Chapter 584: Honkai Descends~

Argenti and Velite had left. 

After they departed, March 7th found Dan Heng and asked, "What did Ah Guang do to him? It doesn't feel like he was gone that long, but he came back looking more... hmm? How should I put it?"

March struggled to find the right words. After all, Pei Guang had only gone to drop off Argenti and stopped by Earth while he was at it: it shouldn't have taken much time at all!

Stelle said, "Who cares? You still don't get how amazing our Ah Guang is? Maybe he just helped him find his purpose in life or something. Honestly, the real thing to complain about is that company employee."

Just a few words exchanged with Argenti, and he suddenly found life's purpose too? And judging by his tone, it didn't even sound like he quit. It sounded more like what Pei Guang had mentioned before…

"Burn the company to the ground!"

While everyone here chatted idly, on Earth, Elysia, though unsure about the exact details, could still sense the changes brought about by the Knights of Beauty. And once everyone else had left and Pei Guang had been brought alone into a room, Elysia sat on the couch, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him.

"Our busy little bee~ How did you find time to come back and visit me~?"

Pei Guang replied, "I'm not just here to see you. I just stopped by on the way. Anyway, how's Earth's development going these days?"

Elysia answered, "Pretty great~ but speaking of that, I'm annoyed!"

Elysia pouted unhappily, "You up and bailed, and I got totally swamped, you know? I even had to stay up late!!! Do you know how bad staying up late is?"

Hearing this, Pei Guang perked up. "Of course I do. March already complained to me about that. Staying up late gives you dark circles~ I was wondering why yours looked so big this time."

"Hmph~ Trying to trick me? I slept really well last night, thank you very much. And I checked in the mirror carefully before coming out~ But anyway, your timing is perfect. Dr. Mei has a new project—though, this one is a little…"

Elysia's expression grew serious as she explained what Mei had discovered and what the project involved.

Previously, Earth had accelerated massively by climbing the tech tree Pei Guang brought with him. Many technologies had already been unlocked. In addition, the theories brought by the Herta puppet, combined with spatial acceleration technology, had triggered a huge tech explosion on Earth.

As research progressed, Mei, building on Herta's theories, Pei Guang's technology, and the characteristics of the Antimatter Legion's soldiers, developed a special method for converting Imaginary energy.

This technology could convert Imaginary energy into a special form of power. This energy was highly destructive to biological organisms: it could even completely collapse an organism's genetic structure.

However, using this energy also came with a very small chance of enhancing a lifeform to terrifying levels. Tests showed that some organisms exposed to this energy could passively convert Imaginary energy into what Mei termed "Honkai energy," gaining tremendous power and extremely long lifespans.

So far, the power types observed were diverse. 

Based on current test results, if humans could control this power, their overall strength would increase significantly. But for now, human trials hadn't begun because the risks were too great. 

If Earth were in a do-or-die situation, Mei might have gone ahead, but right now, humanity had many possible futures. A single misstep that fractured internal stability would be laughable.

The pros and cons were obvious. Success meant a complete species transformation. Failure could mean instant death or even devastating harm to the surroundings.

Herta commented that Mei had discovered an entirely new application of Imaginary energy. Nothing like it existed in the Herta puppet's memory archives across the universe. Thus, the task of naming this energy was left to the people of Earth.

After discussion, they named this special energy Honkai—because every creature that used it would experience genetic collapse. The name was strangely compelling, as if destiny itself was aiding this naming process.

While the name was decided, experiments had stalled. 

The next step was human trials, but at present, humanity already had formidable strength: between powerful individual Pathwalkers and advanced technology, Earthlings could already stand up to the Legion's troops.

In addition, Mei discovered another interesting trait of this transformed energy: it could partially absorb and convert the Imaginary energy derived from Paths.

However, Mei didn't know the upper limit, because her experiments hadn't progressed far enough—and Earth's current technology couldn't even measure the true extent of the Path's Imaginary energy.

If Honkai energy were used to strengthen humans, Mei calculated that it could at most bring someone up to Kevin's current level of power. But the risk of failure was too high, so she hadn't pursued it further.

Still, even though she hadn't moved forward, Mei had asked Elysia to tell Pei Guang about it if she got the chance. As a scientist, she wanted to explore just how much potential this "Honkai" energy had.

If the risks could be made controllable, then this power called Honkai could have massive potential. Even weaker civilizations facing overwhelming threats like the Antimatter Legion might gain the power to resist.

The cost was steep—but better than having no way to fight back!

After hearing Elysia's explanation, Pei Guang nodded in understanding. "So you want me to sign off and lend a hand, huh?"

At that moment, Pei Guang felt like an NPC in a management sim game, suddenly unlocking a strange new tech tree. He didn't know exactly what this Honkai energy was, but judging by Elysia's description, it sounded very useful.

Sure, it was uncontrollable for now—but that didn't mean it always would be! With a genius like this working under him, of course he'd support her. Who knows? Maybe she'd unlock even more amazing tech down the line.

Thinking about all this, Pei Guang's eyes lit up. "No problem. Honkai, huh? Let's do it! Just go all out, but yeah, doing this kind of experiment on Earth really is too dangerous. Here's what: we'll get some sponsors."

Elysia blinked. "Eh? Aren't you even curious if Mei has any other plans? Or whether this power might affect you?"

Pei Guang: "Huh? Affect me how? I've played games for years, and I've never heard of my well-treated subordinates turning on me."

Pei Guang recalled all the games he'd played. Sure, plenty joked about rebellious NPCs or peasant uprisings, but in all those management games, as long as the player aimed to win or clear the game, he'd never once encountered his own people betraying him.

You didn't even need to patch that: basic common sense across the genre.

Elysia: "You really are something… But fine, it's exactly this side of you that makes people like you. I'll go get Dr. Mei right now~"

Beaming, Elysia went to fetch Mei. The moment she got in touch, Mei arrived in the room via a spacetime backpack.

Upon seeing Pei Guang, Mei immediately explained her thoughts. Her idea was highly unique: she even wanted to use this power to create beings on the level of Doomsday Beasts or even Lord Ravagers.

But Mei was also keenly aware of how dangerous it would be to create individuals that powerful with this energy. No exaggeration: if things went even a little wrong, at minimum you'd need someone at the Emanator level to suppress the results.

And so Mei gave this ultimate combat power cultivation plan a name: "Project Apocalypse," meant to remind herself and others that while this power is immense, it could also bring destruction to the world.

After hearing her out, Pei Guang didn't even hesitate: "If you want to do it, then let me—your player—think of a solution~"

He didn't care how dangerous Project Apocalypse might be. Based on Mei's description, even at its strongest, its destructive power was only on the scale of a star system.

And remembering all the space games he'd played… accidentally wiping out dozens of star systems or even an entire galaxy? Not unheard of.

Pei Guang pondered seriously. As he did, a thought suddenly hit him.

He looked at the "Heliobus Fusion" skill he'd previously obtained, and in that moment, everything suddenly clicked.

Heliobus Transformation Device: 999 Heliobi merge into a pseudo-divine entity with immense power, even able to rival true deities.

The downside? It needed energy: a lot of it. Pure emotional energy was nowhere near enough to sustain that monstrosity. 

But now? His people had made energy.

Pei Guang didn't understand things like Imaginary energy or Honkai energy.

What he heard was: converted Honkai energy is strong—immensely destructive. Pair that with his 999 Heliobus fusion pseudo-god? 

That's a perfect match!