A Date!?

"At the end of the story, Dr. Tesla still shared her mushrooms with everyone."

"They were truffles! Truffles! Not mushrooms!"

"Truffles and mushrooms are both fungi," Liu Bai helpfully reminded her from the side.

"You ghost who didn't even get to eat any, stop taking Liesel's—this bird's nest-haired woman's—side!" Tesla angrily pointed at the empty air beside Einstein.

"..."

That one sentence left Liu Bai speechless.

Right. It seemed like he had only watched the two of them eat.

Liu Bai stared silently at the pizza box, which contained nothing but scraps of food... Was this really supposed to be a celebration for him?

"Dr. Tesla clearly ate the most and enjoyed it the most."

After eating the last slice of pizza with the last piece of truffle, Einstein elegantly took out a napkin and wiped her mouth, completely unbothered by Tesla's form of address.

"I, I..."

Tesla's momentum immediately weakened.

"W-What's wrong with eating a little more of my own stuff?"

"Dr. Einstein would like to remind you that even if Dr. Tesla enjoys vacationing in Trieste, that does not mean that bag of mushrooms is Dr. Tesla's personal property."

The blue-haired girl with naturally curly hair shook a finger as though she had expected this all along.

Trieste, an international metropolis in Italy.

"Y-You, you, you, you, you—what did you say!? I went through all kinds of trouble to buy that stuff, okay? And I'll say it again! Truffles aren't mushrooms! Calling them mushrooms is an insult to them!"

"Phew..." The blue-haired girl sighed helplessly. "You bought them with laboratory funds, so naturally they're public property. Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh... Ahem, they're all minor issues." Tesla completely wilted.

"If Dr. Tesla continues to insist on this mistaken claim, Dr. Einstein will have no choice but to report this misuse of public funds to headquarters."

The corner of Liu Bai's mouth twitched slightly as he watched the scene. He had the feeling that Einstein seemed especially happy today—after spending a month with the two of them, Liu Bai had more or less learned how to tell the moods of these two beautiful scientist girls apart.

"Ahem, since lunch is over, let's hurry up and get to the experiment." Knowing she was in the wrong, Tesla took the initiative to change the subject.

"Come to think of it, today's the wrap-up experiment for the first phase, right?" Liu Bai seemed to remember something.

"I'm surprised you still remember the experiment's progress. Looks like you haven't just been spacing out in the lab."

Tesla gave Liu Bai a somewhat surprised look.

"Don't tell me you secretly learned something?"

I've practically stripped you bare of everything you've learned...

Liu Bai curled his lips inwardly.

Tesla had three main skills: physics, mechanics, and engineering. Setting aside a few minor skills, Liu Bai felt that he was already a little Tesla himself.

Speaking of scientists, Liu Bai thought of Mobius again. It was a pity that Mobius had never had a good teacher and could only fumble around on her own. Even so, by the end of the simulation, Mobius had reached Level 8 Biology and Level 7 Pharmacology.

After watching these two conduct experiments from childhood to adulthood for a month, along with flipping through the books and notes on the shelves, he had forcibly acquired three high-level skills.

"Don't worry. If there's anything you don't understand in the lab, feel free to ask Liesel and me."

Seeing Liu Bai remain silent, Tesla assumed that she had accidentally touched on a sore spot and could not help comforting him... Though that comforting tone...

Heh heh...

Liu Bai silently floated away.

"Liu Bai isn't an idiot either. After watching our experiments for so long, Dr. Einstein believes he won't make us worry."

Einstein seemed unexpectedly confident in Liu Bai.

"Mm... What's with this inexplicable confidence of yours?" Tesla raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Dr. Tesla, haven't you noticed? The books on the shelf have been moved—and not the recreational ones."

There would not be much recreational reading on the laboratory shelves—or rather, for these two scientist girls, that knowledge itself was recreation.

Even the two of them would not dare claim to know everything in their respective fields.

"Is that so?"

When Tesla had free time, she spent most of it in her own room. Unlike Einstein, who could sit on the sofa all day with a cup of tea and a book, Tesla was understandably less sensitive to changes on the bookshelf.

"Then it looks like Liu Bai really did work hard."

Tesla scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed.

The tsundere rarely revealed even the slightest bit of sweetness.

"Ahem, enough about that. Let's hurry up and finish the first phase of the experiment."

After your friendly exchanges with the two beautiful scientist girls, you successfully became an assistant at the Imperial Research Institute 42nd Research Division. You could feel that you were beginning to be truly accepted by these two scientists.

Einstein Compatibility +10%, Tesla Compatibility +10%

Generally speaking, under the current circumstances, Tesla's compatibility increase as a tsundere should have been higher than Einstein's for the same event.

But this time, the increase in their compatibility was equal... It could only be said that Einstein was truly very happy inside.

During this wrap-up experiment, you displayed scientific ability that astonished both geniuses. At the same time, you discovered the gap between yourself and these two genius scientists.

"The experiment is complete."

As Einstein's words fell, the large machine rumbling through the laboratory came to a stop.

"The control group data is normal. It seems the presence of a ghost doesn't interfere with the machine."

After organizing the experimental data, Tesla wiped away some sweat and summarized the results.

At the side, Liu Bai stared at the unpainted large machine before him, sinking into silent despair and thought.

This thing probably... maybe... seemed a little like Titan?

