Tesla the Hopeless Wreck

"Ah... oh, okay, I think so."

Liu Bai thought about it with a disbelieving look on his face, and then realized that it seemed to be true...

"Okay, my name is Liu Bai. I'm a spirit, or you could say Guardian Spirit —this kind of being shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"

After all, we're all part of the same broader cultural sphere.

"Why can't you be a little more like a Yamato Nadeshiko?" Liu Bai suddenly said.

"... And you're the one talking about me? Isn't that a stereotype about girls from the Far East too?"

Himeko angrily flicked her ponytail.

"But I do know about the Guardian Spirit spirits and such... well, now that you mention it, it's actually not so bad?"

The combination of a handsome ghost and a naive young girl is truly romantic.

"So, are we going to get involved in some kind of superpowered battle next?"

"Hey, wasn't someone just arguing with me about science before?"

"I'm not stupid, why would I get entangled in scientific matters with ghosts—is this what they mean by taking a step back and seeing the bigger picture?"

Himeko said with a grin.

Himeko in her current teenage form is brimming with energy.

That being said, among all my hosts, Himeko's personality is probably the most in line with the common impression of a girl—even though she's a limited edition.

Himeko, who is currently a freshman in college and still retains some of her JK (Himeko) vibe, doesn't even have bad habits like drinking alcohol...

She is intelligent, beautiful, cheerful, hardworking, has a good figure, and has no bad habits.

In a sense, Himeko can be considered the perfect woman in the eyes of most people.

Unfortunately, time is a cruel mistress...

Why did your eyes suddenly become so compassionate?

"... That's just your imagination. By the way, get out of class is over. What are you planning to do later? Go shopping?"

"No, I still want to go to New Mexico." Himeko took out her phone and pointed to the photo she'd just seen. "Maybe it really is aliens? Anyway, I don't have any plans for the weekend, so please, my Guardian Spirit, bless me!"

[Himeko compatibility +10%]

Chapter 181 The Worn-Out Tesla

(The previous chapter was incorrect; Himeko is currently 15 years old. This has been corrected.)

"I'm just Guardian Spirit, not a land god," Liu Bai complained as he followed Himeko, who was rushing out in a flurry.

"It's more like, at your age, you still believe in aliens..."

"You have ghosts, but you're not allowed to believe in aliens?"

Himeko gave a reason that Liu Bai couldn't refute—and in fact, there really are aliens in this world.

"Just treat this as a vacation, why are you dawdling even more than me?"

"I'm not dawdling... and instead of talking to me, you should be watching where you're going while you're running."

"What?"

Himeko belatedly looked ahead and, sure enough, a very familiar-looking person appeared before her.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

It was Welt Young, who had just been dismissed—but Himeko didn't have time to deal with him at this point.

Fortunately, Liu Bai's reminder was timely, and Himeko managed to run past Yang without any serious injury.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Bai asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't you at least go back to your dorm to put your things down?"

"There's no time! Because I suddenly remembered that there's only one flight to New Mexico today! If I don't hurry, I might miss it!"

"You really are... well, run, girl, run!"

"Don't talk nonsense! Aren't you completely useless as a Guardian Spirit? For example, can you pull out something that can instantly teleport me to New Mexico?"

"I am a guardian spirit, not Doraemon."

Liu Bai floated leisurely beside Himeko. Even if he didn't keep up, he would trigger teleportation soon.

"My opinion of you is starting to drop... taxi!"

Having finally escaped the school gate Himeko quickly hailed a taxi by the roadside.

"California Airport, please hurry!"

Himeko really went all out for aliens, taking both taxis and planes.

"Miss, if you wish to purchase a plane ticket, please be sure to present valid identification."

The ticket seller spoke politely to Himeko.

"Please wait a moment..." Himeko frantically rummaged through her bag and pockets. "Wait, where's my student ID? I remember having it on me."

Himeko ran out as soon as class ended, without her visa or anything. The only document she had on her was her Caltech student ID.

But now, I don't know where my student ID is.

"Ahem, are you looking for this, Murata Himeko?"

Welt Young, who had almost been hit earlier, suddenly appeared behind Himeko.

"You dropped your student ID on the ground when you ran out, and it took me a while to catch up."

"Um... thank you, Professor Welt."

Himeko looked at Welt with a strange expression. After all, if Liu Bai hadn't said anything, who would believe that Welt Yang was almost sixty years old?

This is why Himeko now finds everything about the other person strange.

