I Told You This Isn't a Life Simulation Game! Section 50

Today, Xi Wang arrived at Dr. Mobius's laboratory as promised. The moment he entered, he saw Mei and Dr. Mobius waiting for him inside, along with Hen seated nearby, holding Griseo in his arms as she painted.

"Brother Wang..."

Perhaps Xi Wang's footsteps had disturbed Griseo and pulled her out of her world of painting. The girl looked up at Xi Wang as he approached. Without putting down her brush or palette, she leaped out of Hen's arms with her painting supplies in hand, padded over to Xi Wang, and looked up at him, her pale violet eyes blinking as though she were confirming something.

Then, with practiced ease and complete naturalness, she opened her arms toward Xi Wang.

"Hug—"

So Xi Wang gently and carefully picked her up, like the sea embracing rainwater.

Griseo wrapped her arms around Xi Wang's neck. Her brush and palette tapped against his back, and he could feel paint staining his clothes, but Xi Wang did not mind. He merely adjusted Griseo's posture gently, letting her sit comfortably in the crook of his arm.

He looked up at Hen and Dr. Mobius. Normally, whenever Griseo abandoned Hen again to run over to Xi Wang, Hen would jokingly lament, "Why is Griseo so close to you? She doesn't even want me, her Dad, anymore." Dr. Mobius's gaze at him would also carry a peculiar hint of jealousy.

But today, there was none of that.

They were in no mood to joke.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Ignoring Griseo, who was holding a brush and painting on his face, Xi Wang asked Dr. Mobius in the calmest tone he could manage. After all, he had already sensed the aura of a Fusion Warrior coming from Griseo.

"I'll explain."

Mei spoke up on her own initiative. Compared to the three people present, it was undoubtedly more appropriate for her, an "outsider," to explain.

Mei told him about Griseo's condition, mentioning the anomaly in his body along the way.

"This is the little experiment you mentioned?"

Xi Wang looked expressionlessly at the jar of dark blue liquid in Dr. Mobius's hand.

"It really was a little experiment~ After all, I only drew a little of your blood, White Rat~"

"Are you sure it was only a little?"

Xi Wang glanced again at the jar in Dr. Mobius's hand. It was nearly half full of dark blue liquid. She had previously used some of it to test the effects on herself, then injected quite a bit into Griseo. So... the jar should originally have been full.

Good heavens, that thing had to hold at least 1000cc. This was what she called a little?

Still, considering that his Honkai Beast genes had become abnormally active at the time, there was nothing wrong with Dr. Mobius directly drawing out the mutated "blood." Blood loss of that degree was not a major problem for a Fusion Warrior, much less someone with his particular traits.

"So?"

Feeling Griseo lightly pat him, Xi Wang set her down and let her return to Hen's side, where she sat in her father's arms and continued painting on the canvas with her brush... It was not that Griseo had gotten tired of clinging to him. There simply was no space left on his face to paint.

...Tch, Griseo just loved painting on his face. Painting on his clothes would have been fine too... Hen must have told her to do this, right?!

"So what is the problem now? The anomaly in my body has already been extracted by you. Moth to Fire has kept me in the base, yet hasn't restricted my freedom... What's wrong with me? And... was Griseo affected because of this too?"

As he spoke, Xi Wang controlled a stream of water to wash the paint off his face.

"To a certain extent, yes."

Mei took over.

"Although your previous anomaly did not last very long, and you were the only one truly affected, an anomaly did appear in your body, and you did release Honkai Energy into the outside world... Because of this, Moth to Fire was concerned that you might suffer a backlash from Gabriel's genes. However, based on the data collected afterward and Dr. Mobius's guarantee, Moth to Fire decided to observe you for a while first, to confirm that you merely had an abnormal reaction due to being affected by the Herrscher of the Eighth."

"That is also why you've recently been confined to the base without being placed under complete house arrest."

"What do you think? Aren't you touched? I saved you from a huge problem, White Rat~"

Dr. Mobius smiled and slipped into the conversation at just the right moment.

"...Thank you."

Xi Wang thanked her sincerely. He was never stingy with his kindness toward those who had helped him.

