Guinaifen looked behind Liu Bai, her expression growing even stranger. "Watch out... These two... uh, monster ladies, are they about to pin you to the ground?"
"Huh?"
Chapter 10: Catch Kiana?
"Ran... ran away."
Guinaifen wiped the sweat from her face and set Liu Bai down from her shoulder.
"Boss Liu, your chastity almost got taken just now."
"No, I mean, why did we run?"
Liu Bai sat on the ground with a strange expression.
"They didn't even have weapons or armor. Wasn't that the perfect chance to ambush them?"
Guinaifen: "..."
Stripping other people's clothes, then beating them to death... Even if they were monsters, Liu Bai was being way too—
Especially since Guinaifen only rationally understood that they were monsters. Emotionally... they looked a little like young girls Liu Bai had tricked out of both money and love.
In a song, someone like Liu Bai would be the villain!
"Wasn't I trying to protect your chastity first, Boss Liu?"
"..."
Liu Bai stared at Guinaifen without a word.
Well, he couldn't deny it. Without Guinaifen there, Liu Bai really would have been taken by those two Deathless.
Hmm... If he exchanged bodily fluids with Deathless, he would definitely be infected by Honkai, right?
But aside from him, probably no one else would ever run into the problem of being forced by Deathless...
"...But come to think of it, those two were still monsters, right?" Guinaifen belatedly realized something. "Uh... Should we go back and kill them?"
"No need. They should've reset already."
Liu Bai dusted off his backside and got to his feet.
As a random in-game dungeon, there was no such thing as monsters entering "reality." As long as the player—Liu Bai—moved a certain distance away, combat would end.
That simulated calyx should have refreshed by now.
"Let's go, let's find the next one."
Seeing more and more onlookers gathering around him and Guinaifen, Liu Bai waved to her.
...Good thing he had stuffed the scythe and clothes into the pot beforehand.
Including the trial Elixir of Love in his hand, he had three bottles left. That was enough to strip... ahem, "collect" three more sets.
Night was approaching.
"Welcome back, Mr. Liu Bai."
At the entrance to Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, Gray Serpent spoke in his hoarse voice.
"It seems you've kept your promise."
"Gray Serpent, do you buy Honkai materials here?" Liu Bai got straight to the point.
Although Honkai materials were valuable, not just anywhere would purchase them. Only the three Main Quest factions bought such materials.
"Honkai? Where did you learn that word? Have you already come into contact with Honkai?"
There was a hint of astonishment in Gray Serpent's voice.
Apparently, even he had not expected Liu Bai, an alien who had just arrived, to encounter Honkai on his first day on Earth.
And from the sound of it, he had even fought a battle and obtained something.
Was this what they called bad luck...? Gray Serpent found it difficult to comment. No wonder this man's spaceship had crashed.
Gray Serpent had never imagined that someone would treat Honkai Deathless as a source of income.
"What do you think?" Liu Bai spread his hands. "So, do you buy them?"
"...World Serpent is precisely an organization engaged in research in this field." Gray Serpent slowly spoke after pondering for a moment.
Forget it. How could someone who had landed on this land possibly avoid dealing with Honkai entirely? At least this saved him the trouble of explaining it later.
"If you have materials rich in Honkai energy, we would be happy to purchase them. Of course, I would not recommend fighting Honkai. The Highlord would not wish to see you come to any harm either. As for the materials' value... you can let the Highlord assess them."
"Thanks."
Liu Bai nodded and led Guinaifen toward the hall where Dr. Mobius was.
Before they even entered the hall, Liu Bai and Guinaifen heard Dr. Mobius's reprimanding voice from inside.
"Raven, your capture operation failed again. Is a mere B-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal really that difficult to handle?"
"My deepest apologies, Highlord... This operation was obstructed by Schicksal headquarters."
"Oh? Schicksal headquarters? Which unit? Undying Blade? Or the Stormtroopers?"
"Undying Blade, led by Rita. They should have come to our Celestial Vault district to search for Liu Bai."
"Tch... What bad timing. Schicksal's reach is getting too long."
Dr. Mobius's tone in the hall seemed to relax somewhat.
"Forget it. Undying Blade will leave on its own in a few days. Raven, I'll give you one last chance. Within a week, bring that little girl called Kiana to me. Understand?"
"Yes, Highlord."
Beep.
Unfortunately, one of Liu Bai and Guinaifen's wristbands happened to connect with the door's sensor, and the door opened in response.
"Hm?" The mature woman in the black dress seated at the head glanced at Liu Bai. Her tone became much gentler, and that lazy expression returned to her face. "I was wondering who it was. It's the little guinea pig. You're back? How does it feel arriving on a new planet? What do you need from me?"
