Chapter 297

"Aiyin, you look amazing! You have that literary, girlish charm."

Shen Gonglin made no attempt to hide her admiration. These girls each had their own dazzling side, and each one was a unique individual, like a bright and beautiful flower. They were truly amazing.

"A literary girl? You can be one too, as long as you're willing to read seriously..."

"No, I mean you can read the book even when it's upside down, that's really amazing."

Rin Shen Gonglin frankly admired Einstein, but the atmosphere in the room became awkward. Einstein's fair face turned red rapidly. Okay, she admitted it; she was just pretending to read, with Shen Gonglin lying on the bed watching her. How could she possibly concentrate on reading under such circumstances? And Shen Gonglin's admiring attitude had exposed her pretense...

Why isn't there a crack in the ground? Einstein really wants to crawl into one.

"Even the same book can be interpreted differently from different perspectives... Well, it's getting late, let's go to sleep."

Somewhat awkwardly, she put the book aside, trying to stay calm. As long as she wasn't embarrassed, it was others who were. Einstein maintained her air of a genius inventor. Actually, she didn't know what she was rambling about. Anyway, she couldn't concentrate on the book anymore. The girl naturally walked to the bedside and took off her coat, while Shen Gonglin looked a little uncomfortable. Einstein also noticed Shen Gonglin's gaze. What, now you know how to be shy?

"Aiyin... you're sleeping here too? I was thinking you'd sleep on the sofa."

"...Then I'll leave? Shen Gonglin, this is my room. There's no reason for me to sleep on the sofa. I hope you understand that."

Ai-in was genuinely angry. She had finally overcome her mental stress and fallen asleep, only to be told this by Shen Gonglin. Did she not consider herself a girl at all?

"No, no, it's just that... I might be a little restless when I sleep, I'm just afraid..."

Shen Gonglin quickly explained that while it might not sound pleasant to say that someone had taken over another's place, he was genuinely thinking of Einstein.

"It's okay, I don't mind."

The doctor gave a cold snort; she was in a bad mood and needed to be coaxed.

Chapter Seventeen: The Clingy Type of Shen Gonglin

As the morning sun shone into Einstein's room, the girl, tormented all night, finally opened her somewhat neurasthenic eyes. She hadn't slept well the night before, but it was anything but normal sleep. Most importantly, Einstein had a particularly strange dream. In it, she seemed to be fighting the Loch Ness Monster, and was tormented by it all night long. It was such a vivid dream; the backache and pain from being confined all night felt incredibly real...

Oh, it seems to be true, but it's not the Loch Ness Monster, it's the clingy Shen Gonglin.

Einstein tried to sit up in bed, but found that she couldn't even do such a simple movement. At this moment Einstein realized that the feeling of restraint on her body was still there even though she was awake. The blue-haired girl looked down and saw a fair and jade-like arm tightly locking her neck, and this feeling on her waist... It's not hard to imagine what was going on with Shen Gonglin under the covers. So this guy didn't lie to her yesterday.

He really is a restless sleeper. First, he kicked her butt several times, and now he's being treated like a body pillow. Einstein now extremely regretful that she didn't listen to Shen Gonglin and sleep on the sofa last night. This feeling... Is this life? Tesla struggled to sit up. This time, she truly understood what it felt like to carry a heavy burden in life.

"Shen Gonglin, it's time to wake up and clear your head."

Helpless, Einstein could only gently urge Shen Gonglin to wake up, but to this guy, Einstein's calm and gentle voice had no effect whatsoever. Shen Gonglin was still fast asleep, and Einstein didn't know what he was dreaming about. He just felt that the control over him was getting tighter and tighter. Hmm, should he sleep a little longer? Anyway, no one was probably looking for him...

Just as Einstein was hesitating about this, a spherical robot next to him suddenly rang. The urgent ringtone sounded rather jarring in the room. This ringtone could only belong to Tesla. Wasn't she at the Diet dealing with Shen Gonglin's matter? Why was she calling now? Was there some emergency?

