The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Wow - is this the Earth? It's really not as beautiful as the photos uploaded..."

On the endless white wasteland, three lonely figures stood quietly.

Only by seeing this wilderness and seeing what they looked up to see with their own eyes can they truly understand the insignificance of human beings themselves.

And...the eternal loneliness in the universe.

So lonely... that even the faint, bright colors cannot exist.

Just like the planet you see in front of you, it has been showing its azure image since humans first took the first photo of it here nearly a hundred years ago.

"That's just the effect of post-colorization after the photo was sent back to Earth."

Mikael silently popularized science through the spiritual communication network:

"Not only the earth, but those nebula images that are more distant are actually released after post-colorization. You can say that at night, standing on the mountains at an altitude of 5,000 meters and looking up at the stars, you can really see the gorgeous Galaxy?

"No, what you see is just grains of salt sprinkled on the black curtain."

From the perspective of Mikael, Alicia and Mei, the so-called earth is like a simple graffiti made by Gratio using black and white paint mixed together. What they see is a large area of ​​gray— —

The lighter gray is the clouds, the slightly darker gray is the sea, and the darkest color is the land.

Occasionally mixed with some yellow desert.

As for the bright blue and vibrant green, perhaps the first humans who landed on the moon could really see it decades ago, but today, this color, at least at this distance and angle, is no longer visible. See you.

"Let's go, it's time to get down to business."

Among the three, only Mei was wearing a spacesuit. She also stared at the earth silently for a long time, but didn't say much. She turned around with some lack of interest and jumped forward like a kangaroo.

Mikael and Alicia were naturally at the back.

"Mikael, what do you think... Mei suddenly brought us to the moon to do?"

Alicia's voice sounded directly in his mind. The so-called mental communication network was obviously built by Mikael himself. In fact, he was not particularly familiar with this feeling - it was like someone combing your cerebral cortex with a comb. .

Transparent.

"As far as I know, after the formation of the coalition government, the so-called [Star Wars] project was restarted for a time, but just a year later, the first Honkai outbreak broke out, and the project was terminated, but it was not because of Honkai."

"What's that for?"

"Ah, it's incredible to say that - because they went to the back of the moon out of curiosity."

"And what? What did they find?"

"Maybe aliens?"

"Mikael lied to me again!"

Mikael spread his hands. He only knew that there was something on the back of the moon, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Judging from what happened to Xilin, it should be a relic left by a former civilization?

No, that's not right either. That was left over from Sirin's pre-civilization, that is, the humans of this era.

…………

That being said, in fact, the human base is still built on the front side of the moon, but compared to the huge "Moon City" in science fiction movies, the configuration of two iron cubes and a few greenhouses is really shabby. Some.

The three of them didn't stay much longer. Since they couldn't get the specific location of their target, they could only move forward with the help of the off-road vehicle in the base.

The original power capacity of the solar-powered off-road vehicle cannot support such a long distance, but fortunately there is a Mikael brand power bank.

Pressing the autopilot button casually and handing everything over to Prometheus, Mei lowered the seat back of the off-road vehicle slightly and began to introduce Mikael and Ellie to the situation on the far side of the moon.

"Actually, what Mikael said before was correct. Because of the special discovery on the far side of the moon, the coalition government stopped the planned large-scale development of the moon and instead granted Fire Chaser permission to explore the far side of the moon."

"So, Uncle Hen spent eleven months of the year on the moon in the past few years, just for this?"

Mei nodded, then shook her head.

She suddenly turned her head and looked at Mikael in the back seat, her expression full of doubts.

"You really don't know?"

Mikael shrugged and replied angrily:

"My situation is not the same as Apponia's. I cannot and cannot know everything."

Following his words, Mei's eyes gradually lowered. She thought about this posture for a long time before she spoke again and continued the previous content:

"Actually, according to the original plan, a lot of the work that Hen did later should have been started after the second collapse. If you have a good memory, you should remember that the Fire Chaser Moth at that time had [Go to the Moon] and [Stay on the Earth] 】Two ways of saying it.”

