Eden's Intuition

Kosma swallowed hard. The moment Elysia asked the question, Kosma felt as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his shoulders.

Okay, it's just an illusion, probably an illusion— Kosma stretched his shoulders, and naturally, there were no stones at all.

The other person— Elysia— had her usual cheerful and friendly smile on her face.

Kosma felt that he might not have simply "come into contact with something secret," but perhaps... perhaps he had actually "violated some taboo"?

It seems... it seems that before me, no one in ELM had ever talked to this Miss Elysia about the boss?

This--

This is clearly not right!

Kosma's body trembled slightly uncontrollably. This sudden abnormality made Kosma realize something in an instant—perhaps, perhaps the secret hidden by ELM was not some robot that only existed in wild imaginations, but rather the seemingly kind-looking [pink-haired woman] in front of him!

ELM is indeed a branch of a mysterious organization called the Moth Chasers to Fire, but this branch is definitely not a department that manufactures super robots, but rather... a sealing organization that seals the person in front of you!

Why is Elysia the only one unaware of the boss's existence? Why does the boss grant a contract to a newcomer like himself, but not to Elysia, who has more seniority? Why is everyone tacitly pretending that the boss isn't even there in front of this person?

Kosma's brain was now spinning at 120 miles per hour—all the clues were connected!

There is only one truth—without a doubt, my guess just now must be true! The entire ELM was established to seal away this... let's just call her [Elysia] for now—it was a department created specifically to seal her away.

However, the other person still seems convinced that they are [Elysia]?

Could it be that ELM's seal is the kind of seal from the manga where "a great demon is stuffed into a human body, making her believe she is human and thus reforming her"?

The so-called idol trainee program now seems to be a euphemism for researching forbidden creatures, which explains why I was assigned to school and wasted my time in the lab on Saturdays and Sundays—the boss and Miss Eden were protecting me!

As a newcomer, I certainly can't just rashly come into contact with such taboos, as it would definitely lead to unimaginable serious consequences. That's why my schedule is packed every day to prevent anything from happening to me!

As for why the boss can't be found before the weekend... judging from the other party's current reaction, perhaps... perhaps the boss is the key to sealing the [Elysia] in front of us!

If that's the case... then it also explains why the boss is a ghost.

The boss must have sacrificed his body to seal away the forbidden creature in front of him during a time of crisis, which is why the forbidden creature reacted so obviously when the boss was mentioned!

Even more tragically, perhaps this forbidden creature calling itself Elysia is using the boss's original body, which is why the boss is forced to wander as a ghost... uh, the gender doesn't seem quite right?

Okay, these are all minor issues.

Following this line of thought, Miss Eden's concert was probably not an ordinary concert, but rather a way to draw positive energy from human emotions to seal this monster... In other words, this is precisely when the monster's seal is at its weakest, and I just happened to bring up a taboo topic at this very moment...

This is terrible...

"Kosma? Kosma?"

Looking at Elysia, who was waving her hand with a confused expression, Kosma fell into deep thought.

Could it be that I... unintentionally broke the seal that ELM has kept all this time? Did I destroy all the efforts that the boss, Miss Eden, and Dr. Vil-V have made over the years?

A deep sense of self-reproach welled up in Kosma's heart.

What have I done?!

Why can't you just settle down in the lab and familiarize yourself with the weapons? Why do you have to run away because of such naive ideas?

Now... now I might have made a huge mistake...

Wrong!

There should still be a chance to make amends!

Kosma moved his throat with difficulty—the other party had not yet clearly shown its ferocious side to him, which proved that this monster was still sealed in a human body!

At most, she's just starting to doubt reality! And there's still, absolutely still a chance to make amends!

I, Kosma, will take full responsibility for my actions! No matter what, I absolutely must slow down this monster's progress in breaking the seal!

We must hold out until the boss and Miss Eden gather enough energy to reinforce the seal!

If... if things really can't be held up any longer, there should still be a lot of explosives in the lab. At worst... at worst...

Although joining this place was somewhat difficult, it was for the sake of justice, and for everyone's care over the past two months...

"Um?"

"What's wrong, Liu Bai?"

Eden, dressed in an elegant gown, wiped his face in the bathroom.

Is there anything wrong with the concert?

"No..." Liu Bai looked at Kosma's rapidly increasing compatibility on the System Panel with a puzzled expression. "It's nothing serious. I don't know what that kid Kosma is thinking about again."

"For example?"

"Is this chuunibyou kid seeing something and starting to feel self-satisfied?"

Liu Bai stroked his chin, vaguely guessing what was going on—after all, he knew the teenage boy in his Liu Bai phase quite well. "It's not surprising that this happened to this kid... The concert is about to officially start, let's check the equipment again."

"What did you see?"

Faced with the questions posed by the monster in human skin, Kosma ultimately chose to play dumb.

—After all, you can't admit that you can actually see the boss, because if you did, it would be like breaking the seal yourself.

A direct denial might provoke the other party, since he had unintentionally leaked a lot of information before, and his question just now sounded more like a rhetorical question. He didn't know what the other party was thinking.

Therefore, Kosma had no choice but to choose the explanation that would best stall for time and avoid conflict.

Moreover, trying to smooth things over means having room to make excuses.

"?" Elysia was taken aback. "Um... Kosma, would you like to have some water? You seem a little off..."

"No, no need." Kosma declined cautiously, and continued the previous topic, "I thought you saw the department head when you joined the department, Miss Elysia."

"Ah... maybe it was just bad luck? The minister was busy at the time, and I'm not even from that department—now that you mention it, even you, Kosma, have met the minister of ELM, which does feel a little unfair."

Kosma felt the pressure around him recede like a receding tide—had he really gotten away with it like that?

