[The number of people from Shenzhou signing up for the army has also increased significantly.]
[The specific reason is as follows.]
[The people of Shenzhou have been learning about the Honkai disaster; lately, most of the information pushed to them has been about the Honkai, what kind of disaster it is, and what weaknesses the Honkai Beasts have.]
[How to escape when facing a Honkai Beast, and what symptoms occur when infected by Honkai Energy.]
A wave of change was sweeping across Shenzhou.
In the wake of global unification, military enlistment offices saw a dramatic surge in applicants, a phenomenon driven by a nationwide educational campaign.
Information about the Honkai disaster, once a terrifying unknown, was now being disseminated to every citizen.
Public broadcasts detailed the nature of the cataclysm, the specific vulnerabilities of various Honkai Beasts, and crucial survival protocols.
Citizens learned how to identify the early symptoms of Honkai Energy infection and the most effective escape routes when confronted by a beast.
[It was also specifically noted that practicing the Breathing Technique can improve resistance and adaptability to Honkai Energy.]
[Those with exceptional talent will also gain some special abilities.]
[After injecting the gene serum, further improving physical fitness and Honkai Energy adaptability in conjunction with the Breathing Technique will yield twice the result with half the effort.]
[A Meditation Method was also released; some people may experience negative emotions after completing the absorption of Honkai Energy.
Practicing this Meditation Method can easily overcome those negative emotions, and by doing so, greatly enhance mental strength, potentially leading to telekinesis.]
More, the government released a set of standardized practices.
A specialized “Breathing Technique” was introduced, with official documentation noting its ability to bolster one’s natural resistance and adaptability to Honkai Energy.
It was promised that individuals with exceptional talent might even awaken unique abilities through its practice.
This was paired with the gene serum program; when combined, the serum-enhanced physique and the Breathing Technique would produce results far greater than the sum of their parts, allowing for rapid advancement.
, a “Meditation Method” was distributed to counteract the psychological side effects of absorbing Honkai Energy.
It was explained that some individuals might experience a surge of negative emotions, and this meditative practice was designed to help them master these feelings.
As a side benefit, it would greatly fortify one’s mental strength, with the potential to unlock powers like telekinesis.
[The people of Shenzhou understood immediately—isn’t this just cultivation?
The Breathing Technique is just breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, except the breath has been replaced by Honkai Energy.]
[The gene serum is the so-called heavenly treasures and earthly riches; after injection, one’s constitution becomes a special one that absorbs Honkai Energy much faster.]
[The so-called negative emotions are Inner Demons; if one cannot overcome their Inner Demons, they will be consumed by them.]
The people of Shenzhou, steeped in ancient tales and modern web novels, recognized the pattern immediately.
A murmur rippled through the populace, quickly growing into a confident consensus.
‘Isn’t this just cultivation?’ they thought.
The Breathing Technique was simply a method of absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, only now, the “spiritual energy” had been replaced by the far more dangerous Honkai Energy.
The gene serum was a modern equivalent to the fabled heavenly treasures and earthly riches of old, transforming one’s body into a special constitution primed for faster absorption.
And the “negative emotions”?
Those were clearly Inner Demons.
Fail to conquer them, and you would be consumed, your mind lost to madness.
This grim, modern-day path to power was one they understood instinctively.
[As for people from other countries, some were naturally dissatisfied—mostly those from middle-class families and above.
After all, under the brand-new rules, their privileges vanished.]
[The majority of the hardworking masses and common people felt it was fine; life goes on as usual, and they can receive injections of the initial version of the gene enhancement medicine for free.]
[A Contribution Point System was adopted, and gene serum could also be purchased.]
[In other words, as long as you can make a contribution, you can receive a gene serum injection.]
Outside of Shenzhou, reactions were mixed.
The upper and middle classes of the old world grumbled; under the new global order, their long-held privileges had evaporated overnight.
For the vast majority of the world’s working class, however, life continued much as before, but with a significant new benefit: free access to the initial version of the gene enhancement medicine.
