After hearing Xu Ziling's baffling statement, Blanca clearly froze for a few moments before asking in return:
"Ah... Sorry, Mr. Xu Ziling, I didn't quite hear what you just said. Could you repeat it?"
"The all-powerful Honkai energy, of course."
Xu Ziling smiled. He had already told Elysia that he actually knew a little about Honkai, so there was no need to hide it from his mother-in-law either.
Xu Ziling immediately attributed everything he hadn't finished telling Elysia, including the reason he could twist alloy with his bare hands, to his ability to use Honkai energy.
Blanca took notes seriously, and the more she listened, the brighter her eyes became. Neither she nor Mobius was unfamiliar with Honkai. Back when they were still at MOTH, Mobius had even advocated that applying Honkai to living organisms was the key to human evolution.
To the other members of Fire Moth, however, applying Honkai to the human body was like stuffing a natural disaster such as a mudslide into human muscle tissue. The fusion and collision of two utterly different things made most of Fire Moth's council members sneer at Mobius's proposal and reject it without hesitation.
That had infuriated Mobius at the time. On top of that, she had already learned through certain means of the existence of this "Ancient Stone Statue" called Xu Ziling. In a fit of anger, she took Blanca and boarded a train overnight for Changkong City, Shenzhou.
Hmm... It was worth mentioning that the region where Changkong City was located was a large island according to the world map. Apparently, it had once been an independent country, but after a certain war, it had surrendered unconditionally to Shenzhou and had been part of Shenzhou's territory for nearly a century.
Mobius had also chosen this place as their temporary base because even if some contaminated samples leaked during her experiments, at most they would contaminate the large island where Changkong City was located, rather than spreading to the mainland and causing unimaginable consequences.
But back to the matter at hand.
"And I only gained the ability to wield Honkai energy by a twist of fate. That's why I can alter my own tissues, structure, and even my DNA."
Xu Ziling had fully entered the role and begun spouting utter nonsense with a straight face. After all, Blanca had no way to be certain that what he said was false.
However, to prevent Mobius from waking up and taking Xu Ziling for Honkai energy experiments after seeing the report Blanca had written, Xu Ziling added:
"Ahem, but... Senior Blanca, you know that, in your opinion, my body had been buried underground for at least a hundred thousand years. During that time, my body had to alter its DNA countless times to adapt to the geological conditions underground... And after such a long time, I really can't be sure whether my body still retains its former strength.
"But judging from my own speculation... probably not. After all, my body isn't a forest that can remember everything."
Xu Ziling made a small joke at the end, completely patching up his lie. Although he had said a lot, most of it was just digging holes and filling them in later. It contained very little information that could actually be connected together. Blanca might see through it, but as the saying went, a lie that couldn't be proven false was the truth.
Besides, Xu Ziling had only used vague words like "speculation," "guess," and "should." Even if something abnormal was discovered later, he could brush it off by saying that too much time had passed and he couldn't remember clearly.
So...
Senior Blanca, I didn't lie.
"..."
The corner of Blanca's mouth twitched. She remembered how, when she and Mobius had just moved in, Xu Ziling had leaped out of the stone statue and, despite being extremely weak, twisted alloy with brute force and casually pieced together his own bodily structure...
You call that not having your former strength?
How powerful must you have been at your peak? Strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun?
After the corners of her mouth twitched a few more times, Blanca tactfully skipped over the topic and began asking the next question.
Xu Ziling answered in a half-joking tone, working hard to portray himself as an optimist. That would make things much easier when he interacted with the people of the Previous Civilization later.
Half an hour passed in a flash. After asking her final question, Blanca let out a long breath and said:
"Phew... I have no more questions, Xu Ziling. Let's take a break. Next, it will be your turn to ask questions."
"Haha~ I'm not in a hurry, Senior Blanca."
Xu Ziling smiled, lowered his head, and began tidying the slightly messy laboratory as he casually said:
"We've talked so much that I'm hungry. What about you, Senior Blanca? Miss Elysia's lunch should be ready soon, so why don't we tidy up the research institute first? After we eat, we can continue the questioning we didn't finish earlier."
Although Xu Ziling didn't understand the experimental reports or the instruments, straightening the equipment that had been knocked askew and stacking the scattered papers together didn't require much intelligence. Anyone with hands could do it.
"Mm..."
