St. Freya High School Dorms, Bronya's Bedroom.
"That bastard must be worried sick right now, isn't he?" Danzhu shouted arrogantly as she sat cross-legged next to Bronya, playing Homu Brawl.
"Not necessarily," Cangxuan said. She sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her slender, pale legs. With a rational air, she shook her head. "He can judge our success or failure based on the status of our NPC counterparts. Since we are unharmed, he has nothing to worry about. In fact..."
Compared to her sister, Cangxuan was much calmer. She knew their current tactic wouldn't truly worry Luo Hong. By joining forces to delay their entry into his world, they might even provoke a "storm-like" retaliation later.
"Sister Cangxuan, even if we didn't do this, would that guy really let us go?" Bronya asked, staring at the screen as she expressionlessly K.O.-ed Danzhu's character.
She didn't have mind-reading powers, but after meeting Cangxuan, she felt an incredible compatibility with her. She could guess what Cangxuan was thinking without her having to finish the sentence.
"True," Cangxuan nodded. "Every minute we delay going in is a minute less of humiliation. Besides... he won't be too excessive with us."
Though last night was already quite excessive, she thought privately. Neither she nor Danzhu had ever lost their composure like that before.
"So... is Mr. Luo Hong really as wicked as you say?" Ji Xuanyuan asked.
Now that she was no longer "Dark Ji Xuanyuan," she had regained her true, pure self. Her only problem was that she was a soul who needed to reside within the Xuanyuan Sword to survive.
"Wicked doesn't even cover it!" Danzhu turned back to the ghost of Ji Xuanyuan floating out of the sword. "You'll know how awful he is once you go over there."
With current technology, unless they could turn the Xuanyuan Sword into a humanoid body, even Danzhu, the "Goddess of Creation," couldn't extract Ji Xuanyuan's soul into a new body. They either had to let her stay like this or wait for Luo Hong to "pick her card." Thus, the sisters never even considered how to keep Ji Xuanyuan from Luo Hong's clutches—they only hoped to delay the inevitable.
"The one merit that guy has is that he keeps his word," Bronya interjected. "I'm not defending him, but if you play your cards right using that trait, you might have a chance to avoid... no, to delay his advances."
Avoiding it was impossible—not in this lifetime. But delaying the moment Ji Xuanyuan was "eaten" by Luo Hong? That was doable.
"Oh?" Cangxuan looked thoughtful. "You mean... a bet?"
"Exactly," Bronya said seriously. "He finds amusement in us, which means he's actually quite lonely. If we set up a game for him, he'll definitely be interested. If we win, his personality dictates he'll let us off the hook. If we lose, well, it's not like it matters—at most, we just let him have his way. He wasn't going to let us off anyway, so we have nothing to lose."
I have nothing left to lose regardless, Bronya thought.
"Makes sense!" Danzhu stroked her chin. "Then let's bet with him!"
"But..." Ji Xuanyuan's voice was small and hesitant. "You said Mr. Luo Hong is omniscient. What could we possibly bet on that would give us a chance to win?"
"He isn't omniscient," Cangxuan said, beginning to show her "Insightful" side. "He only knows what 'should' happen. If things change, he can't predict them perfectly. When he spoke about Dr. Mobius, he was using logical deduction, not absolute certainty. Furthermore—"
She looked at Bronya and interlaced her fingers under her chin. "According to Bronya's info, he only knows the 'game' plot. There are bound to be blind spots that a 'player' like him can't observe! We'll bet on those!"
Their advantage lay in the fact that Cangxuan and Danzhu were entities who should have faded from history. They wouldn't dare change things too much—if their actions caused a defeat against the Honkai, they would be eternal sinners. But for things already set in stone, they could make small "adjustments."
"Hua!" Danzhu's eyes lit up. "We'll bet on Hua's situation! But that guy is sharp; if we bet on whether we can turn her, he'll notice. And Hua doesn't even know us right now. How about we do this instead..."
Danzhu, who had a natural talent for mischief, began to lay out a plan. Soon, Cangxuan and Bronya joined in, while the pure-hearted Ji Xuanyuan trembled on the side. For a moment, she couldn't tell who the real "villains" were. But thinking they were doing this for her sake... she almost wished she had just rotted away in the sword!
Luo Hong's Territory.
"Achoo!"
Sensing something in the air, Luo Hong let out a massive sneeze.
"Are you alright, Mr. Luo Hong?" Mei asked with concern. Through their conversation, she had begun to view him as a friend.
"I'm fine," Luo Hong shook his head. "Someone must be thinking about me."
"Hehe, that's quite a romantic and humorous way to put it," Mei laughed gently. "But it's been so long and Bronya and the others still haven't arrived. Perhaps they are discussing how you've helped them and are too excited to sleep?"
"Yeah, probably," Luo Hong nodded with a warm smile, though he suspected the conversation was the exact opposite of what Mei imagined. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Miss Mei, would you like to visit the dojo?"