"Ah, it's been so boring lately..."
For a rare change of pace, Fu Li wasn't cooped up in Mobius's laboratory today. Instead, he had come to a place with a peculiar name, yet one of the most important facilities in the MOTHs.
The [Helix Workshop]. Judging by the name alone, one would never guess it was the MOTHs' largest weapons research and development base. It sounded more like a stage, one befitting the existence who held the titles of this century's greatest magician, fraudster, expert, and more.
Vill-V.
The long corridor folded and stretched endlessly, as if it had no end.
Countless mirrors were packed densely onto the walls and floor, forming a labyrinthine sea of reflections.
Stepping inside felt like being shadowed by innumerable copies of oneself, easily creating an eerie sense of dislocation. But perhaps that was precisely the designer's intent.
Fu Li held a cup of coffee as he ascended the spiral staircase. In this ocean of shadows, his tall, slender figure seemed uncharacteristically lonely.
For no particular reason, as Fu Li looked at his own reflection, a feeling of vexation welled up from the bottom of his heart.
"The layout here has changed again... I suppose that's just like you, isn't it? Vill-V."
Fu Li's voice, heavy with suppressed annoyance, echoed in the air. He knew that from the moment he had stepped into this space, Vill-V had her eyes on him.
She always left a backdoor in her own creations that she could enter and exit at will.
"Oh my, I've been found out~ My dear major shareholder, long time no see."
Seeing her trick exposed, Vill-V emerged from behind a mirror with a beaming smile, landing in front of him.
"Do you like the house of mirrors I built for you? Was it a nice surprise?"
"Yes, it's well done, Vill-V. It certainly was a surprise. But the next time I come over, you really don't need to prepare this kind of surprise for me."
"My, my, Li. How have you started to become as dull as Mobius?"
Vill-V noticed that her arrangement did indeed seem to have made her major shareholder uncomfortable. After a moment of "thought," she pressed a button somewhere on her person.
In the very next second, the entire building began to rumble loudly. A moment later, all the surrounding mirrors had vanished.
He was her biggest shareholder, after all, and many of her projects required his financial support.
"This... Should I say, as expected of you? Magician."
"Oh my, as expected of you, Li. You recognized me right away."
Fu Li made no attempt to hide his surprise, and his reaction clearly brought Vill-V a great deal of pleasure.
"Alright, what is it you came to find me for?" Vill-V placed her hands on her hips, her curiosity piqued. She highly doubted this busy man would come looking for her with nothing to do.
"You know about the Key of Blankness, right? The one Dr. MEI created."
"Uh-huh, I know of it. What about it? Is the authority of Domination not enough for you anymore? You want me to fashion that Divine Key into a men's suit for you?"
"Hmm... You're half right. But actually, I want you to use the principles of the Key of Blankness to help me create a new Divine Key from scratch."
As he spoke, Fu Li handed Vill-V a design draft that was still just a rough sketch.
At the end of the day, his research talents were like Mobius's, focused on the biological field. When it came to mechanics, it was naturally a job for Vill-V.
"Oh, let me see. Unofficial Divine Key [Infinity Gauntlet]? Did Dr. MEI tell you my idea?"
Vill-V took the design draft, raised an eyebrow, and a corner of her mouth curled into an excited smile.
"Dr. Li, you should know that if you use the authority of [Domination] to control five gems, there's a high probability of success, but..."
"Why are you and Dr. MEI so unwilling to let me try? Are you worried that when the time comes, you, or even Kevin, wouldn't be a match for me?"
"Of course not." Fu Li shook his head, stating his thoughts with complete sincerity. "I just believe that every Vill-V is unique. No single Vill-V should be sacrificed. That's all."
"Ah, this..." Magician Vill-V was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
Although his words were a bit blunt, she didn't actually dislike them. After all, this guy Li was notoriously dense when it came to romance.
To put it crudely, even a dog on the street could tell that several outstanding girls liked him, yet he himself remained completely oblivious.
"Fine, I'll accept this commission. But... about the funding?"
"Just report the expenses upwards. If the higher-ups have any objections, just use my name."
"OK, no problem."
Vill-V rolled up the blueprints, then suddenly changed the subject.
"By the way, about you and Pardo. Is she still manically taking on missions? That doesn't seem like her..."
"..."
"Never mind..."
Vill-V shrugged, feeling she had said too much, but she couldn't help but add one more thing.
"I just want to remind you, at a time like this, for you two to be wasting time you could be spending together because of a tiff... it's truly a wasteful act."
"Yes, I know."
Fu Li sighed. The desire to leave this place had already sprouted in his heart, and he acted on it immediately.
"Anyway, I'm leaving the [Infinity Gauntlet] to you. And this weapon is very important, so don't you dare add any weird, unnecessary functions."
After giving this final instruction, Fu Li, for once, 'fled' the scene in a relatively flustered manner, leaving a helpless-looking Vill-V behind.
Well, what could she do? Since it was a request from her major shareholder, she supposed she'd have to get serious for a change.
---o---
Meanwhile, in an important mining area thousands of miles away.
Pardo sat in a hastily erected tent, carefully wiping the purple bloodstains from her chakram with a towel.
Beside her, a woman who also had pink beast ears was holding a necklace, silently looking at a photo of herself and her younger sister.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared next to Sakura, asking curiously:
"Wow, is this little Rin? She's so cute."
"Hm? Pardo? No, you're Naiyisi."
Sakura wasn't surprised by the newcomer's appearance. She simply gazed at the holographic projection on the necklace and answered gently.
"That's right. My little sister is cute, isn't she? I'll have you know, she's the most important person to me."
"Oh? The most important person?"
Black Pardo wagged her tail cheerfully. Due to the unique nature of her body, her cat fur didn't trigger Sakura's allergies, so she didn't have to be careful about tucking her tail away.
"That's right." Sakura nodded, the smile on her face growing even more tender. "The reason I joined the MOTHs was to protect her. What about you, Pardo? You must have someone like that too, right?"
Sakura's proud smile made Pardo, who was cleaning her weapon, lift her head. An image of the day she joined the MOTHs involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
That day, they had packed up the cat cafe they had lived in for so long, reminiscing about every little moment of their life together.
But now, a bit like Klein, she was constantly using work to numb herself, to the point where she hadn't properly seen him in a long time.
It really did... hurt a little...