"Shen Gonglin, get up... Tsk, you forced me to do this, it has nothing to do with me."

Knowing the Dr. Lobster Head's personality, Einstein she would definitely explode if he didn't get through to her quickly. He tried hard to break free from Shen Gonglin's restraints, but even in her sleep, she didn't loosen her grip. Was she dreaming that he had turned into a giant python? Einstein felt his breathing becoming difficult. After thinking it over, Einstein had no choice but to use some special methods.

With a slight blush, Einstein hesitantly turned her head and tried to bring her face close to Shen Gonglin's ear. Then she opened her mouth and gently bit Shen Gonglin's ear. When she examined him earlier, Einstein noticed that this guy's ears seemed to be particularly sensitive. Of course, her own ears were the same.

"Ugh..."

This trick worked! Shen Gonglin's face suddenly turned red in her sleep, and the arm that had been tightly hugging her neck lost its strength. Einstein, finally relieved, quickly removed Shen Gonglin's arm from her neck. Shen Gonglin fell back asleep, while Einstein immediately contacted Tesla, hoping she wasn't getting impatient.

[Hey! You Chicken Coop Head, why did it take you so long to answer? What are you doing...? You're not even up yet, are you? Seriously, it's this late and you're still not up. The thought of you sleeping soundly while I'm working so hard negotiating with those old fogies in Congress makes me so uncomfortable. Let me rant about you!]

The communication was established, and the spherical robot projected Tesla's video. Tesla immediately saw Einstein's sleepy-eyed appearance, coupled with her messy, bird's-nest-like hair... Although her hairstyle usually resembled a bird's-nest, Tesla knew it was her special hairstyle. But this time was different. The heavy dark circles under her eyes and her truly bird's-nest-like hair really surprised Tesla. Although this Chicken Coop Head, like Tesla's, liked to stay up late, even if she stayed up late, she wouldn't look like this at this hour.

She still hadn't gotten up at this hour, and Tesla felt this was completely unfair to her, who worked so hard!

[Dr. Tesla, I'm up now. You didn't contact me specifically just to talk about this, did you? Or do you have some other grievances to vent?]

Her tone was incredibly calm. Einstein sat up straight to make her upper body look perfectly normal. The communicator was positioned so that it couldn't capture her lower body. Tesla would never guess that she was still in bed with Shen Gonglin lying next to her. She should just deal with her quickly and then go back to sleep for a while. Did this girl really think everyone was as energetic as her all day?

[Those old fogies are impossible to communicate with. They just keep repeating the same old thing over and over again. It's infuriating! I already said that Shen Gonglin and Kiana's situations are different, the Herrscher's abilities don't affect him, and he's unlikely to go berserk. But those old bastards... those old jerks still keep saying "just in case." I cursed out loud then, and then something else happened. Ugh! Chicken Coop Head is so annoying!]

Tesla complained bitterly to Einstein, regretting that she hadn't come to Congress to negotiate with them. Now, she not only had to deal with their attitude towards Shen Gonglin, but also other issues. Tesla was furious that she was stuck here. She had originally planned to go with Shen Gonglin and the others to buy things for the Anti-Entropy anniversary celebration.

[I hope you didn't address the Senate directly, Dr. Tesla. You said something else happened; what are you referring to?]

Whether she was an old stubborn man or a scoundrel, Einstein only hoped that Tesla would be more polite to those senators. However, it was precisely because of her fiery temper that Tesla was put in charge of diplomatic affairs. She would never suffer a loss. But what did Tesla mean by the other things she mentioned?

"It seems like the mechs we provided to Congress suddenly malfunctioned. During a live-streamed speech, a security mech rushed onto the stage and started hurling insults at the speaker. Because it was broadcast live, everyone watching saw it, so it's become quite a big deal. They can't even care about Shen Gonglin now; they've dragged me here and won't let me leave. It's really a headache... Hmm? Don't you know, Chicken Coop Head, I sent you the link when it happened."

Chapter Eighteen: You dare to cheat on me!

