Ryan: Maybe You Should Get Out of Here, Quickly / Rita: I'm Stuffed

Although she had expected her original body might get lost and come back again, she hadn't expected it to be this ridiculous.

"Don't panic. I'll handle it this time."

Highmore walked over and pulled the door open, a faintly mocking smile on her face. "What, is opening doors fun?"

"?" Seeing that Highmore was the one opening the door, Xia Ling crashed once again.

"So Sister Xia Ling is the consultant sent by the Far East Branch?" Highmore's little mouth fell open in surprise. "And people who are directionally challenged really do exist..."

Seeing Highmore's entirely genuine-looking surprise, then hearing Highmore and Flame Willow already laughing themselves into a mess over the channel, Xia Ling felt her fists harden.

"Highmore, what are you saying..." Seeing Highmore's complete lack of social awareness, Wendy anxiously tugged at her skirt beneath the table.

However, as though she hadn't understood Wendy's hint, Highmore secretly drew an OK in Wendy's palm with a tentacle, then continued competing with Xia Ling in acting.

Under Wendy's utterly bewildered gaze, these two people who had nothing in common somehow eerily got on the same wavelength, chatting away happily.

Only after they had talked for quite some time did Xia Ling reluctantly end the topic and turn toward Wendy.

"Wendy, what about you? How have you been lately?"

"How... have I been?"

"Yes. Theresa specifically told me to ask about your situation. Ever since you joined this experiment, there hasn't been much news from you."

"Theresa doesn't understand scientific research, so she doesn't know whether that's normal. I heard she even went to ask the Lord Bishop, but didn't receive any substantive answer either."

"..."

Wendy lowered her head slightly and murmured, "I've been... doing quite well here. It's just that the experiment really hasn't been going very smoothly..."

"Really? Wendy, if there's anything making you unhappy, you should tell me. I may not be able to make decisions myself, but I know Theresa. If you don't want to stay, Theresa will definitely find a way to help you leave this experiment."

Listening to Xia Ling's gentle tone, Wendy somehow suddenly recalled her days as a student at St. Freya. Her eyes felt a little wet, yet she also felt a strange sense of contentment.

Just like children away from home always shared good news rather than bad, Wendy didn't want to expose her weakness in front of this older sister from her old school.

But sometimes, when people had been wronged, they could hold back their tears alone. Once someone comforted them, though, they couldn't help bursting into tears.

Fortunately, Highmore seemed to notice something wrong with Wendy and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere, drawing Xia Ling's attention away from her.

After a while, Wendy finally managed to restrain her emotions and asked:

"Um, Sister Xia Ling, is Teacher Theresa doing well? Does Sister Himeko still drink often?"

"Of course. Your Teacher Theresa can still tear a comic book down to the atomic level in an instant. As for Sister Himeko... after I helped her deal with part of her workload, she seemed to start drinking even more frequently."

At that, Xia Ling sighed.

"Unfortunately, the academy has been rather busy lately. Otherwise, she could have come herself."

"I see..." Wendy smiled and said solemnly to Xia Ling, "Then please give the headmistress and the others my regards, Sister Xia Ling. I'm fine here, and I'm doing well too. Tell them not to worry."

Ryan: Maybe You Should Leave Soon

After chatting for a while, Xia Ling got up to say goodbye. After all, she still had a pile of luggage to put away.

Highmore hurriedly stood up as well. To keep Xia Ling from getting lost again, she planned to escort Xia Ling directly back to her room.

The two chatted and laughed as they headed toward Xia Ling's room. At least, that was how it looked on the surface.

However, within the channel established by the system, they were having another conversation.

"I have to say, you were way too bold just now. Stirring up Wendy's emotions like that—weren't you afraid she'd actually say she wanted to return to St. Freya? Wendy looked like she was about to cry."

"Relax, it's still under control. Putting everything else aside, Otto definitely won't agree."

"The reason I said that was, on one hand, to test Wendy's attitude toward St. Freya. Too much time had passed in the original story, so it was basically useless as a reference."

"And since we were prepared this time, I had to decide in advance where Wendy would go after her Herrscher transformation. A Herrscher-level combat force could have an immeasurable impact during the early stages of the story."

"On the other hand, it was also meant as a warning to that old bastard secretly listening in."

"I needed him to think we could take Wendy back at any time. That way, he wouldn't dare be too ruthless with you."

"Mm, at least for a while."

"So there is a time limit, then." Highmore sighed. "Then I can only hope his patience is high enough. Don't let him get impatient before a year has even passed without results. If he decides to dispose of me early, then the plan will have to be launched ahead of schedule too."

