Einstein's flawless reasoning, coupled with that utterly serious expression, convinced Tesla after a brief hesitation.
"But don't, don't make it too scary."
Tesla knew all too well that Einstein's deadpan face gave everything she said a strangely persuasive quality.
But Einstein shook her head. "No, never mind. I have a feeling you'd take a ghost story seriously, Dr. Tesla."
"How could I—?!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Tesla bristled. "How could I possibly be afraid of ghost stories?! Go ahead and tell it! Does anyone still believe in ghost stories these days?!"
Was she really not afraid?
Tesla had even changed the way she referred to herself.
Liu Bai silently drifted behind Tesla, but he did not act immediately.
He was already certain that the blue-haired girl slumped on the sofa was indeed hinting at him. All he needed now was a signal...
Having just finished talking tough, Tesla suddenly felt a chill at the back of her neck... This feeling... something was not right?
"Then I'll begin."
"Go, go ahead." Tesla nodded stiffly.
"Once upon a time, there was a laboratory."
"A laboratory? Once upon a time?" Tesla eyed Einstein suspiciously.
Something really was not right.
"It's just the setting of the story. Please be quiet, Dr. Tesla." Einstein spoke expressionlessly. "Inside the laboratory were two beautiful girl scientists. One was the arrogant, overbearing, rude Dr. Tesla."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Tesla waved her hand in protest.
"Fine, she was an utterly ordinary Dr. Tesla. The other was the gentle, adorable, generous Dr. Einstein."
"I never knew there was someone like that in the laboratory!"
"Please be quiet." Ignoring Tesla's protest, Einstein continued. "One day, after making coffee, Dr. Tesla came out of the kitchen and suddenly heard a man calling to her from behind. Curious, Dr. Tesla turned around. The next day, everyone found Dr. Tesla's body in the living room."
"...?" Tesla felt as though her intelligence had been insulted.
"And that is the end of the story."
"Don't say something like that in the tone of someone who just told an epic tale! Liesel! You're just making fun of me, aren't you?!"
Tesla was just about to slam the table and rise when a chill suddenly ran through her body.
—A man's voice suddenly sounded behind her.
"Tesla... Tesla... Frederica Nikola Tesla~~"
Let's Study Ghosts!
"Gulp..."
Tesla swallowed. Just as she instinctively prepared to turn around, she suddenly remembered Einstein's childish little "ghost story" from earlier.
—"One day, after making coffee, Dr. Tesla came out of the kitchen and suddenly heard a man calling to her from behind. Curious, Dr. Tesla turned around. The next day, everyone found Dr. Tesla's body in the living room."
Then she looked at the freshly brewed coffee in her hand, and Tesla instantly lost her appetite.
"Um... Ein, did you hear something?"
Goosebumps rose all over Tesla's back.
"Miss Tesla~~"
What a polite ghost... No, no! This was not the time to think about that!
"A voice? You mean the one calling your name?" Einstein asked casually.
"You can hear it?"
Tesla immediately looked at her as if she had just seen family.
"Of course. It's only a prank, after all." Einstein reached out, picked up a bag of snacks, tore it open, and began eating.
"Whew... That's what I thought. How could ghosts possibly really exist?"
With teary eyes, Tesla finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the sofa.
"By the way, where did you put the speaker? And who was the man who recorded that voice for you?"
"There is no speaker."
"Let me see... Huh? There isn't?" Tesla's face went pale with horror. "Did you secretly bring a man into the laboratory?!"
"Mm... I suppose you could say that?"
A faint smile tugged at Einstein's lips.
"Wha-wha-wha-what?!" Tesla felt as though the sky had fallen. Her body, which had just gone limp, sprang right back up. "Where is he? Let me see! Did you hide him under the sofa?"
"No, I'm behind you, Miss Tesla."
Liu Bai glanced at Einstein. This great scientist was truly quite devious.
"W-what was that?!"
Tesla's twin tails successfully defied Newton and stood straight up.
...Come to think of it, Newton seemed to be a blonde beauty.
"Mm... Perhaps the Guardian Spirit of you two?"
"Huh—?" Tesla, gradually catching her breath, turned to Einstein with eyes full of bewilderment, as if asking, "What the hell is that?" She waited for her partner to give her an answer.
"Although I do not believe in ghosts either, based on everything we currently know, only a ghost seems capable of explaining this person's existence."
"This is a ghost! Ein, how can you be so calm?"
"When in doubt, Quantum Mechanics." Einstein casually replied while eating snacks.
"...Is it really okay for one of the founders of Quantum Mechanics to say that?" Tesla helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead as she watched Einstein calmly eat with obvious enjoyment. "By the way, what are you eating?"
"The mushrooms you bought."
"Mushrooms? I bought..."
Tesla seemed to remember something. The confusion on her face gradually turned to anger. "Those are truffles! Not mushrooms—!"
"Truffles are a kind of mushroom too."
"This is no place for you to talk, ghost—!"
