Vill-V pulled out a magnifying glass and aimed it at the most eye-catching grilled fish, seemingly trying to spot something extraordinary in it.
"Heh."
Chijie did not respond to Vill-V's praise, but he could not suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph, enough nonsense. We have things to do after dinner."
Mobius deliberately chose a seat beside Vill-V, then raised the drink in her hand and continued.
"Want a drink?"
"How rare, Doctor. You're actually inviting me yourself."
Vill-V found it a little strange, but she did not suspect anything else. After pouring herself a drink, she clinked glasses with Mobius.
Clink! ×2
After personally watching Vill-V drink from her glass, Mobius immediately revealed a sly grin, as if her plan had succeeded.
"Hmm!?"
The instant the liquid entered her mouth, Vill-V immediately sensed that something was wrong. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Pfft!!"
Unable to control herself, Vill-V spat out the drink in her mouth.
With quick reflexes, Kevin darkened his face and acted at once, freezing the liquid midair and successfully preventing the food on the table from being contaminated.
"Mobius, what did you do? You drugged my drink? No, I poured it myself!"
Vill-V struggled to wipe the remaining liquid from the corner of her mouth. A strong, strange taste still lingered in her mouth and would not fade.
"Hehehe, take a guess?"
The sly smile on Mobius's face widened further. She made no effort to hide her delight as she raised the hand holding her cup and curled up her delicate little finger.
At the instant their glasses clinked, she had flicked the powder hidden beneath her pinky nail into Vill-V's cup.
She had originally wanted to give her some laxatives, but the ingredients had been used to make sleeping aids, so she had made do with this instead.
"Damn it, Mobius, you really drugged me."
Vill-V accepted the water Elysia handed her and gulped down several mouthfuls, but she still could not get rid of that strange taste.
"It's fine. The medicine isn't harmful. At most, you won't be able to taste anything but that weird flavor tonight."
Seeing her scheme succeed, Mobius immediately entered mockery mode.
"!"
Upon hearing Mobius's words, Vill-V looked as though she had been struck by lightning. Her pupils began to tremble as she stared at the dazzling spread of food on the table.
Today's meal was so lavish mainly because Chijie had caught a big fish that satisfied him, and because two little guests had come to the apartment.
Dishes of this caliber were rarely seen! After finally getting such an opportunity, she could not taste anything!?
"Mobius, I'll fight you!"
Vill-V sprang up with claws bared and lunged at Mobius.
"You think I'm afraid of you? You had me hung up for so long last night—I'm still not over it!"
The two immediately began wrestling with each other.
The others simply continued eating, completely unsurprised, as if this sort of thing were perfectly normal.
"Kid, here."
Chijie deliberately cut off a large piece of golden-brown fish and placed it in front of Bai Chen, then poured a spoonful of translucent sauce over it, clear as red jade.
In an instant, the unique aroma of grilled fish burst forth, mixed with a freshness that whetted the appetite.
"Wow! Chijie, you're playing favorites! You're giving Bai Chen special treatment!"
Noticing Chijie's actions, Elysia joked from the side.
"Whatever."
Chijie could not be bothered to explain.
"Bai Chen, Chijie is openly playing favorites, you know? That sauce is Chijie's secret recipe. Even we've only had it a few times."
Elysia smiled at Bai Chen, then put on a deliberately regretful expression to highlight how lucky he was.
"Wow, the last time I had some was half a year ago."
Pardofelis stared at the fish in Bai Chen's plate, her eyes full of longing. It was not just because of the sauce—Chijie had cut Bai Chen the most tender and succulent part of the entire fish.
"Uh..."
Seeing the longing in Pardofelis's eyes, and noticing that Seele seemed interested in the sauce as well, Bai Chen felt a little embarrassed.
So Bai Chen looked up at Chijie with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Your decision."
Chijie waved a hand helplessly.
"I can't finish such a big piece by myself anyway. How about I share it with everyone?"
"Bai Chen, you're the best! But wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Pardofelis jumped up happily, then sneaked a glance at Chijie and pretended to hesitate.
"Do you want it or not?"
"Yes!"
Afterward, everyone finished the meal amid laughter and cheerful conversation. Everyone was satisfied today, except Vill-V and Mobius.
By the time the two finished fighting, the grilled fish—the main course—had been eaten until only its head and tail remained.
"Vill-V!"
Somewhat exhausted, Mobius gritted her teeth and glared at Vill-V. After that fight, she was even angrier!
"Hahaha, I couldn't eat, but neither could you!"
Vill-V laughed after tidying up her slightly disheveled appearance. Judging by the way she was panting, she was clearly not feeling much better either.
"How rare. Truly rare."
Bai Chen had recorded the entire fight between the two. If he got the chance later, he would go to World Serpent and show it to the people of Elysian Realm.
Shocking! The Thirteen Flame-Chasers did something like this over grilled fish?!