With Xu Ziling calling her "Senior" again and again, Blanca couldn't bring herself to watch him work alone. She nodded and agreed, then threw herself into tidying the laboratory as well.
Sigh... They had enjoyed watching Mobius and Elysia bicker from the sidelines. Now, the laboratory looked just as miserable as they did while cleaning it up.
But things had already come to this. Aside from lowering their heads and working hard, they had no other choice...
"Ding-dong~"
The elevator sounded. Elysia entered the laboratory, ready to greet them with a smile, but when she noticed that the entire place had already been cleaned spotless, a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes. Covering her mouth, she giggled.
"Hmm~? Looks like Doctor Mobius really found herself a good man. Even Miss Pink Elf is getting a little jealous."
After making a lighthearted joke, Elysia walked briskly through layer after layer of experimental equipment that she couldn't understand either. She finally passed through another metal door and saw Blanca typing a document into the computer, with Xu Ziling standing beside her and studying the surrounding instruments with curiosity.
"Hmm~ Huh?"
Seeing that Blanca was still working, Elysia gave a mischievous smile and shot Xu Ziling a meaningful look.
Xu Ziling understood immediately. He tactically turned blind and looked away.
Elysia, meanwhile, rose onto her tiptoes, slowed her steps, and quietly came up behind Blanca. Then...
"Surprise~ Guess who I am?"
Elysia reached out with both hands and covered Blanca's eyes from behind, then said with a laugh:
"No hesitating, okay? Answer in three, two, one... Hmm~?"
Caught by this sudden "attack," Blanca jumped. After hearing that familiar voice, she said helplessly:
"Elysia... This isn't fun..."
"Hehe~ I just wanted to tell our adorable Blanca that it's dinnertime already~"
"...Huh?"
Blanca was a little surprised. After glancing at the time, she saw that it was already 17:21 on May 11, Shenzhou time.
Strange. Time always passed so slowly when I was handling documents before. Why does it feel like today went by so quickly...? Is it because the dull life of an assistant became more interesting after the arrival of the beloved Miss Elf, Elysia?
Xu Ziling looked thoughtful as he turned to Elysia and said:
"Dinner...? But Miss Elysia, didn't you say earlier that you were going to make lunch?"
"Uh..."
A trace of awkwardness flashed across Elysia's face before she said:
"Well... um... Hey, even an elf lady will blow up the kitchen a few times when trying to cook for the first time without any prior experience and while unfamiliar with the kitchen equipment in Changkong, right? Buying ingredients again in the middle took quite a while too... Oh, dear! Let's not talk about this anymore, okay~?
"During my last few attempts, Miss Elf had already gotten the hang of it. I can guarantee that with my honor! Miss Elf's meals will definitely become more and more delicious from now on!"
Elysia still can't cook?
Xu Ziling stared at Elysia for a while before giving a helpless smile. Whether what Elysia said was true or not, he believed her.
Without lingering on the topic, Xu Ziling turned back to Blanca and asked:
"Senior Blanca, should we go call Doctor Mobius? She doesn't seem to have eaten much either."
"Mm, I'll go."
Blanca nodded and prepared to get up to call Mobius.
"Beep-beep, beep-beep."
At that moment, Blanca's phone suddenly rang. She glanced down at the caller, and a trace of tenderness appeared in her purple eyes. After nodding to Elysia and Xu Ziling beside her, she answered the video call.
"Haha, darling Blanca, cheer for me! The honeymoon leave I applied for from headquarters has been approved! This time, I can finally take you and little Griseo on a trip! Hahahaha!"
A hearty laugh came from Blanca's phone. Then the video connected, projecting the image of a sunny man with the same blue hair, somewhat unrestrained yet also bold and generous.
This man, who seemed not to have fully accepted his identity as a father and still acted like a cheerful, sunny young man, was Blanca's husband and Griseo's father, Hen.
Hearing her husband's good news, Blanca smiled and was about to say something when she suddenly saw Hen's expression change.
The next moment, Hen on the other end of the call opened his mouth wide in astonishment and pointed at the beautiful pink-haired girl beside Blanca, exclaiming:
"You... You... You... Could you possibly be... the legendary internet celebrity with tens of millions of fans, and the brightest new star in Fire Moth's combat division—Miss Pink Elf?!"
Elysia: "Hmm~??"
Hen: "Miss Pink Elf! I'm your fan! Aaaaaah!!!!!"
Xu Ziling: Cool~
Blanca: ...
Before you continue