---o---
Midnight, London.
After the magic troupe's performance, the audience had begun to depart. Leaving with them was a group of a dozen or so people, led by Mobius.
Mobius slipped her hands into the pockets of her trench coat and looked up at the cool night sky, a strange feeling once again surfacing in her heart.
It was as if she wasn't looking up at the sky, but that the starry expanse was looking down on her.
"Hey, hey, Dr. Mobius, as expected of a magic show you recommended! That little girl was really amazing. Oh, right, here's the milk tea I bought for you just now."
Hearing the solicitous female voice by her ear, Mobius turned her head slightly. In a cold tone that was completely at odds with her youthful appearance, she said, "Indeed, the performance was good. But forget the milk tea."
"Ah... but Dr. Mobius, isn't milk tea your favorite?"
"I don't actually like it that much..." As if remembering something, Mobius stopped mid-sentence and sighed. "Never mind. It's nothing. You can drink it yourself."
"Oh... alright then. So, Doctor, where are we heading next?"
"You all head back to the institute. As for me, I think I'll walk around by myself for a while."
With that, Mobius gave a dismissive wave of her hand and walked off into the distance.
After she left, the female researcher could only sigh helplessly and look at another assistant beside her.
"Sigh. I guess this is what it means to be a super-genius. She's so cold and aloof, not at all like an 18-year-old. Looking at her, it seems like just living is exhausting."
"Well, perhaps that's just the world of a genius. Honestly, even though we're considered absolute elites, we're still so far behind her."
"Sigh, you're right. The youngsters are getting more and more intense these days. How are us mere mortals supposed to survive?"
---o---
Having no time for the whispers of the group behind her, Mobius simply weaved through the streets of London. When she passed a milk tea shop, she hesitated for a moment before buying two cups.
Evidently, for Mobius, wanting to drink milk tea meant she was about to meet an acquaintance.
After crossing a few more complex intersections, Mobius finally arrived at her destination for the day: a movie theater.
After handing her ticket to the staff, Mobius went straight to a corner of the waiting area. There, a seven or eight-year-old girl with short green hair was silently reading a copy of Nature and Science.
"Hey, Klein. It seems you remember me now?"
A cup of milk tea was placed on the table. Klein, who had been engrossed in her book, looked up. Her gaze slowly traveled upwards to meet Mobius's.
"Good evening, Doctor. This is the first time I've seen you looking so young."
"Ahem. Klein, you really don't know how to talk, do you? You've seen me at this age during my snake shedding, haven't you?"
Klein naturally accepted the milk tea and inserted the straw.
"What I meant was, this is the first time I've seen you looking young for a reason other than 'snake shedding'... Mmph!! Doctor, I was wrong!!!"
"Ahem. Klein, it seems you've gotten a bit cheeky since we last met."
After pinching Klein's cheeks, Mobius finally sat down in the opposite seat, propping her head up with her hand. "So, where are your parents? They just let you come out like this?"
"Um... I told them I was going to a classmate's house to do homework."
At the mention of her parents, a ripple passed through Klein's calm eyes.
After all, for anyone who had experienced a future where their parents died, seeing them again would be anything but a peaceful experience.
As if sensing Klein's thoughts, Mobius offered a rare word of comfort.
"Don't worry. Since Li's 'Alan Institute' has been keeping an eye on you from the start, he will definitely not let your parents suffer that same tragedy again."
"Yes... that's just the kind of person he is."
Klein agreed, the smile on her lips turning a little helpless. "It's just... this way, I'll owe him three lives."
"Ahem. He's not the type to care about such things."
Mobius also took a sip of her milk tea before getting to the point. "Alright, he's busy playing his little magician games with Vill-V right now. As for you, have you considered graduating early? To become my assistant?"
Evidently, the Capitalist Snake was dissatisfied with her current assistants, who lacked a sense of crisis, and had set her sights on Klein once more.
"Doctor, I'm only eleven years old, you know."
"Ahem. So what if you're eleven? Or are you worried about the law?"
At the word 'law', a mocking smile returned to Mobius's lips. She clearly held such things in contempt.
However, she also knew that if she made Klein work for her now, Fu Li would definitely see through the ruse, so...
"This is for you."
Mobius pulled a laptop bag out from under her chair and pushed it toward Klein.
"This is the most advanced laptop in the world, improved by me. With this, you can help me with my work in your spare time."
"Ah... fine."
As a workaholic, Klein only put up a symbolic resistance before obediently accepting the laptop.
Her compliance was exceptionally pleasing to Mobius.
"By the way, Doctor, I've actually always had a question."
"Ahem. Let's hear it."
"The Honkai Consciousness."
Klein uttered the words, and the playful look on Snakey's face vanished.
"Doctor, if I remember correctly, you once said that during the first cycle, you were all certain that the Honkai did not possess a consciousness. But according to Li, when he became a Herrscher, he saw an incarnation of the Honkai Consciousness. Why is that?"
She looked straight at Mobius. Silence fell over their corner of the waiting area.
Klein took a quiet sip of her milk tea and lowered her eyes, a gesture to show her resolve.
In some ways, she, who had always watched Mobius from the sidelines, understood her better than Fu Li, who trusted Mobius unconditionally.
"Klein."
Mobius's voice broke the silence. She looked out the window and said, "What do you think artificial intelligence is?"
"Artificial intelligence? Gray Serpent? The Artificial Herrscher of Corruption, White Fox? Or Prometheus?"
Klein paused for a moment before listing the three names.
"...Ah, those three..."
Mobius's gaze grew deeper. After a long moment, she said, "While they are all artificial intelligences, each one is distinct. And the one I'm talking about is the most special among them."
"The one executing the Stigmata Project, Prometheus No. 17."
___
Author's Note: Luckily, I was clever and anticipated this problem. I deliberately left this aspect vague in the previous text. Now, the emergency patch is okay!