Chapter Seven: The Sea, Oh, the Sea, It's All Water / Chapter Eight: Chen Ran's Open-Mindedness

No. 666 directly converted its room into a small laboratory.

Unlike Chen Ran's more conservative approach, it used the biological knowledge it had already synchronized to begin making drugs for itself.

Kevin frowned at the sight.

Since the two of them had joined Flame-Chaser from Changkong City at the same time, and No. 666 had been following Kevin around before this, Flame-Chaser simply assigned them to the same dormitory.

Flame-Chaser was not extravagant enough to give every new recruit a private dormitory.

At this point, Kevin was clearly not yet the aloof handsome guy he would become. Over the time they had spent together, the two had gradually grown familiar with one another. Kevin was the kind of person who could not keep things to himself, so he directly admitted that he had joined Flame-Chaser to find Mei. No. 666 naturally took the opportunity to call her his sister-in-law.

Whether she really was his sister-in-law did not matter. Now that it had called her that, Kevin was definitely secretly pleased.

As a fellow man, and with Chen Ran's memories synchronized, No. 666 understood that perfectly.

However, it did not take the opportunity to try and get close to Mei.

Mei was a rational monster, perhaps even more dangerous than Mobius.

No. 666 knew that its special ability would inevitably be noticed. Before Chen Ran had the ability to protect himself, it was better to stay low-key around Kevin.

Kevin was protective of his own, which made him feel very safe.

Kevin could not help asking, "What are you doing now?"

"Something good."

No. 666 said it directly.

Seeing Kevin's confusion, it added, "Something that can make a man harder, bigger, and thicker."

Kevin: "..."

"You have some hidden condition?"

"Ah, this is for you." No. 666 said matter-of-factly, "Don't worry, I calculated it. The effects will definitely be good, with no side effects."

Kevin: "..."

"I don't think I need that."

"Are you sure you really don't want it?" No. 666 looked puzzled. "I thought no man would refuse more muscle and greater strength."

The good stuff it spoke of was a special drug made based on the knowledge in its mind.

It specifically acted on muscles, increasing metabolism and mitosis.

Kevin: "..."

1

The Sea, Oh Sea, You're Full of Water

Chen Ran felt like his endurance had started improving.

It was not merely the endurance exercise had given him. More importantly, within the simulated scenario, his consciousness no longer felt that stabbing pain. Clearly, he could simulate for longer.

He had already informed the people at the Oceanic Branch. As long as Wendy's safety was ensured, no one would bother over such a trivial matter.

After all, the Oceanic Branch itself bore responsibility for Wendy ending up like this.

For small matters, they would turn a blind eye.

However, they naturally could not feel at ease letting Wendy leave without any protection. After Chen Ran and Wendy left the Oceanic Branch, a dedicated Valkyrie followed them.

Wendy could naturally sense that someone was following them, but she did not care.

Because traveling was inconvenient, Chen Ran had specifically applied for a car.

"This is my first time touching a steering wheel."

"Good thing it's an automatic. One foot for the gas and brakes."

Hearing Chen Ran mutter to himself, Wendy suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I heard automatic cars are like toys. I love playing with toys."

"The seat belt is fastened. Hold on tight!"

Wendy instinctively grabbed the built-in handrail, then watched Chen Ran stomp on the accelerator and shoot off like a rocket.

Wendy: "..."

She started wondering whether Chen Ran had been sent by Anti-Entropy.

Fortunately, aside from being a little too aggressive at first, Chen Ran gradually got the hang of driving.

Wendy instinctively asked, "By the way, do you know New Zealand's traffic laws?"

"I haven't even taken a driver's license test. Do you think I would?"

"Forget it. Just listen to my instructions. When I tell you to stop, stop. When I tell you to go, go." Wendy did not panic. Automatic cars were the easiest vehicles to learn, even easier than bicycles.

Basically, after half a day of practice, someone could hit the road.

Though for some people, "hitting the road" had a different meaning.

Chen Ran had done it on purpose, of course.

Not having a license did not mean he had never watched anyone drive. He simply wanted to tease Wendy.

Put simply, he just had a rotten personality.

Wendy quickly realized it. Looking at Chen Ran, her gaze carried a hint of helplessness. "Has your personality always been like this? I thought people who could become researchers were at least serious."

"Life is already bitter enough. Why not entertain yourself a little?"

Chen Ran said, "Don't worry. I may be mischievous, but I won't do things that make people hate me. Especially things that make you hate me."

"You're already making me hate you."

