Klein's tone was calm, but her meaning clear. If Mobius didn't restrain herself, their near future would look grim indeed.
-------------------------------
Although Klein's objections were entirely out of concern for the lab's financial situation, Mobius refused to change her mind.
Klein's face remained blank as she nodded, not at all surprised.
Getting Dr. Mobius to stop one of her experiments was about as easy as taking her down in a single blow.
With a sigh, Klein started mentally calculating how to stretch their current funds just enough to make life a little easier.
At the very least, they couldn't starve to death.
"For someone who understands genetics better than anyone, she really doesn't care about nutrition," Klein muttered under his breath.
Truly, the doctor's life was far too indulgent.
Mobius turned back to her workstation. A mere funding cutoff, that was all.
As if that could stop her. There hadn't been a single month when those dull-witted bureaucrats hadn't listed her for review, complaining that her experiments were too immoral or too resource-intensive.
Heh, a bunch of narrow-minded fools who think they can judge a river puffer by staring at it from the shallows.
If "Fire MOTH" hadn't aligned with her research standards in some areas, and if it didn't have special talents like Mei and Kalpas, she would have gone independent long ago.
Did they really think those parasites could stop someone like her, who pursued infinity itself?
Scoffing inwardly, she continued her work. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, her hands slowing until they stopped completely.
"Klein."
"Huh? What is it, Doctor?" Klein, still busy running mental calculations of how to allocate their funds, looked up in confusion.
"Go get me something to relieve stress."
"Oh." Klein nodded, unbothered. When Mobius said "stress relief tools," she meant bubble wrap, the kind that came wrapped around new things. Whenever she hit a dead end or felt too much pressure, Dr. Mobius would use it to decompress.
He was long used to this routine.
Once Klein left, Mobius's expression softened. Her voice grew quiet.
"Come out. I see you."
Her lips curled into a bewitching smile, radiant and dangerous.
Tick, tick. The clock hands crept forward at their unhurried pace.
"Your perception's sharp. Is that your ability? Not bad."
After a while, a small figure stepped out from the other side, moving with effortless grace, as if this place belonged to her.
"This should be my laboratory, shouldn't it?"
Seeing the newcomer, a flicker of surprise crossed Mobius's eyes.
She had never seen this person among the Fire MOTH ranks.
Could she be one of their secret operatives? Mobius wondered.
Those in power were never clean. When it came to self-preservation, they outstripped everyone else.
It made perfect sense for them to cultivate their own expendable agents. Except…
Mobius's gaze fell on the girl's visible joints. She could sense life from her, but it was faint, almost subdued.
"A puppet? A remotely controlled robot? Yet your expressions move so naturally."
Her curiosity piqued, Mobius asked the question aloud.
This level of craftsmanship was something she had never seen before.
"Good eye."
The girl, Herta, nodded with satisfaction.
Mobius ignored the flattery. What mattered was the subtlety she had noticed, the fluid, lifelike expression, something no remotely controlled doll should possess.
"This era?" Mobius's eyes lit up. Her sharp mind caught the clue in Herta's words.
"You're from a previous civilization, aren't you?"
The Honkai was a cyclical catastrophe. Before their time, other civilizations must have risen and fallen to it. That much, Mobius knew.
Still, this was her first time meeting someone from one of those lost ages.
And the reason she believed it so quickly, Herta's technology was completely beyond comprehension.
No matter how she analyzed her, neither the timing of her arrival nor the materials she carried could be explained by this era's science.
"Half right. The rest you'll have to figure out yourself," Herta said lightly.
Life needed its surprises, and she felt Mobius was someone worth surprising.
"Did you come for Serpent? Or for something else?"
"I was curious about you all, that's all. After all, the world of geniuses is a lonely one."
Herta leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, wearing the kind of expression only those too powerful for their own world could make.
"…"
Geniuses were proud, solitary, exceptional.
But Mobius would swear on her life, this was the first time she had ever felt such an overwhelming aura from another person, an almost chilling sense of invincibility.
Even she, who acknowledged Mei and Vill-V as true geniuses, had never felt so outmatched.
Herta's presence made it seem as though only a handful of people in the world were worth speaking to, and everyone else was just dust and debris.
Mobius vowed, she had never met anyone so arrogantly unrestrained.
"I am indeed interested in that Honkai beast called Serpent," Herta said after a moment.
"But I'm even more interested in you."
She sat down as though she owned the place, crossing one leg over the other, resting her chin on her hand, tilting her head slightly.
"The human body is fragile. For any experiment, you need a solid physical foundation. You can't use test subjects who might drop dead at any moment, it disrupts the data."
A fragile human body, successfully fused with a powerful Honkai beast, was astonishing in itself.
Even Herta found herself impressed.
And beyond that, there was Mobius's fearlessness, her willingness to perform surgery on herself, and succeed.
"Still, if it weren't for Serpent's unique abilities, I suppose you wouldn't be here right now."
"Experiments always have unexpected results. Our job is to face those results head-on, and overturn them when necessary, isn't it?" Mobius sat across from her, smiling, her eyes glittering with joy.
For once, she had found someone who truly understood her work.
This could mark a great leap forward in her life, a collision and fusion of ideas.
"Let me guess," Herta said. "You chose to fuse with Serpent precisely because of its special trait, didn't you? That undying power."
Having experienced rejuvenation herself, Herta understood exactly what Mobius sought. And Mobius's ambition was written all over her face.
"Immortality, hmm."
Hearing that, Mobius's gaze grew distant.
Yes, merging with Serpent's Honkai genes had been her idea. But before she could fully test the resulting power, Herta had appeared.
