After Leo Ash left Dr. Magi's sight... well, he should probably be called Dr. Magi now.
After leaving Dr. Magi's sight, he immediately took out his phone and dialed the number he had found earlier.
"Hello, Mr. Ash, what is it?"
A cold voice asked from the other end of the line.
"I believe I just went to your hospital yesterday to collect the bodies of the Honkai disease patients, didn't I?"
"Mr. Bolong, my call today has nothing to do with that matter."
Leo Ash gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking to Bolong.
"I want to join Fire Moth—"
"Hah, Fire Moth has very high standards for medical skills. I'm sorry, Mr. Ash, but your skills..."
"—'s combat unit."
"...Mr. Ash, I don't have time for your jokes."
On the other end of the line, Fire Moth member Bolong frowned slightly at Leo Ash's highly unusual words.
"If you've developed a psychological illness from treating Honkai patients, I can personally help you contact an excellent psychiatrist."
"But joining Fire Moth's combat unit is not a joking matter."
Outside the illusion, Su nodded in agreement upon hearing Bolong's warning.
Although Su had lost control of the illusion, everything within it was still proceeding somewhat normally.
Bolong, as the bodyguard of Su's second mentor, Spaci, might seem like an unapproachable and cold person, but he was actually warm on the inside.
In the past, Su had received a lot of care from this bodyguard big brother, so he naturally remembered him deeply.
And now, the Bolong in the illusion, though annoyed by Leo Ash's seemingly crazed words, was still trying to help him.
Mr. Ash, please wake up.
This is not what you are supposed to be doing in this illusion!
Then, as expected, Su did not see the scene he wanted to see.
"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Bolong, but if you have a moment, I'd still like to discuss some things in person."
Leo Ash, holding the phone, returned to his office and spoke to Bolong with a confident expression.
"You've known me for a while. You should know I'm not one to make empty boasts."
"...Then, please wait a moment."
Thirty minutes after Bolong hung up, Leo Ash saw Bolong's impatient figure at the office door.
Sigh, as the bodyguard for the head of Fire Moth's Fifth Science Division, this guy actually came.
He's a good person. It's just a shame that good people like you don't live long.
"Mr. Ash, my time is very precious."
Bolong, appearing before Leo Ash, took off his sunglasses and spoke with a displeased look.
"You asked me to come here. How exactly do you plan to convince me?"
"Oh, the method is actually quite simple. After all, for a fighter..."
Within Bolong's line of sight, Leo Ash's figure suddenly vanished.
Then, as Bolong tried to react, Leo Ash, having entered the state of Mind Like Still Water, had already placed his finger on the back of Bolong's head.
"—a conversation can be settled with a fist in an instant, can't it?"
With Leo Ash's finger pressed against the back of his head, Bolong felt a cold sweat break out all over his body.
In his memory, Leo Ash was just a good-natured doctor who worked hard to treat the Honkai disease.
But now, the instantaneous action Leo Ash had just performed, and the palpable killing intent he was now emanating, all told Bolong that the young doctor before him was undoubtedly an outstanding warrior.
For Bolong to be the bodyguard of a science division head, his skills within Fire Moth were naturally not poor.
And for Leo Ash to subdue Bolong in an instant...
Perhaps only that young man who defeated the Seventh Herrscher could rival such a master in a hand-to-hand fight without using Honkai Beast factors.
"Alright, Mr. Bolong, I hope you will seriously consider my request."
Lowering his arm, Leo Ash turned to Bolong with a brilliant smile.
"I sincerely want to join Fire Moth. I believe I have the qualifications now, don't I?"
Facing the young doctor who had retracted his killing intent, Bolong still felt a chill emanating from Leo Ash's body.
"...Please wait a moment. I will have Director Wraith write a letter of recommendation for you."
"But Dr. Ash, it's not too late to turn back now. After all, the front lines of the fight against the Honkai are hell."
"Hell, you say..."
Listening to Bolong's advice, Leo Ash reined in his killing intent and the smile on his face, speaking to Bolong coolly.
"In the face of the Honkai threat, we humans are already living in hell."
"If we want everyone to break out of this hell, then everyone should be giving their all for the future."
Watching everything in the illusion, Su knew that his test was a complete failure.
From the moment Leo Ash chose the path of joining the combat unit, he could no longer walk the same life path as Su.
And Su's test was originally designed to guide Leo Ash through the same life experiences as Su in the illusion, to see if Leo Ash would make the same choices.
But now—what choice? This life path had already deviated to the ends of the earth.
What other secrets does Mr. Ash have?
Somehow I feel that, in this illusion...
—all of his skills are still intact?
.......
About two days later, recommended by Bolong and Wraith, who had replaced Spaci, Leo Ash successfully joined Fire Moth's combat unit.
And Leo Ash didn't waste any time in the new recruit unit. He went in, beat up all the nitpicking fellow recruits and the commanders who wanted to haze him, and successfully attracted the attention of others through his negative reputation.
At this moment, Leo Ash could feel that his state of mind had undergone a strange transformation within this illusion.
Because the System still popped up to babble occasionally, Leo Ash was certain that his life was not in danger.
And under the confirmation of no life-threatening danger, the current Leo Ash felt as if he had unlocked some strange switch, directly casting aside his past demeanor into another dimension.
Of course, he wasn't beating people up just because he was bored.
Besides needing to fight to reacquaint himself with the feel of combat, Leo Ash's main goal was to attract the attention of certain warriors.
