"Ha! Ha! Ha—!"
Late at night, on a silent path flanked by greenery, the sound of a girl's heavy panting echoed.
A figure was running with all her might, as if trying to shake off the darkness behind her.
Her deep purple hair was tied up in a cascading high ponytail with a ribbon of the same color. The zipper of her cropped sports jacket of a matching hue was half-open, revealing a pure black sports tank top and a tight waistline underneath.
Form-fitting, quick-dry pants outlined her nearly perfect leg lines. The tips of her pure white running shoes tapped the ground, and her porcelain-white skin, glistening with a thin layer of sweat, glowed faintly under the streetlights.
She glanced back in terror from time to time, as if something in the dark had been tailing her. The natural crimson at the corners of her eyes appeared even more intense due to her nervousness.
Finally, the girl reached her trusted destination.
She practically threw herself at the door of the high-end residential complex's security office, pounding on the cold metal door. Her chest heaved violently, and her voice was breathless: "Security! Security! I'm Inazuma Ei from Unit 1201, Building 5, Block C! I want to report a pervert! There's been a hooligan in the complex recently!"
Soon, the door in front of Ei creaked open a crack.
"You say there's a hooligan?"
A young voice poked out, carrying a hint of doubt.
This person was exceptionally handsome. His jet-black messy hair was as deep as the starry sky, and the loose security uniform didn't diminish his temperament in the slightest. A pair of rare scarlet eyes shone brightly in the night.
Who would have thought that the moment she saw the person's face clearly, Ei's expression would change drastically!
"N-N-No, it's fine now!"
The hooligan is right here!!!
She stumbled back two steps, turned around, and was about to leave.
Snap!
Her wrist was suddenly grabbed from behind.
"How can we pretend nothing happened?"
The big boy frowned and said seriously, "Protecting the safety of the residents is the duty of security personnel! Don't worry, I've already listed you as a designated key protection target. I patrol your door specifically twenty times a day—the only thing missing is personal bodyguard protection for your safety!"
"But looking at it now, it seems further steps are necessary." He rubbed his chin. "Understood. I'll move into your house right now to personally repel potential threats. I'll have to trouble you, the resident, to cooperate then."
"No! No need! Really, no need!"
Ei looked terrified, blurting out her refusal without thinking.
"You don't need to be afraid of me. Like I said, protecting the safety of residents is our duty!" Fuli patted his chest, radiating righteousness. "Don't look down on me just because I've only been on the job for a week. Since I'm taking this salary, I must do the job properly!"
The girl, struggling to break free from this stalker, didn't want to hear another word from him. She turned and started running again.
"Protecting resident safety!"
"Is my bounden duty!"
"Please understand!"
However, at every intersection she passed, that lingering phantom appeared in front of her like a ghost. Not only did he stand straight, but he also saluted her with great seriousness.
It was absurd, like some kind of rules-based horror story, until Ei entered her apartment, locked the main door tight behind her, and dragged her exhausted body into the bedroom.
She fell headfirst onto the bed and sank into a deep sleep almost instantly.
Meanwhile, outside the window of the girl's room—
"Seems like there's nothing unusual, huh?"
Standing on an energy lotus condensed from a Void Flash, Fuli, wearing the loose security uniform, muttered to himself.
Ever since making the agreement with Rob—Origami Bird—at Starbucks, he had infiltrated the residential complex where Inazuma Ei lived.
To avoid alerting the enemy, he specifically applied for a security job here, becoming a security guard with a monthly salary of five thousand, meals and accommodation included.
But after seven days, aside from battles of wits with delivery guys, monitoring Inazuma Ei, battles of wits with residents, monitoring Inazuma Ei, battles of wits with the property manager, and monitoring Inazuma Ei, it wasn't exactly fruitless, but he had basically wasted his time.
Oh, it couldn't be called a complete waste.
With the mindset of "since I'm here," Fuli took the time to visit Lin'an, over a hundred kilometers from Sapphire City, specifically to taste the famous West Lake Vinegar Fish, and expressed his opinion on it:
I don't know how a chef can make a fish where the vinegar is vinegar, the fish is fish, and the West Lake is West Lake. The boundaries are so clear, it's like drinking a mouthful of vinegar first, then jumping into West Lake and gnawing on a live fish swimming inside.