Mikael rolled his eyes and thought for a long time. Although it was six years ago, with the power of the Eighth Herrscher, he found the corresponding memory almost instantly.

But what’s even more bizarre is that Alicia’s memory retrieval speed is actually faster than that of him who has the power of consciousness. This is probably because Mikael rarely communicated with others at that time, so the memory of this part is also quite large. Be thin.

"Oh! I have heard these two statements from Mebius and Hen several times. But as far as I know, this statement does not follow its literal meaning, right? [Go to the Moon] represents the new recruits entering the air force. and mecha troops, and [staying on Earth] refers to entering the rapid response team.”

Mikael searched his memory for a long time and found that he seemed to have only heard of these two words, but never knew their specific meaning, so he simply shut his mouth and listened carefully to Alicia and Mei Let’s talk.

But at that time, Mei wasn't even in the Fire Chaser, right?

She should have obtained the information from Hen, Mebius and various files.

"Yes, these two words cannot be taken literally, but do you know what it is?"

"Huh? It must be related to Uncle Hen, right?"

"Well, that time Hen and Blanca originally made an appointment, but both of them broke the appointment due to unexpected circumstances. Hen Hou was very unhappy, so he took out the red wine prepared for that date and invited the person who was fighting alongside him at the time The captain of the logistics wing drank and talked some nonsense when he was drunk. Well, the captain of the logistics wing was Erwin. "

"Pfft!"

Now, together with Mei, Mikael and Alicia burst into laughter.

As long as they hear Erwin's name, everyone will know the general process of this matter.

It was nothing more than Hen accidentally mentioning something like "I went to the moon" or "Blanca stayed on the earth" when he was drunk.

Then, in Erwin’s mouth, which was the best medium for message dissemination and the first place in the Fire Chaser Big Mouth Competition, the so-called "go to the moon" and "stay on the earth" spontaneously emerged, and became popular throughout the Fire Chaser overnight. .

It’s hard to imagine what Uncle Hen’s state of mind was like the next morning when Famas shouted him to write a self-criticism before he even sobered up.

"Then, in order to cover up the truth, two more words were used to represent the recruits being assigned to mecha and air units, or to the quick reaction team."

"In fact, Hen really wanted to go to the moon. I remember that he disappeared from time to time after the second collapse. When I went to the Mebius Laboratory, I heard many times that Blanca was chatting with me before get off work. Mebius complained... Uh, cough cough cough! Ellie, don't look at me like this..."

Mikael shrank his neck, plucked out a piece of stubble with his nails, and then suddenly slapped his head:

"Oh oh oh! Mei, you just said, 'A lot of the work that Hen did later should have been started after the second collapse.' Could it be because I... uh... interrupted after the third collapse? Investigation of the far side of the moon?"

"That's not true. The main reason is because after Famas died in the battle, Fire Chaser has been in a state of division. The only goal that everyone can agree on is to fight against Honkai. As for other scattered projects, most of them have been postponed indefinitely. ——In this case, the funds for my modification of the Fire Chaser series of battleships seem to have been diverted from the lunar survey project."

"..."

Mikael's guilt disappeared instantly.

"Anyway, it wasn't until I took charge of this aspect that I put it back on the agenda, and found that...how should I say, it coincides with something you told me a few days ago."

"A few days ago? What did you say to Mei a few days ago?"

Alicia asked without hesitation.

"Well...just some weird things that Aponia said."

Mei quickly glanced at Mikael through the rearview mirror. She thought that given the closeness between him and Ellie, he had already said those words.

But when she saw Alicia's carefree smile, she felt that it should be like this——

When thinking about Alicia's ending, Mei felt that even she couldn't bear to tell her such a fate.

This is not just a sentimental emotion like pity... maybe that's it.

What's more, if, if we really have to go to that step, she also sincerely hopes that making that decision is based on Alicia's own wishes, rather than deliberately knowing her fate in advance. A choice was made to suit fate.

but……

As she once said to Kevin - a person's destiny is his character.

