Similarity / An Incomplete Past

He ran his finger under his nostril. "Breathing is normal."

He opened his eyes. "Pupils... clear."

Lin pulled Einstein behind him, unfolded the Oath of Judas, and stared at the girl who slowly stood up, a charming smile on her lips.

Lin hadn't noticed before, but after she stood up, he realized that she was wearing an outfit similar to a maid's uniform, with a headdress shaped like devil horns, long, elegant hair, and a beauty mark at the corner of her right eye that added a touch of alluring charm.

The "person" who fell out of the crack in the Quantum Sea ... even if he doesn't seem special, Lin will still pay a little attention to him, let alone this one who seems even more unusual than Yan Luo.

Neither of them made any move; they were both carefully observing each other. The girl's gaze lingered for a moment on Lin's face and the Oath of Judas beside him.

Then she gave a perfectly polite smile, "Hello, nice to meet you."

"Hello." Einstein observed the fabric of the other woman's clothing with great interest. Judging from her observation, the girl's clothes were made of an unusual material, somewhat resembling the combat suit of a moth drawn to a flame...

Lin didn't greet him. Unlike Einstein, he was focused on the other man's subtle movements and physique.

Just now, she placed her hands in front of her abdomen and bent slightly, which was a standard maid's movement and seemed fine. However, she made a small backward step, which allowed her to generate power from her feet as quickly as possible.

And her figure... Although I don't know if all maids have perfect figures, from what Lin observed, this person didn't have an ounce of excess fat.

This isn't a figure that can be maintained simply by controlling your diet; the tight top revealed her beautiful abs. This person must be a warrior.

"Could you perhaps be a little more discreet when you're looking at my figure?" The maid's polite smile remained unwavering even under Lin Si's unbridled gaze.

Lin coldly retorted, "Aren't you observing me too?"

"Oh dear? Perhaps you are not a gentleman?"

"I advocate for gender equality."

Einstein intervened just in time to prevent the conversation from spiraling out of control, and politely asked, "Excuse me, miss, who are you? And why did you fall from... that place?"

She pointed to the crack in the air, her meaning quite clear.

The maid glanced discreetly at the crack, then gave a professional smile, "Excuse me, you can call me... Rita. As you can see, I am a maid. As for why I'm here..."

She paused for half a second before continuing with a smile, "Because my boat broke anchor."

The ship has dropped anchor?

Before Einstein could press further, she countered with, "And who are you two? And why are you in this World Bubble?"

Lin frowned. This maid named Rita had figured out they weren't from this World Bubble? How did she figure it out? Did she have a way or tool to confirm it, or was it because of the Oath of Judas?

Einstein took the lead in negotiating. "My name is Einstein, and this is Lin. We had a little accident and ended up in this World Bubble."

Einstein was also very discreet. The other party seemed to know more about the Quantum Sea than they did, but whether it was good or evil was still uncertain. They hoped to get some information about the Quantum Sea out of her.

Rita raised her chin and gave Lin a meaningful look.

"What an unexpected turn of events..."

"I have a question."

"Do you want to talk about problems or gossip?"

"..."

Mei looked a little embarrassed. Had she asked so many gossip questions that she had annoyed the woman?

Fortunately, even if a woman isn't wearing a helmet, it's almost the same as if she is; she rarely shows her emotions on her face... Of course, verbal attacks are still inevitable, but while she may be vicious with her words, her actions are unlikely to be outrageous.

... The problem is that Mei still wants to ask about gossip this time.

She felt the fault wasn't hers; after all, the relationships between the Flame-Chasers seemed far more complex than they appeared. The affairs between people from the Previous Civilization, whether heroes or villains, easily piqued curiosity, and women just happened to know a lot about them...

"Lin's?"

"Um..."

Sure enough, the woman frowned in disgust at the mere mention of Lin. Did she really hate him that much?

"Ask away."

... But unsurprisingly, she agreed. Is this what they call... tsundere?

Then Mei asked the question she had been waiting for, "Aren't there a lot of women who are close to Hayashi?"