Wendy rolled her eyes.

Still, she did not actually dislike this feeling.

If nothing had happened to her legs, Chen Ran would definitely have been the kind of person Wendy hated most. But now, just as Chen Ran said, life was already bitter enough.

She envied Chen Ran a little.

"Oh, right, I barely know anything about you." She said, "Can you tell me what your life was like before you became a researcher?"

"It was just an ordinary person's life. There's nothing wrong with telling you, though it was probably the boring kind."

Chen Ran thought for a moment and said, "It was pretty much like your life before—training whenever you weren't eating or sleeping."

"I see. Then our lives really were similar."

Wendy also understood that although Chen Ran's personality was not exactly pleasant, being able to join Schicksal meant he was a genius in some field.

She said, "Then have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"Of course, I'll do whatever the higher-ups tell me to do." He answered carelessly. "As for myself, I haven't really thought about it. But if I get the chance, I'll consider curing you first."

"Those words came out of nowhere. They make me suspect you have ulterior motives toward me." Wendy had started picking up Chen Ran's habits too.

"Ahem, I mean it."

Chen Ran naturally would not mention anything about the Fourth Honkai War.

He said, "That way, I can leave a place for myself in your heart, right?"

Wendy directly pinched the soft flesh at his waist.

New Zealand's ocean was no different from the ocean anywhere else.

Chen Ran only thought it was a little sunny.

The Third Honkai War had not yet occurred. It was winter in the Northern Hemisphere, so naturally it was summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Chen Ran had no intention of getting involved in anything related to the Third Honkai War. After all, he could distinguish between a simulated scenario and reality.

So, he had no psychological burden at all when teasing Wendy.

After parking the car, he took out the wheelchair.

He gently carried the girl over and placed her in it.

Wendy did not resist intimate contact with Chen Ran. Or rather, compared to that, she preferred using her eyes to watch the rolling waves in the distance.

The Far East Branch was located on an island, yet she had never seen the sea in the Far East.

Her daily schedule had been completely filled with training.

The main reason was that she had heard about a Valkyrie at Schicksal Headquarters who had advanced to A-rank at the age of twelve. That person, Durandal, had deeply stimulated Wendy.

Afterward, relying on her own determination, she had not fallen too far behind.

But before she left the Far East, she heard that Durandal had already become the youngest S-rank Valkyrie.

Now, Wendy no longer dwelled on it.

After all, there was no point dwelling on it anymore.

Her gaze fell upon the beach where the tide came and went, and she suddenly felt that this was not so bad either.

Only...

Chen Ran cleared his throat and said, "This is my first time seeing the sea too. I suddenly feel like reciting a poem."

"You can recite poetry?"

"Of course. I studied both Shenzhou's ancient poetry and Europe's classical poetry." Chen Ran said with no small amount of pride.

He paused, then said, "Listen carefully."

Wendy had another bad feeling.

Then Chen Ran cleared his throat and recited with great emotion, "Oh sea, you are full of water."

"Oh crab, you have eight legs."

"Pfft."

Wendy could not hold back her laughter.

Then, she heard a click.

At some point, Chen Ran had taken out his phone and snapped a picture. In the photo, Wendy's beautiful eyes glimmered as the corners of her lips curved upward.

The breeze carried by the waves lifted her long hair. At that moment, it was all frozen in time.

Warning. The current simulation has reached the host's mental consciousness capacity limit. Continuing the simulation will cause consciousness confusion.

The system has temporarily ended the simulated scenario. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the corresponding item reward.

As his consciousness blurred, Chen Ran returned to reality once more.

Then, he discovered a hard little piece of paper in his clothing pocket.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Elysia. Entrusted by your instructor, I'll be your special sparring partner from now on, so are you ready?"

The pink-haired girl curled her lips slightly, interrupting Chen Ran's thoughts.

"Then I'll pick someone at random."

The girl said, "First up, Chen Ran."

Chen Ran, Broad-Minded as Ever

Elysia was a girl who claimed to be as dazzling as a blossoming flower.

She joined Flame-Chaser around the time of the Second Honkai War and assisted Flame-Chaser in taking down the Herrscher of the Void.

During the Third Honkai War, Elysia was sent to another city to fight and did not participate in the operation against the Third Herrscher. Even so, she could be considered Flame-Chaser's strongest warrior at present.

Normally, Elysia was not responsible for training recruits.

Unless she was bored.

Chen Ran, whose name had been called, was synchronizing memories with No. 666. After Elysia called on him, he had no choice but to step forward.