"It's fine. As long as he can hold out for more than half a year, we'll have the ability to flip the board to a certain extent by then. We'll only have more options, not fewer."

After escorting Xia Ling to her door, Highmore returned to her own room by the same route amid Xia Ling's enthusiastic farewell.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Wendy staring blankly out the window.

"What's wrong, Wendy? Are you unhappy? Wait, is it because of that person from the Far East Branch just now? Your mood seemed a little off earlier." Highmore walked over and placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"No, I'm not unhappy. I was just... calming myself down." Wendy rubbed the corners of her eyes and turned back to give Highmore a smile. "Knowing that so many people still care about me made me very moved."

"Before this, I even gave up on myself and wondered whether I was a child nobody wanted."

"As long as you're happy. I think I got along quite well with that Xia Ling too." Highmore pretended to breathe a sigh of relief. "If you two didn't get along, I might really have been a little troubled."

"What are you thinking? How could I possibly dislike someone I'd only just met?" Wendy was amused by Highmore's thought process. "I'm rather curious, though. If Sister Xia Ling and I really didn't get along, what would trouble you?"

"I'd have to worry about whether to go easy on her when I beat her up for you." Highmore raised her little fist. "Don't worry. I'll always be on your side."

"Why do you always say such strange things..." Wendy's face reddened again. "Ah, right. I didn't expect you to hit it off so well with Sister Xia Ling the first time you met. You usually couldn't care less about other people, so I thought you weren't very good at socializing."

"How could that be? I just look down on those people." Highmore looked disdainful. "They're all one thing in public and another behind the scenes. Who knows when they'll sell you out."

"As for Sister Xia Ling... getting along was one factor. More importantly, she came to assess my 'humanity.'"

"Under those circumstances, the more I acted like a lively girl my age, the higher her evaluation of me would be. Even some more offensive displays of personality could actually become bonus points."

As she said that, Highmore pinched Wendy's soft cheek. "Though I don't think they'd have given me too low a score anyway, it's still better to play things safe."

"After all, if anything happened to me, wouldn't you have to go back to supporting yourself like before?"

"I told you not to keep talking about things happening to you." Wendy grabbed Highmore's hand unhappily. "There won't be that many accidents. I haven't had any problems for an entire year in such a dangerous experiment, have I? You should be more optimistic."

"Sigh, maybe I'm just a pessimist by nature." Highmore looked out the window. "After all, nobody knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first..."

Xia Ling's assistance with the research came quickly and went quickly. Perhaps because Xia Ling's earlier attempt to "turn" Wendy had frightened Ryan somewhat, Ryan barely dared let Xia Ling contact Wendy during the following week of research, keeping his focus on Highmore instead.

Ryan's actions annoyed Xia Ling, who had originally planned to find a chance to bond more with Wendy. So, deciding to disgust Ryan a little, Xia Ling began cooperating with Highmore. Then, before Ryan's eyes, the relationship between the "two" rapidly heated up, giving Ryan another intense shock.

"Oceania profanity, why is this person from the Far East Branch like some kind of succubus? She can hook up with anyone in just a few days!" Ryan was completely numb after Xia Ling's little stunt. After receiving Xia Ling's psychological evaluation report on Highmore, Ryan no longer dared keep her around and hurriedly sent this great deity away.

After all, he felt that if Xia Ling didn't leave soon, Highmore would be whisked back to St. Freya by her too.

Thus, under Wendy's and Highmore's reluctant gazes—or Highmore's pretended one—Xia Ling boarded a plane back to St. Freya.

Meanwhile, after obtaining Xia Ling's report, Ryan also gained enough confidence. After carefully reviewing the incident, he sent Otto a redacted account of the entire event, along with part of Highmore's physical examination report and psychological report.

"Heh, interesting."

After reading the report, Otto's smile deepened.

"Lord Bishop, then regarding the next step of the Oceania Branch's plan..."

"Tell Rita that while she retrieves the complete incident records archived within Oceania and Highmore's physical examination report, she should also handle two more matters."

"First, determine Highmore's usual interpersonal relationships. I want to know her attitude toward different members of the Oceania base."

"It doesn't need to be overly detailed. A rough classification will do. Also, it would be best if she could obtain some of Highmore's tissue samples."

"Second, investigate the recent Honkai Beast activity across Oceania. Specific data isn't necessary either; I only need the comparison with the previous period."

"Lord Bishop, it seems you already have your suspicions?"

"I've had suspicions for a long time. I just don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing..."

"We'll discuss the specifics after Rita returns from Oceania. I also need to consider the next arrangements."

