I Said This Isn't a Life Simulation Game! Section 26

"Ah, I'll fix the door for you soon~ Don't worry~"

Then she closed the door and left quickly.

After walking a short distance, Elysia quietly tightened her sleeves again, her steps paused slightly, and then she immediately turned her head and walked towards Mobius's laboratory.

"Dr. Mobius, please open the door."

"...You're actually giving me advance notice. What's up? Did you get into trouble again? Or are you just here to cause chaos in my lab?"

Mobius's voice came through the intercom at the door.

"I won't open the door unless you tell me clearly."

"...I need your help."

"...Ha, how rare."

Although she wanted to tease Elysia for asking for her help, Mobius could tell that Elysia was talking about something very serious. Thus, she just chuckled and sighed, then let Elysia in.

"Go ahead and tell me. If your so-called help is something trivial like trying on clothes, I guarantee, Elysia, you'll be in trouble."

"I want you to analyze this for me."

Elysia took out a small candy box.

"Isn't this that guy's? How did it end up with you?"

Mobius, who had always been trying to get Xi Wang onto her research table, had naturally seen this candy box before. Although Xi Wang had never let anyone else touch it, not even Sakura, it was now in Elysia's hands... But on second thought, it wasn't strange if it was Elysia.

"Please, can you help me analyze its contents? This is very important."

"...Wait a moment."

Seeing that Elysia wasn't using her usual lighthearted, joking tone, Mobius clearly understood that Elysia truly valued this matter. She immediately took the candy box and called her new assistant, Klein, asking her to pause her work and help analyze the item before them.

Soon, Mobius returned to Elysia, frowning as she spoke to her.

"Elysia, go find Mei now... No, I'll notify Mei. You go tell Kevin to stay close to Mei recently, for any reason... protection, a date, or even if he's feeling amorous and wants to procreate, just have him stay by Mei's side."

"...What?"

"Someone is planning to assassinate Mei."

Mobius took out a small piece of paper. The ciphertext on it felt somewhat familiar to Elysia. It was also stained with a bit of powdered sugar, clearly taken from the candy box just now.

"The ciphertext on here is written in that joke-like ciphertext you created yourself. The message I just deciphered is this. Considering what's been happening with Moth to Fire recently... the accuracy of this information should be fine. Go tell Kevin and Mei so they can be prepared."

Elysia remembered. It was a party she had organized, and she had created a decryption game for everyone to play. That ciphertext was from that game.

"...What about the other things in there?"

Elysia was stunned. She didn't even pay attention to why Mobius could decipher the ciphertext she had created playfully back then, even though she had said she wasn't interested... But Elysia only asked this now.

"Other things?"

Mobius seemed a little confused.

"Just the candy."

"Just candy?"

"What else? Wait... you didn't come here to deliver this message?"

Mobius quickly realized what Elysia was confused about. She had originally thought Elysia had forgotten the ciphertext from that game and came to find her, but now it seemed...

"...It's nothing. I'll go find Kevin first."

Although Elysia still had something to say, considering the message on the paper, she closed her mouth and left quickly.

There were matters of greater importance. The most crucial thing now was to inform Dr. Mei that someone was preparing to use "outside of rules" methods.

Just, Xi Wang... are you really okay?

Is all of that really just candy...?

Elysia worried in her heart.

"Ha... ha..."

Only after Elysia's footsteps had completely disappeared did Xi Wang finally relax. He panted, rushing into the room with panicked and hurried steps, rummaging through the cabinet to find a small box of candy, and pouring it into his palm.

At first, he wanted to carefully count the number of candies in his palm, but in the end, he couldn't resist and stuffed them all into his mouth, swallowing them with all his might.

"Hoo..."

Only now did Xi Wang fully relax. His body slowly slid down, and he sat against the wall in the corner of the bedroom.

"I'm sorry... I lied to you..."

Xi Wang whispered softly, then gently rubbed the slightly rough little candy bag in his hand, taking out a pink candy shaped like a cherry blossom and slowly putting it into his mouth.

The sweet scent with a unique floral aroma slowly spread in his mouth, and the monotonous sweetness in his mouth was gradually infused with this faint floral fragrance.