"Where are you in such a hurry to go?" Yang asked casually, out of professional ethics as a substitute teacher.

No, it's not entirely easy to pronounce, after all, it's the "Boundless Pagoda".

"I had to go to New Mexico, so I was in a bit of a rush," Himeko replied as she handed her student ID to the ticket seller to purchase her ticket.

New Mexico? What are you going there for?

This place was truly the worst possible answer he could imagine.

"There was news yesterday that..."

"Let me explain to him."

Liu Bai sighed, hooked his arm around Yang's neck, and pulled Yang to the side.

"Wh-what is that?" Yang felt a bit flustered as the force gripping his neck tightened.

He's not the Herrscher from the original timeline; the current Yang is just an ordinary, weak scholar.

"Your father!" Liu Bai retorted irritably after switching to the public channel.

Why is this kid so slow to react?

"Huh? Eh?" The familiar voice startled Yang. "Alliance Leader, you're back?"

"You're back for now... By the way, what are you thinking about?"

Liu Bai suddenly noticed that Yang's expression had suddenly become a bit sly.

"Um... so you mean what you just said was serious?"

"Huh? That line?"

"It's that phrase 'I'm your dad'... You want to be my godfather too?"

Snap!

Upon hearing this, Liu Bai immediately gave Yang a hard slap on the back of the head.

What the hell are you thinking?

"You've been reading too much Romance of the Three Kingdoms, are you planning to change your name to Lü Bu? You've gotten too cocky these past few years, do you really think you're some kind of hot commodity?"

You're over fifty years old, how can you say that!

"No, no, that's not true. I was just thinking that if you became my godfather, wouldn't I be able to ask Einstein and Dr. Tesla for money?"

Yang looked slightly embarrassed.

"... You're still being controlled by your money?" Liu Bai realized something was wrong at this point.

"After all, Aunt Nancy is in charge of the accounts..."

The word "auntie" clearly shows Yang's resentment—if Yang dared to call Edison that in front of him, he would definitely get a beating.

"No, I think Nancy will at least get paid on time, right?"

"Ah... the salary is indeed quite high, but it's a bit hard to support my hobbies..."

"... My suggestion is to buy two less portions."

Liu Bai suddenly remembered something, "Buying three portions is unnecessary."

Liu Bai recalled the time when Raiden Ryoma bought three of everything.

At the time, Ryoma said that he and Yang... and even Joyce might have this habit.

For use, for collection, for preaching.

One thing, three times the cost, and they prefer to buy the collector's edition... It's no wonder you don't have enough money.

"Truly, as expected of the Alliance Leader, his strategies are flawless..."

Yang was a little embarrassed. "But it's just a joke. I'm still a part-time associate professor at the university, just like Dr. Tesla, living paycheck to paycheck."

Yang quickly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, are you going to New Mexico with Murata Himeko?" Yang asked, somewhat embarrassed. "How should I put it... It's fine for other people to go looking for aliens, but Himeko... it's not so much because of her, but more because of her father, Murata Ryusuke —of course, things shouldn't have turned out this way."

"Then why don't you stop them?"

Liu Bai was too lazy to listen to Yang's long-winded speech, so he pointed directly at Himeko, who had just bought her ticket and wanted to come over to eavesdrop. Himeko pretended to be nonchalant and quietly turned her head away.

Yang remained silent on this matter.

If you really try to stop them, the other party will definitely realize something is wrong.

Moreover, young people are inevitably hot-blooded and unwilling to listen to advice.

"So my advice is to clean up the mess quickly, rather than trying to stop Himeko —by the way, I told her before that it was an anime poster for Arahato Mecha."

"... Alliance Leader, you're so reliable."

Yang had to admit that Liu Bai was incredibly reliable.

I sent him all the answers.

"...Then I'll go with you. I'll have Ryoma handle things in New Mexico."

So Ryoma, that doting father, is still around... That's quite rare.

"Speaking of which..."

"Hmm? Is there anything else, Yang?"

"Um..." Yang stammered, "What I mean is... I support Dr. Tesla!"

"... You little brat, you really deserve a beating, don't you?"

Liu Bai's face darkened as he understood Yang's meaning.

"Also, don't spread rumors about my return. I can stay here for a while, but not for long... although there are some other reasons as well."

"... I think if all else fails, we could try to recruit that kid. Although that might cause Murata Ryusuke's attitude to change in an unknown direction."

After all, it carries a sense of "threat".

Let's take it one step at a time.

"You're the boss, you make the decisions."