At that moment, my brain kept pondering everything around me, such as the origin of the universe, the life of a human, where the glowing trash can is, and how to trick Robin into eating a few more bites at our next meeting.
As for being chased down half a street by Baby Bird afterward, that was definitely fake.
Miss Robin is a gentle and kind international superstar. She would never wield a microphone to moonlight as a physical damage dealer, furiously trying to crack Fuli's skull open.
Really!
The next day, at the familiar corner in Starbucks.
"In other words, still nothing."
The singer who came to meet him sat with her legs together in an elegant posture.
She was still wearing the low-profile light brown trench coat matching her beret today, only briefly lowering her mask when sipping from the straw.
Fuli lay lazily on the table, still wearing that security uniform, indifferent to the strange looks from the waiters around them. "That dog she keeps is a bit annoying. I tried sneaking into Inazuma Ei's house, but that guy discovered me every time."
"Dog?"
"Yae Miko."
"Oh!"
Robin realized.
She had heard this name and was quite familiar with its owner.
The other party was Inazuma Makoto's agent and discoverer, a shrewd, somewhat black-bellied, but essentially good person.
The girl felt Fuli was wrong to do this. How could he compare a person to a dog?
"Mr. Fuli, I think—"
Just as Baby Bird opened her mouth to lecture.
"That dog is really awesome." Fuli covered his face, looking like he couldn't bear to watch. "Did you know? Dogs can't see the top of their heads. If you reach into a dog's blind spot to pet it, some sensitive dogs easily feel threatened. So with strange and unfriendly dogs, it's best to start by scratching their chin. That way, it's also more convenient for them to bite you."
"Um, huh?"
Is... is that right?!
Robin was dumbfounded.
Then she realized the issue: "Wait, you mean a real dog?"
"What do you mean 'I mean a real dog'?! The boy yelled in dissatisfaction. "Even if you're pretty, be careful or I'll sue you for slander!"
"No, no, no, I mean, the one named Yae Miko is really a dog?"
"Really. What else? It's a Husky."
"..."
Naming a dog after her sister's agent? Haki-Ei (Ei the Husky), you guy...
Robin could understand. As far as she knew, it was Yae Miko, as a close friend, who single-handedly pushed Inazuma Makoto, who was originally just a VTuber for fun, onto the path of becoming a top idol.
The time her sister could spend with her was drastically reduced, and they even had to live apart. It would be strange if Ei wasn't angry.
Thinking of this, Baby Bird's cheeks flushed slightly, realizing she had misunderstood Fuli just now.
Just as she wanted to apologize—
"Haven't you also found nothing this week?" Flipping through the "Inazuma Makoto Investigation Report" on the table, Fuli rested his chin on his hand and complained, "If you ask me, we should just take direct action. That Yae Miko isn't an ordinary dog if she can detect and bite me while I'm using Presence Concealment. Plus, Ei can sense my twenty daily targeted patrols. Putting the sister aside for now, the younger sister is definitely involved with the Honkai side."
"But we're not sure there's a problem, are we?"
Robin from the Lawful Good alignment emphasized seriously, "I don't reject using force when necessary, but at least for now, neither of them has shown malice toward others. Forcing others with the mindset of 'striking first to gain the upper hand' is wrong in itself."
Entrapment is inadvisable. When you want to test the hardness of a piece of glass, it is destined to shatter.
"Fine."
Facing Baby Bird shimmering with the light of humanity, Fuli shrugged and didn't insist.
In the end, he had accepted Kiana's request.
As long as he confirmed that these unlucky sisters marked by Director Hu Tao hadn't met with any accidents, Fuli could pack up and go back to report mission completion. There was no need to take it too seriously; just treat it as a paid vacation.
Seeing the investigation gradually getting back on track, he actively comforted the gloomy Robin instead.
"Actually, investigating this matter is like fishing. The most important thing is to keep a calm mind. For example, on July 3rd this year at 1:43 PM, I caught a big fish weighing at least 20 jin by Lake Kanas in Tianjiang. But that girl Bronya fumbled with the net and let the fish get away. It's been so long, and look, I haven't blamed her. Some things aren't worth keeping in mind."
Robin: You call this not blaming her?!