If Herta was right, then what she now possessed… was the power of immortality.
How fascinating.
"How remarkable."
Smiling, the light in Mobius's eyes grew stranger, more bewitching.
The future was full of uncertainty. Mobius had to admit, she feared the unknown that lay ahead. That was why she pursued immortality.
"So the reason you came to me was just for this? To chat in this lab where it's only the two of us?"
With a faint laugh, the quiet hum of machinery filled the silence.
At close range, she observed Herta.
Mobius' eyelashes trembled, the light of curiosity and desire for knowledge flickering in her eyes.
She very much wanted to know how this puppet was constructed, and how its materials, so unlike those of this era, had been achieved.
"It's still too early," Herta said.
"When you've made a bit more progress, then we can move on to the next stage of research together."
A genius's talent needed time to bear fruit, and Herta, she had plenty of time.
"Now, I'm going to have a chat with someone else."
"Who, for example?" Mobius arched a brow.
"A certain genius who, in the future, will design countless salvation projects for humanity."
With those words, Herta's figure vanished before Mobius's eyes.
Mobius wasn't surprised.
To enter here without a sound was proof enough of Herta's skill.
And she had even admitted that Mobius's philosophy was correct.
That feeling was, indeed, delightful.
"Just where did you come from, I wonder?" Slowly standing, then sitting down again, opposite the chair where Herta had just been, Mobius whispered softly.
Not from the past, then that meant... the future.
The future, huh. Heh, I've caught a glimpse of it.
At the laboratory door, Nuwa and Fuxi had just returned, standing stiffly as they exchanged glances.
"Should we go in? The doctor seems a bit… off."
"I think we should wait a bit. Let's go in when she seems normal again."
"I agree." Everyone knew that Dr. Mobius's laboratory was feared by many.
The reason was simple, she rarely treated people as people, and most of the time, she referred to them as "lab mice."
For those who joined her lab, they were heroes in the eyes of their peers.
...
"What a nice time it is."
With light steps, Herta walked cheerfully.
The resentment she'd felt from being "sent off" by Godzilla had mostly faded by now.
She had to admit, Godzilla had chosen an excellent time for her visit.
After the Seventh Eruption, Dr. Mobius had just completed her Fusion surgery, successfully merging her genes.
"Let me think... now I should find the so called Dr. Mei."
Mei, the greatest scientist of the previous civilization, who led humanity in its final battle against the Collapse.
Even fifty thousand years later, her research and that of her peers continued to protect humanity.
Herta recalled that the Kaslana family's lineage had long carried the so-called "Honkai Factor."
Another genius, then.
Herta loved dealing with geniuses.
After all, spending time with fools was such a tiresome thing.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her gaze shifting slowly.
A flash of color filled her vision, bright pink.
A pink-haired girl.
"My, staring at me like that will make me shy, you know."
With a playful gesture, the girl covered her face, feigning embarrassment. Then she leaned forward, her smile dazzling.
"Could it be you're captivated by my beauty?" The pink haired girl, named Elysia, looked up at Herta with a radiant grin, starlight shimmering in her eyes.
Herta wasn't sure what word could describe this girl.
In her eyes was endless gentleness, and upon seeing Herta's face, her expression softened even more.
Herta had to admit, this one was the type who couldn't stop smiling at pretty girls.
...
Something was off.
Elysia could feel it, something in the base wasn't right.
Something had slipped inside without anyone noticing, and had even left traces behind!
The biggest clue was that along her usual route, there was now a scent she had never smelled before.
A fragrance unlike any she'd encountered.
Could it be a new perfume? No, impossible, absolutely not!
Eden possessed the finest scents in the world, and with how much Eden adored her, any new fragrance would definitely be offered for her to try first.
Following her instincts, Elysia turned a corner, and stopped short.
A small-framed, doll-like girl stood before her.
"Could you not get so close?" Expressionless, Herta raised her right hand, halting Elysia's approach.
Why did no one tell me this world had such strange creatures?
Do your Fire Moth people just accept anyone?
...
The Imaginary Tree.
"Elysia?!"
Sakura, who had been monitoring Kevin's battle, immediately turned her head at the familiar voice, eyes lighting up in surprise.
Miss Memokeeper said to the young woman beside her, "Sakura, you and this Elysia seem to be close?"
"Not exactly close," Sakura replied quickly, then added, "Rather, Elysia is close to everyone."
Realizing how her words might sound, she hurried to clarify.
"Elysia is kind, compassionate, and gentle to everyone she meets."
Having endured the near loss of her sister and countless Honkai eruptions, Sakura now paid close attention to her companions.
Elysia, without doubt, was one of those dearest to her.
Fire Moth could survive without politicians, but not without Elysia.
The Thirteen Flame-Chasers were able to remain united, in large part because of her.
"I see. What an incredible young lady," Miss Memokeeper murmured in awe.
...
Herta studied the pink-haired girl carefully.
Soft curls of pastel pink, neatly cut bangs, a high ponytail tied behind her head, and a face so beautiful it seemed almost unreal. Her eyes shimmered with vitality, and her pointed ears betrayed her nonhuman grace.
She looked as though she had stepped out of a forest, an elf come to save the world.
In the short time she'd observed her, Herta noticed that the girl's attire carried motifs of crystal, magic, and flora.
Her outfit suited her perfectly, as if crafted to highlight her ethereal beauty.
Even Herta had to admit, this girl, was beautiful.
That last thought, she kept to herself.
"You just came from Mobius's lab, didn't you?" Elysia leaned closer, eyes sparkling mischievously.