"Hmph, isn't it because of Vill-V?! She actually modified my desk with a bunch of weird functions while I was gone!"
Thinking of Vill-V's ridiculous, smug face, Mobius grew even angrier, her hand clenched into a fist beneath her long sleeve!
Last night, she had merely wanted to lie facedown on her desk for a while after work. Instead, the desk activated its sleep-assistance system, tied her up, and nearly shook her brains smooth!
If her assistant Klein hadn't happened to be nearby, she would have been hanging in the air all night!
"Vill-V!!"
The more Mobius thought about it, the more she felt like grinding her teeth to pieces. No! Tonight, she absolutely had to add something extra to Vill-V's food, or she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight!
Watching from the side, Bai Chen saw killing intent become tangible for the first time. He could only pray that Vill-V of this world would not suffer too badly.
Amen.
"Hm?"
After Mobius calmed herself down, she noticed Bai Chen beside her.
"So... are they your relatives?"
Mobius studied Bai Chen's appearance thoughtfully. He was quite an endearing-looking child.
"They recently had some free time, so they came to visit for a few days."
While covering for them, Elysia frantically winked at Griseo and Seele on the other side, hinting for them to cooperate.
Seeing Elysia's signals, Griseo suddenly remembered a television drama she had watched a few days ago. Could this be some kind of mysterious incident?
Her eyes sparkling, she immediately decided to cooperate and did not expose Elysia.
"Oh?"
A hint of amusement flashed through Mobius's snake-like eyes. Then, like a real snake, she coiled herself around Bai Chen.
"Little one, do you want to come to big sister's room and look at some nice things?"
"Wow! Are people in this world really this bold?!"
Seeing Mobius wrap herself around him from Kallen's first-person perspective, Kallen cried out in surprise. Then a trace of displeasure rose in her heart, and she wanted to go over and punch Mobius twice.
"Why am I not surprised to see someone behaving so boldly? And why do so many people here feel familiar to me?"
Inside Bai Chen's body, Fu Hua was confused. She did not know what relationship she had with these people, but for some reason, watching their interactions gave her a sense of peace and tranquility.
"Look at what?"
Bai Chen struggled to pry Mobius's arm from around his neck. He felt that Mobius was definitely up to no good. Could she also be a mad scientist in this world?
"Wow, I never expected you to like this child so much, Mobius. His name is Bai Chen."
Elysia continued fanning the flames from the side.
"Of course. I've never seen someone this interesting before."
Mobius gradually tightened her grip, and her words seemed to carry another meaning as well.
Bang!
Just as Mobius was about to abduct Bai Chen into her room, the door to the hall was kicked open by a powerful foot.
At the same time, noisy laughter from outside surged into the room.
"Hahahahaha! Today, I'm definitely going to deal with this guy properly! Kevin, you're too weak!"
Wearing his familiar mask, Chijie strode into the hall. He held what looked like fishing gear in his hands, but the most eye-catching thing was the huge fish nearly two meters long strapped to his back! Its tail was even dragging along the floor!
Behind him was Kevin Kaslana, ranked No. 1 on the electronic board. He was carrying similar fishing gear, but his fish bucket seemed to be empty.
"After all, everyone calls me the abstinent type."
Kevin's cold remark made Chijie choke in the middle of his laughter.
"Cough, cough, cough! Damn it! Kevin, don't suddenly make such weird jokes!"
Chijie hammered his chest several times before finally feeling better.
"Kevin, you didn't catch anything today either."
Elysia walked over to the two of them and looked into Kevin's fish bucket. Sure enough, there was nothing inside.
"No, Elysia. You're wrong this time."
Kevin indicated that he had not come back empty-handed. Solemnly, he spread a white cloth on the floor. Printed on it was an almost two-meter-long mark that looked like... a Honkai Beast?
"A 158-kilogram crab. Unfortunately, it can't be eaten."
"Kevin, isn't that a Honkai Beast?"
"...No. It's just an inedible crab."
Home
"Hahahaha! Kevin didn't catch anything all morning, but right before leaving, he hooked a Honkai Beast! Then he dragged both himself and the Honkai Beast back and insisted it was a crab. I'm dying! Hahahaha!"
Chijie rarely had opportunities to get the better of Kevin, so now that he had finally caught one, he naturally had to make the most of it.
At the time, Kevin finally hooked something in the last moments. Judging by the force, he originally thought it was a huge catch. Delighted, Kevin put more strength into it and flung it ashore.
Then this thing came up instead! Kevin's originally cool expression immediately shifted into blizzard mode.
That poor Honkai Beast did not even get a chance to escape before Kevin flattened it into two dimensions.
Whenever Chijie thought of Kevin's gloomy face as he pressed that innocent Honkai Beast to death on the cloth, he found it even funnier.
Then, amid his wild laughter, Chijie's gaze suddenly landed on Mobius—more precisely, on Mobius holding Bai Chen.
