Chapter 143

Seeing Ai Yue's unusually flustered expression, Mobius became even more excited. She deliberately raised her voice, making it more in line with her age, "Aren't you right, Dad?"

Then she heard the sound of something being knocked over behind her.

"Um... I didn't mean to, I just came to deliver a message,"

Pardofelis fell to the ground in a very contorted position, an embarrassed expression on her face. "Um, Brother Yue, Brother Jie is awake and insists on seeing you. I couldn't stop him. You should go see him. I'm leaving!"

After saying that, she scrambled into the wall and disappeared from their sight.

Mobius stared blankly in the direction Pardofelis had left, then turned to look at Ai Yue: "What do we do now?"

Ai Yue covered his face, suddenly feeling an urge to seek refuge with the Cocoon of Finality.

123

Chapter 123 Rumors stop when you cover your mouth.

Although the sudden turn of events left the two of them stunned, Ai Yue quickly reacted.

Regardless, we need to shut Pardofelis up first and stop her from talking nonsense.

Fortunately, Prometheus was as reliable as ever and quickly helped Ai Yue locate Pardofelis. When Ai Yue found her, Pardofelis was already sneaking around with Elysia, about to say something.

When Ai Yue saw this scene, he almost fainted—if Elysia found out about this, she could use that little pink megaphone to let everyone in the base know about it in less than five minutes!

So the moment Pardofelis opened her mouth, Ai Yue rushed over and covered Pardofelis mouth, then tried to drag her away.

Considering that this behavior might also arouse Elysia's curiosity, Ai Yue turned around and added, "Elysia, one promise—you are not allowed to ask about this matter!"

The two then disappeared from Elysia's sight.

"Hey, what happened?"

Elysia, who had just been mysteriously called to a corner by Pardofelis, immediately showed a conflicted expression. "Damn it, I'm so curious! I really want to know! Why use a promise in a place like this!"

Elysia began to hate herself for so easily making three promises to Ai Yue —she never expected that he would use one of them on such a trivial matter.

But given her love of gossip, she was the least able to resist this kind of thing.

Ai Yue had no idea that his casual remark had caused Elysia such anxiety. At this moment, he only wanted to nip the rumor in the bud. Therefore, after confirming that no one was approaching within a fifty-meter radius, Ai Yue looked at Pardofelis with a serious expression. "Pardo, the little girl you just saw was actually Mobius, you know?"

"Huh?"

Pardofelis paused for a moment, then gave a strange look. "Brother Yue, even if you want to fool me, you should at least come up with a better excuse, right? Haven't we seen what Sister Snake looks like? She can't possibly be young again!"

But she really does know how!

Ai Yue wanted to explain, but Pardofelis's next sentence left him speechless for a long time. "Besides, I clearly heard that child call you Dad, so it can't be fake, right?"

Ai Yue fell silent—how could he explain to Pardofelis that this was actually part of their play?

He couldn't bring himself to say such a thing!

"But I understand what you mean, Brother Yue,"

Seeing that Ai Yue's expression had become a little strange, Pardofelis shrank back, "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"I... you... never mind."

Ai Yue felt that continuing to explain might damage his and Mobius's image, so he gave up on explaining. "In short, it's not what you think, so don't tell anyone, understand?"

Compared to "the two top scholars of the Moth to Fire actually had such a big affair in private", it seems that "Ai Yue and Mobius actually already had a child" is easier for people to accept?

"Knew,"

Pardofelis nodded obediently, but then added, "But what about the child?"

"No children!"

Ai Yue glared at her, then sighed, "Never mind, you'll find out soon enough anyway."

Now that the Stigmata Project has yielded sufficient results, it will be made public to everyone once Ai Yue has fully refined the specific details. Mobius will also showcase the project's achievements. At that time, Pardofelis will naturally understand what this so-called child is all about.

Since she has already formed a preconceived notion, any explanation would likely be futile. Until then, all we need to do is make sure she doesn't say anything inappropriate.

"Okay, okay, I understand. There are no children."

