That afternoon, after a long and restful sleep, Elias awoke with his energy completely replenished. When he arrived at the Chimera Project site, he found Kevin already waiting there—with dark circles under his eyes.
"What's wrong, Kevin? Nervous?"
"No, don't talk nonsense. I'm excited!" Kevin replied seriously.
He was finally about to receive a legendary-level upgrade. Ever since hearing the news yesterday, he had been so thrilled that he hadn't slept a wink all night. His energy was off the charts.
Seeing his expression, Elias couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. The Kevin before him was nothing like the grim, tormented man he had once known in the Current Era.
Though this version of Kevin could still be exasperating enough to make Elias want to slam him into the floor sometimes, deep down, Elias truly hoped that even fifty thousand years into the future, Kevin would still remain this carefree and foolish.
"By the way," Elias said, narrowing his eyes, "didn't I specifically tell someone yesterday not to tell anyone about the Chimera procedure—especially not my Elysia? Kevin, you're getting cocky again. After the surgery, let's go to the training grounds and have a little 'chat.'"
Elias smiled, cracking his knuckles.
"Uh…" Kevin's eye twitched uncontrollably.
He had no idea how powerful this so-called Chimera Project would make him—but he was absolutely certain it wouldn't be enough to close the gap between him and Elias, let alone beat the monster in front of him.
And besides, Elias was undergoing the same procedure. Even if both were enhanced, it would only mean he wouldn't fall further behind—not that he'd catch up.
"Haah~ to think you sold me out for a single cup of instant noodles. That stuff's terrible for you, you know. No nutrition whatsoever."
"..."
Kevin's face twisted strangely.
Elias raised an eyebrow. That expression seemed oddly familiar.
"The noodles… weren't very good."
"Hm? Why's that?"
"I got the unlucky kind—no seasoning packet."
Kevin's voice was flat with despair.
He remembered how he had eagerly opened the container last night, only to find nothing inside but a brick of dried noodles. Not even a plastic fork. That was the 'reward' he had earned for betraying Elias—and now, thinking about it, he felt utterly scammed.
"Pfft—! Hahahahahaha! Oh, that's priceless!"
Elias burst out laughing.
Of course—Kevin had once again eaten instant noodles without seasoning. Truly, Elysia had done beautifully. Perfect coordination between him and Miss Pink Elf—they'd both managed to unlock the rare achievement: 'Make Kevin Eat Flavorless Noodles.'
"What's so funny, you two? Stop fooling around already. The Chimera experiment is ready to begin—we can start anytime now."
"Honestly, they're over there chatting about noodles while the rest of us are preparing for one of the most dangerous procedures ever," Mobius muttered in disbelief, glancing at the pair alongside Mei.
At the moment, they weren't in the Fire Moth base but in a specialized laboratory constructed by Vill-V—an exclusive facility built for the Chimera Project. The surrounding walls were made entirely of soulium, capable of completely isolating Honkai energy. As always, Vill-V's craftsmanship was extravagant.
This time, however, Mei didn't complain about her excessive use of resources. In fact, she had instructed her to reinforce it even further.
Because the Chimera experiment was unimaginably dangerous. If anything went wrong, it wouldn't just endanger Kevin and Elias—it could easily obliterate the entire testing site.
After all… this was an operation to create something far beyond a MANTIS or Herrscher—a being that transcended both.
"Alright, alright, we're coming," Elias replied, nodding toward the two scientists.
Still, he hesitated for a moment, glancing at Kevin—the white-haired husky beside him who seemed blissfully unaware of just how dangerous this really was.
Elias remembered clearly that he'd mentioned the experiment's success rate: 0.001%, or more accurately, zero percent. But judging from Kevin's current attitude, it was clear the man hadn't processed that part at all. His mind was entirely fixated on the benefits of becoming a Chimera.
Because of Elias' involvement, the Chimera Project they were about to undertake was no longer the same as the one Kevin had once faced in his original fate.
The fusion genome no longer consisted only of Honkai Beasts from the Previous Era.
It now included nearly every type of Honkai Beast from the Current Era as well.
In short, this would be an ultimate Chimera—a being forged from the combined Honkai power of two entire eras! Its strength would far surpass that of the Chimera experiment Kevin was originally destined for, though naturally, the risks had increased accordingly.
Even though Kevin was the so-called "Child of Destiny" of the Previous Era, Elias couldn't say with absolute certainty that he would succeed.
"Kevin, I'll remind you one last time—the chance of success is only… 0.00—"
"0.001%, or rather, basically zero. Yeah, yeah, I know. You already told me yesterday," Kevin said, folding his arms. His eyes showed not a hint of fear—only excitement and unwavering confidence.
Elias was taken aback.
