Who's Brain is Broken Anyway~

Although Lin Li said she would only nap for a little while, she actually lay on Elysia's lap for a long time without waking up.

She seemed to be falling deeper and deeper asleep.

Before falling asleep, Lin Li had asked Elysia to wake her up, but after midnight, Elysia had no intention of doing so… or rather, she couldn't bear to wake Lin Li.

She thought to herself: Since Xiao Li is still asleep, let her sleep. We can eat dinner later, but she definitely needs to get a good night's sleep.

So Lin Li lay there until a little past one o'clock before slowly getting up.

"Haven't you eaten yet? How long did I sleep?" Lin Li asked, her voice a little hoarse, which was typical of how Lin Li sounded when she woke up.

"Only about three hours. It's only one o'clock now, Xiao Li can sleep a bit longer," Elysia replied, acting as if she didn't care about the time at all.

"……"

Lin Li sat on the sofa, thought for a moment, and said, "If I sleep any longer, I'll become Sleeping Beauty."

"Sleeping Beauty? Hmm… that sounds very fitting for Xiao Li?"

"Fitting for my… foot!" Lin Li rolled her eyes. She hoped Elysia knew what Sleeping Beauty meant.

"I'm hungry." Lin Li rubbed her stomach.

"Okay, then Xiao Li wait a moment, I'll prepare it right away." Elysia stood up with a smile and walked towards the kitchen.

The usual procedure for preparing lunch was to start the rice cooker first, and then cook the dishes when the rice was nearly done. Therefore, no matter how tight the time was, the long process of cooking rice never changed.

So, just as Lin Li felt her stomach starting to rumble, lunch was barely ready and placed before her.

The relationship between Elysia and Lin Li was strange now. Elysia charged Lin Li for everything she did, but she didn't charge Lin Li for doing things for her. If others knew, they would find it a bit unfair.

But Elysia knew it was necessary. If they talked about money for everything they did, then… she would definitely never be able to win over Xiao Li.

Besides, Xiao Li's understanding of money seemed so clueless; renting out a villa for only a thousand a month… that was more than enough to offset the cost of everything else she did for Lin Li!

So Elysia felt it was very fair, even feeling like she was getting a lot of benefits.

Lin Li finished her lunch, and before Lin Li could even move, Elysia personally wiped her mouth for her.

Then Lin Li stared intently at Elysia, waiting for her to finish eating and do the same.

After they were even, Lin Li stood up again and stretched her limbs in the living room.

She was literally stretching her limbs, punching and kicking. Elysia could even hear faint sonic booms coming from the living room.

Isn't Xiao Li's strength a bit too terrifying? Elysia thought, if anyone else were to pursue Xiao Li, they would definitely be scared away by her.

Unlike them, she would like Xiao Li no matter what… cough cough!

Elysia didn't realize she had unconsciously placed her hands on the square coffee table in the living room, propped her chin, and was gazing at Lin Li with infatuation.

Damn it, I'm getting lovesick again. It's all Xiao Li's fault.

After Lin Li finished her exercises, she looked at Elysia with confusion, not knowing what she was muttering to herself.

"Where are we going now?" Lin Li asked.

It seemed like she asked this question every time they went out.

There was no helping it, because she truly wasn't a goal-oriented person. Compared to this comfortable life, she wished she had her own missions or something.

Lin Li suddenly started looking forward to the Honkai outbreak, because then she would have something to do. However, the Honkai would definitely cause destruction to the city, so it was better to dismiss this thought.

"How about we go see Vill-V?" Elysia suggested after thinking for a while.

"Okay."

Lin Li didn't refuse.

She didn't care what they did, as long as Elysia was with her.

She was someone who feared loneliness. Otherwise, she wouldn't have always played Flex Queue with others when she played League of Legends before.

Her rank was Master! Although not particularly strong, she was still very formidable!

It was a shame there weren't any MOBA games like League of Legends in this world. Otherwise, she would have definitely stayed holed up here playing games in her free time.

Wait, she seemed to still need to make money…

Damn it, if League of Legends really existed here, then she would also become one of those Summoners who fought against life while also fighting against players.

"Well, shall we go then?" Elysia said with a smile, naturally taking Lin Li's hand, interlocking their fingers, and walking towards the door.

The villa they lived in was surrounded by a lawn, but neither Elysia nor Lin Li had ever visited that place with fragrant flowers and chirping birds.