A Contribution Point System was established, allowing anyone to purchase more advanced gene serums.
As long as you contributed to the new society, you could earn the right to grow stronger.
[However, this grading system only allows injections up to Level 4.]
[Because with the gene serum from Level 5 Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, life signs change; as long as one has a good mindset, living for tens of thousands of years is normal.]
[However, this medicine is difficult to obtain unless one joins the army fighting against the Honkai.]
[They will be directly injected with Level 3 gene serum, while Level 4 and Level 5 depend on their achievements.]
[In fact, doing this is no different from certain space marines; rest time is a bit short, after all, the Honkai is breaking out all over the world at all times now.]
[Expanding the army is impossible; if an expansion leads to the emergence of a Herrscher specifically targeting oneself, wouldn’t that be a bit troublesome?]
This system, however, had its limits.
The publicly available serums only went up to Level 4.
The coveted Level 5 serum, derived from Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, was a different matter entirely.
It fundamentally altered a person’s life signs, granting them a lifespan that could stretch for tens of thousands of years, provided their mind remained sound.
Such a prize was not easily obtained.
It was reserved for those who joined the military, the frontline soldiers in the war against the Honkai.
New recruits were directly injected with Level 3 serum, with access to Level 4 and the legendary Level 5 dependent entirely on their battlefield achievements.
The life of these soldiers was grueling, a near-constant cycle of deployment and combat with precious little rest, for the Honkai was erupting across the globe without pause.
Yet, a full-scale expansion of the army was deemed too risky.
If humanity’s unified strength grew too large, it might provoke the Honkai into birthing a Herrscher specifically designed to counter them—a problem no one wanted to face.
[Not long after global unification, the Fifth Herrscher descended.]
[Satellite investigation showed that the area affected by the Fifth Herrscher’s descent was not large, impacting only a few small villages.]
[You found this very interesting and took a plane to the descent site of the Fifth Herrscher.]
Shortly after this new world order was established, the Fifth Herrscher descended.
Satellite surveillance indicated that its arrival was surprisingly contained, the impact zone limited to a remote area encompassing only a few small villages.
[The squad leaders of the Sea of Quanta Frontline led their members to begin clearing out the surrounding Honkai Beasts.]
[You successfully found the place where the Fifth Herrscher descended; the corpse of the Fifth Herrscher was a bit tragic, having been violently torn apart.]
[You also found a man covered in frostbite at the scene, wearing a mask on his face.]
By the time you arrived, squads from the Sea of Quanta Frontline were already engaged, methodically clearing the perimeter of Honkai Beasts.
You proceeded to the epicenter and found the source of the disturbance.
The Fifth Herrscher was already dead.
Its corpse was a gruesome sight, having been brutally and violently torn to pieces.
Amidst the wreckage and lingering cold, you found something else: a man, his body covered in severe frostbite, his face hidden by a crude mask.
[He was quickly sent to the Sea of Quanta Frontline for treatment.]
[You also examined his body and found that it was somewhat different from a human body.]
[His recovery ability was incredibly powerful; in just two days, the severe frostbite on his body had healed.]
He was immediately evacuated to the Sea of Quanta Frontline’s medical bay.
You personally conducted an examination and noted that his physiology was distinctly different from that of a normal human.
His regenerative capabilities were astonishing; the life-threatening frostbite that had ravaged his body vanished completely in just two days, leaving behind unblemished skin.
[When he first woke up, he had a very violent temper; you had a good talk with him before he finally calmed down.]
[From him, you learned what had happened and his name; simply put…]
When he first regained consciousness, his temper was explosive.
He thrashed against his restraints with primal fury, his roars echoing through the medical wing.
You entered the room alone, and after a “good talk”—one conducted with the quiet, unshakeable calm of a man who could level mountains—he finally settled.
From the terse, guttural responses he gave, you pieced together his story.
[The man is named Kalpas and fell from the sky, with no memory of how he fell.]