Raven: "..."
Wasn't that gentle tone being used on the wrong people?
I'm your subordinate! Those two are the guinea pigs, okay!
Don't make it sound like I'm the guinea pig and those two are your trusted aides!
Fortunately, Dr. Mobius had no idea about Raven's internal complaints. Otherwise, she would definitely have let Raven know that while ordinary lab mice could cost just a few dollars, specially bred or genetically modified ones could cost tens of thousands each.
"...Did I come at a bad time?"
Liu Bai looked at Dr. Mobius, lounging lazily in the seat of honor, then at Raven, who had just stood up with a trace of grievance beneath her cold expression.
He felt like he had just overheard something rather serious.
"It's nothing important." Dr. Mobius lightly waved her hand twice, signaling Liu Bai not to care. "What is it? Did you need something, or did you just come to chat with me?"
The grievance hidden beneath Raven's cold expression immediately deepened several degrees.
I'm already on my "last chance"! How is that not important?
Highlord! Even if I have no merit, I've at least worked hard!
Liu Bai's expression was rather subtle too. If he did not know names like "Kiana," "Rita," and "Undying Blade," he might really have pretended not to hear it.
But since he had heard... he really cared.
Capture Kiana? And with this lineup?
Was this some alternate version of the Celestial Vault City storyline?
But something felt off.
After all, this was a real world, but not truly the Honkai world. The more identical it was, the stranger it felt.
"Ahem, it's like this. I picked up some Honkai materials. Gray Serpent said I could sell them to you."
"Mm-hm...? You encountered Honkai that quickly? Remember to keep yourself safe, little guinea pig~"
Unlike Gray Serpent, Dr. Mobius did not sound particularly concerned. Instead, she was full of curiosity and did not seem to mind Liu Bai coming into contact with Honkai at all.
"Then take them out. Let me see what my little guinea pig picked up~"
Chapter 11: A Bright Future Is Beckoning
"This really is... a little surprising..."
Dr. Mobius had originally thought Liu Bai had merely picked up something like an arrowhead or blade tip, but when she saw him take out one intact Deathless material after another, she could no longer sit still.
"Raven, look at him, then look at yourself... A complete Glacial Scythe."
Dr. Mobius had already risen and walked down the steps, her fingers somewhat entranced as they brushed across the scythe's blade.
"The last time I told you to capture one alive for me, you refused no matter what I said."
"Killing and capturing alive are two completely different things..." Raven could not help twitching at the corner of her mouth when that matter was mentioned.
Deathless of other attributes were manageable, but capturing a Glacial Scythe alive was far too risky.
Raven had no desire to test control skills with her own body.
"And this isn't an ordinary Glacial Scythe either. Hmm... It feels like one of those Deathless Honkai paid special attention to."
Dr. Mobius was now like a cat that had smelled canned fish, already beginning to analyze the variety of "canned food."
"The condition is intact. It doesn't look like material that went through a major battle at all... Tsk, tsk. Besides this, hmm, there's also a Divine Hero Deathless longbow, Deathless clothing..."
The Divine Hero Deathless loot was what Liu Bai had obtained using the remaining Elixir of Love.
Raven pretended not to hear Dr. Mobius's veiled jab.
She was never going to capture one... As for how Liu Bai had managed to acquire these materials, that was his own ability.
Yes, that was right. Whether it was Dr. Mobius saying it or Raven hearing it, neither of them took the first half of that statement seriously—Honkai Beasts were not running a charity. How could he obtain such things without fighting?
"Hey, kid."
Dr. Mobius's expression suddenly turned serious as she pointed at Liu Bai.
"What is this thing?"
Dr. Mobius pinched up a small strip of cloth with two fingers.
Liu Bai glanced at it and answered honestly, "Underwear."
"Huh?"
"Deathless underwear. Dr. Mobius, didn't you know?"
"Deathless... underwear."
Dr. Mobius looked at the small white piece of cloth in her hand and fell silent.
Underwear... underwear...
Deathless wore underwear too?
This was the first time she had discovered such a thing.
Could it be some extremely rare material?
It was indeed quite tough when pulled, and it seemed to contain plenty of Honkai energy.
"Hmm... Fine. Underwear it is."
Dr. Mobius did not dwell on it too much.
She had decided. Her next research project would be the origin of Deathless underwear.
"Let me calculate it for you. All these things together... Glacial Scythe materials are quite valuable, while the rest are average. I'll round it up for you: two-fifty."
"Huh?"
"Two and a half million." Dr. Mobius rolled her eyes. "All right, all right, go back. Tomorrow, I'll have Gray Serpent open an account for you and transfer the money."
Before you continue