Ryan was thoroughly enjoying the sci-fi scene before him, thinking to himself that Fire Moth had already solved the energy and material problems. The technology tree they were developing was not out of place.
Unfortunately, the presence of a Herrscher Domination and a Herrscher of Corruption ruined everything.
"Dr. Ryan, is this your first time on the Raven?"
"Yes, there are only three of them globally, and it's not easy to get a seat." Ryan regained his usual calm expression, picked up his luggage, and said, "Let's go, with this Air Mothership around, the machine power will be able to be guaranteed".
At that moment, the hatch opened, and as Ryan and Sakura moved forward, they saw a group of people in uniforms already waiting for them. Fire Moth had military ranks too, and the leader was a colonel with bronze skin and a face full of white beard, looking very sharp. When he saw Ryan, he stepped forward and gave a sharp salute.
"Dr. Ryan, I am Heinrich, Captain of Raven No. 3. We've been waiting for you."
He looked like one of Fire Moth's veterans, originally an elite from various national militaries, quite different from someone like Kevin.
"Hello, Colonel." Ryan shook his hand, followed by Sakura and the Punishment Sword team introducing themselves, each of them exuding energy. Only then did Captain Heinrich make a 'please' gesture.
"For the details, let's head to the command bridge." No one objected, and Ryan quickened his pace.
"Who will command this operation?"
"It will be coordinated by Chief of Staff Carius." The colonel glanced at him and turned to walk.
Ryan paused, raising an eyebrow.
"Why is it him again?"
The giant aerial carrier trembled slightly in the air as Ryan ears were filled with mechanical noise. The hallway inside was narrow, allowing only two people to pass at a time.
As Chief of Staff, Carius certainly had the right to command the entire campaign. However, Ryan previous cooperation with him in Canghai City hadn't been pleasant. This guy was not only deep and calculating but also ruthless. The most unsettling part was his appearance, which naturally made people wary.
'Forget it, let's see how things go.'
The automatic doors opened, and Ryan, along with the group, approached the command bridge. He scanned the area, noticing that the hundred-square-meter space was quite lively. Outside, there was the vast sea of clouds, and below the bridge were three rows of seats. About twenty to thirty communication officers were operating computers, while staff ran around passing information and marking the latest updates on electronic maps.
The walls on both sides were converted into giant screens, displaying various maps in different scales, with some videos showing images from the front lines, and real-time information scrolling above.
It was advanced—specifically showing Europe, from the continent to Britain, with various flight paths, markers, and collapse energy reactions densely packed. Without some level of expertise and experience, just looking at it for a few seconds would make anyone dizzy.
"Gentlemen, welcome." Ryan turned toward the voice and saw a blonde man rising from a chair. He wore a white military coat styled like a trench coat, with gold epaulettes, holding a jeweled military knife.
In his thirties or forties, with a handsome face, paired with the crisp military uniform, he appeared composed and elegant.
"Chief of Staff," the Punishment Sword team immediately stood at attention and saluted. As an elite force directly under Fire Moth, they were very conscious of hierarchy. Ryan and Sakura stood casually, as neither of them had any rank, and Ryan gaze held a hint of skepticism.
"Dr. Ryan, I know our last cooperation wasn't the best, but please trust me, there's no need for unnecessary complications this time." Carius smiled and extended his right hand.
"Let's see how you perform. Let's get to the point." Ryan didn't bother with pleasantries, shaking his hand briefly before raising an eyebrow. "Did you also undergo fusion surgery?"
"Yes, as I have the qualifications. Even as a commander, one needs the strength for self-defense." Carius smiled and answered.
While his words were accurate, Ryan didn't ask further. Carius had high-level access, and even Möbius didn't know all the details. Asking would be pointless.
They exchanged a few words, but to Vinal and the others, the conversation felt entirely different. They suddenly realized that even though they were all fusion warriors, the gap between them was huge.
The upper brass had extreme tolerance, and there were no orders imposing restrictions—this was something to be envied.
"Let me cut to the chase," Carius said, nodding to a female officer standing nearby.
She pressed a remote, and the tactical map shifted, showing the ocean north of Britain.
"Yesterday, according to Sky Net's detection, a strong Honkai Energy appeared at this coordinate. It disappeared about 22 minutes later. We deployed detection buoys, but no collapse energy reaction was detected underwater. Our database energy spectrum search returned no similar results, which confirms that this Honkai Energy is new."
No matter how well hidden, Herrscher and Honkai beasts could not completely block collapse energy, and Fire Moth had built a collapse energy frequency database to identify them.
"So, the Honkai Energy moved and hid its trail?" Ryan asked, clearly not holding back.
"From what we currently know, yes. But we have a new detector developed by Dr. Möbius, which can capture residual energy. Dr. Ryan, please take a look."
Carius nodded to the girl beside him, and the screen flickered, displaying data and a winding dashed line.
This dashed line moved southward, only disappearing near Great Britain.
"The dissipating energy is vanishing faster than the buoy's deployment speed, so the detection limit is about 200 kilometers north of Great Britain," Carius explained, noticing Vinal raising his hand and gesturing for him to speak.
"The target might be heading east toward the Scandinavian Peninsula or west into the ocean."
