24. Lab Life and the "Viper"
[And so, as "Zero," you became a member of the Mobius Institute.]
[You obtained the power of a MANTIS, albeit incomplete, yet still powerful enough. In a sense, you became the first MANTIS of the Previous Era.]
[However, you were not permitted to go to the battlefield. On the contrary, Dr. Mobius concealed you from the high council and even other soldiers.]
[Dr. Mobius and Klein's recent work shifted to untangling the complex Honkai beast genes within you and conducting further MANTIS modifications on you.]
[Dr. Mobius regretted countless times that the initial modifications performed on you were too crude. You were like a piece of draft paper with limited capacity, already filled with numerous calculations, both correct and incorrect. No matter how much she tried to patch things up, she couldn't transform you into a perfect masterpiece.]
[You, however, didn't mind this at all and often joined Klein in comforting Dr. Mobius.]
[Just as you said, you became the housekeeper of the laboratory, starting to take care of Dr. Mobius's daily life, sharing Klein's workload, and making life easier for Nuwa and Fuxi as well.]
[Gradually, they all grew accustomed to your presence.]
[The Herrscher of Ice was eliminated several months ago. Although officially told to most Fire Moth soldiers was that the tactical squad led by the hero Kevin executed the decapitation strike against the Herrscher of Ice, core members knew that the Herrscher of Ice was killed by an unknown entity.]
[You knew who killed the Herrscher of Ice, but you had no intention of revealing it.]
[And Dr. Mobius had other plans for you. She had you lie low, waiting for an opportunity, a chance for a grand entrance!]
*Six months later—*
Inside the Mobius Institute, Gao qi finished sorting a stack of documents into categories and stretched with a big yawn.
As Dr. Mobius's personal property, Gao qi now juggled multiple roles. Not only did he serve as a test subject routinely wheeled onto the operating table, but he also acted as the housekeeper, tidying up the office, laboratory, and even the girls' dorm daily. He even handled tedious external liaison work as an office clerk.
Simply put, it was still all about logistics. Considering that after the simulation, Gao qi might soon follow the Immortal Blades to Arc City, this kind of training was necessary.
Life as a test subject was actually quite relaxed. Although only an incomplete MANTIS, Gao qi could now withstand excessive anaesthetics at any time – a day would pass in the blink of an eye.
Dr. Mobius considered him her exclusive property, only allowing experiments on Gao qi when she was present. Gao qi also let her do as she pleased – having a lazy yet passionate older sister figure moving about on his body was somewhat exciting, in a way.
Even if 'moving about' involved scalpels, right?
As the housekeeper, Gao qi quickly brought order to the housekeeping chores everywhere. Ultimately, both Mobius and Klein were not neat and tidy people; it was just their busy work lives that left them no time for cleaning.
The root cause of their busyness, however, was—
"Nuwa, Fuxi, let's go 'take care' of these Fire Moth high council members right now. Inquiries on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, audits on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and detailed work plans due on weekends! Even getting a coffee machine reimbursed requires layers of review! What do they take us for, some illegal organization? Are they afraid we'll create a Frankenstein or something?"
Slamming a stack of work reports onto the desk, Gaoqi complained angrily.
"A bunch of amateurs bossing professionals around, so self-righteous! Nothing but bureaucrats! Goddammit, how can we fight the Honkai with these vermin!"
A significant reason for Klein's usual busyness was liaising with other Fire Moth departments. Because the Mobius lab had a poor reputation, various experiments required submitting extensive reports upwards. No wonder she seemed so ethereal – while Otto's Schicksal was ruthless, at least everyone had relatively high work freedom!
"If they're so scared of us, then let's just quit! Starting today, the lab is on strike! Let's see how long it takes for those old dogs to come begging!"
Having finished his work, Gaoqi flipped the bird at the ceiling. He had worked hard to ensure the girls in the lab could sleep well!
