Chapter 404: Mobius's Method of Redirecting Hatred
"Ah—- achoo—mm."
Fu Hua rubbed her nose. It felt like she was about to sneeze, but the sensation faded in the end.
Seele, who was checking and treating Sin Mal's body, noticed Fu Hua's odd reaction and asked,
"Fu Hua-sensei, are you feeling unwell?"
"No. My nose just suddenly felt a little itchy. But Soulium shouldn't be able to catch a cold… right?"
As a fusion warrior drawn from a more xuanhuan-style worldview, Fu Hua wasn't entirely certain about this very scientific question.
Seele smiled gently and teased her, "Could it be that someone is talking about Fu Hua-sensei behind your back?"
"That's possible. If someone somewhere harbors strong emotions toward me, I might unconsciously sense something. But that's not important. How is Sin Mal's condition?"
Fu Hua brushed it off casually and shifted her focus back to the sleeping Sin Mal.
Seele sighed, putting on a serious, almost little-adult expression as she spoke slowly, "Her physique is completely different from before. I can't really judge how good or bad it is overall, but her vitality and physical strength have indeed improved tremendously. I haven't found any serious injuries so far. Maybe… she's just exhausted?"
"That's what I think as well. If it were something serious, Sigurd would definitely be keeping watch here himself."
"Fu Hua-sensei is right. Then, regarding her mental state—have you noticed any problems?"
"Dr. Mobius's enhancements seem to include some aspects related to the mind. Overall, Sin Mal's consciousness is very stable. It's just that with her current mental strength, it's no longer easy for me to probe too deeply. Doing so might trigger her instinctive defenses and harm her consciousness instead. So there are still some uncertainties."
Fu Hua said this with a mix of reflection and helplessness.
The reflection came from once again witnessing Mobius's technology; the helplessness from the fact that Sin Mal had chosen this path. Others—Sigurd included—had been unable to stop her.
Still, there was no heavy gloom on Fu Hua's face. Clearly, no major problems had been found.
Bronya sat nearby like a finely crafted doll. Watching the scene, her face remained expressionless, but inwardly she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Then when do you think she'll wake up, Seele, Fu Hua-sensei?"
"Well… Seele isn't quite sure either…"
Sin Mal's coma didn't seem closely related to physical issues, and Seele's knowledge of biology and medicine was still in its early stages. It really was hard for her to judge. She could only blink blankly and cutely, then look toward Fu Hua.
Fu Hua was thoroughly charmed by that innocent, soft expression. She raised a hand and gently patted Seele on the head, smiling as she said, "At most one or two days. If it's sooner, it could be any moment. Since we really haven't found any problems, I think it should be soon."
"That's good." Bronya nodded.
...
In the living room, Senti was kneeling on a mat studded with iron spikes, her back straight and her expression solemn.
"This educational tool has a very traditional Shenzhou flavor. Is it useful?"
Sigurd held the tiny body of the Book of Fuxi in one hand, facing her, while his other hand used his fingertips to rub the Book of Fuxi's little head. He asked with great interest.
Book of Fuxi's head swayed along with Sigurd's fingers. With both little hands holding a tiny cup, she replied lazily,
"Whether it's useful depends on who's using it. When I use it, it works quite well."
"So it still comes down to the user's status relative to the one experiencing it?"
"More or less. In that case, it should be pretty effective when you use it too."
Book of Fuxi speculated. Then she and Sigurd, in perfect unison, turned their gazes behind Sigurd—to where Kiana was standing stiffly, her small face serious as she massaged Sigurd's shoulders.
With a solemn expression, Kiana declared, "Do either of you have any orders? Kiana Kaslana will carry out her mission without fail!"
The single tuft of white ahoge sticking straight up spoke volumes about her will to survive.
Kiana knew perfectly well that the only reason Sigurd would take an interest in such a punishment device—ahem, educational tool—could only be because of her!
Anyway, just get through this for now. Tonight, I'll cry a bit and beg a little… Sig should pity me and forget all about this… right? He will… right?
