I am a former Flame Chasers

The Fire Moth meets all the people's fantasies about a mysterious organization: it has connections everywhere, is cold and rational, and has the ability to appear and disappear without a trace.

But Ryan didn't have time to help Hua explain. He was lost in thought because of the person Hen mentioned.

Chief of Staff, Calis.

He hadn't heard this name for a long time. In terms of position, the chief of staff assists the leader of the Fire Moths, which is the position of the chief commander, but this person is not simple.

"I don't understand what he wants to do. He seems to be outside of all factional struggles, but he is connected to everyone."

On the surface, this is Calis's responsibility, but Ryan always feels that it is not that simple. First of all, it is hard to explain why he came to Changkong City.

Could it be that he was inspecting the Far East? The Fire Moth had already calculated that the Third Honkai would probably be in this area, but it would be useless for a bureaucrat like him to come here, and the Shenzhou government didn't seem like it would cause trouble.

That would be fine, but the key point is that Marichi is very strange. It neither makes trouble nor leaves. It just squats quietly on the beach, as if waiting for something.

The Third Herrscher? Could it be its companion beast? But the companion beasts were all Judgment-level. That monster was almost at the top level of the Emperor-level, but still a little far from the Judgment-level.

Before coming to Changkong, Ryan didn't think too much about it. Now he found that the city seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, and a few attempts led to many problems.

"Forget it, I'll think about it slowly when I have some free time."

Since he couldn't figure it out, he didn't bother to worry about it. He looked to the side and suddenly found it a little funny.

Hua took a shovel and stood by, looking around vigilantly with a serious expression, unlike other little kids who would get excited after discovering a secret.

She knew what she could and should do, and this quality was exactly what Ryan liked.

"Okay, that Honkai beast has been badly injured and won't be able to get out for a while. So, are you going to protect me like this?"

"Well, I know I'm weak, but being able to block one attack for you is enough." The girl was still serious, without any intention of joking.

Ryan was somewhat moved by Hua persistence, so he nodded gently: "Thank you."

"I should thank you. If you hadn't come to Changkong, I would have been unable to resist my curiosity and ran in sooner or later. You saved me again."

"Then we're even." Ryan naturally took the girl's hand and walked out of the village. "Let's go home. I'll make lunch. I haven't cooked for a long time."

"Brother, your cooking skills are ten times better than mine. So, you really don't want to go to that fire-chasing moth?"

"I hate those things. I'd rather stay with you. But let's make a deal. After a few more days, I'll go back to Huwu and take Master with me to hide in the mountains. Don't be petty."

A trace of unwillingness flashed across Hua face, but as a sensible and serious person, he knew that he could do nothing after seeing the fight.

"Okay, I promise you, but you have to promise me too."

"What?"

"Since I can't escape, I have to contribute my strength. At least I can control my own destiny like you do."

Ryan slowed down his pace, turned his head slightly, and looked at the girl's determined expression. Out of selfish motives, he didn't want Hua to come in, because even he couldn't control his future.

But after thinking about it, as I said, no one can escape the Honkai in the future. Since we will be involved sooner or later, it is always better to do it sooner.

"Okay, I promise."

...

The clouds were dark, as if a rainstorm was gathering, and seagulls flew through the clouds, with huge steel ships reflected in their dark eyes.

A fleet was sailing on the sea, with six destroyers forming a wheel-shaped formation, escorting the aircraft carrier in the center.

The wind and waves grew stronger, the bow of the ship rose high, and then plunged into the water. Only the aircraft carrier, which weighed about 100,000 tons, remained stable, and under the rotating weather radar was a huge fire-chasing moth logo.

Unlike the Far East branch which was established in a military base, the South Shenzhou branch was simply moved to an aircraft carrier. This giant steel ship cruised in the open sea like a moving castle.

The blonde Calis held up a telescope and watched the sparks produced by the electromagnetic catapult. A new group of patrol planes were taking off rapidly, which made people marvel at the prosperity of Era.

"Chief of Staff, the battle report is out."

Just then, a burly man with blue hair walked in, waved his hand to let the people around him step back, and stuffed a thick stack of reports into the man's hands.

