial theoretical stage.

"So? Want to continue testing? Next up is virtual combat~ Do you need some weapons? That girl, Vilvie, has been really struggling lately with how to equip you, our guinea pig~"