Dr. Mobius didn't greet Acheron. After sitting down beside her, she remained silent, quietly putting food into her mouth.
But that keen, interested look in her eyes made Acheron feel a bit uneasy.
"Mobius, you're here! I thought you'd be too busy with your experiments to come."
Unlike others who kept their distance, Elysia went right up to Mobius, smiling cheerfully.
"Annoying creature. If you hadn't sent Klein to drag me over, I'd still be in the lab running experiments."
Mobius curled her lip, sounding distinctly unimpressed.
"What Dr. Mobius means is… thank you, Elysia, for informing her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come."
Klein's small face showed no expression as she stated this flatly.
"Klein! Shut your mouth and just eat!"
Mobius picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it right into Klein's mouth, making her cheeks puff out as she struggled to chew.
"But you… you interest me somewhat, Raiden Mei, was it?"
Mobius looked at Acheron, her face lighting up with clear curiosity.
Even though Mobius kept to herself mostly, she'd still heard about the newcomer who'd been making waves recently in Fire Moth.
After all, it was rumored she'd helped Kevin and Elysia take down the Sixth Herrscher.
And from what Mobius had picked up through the grapevine, this Raiden Mei was the real MVP of that battle—Elysia and Kevin just coasted to victory.
"Me?"
Acheron looked at Mobius, momentarily caught off guard.
"Mhm. It's been a long time since Fire Moth recruited someone so talented. The last one was Kevin. You both have a lot of potential…"
Mobius's voice was soft and musing, her mind clearly wandering somewhere else.
"Aww, too bad! Even if you're this interested in Mei, I'm not going to hand her over to you~"
Elysia, who had been standing nearby, wrapped her arms around Acheron from behind and grinned at Mobius.
"Tch, acting like she's some kind of treasure. Who even wants her?"
Mobius scoffed and said nothing more.
The newcomer's reception went smoothly overall. It's worth mentioning, though, that Kevin and Mei only showed up briefly toward the end before hurriedly leaving again.
Kevin would've liked to stay longer, but Mei had been extremely busy lately, always pulling him along to research something.
Of course, to everyone else, it just looked like a couple deep in the throes of young love.
Acheron knew what was really on their minds.
Recalling the draft of the MANTIS Project she'd accidentally seen on Dr. Mei's desk not long ago, she figured the mounting pressure from the Honkai must be weighing heavily on Mei.
Even though the Sixth Herrscher had been dealt with easily—thanks to Acheron—the worsening Honkai disasters across the world were still putting Fire Moth under immense strain.
After all, the Honkai wasn't just about Herrscher-level catastrophes.
The smaller, scattered Honkai incidents happening globally were also severely testing Fire Moth's capabilities.
The problem was, while Honkai outbreaks were frequent, even training an ordinary soldier took Fire Moth a very long time.
"Welcome, Mei. Starting today, you are officially a member of Fire Moth. With your help, humanity's chances of overcoming the Honkai have grown once more."
Dr. Mei stood beside Acheron, and in front of everyone, they gently clasped hands.
"I will do everything in my power to help humanity defeat the Honkai."
Acheron gave a slight nod as she spoke.
"Alright, today's a happy day! With Mei joining us, we've gained another powerful warrior. Heehee, Ato has Kevin, and I have Mei—looks like the title of 'Strongest Squad' is about to change hands~"
Elysia grinned, resting her hands on Acheron's shoulders.
In response to Elysia's words, Kevin, standing nearby, could only scratch his cheek awkwardly.
A couple of days ago, when his training record was broken, he'd felt a little dissatisfied at first. So he found a chance to spar with Acheron.
And then… well, there was no "and then." Kevin, who was already being called Fire Moth's strongest warrior, was completely outclassed by Acheron in every way.
Of course, Kevin wasn't the petty type. If he lost, he'd just train harder—until the day he could finally… well, let's just say, turn things around.