Pardofelis, in turn, used a coaxing tone to appease Ai Yue, "Brother Jie is still waiting for you, hurry up and go over, Brother Yue."

Ai Yue nodded and then walked towards the door, but halfway there he suddenly turned back and emphasized again in a serious tone. "Absolutely, absolutely no more rumors, understand?"

"Okay, okay!"

After finally seeing Ai Yue off, Pardofelis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Thinking of Ai Yue's tense and flustered expression just now, she couldn't help but laugh again.

Although Pardofelis was a bit simple-minded, she wasn't really stupid. Although she did misunderstand at first, she quickly realized that Ai Yue had only known Mobius for about a year, so how could he possibly have a child around ten years old?

Even top scientists in the field of biology couldn't possibly do something like that... right?

The reason she sought out Elysia was simply to ask if it was possible for Mobius to do such a thing; she had no intention of actually revealing it. After all, such rumors would be very detrimental to Ai Yue, so how could she possibly do anything harmful to Ai Yue?

But I haven't seen Ai Yue react like that in a long time, and it really makes you want to tease him.

But then again, if it really wasn't their child, then there's only one answer, right?

Recalling what she had inadvertently witnessed before, and combining it with the scene she saw today, Pardofelis's mind was in complete chaos, and even her tail felt like it was getting tangled up.

Brother Yue is such a hypocrite... Could he possibly be into this kind of thing?

In that case, does that mean I've missed my chance?

Ai Yue had no idea about Pardofelis's inner turmoil. At this moment, he had returned to the Fused Warrior's ward and met Kalpas, who had just left the life support pod, as well as Mobius, who was in charge of packing up the medical drone and checking his physical condition.

Judging from the environment at the scene and the wreckage of the life support pod, this guy obviously rushed out of the life support pod directly.

Kalpas remained tense, as if he were still preparing for battle, until he saw Ai Yue appear in front of him as usual, at which point his tension finally eased.

"It's over."

Ai Yue walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "You can get some rest now."

"Um."

Kalpas nodded, then leaned back and fell onto the bed.

"His condition recovered very quickly, even ridiculously quickly."

At this moment, Mobius also said, "Sakura's injuries are actually much lighter than his, but she still hasn't regained consciousness. But this guy is almost completely recovered. What kind of life force is this?"

Mobius's tone was filled with barely concealed eagerness; clearly, her professional instincts were kicking in, and she wanted to thoroughly study this mysterious masked man.

In the end, Ai Yue calmed her down, saying, "Calm down, there will be other opportunities in the future."

Although Kalpas is not from Earth, the fact that he was able to become Fused Warrior in the original storyline means that he also has the conditions to create Stigmata.

Under the current circumstances, Ai Yue naturally does not intend to let Kalpas undergo the Fused Warrior surgery, but once the Stigmata Project is fully completed, it will be very suitable for Kalpas's special situation to participate in.

As he pondered, he glanced at the last life support pod that was still functioning.

Next, only Sakura is left.

124

Chapter 124 Let's pop the champagne!

In a daze, the girl opened her eyes.

She just dreamt of her hometown again, of that huge cherry blossom tree, of herself having a picnic under the tree with her sister and comrades, enjoying the hard-won peace.

However, as she regained consciousness, she clearly remembered that she was still unable to escape from the war.

As long as we are not dead, we must keep fighting.

With this thought in mind, Sakura finally regained consciousness.

However, when her eyes finally focused on the scene before her, she almost thought she was dead.

After all, only a dead person would be surrounded by so many people, right?

When Sakura saw almost everyone involved in the operation appear before her eyes, except for Dr. Mei, she thought she was dead and that this was just a fleeting moment of lucidity before her death, witnessing everyone saying goodbye to her body.

However, seeing Ai Yue among the group brought her a sense of relief—at least it meant the mission had been successfully completed, so even if she died...

The next second, as the life support pod automatically opened its door, all of Sakura's other senses returned to her control. Only then did she realize that she was not dead; she had just been a little confused and might have had a slight illusion.

"In that case, it's a successful conclusion."