[He voluntarily tied himself to a stone pillar and became the guardian deity of the village; whenever there were Honkai Beasts…]
[They would release him to destroy those Honkai Beasts, only to tie him back up…
until that guy emitting cold air suddenly descended, and what happened after that has already been made clear by the Fifth Herrscher.]
The man’s name was Kalpas.
He remembered falling from the sky but nothing before it.
He had been taken in by a nearby village, and in a strange pact, he voluntarily allowed himself to be bound to a stone pillar, becoming their “guardian deity.” Whenever Honkai Beasts threatened them, the villagers would release him.
He would erupt, annihilate the monsters, and then allow himself to be chained once more.
This cycle continued until the “guy emitting cold air”—the Fifth Herrscher—descended from the heavens.
The state of the Herrscher’s corpse told the rest of the story.
[Listening to the narration and combining it with the physical examination from earlier, it was just as you thought: Kalpas might be an Alien.]
[You felt that you got along very well with Kalpas, as his communication was straightforward and without any pretension.]
[If all else fails, there’s always Elysia, the social butterfly.]
Listening to his fragmented account and recalling your physical examination, your initial theory was confirmed: Kalpas was likely not of this world.
You found yourself appreciating his nature.
His communication was brutally direct, devoid of any pretense or deception.
He was a creature of pure, unfiltered impulse.
‘He’s easy to understand,’you thought.’And if I ever struggle to get through to him, there’s always Elysia.’ The thought of the resident social butterfly brought a faint smile to your face.
[But then you thought about it again; the area affected by this Fifth Honkai Eruption wasn’t that large, though small and large Honkai outbreaks were occurring all over the world.]
[Also, because of the early medicine injections and the Breathing Technique, not many people became Zombies.]
[However, the casualties caused by the Honkai Beasts that suddenly appeared were significant.]
Your thoughts returned to the bigger picture.
The Fifth Eruption had been small, but countless other outbreaks, both large and small, were still plaguing the globe.
Thanks to the widespread use of the gene serums and the Breathing Technique, the number of people turning into Zombies had been drastically reduced.
However, the casualties from the Honkai Beasts themselves, which appeared without warning, remained tragically high.
[You looked at Kalpas again and invited him to join the Sea of Quanta Frontline as a commander of the frontline troops.]
[Due to his reckless personality, you assigned him a specialized adjutant to handle affairs.]
You looked at Kalpas, a being of immense, raw power.
An idea formed.
You extended an invitation for him to join the Sea of Quanta Frontline, offering him the position of a frontline commander.
Acknowledging his reckless and destructive personality, you also assigned him a specialized adjutant to manage the logistical and administrative duties he would undoubtedly ignore.
[Next, you began to deal with Dusk Street; it could be said that the vast majority of people in Dusk Street were not good people.]
[Those who should be arrested were arrested, and those who should be sent to the laboratory were sent there; after all, for such villains, no one would say anything about using them for some bloody human experiments.]
With that settled, you turned your attention to another festering problem: Dusk Street.
The lawless slum was a haven for criminals and degenerates, and it was time for a cleanup.
Your methods were ruthlessly efficient.
Those who deserved arrest were apprehended.
Those whose bodies had undergone unique, illicit modifications were sent to the research labs.
For such irredeemable villains, no one would protest their “utilization” in vital, if ethically questionable, human experiments.
Waste not, want not.
[However, you discovered two talents here: one was a nun who could see the threads of fate and whose frontal armor far exceeded that of ordinary people.]
Amidst the dregs, however, you found two individuals of remarkable talent.
The first was a nun, a woman whose generous figure was as noticeable as the strange aura about her.
She claimed to see the threads of fate.
The second was a young woman known throughout the underworld as the Thieving Cat, a master of infiltration and information.
[When the nun named Aponia first saw you, she said that you were stirring the threads of fate and that your end would be tragic.]
[You laughed loudly at this; while you believed in fate, you believed even more in one thing: man can conquer heaven.]
[Letting that original destiny be held firmly in your own hands.]
The moment the nun, Aponia, laid eyes on you, her gaze seemed to pierce through reality itself.
