Honkai, But With a Spirit Simulator

"Therefore, although my personal feelings lean towards slicing you into sashimi… cough, I mean, sections, it's not feasible just yet."

"...Are you just trying to take revenge under the guise of research?"

Liu Bai's lips twitched.

"Well, you have to trust my ethics as a scientist."

"But I don't trust the petty heart of a tsundere."

"—Who are you calling a tsundere!?"

"Someone seems to be self-aware enough to recognize themselves."

"Ugh… The first phase of research will tentatively be 'The Spirit's impact on modern equipment.'"

Einstein pulled out a notepad she carried with her and confirmed Liu Bai's research project.

"Uh… What do you need me to do?"

"Hmm… Amuse us while we conduct the experiments?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Einstein's lips.

"The first phase of the experiment is just to determine whether you can interfere with modern equipment, so you don't have to do anything. Just watch Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla conduct the experiment."

Einstein had a habit of referring to herself in the third person and would occasionally use her name to refer to herself.

Liu Bai found it quite amusing at first.

"Are just the two of you enough?"

"The first phase is enough." Einstein nodded. "But the second phase…"

"Could I ask what the second phase is?"

Liu Bai cautiously interrupted.

"According to your self-introduction, you can possess various non-sentient, inanimate objects, right? The second phase is to study that—'The changes brought about by the Spirit's possession of modern equipment and the principles of possession.'"

"...That's a very well-organized experiment."

Something's not right, is it? Why did I go from being a Spirit to a research subject?

"But, if I'm going to be researched by you, why do I have to amuse you?"

"Hmm… Then should we have Dr. Tesla amuse you?"

"Hey!" Tesla strongly protested.

"I find some of Dr. Tesla's reactions quite interesting." Einstein continued, speaking as if stating a law of Physics.

"Cannot refute."

"Don't 'cannot refute' in this kind of situation, you Spirit!"

The remarkably interesting Dr. Tesla—like right now.

Making a tsundere flustered is one of life's pleasures.

As an aside, Liu Bai believed that the other pleasures one could derive from a tsundere were seeing them filled with regret and crying their eyes out, and when they got all "tsun" in bed.

"I'm getting chills down my spine again for some reason."

Tesla had a feeling that her future might not be so good.

"Well, if Dr. Tesla isn't interesting enough, I can also tell some jokes and play some pranks on you."

"Riesel's jokes never sound like jokes, and neither do her pranks."

As a return, Tesla unhesitatingly chose to undermine Einstein.

"You see, Riesel's face is always so serious when she's joking. I'd believe it if she said she was presenting a paper!"

Tesla, still full of resentment from being scared, said.

"Is that so?" Judging from her tone, Einstein didn't seem too surprised by Tesla's assessment.

"Then, the Ghostly Gentleman's treatment is settled. Dr. Tesla will amuse the Ghostly Gentleman once a day, and Dr. Einstein will tell the Ghostly Gentleman a joke every day."

"Riesel!"

It seemed Tesla was still quite unhappy.

But…

Tesla considered the future research… Okay, it's just amusing him once, it's not unacceptable.

"But speaking of which… Don't you have a name?" Tesla stared at the air beside her. "It's too strange to just keep calling you Spirit, Spirit."

Tesla unexpectedly noticed this detail—Liu Bai's name.

"Didn't I say?"

"No, you just said you were a Spirit and told us to call you Ghostly Gentleman."

"I thought you wouldn't care about that…" Liu Bai scratched his head. Of his three hosts, Rita and Mobius knew his name, except for Aponia, who called him God.

But those two had always called him: Ghostly Gentleman.

So much so that Liu Bai himself didn't really care about it anymore.

"If you don't mind, I can give you a name, like Walter or something?"

Einstein's lips curled up slightly, seemingly very eager to name Liu Bai.

"No, I have a name. I'm called Liu Bai… Although it doesn't matter if you continue to call me Ghostly Gentleman."

For Liu Bai, the name "Ghostly Gentleman" felt more familiar than his real name.

Of course, more importantly—you really can't name someone Walter.

Chapter 18: Accidental Gains

"But speaking of which, if we want to carry out the second phase of the experiment, it seems a bit beyond our capabilities with just the two of us."

"Look for outside help?"

Tesla understood Einstein's judgment, but when it came to outside help…

"The only ones we can find are those old women, I guess…"

Tesla seemed to recall some bad memories, but she also knew how talented the old woman she mentioned—her teacher—was.

"Alright, I'll go write the application first. You, Spirit, don't go barging into a young lady's room just because you're a spirit."

"I personally have no intention of taking a trip to the garbage dump."

Liu Bai replied politely.

"Huh—? Who are you calling's room a garbage dump!?" Tesla immediately blew up upon hearing Liu Bai's words. "Wait, how did you know my room is a bit messy? Tell me! Have you been spying on me since a long time ago?"

Fredericka Nikola Tesla, inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, likes stuffed dolls, her advantage is being a beautiful girl, her disadvantage is… extremely poor living skills.

For example, piling up pizza boxes everywhere in her room, even outside the room…

Tesla's face was already flushed red. If this damned spirit had really been monitoring them since a long time ago…

"I'm going to fight you—!"