After a prank, you successfully met Liesel Albert Einstein, who was gentle and composed but occasionally airheaded and fond of jokes, and Frederica Nikola Tesla, who was tsundere yet innocent and straightforward. Tesla compatibility -5% Einstein compatibility +5% Your existence had reshaped their worldview as scientists. However, Tesla remained hung up on your existence, while Einstein did not care much. In her words: "When in doubt, Quantum Mechanics"—though in reality, this world truly did contain entities known as "quantum ghosts."
"So, we have no choice but to live with a ghost from now on?" Tesla angrily pointed at the air beside her. "I refuse—!"
"Fine, then Ghostly Gentleman can live with you." After eating the last mushroom... well, truffle—Tesla firmly insisted that mushrooms and truffles should be discussed separately—Einstein made the decision.
"I refuse! Being alone in a room with a strange male ghost is way too weird, isn't it?"
As expected, Tesla immediately objected. "Isn't there an empty room? Room 105 is less than fifty meters away!"
"What about you, Ghostly Gentleman?"
"Me? I don't really mind. After all, I'm an honest gentleman."
"What a shameless thing to call yourself," Tesla added from behind.
"Then Room 105 it is. Here, Ghostly Gentleman, this is the key."
"Thank you." Liu Bai politely accepted the key from Einstein.
Then the atmosphere suddenly went cold.
Liu Bai noticed that both Einstein and Tesla were staring at him—or rather, at the key floating in midair.
"Say, Liesel, is it too late for me to study biology now?"
"I think physics would make it easier to analyze the nature of a 'ghost'—or perhaps theology?"
In that instant, Liu Bai felt as though wolves had set their sights on him.
At that moment, Liu Bai experienced the illusion of what it meant to be "sliced up" by the two beautiful scientist girls beside him.
"Um... Let's talk this out?"
This was the first time Liu Bai had encountered scientists who wanted to study him.
Although he knew it was impossible for him to be dissected, Liu Bai still panicked in the face of this situation.
Among his previous hosts, Rita had initially determined through testing that Liu Bai belonged neither to Honkai nor anything science could explain.
Aponia had directly regarded Liu Bai as her Guardian Spirit.
Mobius was a scientist as well, but her primary fields were biology and Honkai studies. Moreover, due to their close relationship, Mobius had merely been curious and had never wanted to research Liu Bai.
Tesla stared at the floating key. After struggling for a while, she suddenly shot out her hand and touched it.
"Didn't touch it?"
As expected, Tesla's hand passed straight through Liu Bai without any resistance.
Tesla turned to Einstein.
"Ein, let's make researching ghosts our next project."
"No." Einstein directly rejected Tesla's proposal. "A project like that would not even make it to headquarters."
"...True." Tesla shook her head in disappointment.
The next moment, Einstein changed the subject.
"So—Dr. Tesla, do you have any simple ideas that look valuable? Of course—preferably cheap ones."
When it came to wild imagination, even Einstein had to wholeheartedly admire her partner.
"You mean..." Tesla's eyes lit up. They were both researchers, so Tesla immediately understood what Einstein meant.
"Yes! Of course! I have as many ideas as you want—the ones that bastard Edison rejected before!"
This Name Really Shouldn't Be Used
"So, you're scamming research funds?"
"By reasonably proposing a valuable project, applying for funding, then having two genius scientists, Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, swiftly conquer the project through their efforts, with the remaining funds used for other research—every step is perfectly reasonable."
Einstein spoke as if she were describing something utterly insignificant.
"...Have you always done this?"
Liu Bai gave Tesla a strange look. Though Tesla could not see him, she could sense that odd gaze.
"Only occasionally... Well, it's just that those people really cannot understand some of our research."
Tesla was ultimately thin-skinned, and she looked somewhat guilty.
Liu Bai was already getting a strong sense of familiarity—wasn't this the same trick he had often seen in his previous life, where professionals fooled amateurs?
For example, someone would claim to be developing chips, poach employees from major chipmakers, have those professionals boast extravagantly, attract investments and policy support with great fanfare, then after two or three years, an investigation would reveal that the person never existed.
"I feel like instead of doing that, you might as well submit a project related to Quantum Mechanics. I doubt many people could understand it, and Quantum Mechanics might even have some connection to ghosts."
Liu Bai felt that if Einstein really started speaking incomprehensibly, she might even manage to confuse Otto.
"Mm... It's not impossible, but it would be easier to apply for follow-up funding if we actually produced results."
After hearing Liu Bai's words, Einstein actually seemed to consider it seriously, but she soon shook her head.
Good grief... She was even counting on follow-up funding...
"Then from now on, Ghostly Gentleman, you'll be assisting us with experiments."
"So I'm a lab rat now?"
"No, you'll merely assist with experiments." Einstein raised a hand to tidy her hair. "At our current level, we are completely incapable of analyzing a ghost—that is, your existence."
"That's right. Although I hate to admit it, your existence has completely surpassed the capabilities of modern science."
At some point, Tesla had put on a pair of red-framed glasses. With her arms crossed, she studied Liu Bai with a serious expression.
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