That simple?

Or is this... a ploy to lure him in?

Kosma was a little conflicted, but Elysia picked up the junk box and went upstairs on her own.

—Perhaps the seal is still effective?

No, I should take advantage of their absence and quickly return to the lab to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances!

Kosma also left, feigning composure.

"... Am I scary in any way?" Elysia had just put down her suitcase on the second floor, took out a small mirror and looked at her face. "Why does that child seem so afraid of me... Ah, could it be that Eden and the others threatened him?"

Elysia muttered something, Kosma's cover-up still seemed too clumsy to her—though it did indeed take a hit at her.

However, after thinking about what she had guessed, Elysia smiled and took out her phone.

"Hmm... Hello, is this the security force? This is Elysia. Are there any available planes near the company?"

Chapter 359 Eden's Intuition

"Congratulations, another perfect finale performance."

Amidst the thunderous cheers and applause from the audience, Liu Bai offered his congratulations to Eden.

Eden, however, simply bowed to the audience as usual before walking backstage.

"It's no big deal."

Performing at this level is nothing out of the ordinary for Eden.

Just like their congratulatory and haughty responses after concerts, it's become commonplace.

However, sitting on the sofa in the lounge, Eden felt a strange unease rising within him—as if some kind of disaster was about to befall him.

This was the first time in Eden's life that he had felt such a strong sense of crisis.

"Liu Bai, should we trouble Sakura and the Moth Chasers to Fire team to double-check the security at the venue? I have a bad feeling... it's like... it's like some kind of disaster is approaching."

"Disaster?" Liu Bai was taken aback for a moment, then his face turned serious. "Are you sure?"

"... I'm not entirely sure, but I just have a feeling—a feeling without any reason."

"That's enough."

Liu Bai nodded. He still trusted Flame-Chasers's intuition quite a bit—although even Eden in the future wasn't as good as intuition.

But he's still more reliable than that ghost.

"I'll go and inform Sakura. Although it won't take long, Eden, you should also take good care of yourself."

"Don't worry, Sakura taught me a lot of self-defense techniques and escape methods."

Eden nodded calmly, and Liu Bai, seeing this, didn't waste any words and directly transferred the host to Sakura.

"Boss?" Sakura, who was wearing the standard equipment of the Moth Chasers to Fire and helping to maintain order at the scene, was taken aback when she saw Liu Bai suddenly appear beside her. "Is there something you need?"

"Eden said she felt uneasy."

Liu Bai knew that Ying was quite busy, so he tried to keep it brief.

"I hope to be able to set aside a team to protect the backstage area."

"A sense of unease..." Sakura frowned. "Does Miss Eden feel the same way...? I understand. I'll lead the team back now. The work here can be handed over to the security captain sent by the Moth Chasers to Fire."

"You have one too?"

"A little bit—it's like that feeling of 'after leaving the house, you always feel like you've forgotten something important'."

Sakura gave a fairly vivid example, and then took a moment to take out her walkie-talkie and give the order to her temporary team members to move.

Then, Sakura put down the walkie-talkie, a slightly serious expression on her face.

"Could it be related to the Honkai? If so, this place..."

"... Probably not. People who can attend concerts are all people who can pass security checks. Not to mention the source of the Honkai that could cause a crisis, even a paperclip is scanned twice and registered. So if there are no oversights in the work process, the danger should not come from inside."

"But the word 'if' is the one that's hardest to put people at ease with."

Sakura frowned. "However, I do acknowledge the meticulousness and dedication of these Moth Chasers to Fire team members—could it be another super Honkai like the previous two?"

"Won't."

Liu Bai directly denied Sakura's guess—he had experienced the Third Honkai Eruption twice and knew exactly when it would happen, and had already subtly reminded Mobius to prepare in advance.

So... unless some butterfly effect occurs, there should still be a year before the Third Honkai Eruption, and it's not even time for Kevin and Sue to skip school to chase after celebrities.

As for the butterfly effect, Liu Bai didn't think that what he was doing could affect a natural phenomenon like Honkai, which was almost at a higher level. How much would a transmigrated ant have to do to stop that bratty kid in open-crotch pants from peeing into the ant nest?

Furthermore, Liu Bai has always been quite dutiful over the years, not allowing Eden and the others to come into contact with the Honkai on a large scale, nor has he recklessly exported technology. If the Honkai could be changed, then it would undoubtedly be the malice of the world.

In reality, the technology he has contributed is nowhere near as advanced as the Armed Dolls that Einstein is currently researching, and there is no possibility that it could lead to a leap in the technology tree.

Rather than talking about leaps forward, it's more important to discuss the future of God Key technology, Honkai Energy conversion formula, and Fusion Warrior technology.

This is why Liu Bai was able to be certain that although he, as a butterfly, had been flapping his wings, he was far from causing a storm at the level of Honkai.

Relieved by Liu Bai's firm denial, Ying breathed a sigh of relief—her biggest psychological trauma in life was probably her First Honkai Eruption back then.

"Alright, since that's the case, we can only deal with things as they come. I won't speculate or try to demoralize the troops—by the way, where is Vil-V?"

"She should be in the monitoring room. I'll go find her."

Liu Bai indicated to Ying that she didn't need to worry too much.

"When it comes to ways to save your life, Vil-V definitely has more than you—especially after losing to Mobius in the hair-pulling incident last time."

"This is really... well, I guess it's a good thing?"

Sakura's expression was subtle, but she quickly tidied up the assembled team and headed backstage.

Liu Bai switched hosts again, this time to Vil-V.

Then Liu Bai saw that Vil-V was on the phone.

"What demon king, seal, failure, disappearance?"

While on the phone, Vil-V wore a puzzled expression.