[Your existence has successfully aroused Einstein and Tesla's research desires. With you as the center, Imperial Research Institute, Lab 42, under the guise of Tesla's wild ideas, has begun research on spirits. As a perk of being researched, two beautiful girls will now be trying to make you happy every day. Einstein Compatibility +5%]

[The next day, in just one night, Tesla had already finished the application. Before long, the lab officially launched the first phase of research on spirits. Einstein Compatibility +2%, Tesla Compatibility +1%]

[At the request of the experiment, you observed a small electrical appliance design. Due to your amazing learning ability, you quickly gained a preliminary understanding of electrical machinery. Due to the joint experiment (being experimented on), Einstein Compatibility +1%, Tesla Compatibility +1%]

[You have acquired the skills: Electricity lv2, Mechanics lv1]

Liu Bai was stunned. This was the first time he had learned a skill in the simulation… Sure enough, having research ability made things easier.

With Mobius's almost monstrous research ability, mastering the basics of many disciplines was no problem for Liu Bai.

In this day and age, it really comes down to talent…

Liu Bai sighed softly in his heart as the simulation continued.

[In the evening, Einstein told you a not-so-cold joke. You very cleverly played the role of a supportive comedian, Einstein Compatibility +2%]

[Tesla also told you a cold joke. Although it was really, really cold, you still very carefully played the role of a supportive comedian, which made Tesla look at you more favorably—although she can't see you, Tesla Compatibility +5%]

[The next day, you continued to do experiments, still attentively observing the experiments of the two great scientists who changed the world in history, learning a lot. In the evening, a not-so-cold joke and a very, very cold joke were still waiting for you, Einstein Compatibility +2%, Tesla Compatibility +1%]

[Experiment, then cold joke]

[Experiment, then cold joke]

[Experiment, then cold joke]

Soon, Liu Bai had been in this lab for a month.

"My head is full of cold jokes now… I'm starting to admire my own EQ."

The truth is, our Dr. Tesla may have the potential to become a joke, but she has absolutely no ability to tell jokes.

Einstein, on the other hand, might be able to tell them very well, as long as she doesn't have such a serious expression when telling them.

As for the gains from this month…

Liu Bai glanced at his System Panel, and could only say that the gains were very large.

First, there was compatibility. As long as he experimented with them and listened to cold jokes, it was like being ordinary roommates. However, because Liu Bai's number of interactions with these two people every day was the highest among all hosts, Liu Bai's compatibility with the two was also increasing rapidly. So far:

[Einstein Compatibility: 60%, Tesla Compatibility: 72%]

That's right, in this month, Tesla, who clearly didn't like Liu Bai very much, had actually surpassed Einstein in terms of favorability… cough, compatibility.

Originally, Tesla's compatibility increased by about 1% every day, sometimes not even increasing at all. However, starting from a certain day, it suddenly started increasing by 2%, 2%, sometimes even reaching 3% or 5%.

Einstein's compatibility growth had begun to slow down gradually, while Tesla's compatibility growth had begun to accelerate instead.

After a month, Tesla's compatibility had reached 72%—although Tesla still acted like she didn't like Liu Bai very much.

Is this tsundere?

Too bad Tesla isn't blonde.

After a slight sigh, Liu Zhao looked at the three additional skills on his panel:

Physics lv8, Mechanics lv7, Engineering lv6.

Due to Liu Bai leeching off too many experiments, Electricity successfully combined with a bunch of other Physics subcategories to form Physics.

Similarly, the level 7 Mechanics and level 6 Engineering were also obtained this way. However, with the increase in skill levels, the research capabilities derived from Mobius had reached their limit. It was no longer possible to continue gaining experience by watching experiments.

"Einstein, I'd like to participate in the experiment today."

"Aren't you always here?" Tesla said casually, munching on pizza.

"Am I to understand that you want to do experiments with us?"

Compared to Tesla, who was preoccupied with eating and hadn't given it much thought, Einstein's movements noticeably paused.

"That's right, that's what I mean. If possible, I'm willing to be your assistant."

"Dr. Einstein has no objections," Einstein said, looking at Tesla. "Dr. Tesla?"

"Me? Well... it's not much different from now, so I don't mind."

Tesla was stunned, thought carefully for a moment, and couldn't think of any reason to refuse, so she nodded in agreement.

If it had been a month ago, Tesla might have said something like, "Are you sure this guy can be a good assistant?"

"In that case, welcome Mr. Liu Bai as an assistant at Imperial Research Institute, Lab 42," Einstein said with a smile, accepting Liu Bai's request. "Come to think of it, today is exactly the one-month anniversary of Liu Bai's arrival at the lab, isn't it?"

"Uh... yes, is there some kind of commemorative event?"

"What are you thinking? The lab doesn't have time to throw a celebration for you," Tesla glanced at Liu Bai with a hint of disdain.

"But we can't just do nothing," Einstein said, propping her chin up in thought for a moment. "Then let's eat some mushrooms."

Tesla: ???

Chapter 19: Titan Prototype?