Regarding the hand Lucius extended, Mobius had no reaction, only looking at him coldly.
"ε=('ο`*)))Sigh~"
"My dear Mobius, you're being quite unlovable like this."
Lucius withdrew his extended hand and looked toward Blanca, who was crouching to the side... or rather, Griseo's mother, looking thoughtful.
Blanca looked at Lucius disguised as the Faded Fairy, then at Mobius with her cold expression. She suddenly felt like an unnecessary third wheel.
So she immediately stood up, consciously leaving the space to the two of them.
"Doctor, I'll go organize the materials for the lawsuit first. You two take your time chatting!"
Watching Blanca leave, Lucius smiled, preparing to use his pre-prepared pitch to recruit Mobius to his cause.
However, he soon discovered that Mobius's gaze toward him started with wariness, then as if she had suddenly realized something, she finally looked at Lucius with an understanding expression.
"I see, I understand completely." Mobius said to herself: "No wonder Eden brushed off the kidnapping incident so easily. So that's how it is. My speculation was correct after all..."
Lucius really wanted to ask what exactly she understood.
But the next moment he heard Mobius say: "So that woman Elysia really does have mental problems. It seems you're her other personality."
"...No, I have no relation to her, much less am I her second personality. Just call me the Faded Fairy."
Hearing this, Mobius nodded, seeming to agree with Lucius's statement.
But Lucius noticed that Mobius's face showed even more conviction.
Lucius wanted to retort, but didn't know how to, so he could only let it pass for now.
He took out his communicator and tapped on the screen.
Mobius frowned and said: "What are you doing?"
"Pulling you into a group chat. Hurry up and accept."
Mobius looked at her communicator and discovered a group invitation had suddenly appeared.
She casually clicked accept, and was then pulled into a group chat named "Golden Courtyard Family."
Currently, including herself who had just joined, there were only four people in this group. Her gaze swept across them, discovering they were:
Spiral Vill-V, Golden Eden, the Faded Fairy, and her own "Infinite Serpent."
"Doctor, our world is in grave danger. You should know that the Great Collapse has an increasingly severe trend, and given Fire Moth's current state, I don't believe they have the ability to lead humanity through the Great Collapse."
Looking at Mobius, Lucius's tone was sincere.
"I'm preparing to gather the heroes of this era to fight for humanity's survival."
Mobius raised an eyebrow, roughly guessing what Lucius was going to say, but still asked: "You don't want to rope me into some world-saving thing, do you?"
To this, Lucius revealed a sunny and brilliant smile.
"It seems you've guessed it, Doctor. That's right, I want to invite you to join us."
"Together with us, write a different story in this era destined for destruction, and give humanity a perfect ending~"
Before Mobius could react, Lucius hugged her arm, his tone pleading: "So, please, Dr. Mobius, become a hero together with us!"
"I refuse!"
Mobius didn't even think much about it and directly rejected Lucius's invitation. She forcefully pulled back her arm, but found she couldn't.
But she still sneered: "Save the world? A boring idea. I'm not interested."
"Don't say that~"
Lucius wasn't surprised by Mobius's rejection. Even after being rejected, he still said shamelessly:
"Perhaps in the process of saving the world, you'll find the answer to your infinite research? I have a lot of knowledge here that would interest you, Doctor, like stigmata genetic engineering, super-transformation factor fusion technology and such..."
Hearing this, Mobius suddenly stared at Lucius.
"So it was you who made that deal with me before?"
"Of course."
Hearing Lucius's answer, Mobius suddenly became conflicted, because she was indeed interested in the knowledge he possessed.
But, I can't just join because you tell me to.
I just rejected so resolutely. Wouldn't going back on my word now be embarrassing?
Lucius saw that Mobius was tempted. He knew now was the time to add more weight to the scales.
"Doctor, if you join us, you won't have to worry about research funding anymore~"
Hearing Lucius's tempting words, Mobius let out a cold laugh.
Just a little money... Was she, Mobius, the kind of person who could be bought with money?
"I'm not short on research funding..."
"How about one hundred billion?"
Lucius's words were like a thunderclap, stopping Mobius's words in their tracks.
"How... how much?!!" Mobius's voice stretched out.
"One hundred billion. You can freely allocate research projects. If the experiments make progress later, I can add another two hundred billion."
...If you have this much money, why didn't you say so earlier!
Mobius's expression suddenly became serious, and she said: "You know me. I, Mobius, have always viewed Collapse as my great enemy. Humanity's future is my future."
"I've long aspired to become a hero!"
