When Force Fails, Settle for Second Best

"Logically speaking, if a girl takes the initiative to throw herself at you, most people wouldn't refuse, right?" Mobius said, leaning closer to Zhu Yufeng. "Or do you think I'm not pretty enough compared to Elysia?"

"Normally speaking, no girl would be this proactive, right?" Zhu Yufeng quickly replied.

Mobius paused for a moment. "Hmm, still," she thought. "In Zhu Yufeng, I'm categorized as a 'girl.' That guy keeps subtly hinting at my age, it's really annoying..." Then she said, "Lilith? Or Elysia? While Elysia might not be as outgoing as Lilith, when it comes to taking the initiative, which one of them wouldn't be like that?"

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

The problem is, these two people can't be judged by common sense.

Especially Lilith.

"Generally speaking, people your age usually have fantasies about these things, right?" Mobius said, squinting. "Although your mental age is older than your physical age, hormone secretion still affects some of your psychological activities and physiological behaviors, right?"

"I don't deny that when I first came to this world, before I was beaten down by reality, I did think about it... But thinking is one thing, doing is another," Zhu Yufeng continued. "What I'm even more curious about is why I have to do it this way?"

Rather than saying he had the desire but lacked the courage, it's more accurate to say he couldn't accept it...

"If it were you, I wouldn't care about such things." Mobius moved a little further away from Zhu Yufeng. "Because I still believe that artificially selected children are more outstanding than naturally born children. They won't have genetic defects and will inherit the excellent genes of the previous generation. But conversely, as I said before, you probably wouldn't have much affection for children that aren't naturally born, right?"

Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment, then said, "Indeed, because children born this way can be as many as you want. Although they are naturally gifted, I don't really have much affection for them. Naturally born children go through the ten months of pregnancy, and the father, as a companion, also goes through this period. From a rational perspective, this method of reproduction will cause the mother to lose her ability to work for a period of time and will also bring many problems. Compared to artificially conceived children, natural birth seems inefficient and riskier. But we can't always judge things from a rational perspective. The stories we experience together are more important than the immediate result."

"So, did Kevin think the same way back then?" Mobius recalled his last meeting with Kevin before his rebirth. "He didn't have much affection for his child with Mey; the only thing he had left was his longing for Mey."

Despite the fact that the child's eyes are clearly inherited from Kevin, because Mei is born with high myopia and is at a disadvantage compared to Kevin's genes, Kevin said that the child's eyes look like Mei's when he picked her up.

This is genetically impossible, so there's only one reason: Kevin is simply using this child to remember her deceased lover.

"Until all of this becomes a reality, I will never draw any conclusions about my judgment," Zhu Yufeng said. "But Kevin ... he's always been like this, hasn't he?"

Before the Finality battle, I asked Kevin a similar question. Because Mei created the child without Kevin's knowledge, making him exist as Kevin's connection to the world, Kevin only found out at the very end.

At the time Kevin replied, "After all, I can't even hug Mei right now. If Mei really intends to do that, I will of course fulfill my responsibilities as a father."

This is what Mei intends to do.

In other words, Kevin isn't incapable of being a good father, provided May is still alive.

"I'm so different now than I was in my previous life." Zhu Yufeng looked at the experimental box behind Mobius and said, "Fusing with Honkai Beast will eventually have some impact on a person's psychology, right? In my previous life, when I was in the later stages of fighting the Honkai, I never had such a big emotional fluctuation as I do now, even though I still have memories from that time in my previous life."

"Heh..." Mobius chuckled softly, "How can one ascend the ladder to godhood without paying a price? Speaking of that price, your status as an outsider gives me a reasonable explanation for your physique."

Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment and said, "Is it about my constitution, which will increase my resistance to Honkai Energy after I fuse with a Honkai Beast?"

"That's right, this is also the foundation of the Project: Ascend to Divinity." Mobius looked Zhu Yufeng up and down. "In my previous life, I studied your body thoroughly, but according to the data, you are not much different from us, except for this characteristic... Now, you have been reborn as a natural Herrscher. In addition to verifying the success of the Project: Ascend to Divinity, this may also mean that you are different from the past you."

"Are you saying that I have officially become a person of this world?" Zhu Yufeng opened his right hand, and golden Honkai Energy gathered in his hand. He gently clenched his fist, and the Honkai Energy turned into light particles and dissipated.

"Since you say that, doesn't that mean I really can't hold on anymore? Then why do you still..." Zhu Yufeng's gaze fell on the stun gun in Mobius's right hand. He had been using his left hand to control Mobius's right hand. Although Mobius hadn't exerted much force after his right hand was restrained, a snake can always launch a surprise attack unexpectedly.

"In the end, these are all just speculations. And even if you officially become an individual of this world, so what? You can come here even if you're not an individual of this world, so who can guarantee you won't?" Mobius also looked at the stun gun in his hand. "An extra layer of insurance doesn't matter to me."

Zhu Yufeng remained silent for a long time before saying, "Actually, I've thought before, if you knew that I already knew about Klein's death, and that I still chose to go to Africa in the end, would you scold me like you did when I told you the truth about Klein's death, and say that you never want to see me again?"

No matter what, there will always be some distance between us, right?

"Indeed, but now... you and Klein are both indispensable to me. I don't care about your final choice, but I cannot tolerate your departure," Mobius said softly. "Regarding what you said about the possibility, if you had told me this after the Tenth Herrscher Incident, I might not have forgiven you. But just like how you and Elysia have resolved their differences now, you are willing to open your heart to her and start anew. Isn't that also because other Fallen Angel are still alive at this time?"

Zhu Yufeng thought about it and agreed.

