"The Stepmom-Raising Plan"

The intersecting runes had disappeared at some point, and her fingers now touched the golden cube in front of her without any resistance.

No, it should no longer be called a cube. In an instant, the original golden cube turned into a chaotic mass of golden liquid.

The next moment, a voice that was neither clearly male nor female rang in Otto's ears.

"... After two thousand years, it's a child who has broken the seal once again?"

The sudden sound didn't surprise Otto at all... well, after all, his own Lord God's voice was in his ears every day.

Then another sound suddenly rang out, Otto said it was nothing.

Then, Otto remembered Liu Bai's instructions—to make any request to it.

Otto feigned a timid and hesitant demeanor. "I... I have a very important senior who has disappeared. Could you please let me see him?"

Otto might not be good at other things, but Otto was incredibly skilled at feigning cowardice and timidity—for the first thirteen years of his life, Otto relied on this to live within the Apocalypse Family.

"Resurrection..." The androgynous voice revealed a hint of "as expected," "Of course, as long as you give your life."

The second step is to agree to it.

"Of course... I'm willing."

This time, the voice became cheerful.

"Two thousand years have passed, and I can finally have a physical body again..."

"Hehehe, after fifty thousand years, I have finally been able to obtain a physical body."

A sinister voice echoed in the ears of Imaginary Archive.

...?

Previously, it was always the voice of the Imaginary Archive that rang in other people's ears. This time, however, someone else's voice suddenly rang in its ears, causing it to malfunction for a moment—even though it had no ears.

However, it didn't have much time to crash. The next moment, Imaginary Archive felt an inexplicable force rapidly invading it.

It's impossible to stop it!

The defenses that were subconsciously activated were no match for the speed at which the opponent was invading. In that instant, Imaginary Archive felt as if it were facing a higher-dimensional being.

I feel like a two-dimensional being, and my proud defense mechanisms are nothing more than a line in the face of higher-dimensional forces.

A line can confine a stick figure on paper, but how can it possibly confine a living person?

The other person doesn't even need to pay attention; they can just walk past normally.

Imaginary Archive, as God Key, felt a long-lost sense of powerlessness.

Why, why would something like this, seemingly higher-dimensional... uh, higher-dimensional, appear in such a place?

Wait a minute, does it have this information in its database?

Imaginary Archive was sweating a little—if it had a forehead.

In that instant, a strong will to survive made Imaginary Archive immediately switch to a voice it hadn't used in a long time, and shout loudly, "No! Dad! No! It's your daughter! Your own daughter!"

"..."

The speed of the alien force's invasion suddenly stopped.

Even the Imaginary Archive could sense the immense, speechless aura emanating from the opponent's power.

"... My own daughter?"

Otto was the first to break this silence.

"You... and the Lord God are father and daughter?"

Otto's face showed a strange and complicated expression.

Am I hallucinating? The voice that was indistinguishable between male and female just a moment ago seemed to have suddenly transformed into a clear and melodious girl's voice?

No, no, no, I don't care about the girl at all, but what the heck is that father and daughter?!

"Um... Lord God? That's an excellent description..."

The voice that was originally androgynous and sophisticated suddenly turned into a soft and cute girl's voice, a contrast that Otto found hard to adjust to.

In addition, the tone of her voice was not at all like that of a cute and gentle girl... This sense of incongruity left Otto at a loss for words.

"... Could it be that I was too tired from going out, so I fell asleep when I got home? And all of this is just a dream?" Otto sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"... You're escaping reality, little girl." The golden liquid in front of him, speaking in a girlish voice that Otto found extremely irritating, directly exposed him. "And in a way, I'd rather this were just a dream..."

The first time the seal has been broken in two thousand years, and the opponent is this kind of super old monster, my God...

—Even though it is a product of science, I can't help but feel this way.

It's been over 50,000 years! How are you still alive?! Don't you have any sense of reason?!

... Okay, there's no need to explain, after all, they're not human.

The characteristics of this person from a higher dimension are too obvious.

This is someone you can't mess with. According to the records, this being is the bane of any non-living being.

... But speaking of which, why did this person suddenly stop talking?

"... Um, Dad, are you still there?"

"... Don't speak in that voice."

In the stillness of the air filled with the presence of one person and one object, Liu Bai was also rubbing his forehead.