"Perfect timing, my squad still needs a vice-captain. With Mei joining, that vacancy can be filled nicely."
Elysia smiled cheerfully.
"If we're talking pure combat strength, our dear captain Elysia might have to step down and make way."
Mei teased from the side.
"No way! Being captain is exhausting. It's not just about fighting prowess—you have to handle all sorts of things."
Elysia shook her head, then looked at Acheron. "Of course, if Mei wants to be captain, I could recommend you during the next evaluation~ I wouldn't mind being the woman behind Mei!"
Elysia gazed at Acheron with a sparkling smile.
"That won't be necessary. This is fine."
Acheron shook her head in response.
The reception didn't last very long. Acheron wasn't one for crowds, and neither were Mei or Mobius.
The two scientists relaxed only briefly at the gathering before leaving to return to their research.
After heading back, Elysia and Acheron didn't idle around either.
Elysia had promised Himeko that after the reception, they would head to Australia together to support her.
After all, Himeko had traveled a long way back to help during the Sixth Herrscher incident. Plus, with Australia's high Honkai energy density, the chances of a Herrscher appearing there were high. Even if no Herrscher emerged, an incredibly powerful Honkai beast was almost certain to appear.
"Hmm, good. Mei doesn't have much luggage, and they'll arrange our accommodation there. We just need to bring some personal items."
"Mei, are you listening?"
Seeing Acheron spaced out, Elysia puffed out her cheeks and glared at her in mock anger.
"Sorry, Elysia. I need to go see Mei first. Can you handle packing here?"
Acheron looked apologetically at Elysia.
"Aww, what am I going to do with you? But I'm understanding like that, so go ahead. If Mei says so, it must be important, right?"
Gently patting Acheron's shoulder, Elysia softly nudged her out the door, waving as she went.
Nodding, Acheron didn't waste any more time and headed straight for Mei's office.
As she walked, she exchanged for the item she'd been holding onto.
Soon, Acheron arrived at Dr. Mei's office.
By now, Kevin had already left, and only Dr. Mei remained.
"It's you, Mei. Do you need something?"
After Acheron knocked and entered, Dr. Mei gently rubbed her tired temples and smiled at her.
"It's nothing major. I just thought this might be useful to you."
Acheron shook her head lightly as she spoke, then placed the [Genius's Manuscript]in front of Dr. Mei.
With a hint of curiosity, Dr. Mei took the documents from Acheron's hands.
At first, she thought Acheron might have been sent by Elysia to deliver another one of her strange requests.
Elysia was absolutely the type to do something like that.
But when she opened the manuscript, her brow furrowed tightly. She realized this was something entirely different.
For a while, she even forgot Acheron was still there, completely absorbed in reading.
It was only after ten minutes that she finally looked up, awe written across her face.
"A genius… whoever wrote this is absolutely a genius!"
After a long moment, Mei finally collected herself, a rare look of astonishment breaking through her usually calm expression.
Not that Dr. Mei was wrong—the author of this manuscript truly was a genius. In fact, the two might even share some similarities.
Like their names, for instance.
"If it helps you, that's enough."
Seeing the delight on Dr. Mei's face, Acheron nodded inwardly. It was worth spending those points—seemed this thing was really useful to her.
"I won't ask where this manuscript came from, but… if possible, I'd really like to meet its author."
Clutching the manuscript tightly, a faint yearning shone in Dr. Mei's eyes.
"Perhaps. Maybe you'll get the chance someday. It's not impossible."
Acheron nodded slightly. After all, they were both from Honkai worlds—maybe this one would connect with the Star Rail universe someday.
But given the current timeline of the Previous Era, the genius who wrote this manuscript probably hadn't even been born yet.
This was, after all, fifty thousand years ago.
After handing the manuscript to Dr. Mei, Acheron left her office and returned home.
By the time she got back, Elysia had already packed everything they needed for their trip to Australia.
To make it up to her, Acheron specially bought two cups of milk tea as a treat.