Kiana focused wholeheartedly on massaging his shoulders, not daring to let her mind wander even slightly.
"You guys—have you forgotten about me!?"
On the table sat a large wooden basin. Wendy was carefully pouring some liquid into it, strictly following the dosage guide Sigurd had given her, controlling the amounts of each reagent with utmost precision. Mei held a thermometer in one hand, its tip submerged in the water, while her other hand lightly touched the surface of the liquid. From time to time, she released faint electrical currents to promote the fusion of the various biological and chemical components.
As for the voice just now—it came from the basin itself.
Inside was a lump of strangely shaped pink flesh soaking in the solution: Mobius's embryonic body.
By the way, the reason Senti was kneeling on the iron spike mat was precisely because of this situation—she had been shaking the Myriad Phenomena around and accidentally let it slip from her hands. And the container material Sigurd had prepared was, quite clearly, no match for the Herrscher of Sentience's brute strength.
Book of Fuxi lowered her little head, left utterly speechless.
Although she herself wasn't fond of Mobius either, Mobius was still one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, the superior of Master Nuwa and Fuxi, and also Fu Hua's former superior. That status was there, whether anyone liked it or not.
As a "guardian," the Book of Fuxi could not shirk responsibility for Senti's mistake.
Sigurd glanced at the Book of Fuxi's reaction, then cast a sidelong look at the kneeling Senti.
As expected, Senti first shot him a defiant glare, meeting his eyes with an air of proud, fearless stubbornness. But very quickly, her confidence crumbled. Her gaze started to wander, and in the end, she focused intently on the patterns in the floor.
"Sigh—"
Sigurd shook his head and let out a long sigh, one that made the kneeling problem child blush bright red.
After traveling with Sigurd and Fu Hua for so long, and after enduring the Book of Fuxi's heavy-handed "education," Senti was no longer as clueless about the world as she had been right after her birth. At the very least, she understood this much: joking around was one thing, but smashing Mobius's container—when the woman was currently nothing more than an embryo—was really crossing the line.
That said, her stubbornness was still very much intact. She'd rather kneel there than admit fault.
Sigurd shifted his gaze to the wooden basin, extended a finger, and gently tapped the soft, pink surface.
Gurgle—!
The liquid in the basin began to boil.
Honkai energy flowed from Sigurd's fingertip, and the surface of the embryo started to pulse and bulge.
After a series of squelching, crackling sounds of flesh and bone reshaping themselves, the embryo developed into a tiny infant, curled up with small hands clenched, sparse hair covering its head.
Sigurd withdrew his hand.
The baby soaked in the basin, staring wide-eyed at Sigurd, and shouted in a soft, childish voice, "Keep going!!!"
"Compensation is compensation, and the price is the price. This is all the compensation you're getting."
"I—damn it… thank you so much!"
"You're welcome."
The corners of Sigurd's mouth lifted slightly as he replied politely.
Meanwhile, little Mobius grabbed onto the edge of the basin with her tiny hands, poked her head over the rim, and fixed Senti with a murderous glare—round, wet, vertical pupils brimming with killing intent.
Losing to Sigurd was one thing. After all, he was a leader of an entire civilization, naturally possessing talents beyond ordinary measure.
But her—just a former lab rat, Hua, who barely scraped by as one of the Thirteen Heroes—how dare she toy with her as well!?
This was courting death!
Mobius promptly redirected her hatred to preserve a healthy mental state. After all, going after Hua was far more manageable than going after Sigurd, wasn't it? Five thousand years ago, she could hang that half-baked martial artist up and beat her senseless!
...
"Achoo!!"
"Fu Hua-sensei?"
"It's nothing. This time, though, someone really is thinking about me. Who could it be? I don't think I have any enemies."
"Oh…"
Seele nodded blankly, then cast a questioning look toward Bronya.
Bronya shrugged and returned a don't worry about it glance.
Anyone who set their sights on the current Fu Hua—an immortal whose martial arts had reached divine mastery and whose state of mind was perfectly complete—was either tired of living, or actively seeking death. There was no need to concern themselves with it.
<+>
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