While Pardofelis was hitting walls everywhere she went, Fu Li wasn't having a much better time either.
Frankly, Fu Li had never imagined that he would one day be force-kissed, and by the little cat he had practically raised since she was a kitten, no less.
"Sigh, this sucks..."
Sitting inside Vill-V's Helix Workshop, Fu Li leaned back in his chair and let out a bored sigh.
For some reason, in his desire to clear his head, he had subconsciously avoided the Golden Courtyard and Mobius's Laboratory.
As for The Deep End, it had become a home for children afflicted with Honkai Sickness, and he really shouldn't bring his adult troubles into their sanctuary.
Excluding those three places, his options were limited. In the end, he could only choose the one place in all of The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame best suited for hiding people.
And as for Vill-V, for the sake of her research funds, she wasn't likely to kick out one of her biggest shareholders.
However... the 'Expert' persona of Vill-V was an exception.
"Hey, you. The me of today is not the Magician, so the Helix Workshop is not open to outsiders for tours. This is a place for experiments and research, not your..."
Here, 'Expert' Vill-V paused for a moment, as if organizing her words, before finally continuing, "Playground? Or a place to clear your head."
"But I'm being perfectly quiet, not disturbing you at all, right, Expert?" Fu Li said defensively, tilting his head as he fiddled with the cup in his hands.
"Even so, your presence is still a disturbance to my work. Please leave." The Expert remained impassive, seemingly unmoved by emotion, until...
"Let me hide here for one day, and the Helix Workshop's research budget for next month will be doubled."
Fu Li propped his head on his hand, saying it as if it were nothing.
He knew that despite his efforts to suppress them, the higher-ups in the MOTHs were still secretly accepting benefits from others. So, at times like this, it was only right to make them bleed a little.
So what if he emptied their private coffers? Didn't they have mansions and luxury cars to their names? They could just sell them.
After all, money was nothing compared to the lives they considered so 'superior'.
"......"
Hearing this, 'Expert' Vill-V fell silent for a moment. After a long pause, she gave a slight nod with a final shred of矜持.
"If you double my funding for every day you come here to relax, you will be the most honored guest of the Helix Workshop."
"Er... that won't be necessary. I just need to escape from some things occasionally."
Escape?
Although she wasn't a genius in the same way, a man like Dr. Li, who possessed both power and intellect, would also feel the need to escape? What was he escaping from?
'Expert' Vill-V tilted her head and asked, "Is something troubling you? Perhaps I can help?"
Her tone was filled with undisguised curiosity, and Fu Li happened to need someone to talk to.
"Yes, something is on my mind."
Perhaps seeing that fleeting glint of gossip in her eyes, Fu Li hesitated for a moment before finally speaking:
"But this isn't about me. It's about a friend of mine."
"Mm-hm, go on, I'm listening."
'Expert' Vill-V didn't expose him. To her, whose past personas included the 'Deceiver', such a lie was far too clumsy.
But often, it was precisely such clumsy lies that she had no desire to expose.
Fu Li's story continued, and 'Expert' Vill-V listened intently—the most important reason being, of course, that her experiment was still running on auto-pilot.
"My friend once took in a girl who was like a cat. They lived together, carefree and happy since they were young."
"Then one day, that friend brought the girl with him to join the MOTHs. After that, because of the tedious missions, the time they had together became increasingly scarce."
"Later on, a rather big argument broke out between them. They even fought over it. But not long after the fight, they made up."
"But after that, to protect her, my friend did something against her will. Following that, a rift formed between them, and they avoided each other for a long time."
"Then, a while ago, they finally reconciled. However, not long after making up, the girl force-kissed my friend and said something about... being in love."
"Wait? What's with that look? I told you, that friend isn't me. I'm just... I'm just a sensitive person, so I feel bad for him, that's all."
Inside the room, Fu Li's face grew hot as he offered his defense, though it was unclear if it was from the non-alcoholic drink in his hand or something else.
But when he saw the rare, subtle expression on 'Expert' Vill-V's face, he sheepishly closed his mouth.
Evidently, after venting his emotions, he realized that when it came to deception, he was trying to teach a fish to swim in front of Vill-V.
"Ahem, I see. That is indeed quite tragic."
"Unfortunately, I am merely a mechanic. I don't have any good advice when it comes to the topic of romance. My apologies."
For the sake of her research funds, 'Expert' Vill-V wisely chose not to call his bluff and actively changed the subject.
After all, who Dr. Li fell in love with had nothing to do with her. She was just an onlooker enjoying the drama.
She just hadn't expected that her use of the word 'romance' would cause the awkwardness level in the air to rise yet again.
'Expert' Vill-V subtly glanced at the instrument beside her, silently blaming herself for setting such a long auto-run time.
Just then, however, the sound of grinding gears echoed from above. A mechanical bird with exposed gears flew in, a letter held in its beak.
"Hm? What's this?"
Normally, 'Expert' Vill-V did not appreciate visitors, but today was clearly an exception.
To ease the atmosphere, she quickly took the letter from the bird, then passed it to Fu Li with a peculiar expression.
"This is for you. Eden says Elysia is inviting the three of you to dinner. She has something to discuss."
"Oh, is that so?"
Fu Li took the invitation, glanced at it, and then put it away without any suspicion.
He no longer had the heart to stay in the Helix Workshop anyway. He might as well follow the invitation and have a meal to take his mind off things.
What he didn't know was that, at this very moment, Elysia was on the ruins of the Mu Continent, thousands of miles away. Meanwhile, Eden was standing in a kitchen, personally cooking—an extremely rare sight.
In the trash can by Eden's feet, a completely empty bottle bearing an infinity symbol was covered by a few napkins, emitting a faint, cold glint.
And from time to time, a chilling, somewhat terrifying smile would flicker across Eden's face.
---o---
Author's PS: The next update will be later, meow. I was busy with family all day yesterday, I'm exhausted.
---o---