Fuli slept as if plunged into a void, out cold for three full days and nights.
When he finally opened his eyes, warm sunlight filtered through the pristine glass, gently caressing his cheek. He stretched luxuriously.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a white furball fast asleep at his bedside.
Silvery-white hair, woven like moonlight, spilled untidily across the bedsheets. A soft breeze stirred the strands, brushing against the girl's faintly flushed cheeks. Her long, curled eyelashes fluttered with each rhythmic breath.
It was a serene, adorably clumsy sight that exuded a completely unguarded innocence.
Seeing this, the corners of Fuli's mouth unconsciously curled into a smile. He reached out, lightly poking her soft, flawless cheek.
"Mnn... stop messing around..."
The sleeping Kiana pouted unconsciously. She let out a few muffled, contented little snores, looking exactly like a lazy kitten refusing to leave its warm nest.
"Heh."
Fuli chuckled quietly and reached for his smartphone.
The screen lit up with quite a few unread messages. Everyone had their own duties, after all; they couldn't stay aboard the Hyperion indefinitely. Besides, Mei had likely been subtly shooing people away to ensure he had peace and quiet.
Fuli began replying to the messages one by one. He politely declined several enthusiastic ladies who wanted to visit, assuring them he would personally pay them a visit with gifts in a couple of days. It wasn't about using material goods to pay off the favors they did by coming to his aid—he simply wanted to express his gratitude in person.
"What's with the gifts?" Dr. MEI teased via text. "Isn't the host himself the best present of all?"
"Shoo, shoo."
After brushing off the increasingly unscrupulous purple-haired scientist, Fuli kept scrolling. Suddenly, a series of messages caught his eye.
Super Invincible Yunli the Great: Hmph!
Super Invincible Yunli the Great: Hmph hmph hmph hmph!!!
Super Invincible Yunli the Great:[Puffy, angry cat-head emoji.jpg]
"What's got her all worked up?" The boy scratched his head, utterly bewildered.
"Oh, about that."
Kallen, elusive as ever, suddenly appeared, leaning her chin on the top of his head. "You were a critical patient, right little bro? That little physician Hyacine strictly ordered total bed rest."
She paused, sounding a bit amazed. "As a result, that girl named Yunli came screaming and charging over, only to get collectively blasted away by everyone over a hundred times."
"Wait, hold on! How many times?!" Fuli's jaw dropped.
"Over a hundred. The exact record was one hundred and eighty-six."
Kallen shook her head. The girl's sheer tenacity had been terrifying. Unfortunately, Yunli ultimately failed to breach the absolute defense formed by a coalition of S-Rank powerhouses.
She didn't even succeed after the fleet arrived at the Luofu spaceport. Eventually, she left in a huff when General Huaiyan rushed over to drag her to the Alchemy Commission for a full physical checkup.
But then again, putting oneself in her shoes—any girl who excitedly runs to check on her boyfriend, only to find his bed surrounded by a massive group of stunning, S-Rank women with deep backgrounds and glaringly ulterior motives...
Women who then repeatedly team up to launch her out the door like a stray dog...
Yeah, anyone would lose their goddamn mind.
"No wonder she's puffed up like an angry blowfish," Fuli said, amused as he imagined his poor Li-bao bristling like an angry cat while getting swatted away.
He figured he'd better wait for her to cool off before giving her a call.
His gaze unconsciously drifted back to the sleeping Kiana. Because of her posture, the girl's shoulder and a large expanse of her bare back were exposed, glowing with a soft, pearlescent luster in the sunlight.
Such a wonderful canvas made Fuli, whose energy was rapidly returning, feel a bit restless.
During the fierce battle at Dulan Fortress, he had used his Outer Path to devour memory fragments from the Borisin. He planned to synthesize their combat techniques into Light Cones to sell later.
Among those memories were a few from the elites of the Chisel-Tooth Pack. Thanks to them, Fuli's understanding of inscribing Enhancement Magic Crests had dramatically deepened. They could even be somewhat effective on someone at the Critical stage now.
