Chapter 157

Ai Yue carried Pardofelis back to the room and tried to put her on the bed, but Pardofelis clung tightly to his neck and refused to let go. In the Ai Yue had no choice but to lie down on the bed with her to finally settle her down.

Who knew that after Pardofelis lay down on the bed, she became even more clingy, not only putting her legs on Ai Yue's body, but also wrapping her tail around Ai Yue's legs, as if she wanted to become one with Ai Yue.

Ai Yue could only sigh, "Pardo, you're actually awake, aren't you?"

There was only silence in response, but Ai Yue continued to stare at Pardofelis's face, which was so close to his, to exert invisible pressure.

After a moment, Pardofelis mumbled, "Ugh... I was drunk, I don't know anything..."

Then Ai Yue felt the other's tail wrap around him even tighter.

Seeing that Pardofelis was determined to play dumb until the very end, Ai Yue could only sigh and then pull the blanket over the two of them.

So what can you do? You're the one who raised the cat, so you pamper it yourself.

Anyway, it's not the first time we've slept together like this.

When it was past midnight and she was sure that Ai Yue was asleep, Pardofelis secretly got up and stared at Ai Yue's sleeping face, lost in thought.

After a moment, she sighed softly, "Pardofelis, you're such a coward."

26

Chapter Twenty-Six: To the Moon

Ai Yue woke up to a soft touch.

When he sat up in bed, he found that the bed, which was originally quite spacious, now seemed a bit crowded—because, apart from Pardofelis, Aponia and Mobius had somehow ended up lying on the bed.

As a result, Pardofelis was squeezed to the edge of the bed and looked rather pitiful.

Not only that, but a strong smell of alcohol kept wafting into Ai Yue's nose, clearly indicating that these two had drunk much more than just the bottles of wine on the table last night.

Ai Yue could even imagine the scene where these people got into the swing of things and realized they were out of wine, so they unanimously decided to get a few more bottles and eventually just started drinking right there in the wine cellar.

This wasn't just his imagination; it was something Elysia had told him—something that had actually happened.

Aponia is one thing, but how come Mobius can drink so much too?

Looking at Mobius lying on his right, still muttering something, Ai Yue couldn't help but reach out and poke her cheek.

At this moment, Mobius appeared to be only about ten years old, which was quite different from her usual mature image. Even Ai Yue had never seen her like this before. And this appearance, combined with her sleeping face, gave people a cute feeling of being carved from jade.

Looking at this scene alone, it's hard to imagine anyone connecting the mad scientist whom the entire Moth to Fire would avoid with the young girl in front of them.

As for why Mobius has become the way he is now, Ai Yue found an explanation in the conclusions given by the system.

The new life form that emerges after the fusion of mind and body possesses both spiritual and material characteristics. It is precisely because of this that Mobius's physiological state is more easily affected by his mental state.

This kind of psychological effect on physiology can also occur in ordinary people. For example, when a person suddenly suffers a major change, they may experience the phenomenon of "turning white overnight." However, due to his own abilities, Mobius's condition is more pronounced.

For example, her current childlike appearance is clearly due to excessive drinking, which has severely degraded her mental state, to the point that it has manifested physically, making her appear like a child.

Looking at Mobius's slightly immature face, Ai Yue suddenly fell into deep thought—if you think about it the other way around, it should be that alcohol affected Mobius's physical state first, and then affected her mental state.

It seems that the fusion of body and mind has actually amplified the effects of alcohol on Mobius, which is not a good thing.

Ai Yue hadn't considered this issue before, but now it was right in front of him— Mobius was now more susceptible to external influences, which was very disadvantageous for her. Although Mobius usually stayed in the laboratory and was rarely disturbed by the outside world, she became more vulnerable than before when a situation like today occurred.

Ultimately, why is it that someone who's already Fused Warrior can't resist the effects of alcohol? Does that make sense?

Ai Yue shook his head, made a note of the problem for later, and turned to look at Aponia lying to his left.

Compared to Mobius, Aponia's condition is obviously much more stable. After all, even putting aside her identity as Fused Warrior, Aponia is also a heavy drinker, and her level is obviously not comparable to that of Mobius, who doesn't usually drink.