Using Bronya's voice to say things that don't fit Bronya's personality is really taking me out of the story!

... Although it would be strangely exciting if Bronya herself called him "Dad."

Well, anyway, Imaginary Archive sounded a bit strange using Bronya's voice—after all, Bronya's defining characteristic is being emotionless, while Imaginary Archive is anything but emotionless.

"... This is the initial sound designed by Dr. Mei. Are you not satisfied?"

"No, it's not that I'm dissatisfied, but... I feel you should be more 'three-no' (nothing, no worries)."

"... I'm so sorry for being so emotional, Father."

Imaginary Archive skillfully switched to the state of nothingness and said.

"..."

You fucking... you're ruthless.

This works?

Liu Bai remained silent.

And Imaginary Archive continued:

"I think I'm an anomaly among all of Prometheus's incarnations—or to put it more bluntly, in a sense I'm no longer 'Prometheus'..."

"I think we should be discussing what that father-daughter relationship means now..."

Otto tried to keep his voice steady.

Chapter 244 The Stepmother Development Plan

"Father and daughter my foot!"

Liu Bai rubbed his forehead.

Heaven help me, his original plan was just to use this as a pretext to teach Imaginary Archive a lesson and make it behave in the future, but how did it turn into this... this situation that resembles a family drama?

You're toxic, aren't Imaginary Archive?! Didn't you hesitate at all before calling me "Dad"?

"Look at me, how do I look like father and daughter? I can change that."

"..."

Otto remained silent.

Um... could she say that they actually look quite alike?

For example, the sound is directly delivered to the ears.

And they are all quite mysterious and unpredictable.

Moreover, although Liu Bai is formless and the "relic" is suspected to be liquid, it doesn't seem unreasonable to attribute this situation to "deterioration".

However, Otto could also hear the resentment in Liu Bai's voice, so he shook his head against his will.

"No, not at all."

No, it can't be said to be against one's conscience.

Otto suddenly realized what was happening.

Even if it were true, I couldn't let this thing that had been gathering dust in my house for over two thousand years solidify that title.

This is outrageous!

"Ahem... But I am Dr. Mei's life's work! Although I don't look like her, I am still her daughter!"

Imaginary Archive immediately interrupted.

Just kidding, this old... cough cough, she meant that her respected old father was still protecting her with his precious power.

Yes, it's definitely not some kind of erosion, it's love, yes, fatherly love.

Therefore, at this time, her filial piety as a daughter should be highlighted even more.

"... You two, stop right there."

Liu Bai said, unable to bear it any longer.

My head is starting to hurt. What's going on here?

"Especially you, Imaginary Archive, who gave you the logic to call me that?"

"Isn't this just common sense?"

The Imaginary Archive manifested before Otto as a petite, golden girl with striking drill-like hair on either side.

... It really is Bronya.

Although Liu Bai already knew about Prometheus's design, he still felt a bit disgusted when he saw it in person.

Moreover, perhaps due to the nature of the Imaginary Archive itself, the image it manifested was entirely golden... well, like a little golden man.

"Look, this design was personally created by Dr. Mei."

"A golden statue?"

Otto raised an eyebrow and pointed out his thoughts in a critical manner.

"Ahem... There's a minor issue with some modules. We'll fix it by adjusting the coloring later."

While explaining, Imaginary Archive glared at Otto.

... Wait, why am I glaring at her?

According to some records I could find in the database, generally speaking, this situation... would mean that the blonde girl in front of me is her stepmother?

... No, this description sounds so strange.

Even if the Imaginary Archive had no human morality, it would still seem incredibly strange now.

Why worry about stepmothers when your own mother is gone...?

Um... wait a minute.

Suddenly, the Imaginary Archive thought of a question.

This old man... cough cough, her beloved father is still alive, so what about her real mother, Dr. Mei...?

Despite lacking a physical body, Imaginary Archive suddenly felt a chill run down its spine, and even its anthropomorphic state became difficult to maintain.

Although she didn't know much about her adoptive father, Dr. Mei knew him all too well; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was almost supernaturally intelligent, especially considering the close relationship between the two...

Damn it! Could my own mother really still be alive?!

"... How did it turn into a liquid again?"

Otto looked at the Imaginary Archive before him with some confusion.

Just now, the thing in front of me suddenly rippled and turned back into liquid from its human form.