Mushrooms and a Silly Goose / Want to Eat Your Mushroom?

It wasn't just "like" him. Bianca opened her eyes and stared intently at Lin, who was eating delicious food right in front of her. He casually looked at Bianca's fair body, seemingly deep in thought.

"Have you seen enough?" Bianca frowned slightly and asked coldly.

Are you watching this while eating, treating it like a side dish to accompany your meal?

Lin was thinking about something else. He sensed some unusual energy fluctuations in Bianca's body, similar to the Pseudo-Herrscher Core within him.

Why... does it feel so familiar...?

Upon hearing her words, Lin paused for a second while eating, then ate even more enthusiastically.

Bianca drew her lance and tried to walk away, but Lin caught up with her as soon as she took a step.

She glanced at him with her beautiful eyes, and Lin stopped in his tracks.

Just as I was about to continue walking, he moved forward in sync with me.

Bianca stopped and stared at him. Lin picked up a piece of fresh mushroom covered in sauce with his chopsticks. "Want some?"

"I won't eat."

"I think it tastes delicious."

"What does that have to do with whether I eat it or not?"

"It's okay, but I have to tell you it's delicious."

"..."

Bianca quickened her pace and fled a considerable distance, seemingly intending to return after Lin finished eating.

Lin watched Bianca walk away, chewing his food with a cold expression, lost in thought.

A light drizzle fell as Bianca strode briskly through the ruins of Atra, her straight legs wading through puddles.

Fragments of the Mu Continent, a continent that once truly existed in the world but sank due to Honkai, and even transformed into World Bubble existing here.

Speaking of which, Lin and his group arrived here through Stargate. Could it be a coincidence? Why would the Stargate of the Previous Civilization on the Mu Continent teleport them here...?

Bianca shook her head and walked into one of the buildings in the ruins of Atra that was covered by ivy. She casually tore off the vegetation blocking her way and went inside.

Why does this place look so well preserved?

She looked around at the room's layout. According to the archbishop, the Previous Civilization was at least 50,000 years ago. Even if the flow of time in the Quantum Sea was different, 50,000 years should have been a completely different time.

This place only seems to have declined and fallen into disrepair in the last few years.

Furthermore, Einstein seems to be quite familiar with the Mu Continent. In her original world, there was also a Doctor Einstein, but their positions were different, so it's impossible to say for sure what kind of person Bianca was, let alone his research on the Mu Continent.

After confirming everything, Bianca headed towards the Stargate, something she had been very concerned about last time...

"Clatter."

Bianca stepped on a stack of tattered documents, bent down to pick them up, and casually flipped through them, finding something that caught her eye.

A roster.

This should be a personnel roster of some research institute; she could also vaguely see the words "Branch 10".

Are all writing systems the same? But that's not surprising, as most things in modern civilization come from Previous Civilization, and culture is probably one of them.

She couldn't possibly know the people, but she could recognize the common characteristics of these names.

None of them have surnames.

Bianca's thoughts raced, and she went to search through some of the damaged machines.

Chapter 44 Mushrooms and Silly Goose

Bianca managed to find some equipment that wasn't completely damaged, but the power supply had long since stopped working, and her mechanical knowledge was rather poor... In fact, she wasn't very good at anything except combat and Honkai; she knew a little about everything, but that was about it.

"If only Rita were here..."

Bianca would always think of Rita's good points at times like these. That all-around maid was capable in both formal and domestic settings, excelled in everything from literature and dance to even plugging in a power source.

Why don't we ask Rita for help?

"What you up to?"

"..."

This guy is really persistent.

Lin, wearing a hat and with his hands in his pockets, walked in from the doorway. He bent down to pick up the roster that Bianca had just dropped and silently studied each name on it.

Bianca ignored him and continued fiddling with the unfamiliar equipment.

A light drizzle was falling outside. Lin found a relatively clean spot to sit down and idly stared out the door, occasionally glancing back at Bianca, who was making loud, violent repairs.

For some reason, she reminded Lin of Kevin; perhaps they were similar in their straightforwardness.

"..." Bianca suddenly turned around and met Lin's eyes, who was staring intently at her. She took a deep breath, then twitched her lips and said, "Do you know how to fix it?"

Lin glanced at it and said casually, "Just cut the wire and connect the broken end to the battery on the right."

Is it really that simple? Bianca, still somewhat skeptical, tore off the wire with her hand and inserted the broken end into the power port under the old battery's cover.

"Drop--"

Bianca blinked as she looked at the glowing screen.

She glanced at Lin, but he had already turned his head to look elsewhere. So she took three steps at a time and went to the screen, wanting to find some information in it.

But problems arose one after another; she... didn't know how to use machines from the Previous Civilization.