"It's nothing, just a small matter~ Though... I do hope you'll come visit me more often in the future, White Rat~ I've missed you terribly~"

"No."

One thing was one thing. Although Dr. Mobius had helped him, Xi Wang still did not like coming here. It reminded him of unpleasant things... especially when he had only recently gone through that nightmare.

"As for Griseo's situation... it is somewhat more complicated."

Without drawing attention to it, Mei steered the topic toward what they both cared about, bringing their unnecessary exchange to an end.

"Although Dr. Mobius's efforts allowed Griseo to survive, and even become a Fusion Warrior, the use of the anomaly that appeared in your body during the process aroused Moth to Fire's suspicions... Moreover, Griseo's ability... has made certain people within Moth to Fire feel threatened."

As she spoke, Mei took out a terminal and projected a video for Xi Wang to watch.

In it, Griseo was painting, while a Moth to Fire soldier sat properly beside her... Judging from the scene, Griseo seemed to be painting a portrait of the soldier.

During the process, Xi Wang noticed that Griseo did not appear to have prepared any paint before painting... Or rather, she was "making" the paint herself.

Following her movements and intentions, her brush would become stained with liquid paint in three colors: red, yellow, and blue. Using those as a base, Griseo mixed the colors she wanted on her palette, then painted with the mixed colors.

Whenever she wanted to change colors, the paint on her brush would disappear on its own and revert to one of the three primary colors—red, yellow, or blue.

Partway through, Griseo mixed several colors she liked, then lightly touched the color-coated brush to one compartment in an empty paint box that contained only water. The clear water was dyed by the color on the brush, eventually becoming slightly viscous paint.

For now, Griseo's new ability seemed perfectly suited to her love of painting. She could simply mix colors out of thin air and turn "water" into "paint," which did not seem like much.

But what happened next was somewhat strange...

First, the Honkai Energy detection devices placed around the area began to sound, indicating that Honkai Energy had appeared in the vicinity, though the data showed that the amount was very faint.

After that, the Moth to Fire soldier began to grow restless, constantly shifting his sitting posture. His expression turned impatient, then tense, then panicked and terrified, as though he had seen something utterly dreadful.

When the soldier's emotions reached a certain threshold, he stood up and, in extreme terror, claimed that a Honkai Beast had appeared beside Griseo.

The moment his words fell, the Honkai Energy detection device instantly sounded an alarm. The Honkai Energy around them surged wildly in an instant, rapidly forming a Honkai Beast beside Griseo. The soldier immediately pointed at the beast that had just appeared, saying that this was exactly what he meant—it had "walked out" of Griseo's painting.

But having observed the entire process, Xi Wang was absolutely certain that before the soldier spoke those words, the surrounding Honkai Energy had been exceptionally stable, and the detection device had shown no fluctuations in its readings. Yet after he said them, everything around them had been altered in an instant, becoming exactly as he described.

"Griseo's ability is far too dangerous."

Once the video had finished playing, Mei put away the terminal and spoke.

"Perhaps because she absorbed that anomaly of yours, she gained the ability to turn water into paint. At the same time, paintings made with that paint possess a certain degree of cognitive interference, somewhat similar to the power of the Herrscher of the Eighth. And this power produces different effects depending on the painting, influencing people in different ways. It can even turn a relatively mild-mannered person irritable and violent."

"But that isn't the biggest problem. The issue is that the paintings' effects on people ultimately lead to one result."

"Honkai Energy surging because of delusions?"

Xi Wang furrowed his brow and stated the true nature of the Honkai Beast's sudden appearance in the video.

"...That's right. In essence, the emotions of those affected by the paintings are altered, causing them to imagine all sorts of events in their minds. Once they reach a certain threshold, Honkai Energy begins to surge and turns those imagined events into reality... However, based on what we've seen so far, the surge in Honkai Energy only results in the appearance of Honkai Beasts."

Mei was somewhat surprised that Xi Wang had seen through the essence of the matter so directly, but she quickly stopped dwelling on it.