What the heck? Something so interesting actually happened. I was probably sleeping with Shen Gonglin and didn't see the link. This kind of thing is interesting, but how can it compare to sleeping with Shen Gonglin? I never expected something like this to happen without my knowledge. Security mechs are cursing at a congressional speaker live on air. That must be really interesting.

[Please tell me what they said first.]

Einstein was very interested in this kind of gossip. His first concern was that those speakers were all hypocritical people, and it must have been very embarrassing to be insulted to their faces.

[To be honest, it wasn't an insult. Can you even call telling the truth an insult? Cowardly, timid, opportunistic—aren't those all true? Let me tell you, I actually found it quite entertaining when I heard it. The scene was quite chaotic, it was really interesting.]

Tesla said excitedly, "That was really interesting! If I wasn't worried that Shen Gonglin was already asleep, I would have woken Shen Gonglin up to watch the live stream. The dark face of the congressional speaker at the time was so exciting for Tesla. However, since the mecha was provided by Anti-Entropy, she couldn't escape responsibility either. At least until this matter was resolved, she couldn't return to Salt Lake Base."

[I have no comment on this, but even if our mechs are equipped with language modules, the fact that security mechs can launch personal attacks against others is absolutely illogical.]

Looking beyond the surface, Einstein doesn't believe that the AI level of the Anti-Entropy Mechs has reached this level. Could it be that the mechs couldn't stand the spokesperson's nonsense? That's impossible. So there must be someone behind this, and it can't be treated as an ordinary live broadcast accident.

[Hmph, let me tell you, 80% of it was their own mistake, and 20% was a deliberate attempt to frame us, to put pressure on us and force us to compromise on the matter of Shen Gonglin and Kiana!]

Tesla snorted coldly. Taking advantage of this incident, those old fogies started arguing with him again. What did this have to do with the Herrscher? Didn't they know that their Shen Gonglin was very well-behaved?

[Huh? Framed? Did they say anything?]

Einstein was puzzled. How could this possibly have anything to do with Kiana and Shen Gonglin? It was completely unrelated.

[It's the same old tune again, saying our methods for containing Herrscher are too lenient, that letting the Herrscher of the Void... that is, Kiana and Shen Gonglin, move freely is irresponsible to the Federation people. They don't know about Bronya's situation, otherwise they would definitely continue to complain. I've repeatedly told them that Kiana's state before Conquest Gem has stabilized and she can control her power, and Shen Gonglin has even less of a problem in this regard, but they just won't believe it. They even say that this mecha accident was a conspiracy by the Herrscher of the Void. I almost laughed when I heard that. Please, do they even understand what Herrscher is?]

In a flash, Tesla, with his quick wit, rattled off a string of words without even taking a breath, managing to link everything to the Herrscher. Was global warming and the extinction of dinosaurs the Herrscher's doing? Even mecha malfunctions could be linked to the Herrscher. The Herrscher must have so much free time, actually controlling a mecha to curse and rant on a live stream. Tesla felt that with that kind of time, the Herrscher of the Void might as well just snap her fingers and be done with it.

In other words, you believe they intentionally orchestrated this incident to smear Anti-Entropy, then use it as a pretext to exert pressure, with the aim of interfering with or even taking over Kiana's protection?

Unaffected by Tesla's subjective criticisms, Einstein realized that while the matter wasn't a huge one, it wasn't insignificant either. Einstein didn't believe Congress would do such a thing, as it would be counterproductive.

[That must be it! I personally oversaw the supply of those mechs to Congress; I personally tightened every single screw. How could there be a problem?]

Tesla was very confident in her skills; she was undoubtedly an expert in mecha manufacturing. How could her mecha have such a problem? Therefore, she strongly suspected that it was a conspiracy by Congress. How wicked they were! They've always been wicked.

However, this is not in their interest. The negative impact of the livestream incident on them is far greater than on us, which is not their usual style.

