In the morning, Ryan returned to his room. The girl was gone, and nothing had been taken, which surprised him a bit.
Human nature is truly stubborn. To survive, one can betray their morals, but they can't lose their most core essence, or else they become nothing but a monster in human skin, just like the warning Mephistopheles had given him.
Christina was someone trying to save herself, and as long as someone is trying to save themselves, they have a chance to be saved.
This issue is settled, I'll send her to Gothenburg. Being a savior for just one or two people doesn't matter.
Ryan thought to himself as he placed his handgun on the table. He waited until noon, but no one came to visit, which was the second surprise.
She didn't come looking for me, even smarter than I imagined.
Last night, he had gone to find the trafficker's boss but didn't find him. After capturing a henchman, he learned that the boss was out and hadn't returned yet.
That was normal, but the clues he had left behind were enough, and the fact that no one came to check on him meant that the secrets here were deeper than he had imagined.
Underground research facility, the belief faction, the shadow of a Herrscher...
Ryan sat there, peeling back the "onion," but lacking clues, there were still many things he couldn't confirm.
"What I can't figure out the most is the 'Herrscher.' That's definitely not the Herrscher of Ice. How could it be born right under the Fire Moth's nose?"
"Could it be the Sixth Herrscher? No, the Sixth Herrscher is the Herrscher of Death, and their authority shouldn't include such small tricks."
Ryan fingers kept tapping on the table as he thought things through. There were two possibilities.
First, it could be his own illusion, as there was no data or imagery to back it up.
Second, the Sixth Herrscher might not actually be the Herrscher of Death. The Honkai might have adjusted the sequence and could have brought the Herrscher of Control out ahead of time.
Given the current situation, the second possibility seemed more likely. But how could a Herrscher be tied to an abandoned research facility?
He couldn't figure it out, so he took out his phone and used the satellite signal to dial a number.
"Hello?"
"Mei, is it convenient to talk now?"
It was night on the M continent. Mei glanced at Kevin waiting at the door, lowered her head, and walked into a secluded place. Kevin helplessly tightened the rose hidden behind his back.
"It's fine now. What's up?"
"I've encountered a possible Herrscher in Northern Europe. It's not the fleeing Herrscher of Ice, but things are a bit strange."
Ryan briefly explained the situation and mentioned the conversation from when he was in the headquarters' lowest levels. Mei's expression instantly became serious.
"You found an abandoned research facility of the Fire Moth, coordinates are…" she muttered to herself while searching her memory. Soon, she shook her head. "This isn't in the records. The Fire Moth hasn't set up any research facility in that area, unless the relevant data was deleted."
"From your description, this facility is quite large and costly. It shouldn't have vanished from the records."
Mei, of course, knew the Fire Moth wasn't clean. Various human experiments were taking place. There was no room for saintly figures in this era.
"So it's strange, unless this research is extremely important to some people, but the results cannot be made public."
Some people?
Mei thought for a moment and immediately understood whom Ryan was referring to. Her face went expressionless.
"Got it. I'll try to check, starting with the funding flow."
She immediately hung up the phone and made a gesture to Kevin, who deflated upon hearing it. He knew he'd be waiting in vain tonight.
In her heart, she silently thanked Ryan a thousand times.
"Ryan?"
"Mm, something very important. Sorry, you should go back for now." Mei bit her lip and resolutely turned away.
There was no choice—some things had to be done by her own hands.
Ryan had no idea that he had just ruined someone's date. He put away his phone and let out a slight sigh of relief.
He trusted Mei's intelligence. Even if those people had deleted the records, there would still be traces left. His next step was to go at it from both ends and dig it out.
Ryan looked up at the dilapidated ceiling, then instantly tensed up and grabbed the handgun on the table.
Bang, bang, bang.
At the same time, there was a knock at the door. Ryan paused in confusion for a moment, then opened the door a crack.
Outside stood several fully armed gang members, their guns faintly pointed at him but not yet pulling the trigger.
"What's going on?"
"Where were you last night?"
An investigation?
Ryan froze for a moment but quickly answered, "Sleeping. I was with a prostitute, but I've forgotten her name."
The gang members glanced at him and then turned to the hotel owner. The owner gave a slight nod, indicating there was no problem.
"It's fine. Go back to sleep." The gang turned and left, clearly showing a lack of manners. After taking a few steps, one of the members turned and asked.
"What happened?"
He turned with a glare in his eyes, "My boss 'Thorn' is dead. If you have any clues, go to the 'Black Raspberry' bar and let me know. There's a reward."
His words were brief but enough to make Ryan keep the door open for a while. He slowly raised an eyebrow as he saw something interesting.