"Me too. Klein is still alive, so there's not much point in pursuing things that only exist in memories. I understand your choice, but understanding is one thing, accepting it is another." Mobius said, looking into Zhu Yufeng's eyes.

At that time, she felt helpless and desperate. Even when she was criticized and her research was constantly thwarted, she never felt that way before because she didn't care about other people's opinions. After Klein's death, those emotions that arose almost overwhelmed her.

Danzhu and Cangxuan were always at odds with her ideals. Even after Klein's death, they stayed in her laboratory for a while, but that was not out of their understanding of her, but out of pity, which was the last thing she needed.

The world is vast, yet I can no longer find that one true confidant who understands me...

He appeared at this moment, accepting all the negative emotions she poured out to him without saying a word, quietly accepting her sadness.

When she gets tired of yelling, ask her if she wants a drink of water to calm down, and then ask yourself if you want to make an Armed Doll with a Klein mind module.

His answer was a test tube that he had thrown out himself.

This silly way of comforting people is really likely to cause high blood pressure.

She thought Klein was her only remaining confidante, but in their subsequent interactions, she discovered that she had another confidante.

"If you had told me all this back then... if you believe me, I would indeed hate you, but I would also love you." Mobius continued, "I would hate you for not telling me sooner, but I would love you because I know my hatred for you is illogical, because I can't negate everything we've ever had because of this one thing. So, our future relationship will probably be similar to the way you and Elysia ended up."

"Is that so..." Zhu Yufeng seemed thoughtful, then corrected himself, "But I never hated Elysia ... During that time, I just..."

"This is an analogy!" Mobius said speechlessly. "You just need to know that this is the final outcome."

"Oh."

Mobius felt that his right wrist was still firmly held by Zhu Yufeng. It seemed that he was really resistant to this matter. However, it was not a big problem. He could settle for the less desirable option. When faced with two choices that he was not willing to face, he would often, or rather inevitably, choose the one that was relatively easier.

Thinking this, Mobius then took another step forward and kissed Zhu Yufeng's lips.

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

All attention was focused on the stun gun...

First Lilith, then Elysia, then Vill-V, and now Mobius ... He's almost used to it...

If he continues to be so passive, isn't that a bit much? He's always been the one being kissed passively, and he's been using giving up to numb himself, but eventually he has to face the feelings he owes them.

After a long pause, Mobius took a step back, his face slightly flushed, but he still looked at Zhu Yufeng with narrowed eyes and said, "By the way, you've been holding my wrist the whole time, can you let go now?"

This guy never lets his guard down even when kissing! How wary of himself is he?

If he had let his guard down even for a moment, I could have succeeded...

Zhu Yufeng looked at Mobius with narrowed eyes and said, "Letting go is fine, but can you explain how many times you've tried to test whether I've relaxed my grip since I grabbed your hand?"

Mobius: "..."

He found out...

Mobius sighed and said, "Alright, I only need to achieve one of my two goals this time. Don't worry, I won't resort to any underhanded tactics this time."

Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment, then let go of his hand. Mobius also put away the stun gun as agreed, glanced at his slightly red wrist, and his eye twitched.

Can't this idiot be a little gentler?!

Mobius sat back in his chair and said slowly, "I see you're not averse to kissing... Tell me, how many times have you kissed Lilith?"

Without a doubt, it was Lilith raised Zhu Yufeng's threshold for kissing.

"Basically, if she sees me once, there will be at least one more time," Zhu Yufeng said with a look of utter despair as he recalled those scenes. "Even if Elysia were right next to me, it would be the same."

Mobius: "..."

They kiss at least once every time they meet, truly worthy of Lilith... Wait, does Elysia do the same when she's with Yu Feng?

Mobius asked with a strange expression, "Then Elysia... didn't she react at all?"

No matter what, Elysia loved Yu Feng. Back when she wanted to keep the fact that everyone had memories from Yu Feng, Elysia was even willing to risk the possibility of having the same ending as in her previous life to confess to Yu Feng. She was also the first to admit her feelings for Yu Feng.

She shouldn't have remained silent, right?

Zhu Yufeng was even more despondent. "When she first reacted, she wiped my mouth. After that, no matter how many times Lilith kissed her, she would kiss me back."

Mobius: "..."

Very good, this is very Elysia.

So, does that mean I lost out by only kissing him once?

Mobius then began to scrutinize Zhu Yufeng's lips.

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yufeng finally spoke, "Is there anything else you wanted to do by calling me here?"

"Of course, although compared to the first thing I want to do, I can say it anytime," Mobius said, rolling his eyes. "Regarding Admiralty's matter, after we talked about some things about him the other night, I also kept an eye on his recent movements and some news. The Fire Moth's investigation into Admiralty has ended, and next is the interrogation of him. Just recently, I was able to get an interrogation slot. Do you want to come along?"

They said they were asking, but they probably never even considered whether they wanted to go or not.

Thinking this over, Zhu Yufeng then said, "If I remember correctly, Vill-V has also launched an investigation into me, right? Can I go?"

"If I say you can, then you can," Mobius said casually. "I still have that much power, and you shouldn't underestimate your position in the hearts of those old folks. You actively take on missions, and your completion rate is almost perfect every time. You can balance things out with Elysia ... As long as you don't do anything too stupid, they're quite tolerant of you."

"Su... will he be there too?" Zhu Yufeng asked again. "I remember that when Admiralty chose the experimental subjects, he was the one in charge of taking care of them, right?"

"Him?" Mobius thought for a moment. "He's in charge of the initial review of Admiralty's case, and he'll be with us during the subsequent reviews as well."