Einstein shook his head, denying Tesla's conjecture, while Dr. Lobster Head snorted coldly. Who knows? Anyway, there are plenty of people who don't like Anti-Entropy, so one more won't make a difference.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about this. We should be on high alert over there lately, and it would be best to do a complete overhaul of the mechs. I have to go over there later for a meeting with those old fogies; those bastards are going to cause trouble again, and I'll have to deal with them... I probably won't be able to go back anytime soon. As for Shen Gonglin ... I'm leaving Rin Jingu in your care.

After her rant, Tesla had to go back to work. The time was so tight she didn't even have time to contact Shen Gonglin. She had to entrust him to Einstein. Since she wasn't at the base and couldn't take care of him personally, Tesla was still a little worried about leaving him to someone else. As the host, Einstein would have to take good care of him while she was away.

Don't worry, I'll take good care of you.

Einstein's expression was quite strange when she said this. Taking care of Shen Gonglin? She didn't need to worry about that; she should be taking good care of him, even being personally attentive to him, afraid that he wouldn't sleep well. However, she couldn't let Dr. Tesla know about this.

However, what she feared most came true. Einstein was talking to Tesla, and Shen Gonglin was also woken up in a daze. Suddenly hearing someone say her name, Shen Gonglin swayed and sat up in bed, her big purple eyes still sleepy and hazy.

"Who's calling me... Hmm? Good morning, Tesla."

Shen Gonglin opened her mouth and yawned. Seeing Tesla on the screen, she leaned her head on Einstein's shoulder and waved to Tesla. Tesla saw this scene clearly. In this position and in this situation, there was no doubt that the Chicken Coop Head and Shen Gonglin were in bed!

What the hell was she doing communicating with me? This is what a wife is like... No, I'm not even a wife yet. I asked her to take good care of Shen Gonglin, but I didn't ask her to take care of her to this extent!

[This is a Chicken Coop Head... You're not even human!]

Chapter Nineteen: Free? Accommodation Fee?

Tesla felt he shouldn't have red hair; he should dye it green. Looking at Shen Gonglin and Einstein on the screen, Tesla's face turned red with anger. He'd been struggling to get past those old men all this time, all for Shen Gonglin Rin's sake, and now she was with the Chicken Coop Head ... damn it, the Chicken Coop Head must have seduced him!

Tesla gritted his teeth as he waited for Einstein. The video showed that this was Einstein's room. Shen Gonglin must have been bewitched by her to be here. The two must have slept together last night. Well, this guy looks so handsome, but I never expected him to be the kind of person who would do such a thing. Tesla clenched his white teeth tightly. I never thought that Einstein was also his enemy.

They truly are lifelong rivals!

"You Chicken Coop Head wait, I'm coming back right now to kill you, even though you know I hate this kind of scene the most!"

A wave of impotent rage washed over her, Tesla hung up the phone immediately. Einstein opened his mouth to explain, but the video suddenly went black. It wasn't hard to imagine that she was probably preparing to return to base by now. What a mess this was... Without a doubt, it was all this guy's fault. Why did he have to wake up at this time of year?

"Shen Gonglin, wake up... Honestly, don't you know how much trouble you've caused me?"

Einstein sighed deeply, then turned to look at Shen Gonglin. After her powerful appearance, the girl seemed to have fallen asleep again, her little golden head resting on her shoulder, bobbing gently. Does this girl still have some natural characteristics? She really adds a lot to cuteness, of course, she also adds a lot to being a nuisance.

"Wake up, it's time to get up... Hurry up and wake up, you're drooling."

With both hands gently pulling on Shen Gonglin's cheeks, Einstein gently pulled them apart. If she fell asleep any longer, there would definitely be problems. The Hyperion would definitely come looking for her. It was already troublesome enough that Tesla found out, but if Kiana and her group saw her too... Einstein felt a headache coming on. He should have known better than to have been soft-hearted and let Shen Gonglin stay with him yesterday. That girl was really a nuisance.

"Hmm... Aiyin, good morning! I think I just dreamt about Godzilla..."

