Setsuna, Sakura, Reporting for Duty!

"Oh, is that really so?"

Mobius stared at Ling Xi with her blue eyes for quite a while before finally smiling. "All right, I'll take your word for it."

"Um, Doctor, there's one more thing..."

Ling Xi said quietly, "Could you... hide your real identity? She's just an ordinary person. If she realizes who you are, Doctor, it might bring unnecessary trouble."

"Mm, I can do that."

Mobius had no objections and nodded. Her identity was indeed far too special and often attracted unnecessary trouble, so she could understand Ling Xi's suggestion that she conceal it.

A moment later, Ling Xi and Mobius returned...

And Seele's gaze was still cold...

"Ahem, Seele, let me introduce you. This is..."

Ling Xi had just been about to introduce Mobius to Seele.

"Hello, little sister. My name is Mobius."

Mobius was quite outgoing and directly extended her hand to Seele.

"Hello, I'm Seele."

Although Seele looked proud on the surface, she was not someone without manners. Besides, this was Ling Xi's colleague, though... she felt things might not be that simple.

Ling Xi: ...Hey, Doctor, is it really okay to tell her your name just like that?

Still, judging by Seele's expression, she apparently did not know the name Mobius...

Well, that was normal. This was still the early period before the Honkai, and humanity paid little attention to it. Mobius was currently only a relatively famous scholar in academic circles, while ordinary people generally did not care about such matters.

"May I ask... what is your relationship with Ling Xi?"

After the two had sized each other up for a while, Seele chose to speak first. After all, she was younger and far less mature than Mobius.

"Well..."

Mobius smiled at Ling Xi before saying, "Mm... all I can say is that we're fairly close colleagues. Ling Xi... is sort of my assistant. He works part-time at my workplace."

"Oh..."

Seeing that Mobius did not seem to be lying, Seele relaxed a little. At the very least, Ling Xi probably had not lied to her... right?

"Then, little sister, what is your relationship with my Ling Xi?"

After Seele asked her question, Mobius immediately asked the same one back!

"Um..."

An awkward look immediately flashed across Seele's face. She wanted to say something, but seemed too embarrassed to do so. In the end, she huffed. "Classmates. We're... just ordinary classmates!"

"Mm... is that so..."

Mobius merely smiled. With her ability to read people, she could naturally tell that Seele was lying. Besides... the friend Ling Xi had mentioned from the beginning was probably this Seele.

Meanwhile, Seele silently observed Mobius. She felt... Mobius was dangerous. Being watched by her gave Seele the feeling that she was... prey being targeted by a hunter.

"Um, you two."

At that moment, Ling Xi hurriedly stepped between them and smiled. "The concert is about to begin. Let's head inside first."

"Mm... fine."

Mobius had no objections. Although she felt that this little girl's relationship with Ling Xi might not be so simple, she did not care. After all... what threat could a little girl possibly pose?

Besides, she and Ling Xi would be sitting together later, while the other girl would be seated behind them. Who was more important was obvious at a glance!

"Mm."

Seele nodded in agreement as well. She genuinely wanted to see the concert, and besides... she was just an ordinary colleague, wasn't she? There was no problem!

And she would be sitting right next to Ling Xi. Mobius was merely a colleague, so she could sit in the back.

Following the crowd, the three entered the venue and successfully found the VIP seats in Section C. Then they sat according to their ticket assignments—Seele on the left, Snake on the right, and Ling Xi...

"Huh?"

"Mm?"

When Seele and Mobius saw that the person sitting beside each of them was actually the other, confusion appeared in both their eyes. Then they simultaneously turned around to look at Ling Xi behind them.

Ling Xi: ...

"Ling Xi, why are you sitting over there?"

Mobius asked with a smile.

"Yeah, Ling Xi, why are you sitting in the back?"

Seele also looked at Ling Xi with a smile.

Both of them were smiling at Ling Xi, but the meaning in their eyes was already crystal clear!

"Uh... ahem!"

Ling Xi coughed softly and said, "Well, I'm not used to sitting in the front row, and besides..."

Ling Xi took a deep breath and smiled calmly. "You're both girls. If you sit in the front row, you can enjoy the music better, right?"

"Is that... really so?"

Mobius looked at Ling Xi with a smile. She felt... things did not seem that simple!

Hadn't they agreed that the two of them would sit together and the remaining seat would be for his friend? Could it be... the friend he had mentioned was himself?

"Colleagues..."

Seele smiled at Ling Xi. "You really are quite close, huh? Hehe..."

With that, Seele decisively turned back around and ignored Ling Xi.

"Hehe..."

Mobius smiled as well, then turned around and stopped dwelling on the matter. Though... she had already roughly guessed the truth!

Ling Xi: ...

Good. Nothing had happened for now!

Just as Ling Xi breathed a slight sigh of relief, he suddenly received a text from Mobius: Don't be in a hurry to leave after the concert. Come to the laboratory. I have an experiment that needs your participation in the research!

Ling Xi: ...Damn, this was obviously a trap. Participate in research... more like participate and then get researched, right?

Just as Ling Xi was pondering how to survive tonight safely, he received another text. This time it was from Seele: You colleagues really are close. Remember to take your colleague home after the concert. As for me, you don't need to worry about me. I'll go back by myself. Hehe!