The problem? He only possessed theoretical knowledge. He lacked actual practice.
And right in front of him, Kiana's smooth, delicate back looked like the perfect canvas. With her unguarded, little-lamb posture, Fuli could barely suppress the urge to do a little "hands-on practice."
Anyway, the Enhancement Magic Crests would gradually merge into the body over a few days. They would remain completely invisible normally, only briefly manifesting when the host experienced intense emotional fluctuations.
Kiana didn't have eyes in the back of her head. She definitely wouldn't notice if he secretly drew on her.
"When you go pay your visits, gifting them hand-drawn Enhancement Magic Crests seems like a fine idea, doesn't it?"
Dr. MEI's voice echoed in his mind like a lingering ghost, laced with mischievous amusement.
"This system recommends the host use pink pigment and tattoo it on your female friends'... oh, let's say, lower abdomen or inner thighs? That way, even if they get emotional and it glows, others won't see it. A perfect tramp stamp for delinquent girls."
Fuli: (ᗜ˰ᗜ)
"You shameless MEI, one of these days I'm going to cover you head to toe in these tattoos!" he grumbled inwardly.
Following his usual habits, Fuli really ought to have handed this new technology over to the omnipotent Miss Mei to analyze and optimize.
However, the moment he thought of the mountain of research projects at ME Corp, the management duties aboard the Hyperion, and the exhaustion occasionally slipping through the girl's stoic facade, he couldn't bear to add to her burden.
Oh, the boundless grace of the Raiden Shogun!
Her kindness was a debt he could never fully repay. If he kept racking up IOUs like this, would he seriously have to tie a ribbon around himself, pack himself into a gift box, and mail himself to the front door of ME Corp?
---||---
Here's a little-known fact: waking up does not equal a full recovery.
It took another two days before Fuli's body was completely back to normal.
"An S-Rank enemy really is on another level. To think even Li could get hurt that badly."
At nine in the morning, Kiana, the last one to finish breakfast, wandered the corridors alone.
"I wonder when my other self will wake up," the girl muttered, cradling the back of her head.
"She said fusing the Herrscher Core with the fragments of the Finality Lance might create a vessel capable of wielding the power of Finality... but she's been dormant for so long now. Still no sign of anything."
If only I could wake up as an S-Rank! she thought.
Then, when it comes to dealing with Li, who's still only at the Critical stage, I could—
Ahem!
Remembering Fuli's completely defenseless state while he was asleep, two crimson clouds bloomed on the white-haired girl's cheeks. She guiltily glanced left and right.
The heart of a young maiden is full of poetry, but sometimes that poetry turns into a mudslide. When conventional methods repeatedly fail, resorting to something a bit more... unconventional... is perfectly justifiable, right?
Soon, the idle Kiana found herself at the door to Bronya's room.
She pushed it open with a burst of energy. "Bronya! I have brought you destruction!"
Translation: I came to hang out.
However, the moment she poked her head in, she saw Bronya seated before a complex terminal. The hacker's brow was furrowed as she stared at lines of buggy code, muttering to herself.
"...Why does it run?"
Realizing Bronya was deep in the zone, Kiana immediately retracted her head and closed the door without a sound.
Next, she headed to ME Corp. She pushed the door open with the same cheerful energy. "Mei! Mei! I'm here to hang out! Anything fun happening today?"
The person in question didn't respond. Instead, Mei was staring intently at the Azure Dragon Soaring Sea Mech. She had completely disassembled and reassembled it, only for it to refuse to move an inch.
"...Why doesn't it run?"
What the hell? Kiana screamed internally, tucking her tail between her legs and scurrying away.
After a few more turns, she finally spotted a familiar figure in front of the Starforge.
This time, she was smarter. Tiptoeing like a cat that got the cream, she crept up behind Fuli, peeking over his shoulder to get a look at what he was so focused on.
"What's with the sneaking around?"
