That Subtle Promise from Back Then

Oh wow, the very first generation of the Divine Key Project.

So... Mei has arrived? Judging by the timing, it seems quite close—which also means that, apart from events related to Aponia, the current Previous Era has no other points that could trigger conflict.

For him, the biggest contradiction of the Previous Era was the post-war time of the Third Honkai Eruption. Hua, Mei, Mobius, and even Elysia had many things happen in the Moth Chasers to Fire. If Liu Bai accidentally observed any of them, it would cause the system to be corrected.

However, it seems that this period has now passed.

It's not in vain that he cut off communication with the outside world during this period.

"You know him?" Vil-V had excellent control over her expressions and immediately noticed the odd thing about Liu Bai's expression.

"I've gotten to know them—both as people and as plans."

Liu Bai glanced at Vil-V and directly pointed out the trap in her words.

Vil-V's lips twitched.

Well, maybe I, as a scientist, should learn to trust my female intuition.

"So it seems the dangerous period you mentioned earlier has passed?"

More dangerous than Mei herself was what Vil-V realized.

—Mobius and Elysia!

While the interference from several women was one reason why Liu Bai didn't grant these two contracts, the main reason was to avoid conflicts arising from Liu Bai himself.

It's no secret to them that Liu Bai's timeline is different from theirs. Liu Bai's past may be their future. Once the current Liu Bai observes another Liu Bai from the future or the past, it will trigger a world correction.

Therefore, Liu Bai must ensure that the key figures at crucial moments are kept in an unknown state in order to "fool" the world.

But... this caution can now end.

This means that Liu Bai can now form a contract with Elysia and Mobius.

Compared to these two, what is that expressionless, bespectacled girl in the lab who is Liu Bai?

"Oh, that's really bad news."

Eden rubbed his temples, but didn't seem particularly anxious.

Strangely enough, both Mobius and Elysia are best friends with Eden.

Besides the ELM clique, Eden was a member of the Mobius clique.

Therefore, compared to Vil-V, Eden did not appear as nervous or anxious—although what he was thinking remains unknown.

"Let's talk about the person outside first..."

"Her name is Mei. She's my student. She's a little aloof, but she's actually a very nice person."

Liu Bai explained without any hesitation.

Is that good? Would a really good person occasionally have the idea of dumping their junior brother in cement and then drowning him in a river?

"Vil-V complained."

After learning that Mei was also an "insider," Vil-V recalled the rather critical remarks Mei had made that she hadn't paid much attention to at the time.

"I hope he's just an ordinary student."

In the past, the word "student" would have put Vil-V at ease, but now Vil-V was ready to trust her woman's intuition—that bookish, bespectacled girl was definitely an enemy worth fighting!

"Isn't this a bit too sensitive?" Eden wasn't as easily angered as Vil-V.

"What's your relationship with Liu Bai? He watched you grow up, so he's practically your godfather, right? I have a feeling you have some ulterior motives towards Liu Bai." Vil-V spoke without any politeness.

"Not just a little, but a great deal," Eden silently agreed in his heart.

However, despite agreeing, it was difficult for the two of them to continue their conversation after Vil-V had put it this way.

That hurts...

"Go see her?"

Eden changed the subject.

"I'm still quite curious about what kind of person Liu Bai's student is, after all, for me..."

"You want to take advantage of someone?"

Vil-V raised an eyebrow, while Eden remained silent.

... How can you say that you're taking advantage of someone?

Eden looked away, but while Vil-V teased him this time, she didn't directly deny Eden's idea.

After all, if you were a scientist from headquarters, Vil-V would definitely be treated with the utmost courtesy and honored as a guest of honor. But now you're on the same side as us—if we don't give you a taste of our power, it would be a disservice to ourselves!

Bringing Eden over to put some pressure on that little girl would be a good idea—clearly, Vil-V has a fairly good sense of self-awareness in some respects and hasn't become so arrogant as to think she can put pressure on Mei.

Although Vil-V didn't know where she got the confidence that 28-year-old Eden could put pressure on 18-year-old Mei.

Logically speaking, shouldn't the normal plot be that Mei puts pressure on Eden...?

Vil-V glanced at the radiant face that had never changed in her memory—well, Eden, that bastard, seemed to be forever twenty years old.

This kind of guy would be perfect for putting pressure on the other side.

"Alright, let's go. Who knows, that little girl might stay here for quite a while."

Vil-V directly changed her address for Mei to "Little Girl".

"Let's go after Liu Bai finishes reading it."

Despite the commotion, Vil-V didn't forget what the important matter at hand was.

"No need to look at it, I should have something better." Liu Bai calmly returned the document. "Although it's the initial proposal, it's more mature than I imagined—I'll take over this project from now on."

"—Then what should I do?" Vil-V was taken aback.

"Give me your hand—don't tell me our Minister Vil-V is no longer used to being an assistant." Liu Bai reached out and tapped Vil-V on the head.

Vil-V covered her head. "I just didn't expect you to be so decisive in rolling up your sleeves and getting involved..."

To be honest, the teamwork between Vil-V and Liu Bai is much better than that of the other nobodies—after all, they've been working together for three or four years.

"Don't tell me you can't see it; this is a plan for ten thousand years."

"A plan for ten thousand years..." Vil-V's expression turned solemn for a moment, "I understand."

Other things can be ambiguous, and playing around is fine, but when it comes to fighting against the Honkai, there can be absolutely no ambiguity!

