Chapter 411: Greetings
"One new specimen… two new specimens… three new specimens! As expected of a new era—all of them are such fascinating new materials. I'm having the time of my life!"
"W–waaah! Doctor! Please let go!"
In the living room, beside the coffee table, Mobius was squatting on the floor, hugging a helpless Klein. Her eyes sparkled as she mercilessly kneaded Klein's chubby baby cheeks, completely ignoring Klein's struggling little legs and arms.
Sip—
Sigurd crossed one leg over the other and took a sip of tea, glancing toward Fu Hua, who was refilling his cup.
"Mind control? A combination of Authority and Fenghuang Down?"
"There's also some personal insight mixed into it. If caught off guard, I doubt many people could see through it easily."
"Well done. It deserves praise."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's favor."
A strand of gray hair slipped naturally from Fu Hua's ear, swaying gently as she nodded. She smiled with modesty and warmth, her eyes seeming to ripple with starlight.
Sigurd shot her a sidelong glance and said, "Undo it."
"Yes."
Fu Hua turned her gaze to Mobius, formed a lotus hand seal, and pointed lightly through the air at her.
"Grrk—gnaw—mm!!"
Mobius was lying on the floor, holding Klein's small body and gently gnawing on her cheek—when she suddenly stiffened.
"Hm???"
Mobius stared at Klein, whose cheek was still clamped between her teeth, her eyes utterly lifeless, and froze.
Then she sat up with Klein in her arms, weighed her lightly as if holding a child, and cradled her while stroking her thoughtfully.
"Hm… hypnosis? No—this isn't a physiological hallucination. It's confusion at the level of consciousness—Herrscher of Sentience's Authority?"
Thinking 🤔, Mobius shifted Klein upward—and bit her cheek again.
"Doctor, you should be awake by now, right?"
"I am."
"Then why are you still biting her?"
"There's no bubble wrap. And the texture is excellent."
"…Alright then."
Klein's little face went blank, her arms hanging limply at her sides, showing no intention of resisting.
Since this was Dr. Mobius's will, Klein decided to accept it. That was how she thought.
After gnawing at her playfully for a while, Mobius turned her head toward Fu Hua, who was wearing an apologetic smile, and narrowed her eyes.
"Well played, Hua. Your methods have changed—I even fell for it. Hurry up and let me study your body!"
Mobius didn't seem angry.
Or rather, she was a bit annoyed—but compared to boredom, Fu Hua's body clearly interested her far more.
Mobius was a woman with pursuits. To her, nothing was more important than exploring the evolution of life—at least, that was what she believed.
"Give it up. Her path is different from ours. It's built through meditation and spiritual cultivation—forming a metaphysical Honkai-energy circulation system within her inner world. Only she herself can use it, and only she understands it. It's extremely difficult to express or replicate through other means."
Sigurd set down his teacup and spoke frankly and calmly as Fu Hua gracefully and unhurriedly brewed more tea.
"If you really need an analogy—have you ever derived any concrete results from researching the Divine Melody technology?"
If it could truly be studied through conventional methods, Otto would have dissected Fu Hua long ago—perhaps he actually had, and simply failed to obtain any significant results. And Sigurd himself would likely have been unable to resist the temptation of the Edge of Taixuan, subjecting Fu Hua to a thorough inside-and-out investigation as well.
Fu Hua still hasn't developed any psychological trauma related to this even now, which pretty much proves that this stuff really is metaphysics—something scientists simply can't get a handle on.
Mobius kneaded Klein's cheeks, her delicate brows knitting slightly.
"Divine… Melody? An accidental byproduct from Dr. Mei's research on soulium—technology that uses mental resonance to achieve Honkai energy manipulation? Yes, that is extremely idealistic. If it weren't something Dr. Mei herself produced, and if the logic hadn't been repeatedly verified into a closed loop, I would've dismissed it as a joke."
As Mobius pondered, her gaze never left Fu Hua. To her knowledge, Fu Hua was one of the very few fusion warriors who had actually mastered Divine Melody.
However, in the Previous Era, even those who had mastered Divine Melody only gained a negligible boost in combat power—hardly worth mentioning—so almost no one had taken the technology seriously.