"Uh, Mr. Zero, to be honest... you are our Frankenstein. Though you are quite handsome... The reason we have to write so many reports is precisely so the Fire Moth doesn't discover you, an illegal test subject. If we didn't write these reports, Dr. Mobius would definitely come up with even more... creative ideas."
Shrugging her shoulders, Nuwa, who was monitoring data under an electron microscope, had heard Mr. Zero complain many times. This was the umpteenth time he claimed he would 'take care of' the Fire Moth high council – disregarding legality, Nuwa was somewhat in agreement.
The scariest part was, based on observations of his abilities, Mr. Zero might actually be capable of doing it. Maybe not all of them, but at least half the higher-ups.
After all, he was the world's only MANTIS, possessing power beyond ordinary humans.
"I advise against any rash actions, Mr. Zero. Our future experiments depend on them approving our funding requests – otherwise, we won't even have milk tea to drink."
On the other side, Fuxi also sighed. She was quite dissatisfied with the current state of affairs within the Fire Moth, but considering the massive expenses required for their experiments, she had to bear with it.
"Fine, the milk tea should be almost ready. The Doctor will be out soon, I'll prepare a few cups."
Gao qi shrugged helplessly and walked over to a corner of the office to start mixing the brewed milk and black tea.
Shortly after arriving at the lab, Gao qi discovered the girls' terrifying reliance on this high-sugar beverage.
While sugar is important for mental work, drinking milk tea like water was a bit much. After several failed attempts to dissuade them, and even being met with Dr. Mobius's protests, Gao qi could only start making the milk tea himself, aiming to make it at least a little healthier.
Soon, several steaming cups of milk tea were freshly prepared.
"Here, have a cup, my hardworking Miss Klein."
Placing the last cup of milk tea on Klein's desk, Gao qi looked at the earnest young woman and, as usual, placed his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Zero. You've worked hard too— Mmm, no, you don't have to trouble yourself."
The gentle pressure on her shoulders made Klein unable to help but narrow her eyes.
"Mmm... heaven..."
An expression of enjoyment appeared on her usually indifferent face as Klein slumped limply onto the desk.
Fu Hua had practiced martial arts since childhood, and Gao qi would give her massages during breaks. And for the energetic girl Kiana, whose cloned body needed daily massages from Gao qi to promote its development...
After years of honing his massage skills, Klein, this ordinary young girl, was utterly powerless to resist.
All this time, as a lab assistant, she had been the one taking care of Dr. MEI. However, after Mr. Zero's revival, she found herself becoming the one being taken care of.
Although she wasn't used to it at first, after a few half-hearted refusals and some earnest persuasion from Mr. Zero, Klein began to enjoy it with a clear conscience—after all, getting a little more rest was always good.
"Alright, alright, no need to be polite. Why should a girl your age work so hard? You're even younger than Dr. MEI. You're usually so busy, so now you should take a good rest."
Klein, who at first glance seemed somewhat aloof, actually possessed an admirable spirit of sacrifice and dedication. Because she recognized Dr. Mobius's theories and ambitions and admired her intelligence and thirst for knowledge, she was willing to give everything for the Doctor.
Not only did she work overtime every day, facing an endless stream of tasks, but in the end, after being controlled by the Herrscher of Dominance, Klein even sacrificed her own life for the Doctor—a truly "negative distance" closeness.
However, with Gao qi around, Klein wouldn't be doing too much work. For this lady, the puppet who had always helped him in the Elysian Realm, Gao qi was naturally very happy to be of service.
The end of the Previous Era was inevitable; a half-baked MANTIS like Gao qi stood no chance against the Herrscher of the End.
But before that, it wasn't like Gao qi couldn't change a few things—a living Klein was surely better than an artificial puppet.
"Wow, Senior Klein is really enjoying herself. Look at them, don't they look good together—"
"Shh, shh, shh, Dr. Mobius will get jealous."
"Which one are you referring to?"
"Both, perhaps?"
