Gray Serpent

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that this was the first time Eden had talked to Elysia about wedding dresses.

"Besides, bringing up this kind of thing is a bit too much for people to handle."

"Haha... How should I put it? It was kind of a sudden idea? I suddenly wanted to take some wedding photos with Liu Bai or something." Elysia seemed a little embarrassed.

"And then you come to me to make your wedding dress?" Eden sighed. Asking her love rival to make her wedding dress was something Elysia was probably one of a kind.

Only Elysia would have this kind of thought process.

"If anyone can understand me, it's definitely you, Eden!"

"No, you should go find Mobius instead." Eden waved his hand, indicating that he couldn't accept such praise. "And don't even think about the wedding dress. Such things are not conducive to the Moth Chasers to Fire."

"Hey? How is this bad for unity? Everyone can wear wedding dresses and take a group photo with Liu Bai!"

Eden: "..."

Eden rubbed his temples, feeling utterly helpless. No matter how long they had been friends, some of Elysia's thoughts still made him feel dizzy.

Wedding photos and such... well, I have to admit, while this proposal is a bit overwhelming, it also seems a little tempting.

But...

"I refuse." Eden had no desire to mess around with Elysia. "There are too many things to do if we're really going to take a photo together. It would be fine if it were in the mental world, but since we need a wedding dress, it means we're going to take it in reality, right? Mobius hasn't created a physical body with Liu Bai yet—although I trust the Doctor's abilities, to be honest, I'm skeptical, and it would be a waste of time."

"Waaah— Eden, you've become so unromantic."

"No, I'm very romantic—I can pull out a wedding dress anytime and take a picture with Liu Bai."

Eden gave Elysia a half-smile.

What makes you think I've never made a wedding dress for myself before?

"Whoa! Eden, you're actually planning to eat all by yourself?" Elysia exaggeratedly showed an expression as if she had seen Eden for the first time.

"Say what you will." Eden wasn't embarrassed at all by Elysia's exaggerated expression. "As for the wedding dress, Aili, you don't need to rush at all. Anyway, you... everyone will have that day someday. It's an important 'first time' for a young girl. Trying it now is a bit too early."

Don't you even think about why I don't have wedding photos with Liu Bai yet?

Although Liu Bai doesn't have a physical body, he can still hold the little person directly if necessary!

If I wanted to take wedding photos to show off my love, I could drive you all crazy, okay?

"Well... who can blame us for starting to feel a bit uncertain about our future? Crisis is looming all the time, and even I'm starting to feel a bit nervous."

Elysia showed a slightly convinced expression, but still spoke with a rare hint of melancholy.

It was quite rare to see such an expression on Elysia's face.

However, before Eden could even offer any words of comfort, Elysia had already regained her composure.

"Forget it! Since that's the case, it's not too late for everyone to get married after the war."

"... It's one thing for you to plant your own flag, but can you please not drag everyone else into it?"

Eden was speechless upon hearing this.

"Don't worry about small things. But Eden, you can feel the urgency, right? Even Pardo underwent Hypermutation Surgery a couple of days ago, and that child is also preparing to work hard."

Elysia was somewhat surprised that this timid "pet cat" would have such awareness.

Well, unfortunately, according to her observation, after Pardo became Fusion Warrior, her combat power at most went from being a weakling to being a complete failure.

This fact made Pardo, who had been mustering the courage to contribute on the battlefield, very depressed, and she could only go back to being a mascot.

When Elysia mentioned Pardo, Eden smiled slightly, "I don't know what Dr. Mobius was thinking, but he actually picked a cat-shaped Honkai Beast for Pardo. Now Pardo has become Sakura's exclusive weapon."

Eden couldn't help but smile whenever he thought about how Sakura would give way three meters to Pardo these past two days.

It seems that Sakura really can't control Pardo's cat-keeping habits anymore.

"And Dr. Vil-V, she also underwent Hypermutation Surgery today."

"Her? Hmm... not surprising."

Eden hadn't really noticed this, but as a scientist who had always dealt with Honkai, performing Hypermutation Surgery was obviously a reasonable thing to do.

Moreover, Vil-V is also good at fighting. Although she was forced to go to the front lines by Liu Bai, you can't deny that her time on the front lines helped Vil-V develop a lot of combat-related skills.

"And speaking of which, isn't today the day that guy is supposed to deliver the goods?"

Eden subconsciously looked up at the clock.

"Oh, the Ninth Divine Key, Stars of the Past —I actually think the name 'Eden Star' that Liu Bai came up with is quite suitable as well." When this topic came up, Elysia showed a teasing expression.

Elysia actually found it quite romantic to name the Ninth Divine Key after Eden.

If we hadn't spent so much time together, the way Liu Bai was named would have led people to mistakenly think it was a confession or something.

And to be honest, everyone thinks that if the Ninth Divine Key were to be used by Eden, it would indeed deserve the name "Eden Star".

After all, this is Eden...

However, Eden himself vehemently rejected the name despite everyone's agreement— Liu Bai's naming method always reminded Eden of Liu Bai's outlandish idol proposal back then.

What's with Ultra Supreme Most Beautiful Angel Eden-chan...?

Eden was actually somewhat pleased with Liu Bai's naming method, but ultimately couldn't overcome the hurdle of feeling ashamed.