Ling Xi: ...As if I'd believe that. He could guarantee that if he actually did that, he would probably get blocked on the spot—and permanently, at that!

"Sigh..."

In the end, Ling Xi could only sigh silently and pray inwardly that Eden's concert would end a little later...

Seele won't block you.jpg

Kiana, Sakura, Have Arrived!

At eight in the evening, the concert began on schedule!

A young woman in a formal gown—the star of tonight's show, Miss Eden—walked gracefully and slowly to the center of the stage with a smile. Without any opening remarks or speech, she directly began the singing she excelled at!

The venue immediately fell silent. Although Ling Xi did not know much about music, Eden's voice could truly only be described as healing!

No wonder Eden had become a world-class singer. With that voice, Ling Xi truly felt the ticket price had been worth it!

Seele looked very excited as well. Hearing the singing live felt completely different from hearing it on television or online. It still sounded wonderful online, but in terms of the sheer impact, it was truly far inferior to hearing it in person.

As for Mobius, she had already closed her eyes and was enjoying the beautiful music. No... perhaps it should not be called music anymore. It was more like... art!

In Eden, Mobius seemed to see something she herself possessed: persistence and earnest devotion toward a single thing!

"Mm... perhaps coming once in a while isn't so bad..."

A smile curled Mobius's lips. At least... she no longer thought coming to listen to Eden's music was a waste of time!

But Ling Xi was still thinking about what to do after the concert. If he offended Seele, he could forget about getting a wife. If he offended the Doctor, he could forget about keeping his entire body—unless...

Suddenly, a purple vortex appeared in the sky, a sign that a Honkai outbreak was imminent. Then Honkai Beasts appeared, the venue descended into chaos, and Mobius and Seele temporarily forgot about the texts because of the Honkai. That way, his crisis would be resolved.

Unfortunately, reality was not made of ifs. The Honkai did not erupt, and the concert continued until its end...

"Mm, Eden's singing was truly wonderful."

After the concert ended, the three wandered the streets together, while Mobius was still savoring the performance.

"Mm, before coming, I only thought Eden's voice was beautiful. But after hearing her live, I understood..."

Ling Xi deeply agreed with Mobius and could not help smiling. "Beautiful isn't enough to describe it. It's more like... a voice that reaches straight into the human heart!"

"Mm-hmm, I think so too."

Although Seele had been unhappy with Ling Xi and Mobius earlier, even somewhat angry, Eden's singing had gradually calmed her down. After all... getting angry after enjoying such beautiful music would be far too wasteful!

Perhaps that was the charm of music.

"Screech—"

Suddenly, a sharp sound of brakes startled everyone. A white sedan came rushing toward the intersection, and on the crosswalk stood a little girl with pink hair...

"Tesla, Lightning Enchantment!"

Almost instantly, Ling Xi activated the power of his Stigmata and charged forward. He reached the crosswalk in an instant, grabbed the little girl, narrowly avoided the sedan, and finally landed safely after a roll...

"Whew..."

After doing all that, Ling Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although everything had happened almost instantly, taking no more than one and a half seconds, the energy expenditure had been enormous!

In that instant, Ling Xi had activated Tesla's Lightning Enchantment, then used electromagnetic attraction to forcibly pull his body forward. That was how he achieved a speed of twenty meters in half a second!

Of course, this move consumed an enormous amount of energy. Among the four fundamental forces, electromagnetism ranked second from the bottom in strength!

"Whew... little sister, don't you know jaywalking is wrong?"

Ling Xi panted as he looked helplessly at the little girl. Honestly, although the driver had been at fault for not slowing down at the crosswalk, this would never have happened if the girl had not run a red light.

"I-I'm sorry. I... I wanted to find my sister."

The little girl was clearly frightened.

"Rin!"

At that moment, a pink-haired young woman ran out of the cold drink shop beside them. She grabbed the little girl in a tight embrace, both shocked and relieved. "You silly girl! Didn't I tell you to wait where you were? Why did you run over here?"

"I'm sorry, Sister, I..."

Rin lowered her head apologetically, seemingly realizing that she had made a mistake.

"Rin..."

Ling Xi seemed to have heard a familiar name. He hurriedly looked at the little girl before him. She appeared to be around ten years old, but...

Ling Xi then looked at the young woman. This was...

Yae Sakura?

At that moment, the young woman stood up, gently rested a hand on Rin's head, and bowed together with her toward Ling Xi. She said sincerely, "Thank you for saving Rin. Truly, thank you so much!"

"It's nothing, just a small thing!"

Ling Xi hurriedly said it was nothing, while curiously observing the young woman. That was right—this appearance was Yae Sakura's. Of course, since this was the Pre-Collapse Civilization, she could not be Yae Sakura. She was instead...

The prototype of the Forgotten armor, Kiana, one of the thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths of the Pre-Collapse Civilization—Sakura!

"No, you don't understand how important Rin is to me."

The young woman shook her head and looked gratefully at Ling Xi again. "My name is Sakura, and this is my younger sister, Rin. Rin, thank him properly!"

"Thank you, big brother..."

Rin immediately thanked Ling Xi obediently.

"It's fine, it's fine. I already said it was nothing."

Ling Xi merely smiled again, but inwardly, he was already shocked beyond measure. Sure enough, the pink-haired young woman before him truly was Sakura, the Fused Warrior of the Pre-Collapse Civilization. And her younger sister...