"According to subsequent examinations, the root cause of this rise in Honkai Energy is the paint Griseo uses for her paintings."

"Like a plant, Griseo's paint is the seed, the thoughts of those influenced by the paintings are the nourishment, the threshold is the flower, and the Honkai Beast ultimately produced is the fruit."

"Even more troublesome, when multiple affected people are within range and form different thoughts about the same event... the number of Honkai Beasts that appear will increase accordingly, and they will undergo slight changes based on each person's thoughts."

Simply put, if three people all thought that a Honkai Beast had appeared beside Griseo, then different Honkai Beasts would appear due to their individual imaginings. In the end, three different Honkai Beasts would appear beside Griseo, each corresponding to the one imagined by one of them.

Mei rubbed her brow, clearly troubled by such a troublesome ability. Especially now, just after the Eighth Great Collapse, when so many people's minds and spirits had been weakened by the Herrscher of the Eighth, Griseo's ability seemed all the more dangerous.

"Fortunately, as long as one's will is firm enough, the paintings' influence can be resisted. And Honkai Beasts that appear through this method are significantly weaker than those that appear naturally. After they are killed, they revert to paint..."

"It's just that this ability is far too dangerous. The people above believe Griseo is no longer suited to remain in Moth to Fire."

That was only natural. They could not completely stop Griseo from painting, after all. Her ability itself produced paint; as long as she had paint, she could draw anywhere, anytime. Her hands were the finest brushes, while walls and floors were the finest canvases and palettes... But if Griseo truly painted a picture like that, all of Moth to Fire would likely be affected.

And then... well, a tide of Honkai Beasts would probably emerge within Moth to Fire itself.

"Actually, they originally intended to dispose of Griseo."

Dr. Mobius spoke expressionlessly.

"They said Griseo was too dangerous. Her ability to mass-produce Honkai Beasts reminded them of that Honkai Beast... Yes, yours—Gabriel."

"You should know that the ocean is still a forbidden zone. Even when we transport supplies to islands now, we have to rely on air transport, and we must ensure the aircraft remains above the clouds. Otherwise, it will be attacked by the Honkai Beasts in the sea... Hmph. Taking out their resentment on a little girl over that—should I say it's exactly what one would expect from them?"

Dr. Mobius seemed deeply disgusted with Moth to Fire's upper ranks.

"...So? How do they intend to arrange Griseo?"

Xi Wang half-lidded his eyes, seeming entirely unconcerned by everything they had said.

"...They intend to place Griseo in The Deepest Place, using her ability to expend the excess energy of the prisoners there and assist Aponia in watching over them. As for Griseo's daily needs, Aponia will be responsible for them... Aponia herself has agreed as well."

"And you will need to take Griseo into The Deepest Place and safely deliver her to Aponia's side... At the same time, because Griseo has developed traits similar to Gabriel's, Moth to Fire suspects that your anomaly caused this result. Therefore... you must remain under supervision and undergo regular psychological treatment and physical examinations... handled by Su and Dr. Mobius respectively."

Mei listed Moth to Fire's arrangements one by one.

"...What about Hen?"

Xi Wang's gaze remained calm as he pointed at Hen, who had barely spoken, and asked.

"I... still have to accept the transfer order. I'll probably have to remain on the front lines for a long time."

Hen hesitated for a moment before finally shaking his head with a bitter smile.

"It'll probably be difficult to see Griseo again in the future... But I've met Aponia too, so I'm relieved to have her look after Griseo. And... when you have the time, I may have to trouble you to visit Griseo in my place."

"Dad... are you leaving?"

Griseo, sitting in Hen's arms, raised her head. Blinking her pale violet eyes, she asked softly.

"...Mm, Dad's going to save the world. I'm afraid it'll be hard for us to see each other again~"

"Then... good luck, Dad~"

"Oh!"

"Oh~!"

Xi Wang fell silent as he watched the father and daughter raise their hands together, cheering each other on.

"...Is this an order from Moth to Fire?"

Xi Wang turned to Mei and asked in the same calm tone.

"Yes."

Though helpless, Mei still nodded.

"This is already the best outcome we could secure."

"...Hah."