I overslept, that's all for now, I'm heading out at 8 AM.

I think we should adjust the update schedule...

Chapter 367 The Subtle Agreement of That Year

Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I last assisted Liu Bai, hasn't it? Long enough that this perverted lover hadn't even been born yet.

Vil-V's thoughts drifted away.

Back then, when Liu Bai first slammed the proposal for Honkai Energy weapons on the table, he was a pure mechanical enthusiast and was completely... well, not exactly clueless, but at most he had only gotten a vague understanding from Mobius.

During that time, Liu Bai personally taught her various common knowledge and taboos about Honkai and guided her through the process.

Thinking about it carefully, if you calculate it this way, I guess I can barely be considered Liu Bai's student?

However, Liu Bai was quite "generous" in not taking advantage of me—and it's a good thing he didn't, otherwise my lover might be even more perverted now.

And now, Liu Bai's true "successor" has appeared before her... Vil-V felt a little uneasy.

After all, she and Liu Bai have only known each other for four or five years. She is not as experienced as Mobius and Eden, and now she can't even compare to this student.

As for cuteness, she couldn't compare to that girl Pardo. And as for girlishness... Vil-V, who mostly spent her time with cold machines, felt she couldn't compare to someone like Sakura, who seemed cold but was actually incredibly pure.

Her girlish heart was mostly due to... no, her lover's heart was less a girlish heart and more a simple yandere plus pervert.

Perhaps this part is still with the "fraudster"—but that guy hasn't shown up for a long time.

It's as if she's waiting for her lover to win over Liu Bai before she comes out... If that's really the case, Vil-V feels she might never see the con artist as the main personality in her life.

But then again, maybe these random thoughts of mine are part of a girl's heart?

Vil-V glanced silently at Eden, who remained calm beside her, and smiled wryly to herself.

Unexpectedly, one day she would be more anxious than Eden —something she wouldn't have dared to imagine two or three years ago.

Liu Bai is a complete swamp made of honey... No, perhaps that description is not appropriate.

After all, you can actually "get stuck" in something like a swamp—even a science and engineering girl like her, who has absolutely no romantic side, sometimes thinks about indulging in a gentle embrace for a while!

... Ah, speaking of which, why don't we just buy a life-size doll in the future? When we're tired, we can let Liu Bai possess us, then lean against him and enjoy a massage.

Aside from making Liu Bai look like a gigolo, isn't this pretty good?

And regarding the idea of being a gigolo... Vil-V had thought about it when she was chatting with Mobius before—when Mobius was talking about artificial bodies.

Vil-V's thoughts were probably that Liu Bai had a physical body, married everyone, and then each of them had sex with him once a night. Could this be considered gang rape against Liu Bai?

If Liu Bai and I do it together, is it considered a normal part or a multi-person impart?

After pondering these unusual questions, Vil-V thought that occasionally using Liu Bai as a tool might not be a bad idea.

At least the ethical issues in this regard don't seem so obvious?

Why do I suddenly feel a chill?

Liu Bai looked around as he walked along the road with Vil-V.

"Perhaps Mobius is thinking about you?" Vil-V replied, feigning composure. "After all, it's hard to imagine how long Mobius struggled internally before taking your student... well, that guy can actually be described as a kind elder who isn't so kind when it comes to official matters."

"Mobius wouldn't like the term 'elder'."

"I don't like it either," Eden interjected casually.

She and Mobius are only two years apart, practically the same age, which is why Mobius doesn't bother Eden much—or rather, he does so relatively infrequently.

After all, when age becomes a debuff in a relationship, instead of completely accepting it, it's better to make the most of it and use it as a qualification to pressure others.

But Eden, that bastard, always looked no different from twenty years old, and was of the same generation as him, which made Mobius not want to see Eden at all.

But Eden is different from Mobius. Eden said he is forever twenty years old. Does he need to use his seniority to intimidate others?

No need for that. Not to mention Vil-V, who's right next to her, when she takes Sakura out, most people would probably think Eden is younger than Sakura. The only ones who look younger than her are Pardo and Aili.

Especially Aili, after they came to understand each other, Eden's anxiety about Aili turned into "forever twenty years old looking at forever seventeen years old"—of course, if others knew about this, they would just call the two of them "dogs looking at dogs."

But that doesn't stop Eden from hating the age-related terms aoe.

That said, Eden also knew another one who didn't look old— Aponia.

However, this nun's maternal glow was a bit too strong, so much so that Eden didn't know how to classify her... She was probably an outsider?

"Are you back?"

Mei heard footsteps at the door and turned around. Then she saw another person enter and froze.

"... Miss Eden?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Mei." Eden calmly looked Mei up and down and nodded in greeting.

This kid has a very good foundation.

The only problem is that his facial expressions aren't very rich. He's clearly surprised, but you can't really tell unless you look closely.

Eden thought to himself.

In Eden's opinion, Mei would be even more charming if she were willing to smile more.

In addition, glasses do affect one's appearance a bit, but on the other hand, it's also a cute feature.

There will always be someone who likes emotionless, bespectacled girls...

"Ah, good afternoon, Miss Eden. Are you also interested in this experiment?"

Mei quickly came to her senses, a slightly surprised expression on her face—she remembered what Vil-V had said when she left—"Digest this plan."

So the result of digestion is this Miss Eden?

If she remembers correctly, this person has absolutely no connection to science or the university.

"It's something I'm very interested in." Liu Bai tossed a contract to Mei. "Long time no see, Mei."