"Don't make fun of me, Liu Bai's naming ability is a complete mess."

"Really? But if Liu Bai were to give me the future God Key called 'Star of Aili,' I would be happy to accept it as a token of our love."

"..."

Wait, a token of love... is there such a thing as a token of love?

It seems... there really is?

Wait a minute, did I miss a potentially romantic scene?

Eden fell into deep thought.

At that moment, a long-lost sense of shame welled up within her, and she rejected Liu Bai. Liu Bai didn't say anything at the time, and she thought the matter was over...

As expected of Aili? She always manages to find something romantic...

"Knock knock knock!"

A short knock suddenly sounded at that moment.

"Please come in."

As soon as Eden finished speaking, Vil-V appeared in front of the two of them holding a small ball.

Hello! Good afternoon!

A woman named Vil-V, who was in a state of high excitement, twirled around in front of the two of them in an exaggerated manner.

"Clang clang clang clang! The Ninth Divine Key! The Eden Star— "

"It's the Stars of the Past," Eden corrected, frowning.

I don't know why, but it seems like everyone prefers the somewhat unconventional name "Eden Star".

"Don't interrupt the magician's performance, Lady Eden!"

Vil-V waved her hand.

"Clang clang clang clang! The Ninth Divine Key! The Stars of the Past is officially born! Now—"

"If you can't keep your introduction under thirty seconds, don't even think about funding next time."

Mei appeared at the door at some point, looking at Vil-V with a sinister expression.

"..."

Even though Vil-V was unwilling, she regained her serious expression when Mei stared at her with that expression.

"The Ninth Divine Key, Stars of the Past, has this small sphere in my hand as its core component. In its basic state, it can directly control gravity, and it can also be equipped with an external stabilizer to adapt to various combat needs."

With a stern face, Vil-V gave a brief introduction to the God Key.

Mei nodded with satisfaction. A good Vil-V is Vil-V who doesn't waste words.

"Also! The most important point! Eden, watch closely!"

Suddenly, Vil-V became excited again and pressed a button on the Stars of the Past.

BOOM!

After a loud noise, a small Abyss Flower grew on the Stars of the Past.

"How about that! Isn't this feature really fun!"

As she spoke, Vil-V pressed the button again.

BOOM!

This time, a small purple flower sprouted.

Mei, who had just been feeling pleased, immediately darkened her face upon seeing the two flowers.

Damn it... adding this useless function to a proper weapon like the God Key again.

Vil-V held up the Stars of the Past with a sacred expression.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Colorful flowers bloom on the God Key.

"Look! This is the true form of the God Key, transcending the weapon! Its most primal and authentic appearance!"

"..." Eden fell silent.

Elysia looked interested and said, "Doctor! Can you install this function on the Abyss White Flower as well?"

"Of course! Just deliver the Abyss White Flower to my lab later!"

Mei listened to their conversation, and her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

You're really brave, demonstrating your useless, broken function right in front of me...

"Dr. Vil-V, come out here for a moment."

Mei gave Vil-V a friendly look.

"Let's go outside and discuss your future funding situation—for example, should we cut it by 70% or 90%?"

The author fell asleep in the middle of the night, thankfully without oversleeping...

Chapter 435 Gray Serpent

In the end, Vil-V was dragged away by Mei, yes, as a Fusion Warrior, she was captured by ordinary people. This must be what they call the oppressive power of superiors and subordinates, right?

Before leaving, however, Vil-V left Eden with an instruction manual and a dual-gun stabilizer. As she was being dragged away, she told Eden that he could contact her anytime if he wanted a new stabilizer.

"They never learn their lesson."

Eden shrugged, though he was criticizing her, he was completely unconcerned about Vil-V's "wasteful behavior".

As the major investor, her mindset is: I pay, you deliver the goods. As long as the goods are satisfactory, I don't care what useless features you add.

Vil-V, on the other hand, has a more impulsive researcher's mindset—"I've already shipped the goods to you, I can do whatever I want with the rest of the money, what's it to you?"

Mei, on the other hand, embodies the mindset of a highly efficient researcher—you have money left over, why not use it to do something meaningful instead of adding useless features?

It seems that Vil-V and Mei's ways of thinking are incompatible, but Eden, as the benefactor, is watching the two of them with a sense of schadenfreude.

This is much more interesting than the comedies on TV.

"I think Vil-V's idea is quite good, but she lacks a romantic mindset."

"It is precisely because she is rational enough that she remains in the position of leader."

Eden curled her lip, as if they really thought many of them were that familiar with Mei?

No, no, no, the week Liu Bai left before proved that many people were only familiar with Liu Bai, which is why they acted as if they were familiar with Mei.

Without Liu Bai, apart from Vil-V, the other original ELM members were actually quite indifferent to Mei.

Mei was able to maintain her position, partly due to Liu Bai's support, but more importantly because Mei is truly impartial and clear about separating public and private matters, and is coldly ruthless. Otherwise, given their relationship with Mei, even with Liu Bai's support, they might not have trusted her.

"Eden, don't say such antisocial things." Elysia naturally understood Eden's implied meaning, and with a smile, she pushed the wine glass next to her in front of Eden, indicating that Eden should pour her a glass.