He carefully savored this special taste, as if wanting to engrave this unique sweetness, along with the sentiment within it, into his heart.

But in the end, he lowered his eyes slightly and murmured to himself with a hint of disappointment.

"Sorry..."

Several nights later, in a quiet park, a small boat drifted peacefully on the lake.

"She's here."

Kevin sniffed the air slightly and said softly.

"As expected, she's right on time."

Soon, the girl he was protecting behind him, Mei, also smelled the faint floral scent.

But what followed was a bone-chilling cold. Kevin flicked his foot to hook the greatsword hidden on the side of the small boat, shielding Mei with one hand while parrying towards a dim direction with the sword in the other.

Clang—

A crisp sound echoed as the two weapons collided. The immense force caused the small boat beneath them to sway gently, creating ripples on the water. However, the boat was quickly stabilized by the lake's surface, which had rapidly frozen over.

After a moment of stalemate, the opponent quickly retreated, but this allowed the two to see the weapon they were wielding.

The Prototype Honkai Energy Weapon—[Ice Lotus Sky]. This weapon, originally meant for Honkai Beasts, was now being used against humans.

"..."

It was clear that after failing in the first strike, the opponent had no intention of letting them go. After a brief silence, they attacked again, but Kevin blocked each assault.

The lake around the boat had frozen over, and the ice surface was then shattered by the rocking boat, only to be quickly refrozen by the cold air. The ice repeatedly cracked and condensed, growing thicker and thicker.

"This should be enough."

Mei spoke up at the opportune moment.

"I believe this level is sufficient to prove that you cannot kill me in front of Kevin, and therefore cannot complete your mission."

"Perhaps we should discuss the real matter at hand, shouldn't we? Miss Forget-me-not from Poison Chrysalis."

"...Your intelligence network is more extensive than I imagined, Dr. Mei."

The icy blade ceased its assault, and a pink figure landed lightly on the frozen surface outside the small boat.

"As expected, you are a very good choice."

Sakura slowly sheathed her sword, sighing softly.

"You used your methods to pass the assassination news to us, intending to strike a deal, correct?"

Mei pushed up her glasses and said.

"Yes, though you might need to liaunt with my superior afterward... While the current situation is my own initiative."

"But I believe you will be interested, as you are more willing to focus your energy on fighting the Honkai rather than internal power struggles, aren't you?"

"...You're right, but what will we gain?"

"A blade called [Forget-me-not], and an [Ally] with sufficient deterrence... though you'll have to negotiate the latter yourself."

Sakura said softly.

"In return, I hope you will use your power to protect someone."

"If you're referring to your sister, Ling..."

Before Mei could finish, the bone-chilling cold struck again, tracing an ice-blue trajectory through the dim night before stopping in front of Mei, unable to advance further.

Kevin had blocked the swift strike.

"Ha..."

After a moment of stalemate, Sakura finally sighed and withdrew her action.

"As expected of you, Dr. Mei. By all rights, both my and Ling's information should be very well protected."

As long as there were no signs of defection, her and Ling's information would be kept confidential at the highest level by Poison Chrysalis, as had been agreed upon.

"You should have more confidence in the person you chose."

Mei pushed up her glasses, seemingly unfazed by the recent attack.

"Returning to our previous topic, if it's your sister Ling, then you can make a different request. She is currently at the Moth to Fire base, being looked after by one of my colleagues. I can guarantee that your sister will receive protection equivalent to that of a [Moth to Fire Warrior Family Member] from now on. If necessary, you can even request better protection from Dr. Mobius in my name."

"As you said, our focus should be on resisting the Honkai now, not on these power struggles. We truly need a stable environment to ensure our research, and a peaceful environment requires sufficient deterrence to maintain it... I will discuss the subsequent matters with your superior."

"However, to ensure the progress of future affairs, you may need to stay in the detention center for a few days."

"It's fine. And... thank you."

Mei had clearly agreed, which made Sakura breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"Then, do you have any other requests? I will consider them based on the circumstances."

"...No."

The image of someone flashed through Sakura's mind, and she shook her head, chuckling softly.