With her cheek being pinched, Shen Gonglin opened her eyes groggily again. Still in a state of low blood pressure after waking up, she was awake but not fully awake, so Einstein could tease her a little at this moment. Without letting go of her fingers, she pulled Shen Gonglin Jingu's delicate face into a ridiculous expression. Only in this way could she slightly comfort Einstein's frustrated heart, as if it wasn't a dream. How was she supposed to explain this to Tesla?

Wait, why should I explain to her? That's strange. Is it because I beat her to it and now I feel guilty? I really don't understand why.

"Get up, it's time to get up. If you don't get up, those girls will definitely come looking for you. Honestly, do you have no idea how much trouble you've caused me? I still have to appease Tesla... so I have to give you something to do too. Get up and wash up quickly."

Taking advantage of his groggy, low-blood-pressure state upon waking, Einstein teased Shen Gonglin Rin thoroughly. After satisfying herself, she dragged Shen Gonglin off the bed, pushed the zombie-like Shen Gonglin into the bathroom, and even squeezed toothpaste for him. Einstein stood to the side with a towel, urging Shen Gonglin on, feeling like she was his maid. Looking at his dazed state, Einstein almost wanted to brush his teeth herself. What a mess!

"Please hurry up... I have other things planned for you today, consider it payment for your lodging here yesterday, you can't refuse."

As Shen Gonglin gradually regained consciousness, Einstein said something after seeing his movements slowly return to normal. He realized that he would have to go and reassure Tesla later, as he couldn't let her abandon the members of parliament and run back directly. Therefore, the original daily schedule would have to be changed, and he would have to help with this culprit.

"Accommodation fee... Ai Yin, you're being too polite. I thought it would be free because of our relationship, but it turns out it's a transaction. Ha, woman... What's up?"

Rin Shen Gonglin rinsed his mouth, spitting out the foam, and mumbled something under his breath. Einstein was even more puzzled. What kind of deal was this? And it was free! Why did it sound so strange coming from him? While Shen Gonglin was wiping his face, Einstein also tidied his messy hair. But judging from the guy's reaction, he was actually quite obedient.

"It's just a few small things. You know that Anti-Entropy's 60th anniversary is coming up soon. We're planning to hold a party at the base that night, partly to boost morale, and partly to relax and catch our breath. Dr. Tesla volunteered to take care of all the party-related purchases, but as you can see... you probably don't even remember. Anyway, she probably won't be back anytime soon."

Even though his own hair was a complete mess, Einstein was particularly attentive to Shen Gonglin's head, pressing down that unruly ahoge (Einstein) before he was satisfied. He needed to give Shen Gonglin something to do, and as for himself, he had to appease the lobster-head who was probably still in a state of rage.

This guy barged into my room without permission, and I just didn't refuse. It's not a big mistake, is it? It's not my responsibility... Hmm, why does this way of thinking seem a bit like some other people's?

Without giving his own way of thinking a deep thought, Einstein took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Shen Gonglin. He decided to give him the job and let him go out for a walk. He couldn't stay in the Salt Lake Base forever.

"You're the person with the most free time in the entire base. This is a shopping list left by Tesla. Everything can be bought in Salt Lake City. If you're free today, I hope you can do this task for her... Hmm, it's better not to go out alone. Invite whoever is free to come along. Just think of it as a way to relax."

He entrusted this matter to Shen Gonglin, but Einstein added at the end that he didn't feel it was safe for him to go out alone.

Chapter Twenty

It wasn't that Shen Gonglin encountering any danger after going out. Although this guy looked as frail as a naive and innocent child, his strength was genuine. Even Herrscher probably couldn't do anything to him. There were very few people in this world who could pose a threat to him. Einstein was worried about something else entirely: he absolutely couldn't let this guy go out alone, because...

Because Shen Gonglin is an incurable terrible navigator.

I almost forgot about this trait of his. Shen Gonglin is very strong and can give people a great sense of security in battle, as if everything will be fine as long as he is there. However, this does not change the fact that he is terrible with directions. Einstein had investigated Shen Gonglin before, so she knew Shen Gonglin this problem. Letting him go out alone would be like throwing a lamb to the slaughter. There is no need to guess that he would definitely get lost.