What destiny determines is not just a result. In terms of the most pessimistic fatalism, even the motivation for making these choices, each person's character and thoughts, are all arranged by destiny before everything begins.

Could it be that, in the end, the so-called "decision based entirely on one's own will" is nothing more than an arrangement that caters to fate?

It is precisely because of these characters that were set at the beginning that the changes that Mikael wanted to make would always return to the original trajectory of destiny. It seems understandable.

Mei, who will only turn twenty-three in a month, is also confused.

I still remember that a long time ago, probably before Luluye knew it was some time later, Mikael once said something that Mei still remembers——

"Since you want to know the truth, you have to bear the pain caused by the truth."

As for Mei, I don't know if it's due to her personality. When she first heard the true meaning of fate, she wasn't that surprised.

There’s even a sense of “this is it”.

However, everything should not be thought deeply. The deeper you think about it, the deeper the feeling of powerlessness becomes. The most unbearable thing is that even the unwillingness and struggle in your heart at this time are the tone set by fate from the beginning.

After thinking more deeply, although she could not agree with it, she could understand Mikael's behavior between the sixth and seventh collapse.

When faced with a fate that is more restrained the more you resist, it is indeed easy for people to act in a self-defeating manner.

Even Mei has had this thought in her mind - fate will point to that outcome anyway, so whether I actively resist or passively accept it, it will not change the outcome.

She is not Mikael, she doesn't even have the possibility to affect fate!

But what makes people laugh even more is that she also understands that whether it is the result given by fate or the character given to her by fate, she will never agree with it, and she will never choose to sit back and wait for death.

"Hey, by the way, Michael, it's your birthday soon, right?"

Mei suddenly spoke, interrupting the two people in the back seat who were sticking together regardless of the occasion.

"Uh...ahem! Yes. But our birthdays are less than a month apart, right?"

Mikael couldn't figure out what Mei wanted to say, so he could only follow her superficial words.

"Uh, really? What's my birthday...um..."

Mei pondered for a moment and spoke again:

"The things on the far side of the moon will definitely surprise you. I think it would be appropriate to use this as an early birthday gift."

As her voice fell, the off-road vehicle completely drove into the far side of the moon. If we use the Chinese lunar calendar, it has just entered mid-February, and most of the far side of the moon is shrouded in darkness. Therefore, the line of sight is almost the same. It dimmed instantly, and all that could be seen through the double windshield was nothing but darkness.

Even if the high-power car lights are on, they can only illuminate the ground three to five meters away. In such a light environment, if it were not for the help of Prometheus, humans would not be able to drive at all.

The autonomous driving of Prometheus is based on the route that Hen and other soldiers have measured using their own footsteps for several years.

They only have a small amount of time every half month to explore the far side of the moon. The deeper they go, the more dangerous it becomes. Once they deviate from the course, it will be too late to return to the front of the moon before the dark night of the far side comes...

Then we can only pray that when the next day comes, the comrades can find their bodies - the oxygen and electricity carried by the lunar off-road vehicle cannot support its members through a dark night on the back of the moon.

Perhaps, replacing ordinary warriors with fusion warriors can reduce a lot of casualties, but there is no doubt that it is impossible for a large number of fusion warriors to be sent to perform such a mission, and it is even less possible for Mikael - not to mention before the eighth collapse. There are only a few fusion warriors in total, there are not enough numbers at all, and there is not enough time to waste.

What's more, although it is cruel and cold-blooded to say this, problems that can be solved by ordinary lives are never problems. Just like it takes a thousand lives to exchange for a tube of serum to treat Honkai Disease. In such an era, the life value of ten thousand ordinary people is not as valuable as one, even the lowest combat effectiveness, mass-produced spiritual perception type fusion warrior.

And Mikael knew very well that if no changes were made in the future, it would not be long before even the lives of fusion warriors would become something that could be "squandered" at will - Mei had issued a general mobilization order as early as a week ago , nearly 100,000 qualified candidates were selected from the remaining more than 2 billion people in the world.