Then she was hit by the death ray.

The woman's gaze was truly terrifying, as if she would slice any slight dissatisfaction into pieces, and now, Mei could feel that her dissatisfaction was practically overflowing from her eyes.

"This is really... haha... unexpected." Mei thought she had a pretty good relationship with women and had said many heartfelt things to them. "You can't tell from her appearance that she's a playboy."

"Hmph... He wasn't a playboy, that guy never even thought about that kind of thing until he died, but he was certainly popular with many women around him."

"Didn't they leave any descendants or anything?"

"How could that be?"

At that moment, the woman sneered—

"I forgot to mention that he did have quite a few close relationships with women, but almost all of them who could have taken things further died one after another."

"After all, given that guy's personality, the people he attracts will naturally be just like him."

Chapter Thirty Similarities

"I seem to have disturbed your enjoyment."

A gentle breeze was blowing. Lin had heard that one of the essential things service industry workers must do is to provide guests with the utmost warmth and comfort, like being at home.

The smile before him was like that of a maid, taken straight from the world's standard smile textbook. Her words were indeed generous and appropriate, and her actions were indeed pleasing to the eye, but he did not feel any warmth like that of a home. Instead, he felt the chill of a slaughterhouse.

Was he overly wary of the people he encountered in the Quantum Sea because of Yan Luo?

"No." Lin gestured for him to have a drink.

"Inviting me for drinks the moment we meet, Mr. Lin... you really are a very unpretentious person." Rita's beautiful ruby eyes swept over Lin and Einstein. "Won't we ask about something else first? For example... what is this 'ship' I mentioned?"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "We can chat while we drink."

"But unfortunately, it seems we're out of wine." Rita smiled as she looked at the empty bottle.

"I'll go get the bar, you guys chat first."

Einstein understood Lin's signal, pulled the still-sleeping Number Three up, and headed towards the base, leaving Lin and Rita standing there.

The evening breeze ruffled Rita's long hair, her beautiful face partially obscured by her bangs, but her smile was full of poetic warmth.

Lin closed the Oath of Judas and then sat back down.

The maid's eyes, hidden beneath her hair, pondered the closed Oath of Judas. Even though Lin had disarmed himself, the majestic cross lay not far beside him, within easy reach.

Something flashed in her eyes, which were hidden by her hair, and she gracefully pressed her skirt tighter as she sat down opposite Lin.

"Then, please ask whatever you wish to ask."

Lin didn't waste any words. "What do you want with us?"

"Um... what do you mean by that?" Rita asked, slightly perplexed.

"You just happened to fall into the World Bubble, and you just happened to land in our location, and then you started communicating with us normally." Lin listed the suspicious points. "I think you came to us on purpose."

Rita's eyes narrowed with a smile, "Because you caught me just now and prevented my skirt from getting muddy, that's a gentlemanly act~ So I think I can answer your question as a way of repaying you."

"..."

There seemed to be no problem. Lin nodded in acceptance. Now that the prerequisites had been confirmed, the next step was to address the formal issues.

"What is a 'ship'? How were you able to come from outside the World Bubble inside it? How did you realize that we don't belong to this World Bubble?"

Lin's questions were less tricky and more sharp; they were straightforward and interrogative.

"Let's do it one at a time."

Rita, her legs clad in black stockings, crossed her legs. Her delicate fingers tapped lightly on the table as she spoke softly, "'The ship' is the vehicle I use to travel through the Quantum Sea. I was able to come in from outside the World Bubble thanks to the ship's abilities, but now it's anchored. The phantom you see in the crack is it."

Was that warship her property?

To be able to travel through the Quantum Sea... Has anyone other than Yan Luo accomplished this?

"The reason we can tell you don't belong in this World Bubble is because you don't have that 'trait'."

"Special trait?"

"Mr. Lin, you should know that oil and water don't mix. People who don't belong to this World Bubble are like oil, while World Bubble is like water. Even if it can float on the surface of the water temporarily, it will never dissolve in the water."

It was a very specific analogy, but she didn't explain how she distinguished between oil and water.