"Okay, then Aiyin, how about you come with me? If you come along, you'll know what to buy."

Unaware that the female PhD student was inwardly lamenting her terrible sense of direction, Shen Gonglin simply invited Einstein directly. He was too lazy to remember so many things, so why bother? Why not just have the two of them go together?

"I... I have other things to do. Dr. Tesla... Also, when Tesla left, she repeatedly emphasized that I was not allowed to get involved in this matter because she had some reservations about my aesthetic sense. Of course, I think this is completely unfounded slander, so you should find someone else to handle this."

Einstein hesitated. Going around Salt Lake City with Shen Gonglin sounded nice, but then she remembered the things that the red lobster-head had repeatedly told her to do, so Einstein gave up the idea. Besides, she had to stay and appease Tesla. She couldn't let him just abandon the people in Congress and run back without doing anything. Anti-Entropy already had a bad reputation in Congress, and she couldn't give them any more leverage.

"Oh, okay, then I'll find someone else... Hmm? Aiyin, what does that mean?"

Shen Gonglin thoughtfully prepared to leave, but then Einstein pulled out a black bank card and handed it to him. It was yet another bank card. He already had many bank cards, but only one was his own; the rest were gifts from others. If all the money in them were his, it would probably be a large sum of money.

"This is my bank card. You need money to go out and buy things, so there's no reason for you to pay out of your own pockets. Don't worry, this is the budget for this event. You can use all the money in here. If you see anything that interests you, you can buy it. You haven't been relaxing during this time, have you? I saw Miss Fu Hua eating steamed buns with pickled vegetables. Go out and buy whatever you like."

By placing the bank card in Shen Gonglin's hand, Einstein acted like a parent giving pocket money to a brat. As an executor of Anti-Entropy, she was certainly wealthy, and supporting Shen Gonglin was definitely not a problem for her.

"Thank you, Ai Yin, I love you so much!"

After giving Einstein a happy hug, Shen Gonglin ran out of her bedroom, leaving Einstein alone in the bathroom. The professor blushed slightly, thinking, "Well, this money was well spent."

Sister Bronya's been acting strangely today. She wasn't in her room when I went to look for her this morning, and when I saw her at the training ground, she seemed a bit off. Fu Hua also seemed odd... Is it because of Shen Gonglin? But Sister Bronya said she didn't see Shen Gonglin, so where did she go?

In the corridor, the blue-haired girl, having finished training, was heading to the cafeteria alone to have breakfast. She hadn't seen Shen Gonglin all morning, nor had she seen him while having breakfast. She really didn't know... Hey, isn't that Shen Gonglin? Why is he coming out of Einstein's room?

So he spent the night with the PhD student yesterday?

Feeling like he'd stumbled upon a juicy juicy story, Shen Gonglin stared wide-eyed in astonishment as she sneaked out of Einstein's room. Her furtive manner suggested she wasn't a good person, and it seemed like she often spent the night with girls.

[Exactly, they even excluded us. What an inconsiderate brat.]

Another Seele silently complained in her heart, and at this moment, Shen Gonglin also saw Seele over there, who was surprised and forgot to hide her body. How did she get seen again? Shen Gonglin's mentality immediately collapsed, but fortunately, it was Seele saw her. This girl is quite easy to bully in her normal state. It was a blessing in disguise that she saw her. If it were Kiana or that jealous Class President, it would be dangerous.

"Remember, you didn't see anything, or I'll beat you up, really badly."

He had absolutely no intention of acting like a normal person. Upon seeing Seele, Shen Gonglin cornered her against the wall and began threatening her menacingly. However, this villainous behavior didn't inspire any fear in him, mainly because of his face. That face... it clearly didn't belong to a bad person. Seele was initially a little afraid of Shen Gonglin, but after getting used to it...

I should pretend to be scared, otherwise Shen Gonglin will definitely get angry and do something even worse to me.