She wasn't computer illiterate; the machine did indeed look like a computer, but the keyboard layout and interface were dazzling and vastly different from what she usually used.

"Hello..."

Bianca turned around and didn't see Lin. She glanced around and found Lin squatting in front of an indoor mushroom, seemingly assessing whether it was edible.

... Is he some kind of wolf or bear-like animal?

She felt she couldn't call him by his name directly, that would be too "familiar," but he only had one name, so what should she call him?

Oh right, he's been eating mushrooms the whole time—enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms, and so on. He's still looking for mushrooms now, and his expressionless face is very mushroom-like...

"Hey, mushroom."

"..."

Lin turned his head indifferently, as if asking, "Are you calling me?"

"Yes, it's calling you." Bianca proudly curled her nose, feeling that she had won back a point and her chest was full of pride.

"What's up, you idiot?"

"..."

Bianca's smile froze in less than two seconds.

Her head seemed to have turned into the head of a quacking goose.

What did you call me?

"Silly goose."

Lin plucked a mushroom and sniffed it.

Sure enough, he still had no sense of smell, only his sense of taste had returned. What could be the reason for this? Rita said it might be due to his own body. How has it changed compared to before?

Lin couldn't tell the color of the mushroom. Judging from its appearance alone, many fungi look pretty much the same, so it was better not to eat it rashly. He put the mushroom down, spread his hands, and said, "Your personality is not flashy at all, so 'Silly Goose' is an easy nickname to remember."

Why?

"Because your name is too long, I don't want to pronounce it, and besides, didn't you give me a nickname?"

"Your last sentence was the key point, wasn't it? Are you really that vengeful?"

"The one who chooses the nickname first loses half."

"That's so childish!"

Bianca grew angrier and angrier, slamming her hand on the equipment. "Anyway, you mushroom, hurry up and help me find this thing!"

"Bang!"

"..."

"..."

The two of them silently turned their heads at the same time and saw the screen shattered in two beneath her hands, the broken parts still sparking with electricity.

After a moment of shock, Bianca immediately turned around. "No..."

Lin took a step back and pointed at her with both fingers. "I oppose violence."

After searching around for a while, Mushroom and Silly Goose finally found a machine that was still usable and carried it back to the battery.

Lin deftly connected the wire to the battery, adjusted it, and successfully turned on the machine. He then said seriously to Bianca, who was blushing and had her head down, "I'm sorry, Mr. Dumb Goose, I shouldn't have provoked you. Please don't take your anger out on me."

"You're provoking me right now."

"Really? I thought you weren't angry because you hadn't beaten me up all bruised."

"I might beat you to a pulp any second now."

Bianca stared intently at the screen, and Lin brought up what she wanted to see.

"Do you have a list of key personnel?" Bianca, looking at the numerous names scrolling by.

"For example?"

"For example..." Bianca recalled the roster she had just picked up, "The Moths that Chase Fire."

Lin casually opened the database, where all the data from the moment before the intranet was disconnected was stored.

The first name that caught her eye was Mobius. Bianca didn't know why she had to choose this seemingly useless list of people, but she still had Lin scroll down the list and wrote down all the names she saw.

A faint glow reflected in Bianca's eyes. "Why do you use these machines?"

"Because I know how to use it."

"Are you talking nonsense?"

"You're the one talking nonsense."

In just a short while, the list came up to a name. Bianca rubbed her eyes in confusion when she saw the name. After confirming that she was not mistaken, she turned to look at Lin, who continued to drag the list as if nothing had happened, seemingly unaware of it at all.

"This person has the same name as you, Mushroom."

"That's me, you silly goose."

"So it was you... You were from 50,000 years ago?"

"Obviously I am not; I haven't lived for 50,000 years."

"Clatter."

Bianca held Lin's hand, preventing him from scrolling down the list.

She took a slow, deep breath, gazing at Lin, whose expression was as calm as an ancient pool. "You mean, you are the 'Lin' on this list, and you are the same person as him?"

"Right."

"A moth drawn to fire?"

"That's right."

Bianca's mind went blank for a few seconds. She slowly opened her mouth wide, then let go and took a step back.

Is this person... a pioneer from Previous Civilization?

Just like that "Su"?

"You seem to have a lot to say, Miss Silly Goose."

An invisible glint of cold light flashed in Lin's eyes as he looked at Bianca, who was somewhat stunned.

Chapter 45 Want to Eat Your Mushrooms?

There's no mistake, the danger emanating from Lin at this moment is exactly the same as that of the pioneer Su! He was also one of the pioneers of the Previous Civilization!

These pioneers each have their own purposes, and Su attacked without saying a word during their first meeting last time. Could this person be...?