Fuli, sensing her approach, turned around and casually plucked a stray grain of rice from the corner of Kiana's mouth, popping it into his own. Mustn't waste food.
"Nothing, nothing!"
Kiana chirped, happily wrapping her arms around Fuli's waist from behind and kicking her slender legs in delight. Li is still the best! He's always willing to play with me!
Her eyes landed on the long blade in Fuli's hands, which radiated waves of energy. "Whatcha doin', whatcha doin'?"
"Hmph hmph!" Little Li puffed out his chest proudly. "This is no ordinary toy. This is a brand-new weapon I just forged with my own two hands!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Amazing!" Kiana applauded vigorously, the clap-clap-clap sound stroking his ego perfectly. "So what does it do? C'mon, tell me!"
"During the fight with Hoolay, I used up the Plasma Kagehide to activate the Avici Great Crimson Lotus Hell, right?"
Fuli recalled the hilt that now sat on his weapon rack as a memento. "My weapon broke, and I needed a replacement I was comfortable with, so I figured I'd make a new one myself."
The current date was September 30th. There were seven days left until the end of the Luminary Wardance, and two days had passed since the monthly ten-pull from the Finality Cordination System was supposed to refresh.
He had planned to see if he could pull a new weapon, but Prometheus had slapped a big notice on the interface: [System Maintenance: This month's gacha pull is delayed by two weeks.]
It couldn't be helped. Fuli had been spending most of his time in the Sea of Quanta lately, and the environment there wasn't nearly as stable as the proper world.
Maintaining the cross-dimensional link between the lunar base and his current location was already a strain; a high-load function like the gacha had to be postponed.
Learning he couldn't pull, Fuli had shrugged and almost went to find the ever-reliable Dorae-Mei. But feeling a bit too embarrassed to ask for another favor, he sat back down.
The issue of being unarmed still needed addressing.
So, he rummaged through his system inventory and unearthed a soft, red killer whale plushie. He'd gotten it from a ten-pull a while back. At its core, it was a B-Rank sword-type weapon crafted with technology far beyond the modern era.
At the time, Fuli already had the Plasma Kagehide, and the image of him whaling on enemies with a plushie was a bit too bizarre. So, he had just tossed it on his bed to hug at night.
But now, he was desperate.
Considering the high-grade base material of the orca plushie, Fuli decided to go all in. He retrieved the remains of his very first weapon—the famous blade, Mikazuki Munechika—along with a memory-wiping device and a holographic smart drone.
He tossed them all, along with the plushie, into the all-reforging Starforge.
After two full days and nights of energy fusion and morphological reconstruction, his new weapon was finally born!
"Ta-da! And here it is, the A-Rank famous blade: Evernight!" Fuli brandished the elegant longsword with a triumphant flourish.
As a close-combat weapon combining the strengths of all four items, Evernight's unique structure gave it unimaginable hardness during slashes. Its sharpness, energy conductivity, and durability surpassed conventional A-Rank combat weapons, giving it a distinct advantage in clashes.
Even when not used as a weapon, the sword could transform back into an incredibly comfortable killer whale plushie. It was waterproof, soft, and guaranteed a good night's sleep.
Furthermore, in environments with high humidity like near rivers or oceans, it could manipulate water currents for attacks. Deep underwater, it could even ignore the crushing pressure and perform with even greater power than on land.
"And there's more!" Fuli placed his hands on his hips smugly. "C'mon, Evernight, spray Kiana with some water!"
As he called out, a light flashed on the blade. A translucent energy entity resembling a small, red jellyfish materialized out of thin air.
It glanced (?) at its ecstatic master, then slowly floated off to the side, completely ignoring his command with an air of elegant aloofness.
In stark contrast, another, more vibrant, pink-and-blue gradient jellyfish excitedly popped out. With a sudden psssht, it sprayed Kiana right in the face.
"See? My Little March is the best."
Fuli scooped it into his arms and snuggled it. The little jellyfish seemed to enjoy it, emitting pleasant energy fluctuations.