Seeing Sakura emerge from the life support pod looking somewhat bewildered, Ai Yue nodded, then noticed the expression on her face. "Hey, is there anything else that's bothering you? Why do you look so strange?"

"No, it's nothing,"

Sakura naturally couldn't voice her earlier misperception, so she quickly shook her head and changed the subject, "Looks like I'll be the last one to recover?"

"Yes, after all, your injuries were among the most severe."

Ai Yue nodded. "You've worked hard. You deserve the most credit for this mission. As for compensation and rewards, I'll arrange those later."

As Fused Warrior participated in the entire battle, Sakura was first ambushed and severely injured by the Herrscher's clone. Later, she unleashed an ultimate strike to kill the clone. Afterwards, she participated in the battle against the five clones and the final battle while still injured. She was covered in wounds.

If it weren't for Kalpas's greater recklessness, Sakura would have been the biggest victim in this battle.

Fortunately, there is the miraculous Herrscher Core of the Sixth Herrscher, so as long as there is still a breath left, they can be restored through treatment.

"Everyone is important; it's not just my achievement."

Faced with Ai Yue's praise, Ying simply shook her head. "However, Doctor Ai Yue, I still hope that you can avoid this situation from happening again next time."

Sakura's words were tactful, but they were enough to express her inner thoughts—this mission was not only extremely difficult, but also involved fighting against her benefactor, which put her under both physical and psychological pressure, making it a real torment for her.

Moreover, based on her more traditional thinking, Sakura still believed that someone as important as Ai Yue should not risk his life to do such a thing.

"I agree, Ai Yue."

Kevin said from the side, "No matter what, the risk of you becoming Herrscher is too great. If the plan is not successfully completed in the end, your death alone will be a loss that human civilization cannot bear."

Although the others didn't speak, it was clear from their eyes and expressions that they agreed with Kevin's idea.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again."

Faced with everyone's opinions, Ai Yue could only obediently surrender, "I've already said that this is a rare opportunity. Even if I wanted to recreate this plan in the future, it would be impossible."

Mobius and Aponia looked at each other simultaneously. "You still dare to dream about it?"

"Well, in short, now that everyone is here, I'll officially announce..."

Ai Yue immediately avoided their gazes and changed the subject, "This mission has ended in an unprecedented victory for humanity!"

With Sakura's awakening, Ai Yue's emphasis also definitively declared the mission over. Realizing this, everyone finally relaxed, and the atmosphere on site began to lighten.

"Now that it's over, let's get ready for the party!"

Elysia was the first to raise her hand, "However, considering the level of secrecy surrounding this mission, I'm afraid only we can participate."

"That's fine too; small-scale operations have their own fun."

Eden chimed in, "I'll take care of the venue and drinks. There's a place I've wanted to introduce to you all for a long time."

"Yay!"

Elysia happily went over and hugged Eden, "You truly are my good Eden! I was just wondering where to hold this event!"

Since secrecy is required, it's natural to minimize the number of people who know about it. Therefore, the banquet hall inside the Moth to Fire is definitely unusable. Now that Eden has stepped in to solve this problem, it's a great help.

Not to mention that there must be even more treasures of Eden there. Although Aponia didn't say anything, the anticipation in her eyes was almost overflowing.

"Sounds good,"

Vill-V chimed in, "I bet you guys need some props to set the mood, right?"

"A party,"

Kevin hesitated for a moment, seemingly recalling his embarrassing moment last time, but considering that this was a small party and there was no drunkard like Hen, he relaxed and said, "I will try my best to bring Mei... as much as possible."

"A party? That sounds pretty good,"

Cosmo looked at Desdrobia beside him and said, "I remember the desserts at the last party were really delicious. I wonder if we'll be able to have them again this time."

"Then you'll have to ask the pastry chef himself."

Elysia somehow appeared behind the two of them, put her arm around them, and looked at the taciturn masked man beside them, "Isn't that right, Kalpas?"

"Hmph, there's no need to worry about that."

Kalpas glanced at Ai Yue beside him, then said, "This time it will only be better than last time."