Does Anyone Really Drink Computer Parts Like Water?

As long as Honkai Disease could be overcome, the threat posed by Honkai would drop dramatically.

"Not completely overcome... so that means it's been overcome to some extent?"

"Mm. I can still make treatment drugs that are nearly impossible to replicate, but they have absolutely no universal applicability. Of course, aside from that, we've also developed inhibitors that can suppress deterioration."

After speaking, Mobius thought for a moment and took two small spray bottles from a cabinet.

"My instincts tell me you'll get dragged into trouble, kid. Take them."

Honkai Inhibitor Spray (Medicine)

Absorbed through the skin. Can greatly suppress Honkai energy activity. Duration varies depending on overall conditions.

"Now come here. I'll install a biochip for you—don't worry, it'll only monitor your physical condition."

Mobius wanted to see what changes this alien, Liu Bai, could bring to Earth.

And what changes Liu Bai himself would undergo along the way.

There was one thing Mobius had not mentioned.

At present, Liu Bai's cells had absolutely no possibility of being transplanted... in other words, they were "incompatible." Not only were they incompatible with Earthlings, they were even incompatible with Guinaifen, who had traveled with him.

For now, Liu Bai was actually rather tasteless to her.

Too much of a waste to discard, too useless to keep.

Combined with the trouble Liu Bai had stirred up over the past few days, Mobius had begun considering simply letting him run free and seeing what happened.

Besides... the kid really suited her tastes.

Emotionally stable, smart, and rather amusing when teased.

Come to think of it, if she started with his offspring... no, forget it. Raising offspring would take far too long.

And suitable high-quality women were hard to find... though Raven and Jackal from her own ranks could both do the job.

If worse came to worst, she could try capturing a couple of Valkyries. After all, Schicksal was never short on high-quality women...

Ah, no. Better stop entertaining that dangerous thought.

Mobius shook her head.

That could remain a final backup plan.

Liu Bai inexplicably felt a chilly shudder of happiness.

"You weren't thinking about anything bad, were you?"

"Shut up."

Mobius pressed Liu Bai into a restraint chair and lifted his shirt.

"Oh? You actually have muscles? Pretty solid, huh."

Mobius raised an eyebrow, a teasing expression appearing on her face. Then she ran a finger over the faintly defined muscles of Liu Bai's abdomen—an achievement born of studying.

"Mm, they feel pretty good. Time for the injection."

"See? It didn't hurt at all." Mobius chuckled. "If you ever feel unwell anywhere, come find me. Oh, right—just call me Doctor from now on. That 'Highlord' nonsense is just Gray Serpent messing around."

World Serpent Special Functions Unlocked

Research Assistance (Mobius)

Free Medical Care (Mobius)

"Understood, Doctor." Bai rubbed his stomach. "By the way, may I ask you a few questions that might involve privacy?"

"Mm-hm? Privacy? Are you asking about my measurements?"

"Ah, no... though if you insist on telling me, I'm all ears."

"Dream on, little lab rat."

Would Anyone Really Drink Computer Parts Like Water?

"Go on. What do you want to ask?" Mobius sat on the edge of the operating table, looking down at Liu Bai with the commanding air of an elegant older woman.

"Do you know someone named Elysia?"

"Elysia? That name sounds annoyingly pretentious." Mobius's expression remained flat. "But no, I've never heard of her. Was she on your ship?"

How did she get "annoyingly pretentious" from that name...?

"Then... Aponia?"

"Who's that? I'm telling you, the only two people known to have fallen from the sky so far are you and Guinaifen. The wreckage of your aircraft was probably taken away by Schicksal."

Just as expected...

"Then, Mei?"

"mei? Mei? Oh, I know her. She's a genius girl who published a physics paper last week."

"...What about Kevin?"

"Kevin? That name is way too common. But I do seem to have some impression of it. Let me check the electronic files Gray Serpent gave me... oh, there's a Kevin Kaslana. A branch family of Schicksal's Kaslana family. He's the cousin of Siegfried, the current family head."

"Hua, or rather, Fu Hua?"

"Why do you think I'd know all these people? Come on, if you're asking about people, at least ask about someone famous. Someone like Otto, for example."

"..."

Liu Bai had already harbored faint suspicions ever since seeing Mobius as a mature woman with normal eyes and a young Eden, but after confirming it, he still found it hard to believe—was not only the normal storyline a complete mess, but even the stories of the Flame-Chasers had yet to begin?

Then where the hell was he supposed to join Moth to Flame—?!

And there were only six months left before the Stellaron fell! Six months!