Just as Nuwa and Fuxi were whispering not far away, the door leading deeper into the laboratory slid open. A figure emerged, and a voice that sounded delicate and pitiable, almost like a coquettish whine, reached Gaoqi's ears.
"Mr. Zero— Eh, Klein, you're sneaking treats behind my back again~"
Hearing this somewhat plaintive voice, Klein, who had been growing drowsy under Gao qi's kneading, instantly stiffened. Flustered, she began waving her hands, even the stray hair on her head swaying.
"N-no, Doctor, let me explain, I didn't—"
Gao qi, however, was already accustomed to Mobius's personality. He turned around and smiled at her.
"Doctor, are you lacking sugar, or do you need a massage? We even bought new bubble wrap for you to pop~~"
The next second, Gao qi felt a softness quickly bump into his embrace.
"Sigh, Mr. Zero, I've been standing all day doing experiments today, my feet are so sore. Could you massage them for me?~~ As payment, I can give Klein to you."
Using a somewhat affected tone to whine to Gao qi, Mobius casually sat down on Klein's desk, lifted her white lab coat, kicked off her small leather shoes, and raised her feet, clad in delicate black stockings, hooking them onto Gao qi's thigh.
"Dr. Mobius, you don't need to be like this. You can just tell me directly what you want—Alright, alright, come on, lift your leg nicely."
Although it seemed tempting, Gao qi was long used to the Doctor's mischievous nature. He pulled over a chair and, right in front of Klein, began gently massaging Mobius's soles and toes, causing her to occasionally let out soft, pleasurable moans and making Klein's face turn redder and redder.
"I think it's time for me to step in, right?"
Gao qi understood that Mobius wasn't some vexing little seductress. On the contrary, this kind of overly intimate behavior was merely something she imitated from someone else in the MOTH, and she only acted this way with a few familiar people.
"Mmm~~ Mmm, correct. As expected of Mr. Zero. Just a moment ago, the Herrscher energy reaction of the Sixth Herrscher appeared—MEI's little lackey has already set off. It's time for you to take the stage."
As Gao qi massaged the soles of her feet, the weak, pitiable expression MEI had worn while whining instantly vanished, replaced by a wild and sinister smile.
"Go, my warrior. Defeat the Apostle of Honkai before MEI's little lackey does. Let the world know the power of the MANTIS, let those fools understand the potential of human evolution—Eek! No, don't press there, it's sensitive! Ah!"
However, although Dr. Mobius had mad ambitions, physiological reactions aren't subject to human will. Soon, Gao qi had her fragrant with sweat and flushed. He then placed her in Klein's arms.
Gao qi knew that in a few days, Mobius would become a MANTIS. Once that happened, he wouldn't be able to beat her, and he wouldn't be able to bully her like today.
"Haha, Mr. Zero, you're also quite the mischievous one. The plane is ready for you. I wish you success—Oh, and please take this. Don't let people see your face. The mask will also collect your combat data."
Watching how Mr. Zero had Mobius completely figured out, Klein smiled slightly and handed Gao qi a dark green electronic mask, faintly engraved with a snake coiled into an "∞" symbol.
"A masked hero. From now on, I'll be called 'Viper'—Alright, ladies, I'll be back soon. Make sure to get to bed on time tonight."
Putting the dark green mask on his face, Gao qi quickly left the laboratory.
Not long ago, he had just battled the Herrscher of the Void as the Herrscher of Death. Now—he was going to meet his predecessor.
——————
"Hua, get ready. Our mission is the same as before: responsible for perimeter defense, evacuating civilians as much as possible. The frontal assault will still be handled by Mr. Kevin."
Inside the transport aircraft of the MOTH's Fifth Squad, a woman with fiery red hair, carrying a greatsword on her back, walked in.
"Hua, you—... alright."
Looking at the gray-haired girl, fully armed, her eyes solemn and resolute, Himeko sighed.
"You need to live on. If only for... his sake."
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?