“You are stirring the threads of fate,” she said, her voice a strange, hypnotic blend of the ethereal and the lazy.
“Your path is a tangled one, and its end will be tragic.”
You met her gaze and let out a short, sharp laugh.
“I believe in fate,” you admitted, your voice steady.
“But I believe in something more: that a man’s will can conquer the heavens.
I will seize my destiny and hold it firmly in my own hands.”
[Hearing your lofty ambitions, Aponia just gave you a deep look and said in her slightly ethereal yet lazy voice: “That is true.
Please let me lend you a hand.”]
Hearing your declaration, Aponia’s expression remained unreadable, but a new light flickered in her deep eyes.
She gave you a long, deep look.
“That is also a thread of fate,” she murmured, a hint of something like amusement in her languid tone.
“Very well.
Please, allow me to lend you my hand.”
[As for the other talent, the Thieving Cat, you used her talent by sending her to gather all kinds of intelligence.]
[After all, this planet had just been unified, so it was inevitable that some people would harbor ill intentions or conduct secret research.]
As for the Thieving Cat, you put her unique skills to immediate use, tasking her with gathering intelligence across the globe.
The planet had only just been unified; it was inevitable that remnants of the old powers, resentful factions, and rogue scientists were still conducting their secret research in the shadows.
[Everything was developing in an orderly fashion.]
[Nearly a year had passed since the Fifth Great Honkai Eruption.]
And so, everything began to move forward in an orderly, deliberate fashion.
Nearly a full year passed since the day of the Fifth Honkai Eruption.
[One day, the little toddler Griseo waddled up to you on her short legs, stretching out her small hands and looking at you with her adorable big eyes, saying in a milky voice: “Brother, hug.”]
One quiet afternoon, the little toddler Griseo came waddling towards you on her short, unsteady legs.
She stopped at your feet, stretched out her small hands, and looked up at you with wide, impossibly adorable eyes.
“Brother,” she said in a sweet, milky voice.
“Hug.”
[You bent down and took the little toddler into your arms; her small hands hugged your neck, and her chubby cheeks rubbed slowly against yours.
Her eyes instantly curved, and she let out a giggling laugh.]
[You tapped her small nose, and she pouted slightly before giving you a wet kiss on the cheek.]
A genuine smile touched your lips.
You bent down and scooped the small child into your arms.
Her tiny hands immediately wrapped around your neck, and she pressed her chubby cheek against yours, rubbing it slowly.
Her eyes curved into happy crescents as she let out a delighted, bubbling giggle.
You gently tapped the tip of her small nose.
She responded with an exaggerated pout before leaning in and planting a wet, enthusiastic kiss on your cheek.
[MEI, who was beside you, watched your interaction with Griseo with a flash of envy in her eyes, looking at you with a complicated and very resentful gaze.]
[You completely failed to notice this, only teasing Griseo in your arms.]
Nearby, Raiden Mei watched the tender scene unfold.
For a moment, the gentle smile on her face faltered.
A flicker of raw envy crossed her features, quickly followed by a complicated, deeply resentful gaze directed right at you.
The warmth in the room seemed to cool by several degrees.
You, completely absorbed in teasing the giggling toddler in your arms, failed to notice a thing.
[The current Griseo could be called the little princess of the Sea of Quanta Frontline.]
[You even specifically developed a version of the gene serum for Griseo that children could use.]
[Holding Griseo, you arrived at the conference room of the Sea of Quanta Frontline.]
The current Griseo was, for all intents and purposes, the little princess of the entire Sea of Quanta Frontline.
You had even gone so far as to personally develop a specialized, gentle version of the gene serum that was safe for children, just for her.
Still holding the happy toddler, you made your way to the main conference room.
[After entering the conference room, Elysia immediately rushed to you and opened her arms: “Little Griseo, let me give you a hug, okay?”]
The moment you stepped inside, Elysia spotted you.
Her face lit up, and she immediately rushed over, her arms open wide.
“Little Griseo!” she chirped happily.
“Let me give you a hug, okay?”
[Elysian’s Note:
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