So the thing he had been watching for the past month was actually being made into parts?

This wrap-up experiment was assembling a mech?

That was right. Before Liu Bai stood a mech—or rather, a mech skeleton.

However, it was even smaller than the Sky Dome Patrol Liu Bai had seen. If he had to put it into words, it was probably just a prototype?

No, perhaps it did not even count as a prototype. After realizing the thing's true nature, Liu Bai thought back over what they had done during the past month and instantly noticed its shortcomings.

First was its controls. As an early product, it could only accept a few simple commands: move forward, move backward, turn around, and the like. It could not even march properly if told to do so.

Then there was its equipment. These two scientists had not designed weapon slots, defensive components, or anything similar for this mech skeleton at all.

There were also flaws in its movement performance, materials, and more, which did not need to be listed one by one.

In summary, this thing that seemed to be the embryonic form of Titan only shared two traits with the future Titan: it looked similar, and it could move.

A Date!?

However, even after Liu Bai realized it, he still felt somewhat dejected as he looked at the crude robot before him.

They had been conducting this experiment for thirty days, with none of the procedures hidden from him, yet he had only figured it out on the last day.

Sure enough, research ability and comprehension were fundamentally different things, weren't they?

"I really didn't expect you to have some skills."

Tesla, who was shutting down the machine, rarely offered Liu Bai praise.

"There probably isn't an assistant of your caliber anywhere in the entire Empire Research Institute."

"Dr. Einstein believes Liu Bai's ability is sufficient for him to serve as a doctor." Einstein also gave him an extremely high evaluation. "To reach this point after only one month of learning—is that Liu Bai's talent, or a trait of ghosts?"

As Einstein spoke, she took out a small notebook and began writing and drawing in it.

"Probably both..."

The confidence he had only just built up—smack! Gone.

"By the way, can't this mech... or rather, robot be further optimized?"

Fortunately, being inferior to Einstein and Tesla was nothing shameful. Liu Bai quickly adjusted his mindset and asked the two of them about what concerned him most.

"It can, but there's no need."

Einstein answered calmly. The mech they had personally built seemed as insignificant to her as a toy made from a few casually stacked blocks.

"If we want this mech to have real practical value, the necessary equipment, materials, funding, site, and even manpower are beyond what a single laboratory can bear. We would need support from specialists in other fields as well, and it would also be a very long process."

Einstein was not excited by this success—she had achieved far too many successes already. This one was insignificant to her.

"Besides, with the current technological level, materials, and weapons, the mech's practical value and cost-effectiveness are both highly questionable."

"Of course, if someone were truly willing to make a major investment, maybe it could really be used in actual combat in the future." Tesla, on the other hand, was full of confidence.

"But no one is, right?"

Liu Bai calmly stabbed Tesla where it hurt.

Still, once Anti-Entropy was established and they ran off with Destiny's North American Branch, they would have money. Huge sums of money, all of which would become Anti-Entropy's future mech forces.

Come to think of it, Anti-Entropy's mech technology had advanced by leaps and bounds precisely because they discovered ruins left behind by the Previous Era in the Americas and absorbed the technology within... The Americas really were the birthplace of Anti-Entropy.

So that meant... everyone's mech technology was still amateur-level right now?

Well, amateurs came in different grades. Liu Bai was probably the worst kind.

Liu Bai was very self-aware.

Still, Liu Bai had never expected Tesla to have such ideas even now... As expected of a woman with such unconstrained imagination.

"So this mech is the 'homework' we need to hand in?"

"That's right, but there's no need to hand it in so soon."

Einstein took a piece of chocolate from her pocket and gently placed it in her mouth.

"We can delay reporting it for a year or two."

"A year or two?" Liu Bai suspected he had heard wrong. "Ein, is that unit really okay?"

"Of course it's okay—you think we made this thing for no reason!?" Tesla answered energetically. "Now, we can begin the second phase of the experiment—'Changes Brought by Ghost Possession of Modern Equipment and the Principles of Possession.'"

"..."

Liu Bai looked at the humanoid mech before him... So this was the setup?

The mech they had made was just waiting here for him?

"...My feelings are complicated."

"Ahem, cheer up a little. This is a surprise we prepared for you." Tesla coughed. "Look, a body that can move freely. Shouldn't you be happier?"

Should he really... be happy?

"Why didn't you design it to be more human-like?" Liu Bai voiced his question.

Liu Bai was not some clueless novice. Even if the thing in front of him could move, it would crawl along like a turtle.

"Don't you think heavy mechs have a certain unexpected romance for men?"

Tesla tried hard to sell him on it. As the designer of this project, Tesla absolutely could not admit that she simply liked it herself.

That was true...

Liu Bai was somewhat persuaded by Tesla.

"But why do I feel like this is just what you like?"

"Uh... Isn't it better if everyone likes it?"

Nice, Tesla! What a clever answer!

Tesla could not help wanting to give herself a thumbs-up.

"There's no need to rush the second phase of the experiment." Einstein spoke up at that moment. "As we discussed regarding this research, the two of us alone are not enough. We need outside assistance. I've already sent them invitations in the name of this project."

"Outside assistance... I think you mentioned that before. Liesel, you really move fast."

Tesla and Einstein's social circles almost completely overlapped, so Tesla knew perfectly well whom Einstein had chosen as outside assistance.