Starting to Eat Clone Soft Rice from Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 33

If I had this power, perhaps I could...

"Alright, settle down."

Before those thoughts could fully form, Mobius spoke up from the side, and the aura around Talulah abruptly stalled.

What was happening? Why, with just one word from her, could she no longer control her own body?

PS: Fourth chapter, rushed and barely made it before midnight.

Chapter 68: Mobius's Plan, the Empress Raising Project

"Looks like the effect is decent."

Watching the now-calm girl, Mobius nodded in satisfaction.

Though her visit to Terra this time was only to test the effects of the improved Monster Cell and the Limit Break Potion, that didn't mean Mobius would leave no failsafes on her test subjects.

The improved Monster Cell worked remarkably well in this world. For someone like Talulah, a Drac with immense innate strength and high racial potential, the power boost after consumption could only be described as staggering.

But correspondingly, anyone who consumed this improved Monster Cell could not defy any command from Mobius or An Xiu. This was a fundamental logic etched into their genes. Moreover, all who ingested this version of the Monster Cell, which Mobius had rigged with a failsafe, had their life and death held in her single thought.

Thus, a scenario where someone consumed the improved Monster Cell and then turned it against her would never occur.

A biting cold wind swept through as FrostNova acted, extinguishing the flames on the houses that had ignited from Talulah's outburst.

"Now it's your turn."

Seeing Mobius's gaze turn to them, Patriot and FrostNova, standing nearby, glanced at Talulah, who hadn't spoken a word since earlier. After a moment's hesitation, they followed her example, picking up the Monster Cells from the ground and swallowing them.

Instantly, two more surges of powerful aura erupted.

Unlike Talulah's earlier burst of flames, FrostNova now had an icy gale swirling around her, sweeping away the lingering heat from Talulah's outburst. Frost began to spread across the walls, ceiling, and corners in large patches.

However, compared to Talulah's earlier display, FrostNova's commotion was noticeably smaller. After all, compared to a Drac with limitless potential, FrostNova, a mere Caster, fell far short in both potential and ceiling.

Correspondingly, Patriot's reaction was far more dramatic.

The already towering Patriot, after consuming the improved Monster Cell, grew by nearly a third of his original size. The heavy protective suit he wore was torn apart by his bulging frame. His throat, nearly silenced by Oripathy, now let out a deafening roar.

At that moment, every Reunion member resting in the village, and even FrostNova standing beside Patriot, felt a primal fear and dread upon hearing that roar.

A faint red light flickered in Patriot's skeletal eye sockets. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt such a healthy body. The unknown flesh they had been given not only restored his crumbling physique but also massively amplified his strength.

Such a precious resource—why didn't they use it themselves, instead giving it to them?

And if his body could recover from eating this unknown flesh, then FrostNova must have recovered too?

With that thought, Patriot turned to look at FrostNova and indeed saw her complexion was much rosier than before. But the girl was clutching her chest with a pained expression, clearly startled by the direct exposure to Patriot's current aura.

"Sorry."

Though his throat could now speak normally, Patriot remained a man of few words as he apologized.

"It's fine. Just be more careful next time."

Having seen the old stubborn man restored to health, FrostNova naturally wouldn't blame her father for a momentary loss of control.

By then, Talulah had risen from the ground, fixing a serious gaze on Mobius before her.

"We've eaten what you gave us, as you ordered. According to the agreement, you can't lay a hand on any other Reunion members."

Unlike FrostNova and Patriot, who hadn't yet grasped the problem, Talulah was well aware that while the gift was good, the price was heavy. Recalling how a single word from the other had left her unable to muster a single thought of defiance, she knew Mobius absolutely had the means to control them.

"Rest assured, my dear little mouse. I always keep my word. For now, you can carry on as usual. You'll just need to come occasionally to cooperate with some experiments."

Seeing the sincerity in Mobius's expression, Talulah chose to trust her for the time being.

