Mobius, clad in a white lab coat, walked out from the deep, dark passageway. Her footsteps were unique, filled with a dangerous, tranquil beauty.
Mobius didn't even look at the dumbstruck Gray Serpent. She floated past him, her gaze not lingering for even a moment.
She had some impression of this android. A failed creation of "that person." It was supposed to have been destroyed, but was set aside on a whim.
If even the "original Mobius" paid little attention to this flawed product, why would the "true Mobius" standing here now grant it so much as an extra glance?
Gray Serpent, like a broken doll, mechanically turned his body to watch Mobius's departing back. His Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to say something.
But the powerful aura emanating from Mobius prevented him from opening his mouth. It was like the fear of a creature at the bottom of the food chain facing its natural predator; even his thoughts were frozen.
It wasn't until a full minute after Mobius had disappeared from his sight that Gray Serpent's taut nerves finally relaxed.
As if completely drained of strength, Gray Serpent staggered and slid down against the wall, gasping for breath.
"How is that possible… Th-that was… the Lord who created us? No, impossible… and yet…"
Even with the literary flair of a great wordsmith, Gray Serpent could not describe the feeling in his heart right now. However, the terminal of the "Gray Serpent Network" quickly issued a command: do not "cause trouble," and simply do your job.
Gray Serpent slowly stood up, and the dark ruins once again fell into silence. He treated the "anomaly" that had just occurred as nothing more than a fleeting mirage.
Mobius emerged from the underground. Her slender, snow-white feet stepped onto the desolate winter soil as she looked up at the azure sky, the white sun hanging high above.
"So this is the world of the current era?"
Mobius spread her arms, feeling the winter of the real world. A sense of exhilaration she had never felt before rose in her heart.
Was this the feeling of freedom?
As a "memory simulation," Mobius had been bound to the [Elysian Realm]. She could no longer remember when the idea of going to the outside world first sprouted.
Standing on the soil of the current era, Mobius slowly reached a hand toward the sky. The distance between her fingertips and the sky was so vast.
But Mobius was delighted. What she loved most was reaching out to grasp things that were seemingly unattainable.
Mobius gently clenched her small, delicate fist. In this era, there was much she could accomplish. Moreover, in Ye Feng's world, she had acquired "knowledge from beyond the world." For a scientist, an expanded field of vision determines their "upper limit."
But before all that…
"First, let's go to St. Freya." A smirk curved Mobius's lips.
She was going to help Bronya obtain the Core of Reason.
The reason was simple: to prevent Elysia from obtaining permissions.
Ye Feng's condition was: he would grant permissions as long as Bronya obtained the Core of Reason. In that case, couldn't Mobius, the one who actually helped Bronya obtain the core, also make a request?
—And that would be to cancel Elysia's permissions.
Now that she had finally found a world where she could bully Elysia as she pleased, how could she possibly let her turn the tables?
"Elysia, you will forever, and ever, only be beneath me. Hehehe."
---o---
The Xianzhou Luofu, a ship drifting through the endless sea of stars, like an arrow of no return shot towards the sworn enemy of the Lord of "The Hunt."
The beings living upon it, though mindful of their mission, also laughed and worried about their daily lives.
A secluded alley.
For thousands of years, the orange maple leaves swayed like fire, their branches standing tall and unyielding like the heads of dragons. Through ancient times, waves upon waves of Xianzhou residents had come and gone, yet the buildings, steeped in the scent of history, remained unchanged.
Such areas were not uncommon on the Xianzhou.
And, the property values were cheap.
After a full day of work, Qingque returned home and collapsed onto the living room sofa, her entire body sinking into a state of relaxation.
The tasks her superior had assigned were complete. The past two days hadn't been overly strenuous, but she was mentally exhausted.
"Lately, Lord Fu Xuan hasn't been giving me any strange looks, nor has she assigned any 'special' work… I guess the matter in 'that world' has been put behind us," Qingque muttered, staring at the ceiling.
She had even started to consider whether she should resign from the Divination Commission. But after working so hard to get into a secure, "iron rice bowl" department on the Xianzhou, quitting so suddenly would be impossible to explain to her parents.
How would she explain it? "Your daughter hung her superior up in 'another world' and whipped her? Whipped her until she was dripping wet."
Qingque covered her face. She felt it wasn't her fault; it was all Ye Feng's doing.
Aaaargh, that bastard, he turned my originally peaceful job into a complete mess…
Hm? Turned into a complete mess? Why does that sound… a bit lewd?
She, too, had once been turned into a mess by Ye Feng, and had even come to see it as a form of relaxation. Tired from work during the day, go in for a massage at night—wasn't that pretty good?
Qingque's greatest strength was her adaptability—so, she could easily convince herself.
After all, resisting Ye Feng… was too much trouble. And it was highly likely she couldn't do it anyway. Qingque had always lived by putting troublesome things aside.
And, objectively speaking, it did feel very good. More importantly, it wasn't her own body…
But the main problem right now was Lord Fu Xuan.
"If this keeps up, the thread I'm holding onto is bound to snap sooner or later."
The woman was a Grand Diviner. Her duty was to divine fortunes for the Xianzhou, to distinguish between auspicious and inauspicious outcomes. She was a master at perceiving the flow of all things. To have kept up the act under Lord Fu Xuan's nose until now was already her limit.
Should she continue the facade? Living every day in fear? The slightest raise in Lord Fu Xuan's voice would make Qingque jump internally.
"Mhm, I need to take the initiative," Qingque thought to herself. She couldn't hide on Taixuan Mountain anymore.
An idea had occurred to Qingque before, she just hadn't acted on it: what if she dragged Lord Fu Xuan into the water with her…
They would become comrades-in-arms who had carried guns together. Then, back in the real world, given Lord Fu Xuan's pride, even if she became aware of the truth, she wouldn't dare bring it up, right?
"Hiss~~ That's a very tempting plan."
That way, she wouldn't have to worry every day about Lord Fu Xuan finding out.
Should she carry out the plan or not?
As she hesitated, Qingque's eyes grew heavy and she drifted off.
When she opened them again, Qingque was so scared her soul nearly left her body.
"Lord Diviner!?"
"…Uh, what a coincidence… you're here too… for tea?" Qingque gave a strained smile, rubbing the back of her head as she greeted them.
She glanced around. This wasn't Taixuan Mountain, but the original courtyard. It was here that she had hung Lord Fu Xuan up…
She had been hiding on Taixuan Mountain for so long, but today, the moment she opened her eyes, she appeared here?
Qingque looked at Fu Xuan and Ye Feng sitting on the stone chairs in the pavilion, and an answer began to form in her mind.
At that moment, both of them turned their gazes toward her.
A chill ran down Qingque's spine.
She hadn't seen hide nor hair of Ye Feng these past few days and had thought he'd forgotten about her. After all—she was just an ordinary beautiful girl.
But the moment she opened her eyes, it was a nightmare.
Not only had Ye Feng appeared, but Lord Fu Xuan was here too.
Although they were smiling, it felt like the gaze of death.