"This is… honestly a little startling…"
Möbius had originally assumed Liu Bai had scavenged something like an arrowhead or a blade tip at best. But as he laid out one pristine Dead Soldier material after another, she shot to her feet.
"Raven, look at this and then look at yourself. A complete Frost Sickle scythe."
Möbius descended the steps, fingers tracing the blade with unmistakable fascination.
"Last time I asked you to capture one alive, you refused no matter what."
"Killing and capturing alive are two different things…" Raven's mouth twitched at the memory.
Other Dead Soldier variants were manageable, but the risk of live-capturing a Frost Sickle was astronomical.
Control skills? Raven had zero interest in testing them with her own body.
"Not an ordinary Frost Sickle either… hm. Feels like one specially favored by Honkai." Möbius purred like a cat that had scented tuna, already dissecting the "can" by variety. "Condition pristine doesn't look like it came from heavy combat at all… tsk tsk. And besides this, hm… a Divine Knight Dead Soldier longbow, Dead Soldier garb…"
The Divine Knight loot had come from the last of Liu Bai's remaining Elixirs of Love.
Raven treated Möbius's veiled jab as background noise.
No way was she going to capture one alive… As for Liu Bai managing to obtain these materials? That was his own skill.
Yes neither the speaker nor the listener took the earlier words seriously. Honkai Beasts weren't running a charity; you didn't walk away with loot without fighting.
"Hey, kid."
Möbius's tone suddenly sharpened as she pointed at Liu Bai.
"What is this?"
She pinched a small scrap of fabric between two fingers.
Liu Bai glanced over and answered honestly. "Underwear."
"Hah?"
"Dead Soldier underwear. Didn't you know, Dr. Möbius?"
"Dead Soldier… underwear."
Möbius stared at the white scrap in silence.
Underwear… underwear…
Dead Soldiers wore underwear?
This was news to her.
Could it be some ultra-rare material?
It did have impressive tensile strength, and the Honkai energy saturation was substantial.
"Hm… fine. Underwear it is."
Möbius didn't dwell on it.
Decision made: next research topic—the genesis of Dead Soldier undergarments.
"Alright, let me price these for you. The Frost Sickle materials are quite valuable… the rest are average. I'll round it up for you—two hundred fifty."
"Hah?"
"Two million five hundred thousand." Möbius rolled her eyes. "Done. Go back now. Tomorrow Gray Serpent will set up an account and transfer the funds."
She gave Liu Bai no room to haggle—though the figure already exceeded his expectations.
[Möbius Favor: 15]
[World Serpent Favor: 15]
The advantage of a one-leader faction: faction favor tied directly to the leader's favor.
"Oh, right before you go, let me draw some blood."
Liu Bai and Guinaifen had no interest in wandering World Serpent's halls. They returned straight to their little home in the Serenitea Pot.
Liu Bai, as usual, skipped the pot spirit.
The moment they entered, they were greeted by a radiant smile.
"Liu Bai sir, Miss Guinaifen—welcome back~"
"Good evening, Firefly."
"Looks like Firefly-jiejie's spirits are way up!"
"More or less…" Firefly scratched her cheek shyly. "You two didn't do anything dangerous, right?"
"Hm… well, boss almost lost his chastity—does that count?"
Smack.
Liu Bai smacked the back of Guinaifen's head with a water bottle.
"Ehh?! C-Chastity?!"
Firefly's face instantly blazed red. In her mind flashed an image of Liu Bai in a three-point outfit, pole-dancing on stage under the leering eyes of a crowd of wealthy older women.
"L-Liu Bai sir… how could you sacrifice so much for me…"
"…I'm pretty sure whatever you're imagining isn't what actually happened."
Liu Bai facepalmed, then bonked Guinaifen again with the bottle.
"Okay, okay—just kidding. Boss would never do anything weird."
Guinaifen raised both hands in surrender.
"But today really opened my eyes some people can make money literally anywhere. Boss, once we get out of here, I'm turning our adventures on this planet into a ballad. Title's already set: The Ballad of Little Guizi's Hardship!"
"And me?"
"You're obviously the noble benefactor who rescues Little Guizi from peril!"
"Get real."
Liu Bai poked her forehead with the bottle.
"What about me?" Firefly seemed genuinely interested now.
"Hmm… let me think. Firefly-jiejie, you're…"
While Guinaifen animatedly spun her tale, Liu Bai stepped outside.
"Master, welcome ba—"
The pot spirit began its greeting, then abruptly fell silent.
Pot spirit: "…"
Liu Bai: "…"
Man and pot stared at each other amid the sound of cascading waterfalls.
"You were saying?"
Liu Bai looked genuinely baffled.
"You… didn't skip this time…"
The pot spirit shook its chubby body, looking deeply shadowed.
But it recovered quickly.
"Ahem! Master, welcome to the Serenitea Pot! I am your dedicated housekeeper pot spirit~—"
"Skip."
"…"
The pot spirit froze. Its gaze filled with visible grievance.
How could you do this to me?!
"I want to buy things."
"…Here is the catalog."
With effort, the pot spirit produced a booklet.
"Three sets of ordinary bedding, two wooden folding screens. That'll be seven hundred."
Of the original five thousand, Liu Bai still had nine hundred left. He intended to use it to furnish the hut once Möbius's money arrived tomorrow, he could renovate properly.
"Thank you for your patronage."
The pot spirit accepted payment and handed over five small building blocks, then slipped in the usual ad.
"If you wish to customize furniture, please visit Ms. Xianyun of Liyue Chamber of Commerce."
"Noted."
Liu Bai gave a polite nod, then returned inside and unfolded the bedding and screens from the blocks.
"Eh—beds now?" Guinaifen looked relieved at the sight of the screens and bedding.
She'd been quietly wondering about sleeping arrangements for a while but hadn't found a good moment to ask.
"We'll make do tonight. Tomorrow we'll have real money—time to properly upgrade this little thatched hut."
"Honkai activity in Sky City sector has been increasing anyway… and now extraterrestrials show up on top of it…"
In an ordinary hotel room, Rita—still in her maid attire—turned toward the white-haired loli beside her.
"Theresa, Vice-Principal… what do you think?"