According to the experience of the Eighth Collapse, perhaps in less than a month, Anti-Entropy will have 20,000 to 30,000 more mouths to eat, and the expansion will reach more than 40,000%.

As a result, the headquarters base will be expanded again. After all, before this, the Fire Chasing Moth headquarters plus all branches only had only 200,000 people...

The off-road vehicle rose and fell in the darkness, and from time to time there was a slight "clunking" sound in my ears, as if every time the vehicle's tires turned, it was crushing the bones of countless soldiers who did not even leave their names.

Mikael stared blankly at the ice crystal patterns condensed on the car window on the side of his face. He uncontrollably pressed his right cheek against it. The sudden coldness made him couldn't help but squint his right eye, and his skin quickly It turned into a blue-gray color, and the flesh and blood quickly became necrotic in this severe cold, and even the ability to tremble was lost.

In fact, whether he uses his power or simply uses Honkai energy to block it, he has enough means to avoid this kind of pain.

But he just stubbornly wanted to feel the coldness and loneliness that the explorer warriors felt at the last moment.

…………

In a silence that almost made people collapse, the off-road vehicle drove for a full one hundred and fourteen hours. Mikael moved his hips awkwardly and yawned.

Alicia beside him was whispering softly. He looked at Mei through the reflection of the rearview mirror, and saw that the other party had taken off the obstructive mask at some point, and his haggard expression was clearly visible.

"Hehehe - yawn... I'll unlock your metabolic restriction. You can go to the back and take a nap. I'll watch a section of the road and replenish the car's power by the way."

On the first day, Mei also said that she would give Mikael the discovery of Yue Bei in advance as a birthday gift in advance. Counting the time, Mikael's birthday has already passed and they have not arrived at the designated location.

Although Prometheus is autonomous, someone still needs to keep an eye on the situation. Everyone has been taking turns these days - although the Herrscher does not need to eat, breathe or sleep metabolically, the mental fatigue is still real. of.

Speaking of metabolism, Mei is also ruthless. She directly asked Mikael to use the power of the Sixth Herrscher to almost suspend the metabolism of certain parts of her body. As for the possible consequences of doing so, in Mei's own words -

"The worst-case scenario is just to trouble you to create a body for me, and then use the immature consciousness transfer experiment to gamble on the possibility. I believe I will not lose, which can be regarded as some positive aspects of fatalism. , I haven’t finished my destined play, how can I leave early?”

But the human body always has its limits, and Mei's current mental state is hard not to worry about.

Besides, so much time has passed, and the oxygen and electricity have been replaced once. Mikael is probably almost at his destination anyway - if it takes two more days, daylight will come.

"It's okay, I still..."

Mei's words stopped abruptly, and she looked forward blankly. Although she had already experienced it in the form of words in the mission report uploaded by Hen, everything in front of her could no longer be reproduced in words.

Mikael followed her gaze and looked forward, only to see a purple arc dividing the ink-like darkness into two parts. And as time went by, the purple light became thicker and thicker, and became more and more dazzling. …

"Boom——"

There seemed to be such a voice ringing in the ears. Although the sun could not be seen, the light suddenly became brighter. The off-road vehicle seemed to encounter a trivial obstacle in its progress. It easily broke through it, but then the speed was visible to the naked eye. came down.

At first, Mikael thought he was delusional, until he slowly rolled down the window, and a wisp of strong wind rushed in with a "hunting" sound, and suddenly spread Ellie and Mei's long hair everywhere - —

"Ah! Uh-"

"Mikael, you bit my hair!"

"Didn't your hair hit my face first?"

"Alicia... her hair is twisted together!"

"You idiot Mikael, close the window!"

Mikael's vision was obscured by his long hair, and he finally rolled up the car window while caressing him. His cheeks were red from the flying long hair.

The off-road vehicle continued to drive, and Mei and Ai Li spent a lot of time to separate the knotted hair. They tied up their long hair with lingering fear, but they couldn't hide their expressions. Excited--

It's windy here!