"Whoa! Wh-what are these things?" Kiana wiped her face, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"This pink and blue one is Little March." The boy held up the jellyfish. "Even without being summoned, Little March can continuously record everything that happens around me and store it as memories. When summoned, it can temporarily attach to someone else to record specific events."
Then, ignoring the red jellyfish's struggles, he gathered it into his other arm. "And this is Evernight. It has the ability to interfere with, edit, and erase memories themselves. Its effect diminishes against stronger enemies, but it's super effective against certain special beings that lack a physical body."
Like Memosnatchers from the Garden of Recollection, or followers of the Path of Remembrance.
"Oh, oh! I get it!" Kiana clapped her hands in realization. "Little March is the holographic drone's recording function, and Evernight is the memory-wiper's ability, right? That's so cool!"
"Exactly! That's the one!"
Fuli, with a jellyfish in each arm, grinned from ear to ear. He was thrilled. First, he genuinely adored these two squishy, jelly-like critters. Second, he had found a great solution for weapon attrition.
From now on, even if his swords were destroyed in battle, as long as the fragments remained, he could resurrect them in a new form using the Starforge.
Seeing the boy so happy, Kiana couldn't help but smile along with him.
She reached out and took the more lively and approachable Little March, cradling it against her chest.
"Hmph! You sprayed me right in the face just now!" the girl said, feigning a fierce expression as she gently poked the jellyfish's soft body. "As punishment, you have to let me hug you for the rest of the day, or else—aaah!"
Before she could finish, another small jet of water hit her in the face.
Kiana wiped away the droplets and saw that this time, it was Evernight.
"Hey! You little thing, are you protecting your friend?" she complained, but quickly burst out laughing.
Fuli's gaze, however, turned vacant. His eyes locked firmly onto Kiana, drawn by an invisible force.
The playful splashing had soaked her through.
Her thin clothes, now nearly transparent, clung tightly to her exquisite curves. Her increasingly ample assets formed an alluring arc beneath the wet shirt. Her slender waist and flat, toned stomach were clearly defined, right down to the indentation of her navel.
The material of her shorts was stretched taut, outlining the full, perky curve of her rear and the long, straight lines of her thighs. Every inch of her figure radiated a breathtaking, primal allure.
Despite looking so disheveled, Kiana's smile was utterly without shadow.
That pure, radiant joy, juxtaposed with the vulnerable and seductive image created by her drenched state, formed a powerful and contradictory beauty.
Fuli found himself unable to look away, his heart skipping a beat.
Women are always exceptionally sensitive to being looked at. Kiana soon noticed his overly focused, almost scorching gaze.
She looked down at herself. She instantly understood.
A tempting blush spread from her neck all the way to her earlobes, as if she were steaming, and her breathing grew ragged.
"S-stupid Li! Wh-where are you looking?!" the girl scolded, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest.
Yet, she couldn't help but sneak a peek at Fuli's reaction. In her damp, sapphire-blue eyes, hidden beneath the bashfulness, was a clear glimmer of anticipation and a ripple of excitement.
S-so... you wanna...?
Fuli felt a buzz in his head. The string of rationality in his brain snapped clean in two.
DO IT! DO IT NOW!
But just as the air grew thick and heavy—just as the room reached a boiling point where the national birth rate seemed about to spike...
BING—!
A communication alert rang in both their ears, perfectly timed to ruin everything.
A cool, clear voice echoed in the room. It was a message from Mei, summoning them to the main lab at ME Corp immediately.
The sudden voice was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing all the sultry sparks in the air.
The two of them snapped out of their daze. They instinctively glanced at each other, then quickly darted their eyes toward the inconspicuous security camera in the corner of the room.
They frantically straightened their slightly disheveled clothes, smoothed their water-dampened hair, and cleaned up the messy scene from their play-fight as fast as they could.
Then, trying their best to pretend nothing at all had just happened, they walked briskly, one after the other, toward ME Corp.