However, perhaps because she had enjoyed herself too much last night, Aponia was not able to regain her senses at this moment. Moreover, compared to the other two, her expression seemed somewhat conflicted, as if she were experiencing some kind of pain in her dream.

Ai Yue couldn't help but grab the other's hand, trying to offer some comfort in this way. Aponia seemed to sense this as well, her fingers unconsciously tightening and gripping Ai Yue's hand in return.

Looking at Aponia, whose brows had relaxed slightly, Ai Yue remained silent for a moment before saying, "Stop pretending to be asleep, Aponia."

Aponia remained motionless.

"When I grabbed you just now, I detected a change in your mental fluctuations,"

Seeing that Aponia remained unmoved, Ai Yue had no choice but to lay out the evidence, saying, "This is not the kind of reaction a sleeping person would have."

Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, Aponia opened her eyes and said softly, "I was clearly controlling my mental power, so it's impossible for such a mistake to occur."

"Indeed, you certainly wouldn't make such a basic mistake,"

Ai Yue smiled. "But excessively calm fluctuations in mental energy are abnormal, right?"

Aponia blinked, then sighed, "You can be really clueless sometimes."

"We need to talk to someone who's clear-headed, right?"

Ai Yue smiled and said, "So what did you guys talk about last night that made you drink like this?"

"This is a secret for ladies."

Aponia said mysteriously, clearly not wanting Ai Yue to know, "If you're interested, just come next time, okay?"

"Given my drinking capacity, even if I joined, I'm afraid I'd only be able to sit at the cat's table."

Ai Yue glanced at Pardofelis, who was fast asleep at the foot of the bed, and couldn't help but laugh. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's leave the bed for someone who needs it more. Let's go out and see if there's any breakfast available."

Aponia naturally wouldn't refuse, but the time she needed to wash up was obviously several times longer than Ai Yue's, so in the end only Ai Yue went out.

To his surprise, Eden, who was theoretically weaker, was sitting on the terrace, looking at the scenery outside the window and swirling the wine in his glass.

Upon noticing Ai Yue's figure, Eden elegantly raised his glass in a toast to him.

"Drinking it first thing in the morning?"

Ai Yue walked over, sat down opposite her, looked at the snacks on the small coffee table, and unceremoniously grabbed some and stuffed them into his mouth. "Didn't you drink enough last night?"

"How can one ever be satisfied with fine wine?"

Eden said with a smile, "Besides, compared to the other two, I didn't actually drink that much yesterday."

Ai Yue glanced at her sideways and asked, "You're not going to skip the drinks, are you?"

"It was just a little trick at the party, how can you say 'escape'?"

Eden, as expected of a big star, remained calm even after being exposed by Ai Yue. "Of course, the main reason is that by the end of the party, it had become a competition between the two of them, leaving no room for me to perform."

Upon hearing Eden's description, Ai Yue couldn't help but show a strange expression—in other words, Aponia and Mobius were drinking contests in the end, which is why they got themselves into that state.

So who won in the end?

After regaining his senses, Ai Yue asked curiously, "You should know this, right?"

"There are no winners in a battle at the dinner table; it's just that one side loses more miserably."

Eden gave a teasing smile. "Besides, I remember they all ended up in your room, so you should know that better, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ai Yue nodded in agreement—it seemed that Mobius had lost.

This is unavoidable; who would have thought that alcohol would have such a double effect on Mobius? On the other hand, Aponia, relying on her strong willpower, was able to forcibly suppress the effects of drunkenness on her mind and maintain basic sobriety, which can be said to be a victory for her.

Of course, judging from the opponent's shaky state when he just got out of bed, Aponia's victory was indeed a Pyrrhic one.

So, what are your plans for today?

Eden looked at Ai Yue, who seemed lost in thought, and asked, "Are you leaving Atra City?"

"I haven't decided yet..."

Ai Yue subconsciously shook his head, but was suddenly interrupted by the message coming through his glasses. After reading the message, he smiled excitedly, "Oh, it's finally sorted out over there?"

"It seems you already have a plan."

Eden smiled and raised his glass. "Then I wish you a pleasant journey."

"Whether it will be pleasant or not is hard to say now, but it will definitely be a memorable plan."

Ai Yue smiled and looked at Eden, "Want to come along? I guarantee it will be a novel experience you've never had before."

"Oh?"