"Impossible. The First and Sixth Fleets arrived first, and all their ships are equipped with detectors. It's impossible to slip through under their noses." Ryan answered for Carius, having noticed the timestamps on the friendly unit markers on the screen. Reverse analysis wasn't difficult.
"Dr. Ryan is correct. The likelihood of the target escaping is less than 5%. It's almost certain that it has landed on Great Britain," Carius said with a smile, nodding. He then sighed, "But once it's on land, we can't pinpoint its exact location."
Honkai Energys were primarily found on land, with dozens of medium-sized Honkai Energys marked on the electronic map. Their energy spectra mixed together, making it nearly impossible to distinguish them.
On the other hand, the deep ocean was much 'purer,' and with Fire Moth's updated equipment, it was hard to hide.
It's on land now.
Ryan narrowed his eyes, scanning the dense array of markers on the electronic map. There were Honkai Energys, Moths to the Flame bases, and even rebel forces. It was a snapshot of the current state of the world. Red, gray, and blue markings intermingled like a puzzle.
The Canghai event had been almost a year ago, and the world hadn't improved as the street vendors hoped. In fact, it had become more chaotic, with humanity and collapse forces entangled, much like a grassland scorched by wildfires, never-ending.
As a result, both sides had entered a stalemate.
The world was too vast, and despite Fire Moth rapidly expanding, it was still stretched thin. They could only focus on protecting the major areas, and the areas outside the protected zones were akin to scenes from post-apocalyptic movies.
One type was a lost zone, and the other was an abandoned zone that was actively discarded.
'From protecting the world to guarding continents, and now to focusing on key areas, the land humanity can fully control is getting smaller, like a giant that's bleeding out, growing weaker by the day.' Ryan licked his lips. This map was clear at a glance, and when he stepped out of the dark research facility, he realized how strange and cruel the world had become.
"North Britain has already fallen. Ireland is focusing on protecting the southern sea lanes. Is that blue line the boundary?"
He pointed to the blue line running across the center of Britain, as it was marked with numerous friendly unit markers, indicating a force of around 100,000 troops.
"Yes. The larger the area to protect, the greater the troop loss. We have to divide the protected areas based on population size and importance." Carius forced a smile, his eyes tinged with mockery. "So, what do you think about the criticism that we're surrendering and committing crimes?"
"Rational decisions. Fighting a war of attrition with the collapse forces is a dead-end. Only by concentrating our forces and firepower can we resist," Ryan said without blame. He had already experienced this in Neon.
Back then, when the collapse wasn't as fierce, the far eastern branch could barely handle reinforcements, exhausted to the point of collapse. Even if he personally swept through, in a month, everything would return to normal.
It was a tiring sense of despair. Winning one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand times, yet still not seeing the light of victory.
But in such a short time, humanity's territory had shrunk so quickly...
Ryan turned his head to look at the global map, scanning the countless blue lines. In the past, excluding the native wastelands, humanity controlled over 95% of Earth. Now, it was down to about 70%, with millions of square kilometers of land and hundreds of millions of people mysteriously disappearing.
There were almost the same number of people abandoned, living in lawless, abandoned zones, without the protection of Fire Moth. It was like some kind of lottery, where only a few could enter safe zones.
Ryan withdrew his gaze and silently shook his head.
"But have you thought about it? Those abandoned areas are filled with Honkai beasts and death warriors. They multiply like a snowball. If they receive unified command, it will become a tsunami."
These words made the air feel a few degrees colder, and everyone's expression turned grim.
"Dr. Ryan, based on the current intelligence, Honkai beasts don't have a hierarchy or clear objectives. They just destroy surrounding towns and rarely move long distances," Vinal rebutted.
"But what about the Fourth Herrscher? Weren't the Herrscher previously just mindlessly charging at the front lines? What about this Honkai Energy? Has any Honkai beast ever learned to stealth right after being born?" The purple-haired youth opened his mouth, unable to find any reason, his lips twitching as a subtle fear flashed across his face.
"Collapse forces are an unknown to humanity, unpredictable. We don't even know when the end will come or who's behind it." Ryan turned his gaze to Carius, his usually calm demeanor darkening. "Of course, I'm not blaming you. The world is too big, and Fire Moth can't cover it all. Pulling back is a good thing. It's like a lottery—there's just not enough resources to supply everyone." He understood this helplessness. Abandoning land not only brought pressure from public opinion, but hunger and lawlessness would also make managing the regions a nightmare. But what could be done?
This was a crisis for civilization, not a game. Every moment required tough choices.
"Dr. Ryan, so you think it's impossible to find the target?" Carius forced a smile.
"Very difficult."
"Is the battle canceled?"
"On the contrary, we must find it. Against human firepower, lower-tier Honkai beasts are not a concern. If Fire Moth are really going to attack, they should focus on high-level Honkai beasts and Herrscher, executing pinpoint eliminations without leaving any potential threats."
Ryan thoughts were clear, pointing to the numerous red dots on the map, few of which could be confirmed as high Honkai Energys.
"Global hunting has only been going on for a few months, and emperor-level Honkai beasts have rarely been found. This supports my earlier hypothesis—they've really blended in with their own kind. So, Vinal, Major."
The young man suddenly called out, looking up confused, only to meet Ryan expressionless face and deep gaze.
"Honkai, can have a hierarchy. It can have clear goals and can operate in groups, as long as—"
"It wants to."