The more he thought about it, the more amusing it seemed. Unfortunately, he had to leave soon to avoid making Kiana and the others worry. Otherwise, he really wanted to stay in this World Bubble for a few more days and see what other antics they could come up with.
At night, Bai Chen lay on the bed that had originally belonged to Kevin and calmly closed his eyes. He had enjoyed spending time with them today, but after tomorrow, they would all go their separate ways.
...They probably would not meet again in the future either. Bai Chen figured this World Bubble would not last much longer. But what else could he do? He could only do what was within his power.
Not long after Bai Chen lay down, a patch of black shadow spread into his room. At the same time, an odorless, colorless gas was released from it and filled the entire room.
The Snake of the Night
Under the effects of the unknown gas, Bai Chen's breathing gradually steadied, as though he had fallen into a deep sleep.
A green figure gradually emerged from the shadows, dangerous as a deadly snake beneath the moonlight.
Mobius. At this moment, Mobius was not wearing her white lab coat, but the black qipao dress everyone knew so well.
She slithered over to Bai Chen's bedside like a snake. Her vertical pupils stared at the sleeping Bai Chen, flashing with complicated emotions.
Then she reached out and took out something resembling a syringe, slowly bringing it toward Bai Chen's pale skin.
Bang!
Just as Mobius was about to succeed, Bai Chen suddenly woke up and grabbed her arm, preventing her from getting any closer.
"You?!"
Mobius looked at Bai Chen in astonishment. She had clearly drugged him? That dosage was enough to put even Chijie to sleep for several hours!
"Since Elysia warned me that someone was watching me, did you really think I'd do nothing at all?"
Bai Chen raised his hand. A tiny black hole was continuously swallowing the air around it. Under his control, it did not damage the surroundings, but all of that gas had been sucked into it.
"Eden's Star?"
Mobius pulled back and narrowed her eyes. Although she had been mentally prepared when Bai Chen summoned Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, she had not expected that he could really use it.
Elysia really was meddlesome. Would it not have been better if she had just stayed out of it?!
Could this kid use every Divine Key? No, perhaps it was not limited to Divine Keys. Mobius's gaze toward Bai Chen turned serious.
"So? Doctor, what are you doing sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?"
Bai Chen rolled over and got out of bed, staring fixedly at Mobius as he remained alert for her next move.
"Little brother, can't I come check on you at night?"
Mobius licked her lips and put on a seductive pose.
To be fair, Mobius really was alluring. Even with the two of them facing off, Bai Chen still gave her that objective assessment.
"You came to check on me with a needle?"
Bai Chen laughed angrily at her perfunctory excuse. If he had not stopped her just now, that needle would have gone straight into him!
Who knew what consequences it would have brought.
"Mobius, what exactly do you want?"
"Nothing. I only want to leave."
Seeing that Bai Chen was unwilling to be fooled, Mobius stopped playing around and said coldly.
"Leave? You know?"
Bai Chen frowned.
"Isn't that normal? All it takes is a little investigation to find out that our world is being destroyed! No one can stop the process, but the snake will not disappear like this. I will definitely escape from this doomed world!"
Mobius's eyes filled with hostility. She could make a move at any moment.
She had long discovered the truth that the world was being destroyed. From the day she learned the truth, she had been researching ways to leave this world.
Even with her genius, and despite developing countless devices, she still could not leave. A broken world could not produce the materials needed to create complete equipment again.
If the world were still whole, she would have long created a device capable of leaving this world. She might not even need to create one—she could accomplish it with a certain Divine Key. Unfortunately, it was all too late now.
But just when Mobius was in despair, a special existence had arrived! He was a visitor from a complete world, and even the Divine Keys he summoned were more complete than theirs!
Was there a more suitable lab rat than the guy in front of her? He was practically a chosen white mouse!
"Wait, if all you want is to survive, I can use my power to take all of you with me when I leave."
Bai Chen felt there was no need for things to turn out like this between them. There was room for discussion.
"Do you believe that yourself?!"
Mobius immediately interrupted him.
"You only brought one person when you came here. You can't control it, can you? What makes you think you can take more people with you when you leave?"
Mobius's words struck Bai Chen directly in the heart. It was true that he had arrived in this world in a muddleheaded way. Even taking Seele away with him was not something he was one hundred percent sure about.
Wanting to bring other people along as well was simply wishful thinking.
Suddenly, a patch of shadow spread beneath Bai Chen's feet, and several black beams shot out from it toward him!
Loaded Armament · Herrscher of Thunder
At the instant he was about to transform, Bai Chen placed something over his head. The terrifying emotions that had once affected him no longer had any effect on him now.
The practicality of Dignity had been proven during his experiments as the Herrscher of Reason.
Thunder boomed through the sky. Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, Bai Chen and Mobius vanished from Kevin's room, leaving only a complete mess behind.
Kevin: Bro, not cool at all.
"You can transform too? What are you, a Ditto?!"
Before you continue