"Kevin, how can you be this… relaxed? Where does that confidence come from?" Elias asked curiously.
He genuinely wanted to know how this bright, reckless ancestor of the Kaslana bloodline managed to approach such a terrifying operation with that ridiculous optimism.
Kevin simply pointed at Elias.
"From you, of course."
"What?" Elias blinked in surprise.
"I may not be as smart as Mei or the others, but even I know this much—if there was truly no chance of success, you'd never bring someone close to you, someone like me, into this experiment."
Kevin smiled faintly, then raised his fist and tapped it lightly against Elias' chest.
"I trust you more than I trust those numbers."
When Elias had invited Kevin to undergo the Chimera experiment alongside him, Kevin had already made peace with whatever would happen.
A success rate of 0.001%? To hell with that!
The savior of this era—the white-haired boy who had already created countless miracles—was now inviting him to ascend to an even higher realm. When had Elias ever failed them before?
A 99.999% chance of failure? Please. For someone walking beside Elias, that was just another casual outing.
Ever since meeting Elias again on the battlefield during the Third Eruption, Kevin had come to understand one simple truth—
A true hero is someone who breaks the impossible and achieves miracles that defy all logic and reason.
And any man—any Kaslana—would burn with the desire to become that kind of radiant hero. So when Elias had extended the invitation, even after hearing that despair-inducing success rate, Kevin had felt only one thing—pure, unshakable exhilaration.
"Keep moving forward, Elias. No matter how long it takes, I'll definitely catch up to you someday!"
He grinned and struck his fist against Elias' chest.
"Haha! Hahahaha! That's the spirit—the true Kaslana spirit! Well said, Kevin. If you didn't even have the courage to chase after me, that would've been disappointing."
Elias laughed, covering his face with one hand, then mirrored Kevin's gesture by tapping his fist lightly against his chest.
"When it's over, I'll treat you to noodles."
"Deal!" Kevin's eyes lit up instantly. Now, even if the failure rate had a few more zeros tacked on, he was determined to survive—if only to claim that promised bowl of noodles.
Afterward, the two followed Mobius and Mei's directions and stepped into two massive cultivation pods.
All around them, tens of thousands of fusion tubes were connected, each filled with extracted Honkai Beast meta-factors. Mobius stared at the twin injection switches on the control panel, thinking they looked even more dangerous than nuclear launch buttons.
But she neither hesitated nor asked Mei to take her place.
After all, the Chimera Project was her pursuit of the infinite—her vision made manifest. There was no way she'd let anyone else initiate it.
"Elias, are you ready?"
"Mhm. Let's begin, Mobius."
Through the reinforced glass, Elias gave the serpent a thumbs-up.
Mobius' expression softened for a brief moment before hardening with resolve. "Then show me, Elias—show me infinity itself. This is… the moment of ascension!"
With that, she slammed the activation button.
In the next second, ultra-high-density liquid Honkai energy was injected into the two cultivation pods, submerging the white-haired boys completely. The monitors immediately began recording the most minute changes in their vital signs.
Dr. Mei and Mobius sprang into action at once.
The Chimera Project consumed such a vast amount of resources that retrying was practically impossible. Many of the high-grade Honkai Beast samples they were using were unique—extremely rare materials, with only enough left for two full-scale trials.
Up to this point, they had conducted only three small-scale test experiments. The remaining materials could support exactly two final runs—one for Elias, and one for Kevin.
The two scientific prodigies had used those limited test data to simulate and model the complete experimental process. Now, their task was to ensure Elias and Kevin's condition stayed precisely within the margins of that simulation.
"High-concentration Honkai energy injection complete. Elias' blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and brainwave activity are all within expected parameters. Hm? Kevin's readings show mild tension—administer a mild sedative."
"Understood. Beginning real-time adjustment of meta-factor ratios based on their current vitals. All 53,871 Honkai Beast factors must reach optimal balance—Prometheus."
"Calculation complete. Adjustments applied. Fifth verification… sixth verification… seventh simulation—potential for further optimization detected. Implementing changes… optimization successful. Continuing verification… tenth verification complete. Optimal ratio confirmed."
Two geniuses of unparalleled brilliance, aided by the most advanced artificial intelligence girl in existence—together they worked in flawless precision. The first phase of the Chimera experiment proceeded in perfect order, fast and exact.
All 53,871 Honkai Beast meta-factors were calibrated and ready. Under Prometheus' relentless recalculations, two ideal formula sets—one for Elias and one for Kevin—were finalized.
Only she could have achieved this.
Each person's condition shifted slightly every second, meaning the ideal dosage also changed constantly. No human could possibly recalculate the ratios for tens of thousands of factors in real time. Only an AI could do that—and only Prometheus could do it perfectly.
