A Special Gift from HoS

"I really want to give you a plastic surgery right now..." Mei could only say that when she saw Mei's confident and self-assured Mei.

Mei's shamelessness in this aspect is still a bit inferior to Mei's.

"What kind of explanation is that?" Mei, slightly annoyed. "I only said the word 'big truck,' and you guys all understood perfectly, didn't you?"

One or two of you, what are you pretending to be so innocent for?

"Um... what does 'big cart' mean?"

Mei: "..."

Well, there really is one person here who doesn't understand.

Mei looked at Bianka, who was looking serious, and Rita, who was glaring at her, and after thinking for a moment, decided not to explain.

"... So this is an adult topic?"

Bianka seemed to have regained some of her senses.

"It's less about adult topics and more about slightly suggestive banter..."

Rita explained with an awkward laugh.

Bianka nodded, but looking at Rita's expression and considering the context...

Bianka blushed.

"Ahem, let's not talk about that anymore, how about we talk about something serious?"

"Do we have any serious topics to discuss?"

Mei directly addresses the core of the problem.

We're all gathered together because of Liu Bai, okay?

Without Liu Bai, what business is it of mine what your family is doing?

Well, it's not that we don't have common business to discuss, but... we don't need them for the time being.

And then again...

Mei glanced around and rubbed her temples.

To be honest, wouldn't the people around Liu Bai be considered, in a sense, at least half of the essence of this era?

"By the way, Ms. Kiana, how are you feeling these days?"

Just now, we were talking about Kiana, so Rita casually asked about it.

From a certain perspective, this can be considered a serious matter.

"Is... I'm alright?" Kiana pointed to her eyes.

"It's back to normal. I think heterochromia is pretty good."

Liu Bai then noticed that Kiana's eyes had returned to their original color—because the simulation and reality were closely connected, Liu Bai didn't realize it at first.

"Is that so?"

Kiana blushed slightly.

"?" Mei turned her head in confusion.

Isn't Kiana's reaction a little off?

"Ahem! My affairs are none of your business!"

Kiana pulled Mei to her side.

Don't think you can please me this way!

Mei: "..."

That's all I have to say, can you please stop with the pulling and tugging?

I'm afraid Brother Liu Bai will misunderstand!

"Oh, speaking of which, does this mean Theresa and the others don't have to stay in Abyss City anymore?"

Liu Bai thought for a moment, but couldn't figure out what they could do in Abyss City.

"Maybe we could try to give Kevin a hand?" Mei chimed in. "Even though he's an idiot, idiots have their value... However, the ruins of Abyss City should still contain some technology left over from the Mu Continent, but it's not very valuable."

Everyone glanced at Mei; only this person could say something like that.

"When I have time, I'll help you complete the technology—for example, the Moonlight Throne —although it's the path of losers, I think it still has some reference value."

Mei said that when she learned that the Moonlight Throne of the current civilization requires four cores to be fully activated, she felt like cursing.

What a waste of money...

Having these core components is less desirable than using them as an energy source...

Wait a moment.

Mei's gaze fell on Kiana —that aggressive look made Kiana flinch.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Miss Kiana, you... if I remember correctly, you have two cores in your body right now, right?"

"...yes."

"I looked through the records, and seventeen years ago, Sirin had a maximum of five cores."

Because Herrscher of Herrscher of Reason is now Joyce, Sirin back then couldn't reach six cores.

"Can I understand... that five is not the limit?"

Mei's eyes gleamed with interest—since this situation had never occurred in the Previous Era, Mei didn't know how many cores Herrscher could hold at most.

"How does the strength of the Herrscher of Finality compare to that of the 12-core Herrscher?"

Mei doesn't know that among the fourteen Herrscher, the Thirteenth Herrscher does not exist... or rather, it is not "13".

"Or rather... how does it compare to a 24-core Herrscher?"

"???"

How did it suddenly jump to 24 cores?

"... Wait, what do you want to do?"