"As planned, Dr. Ryan repelled Marichi, who has sustained over 58% damage and is now submerged in the deep sea."

Calis took the report, glanced at it, and placed it on the table next to him, with an elegant smile: "As expected of the most powerful Emperor-level Honkai beast known, it is only seriously injured by this kind of firepower. As long as the core is still there, it will be back in no time."

"We tried our best. This thing is really hard to kill."

"I don't mean to reprimand you, Chief Erwin." Calis glanced at him and flipped through a few pages of the report. "So has this Honkai beast left?"

"No, it's still lurking fifty kilometers from the coastline. An unmanned submarine is watching it. These monsters are really unreasonable. They neither come ashore nor run away." Erwin tapped the table lightly, his angular face wrinkled. "Dr. Ryan is here, why don't we call the pink monster over as well and take some risks to defeat it."

"Don't try to understand these magical creations. This will make us appear ignorant and arrogant. In fact, the opinions of the staff are very interesting."

"What is it waiting for?"

"Yes, all signs indicate that the critical value has been reached and the third Honkai is just around the corner."

The bridge fell into a deathly silence. Erwin swallowed. He was not worried about the Herrscher, but the attitude of the man in front of him was strange.

He was not anxious at all, but instead had a vague expectation. He thought that people who could become branch heads had high emotional intelligence. Combined with the recent frequent meetings of the League of Nations, he suddenly understood something.

"You mean..."

"Humans always like to learn from their mistakes. You should have heard about the proposal to dismember the Fire Moth."

"Yes, but was suppressed by the commander-in-chief."

"It's just for now. When the storm dissipates, the discordant voices will emerge again." Calis looked at the raindrops hitting the window and the borrowed fleet in front of him, and asked with a smile: "You are more energetic than the previous two Collapse, right?"

"Yes, I fought on the front line and experienced that cruel and hopeless war."

"So you know the significance of the existence of the Fire Moth, but it's hard to feel the pain just from the image. Do you know what I think about the first two Collapse?"

Without waiting for the branch chief to answer, Calis took a breath, his handsome and elegant face filled with ferocity.

"That's because it's not desperate enough, it's not cruel enough, and the pain hasn't penetrated everyone's bones. We still live in an illusory peace, even if this peace was brought about by people like you who risked their lives."

The stern tone was just like the strong wind outside the window, but Erwin became excited instead. He was tired of the feeling of being constrained, and he hated racking his brains to cover up the truth even more.

Those naive young people thought they were in a superhero movie and indulged in the fantasy of being heroes behind the scenes.

Calis glanced at the excited branch chief and said calmly, "The future will be even more cruel. We must wake everyone up. Even if the price is a bit high, it is so small that it can be ignored for the future of all mankind."

This sentence was like a ray of light that cleared the clouds, turning Erwin's excitement into calm.

"I know what to do."

"Then go ahead and act as the whistleblower for mankind."

"Yes, I will change the plan immediately." The branch chief nodded, and then thought of something else: "What should we do with Dr. Ryan? Should we notify him or hint at him?"

he?

The blond man was silent for a moment. Logically speaking, since the other party had helped to repel the Marichi, he should have been invited to have a chat, and the two sides should cooperate in hunting down the Honkai beast.

"No, I can't see through this person and can't predict his actions."

"Maybe he'll notice something?"

"It doesn't matter. The time is approaching. It's meaningless for him to notice anything. Besides, we are not really helping Honkai, so it's better to end the disaster as soon as possible."

Aren't you afraid that he will die?

Erwin moved his mouth slightly but said nothing. He saluted, turned around and left. His steps were heavy and sacred, as if a great mission was weighing on his shoulders.

Calis kept staring at the back, his face full of admiration, but deep in his eyes there was contempt.

The weak always have to make choices, just like cutting a rotten apple, cutting it one by one until nothing is left. It is really helpless to be born as such a weak, complex and inferior creature.

He turned his head and glanced at the information on the table. On the top was the aerial photo of Marichi. He tapped the table with his fingertips and looked up at the storm that was about to break out.

Are we qualified to move on to some higher existence and end this immature childhood?