Or, in her eyes, distinguishing between those who can see the World Bubble is as simple as distinguishing oil on water.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" Rita asked with a smile.

"... You say you're a maid, then who do you serve?"

Since she is a maid, she should serve a master. The owner of that warship must be someone else.

The maid was present, but the master was nowhere to be seen, which made one wonder.

After asking the question, Rita's smile remained unchanged, but she stared at Lin without saying a word.

"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient for you to talk about it?"

Rita's tone changed slightly. "Not really. I did serve someone... to be precise, we should have been companions, but I considered myself a maid. However, something happened later, and we separated. The 'ship' has belonged to me ever since."

"..."

"Your companion has returned; it seems I'll finally get to drink some 'fine wine' that I haven't had in a long time."

Lin turned around and saw Einstein and two other Armed Puppet walking towards him, each carrying a bottle of red wine. Under the pale moonlight, the wine, the beautiful women, and the eerie cracks created a unique and charming scene.

In addition to alcohol, Einstein also brought Armed Puppet. Some of these Armed Puppet were secretly placed in the shadows, so that even without weapons, they could still provide some assistance in a fight.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Rita, are you thirsty?" Einstein gave Lin a look, then smiled and placed the wine on the table.

"It's alright. Mr. Lin is like a fine, aged wine; chatting with him is perfect for quenching your thirst."

Rita's sweet words were like a piece of sugar dissolved in plain water.

"..." Einstein glanced at Lin in surprise.

"Hey, did you hear that? You scumbag... another girl has appeared in such a short time, and she's even wearing a maid outfit. How disgusting..."

"We can't let the doctor get any closer to him..."

The Armed Puppet brought by Einstein began to whisper among themselves, looking disdainfully at the silent Lin and the dignified maid Rita in front of him, unanimously agreeing that Lin was far too dangerous.

Lin didn't care. He stared at the smiling Rita and said, "Miss Rita, since your ship can be used to navigate the Quantum Sea, could you do us a favor?"

"I'll take you home, okay?"

"Yes."

"Unfortunately, I can't do it right now. As you can see, the ship is anchored in the crack. It will take a lot of time to get it back on track, and getting you back to your world won't be easy either. We'll need an anchor point."

"Wait a minute, may I ask what technology your ship uses?" Einstein was incredibly curious. As a scientist, it was impossible for him not to be interested in a warship that could freely navigate the Quantum Sea.

Rita pointed to something. "Similar technology."

That thing was the Oath of Judas.

Chapter Thirty-One: The Incomplete Past

"Miss Rita, are you sure you don't need to come back with us to rest?"

Einstein's gaze grew increasingly strange, her eyes lingering on Lin and Rita. She began to doubt whether the gossip she had idly fabricated was true.

After the "party" ended, Einstein prepared to head back to the base to rest, and discuss how to repair the Stargate and Rita's ship the next day.

Lin wanted to continue monitoring the crack, so Einstein suggested that Rita go back to the base to rest together. But Rita surprisingly said she would stay with Lin. She wanted to observe the condition of her ship.

Although he knew Lin definitely wouldn't do anything... Einstein felt that this certainty wasn't entirely certain.

"Thank you for your kindness, but Rita can rest here." Rita seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled gently, her long gray-gold hair sparkling like a starry sea in the moonlight. "A drunk person is incapable of that kind of thing. If he is... it means he didn't have good intentions in the first place. I don't think Mr. Lin is that kind of person."

Einstein paused for a moment, realizing she had said the same thing herself, then breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay."

So Einstein left with the Armed Puppet. After a short period of contact, she concluded that Rita meant no harm. Even though she and Lin both believed that she had come here not just because the ship had broken down, Rita might not be willing to tell them even if they wanted to.

The person with a perpetually calm smile is the most difficult to deal with.

Then only Lin and Rita remained in the night, as the evening breeze dispelled the warmth.

Lin laid the mat on the ground, tested whether he could turn to his side, and then nodded to Rita, saying, "You can sleep here."