"At least for now, aside from some research related to the Authority of Sentience, I don't recommend you waste time on Fu Hua," Sigurd said sincerely as he set a cup of clear tea in front of Mobius. "That's pure metaphysics."
Mobius picked up the teacup, pried Klein's mouth open, ignored her resisting eyes and flailing little hands, and poured the tea into her mouth as she spoke:
"Tch… anyway, I want her blood."
"She's in a soulium body right now. Her real flesh-and-blood body is over there—in that husky."
Sigurd pointed to Senti, who was rapidly stuffing small biscuits into her mouth.
Senti looked up, cheeks puffed as she chewed, and spoke indistinctly:
"Th' hell y' sayin'?"
Naturally, no one paid her any attention.
Mobius simply looked at the person who actually held decision-making authority—Sigurd—and said:
"Then I want both. Who knows whether it's her body or her consciousness that's more special?"
"Know your limits. I'll give you one week."
Sigurd met Mobius's gaze and casually placed two metal test tubes filled with blood into her hand. After all, as a fellow mad scientist, Sigurd had long since kept samples of both Fu Hua's and Senti's blood.
Fu Hua's mouth twitched. She shot Sigurd a resentful look, then finally lowered her head and sighed, helpless to do anything about it.
"It's only to ensure we can create a soulium body compatible with you at any time. I stopped research-oriented experimentation a long time ago. Relax, this one week is mainly for her to give up and to adapt to the new environment. She won't be able to pull off anything significant."
Sigurd reassured Fu Hua, directly addressing what he believed was her main concern.
"Hmph!"
Mobius continued force-feeding tea to the resisting Klein, snorting in defiance. Just because others couldn't research it didn't mean she, Mobius, couldn't. Being able to do what others cannot—that's what makes a true genius!
After that brief show of stubbornness, she soon pinched Klein's poor cheeks again and laughed with delight.
"Hahahaha! As expected of the new era—giving me such an incredible surprise on the very first day. I'm looking forward to what comes next more and more! Sigurd, you'd better wait properly for my evolution!"
Mobius licked her glossy pink lips, her slit pupils staring straight at Sigurd, exuding the dangerous aura of a cold-blooded creature—clearly showing that she was still unwilling to give up on Sigurd's body.
"Try to keep things moving quickly. I can switch to a new body anytime."
Sigurd replied indifferently.
If Mobius could still find time to tinker with her own evolution under the workload he had planned, then rewarding her with a body would only be fair.
...
At the same time, on another corner of the blue planet.
A land once covered in lava was now overlaid with spreading layers of ice. Beautiful diamond-shaped snowflakes drifted down, settling upon the lucky remnants of fallen Honkai beasts.
Su narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin as he bent down to examine a massive, jagged claw.
"The size, strength, and activity frequency have all increased significantly… Is this era about to face its true trial as well?"
He let out a long sigh—part reflection, part unavoidable concern.
Kevin stepped through the wind and snow, coming to stand beside Su.
"We'll do what we can. Humanity will overcome the Honkai."
"Yes, it will overcome it…" Su replied. "Though preferably not through something like the Stigma Project."
"That depends on how far this era can go."
"If Sigurd falls first, you'll carry out the plan, won't you? But honestly, I think it's more likely he'll send us to the battlefield first. If anyone's going to die, it'll probably be us—before him."
Su said this with a smile, leaving Kevin momentarily speechless.
Strictly speaking, that is the rational approach—send the unstable factors out first to test the waters. If they died, no great loss.
And Kevin was undoubtedly the greatest unstable factor at present. He knew that perfectly well himself.
"Mmm-hmm, Sigurd is both wickedly playful and extremely smart. He'd definitely send Kevin off to die first—no doubt about it at all."
"Y-yeah, exactly, so even Elysia thinks th—wait. Elysia!?"
In that instant, Su's eyes flew wide open.
Even Kevin looked up at the sky, blinked once, then turned to look at the person who had spoken.
Like a peach blossom in full bloom—radiant and enchanting—a cute pink-haired girl stood smiling behind them. She raised her hand, wiggled her fingers, and greeted them with a cheerful smile.
"Long time no see, Kevin. Su."
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Current Chapter In Patreon: Chapter 464: Where Is Himeko?[1]
Link to the current chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348[2]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed[3]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348
[3] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed