An Accident and a Compromise

"Ahaha..." Mei laughed as the two started bickering again, then opened the door and stepped into the dark villa.

The moment she flipped the switch beside the doorframe and the room lit up, three party poppers went off at once, showering Mei in colorful streamers.

"Happy birthday, Mei!"

Qin Mo stepped forward and took Mei's backpack, setting it aside. Himeko put a birthday hat on Mei's head, while Theresa ran behind her and pushed the still-dazed Mei toward the seat of honor.

"Everyone..."

Mei had even forgotten her own birthday. She never expected such a surprise. "Thank you, everyone."

The dining table was covered in dishes. Clearly, this birthday party had been prepared long ago.

"Happy birthday, Mei."

Kiana grinned and hugged Mei, only to be pulled away by Bronya.

"Happy birthday, Big Sister Mei."

"Thank you, Kiana. Thank you, Bronya."

Fu Hua also walked over. Though her expression and tone remained unchanged, she still offered her blessing.

"Thank you, Class Monitor."

Mei sat down in her chair and looked at the dishes spread across the table. They were all dishes she had never seen before.

"Who made all of this?"

Himeko smiled. "Qin Mo prepared all of it. He was also the one who reminded everyone about your birthday. He usually looks so lazy, but who knew he was actually so skilled at cooking?"

Just then, Qin Mo pushed over a small cart carrying a large cake. "I don't know how to make many dishes. They're just some everyday Shenzhou dishes. Everyone, give them a try."

Qin Mo's own cooking skills were naturally quite ordinary, but he had cheats!

The characters that could be drawn from the character pool were not merely powerful supernatural beings. After all, only A-rank characters possessed supernatural energy. B-rank characters excelled in a particular skill, while C-rank characters were completely ordinary people.

Qin Mo selected a B-rank chef character card and used it to make the dishes on the table, along with the cake in his hands.

"All right, come blow out the candles."

He inserted seventeen candles into the cake and lit them one by one. "Happy seventeenth birthday, Mei."

"Thank you, Qin Mo..."

"Thank you for always being by my side..."

The latter half was so quiet it was barely audible, drawing no one's attention.

Amid laughter and cheerful voices, the group celebrated Raiden Mei's first birthday party since she had been separated from her father.

Recently, Theresa also seemed to have stopped targeting Qin Mo so much.

For example, when they were soaking in the hot springs, she no longer chased Qin Mo back to his room. Still, Qin Mo had nothing to do. No missions had refreshed, and he did not dare enter the world bubbles for fear that Bronya would detect the fluctuations.

So he sat before the television and played games. The newly installed sliding door effectively blocked out the laughter from the hot springs. Taking advantage of the time they were bathing, Qin Mo had the shadow soldiers clear the dining table before starting up a game.

"Let Bronya teach you how to play."

Qin Mo had barely played this game and was obviously terrible at it. Then Bronya came over, and Qin Mo got utterly crushed.

"Are you sure you came to teach me instead of destroying me?"

Qin Mo could even lose to the computer, so naturally he was no match for the famous Metal Gear Bronya.

"Bronya is teaching you the essence of gaming."

Bronya snorted, then said quietly, "I'll come find you tonight."

And that night, Bronya really did come...

"If you had something to say, couldn't you have said it during the day? Did it have to be in the middle of the night?"

After letting Bronya in, Qin Mo watched her take two purple crystals from the Homu doll she always carried with her.

"Here. Honkai Energy crystals."

"These? What are they for?"

Qin Mo took the purple crystals Bronya handed him and scratched his head.

"Bronya can absorb the crystals through her body to charge Heavy Tank Bunny, so Bronya thinks you should be able to as well."

Absorb the crystals?

Qin Mo squeezed the crystal in his hand. It was hard!

How was he supposed to absorb this?

Just as he was wondering, a prompt suddenly appeared.

External ownerless energy detected. Absorb?

There were not even any options. Qin Mo had only just thought yes when the Honkai Energy crystal in his hand seemed to fade, turning his arm purple before rapidly vanishing.

Qin Mo then saw that his dungeon charge had jumped to 370% after absorbing the two crystals.

This thing could overflow!?

Dungeon charging complete. You may continue charging or begin immediately. Dungeon charge directly affects dungeon strength.

"Bronya, do you have any more crystals?"

Qin Mo glanced at the panel, then asked.

"Not enough?"

"Not enough."

Bronya nodded. "There is one more. Bronya will get it. Wait a moment."

Bronya had only just jumped down from the chair when Qin Mo said, "Wait, Bronya. When you go get it, remember to change into something more convenient. Once charging is complete, we'll set out tonight."

"Bronya understands."

While Bronya was changing clothes, Qin Mo secretly knocked on Kiana and Mei's door. After hearing about the second trip, neither of them refused. They changed into suitable clothes and came to Qin Mo's room.

Then Bronya saw that there were suddenly three people in the room.

"Wait, Qin Mo, are you planning to bring this little runt along too?"

The moment Kiana saw Bronya, she immediately asked.

"Yes, and Bronya is sponsoring this trip out of family affection."

Bronya glanced at the others without saying anything, then handed the Honkai Energy crystal in her hand to Qin Mo. After absorbing it, Qin Mo's charge reached 503%.

503 was a good number. Enough for a ten-pull.

