The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

Because Lee camped at the respawn point, the Herrscher of Void didn't even manage to cause any damage at Fire Moth HQ before being sliced down. The biggest casualties she caused were a few researchers twisting their ankles while running away.

But her contribution was huge. Besides providing valuable new research materials for Fire Moth, she also boosted her reputation to a new high. She was now at least at a Revered level.

With Elysia's help, the Honkai beast swarm in Shanghai City was quickly eliminated, and casualties were kept to an acceptable level.

Carrying Lee's Fire Moth hero badge, and having eliminated the Honkai threat in Shanghai City, Elysia was directly recruited into Fire Moth without even taking tests.

Although it smacked of nepotism, it also showed her close relationship with Lee, so Elysia happily agreed.

With another high-level fighter, Fire Moth established a Special Operations Team, dedicated to handling major Honkai disasters.

The captain was naturally Lee, and Elysia became the vice-captain – although it was weird to have a captain and vice-captain without any members, Elysia had requested it, and Lee wouldn't refuse.

"So, why are you two big shots hanging out in my lab?"

Mobius turned back helplessly, looking at Lee and Elysia playing games in her lab. "You have your own department now, what are you doing here? You're heroes now, you should value your reputation and stay away from people like me."

"We've been here for two years, don't chase us away, Doctor." Lee looked up, smiling. "And everyone knows we're close. You should spend more time with me, so people won't misunderstand you."

"Exactly, more people, more fun" Elysia nodded in agreement, then pinched the baby in Lee's arms. "Right, Griseo?"

"Mn, like…"

"…Hmph, whatever."

Griseo was Blanca's child. Her father was a Fire Moth squad leader named Ato. Due to his many missions, Griseo was cared for by Blanca and often brought to the lab.

Although still young, Griseo was already a cute little beauty, and well-behaved. Even the tsundere Mobius would secretly give her candy, and Elysia, who couldn't resist cute things, was even more so.

But perhaps because Elysia was too enthusiastic, Griseo was closer to the quieter Lee and Mobius… After all, a big sister who came over with a creepy smile saying 'Cute Griseo, you can't escape my grasp~' was really scary.

"Speaking of which, Honkai infections seem to be increasing lately."

Seeing Griseo absorbed in her picture book, Lee looked up at Mobius and the pale Fire Moth soldier on the operating table. "They're sending them to your lab now?"

"Yeah, Honkai energy density is increasing worldwide… Civilian infection rates will rise, not just soldiers exposed to high-density Honkai sources. And it'll be more intense."

Mobius looked at the light red reagent in her hand, frowning and shaking it. "It's not easy to increase Honkai resistance for all humans. It's mostly determined at birth."

"Honkai erosion…" Lee shook her head. "Hard to imagine what it feels like. I've never experienced it."

"Because your Honkai resistance is ridiculously high. If the gene test results weren't normal, I'd suspect you weren't human." Mobius glanced at Lee and Elysia. "And another one with Herrscher-level Honkai adaptability… Sometimes I wonder if humanity evolved without me."

"I don't know, I was born like this." Elysia said innocently.

"Hmph, weirdos."

Mobius turned around, waving the reagent at Lee. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Good news, please." Lee smiled. "Good news always makes you happy and gives you confidence to face the bad news."

"Fine, good news – the MANTIS Warrior surgery you're interested in is making progress. We should have results within two years."

Lee's eyes lit up. MANTIS Warrior surgery, free of charge?!

The Emperor-class Honkai Beast MANTIS Surgery sold in the System Shop for eight figures. Should she catch a Judgement-class or even a Rule-class Honkai beast for materials? Higher cost-performance was always better!

But where to catch those big guys…

Mobius sneered, pouring cold water on her enthusiasm. "Don't be too happy yet. There's bad news."

"Ah, if it's about low success rate or risks, it's fine." Lee looked up, smiling. "I'm prepared."

"While those are factors, there's a more critical reason…" Mobius's smile turned wicked, watching Lee's anticipation.

"Simply put, you can't do this surgery."

"…Huh?"

Lee hadn't expected that answer.

"What do you mean, can't do it?"

"Literally. This surgery won't work for you." Mobius's mood improved seeing Lee's stunned face. "Your Honkai resistance is too high."

"This surgery fuses Honkai beast genes into the human body. These genes are a form of Honkai energy attack. If lucky, people with high Honkai adaptability can survive and achieve balance with the genes, becoming MANTIS Warriors."

"Honkai beast genes are destructive. The human body can only resist and hope not to be destroyed by the genes and die or become a monster. But with you, it's the opposite."

"Your Honkai resistance is too high. Honkai beast genes entering your body will be eliminated as foreign objects. MANTIS is impossible."

"…Huh?"

-----

ps. I always wondered if Elysia had MANTIS Warrior surgery.

Although many places in the story say she fused with the Vishnu, can a natural Herrscher undergo this surgery? In Mobius's Remembrance, when she talked about doing MANTIS surgery for Elysia, she mentioned not finding details of Elysia's surgery records. I feel like Elysia might not have had the surgery?

But she joked with Kalpas about fusing with the Vishnu, she wouldn't joke about that, right? Although it doesn't affect the plot, I'm curious. Because of this, I wondered if Elysia was born with pointy ears, and wrote it that way. But I'm probably overthinking it, even if she didn't have MANTIS surgery, she must have become that way later, otherwise people would have noticed.

I changed some descriptions, but I'm still curious – did Elysia have MANTIS surgery?

(T/L: Answer No: Elysia doesn't even know she is a Herrscher until the late game. She is a "pure human" when she is found in a forest near Vostok City and grows up like an ordinary child in an orphanage run by Mother Celia. If she had pointed ears from the start, she would have grown up in a lab, not an orphanage.)