Elysia suddenly saw a few flowers blooming inside, and with a thought, she led Lin Li in.

In the center of the garden was a small fountain. Inside a small pavilion, there were three or four benches around it. However, by now, some verdant vines had climbed up, and even some purple flowers were growing in the gaps between the benches.

The two did not sit down. Lin Li released Elysia's hand, paced to the fountain alone, and gazed at her clear reflection in the water pool at her feet. She couldn't help but squat down, dipping half of her fingers into the water. A refreshing and cool sensation surged into her heart.

She extended her hand out of the water and gently shook it. The reflection in the water continuously changed with the rippling circles that appeared.

At this moment, a gentle breeze blew, carrying wisps of elegant floral fragrance.

She tilted her head up and saw Elysia standing beside her, smiling brightly as she spoke, "Xiao Li seems to really like it here."

"…I can't say I like it." Lin Li stood up, a hint of emotion in her eyes, but this time, her feelings were well concealed.

"Let's go, aren't we supposed to go see Vill-V?" Lin Li said, proactively extending her hand.

"Mhm."

Elysia took her hand, also feeling a slight coolness.

In the summer, this kind of feeling was quite comfortable.

The two walked for a long time, arriving at a corner of Flame-Moth.

This place was originally empty, but now, there were not only many people but also several large machines in operation.

The two could tell that some kind of building was being constructed, but it seemed to have just begun, with no prototype even created yet. Therefore, they didn't know what was being built.

"Is Vill-V here?" Lin Li asked, scanning the entire open space without spotting the distinctive brown-green hair.

"Hmm... She should be here, right?" Elysia was also a bit confused.

Strange, the location Vill-V sent me was right here, why can't I find her?

As she thought this, she suddenly felt something cold touch her calf.

Looking down, she saw a small metal spider. Its eight legs were clinging to her leg.

Lin Li also looked over curiously, wanting to move the spider away. However, the spider seemed to understand Lin Li's intention and climbed off Elysia's leg.

Then, in an extremely peculiar posture, it made a gesture resembling "follow me" towards the two.

The two exchanged glances and nodded, knowing in their hearts that this was a little gadget made by Vill-V. They then followed the little spider.

After a short while, the spider stopped in front of a building that looked like employee dormitories.

Just then, the door opened, and Vill-V appeared before them.

Upon seeing her acquaintance Elysia, she originally intended to greet her warmly. But she suddenly noticed Lin Li standing beside her, instantly abandoned that thought, and then abruptly closed the door.

—Bang!

The two outside were shut out.

"It seems she doesn't like me," Lin Li said, looking at the closed door.

"Hmm... Maybe she's just not ready yet. After all, Xiao Li, you're the first person to catch her..." Elysia said, politely knocking on the door.

A moment later, the room door opened again, accompanied by a voice.

"If you're coming in, hurry up."

"Mhm."

The two walked in and found the room's furnishings to be extremely simple.

There were hardly any decorations. In the center of the room was a pile of small mechanical components, with a laptop placed beside them, suggesting assembly was in progress.

The surrounding walls were dark gray, giving off a pure prison-like vibe.

Lin Li didn't understand, so she stood beside Elysia, quietly watching the two chat.

"Hi, Vill-V, did those people do anything bad to you?" Elysia asked.

"Tsk, nothing bad, really." Vill-V produced two chairs as if by magic, gesturing for them to sit. "I don't know why, but those people seemed to dislike me so much yesterday, and this morning their attitude suddenly changed... Are all the people in your organization like this?"

"Uh... not really." Elysia scratched her head, guessing that a conversation she had with Er that morning might have led to this. However, she didn't intend to tell Vill-V.

"Vill-V, you're a member of Flame-Moth now, so you don't need to be so formal when you talk."

"...Alright, I get it." Vill-V nodded, glanced at Lin Li, and then said, "The one next to you who brought me here, what's her name? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"...My name is Lin Li." Lin Li spoke up before Elysia could answer.

"That's a nice name," Vill-V praised generously.

"You too."

"..."

After they both spoke, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

Elysia seemed to have anticipated this outcome, so she said, "Vill-V, what's being built on that large open space outside? Does it have anything to do with you?"

"Of course, it does." Upon hearing this, a smile curved Vill-V's lips. "This morning, that high-ranking official named Er offered me the position of Head of the Engineering Department of Flame-Moth. I thought he was out of his mind at the time."