Thorn was the trafficker. This was an absurdly fast cover-up.
Ryan thought for a moment. He had planned to wait and talk with the guy when he returned, but now he was just a corpse. Obviously, someone didn't want him to say too much.
So, why didn't they just come after me? The combat strength I've shown is that of an elite agent.
Ryan suddenly felt the world's malice. Pretending to be a fool to catch a tiger wasn't easy—no enemy is a fool. It was probably that Fused Warrior team from before that had made them cautious.
Doesn't matter. I enjoy playing with fire more than you think.
Ryan put the gun away and ignored the warning. He headed for the church and, thinking for a moment, placed several cans on the table.
When the young lady returns, she'll consider it a compensation for standing me up.
A self-saver has no need to drag others down—this is something she'll handle on her own.
Soon, Ryan arrived at the "church." It looked more like a repurposed art gallery, covering thousands of square meters, with a grand dome, and a strange sculpture at its highest point.
It looked like a woman, but her hair floated like Medusa's, and at the top were faces instead of snakes.
It was a little creepy, but Ryan had seen the Fire Moth's records. These lunatics had no connections between their factions; each one had different tokens.
Honestly, aside from front-line soldiers, very few had seen a Honkai Beast, especially the higher-ranked ones. They were mostly based on news photos and imagination.
It did have a certain eerie artistic vibe—definitely good at scaring people.
Ryan entered the building, glanced around, and saw rows of benches in the dimly lit church, with several people quietly praying.
Some were born religious, truly believing the Honkai Beasts were divine messengers, others just wanted to die, thinking being killed by a Honkai Beast had some special significance. Some were just praying they wouldn't encounter the monsters.
Sunlight filtered through narrow windows, giving the interior a hazy look. At the front of the hall was another sculpture like the one at the dome, beneath which stood a pulpit.
And then—
A figure in a linen robe stood there.
Ryan pupils contracted, a bit incredulous. It was the same person he had seen last night. At this close distance, he was almost certain this wasn't human, but the Honkai energy detector didn't give a sharp alert.
Who gave you the courage to stand in front of me?
Ryan almost fired a lightning shot to blast the person into pieces but paused for a moment to calm himself.
No, this thing's Honkai energy is under 100HW, not even worthy of carrying a Herrscher's shoes. But what is this feeling?
Hunting Herrschers, Ryan could consider himself an expert, but the scene before him left him momentarily confused. The only thing he was sure about was:
This was definitely not the Herrscher of Ice or the Herrscher of Death. Something was wrong here.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but Ryan quickly returned to normal and found an empty seat.
Since the person didn't make a move, that meant they hadn't discovered his identity. He'd observe for now, and if things went wrong, he'd act immediately.
Power is the best guarantee of safety. Ryan sat quietly, now intrigued. Before, he'd charge in recklessly, but now he wanted to see what tricks the Honkai had up its sleeve.
"Everyone, let's begin our sermon."
The figure on the stage suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse but with a touch of kindness.
"No matter what the outside world says, we are guilty. Greed, indulgence, cruelty, fear, and slaughter—the human race rules the world and inflicts pain on all living things."
"Because of sin, we must repent, we must be punished, we must experience the suffering of animals, feel the pain of extinct species. This is the judgment rendered by God."
The church was filled with murmurs. Some were still sobbing, but Ryan couldn't help but scoff.
Same old twisted logic—first assume guilt, then turn tragedy into punishment. Some real masochistic psychology.
"Life is full of injustice and suffering. Why are the rich always rich? Why do the strong have the power to plunder the weak? Why do only the weak have to follow the rules?"
"Civilization is a cage, binding us with no resistance. Even if pushed to the limit, today's rebels will become the plunderers of tomorrow. This is a flaw humanity cannot solve."
"So God sent his messenger to completely break this pathetic cycle. Civilization is the tragedy itself, the cancer that creates everything. Remember this—"
"Only destruction and death are equal!"
"Only destruction and death are equal."
The voices rang out in unison. Ryan didn't speak, but he didn't refute it either. He actually thought this twisted reasoning made a little sense—it matched the mindset in the abandoned zones.
At least in their eyes, the Fire Moth hadn't protected themselves. The world had split into two completely different parts—one side hell, the other side heaven.
Clearly, they were all human. Why do you get to live good lives?
Ryan couldn't answer that question, so he always ignored philosophy and focused on one thing:
Because I want to live, and I see the Honkai as a stepping stone to the unknown. Anyone who wants to make a pact with the Honkai is my enemy.
Ryan stopped listening to this twisted rhetoric, got up decisively, drew his handgun from his waist, aimed at the priest, and shot without hesitation.
Bang!