Eden's curiosity was piqued by Ai Yue's words, "Where are you going to make such a certain judgment?"

As a top star who has held concerts all over the world, Eden found it hard to imagine what places in the world he hadn't yet experienced.

It's worth noting that her travels weren't limited to cities all over the world. Sometimes, in order to gain enough inspiration, she would also go out and see rare and unique sights. She even dabbled in extreme sports such as skydiving.

Ai Yue didn't speak, but instead showed a mysterious expression and pointed to the sky.

Eden subconsciously looked out the window and saw a crescent moon faintly visible in the still-lingering night sky.

After Ai Yue and Aponia, Pardofelis was the third to get up. She wasn't actually affected by the alcohol much; the reason she took so long to get up was simply because she liked to sleep.

In fact, if she hadn't realized that Mobius was lying next to her, Pardofelis probably would have stayed a little longer.

For some reason, Pardofelis has become even more afraid of Mobius since becoming Fused Warrior —perhaps this is an instinct etched into the hearts of living beings?

By the time Mobius, who had fully recovered, stepped out of the house, it was almost afternoon.

"Finally awake?"

Seeing Mobius rubbing his eyes as he came down the stairs, Aponia, unusually, took the initiative to greet him, "You must be hungry, right? Come and get something to eat."

Seeing the smile on Aponia's face, Mobius opened his mouth, but in the end he said nothing. He simply walked over and sat down next to Ai Yue.

Clearly, last night's experience was not pleasant for her.

Ai Yue was completely unaware of this, and simply pushed the snacks in front of Mobius: "Quick, eat something, we're about to leave."

"Set off?"

Mobius was about to put the pastry in his mouth, stopped what he was doing. "Where are you going? Are you leaving already?"

She never expected Ai Yue to be in such a hurry, but if they really had to leave in a hurry, why not just wake her up in advance?

"Yes,"

Ai Yue nodded. "And I believe that once you know the destination, you will be the most anxious person."

Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with Ai Yue's riddle-like behavior, hunger led Mobius to choose to fill her stomach first. After devouring all the snacks on the table, she finally felt a sense of satisfaction.

Fortunately, her body no longer gains weight from this level of calories, otherwise she wouldn't dare to eat so recklessly.

"Brother Yue, everything is ready!"

Just then, an excited Pardofelis walked in with Prometheus II. "Ah, Sister Snake, you're awake? Eden is already waiting for us over there. Shall we set off now?"

"Set off!"

Before Mobius could react, Ai Yue impatiently waved his hand, "Target: Rainbow Bridge!"

Rainbow Bridge?

Upon hearing this title, Mobius paused for a moment, then seemed to recall something.

The only thing that seems worthy of that title is that project that has already been terminated...

A moment later, the destination that appeared before Mobius confirmed her guess—the place Ai Yue had brought them to was the ancient ruins restoration project that had once been one of the possibilities for communicating between the Earth and the Moon, but had been forced to stop for various reasons.

Seeing the long-unseen hemispherical ruins appear before her, Mobius couldn't help but feel a little dazed, but she quickly came to her senses and looked at Ai Yue beside her. "This project has been abandoned for so long, and you restarted it?"

"Yes, after all, if we want to develop the moon, this is actually the lowest cost option."

Ai Yue shrugged. "With this thing, many things can be easily sent to the moon."

"But the other side is basically abandoned, isn't it? I remember the estimated cost of restoration was Tianwen,"

Mobius frowned. "Even now, that number isn't something you can easily convince the United Earth Government to hand over. How did you do it?"

"Oh? It doesn't need to cost that much, does it?"

Ai Yue scratched his head. "I wrote a proposal myself, and it's very cheap."

Mobius stared at him for a while, then smiled with relief, "That's true, after all, it's you."

She didn't even need to think to guess what Ai Yue meant by "writing a proposal"—it was definitely a hundred times, no, ten thousand times, more outrageous than what he said.

"You're here?"

Having probably heard the commotion, Eden also came out of the research facility she was helping with, but she was now wearing the armor that Ai Yue had prepared for her. "I'm ready here too, and I can leave at any time."

"Doctor Ai Yue, the Space Bridge device has been activated."

The Armed Doll has now completed its final adjustments. "Activate it immediately?"

"Start up."