An Alliance of Offense and Defense!

No, if we're talking about first come, first served...

According to Liu Bai's own timeline, even excluding Rita, there was an Aponia before her...

To be honest, Mobius is alright, but Aponia is someone I haven't seen in a really long time.

Fortunately, Aponia's timeline is relatively late; the Dusk Alley part of the story takes place after the Seventh Honkai Eruption.

At this point in time, he hadn't met Aponia yet, and Aponia would soon join the Moth Chasers to Fire and become the second batch of Fusion Warrior, so Liu Bai didn't need to feel guilty towards Aponia.

However, it's clear that Liu Bai can only think about the matter of first come, first served; if he were to say such things aloud...

Well, Liu Bai felt that as long as he was still thinking, he wouldn't say such a thing out loud.

"Were you here first?"

Mei nodded. Both the story of Mobius and Liu Bai relying on each other and the ten years of waiting that followed deeply moved Mei.

But now that things have come to this, does she have any room to back down?

"However, the way you look right now... if I may be so bold, you seem a little guilty."

Mei, expressionless, delivered a critical hit that pierced through armor to Mobius.

"... Huh?" This sentence almost made Mobius lose his temper and explode.

"Please calm down."

Mei continued, her voice devoid of any emotion.

I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush.

Mei adjusted her glasses, feeling that she had finally seen through this "senior's" weakness.

Although the other party is no less capable than himself in any aspect, he is clearly too eager, which is causing him to start to lose his composure.

"Let me guess... you did this because of Senior Sister Hua?"

"Heh, what does a mere Hua mean to me?"

What is there to be afraid of about China?

Why would I be afraid of her? She's the kind of woman who would let her baby starve to death if she didn't buy formula after the baby was born?

Joke!

"Okay, I'll call and let Senior Sister Hua know about the PhD student's return—I think she'd be very happy to come back to headquarters." Mei made a move to take out her phone.

"Wait a minute—!"

Seeing Mei's action, Mobius quickly stopped her.

"Do you think you can handle Hua, that flat-chested girl?"

"... No matter what, Hua does have some merit, okay?"

Looking only at bust measurement, both Hua and Kiana are 84, but bust measurement cannot be directly converted into bra size.

Generally speaking, bust measurement refers to the upper bust measurement, and the conversion relationship with bra cup size is: bra cup size = upper bust measurement - lower bust measurement.

Of course, generally speaking, those with larger bust sizes tend to have larger breasts... although Hua is not an exception.

By the way, when Liu Bai saw Planck earlier, he realized that among the people he knew, besides Mobius in front of him, the other most important person was Planck.

Her bust size of 94 surpasses Himeko's in terms of measurements.

"A little? Yes, there are 'two points'," Mobius said dismissively, curling his lip.

"..."

Well, it seems unnecessary to discuss Hua's breasts in front of Mobius and Mei.

Whether it's a little bigger or a little smaller, it poses no threat to either of them.

Mei, whose personality is still relatively innocent, twitched the corner of her mouth.

Is it really that difficult for my senior sister...?

"Anyway, don't call that guy back... It's not impossible, but it will make things very complicated."

Mobius sighed wearily.

"That guy isn't very feminine in a way, but he's got the qualities of a wife... He's the kind of guy who looks like a perfect wife and mother. Trust me, if you call her back, you'll definitely regret it in the end."

With things having come to this point, Mobius had no choice but to admit it.

"Wife... taste?"

This is a rather novel idea.

Mobius simply nodded matter-of-factly. "Mei, do you think you can raise a child well after you have one? — I mean, the kind of child you can put aside your career to take care of and raise the child wholeheartedly."

"Probably... not."

Mei thought about it for a moment, hesitated for a second, and then shook her head.

Raising the child is not a problem; after all, it's what a mother should do.

But being wholeheartedly devoted... this doesn't mean I lack a sense of responsibility or want to shirk my duties.

Instead, it involves a very real issue—the conflict between career and family.

Clearly, scientists like Mei don't have much free time—although if they wanted to slack off, they would suddenly have a lot of time.

But Mei, with her personality, would obviously not do that.

So, let it go?

It's difficult. For Mei, scientific research is not a torment for a corporate slave, but a source of joy. Therefore, she doesn't have the idea of "going home to enjoy a peaceful retirement after getting pregnant."

Scientific research has become an integral part of my life... Although it's not that I can't let go of it, I don't realize that it's not an easy thing for me.

Giving up one equally important person for the sake of another important person in your life is an extremely painful choice.