In this illusion, he had taken on Su's identity.
And where there was Su, there would naturally be Kevin.
And after he had seen the photo of Leo Ash and that 'Kevin', he of course knew that the other person's identity was...
"Leo Ash?!"
Before Leo Ash, Rita Rossweisse, dressed in Kevin's combat suit, looked at this long-unseen friend in astonishment.
"Is it really you?"
"Yes, it is."
Looking at the troublemakers still wailing on the ground, Leo Ash calmly walked towards his 'long-lost' best friend.
"I came looking for you, Rita."
Seeing the friend she hadn't seen in so long, Rita wanted to embrace him.
But the thought that her body had been injected with Honkai Beast factors, making her unable to touch others anymore, made Rita's body freeze before she could touch Leo Ash, as she hadn't yet grown accustomed to this change.
However, while Rita's movement stopped, Leo Ash's did not.
In the next instant, Rita, the strongest warrior of Fire Moth, finally reacted—Leo Ash had already touched the 'thing' he should not have touched.
"Let go of me, Leo Ash! If this continues, your body will—"
Rita wanted to struggle frantically, but she was also worried that her strength was too great and would injure Leo Ash, so she couldn't fully exert her power. Thus, she was completely unable to break free from Leo Ash's embrace.
At the same time, Leo Ash did indeed feel a slight pain spreading across his body.
However, contrary to what everyone imagined, Leo Ash did not let go of Rita.
"Rita, seeing you alive and kicking puts my mind at ease."
"Although I don't understand what happened to your body, in the past, we were more than just best friends; we were like family living together."
"Since we're family, then we should embrace each other."
"You... idiot!"
Pushing Leo Ash away forcefully, Rita angrily shouted at the other soldiers around them.
"Take this idiot to the infirmary!"
"Oh, there's no need for that."
At that moment, Leo Ash mobilized the mana in his body, casting a Powerful Healing Spell on himself. Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, he instantly healed the frostbite on his body.
"Rita, I came to Fire Moth not only to see you but also to fight against the Honkai."
"I am a talented person. It's a waste of time to let me climb the ranks through the normal promotion channels."
After watching these scenes in the illusion, Su felt that something was wrong with the plot.
From the day Leo Ash began to deal with the Third Eruption, Su had been paying attention to this talented junior.
And according to Su's observations, although Leo Ash had always been an extreme avenger bent on getting revenge on the Honkai, in his daily life outside the battlefield, he could only be described as moderately extreme.
But now, watching Leo Ash who directly beat people up to gain exposure and then revealed his trump cards on the spot to attract attention, Su felt that Leo Ash's style had completely changed.
To put it bluntly, he felt that Leo Ash was 'more unrestrained'.
Having lost that faint, almost imperceptible sense of restraint, Leo Ash seemed like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate, having completely transformed in both temperament and behavior.
Sigh, Mr. Ash, you don't know that the higher-ups in Fire Moth are full of insects holding humanity back.
Although they are not as terrifying as Mr. Otto or Ms. Cocolia, who would sacrifice hundreds or thousands of people at a time, their control over Fire Moth is too strong.
By revealing these powers, you will only...
Will only...
Will only...
Thinking of this, Su suddenly realized why he felt something was off.
Leo Ash being able to use his own powers in the illusion was already beyond Su's expectations.
But the powers Leo Ash could use were not limited to the fighting techniques and healing abilities he had trained.
In fact, among Leo Ash's trump cards, his fighting and healing arts were not his core ones.
If at this time, the higher-ups of Fire Moth sent someone to assassinate Mr. Ash...
No, could it be?
Could it be that Mr. Ash intends to do this?
..
About two months later, relying on his healing skills and outstanding combat experience, Leo Ash had become one of the top warriors in Fire Moth.
Even though he had not yet undergone the MANTIS transformation surgery, no one dared to underestimate him.
Moreover, his reputation in the combat units was now ridiculously high.
Rita, as the strongest warrior, had a relationship with Leo Ash as close as that of kin.
And the other warriors who went on missions with Leo Ash were either carried by him and had a blast, or were healed by him with his healing arts and were deeply grateful.
It could be said that aside from Dr. Bianka, who had replaced Mei as Fire Moth's chief scientist, and Rita, the strongest warrior who wielded a Divine Key, Leo Ash was the hottest new talent among the mid-level ranks of Fire Moth during this period.
However, precisely because Dr. Bianka and the warrior Leo Ash were too dazzling.
Certain insects finally couldn't sit still. They hired an assassin and, after Rita and Fire Moth's second strongest warrior, Elysia, had left the organization, launched an assassination attempt on Leo Ash and Dr. Bianka.
Of course, all of this—was within Leo Ash's calculations.
Having seen the original plot, Leo Ash naturally knew that some scumbag higher-ups were not on humanity's side and were planning to get Mei killed.
Now in this illusion, Mei had been replaced by Bianka. As long as Leo Ash made others think that 'Leo Ash is just a slightly better fighter with special healing abilities,' he too would naturally be placed on the assassination list.
And now, facing the assassin before him who exuded a familiar aura, Leo Ash directly caught the other's tachi between two fingers and punched her in the stomach.
"Beauty, instead of wasting your time on assassination, why not join me in a grand undertaking?"
"Give me your employer's coordinates, and I'll tell you a secret."
"A secret about your sister."
...