"The current formula will remain optimal for thirty-seven seconds. After that, it will begin to degrade. Doctors, please proceed immediately. Time remaining: thirty-six, thirty-five, thirty-four, thirty-three…"
Prometheus' voice was calm and mechanical as she began her countdown. If the time limit was exceeded, she would recalculate everything from scratch without hesitation.
When it came to the person she cared for most, this mechanical girl would allow not a single margin of error.
"Excellent. Begin integrating the meta-factors. Mobius, let's construct the Chimera Genome."
"You don't need to tell me! With this ratio… we'll use genome templates number 171 and 327. Klein!"
"Yes, Doctor. Templates 171 and 327 loaded. Compatibility at ninety-seven and ninety-five percent, respectively. There are twenty-four and thirty required optimizations. Please begin adjustments."
The combat automaton Klein projected the genome templates and began assisting with the refinements. Though she was an advanced research-oriented ELF, even she could only play a supporting role here.
The Chimera experiment wasn't as simple as mixing the calculated meta-factors together and injecting them like a vaccine. Doing that would result in failure—assuming the subjects even survived, they'd become twisted, monstrous abominations.
What Prometheus had prepared were only finely tuned components. The Chimera Genome, however, was the engine to be assembled from those parts.
To ensure all 53,871 components functioned at peak performance, the assembled Chimera Genome needed to be perfected down to the smallest molecular bond. Only then could the resulting Chimeras—Elias and Kevin—achieve their maximum potential for growth and power.
"Countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven…"
Prometheus' expression remained neutral as she counted down, already prepared to begin recalculating the entire process again if necessary.
This experiment tested far more than just Elias and Kevin. In truth, the greatest pressure was on Mobius and Mei—the ones running it.
"Chimera Genome construction complete." ×2
Both Mei and Mobius shouted in unison.
Neither had time to wipe the sweat from their foreheads. They hurriedly inserted the Chimera Genome into the cultivation pods before Prometheus' countdown reached zero.
Before injecting, they took a precious second to double-check—ensuring that neither genome set was mistakenly swapped.
Bzzzz—!
As the genomes were delivered, the experimental facility crafted by Vill-V finally roared to life.
The [Chimera Genome] began flowing through the infusion conduits of Elias' and Kevin's suits, merging into their bodies.
At the same time, the concentration and flow rate of liquid Honkai energy inside the pods intensified—ensuring that the two subjects would not run short of "nutrients" during their evolution.
"Excellent work, Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius. You may now rest for one minute and thirty-two seconds. Time is valuable, so please don't waste it. I will act as your alarm clock."
Prometheus' voice was calm and neutral—too calm, perhaps. Whether her words were considerate or merciless was unclear, but her crimson eyes never once left Elias. Not for even half a second.
For now, Mobius and Mei had completed the most critical portion of their work. Although they couldn't truly relax until Elias and Kevin emerged from their pods, they would continue monitoring all live data to prevent unforeseen complications.
But in truth, they had entered the stage of leaving things to fate.
From this point onward, it all depended on whether the two white-haired boys inside could withstand it.
"Here."
Mobius handed a vial of liquid to Mei, followed by an entire case of the same substance.
"What's this?"
"My newly developed… uh, 'focus enhancer.' One dose, and even an ordinary human could stay awake and hyper-focused for thirty-six hours straight. No major side effects, safe for repeat use. Take one whenever you get tired."
"…Klein must have had a rough life."
Mei was certain she'd heard the words 'for overtime' slip out before Mobius corrected herself. Understanding its true purpose immediately, she downed the vial in a single gulp without hesitation.
"!!"
The taste was horrendous, but the effect was instant. The fatigue that had been creeping into her mind evaporated in seconds. Feeling alert again, Mei nodded in satisfaction and focused on Elias' real-time biological readouts.
(You can do it… you have to succeed!)
...
Meanwhile, inside the cultivation pods—
As the [Chimera Genome] entered their bodies and began fusing with their own genetic code, both Elias and Kevin felt as though their entire beings were turning into overpressurized powder kegs.
A sensation beyond words coursed through them—every cell, every nerve, every drop of blood burned with explosive energy.
They could feel it—their bodies were transforming.
Overwhelming power flooded every inch of their existence. Their bones, muscles, organs, and even their blood—all were undergoing violent, unimaginable metamorphosis.
Though they were submerged in liquid Honkai energy, it felt instead as if they were engulfed in raging fire.
And within that searing blaze—they were being reborn.
Time passed.
One hour…
Three hours…
Six hours…
And then—after ten long hours…
Crack! Snap!
One of the cultivation pods suddenly fractured.
A violent, ferocious aura erupted from within—so overwhelming, so terrifying that it felt as though a beast capable of ending the world had just been born.
—
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