What the hell was this bullshit!

"What's wrong?" Mobius looked at Liu Bai in confusion.

She truly did not understand why Liu Bai was asking about all these strange names.

She had originally assumed Liu Bai would ask something like, "What exactly is World Serpent doing?"

She had even prepared herself to be completely honest with him.

Well, not that she had really prepared much. To Mobius, World Serpent did not mean much; it was all something Gray Serpent had put together.

Still, having subordinates was indeed rather convenient.

"Do you need to see someone? Putting everything else aside, I was already planning to personally make contact with that little girl named Mei. I only have a superficial understanding of physics, but even I can tell that her paper contains the real deal."

"...If you're planning to leave, you can take me with you."

After thinking it over, Liu Bai decided there was no need to give up such an opportunity.

Though mei was not a Flame-Chaser, she was still an important figure in Moth to Flame.

If he could make contact with her, he should.

Besides, the matter of the Stellaron was not something that could be resolved overnight.

"Fine. I'll call you when the time comes. Consider it taking you out for a walk."

Mobius waved her hand, signaling that Liu Bai could get lost now.

After leaving World Serpent's underground base, Liu Bai went upstairs, intending to replenish his supply of Elixir of Love.

The stuff was rather indecent, but it really was useful.

However, once he got upstairs, Liu Bai discovered that his luck was not particularly good today. There was a meeting going on inside.

From outside the door, he could hear an arrogant female voice.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Someone patted Bai on the shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Natasha, dressed in a women's business suit and looking every bit the powerful corporate executive. "Are you done with the Highlord?"

"It ended perfectly. By the way, Sister Natasha, what's with this outfit...?"

Natasha's cheek twitched instinctively when she heard that form of address. "A disguise. I'm currently a consultant for Shencheng Pharmaceuticals."

Then Natasha turned Liu Bai around and reached out, only to immediately withdraw her hand.

Ah... this guy was not one of the children she had adopted, who could barely even put on their clothes properly. Why was she trying to straighten his collar?

Come to think of it, had the Highlord stripped this kid?

Natasha coughed lightly to conceal her embarrassment. "Ahem. Don't wander around here. The executive in charge of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals isn't a good person. It won't be good for you if she sees you."

"...By the way, how many executives does World Serpent have?"

"Not many. The proper executives are me, Gray Serpent, the one holding the meeting inside, and one more who's out on fieldwork."

Natasha gestured for Liu Bai to follow her.

"Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and World Serpent are two different things. World Serpent itself isn't very large: the Highlord, a few executives, plus some affiliates responsible for providing funds. Don't let all the employees in Shencheng Pharmaceuticals fool you—these people don't know they're working for World Serpent. Of course, while we're small in scale, every one of us is elite."

"I see. Where are we going?"

"To take you back."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'?"

"Consultant Natasha, who is this...?"

"My younger brother."

Several people greeted Natasha along the way, and Natasha answered them all according to their current identities.

Then Natasha pressed down on Liu Bai's head and whispered:

"I'm not joking with you. The Highlord may look scary, but if I had to put it that way, she's a good person. Sharp tongue, soft heart—though don't let her hear me say that. But that woman in there is a genuine madwoman. If she says she'll dissect you, she'll dissect you."

All right, Jackal really was not someone easy to deal with.

It looked like there was no way to replenish his Elixir of Love today.

After all, judging by the length of the meeting, even if it was almost over, it probably would not end for another hour or two.

He had decided. He would go back and study!

"That's the plan going forward. Meeting adjourned!"

The mature woman with an Egyptian air slapped the table and declared the meeting over, watching with disdain as the department managers left with cold sweat covering their faces.

"Ha... a bunch of trash."

Jackal walked over to the vending machine and scanned a can of coffee.

"Gulp... seriously, why is everyone around me either an idiot or an idiot? Teacher keeps hiding all the good stuff, as though I'd eat people."

Jackal drained the extremely bitter black coffee in one gulp.

Anyone who had to pull all-nighters in an office more or less developed a caffeine dependency.

Jackal scanned the vending machine again.

Out of stock.

The vending machine displayed that message.

Black tea.

Out of stock.

Juice.

Out of stock.

"Damn it... I only went a month without restocking." Jackal's face darkened as she looked at the long string of out-of-stock notices.

She could not exactly drink Honkai energy inhibitors, could she?

She only kept medicine in here so that she or Gray Serpent could conveniently grab it when needed. It was absolutely not meant for casual drinking.

Wait a second, there did seem to be one medicine that could be drunk casually.