"I think I'll choose to leave the child in the doctor's care... Of course, I won't shirk this responsibility as a mother, and I'll spend my free time with the child." After a moment of silence, Mei gave her answer.

"Pah! You bastard! Did I assume you were going to marry Liu Bai and have children?"

Chapter 126 An Alliance of Attack and Defense!

No, didn't you ask this question first? Although it wasn't explicitly stated that it was about marrying Liu Bai and having children... isn't that a tacit condition?

Mei was speechless at Mobius's reaction.

To be honest... it seems that after meeting Liu Bai, Mobius's IQ would intermittently drop.

Then, Mobius sighed, "At least you thought about giving up, but for me, giving up is absolutely impossible."

Mobius sighed again.

"I want to help humanity evolve. Although this was just a childhood dream, it has always been my goal."

Mobius looked at Liu Bai on the table, "I can't give up, of course..."

Mobius didn't know if he would give up if Liu Bai asked him to give up this goal one day.

So Mobius changed the subject.

"It should be said that we are both too outstanding, making it impossible for us to truly let go of our careers, but Hua is different."

Mobius's tone was inexplicably displeased.

"She was just an ordinary girl. If it weren't for the Honkai and Liu Bai, Hua would have been an ordinary person who lived an unremarkable life."

While it has a bit of a Versailles feel to it, to be honest, even without the Honkai, she and Mei would have become top scientists; at most, her research would just not have been as intense.

What? You're asking what if there's no Liu Bai?

This is indispensable.

"So, Hua can stay at home and be a good wife and mother without any pressure, while the two of us can only decide, after much deliberation, to leave the child with Liu Bai to take care of."

"Dr. Mobius, please do not assume that you and the doctor are married and have children."

"...You're surprisingly vengeful." Mobius's lips twitched.

"It's just that we happened to seize the opportunity."

Mei responded calmly.

"However, it may indeed be as Dr. Mobius said, that the two of us may really find it difficult to be good mothers."

"... Do you think you can be a good wife?" Mobius stared at Mei...

"No matter what, I can cook."

Mei said expressionlessly.

After starting junior high school, she no longer needed Liu Bai to make her late-night snacks. Now, Mei's cooking skills are quite good—no wonder she has Mei's face!

"..."

Mei's answer made Mobius twitch his lips, because to be honest, she really wasn't very good at cooking.

It's probably something that won't kill you...

After all, she hadn't really studied cooking.

Mobius looked at Liu Bai with a hint of resentment.

"... Why are you looking at me like that?" Liu Bai asked, looking puzzled. "If it's about raising a child, I don't care..."

"No, it's just that you took such good care of me back then that I still don't know how to cook very well now."

"... Is it my fault?"

Liu Bai was speechless. "Mobius, what gave you the illusion that you'll cook for yourself when I'm not around? You'll definitely order takeout."

"..."

Top-notch sabotage.

"Well, anyway, looking at it this way, we're quite alike, aren't we?"

Mobius said with a smile.

Mei will not comment on this—although Mei is not prepared to admit such a thing, she cannot deny that what Mobius said was not wrong.

Aside from a few minor differences, the two of them are actually quite alike.

What do you want to do?

"Nothing much—it's a defensive alliance."

Mobius extended his hand in invitation, saying, "Although I am very unhappy about this, to be fair, allying with you is better for me than allying with Hua."

"Hey, hey, hey, is it really okay to do this in front of me, the person involved?"

Liu Bai's lips twitched involuntarily as he watched the scene before him. "Shouldn't these kinds of things usually be done behind my back?"

"Because... we want to make an example of them?"

"Although I don't know who the mountain is, the tiger is definitely me... I really appreciate it if you're not just making an example of me." Liu Bai retorted expressionlessly.

Mei, on the other hand, fell into deep thought.

It must be said that Mobius's proposal was quite tempting.

But... you're not exactly a low-risk character either!

Why didn't Mobius form a defensive alliance with his senior, Hua?

Clearly, Mobius also found his senior, Hua, difficult to deal with.

So why choose her?

Do you think she's easy to deal with?

Although Mei was somewhat dissatisfied with Mobius's choice, she still went back to the way things were before—Mei was indeed a little tempted.

"After all, you never know when Liu Bai will disappear again—believe me, when he reappears, he will definitely be with a woman."

Mobius saw the hint of interest on Mei's face and immediately brought the whole matter to light.

"Reappearing... To be honest, about this..." Mei turned to look at Liu Bai.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Liu Bai looked at Mei with some confusion.