She even wanted to retort that the time above didn't include seconds because the phone screen only displayed minutes, right?
"Mr. F-Fuli is truly a humorous person."
"Don't flatter me awkwardly. I'm still far behind your brother."
"If it's Brother, he is indeed somewhat... um, lacking in this regard."
"The Ambassador to the Holy See of the Vatican can't be as loose-lipped as me."
Ambassador to the Holy See, also known as Apostolic Nuncio, is a high-ranking envoy sent by the Pope of the Vatican to Catholic countries with close diplomatic relations. Basically equivalent to an Ambassador to [Country], usually held by someone with the rank of Archbishop.
As a diplomat, Sunday represented the face and attitude of the large faction that was the Vatican, so naturally, a frivolous person couldn't hold the position.
"Not necessarily?" Fuli let his imagination run wild. "With Cocolia looking like she's about to become the Commander-in-Chief of the US Army, Navy, and Air Force, it's not impossible for a successor to the Roman Pope who shouts about letting the whole world live in a happy dream to appear."
It could only be said that the power of the world's largest religion was still too terrifying. Even though Otto had led the Reformation early on, completely separating Schicksal from the old church, the remaining forces still held significant influence.
"So when are you going to reveal your VTuber alt account name?" He looked at Robin, who seemed to be pushed to the forefront by the Holy See to increase religious influence, with a teasing expression. "I'll drop by your stream sometime to show support, maybe send some Little Rockets and become the number one big brother or something."
Both this girl and her brother had a halo above their heads. It often appeared during concerts and could be taken down and wiped on normal days.
People on the reality side might think it was just special effects, but considering this girl's background—the adopted daughter of the current Pope Francis—it was really hard not to make associations.
"Not telling."
Robin was expressionless, seeing through his perfunctory attitude at a glance.
"Istaroth the God of Time" was her VTuber account. If Fuli had any intention of understanding her deeply, he wouldn't have failed to discover it by now.
"Fine."
Seeing it was about time, Fuli stood up to return to the residential complex to continue his dual job of security guard and surveillance.
Robin's concert was in three days. He had decided that as long as nothing happened by then, he would end this trip to Shenzhou and go home.
Fortunately, heaven rewards the faithful. Early the next morning, a sleepy-eyed Fuli climbed out of the bed in the security duty room.
He habitually glanced at the surveillance screens, his gaze sweeping carelessly over the familiar scenes, until his eyes sharpened the moment he saw a certain feed.
On the surveillance screen, a tall figure was quickly walking out of the complex gate.
Inazuma Ei, who had been a shut-in at home for a whole week—she actually went out!
Fuli instantly became spirited. Without a word, he video-called Robin.
The call connected quickly. The girl had likely just woken up too. She was currently sitting in a "duck sitting" posture on a soft large bed, wearing a silky white slip nightgown. Her eyes were hazy with sleep, her long hair slightly messy, carrying a deadly allure in her laziness.
But upon hearing Fuli's urgent words, her eyes cleared immediately.
Hurriedly saying "Wait for me!" to the screen, she got out of bed at light speed and rushed into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, a silver McLaren sports car drifted to a precise stop in front of Fuli, who was standing by the road, accompanied by the screech of brakes like a cheetah.
The window rolled down, revealing Robin's devastatingly beautiful face.
She wore a pair of small glasses on the bridge of her nose, and the corners of her mouth hooked into a confident and slightly excited arc: "Get in, quick!"
The passenger door rose like a seagull's wing, flinging a string of crystal raindrops.
"Uh..."
Fuli glanced back at the security booth. His security guard brothers, with whom he had eaten, lived, and bragged for a week, were watching this scene dumbfounded.
Hope they don't mistake me for that "Lion-Eyed Boy" about to head to Cassell College.
He thought, sitting into the car and examining Robin's bare face. "Feels like there's no difference whether you wear makeup or not."
Fuli didn't like additives; he just loved this plain, pure, natural look.
"That depends on work requirements."
Baby Bird was very happy to be praised.
After the boy buckled his seatbelt, she stepped lightly on the gas. The McLaren let out a low growl, merged into the traffic flow under Fuli's guidance, and trailed the familiar figure ahead from a distance.
The pursuit officially began!