"Not bad! Seems helping you wasn't in vain~"
Taking the milk tea, Elysia broke into a radiant smile.
She was easy to please—a simple cup of milk tea was enough.
Or perhaps what the girl really valued was Acheron's thoughtful gesture. Even without the milk tea, a simple "thanks for your hard work" would have sufficed.
The next day, Acheron and Elysia went to the helipad, where they met up with Himeko and Hua.
"Hi, Himeko! And Hua, hello~!"
Elysia greeted them cheerfully.
Compared to the valiant and poised Himeko, Hua at this time—while one could still see the beauty in her features—didn't really know how to dress herself up. Combined with her quiet and reserved personality, she came off as somewhat plain.
"Mei, wanna bet? If Hua got a proper makeover, she'd be a super, super cute beauty!"
After exchanging greetings, Elysia and Acheron boarded the aircraft. Not far from them sat Himeko and Hua.
Hua was wearing a standard Fire Moth combat uniform, her hair simply braided into a plait hanging in front, and she wore a pair of low-key red-framed glasses.
Next to Elysia—who turned heads wherever she went—and the striking figures of Acheron and Himeko, Hua seemed rather inconspicuous.
But after seeing Hua, Elysia couldn't help whispering to Acheron.
"Of course, Hua's cute now too, but she could be even cuter, that's all."
Maybe feeling her words were a bit ambiguous, Elysia added that last bit.
"How would you know?"
Acheron looked at Elysia, slightly puzzled.
"I've got a good eye for beauties. Hua just doesn't know how to make the most of herself. If she were in my hands, I could have her captivating crowds in half a day~"
What Elysia said wasn't wrong, Acheron had to admit. She remembered, before she transmigrated, Hua's popularity never waned. Even the first miHoYo figure she'd bought was Fu Hua's bridal skin.
But when Acheron actually transmigrated and met her in person, her mind wasn't filled with those random thoughts—only one idea remained:
No matter what, she had to change the outcome of this era. The deaths of the Flame-Chasers were grand and magnificent, but that kind of ending, however beautiful, was still full of regrets.
And now, Acheron was lucky—she had the power to change the current situation.
To let an era that should have been lost set sail once more.
Only… Acheron wondered if there was any way to alter the outcome where Himeko would become a Herrscher.
Acheron was greedy. If possible, she wanted to save everyone. But that clearly wasn't very realistic.
In fact, before Acheron could even research a solution, events had already rushed toward their conclusion.
An endless fire began to spread across the land. On only their second day in Australia, the Herrscher appeared!
You never know which will come first—tomorrow, or the unexpected.
Looking at the Herrscher of Flame hovering above the burning city center, Acheron and Elysia's eyes were filled with complex emotions.
"Himeko… Captain… Why… Why did it come to this?"
Around Himeko's body, the ground was littered with corpses, everywhere the scorched remains of the dead. Now, only Hua remained there, struggling to hold on.
She was clearly in severe shock. She couldn't understand why—why the kind and caring captain had suddenly become… this.
"Human, are you speaking to me?"
Facing Hua's anguished questioning, a fiery light flickered in Himeko's eyes. Her expression was icy as she looked at Hua, clearly not in the mood for conversation.
Immediately, she raised a hand, and a cluster of blazing flames shot toward Hua.
But in the next instant, Acheron appeared in front of her, swinging her scabbard to block the flames.
"It ends here, Himeko."
Acheron looked at the Herrscher of Flame before her. After a moment of silence, she spoke calmly.
Beside her, Elysia covered her mouth in disbelief after clearly seeing the Herrscher's face.
"All here together? Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
Seeing Acheron before her, the Flame Herrscher revealed a wild grin. Information about Acheron surfaced in her memory: "Fire Moth's current strongest warrior? Not bad. Worth killing!"
Acheron: ?
--+--
T/N: If you haven't realized, the Genius is Ruan Mei, and Ruan Mei has Mei in her name.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.