And so, after cooperating with Mobius for a few more tests and experiments, the three each left a vial of blood as a genetic sample before being dismissed.

"Master, what do you think of Talulah?"

After the three had left, Mobius suddenly asked An Xiu, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Responsible, loyal, dependable, and steps up when things go wrong. I think Talulah's a solid comrade."

An Xiu replied calmly.

Mobius rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

"So why bring it up all of a sudden?"

An Xiu was genuinely puzzled. Why would Mobius suddenly start inquiring about his preferences? As his clone, she should already know everything about his tastes.

"Heh, let me be direct then. Remember the scoring system from the system update? Based on appearance, strength, status, power, and so on—the higher a woman's overall score, the more points you earn from her, Master."

"Now, since we've coincidentally run into the Reunion and managed to get Talulah under control, would Master be interested in personally raising an empress of Terra?"

After hearing Mobius's explanation, An Xiu immediately understood.

She was suggesting he play an empress-raising project in Terra?

Although the background of this world runs deep, with Mobius's help, simply toppling a few nations on the surface of this world wouldn't be much of a problem.

At the same time, Talulah's own circumstances were highly favorable. As long as the Black Serpent parasitizing her was dealt with, Talulah would effectively hold strong claims to three nations in this world: Ursus, Great Yan, and Victoria. She was practically a born rebel saint.

Coincidentally, Mobius, as the new incarnation, was positioned as a researcher, ill-suited for the frequent public appearances that Seele and Makima had made in the Jujutsu world. Thus, openly supporting Talulah as a front while Mobius provided covert backing would allow An Xiu to develop his influence in Terra while also coasting on soft power to earn points.

Of course, if he found it troublesome, An Xiu could simply manifest another new incarnation to stand on the surface and develop his power in the Arknights world for him.

But since Mobius's methods had already eliminated any worries—no need to fear that silly Talulah would cause any trouble—and he had nothing better to do anyway, An Xiu didn't mind playing along with Mobius's suggestion.

To be honest, in his past life, while playing Arknights, he had more than once wanted to jump through the screen and beat the hell out of those native nations of Terra.

Perhaps knowing this was exactly why Mobius had made such a proposal?

Chapter 69: Talulah, Interested in Building a Nation for Us?

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

Over these two days, Mobius kept her promise. Aside from occasional experiments and blood draws, she didn't interfere with The Reunion anymore.

Thus, though still somewhat worried, Talulah began to gradually pretend that Mobius and An Xiu didn't exist, turning her focus back to fretting over The Reunion's supplies.

"How much food and cold-weather clothing do we have left?"

Standing outside the warehouse where The Reunion stored its supplies, Talulah asked the member responsible for inventory.

"In total, we have thirty jin of food left, and no cold-weather clothing at all."

That member of The Reunion replied.

Hearing this, Talulah's expression turned grim.

Food and clothing—these two things were absolutely essential to survive the harshest winter of the Ursus Snowfield.

But right now, clothing was scarce, and even with the strictest rationing, the food would only last The Reunion three more days at most.

After all, though The Reunion wasn't large, it still had over a hundred people. Splitting thirty jin of food among that many, lasting three days was already the bare minimum allocation.

The team sent out to scavenge for supplies had just returned yesterday, and unsurprisingly, they came back empty-handed.

Given Ursus's situation, everyone knew the deal. Aside from the noble lords, ordinary folks had no surplus grain either, let alone out in the wild.

The problem was, without food, how was The Reunion supposed to survive the winter?

"It seems Little Mouse is troubled. Need me to lend you a hand?"

Just then, Mobius's leisurely voice rang out.

"Are you willing to provide supplies for The Reunion?"

Hearing this, Talulah immediately turned her head, fixing a serious gaze on Mobius as she approached from not far away.

Even though the other party had recently invaded The Reunion and used some unknown method to control her, FrostNova, and Patriot, if she was truly willing to help, Talulah would still regard her as The Reunion's benefactor.