Rita: I'm Stuffed

"Wendy, Wendy, come save me!"

On the screen, a chibi character in Highmore's image was being chased all over the place by several Honkai Beasts.

Judging from the health bar beneath her screen, which had already turned red, she was clearly in an extremely dangerous situation.

"Hehe, eat this tornado!"

On the screen, Wendy's character descended from the sky. The little green-haired figure waved both hands, and a slowly moving tornado knocked back all the Honkai Beasts chasing Highmore.

"There's a game on the computer where tornadoes are great for clearing groups." Highmore gave a thumbs-up.

"That's right, with me here—" Wendy was just about to celebrate when Highmore's warning interrupted her.

"Behind you, behind you! There's a Titan behind you!"

"What?"

Before Wendy could dodge, a stealthed Titan suddenly emerged from thin air, clearing Wendy's health with a single punch before firing several missiles to finish off Highmore, who had only a sliver of health left.

"Ahhhh, why is it this thing again?!"

Wendy let out a groundhog scream.

"Because your effects are too flashy... You can't see the Titan's stealth indicator at all."

"Wendy, Wendy, are you fated to be countered by Titans or something... You've already been taken out by Titans three times today."

"Damn it, I refuse to accept this!"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Wendy picked up the controller again. "One more round. I'll go to sleep after winning one!"

"Will we really be able to sleep tonight..." Highmore sighed as she glanced at the hands, which had already reached one o'clock.

While continuing to play with Wendy, Highmore focused her consciousness on the chat channel within the system space.

"Xia Ling, did you find out whose Honkai Energy sample that was, the one I sent you through the system today?"

"Of course. I asked Welt to check the database Anti-Entropy built for Valkyries."

"And the result?"

"Just as I guessed. It belonged to Rita."

"As expected." Highmore breathed a sigh of relief. "I was wondering whether a ghost might have come. If it's Rita, she's stronger, but at least there are traces to follow."

"Mm. By the way, when Welt saw that sample, he thought Otto had noticed something and sent someone after him. He directly took sick leave for the past few days."

"Uh... that really was an unexpected development."

"Highmore, Highmore, why are you about to die again?!"

"Huh?"

Realizing that her game character was once again at critical health, Highmore quickly shifted her attention back and began focusing on the game.

Otherwise, they really might not be sleeping tonight.

Outside Highmore's room, atop a distant building, Rita was observing Highmore and Wendy while recording information.

Although the records indicated that Highmore's combat ability was very poor, she was still a Pseudo-Herrscher alongside a former A-rank Valkyrie. Rita didn't dare get as close as she normally would when dealing with ordinary people.

Fortunately, Otto hadn't required every last detail. A general understanding would be enough.

After a full day's observations, the notes concerning Highmore had already filled several pages.

"Highmore does not seem particularly fond of most Oceania research personnel and maintains an extremely cold attitude toward them. Reason unknown; possibly due to resistance toward being an experimental subject."

"Highmore does not seem to harbor much ill will toward Valkyries. Rather, because of Highmore's and Wendy's identities, the two have a relatively poor reputation among the Valkyries."

"Highmore seems very interested in flowers, plants, and small animals. She can often be seen stopping beside roadside plants or feeding puppies, kittens, and ornamental fish. Reason unknown; perhaps she simply likes these small living creatures?"

"Even toward Dr. Ryan, who saved her life, Highmore's attitude is extremely cold. Although it is somewhat better than her attitude toward other researchers, it remains highly abnormal."

"Highmore displays an extremely unusual degree of affection and tolerance toward her roommate Wendy. Reason unknown; the specific manifestations are as follows."

"During experiments, Highmore cannot even be bothered to hand researchers a pair of tweezers. Yet when caring for Wendy, she is exceedingly diligent and handles every detail, practically taking over all household chores."

"Highmore often indulges Wendy unconditionally. I observed the three meals Highmore purchased from the cafeteria, and they almost completely overlapped with Wendy's previously observed list of preferences."

"Furthermore, although Highmore was the one who introduced Wendy to gaming, Highmore herself does not seem to like games that much. She basically only plays while accompanying Wendy and has never played alone. Yet if Wendy suggests staying up late to play, Highmore almost never refuses."

"Under such circumstances, their relationship has warmed extremely quickly. Apart from Highmore's unusually special care for Wendy, the rest may perhaps be explained as love at first sight or the suspension bridge effect."

Seeing that the two in the distant room had finished playing and returned to their respective rooms to sleep, Rita ended her observations for the day. After saving the contents, she closed her terminal and sighed.