After looking at the number, Qin Mo said, "Everyone, get ready. It's starting."

He pressed the dungeon button, and the system prompt arrived as expected.

Dungeon system activated. In ten seconds, all other people within a three-meter radius centered on the host will be teleported as teammates. If more than four people are within three meters, the four closest to the host will be teleported. Please prepare yourselves.

"Teleportation in ten seconds. Range: three meters."

"9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Valkyries of the Dungeon

Accident and Compromise

As the countdown ended, all four of them felt the scene around them change in an instant.

"This is..."

Bronya looked at the transformed surroundings. Not only had they gone from indoors to outdoors, but the sky around them had become daytime. She swept her gaze around the area.

"Class Monitor!"

The four of them simultaneously noticed the slender gray-haired girl standing two meters away, dressed in a long white shirt and slippers.

"Class Monitor, why are you here!"

Seeing Fu Hua dressed as though she had been about to sleep, Kiana cried out, "And why are you dressed like that!"

"That is what I should be asking all of you. Could you give me an explanation?"

Fu Hua did not feel embarrassed by her clothes. She subconsciously pushed at her glasses, only to realize she was not wearing them. After all, she was not nearsighted to begin with. She merely habitually wore a pair of plain lenses as a disguise when acting as a student.

The events had begun ten minutes earlier.

While Fu Hua was reading in the living room, she accidentally "heard" what Bronya said to Qin Mo.

In truth, Fu Hua found it strange. Recently, she had noticed that her hearing seemed to have improved. She could always "hear" extremely faint sounds.

But later, she realized she had not heard them with her ears. It was some special sense, something instinctive, which reminded her of the instinctive pressure of Conqueror's Haki.

However, she did not tell anyone about it and secretly kept it hidden.

After learning of Bronya and Qin Mo's private arrangement, she eavesdropped outside while Bronya went to meet him. She heard many things she did not understand.

That was fine. If she did not understand, she would simply force herself to remember. Fu Hua might not be especially strong in other areas, but her memory was absolutely photographic.

Afterward, when she heard the two of them come out, she hid herself. Though her strength had been damaged, hiding did not require strength.

Fu Hua hid in the shadows and watched Qin Mo call out Mei and Kiana one after another. She then saw Bronya carry the Honkai Energy crystals into Qin Mo's room.

Where were these people going so late at night?

Fu Hua heard words related to travel, but she could not understand. Were they planning to flee St. Freya Academy overnight?

Then she heard Qin Mo's final words: three meters and a countdown.

When the countdown reached its end, Fu Hua opened the door without hesitation and rushed in, resulting in the current situation.

"Hah... I didn't expect something like this to happen. Fu Hua, you were eavesdropping outside the whole time, weren't you?"

Hearing Qin Mo's helpless voice, Fu Hua nodded. "You were not sleeping in the middle of the night. That was suspicious."

"Forget it. I'll explain the situation. Come with me first."

Qin Mo looked at the others. "Fu Hua and I will talk over there. Wait here for a moment."

"What are you going to say that we can't hear?"

Fu Hua said nothing, but Kiana objected and immediately asked. Mei and Bronya each subdued her with a hit.

"Idiot Kiana, just stay here quietly."

Qin Mo led Fu Hua to a distant spot. "This should be far enough. They shouldn't be able to hear us. Before we talk, Fu Hua, put these clothes on first."

With a flick of his hand, a set of clothes appeared in Qin Mo's hands. They were clothes he usually kept in his backpack for emergencies.

Fu Hua did not stand on ceremony. After all, aside from her underwear, she was only wearing a white shirt that reached her thighs. She put on the pants Qin Mo handed her and rolled up the cuffs.

Qin Mo's properly fitting clothes were still somewhat too large for her.

After casually draping on the jacket Qin Mo gave her, Fu Hua looked at Qin Mo waiting nearby, awaiting his explanation.

"Although we have known each other for a long time, I should still say this. Qin Mo of Shenzhou pays his respects to the Scarlet Heron Immortal."

Qin Mo clasped his hands slightly and bowed to Fu Hua. Fu Hua frowned before returning the gesture.

"You have met me before?"

Qin Mo shook his head. "No, but I have long admired the Scarlet Heron Immortal who protected Shenzhou for a thousand years."

"As someone from Shenzhou, no one could fail to respect the Scarlet Heron Immortal. Please forgive any offense."

"No matter. Just call me Fu Hua. The Scarlet Heron Immortal has long since become a thing of the past."

Qin Mo looked at Fu Hua and said, "For the following conversation, to make my words more credible, you may use Feather Dust to verify whether I am lying."

"You even know about Feather Dust?"

"Heh, I do not merely know about it. There is even one inside my sea of consciousness, and you personally gave it to me."

A feather appeared in Fu Hua's hand as she looked at Qin Mo. "I do indeed sense it, but I do not remember ever giving you this Feather Dust."

"Although you often lose your memories, Fu Hua, this Feather Dust was not given to me by your past self. It was given by your future self, to prevent Feather Dust from reading my memories and causing certain undesirable events."

Fu Hua's normally placid expression finally showed a trace of emotion, because she discovered that Qin Mo was telling the truth. She possessed Feather Dust's original body. Although she could not silently read Qin Mo's memories, she could still tell whether he was lying.