There is oxygen here!

Not only is there oxygen, but the temperature is also suitable. You know, the lowest temperature on the moon's surface at night can reach minus 183 degrees. But just now, Mikael only felt that it was an ordinary night wind - at most, it was a little strong. Just big.

But...how is this possible?

Mei had long known about this strange phenomenon from Hen's report, but no matter when, seeing it with one's own eyes was more shocking than recounting it.

It’s even more incredible.

"No wonder...no wonder..."

Mikael kept mumbling to himself, but when Mei and Ellie turned to look at him in confusion, he showed an expression of "What are you looking at?"

The off-road vehicle stopped quickly, and it had to stop. Taking advantage of Mei's time to rest and catch up on her sleep, Mikael and Ellie got out of the car to do some reconnaissance.

It was also strange. When they got out of the car, the surroundings were quiet and there was no wind at all.

In front of them was a huge crater, so big that Mikael even thought it could be called a basin.

The pit contains the ruins of a magnificent city. From a distance, its overall architectural style is too classical - even older than those imitating medieval and modern-style buildings on the Mu continent.

"This...isn't this really made by an alien ship?"

Alicia sat boldly on the edge of the cliff, dangling her legs, but she couldn't close her mouth from ear to ear because of her surprise.

"No, this is definitely made by humans on our planet."

Mikael asserted categorically.

Judging from his poor architectural knowledge, among the buildings that looked gray with a hint of purple on the surface, there were several tower-shaped buildings that looked like pyramids - not the ones in North Africa, but the ones left over from North America. Zitec style.

As for other beams and columns, they are somewhat similar to the ancient architectural styles in Attica and Brindi.

There are also those "ribbons" suspended in mid-air, which are exactly the same as the ancient elevated aqueducts.

Don’t think that these styles have no effect. They reveal an indelible fact—human beings who built this lunar city came from their civilization.

Unless every civilization in the universe is almost identical.

But this is obviously impossible.

The wind of time has been blowing over this city for an unknown period of time. Although oxygen is still circulating and the light is bright enough, Mikael understands a terrible fact - he once thought that the ruins on the back of the moon were "pre-civilization" ”, which is the current era, was built under the auspices of Mei.

But now, those ruins and broken walls that had been polished by the wind of time told him that they had been standing here for at least 50,000 years, or even longer.

There are traces of battle everywhere. Even after more than 50,000 years, the purple Honkai energy is still eroding the soil.

The lunar soil should have been dead gray, but Mikael leaned down and picked up a handful. Except for the lighter color on the surface, the deeper layers of the soil were already hopelessly purple.

This can also explain why a purple arc spanning the sky and the earth can be seen from a long distance.

Now that I think about it, this is not spectacular at all, but cruel and tragic enough.

In the center of the ruins, there is a large hole that can be seen from dozens of kilometers away. Logically speaking, you should be able to see gray-white cliffs, but unfortunately everything is black - that is the collapse of the cave. A color that can be intense to the extreme.

At a cursory glance, there are some large broken rocks scattered around the large hole, and the edges of the rock fractures are still emitting purple light.

"Can Mei withstand such a density of Honkai energy?"

Alicia said worriedly.

"It doesn't matter... My adaptability to Honkai energy is actually pretty good, but it's just not suitable for super-transformation surgery."

Mei climbed out of the car. To be on the safe side, she put on the mask of her space suit. She also held a device the size of a mobile phone in her hand, which was a temporary terminal for Prometheus.

Mikael looked at the clock and saw that she had only slept for two hours.

But with Mei's temper, persuasion is useless.

"Let's go, time doesn't wait for us, hurry up and explore the ruins."

At the last moment before entering the pothole, Mikael felt something in his heart and suddenly looked back.

His eyes widened subconsciously, and his silver-gray pupils trembled slightly.

"Alicia, Mei, look back at this -"

This is obviously the far side of the moon.

But Mikael saw a blue planet.

It was completely different from the brightly colored, yet elusive Earth that we had seen on the front side of the moon.