"Mobius..."
Chijie's expression visibly darkened. After setting the huge fish from his back on the floor, he quickly strode over to Mobius.
"I thought you had at least some conscience. I never expected you to make a move on a child so quickly?!"
As Chijie spoke, his anger rapidly rose as well.
"So what if I did? Do you have a problem with that?"
Rather than explaining herself, Mobius responded with even greater disdain.
"Interesting! Are you sure you want to do this?!"
Chijie glared at her from beneath his mask.
"Since when did you become my superior, Chijie? Do I need to follow your orders?"
Fearless, Mobius continued mocking him.
Caught between the two of them, Bai Chen frantically waved his hands. If you want to fight, don't do it here! You'll drag us into it!
But Chijie's next words caught Bai Chen completely off guard.
"Then... eat instant noodles tonight! You're not getting a single bite of the food I made today!"
"What?!"
Mobius's voice broke from sheer shock.
"You can't do this! The instant noodles Kevin bought in bulk last time are all the same flavor! I'm already sick of them!"
"Doctor, you could just go out and buy some..."
Kevin had just wanted to ask why she had to eat instant noodles when she could simply buy food outside, but Mobius shot him a glare from afar, and he immediately shut up.
Still, he quietly muttered:
"I've eaten that flavor for so long, and it tastes pretty good, okay? The Doctor is too picky."
Hearing Kevin mutter that, Elysia was speechless. Only you could eat the same flavor of instant noodles for months straight!
"Chijie! Don't go too far!"
Mobius released Bai Chen. The expression on her face was no longer as relaxed as before; now, she was clearly putting on a brave front.
Bai Chen was even more bewildered. No, how long had Mobius been eating instant noodles? One sentence about not cooking for her scared her this badly? And didn't she know how to cook herself!
"I cooked it. If you have the guts, don't eat it."
Chijie snorted coldly.
"Damn it, if only Klein weren't away today..."
Mobius gritted her teeth. In the end, she could only give in, turn around, and run upstairs.
"Chijie, just you wait!"
After she left, Bai Chen twisted his sore neck. Mobius was actually quite heavy, and that mass pressed against his side had made his neck uncomfortable.
The personalities of the people here really were very different from those in the main world. Mobius and Chijie of the main world absolutely would not have gotten along this harmoniously.
"Hey, kid."
After Mobius left, Chijie called out toward Bai Chen.
"?"
Bai Chen scratched his head. Why was Chijie suddenly calling him? They should not have had any interaction.
"Kid, have we met somewhere before? You feel different."
There was a trace of scrutiny in Chijie's gaze, though no one could see it because of his mask.
Met before? Did I beat you up in a game? Or fight you in a dream? Just kidding.
"Chijie, don't be so fierce with a child."
Elysia immediately stepped forward and blocked Chijie's line of sight.
With his gaze obstructed, Chijie seemed to realize that he had been a little intimidating. After looking away, he continued speaking.
"Kid, stay away from that woman just now. She's dangerous."
With that, Chijie carried his giant fish into the kitchen.
It seemed Chijie was quite gentle in this world. If they had not experienced those disasters in their original world, could they have lived this freely as well?
Bai Chen looked toward Seele's side, where Seele and Griseo were getting along splendidly.
"These are Griseo's family."
Griseo held up a lifelike painting. All thirteen of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers from the original world were in it.
The scenery around them had clearly been embellished and exaggerated by Griseo. It was obvious that she must have been especially happy when painting it.
"Did Griseo paint this? It looks so alive."
Having regained control of her body, Seele looked at Griseo's painting and could not help praising it.
She had only seen painting skills of this level on television. Compared to the most realistic photographs, it held an extra touch of dreamlike beauty.
It looked alive? It was not as if they could not come alive.
Bai Chen thought strangely to himself.
After receiving the praise, Griseo displayed the delighted expression unique to children. Then she excitedly turned the painting toward Bai Chen, stars shining in her eyes as she seemed to wait for his response.
"It's an amazing painting. It would be wonderful if my world had a painting like this too."
Bai Chen looked at the painting. The fact that Griseo could paint such a peaceful, happy scene meant that her life had truly been wonderful; the painting was dyed with her emotions.
If his world had a painting like this too, then perhaps the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of that world could also have been happy. Unfortunately, that was impossible.
"Does Bai Chen want it?"
Griseo seemed to have misunderstood what Bai Chen meant.
"No... no..."
Thinking of how the Previous Era ended in the main world, Bai Chen felt somewhat downcast.
"But this painting is important to me."
Griseo's expression was hesitant. Clearly, she had not taken Bai Chen's refusal seriously. The yearning in his eyes when he looked at the painting was not something he could fake.
"It's okay..."
Just as Bai Chen was about to refuse Griseo again, unwilling to make things difficult for her, Griseo continued with her idea.
Before you continue