"Turns out Flame-Moth doesn't really have an Engineering Department. After looking into it, I found out that many years ago, the initial Engineering Department was merged into something like the Armament Department."

"Flame-Moth has too many departments, I can't recall specific names. Anyway, I remember that Armament Department's name was very long and hard to remember, nowhere near as good as my little spider's name outside."

"...What's the spider's name?" Elysia asked curiously.

How long can a name possibly be?

"Its name is very simple: Super Invincible Terrifying Metal Eight-Legged Monster. How's that for a name?" Vill-V said proudly.

"..."

Elysia opened her mouth, not daring to comment.

She really wanted to know how Vill-V came up with that name and how she could say it with such pride!

Wait, she seemed to have forgotten what the name was again. Super Invincible Terrifying... what was it again?

Lin Li looked at Vill-V with a bit of surprise.

She really hadn't expected Vill-V to be such a chuunibyou...

"Tsk, it seems you don't understand my artistic naming skills. Forget it, let's not talk about this." Seeing their expressions, Vill-V knew everything and waved her hand.

"Let's continue talking about the outside. After that person named Er gave me this position, he also gave me a team of people, letting me establish a brand new engineering department with my own strength."

"He's really ambitious. I was eating prison food here just the other day, and now I'm being asked to handle a major project. I wonder who with a broken brain told him that."

"..."

Hearing this, Elysia's eyes twitched noticeably.

Lin Li also looked at Elysia, trying to suppress a smile.

Alright, now Elysia's the one with the broken brain.

Elysia knew exactly what Lin Li was thinking and squeezed her hand hard.

"Hiss..."

Lin Li cried out in pain, accidentally making a sound that Vill-V overheard.

Vill-V's delicate forehead immediately furrowed into the character "川".

"Why don't you two talk first? And then I'll talk?" Vill-V said, with a tone that felt like a teacher lecturing.

"...Cough, no need. Vill-V, you can just tell us," Elysia said, glaring at Lin Li.

"Okay, I'll continue then." Vill-V glanced at the two of them strangely and continued, "Fortunately, my major was in mechanical engineering. He probably checked my identity before giving me this job."

"My thought was, since I have to build a new department from scratch, I at least need a place of my own, right? So, I had that team start building houses."

"I drew the blueprints casually, it only took about an hour. I don't know how long it will take them to finish."

"Uh... as the head of the department, aren't you going to visit the site?" Elysia asked.

"What's there to visit? If they can't even understand such simple blueprints, then why are they here in my engineering department? They should just leave as soon as possible," Vill-V said dismissively.

"..."

Elysia glanced at Lin Li and found that she had already started playing with her phone, likely uninterested in what Vill-V was saying.

Then I'll change the topic too.

"So, Vill-V, what are you working on now?" Elysia asked, pointing to the pile of parts on the ground.

"This? I don't know what I'm doing, just messing around." As Vill-V spoke, she picked up an inconspicuous part. Elysia could vaguely see extremely fine patterns on it. "That's just how I am. Sometimes when I'm doing things, I don't even know what I'm doing, but most of my ideas come from these moments of not knowing."

"A stroke of genius... yes, that's the word for me."

"In many novels, that's the standard for geniuses," Elysia teased.

"Heh, genius. You flatter me," Vill-V said, smiling and shaking her head. She put down the part and said, "I'm just a little interested in things like machinery."

"Is there anything else you need? If you just wanted me to meet Miss Lin Li here, then the purpose has been achieved."

Vill-V began to usher them out.

"Do you really want us to leave? Even if... a girl as radiant as a flower stands before you?" Elysia asked, blinking her eyes.

"Radiant as a flower... Are you talking about yourself, or Lin Li?"

"..."

Elysia puffed out her cheeks.

She didn't say anything and pulled Lin Li's hand, walking towards the door.

Vill-V watched them with great interest. After they had completely left, she returned to fiddling with the mechanical components on the ground.

"It seems like those two don't really understand what this thing is."

"That Dr. Mobius, who doesn't even know me, actually handed this over to me to work on... Isn't that making things difficult for me?"

"It's probably a challenge from some higher-up. Tsk, whatever, I'll finish this quickly and go eat something good... I'll go to Elysia's restaurant. Honestly, the taste is quite good."

Vill-V murmured, then immersed herself in her work.