Whatever her motives didn't matter. What mattered was that if they couldn't find food, The Reunion would be unable to keep its pot boiling, and everyone would starve or freeze to death in the snowfield together.

"Come find me alone tonight."

Unfortunately, Mobius didn't seem inclined to answer right away. She only left behind a meaningful remark before walking away.

That evening, Talulah followed Mobius's instructions and came alone to the room where the other woman usually stayed.

But to her surprise, besides Mobius, the room also contained An Xiu and another red-haired woman she had never seen before.

She could understand An Xiu being here—he was usually with Mobius anyway—but when had this unfamiliar red-haired woman arrived at The Reunion without anyone noticing?

Noticing Talulah's gaze, Makima nodded amiably at her, as if greeting her.

"Finally here? We've been waiting quite a while."

Seeing Talulah arrive, Mobius lazily stretched her body in the room before speaking unhurriedly.

"Let's continue where we left off this afternoon. You want me to provide material aid to The Reunion. That's no problem for me—some food and warm clothing. If I want, I can easily ensure every member of The Reunion eats their fill and stays warm through the entire winter."

"But before that, I have a question."

"You founded The Reunion to help those infected, right?"

To this, Talulah nodded without hesitation.

"That's right. Because I've seen too much of the empire's oppression of the infected, I established The Reunion to help these infected escape Ursus's enslavement and persecution, and to fight for the rights they should have."

Though every nation in Terra more or less discriminated against the infected, Ursus was undoubtedly one of the most inhumane among them.

Other nations might just strip them of their rights and drive them away, but Ursus directly used the infected as expendable slaves. Once discovered, they were sent to mines or factories to work until they died.

In theory, such near-slavery practices shouldn't exist in a normal industrial nation, but who could deny that Great Ursus had its own national circumstances? Oppressing the infected was a political correctness in Terra, with other nations simply not being as blatant about it as Ursus.

"Mm, a noble but naive ideal. On this cruel land, someone like you clinging to such an unrealistic dream will probably end up drowning in it."

Mobius let out a scoff, speaking bluntly.

"Are you saying the infected are doomed to never receive equal treatment, to live like ordinary people in this world?"

Talulah's expression soured, but she didn't lose her temper. After all, she had known all along that her goal might be hard to achieve. She had heard similar dismissals many times before, yet she still refused to give up.

But to her surprise, Mobius didn't continue mocking her. Instead, she shook her head.

"No, while absolute equality is nearly impossible, simply wanting infected to live in this world like ordinary people is not beyond reach."

"The reason I say your ideal is impractical is purely because you yourself are inadequate."

It's not the ideal that's inadequate, but me?

Hearing Mobius's words, Talulah was momentarily stunned.

"Isn't that the case? You talk about fighting for the rights of the infected and preventing imperial oppression, but what have you actually done? After founding The Reunion as an infected organization, aside from leading them on guerrilla raids and letting them freeze and starve on the snowy plains, what else have you accomplished?"

"But... but I couldn't think of any other way..."

Rarely, as the leader of The Reunion, who should never show weakness in any setting, Talulah now seemed somewhat at a loss.

"So you see, you have no idea how to realize your ideal. You're just leading a group of infected, surviving day by day under the pursuit of the Imperial Infected Patrol, never once considering a future path."

"Under these circumstances, even if I were willing to supply aid to The Reunion, it would be futile, wouldn't it? After all, this is an organization that, literally speaking, has no future—one destined for failure under your leadership."

"The Reunion, under my leadership... destined for failure?"

Under Mobius's incisive analysis, the grim future of The Reunion was laid bare before Talulah.

The white-haired Dragonewt stood frozen in place, speechless.

"But now it's different, because of us, you have another choice."

"Interested in building a new nation for us? One willing to abandon the oppression of the infected."

"Me? Build a new nation for you?"

Hearing Mobius's absurd proposal, Talulah barely snapped back to her senses, only to see the Red-haired Woman, who had been standing by, wave her hand.

The next second, several golden chains tightly bound her body.