"The God Key." Mei nodded. "Although it cannot be restored to its original shape, we can still draw upon its power using a special method."

"I don't feel well..."

Kiana gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"24 cores, there's no way you could fit them in, right?"

"Kiana, your statement is ambiguous," Mei kindly reminded her from the side.

"That's not the point at all!" Kiana retorted, looking at Mei's strangely focused attention.

"Don't worry, this is our best-kept secret method," Mei reassured her.

"... I don't believe it." Kiana looked at the "fake Mei" in front of her, her face full of vigilance.

Anyway, let's skip this topic!

"Okay, okay." Mei nodded indifferently.

"Completely unconvincing..." Kiana muttered. Two cores had already left her in such a sorry state; what would happen with 24?

"But speaking of which, how is Himeko- sensei doing now?"

Kiana's seemingly unintentional question immediately drew Mei's attention—

There was no other reason than that Kiana was asking Liu Bai her question.

This also means...

"Kiana, you realized that?" Mei asked with a faint smile.

Sure enough, I hadn't misread it before.

"Ah... um..."

She had talked to Rita and Bianka so much before, how could she not realize it?

"N-It's okay! I-I still like you, Mei —like the kind of liking you have for your older sister!"

"Hehe..."

Chapter 231 A Special Gift for Shibao

Mei pushed Kiana away with a look of disgust.

Get lost! You think I like you "like an older sister"? What makes you think I like you?

Didn't I treat you like a younger sister too?

... Okay, looking at it this way, they are quite the hidden talents of a genius.

However, pushing her away was just for show; to be honest, Mei and Kiana actually have a pretty good relationship.

After all, although Kiana was a bit persistent in the past, she and Mei didn't have Liu Bai conflicts, so they were closer than they seemed. On the other hand, with Bronya, although they were best friends, she never stopped backstabbing her.

However... it's easy to imagine that these things are probably a thing of the past.

"... Speaking of which, doesn't anyone find it unusually quiet today?"

Liu Bai suddenly realized something.

"Quiet? Is it because the Raven's wails are gone?" Rita said rather slyly.

Mei glanced around, her expression somewhat subtle. "Doctor, is there something wrong with your definition of quiet?"

Is it quiet? It's not quiet at all, okay?

"Hmm... if all else fails Dr. Tesla, you could try throwing a tantrum?" Rita, unable to find Raven, casually started provoking Tesla.

"You damned maid. Just you wait, I'm going to develop an anti- Rita..."

Although Tesla was furious, it did not rush in due to the disparity in military strength.

"Ah... Teacher, you mean the class monitor, right?" Kiana was the quickest to react.

When it comes to being the most energetic and lively, Shibao is second to none.

"Ah... Miss, indeed, from that perspective, today is a quiet day."

Rita thought about Shibao's carefree personality and couldn't help but facepalm.

Okay, being carefree isn't the problem. The real issue is whether Shibao can be carefree while also being able to fight well.

Apart from Bianka, no one present could physically suppress Shibao, and even Bianka couldn't guarantee a win.

That powerful husky has disappeared...

"It's completely unsettling."

Liu Bai said what everyone was thinking.

"I can already picture that girl breathing fire and destroying the city."

"Those Herrscher of Sentience are not little monsters; they don't breathe fire."

Mei pushed up her glasses.

"However... it is indeed very worrying that my junior sister has disappeared."

"Don't call her senior sister."

Just by listening to her voice, one could sense that Fu Hua's Feather of the Wind was somewhat dark.

As for the relationship between Fu Hua and Shibao...

There are two options: either be sisters or be mother and daughter; each has its own reasons.

Of course, it's impossible for the sisters. Fu Hua's level of recognition of Shibao... is somewhat subtle.

While not entirely denying the existence of Shibao, given Shibao Bao's usurpation of another's place and its relationship with Liu Bai... Fu Hua felt that the two of them were bound to have a fight sooner or later.

Of course, because of Liu Bai's presence, the upcoming battle will definitely not be a life-or-death struggle.