Chapter 403: Rules
Tap! Tap!
Kiana and Senti stood to the left and right, their pairs of curious, wide-open eyes perfectly synchronized as they knocked on the medium-sized glass tank Sigurd had brought back.
It was a cylindrical container placed on the table, about as tall as their thighs, light enough to be lifted with one hand. Inside was a pale green transparent liquid, within which floated and soaked a piece of… an embryo? Something like that.
It had human features, but its overall shape was still rather strange. Yet its fair, rosy-white coloration gave it a subtly cute quality—this was probably what people meant by ugly-cute.
"So Mobius can actually turn into something like this? Serves her right!"
"Hey… do you think this thing can be eaten…"
"No way, Kiana? You even want to eat this? But still, I wonder if it'd smell good once cooked. Stuff like offal—if you stew it properly, it gets salty, fragrant, and soft, with a kind of umami meat doesn't have… slurp!"
Senti sucked in a breath of saliva and exchanged a look with Kiana. In each other's eyes, they saw unmistakable greed and longing.
"Sig…"
Kiana instinctively looked toward Sigurd, gulping audibly.
"I want to eat offal… beef tripe or lamb offal, either's fine!"
"Got it."
"Thanks, Sig!"
Kiana happily leaned over and kissed Sigurd on the cheek.
Sigurd touched his face, waved his hand as if used to it, and said,
"Go away. I need to talk to Dr. Mobius."
"Okayyy~~"
Grinning, Kiana stepped out of Sigurd's line of sight and moved to his side, diligently starting to massage his shoulders like a devoted attendant.
Truth be told, she could tell that Sigurd was tired.
Using a gentle approach to calm Sin Mal's rampage, passively enduring Mobius's relentless attacks along the way, and expending no small amount of Honkai energy and Herrscher authority back and forth—no matter how tough you were, even iron men would struggle.
That Sigurd could settle everything, then act as if nothing had happened while bringing Sin Mal back and casually carrying Mobius along… that was genuinely absurdly impressive.
Now, Bronya had gone back to look after Sin Mal, with Seele and Fu Hua accompanying her as physical and mental doctors. Wendy and Mei were also nearby, but one was still holding back out of reserve, and the other was just a bit too distant in terms of relationship. All things considered, the only one who could properly take care of Sigurd right now was Kiana.
Standing behind Sigurd, Kiana nodded to herself, earnestly applying her massage skills, keenly aware of the heavy responsibility on her shoulders.
The usually mischievous little troublemaker being uncharacteristically considerate caused Sigurd's expression to gradually soften. Technique aside, at least the thought counted—and that alone deserved praise.
Sigurd reached into his pocket, took out a piece of candy, tore open the wrapper, and passed it back over his shoulder.
"Here."
"Nom!"
Kiana caught it in her mouth, holding it between her lips. The sweet flavor made her eyes curve into happy crescents.
Rewarded, Kiana naturally put even more enthusiasm into the massage.
Meanwhile, as Sigurd enjoyed this rare display of thoughtfulness from Kiana, he curled a finger slightly, drawing the embryo container on the table a little closer to himself.
"Any thoughts, Dr. Mobius?"
"How… did you… do it?"
The pale green liquid rippled faintly as Mobius's immature, childlike voice came through in broken fragments.
A human voice was nothing more than vibrations of the vocal cords.
Every rebirth of Mobius consumed a vast amount of energy, and at the same time inflicted damage upon her genetic structure. Under normal circumstances, after reviving, she would lose all reason and follow instinct, devouring nearby life to ensure a perfect rebirth with minimal damage. That was her weakest state—and also her strongest moment.
Now, restrained by Sigurd through utterly unknown means within the yellow sands, she had been unable to absorb any energy during rebirth. The price of that was that each revival pushed her further into regression, toward a younger and younger state—until now, she had even degenerated into something more incomplete than an infant.
Yet even in such a state, as long as Honkai energy still remained, Mobius could maintain consciousness, and even simulate and construct a vocal cord structure, speaking like a normal person.
As for the childish pitch of her voice—that couldn't be helped. With such limited bodily structure and Honkai energy reserves, using this kind of voice was simply the most efficient option.
Sigurd: "Want to learn it?"
Mobius: "..."
Sigurd: "I can teach you."
Mobius: "What's the price?"
The soft, glutinous yet crisp childlike voice carried a hint of helplessness.
Mobius had lost—she acknowledged it. It wasn't to the point of giving up on herself, but she understood the position of the defeated.
Sigurd nodded, feeling genuinely relieved.
Though it had taken a long detour, by the time things reached this point, Mobius's stubborn insistence had finally begun to loosen.
"There's no need for a price. Dangerous techniques require thresholds, yes—but for a genius like Dr. Mobius, knowledge ought to be shared generously."
Sigurd meant it.
Against the Honkai, what mattered was the speed of resource integration and technological iteration. Even if you grew stronger, it would grow stronger too—you still had to keep up. Any attempt to stand still led only to a dead end.
Mobius fell silent.
If some random nobody stood in front of you, pointing fingers and lecturing, no one would accept that.
But when the person before you had already proven their superiority time and again—and still offered affirmation and recognition… it wasn't that Mobius was naïve or simple-minded. It was just that, for her, the feeling of being acknowledged was a rare commodity.
"What do you want from me?" she finally asked.
"Cooperation. I give you a body, along with a certain degree of freedom for research. You operate within the framework I establish, and together we deal with the Honkai. As for after the Honkai is defeated… the choice will be yours. Naturally, you'll also bear the consequences of that choice."
"That's it? That simple?"
"What did you expect? Binding a genius's imagination too tightly and strangling their inherent infinite potential does me no good."
Sigurd said this plainly.
Mobius fell silent once more.
How different was this from the Previous Era, really?
In truth, not all that different. Both involved working under constraints. Back then, it was the organization known as MOTH that constrained Mobius; now, it was Sigurd. In return, however, the support and knowledge Sigurd could offer were an irresistible temptation.
Had such favorable conditions been offered before their confrontation, Mobius wouldn't have believed a single punctuation mark of it. But after being utterly defeated, she had no choice.
"Teach me the technique you used earlier. And any materials I need must be provided in full, without compromise."
"The first condition is only natural. As for the second… it must be within the framework I define."
"And what is your framework?"
"The broad direction is respect for humanity and resistance against the Honkai. As for priority and order, that will be based on my real-time judgment. You'll come to understand the details gradually."
Priority? Real-time judgment?
Mobius rolled Sigurd's words around in her mind, clearly sensing deeper implications. Gaining some insight, she finally replied slowly,
"Fine."
"Pleasure working with you, Dr. Mobius."
"Then hurry up and give me a real body—at least help me recover!"
"I refuse."
Sigurd suddenly changed his tone.
Mobius froze. Then the pale green nutrient solution began to churn violently, bubbling as if it were boiling.
"Why!?"
"Dr. Mobius, one of the rules of the framework is that you must behave yourself. Otherwise, you pay a price. Right now, you're paying your own."
"&@×$!"
"Rule number two: you must respect me. So the penalty has been extended."
"..."
Mobius's emotions surged, and the nutrient solution boiled even more violently.
Amid the gurgling sounds, a shadow suddenly loomed over her from behind.
Mobius activated her visual structures and saw a face pressed against the glass enclosure—a malicious grin that looked almost comical.
Senti spread her mouth wide, eyes curved into crescent moons, both hands planted on the glass dome.
"So that means Mobius can't do anything right now, huh?"
"Don't you—"
"I shake, I shake, I shake, I shake! I shall shake all things! Hahahaha!!!"
"Hua!! I'll remember this!!!"
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