"Very good." Lucius's face showed an approachable smile as he released Mobius's arm. "From now on, we're partners saving the world together."
Mobius was also very happy. Thinking that one hundred billion in research funding was about to arrive, she was so excited she almost hummed out loud.
But she soon thought of the current crisis she faced. If she didn't resolve the blame pinned on her, Blanca would probably spend the rest of her life in prison.
After seeing the worry that Mobius suddenly showed, Lucius knew what she was troubled about.
"Don't worry, I have a way to send those bastards who framed you to heaven, and solve your predicament at the same time."
"But before that, Doctor, I want to ask you something."
Lucius casually projected a portrait—it was a girl with silver-gray spiral twin-tails, none other than Bronya.
He looked at Mobius and asked: "Doctor, have you seen her?"
After seeing the portrait of Bronya that Lucius projected, Mobius's face slowly revealed a strange expression.
"Seen her? Of course I've seen her."
"Where?"
"On my dissection table, in the form of a corpse."
"The First Herrscher. After obtaining her remains, I was the first to conduct research, unfortunately Fire Moth didn't let me touch her Herrscher core."
"Your intelligence network is indeed powerful, to be able to find out the First Herrscher's identity. Fire Moth erased all her information."
Although he had anticipated this earlier, when he actually got this answer, Lucius still felt somewhat emotional.
The Herrscher of Reason of this era was Bronya's counterpart, which meant that before he could recruit her into the starter trio, this counterpart was already gone.
However, thinking of Prometheus's appearance in the plot, it didn't seem so surprising that the First Herrscher was Bronya's counterpart.
"Doctor, I want to know, where are her remains?"
Mobius fell silent for a moment, then finally jumped in place a few times.
"Uh... Doctor, have you been on a diet recently?"
Mobius gave Lucius a look and said irritably: "I mean, right beneath our feet."
"Oh?"
Seeing Lucius's puzzled expression, Mobius felt she had finally regained some initiative. She raised her head proudly and said:
"You don't think my First Research Institute is just this small, do you?"
"My research requires many test subjects. They're highly dangerous, so for safety's sake they're all kept down below."
Lucius had a smile at the corner of his mouth, quietly listening to Mobius's boasting, then asked what he was most concerned about.
"Doctor, can you take me down there?"
Hearing Lucius's words, Mobius's expression became serious. She laughed lowly a few times and said:
"I can, but you're going down there for more than just sightseeing, right?"
"If it's just for sightseeing, I can handle your access permissions right now, and no checkpoint will stop you."
"But if you want to do something else... like take something, please don't drag me into it."
Lucius heard Mobius's warning and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Doctor, I don't plan to drag you into it. I do need to take something, and at the same time fulfill my promise to help you deal with those vermin."
"Solving problems is troublesome, but solving the people who create problems is much simpler."
"For example, what if the Herrscher's remains suddenly revived and went berserk, destroying that shoddy construction along with those vermin?"
"You can settle accounts too~"
Hearing Lucius's words, and thinking of the disgusting operations those vermin used that made her blood pressure spike, Mobius's expression gradually became ferocious.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Elysia!"
"I told you, I'm not Elysia. Please call me the Faded Fairy."
"I understand, Ely... Faded Fairy. Just for me, send all these vermin to heaven!"
Then Mobius pulled up a map and pointed out the location of the First Herrscher's remains to Lucius.
But after seeing the eager expression on Lucius's face, she suddenly felt an inexplicable worry.
After biting her lip and hesitating internally for a while, she pulled out a card from the pocket of her white lab coat.
"The defensive forces underground are very powerful. Even an Emperor-class Honkai Beast would die if it fell in there. This is my access card. Use it if you encounter danger you can't avoid."
Looking at the card Mobius handed over, Lucius was somewhat surprised, then smiled:
"If Fire Moth and the United Government find out, you'll be in big trouble, won't you?"
"My dear Mobius, are you concerned about me?"
Mobius snorted coldly and said: "I'm just worried that if you die, my one hundred billion will go down the drain."
"I understand, I understand... This must be what they call being hard-mouthed but soft-hearted?"
Hearing this, Mobius became furious.
But before she could loudly refute, she saw that Lucius's body was actually emanating an illusory blue light, and something she felt exceptionally familiar with was emerging.
And in Lucius's view, he had just placed an order in the system shop.
[Item: Herrscher Experience Card (Reason)]
[Price: 3000 Crystals/30 minutes]
[Comprehend all principles, deconstruct all phenomena, reshape miracles]
At this moment, for the next half hour, he would be a genuine Herrscher of Reason!
Endless knowledge flowed through his brain. He felt as if he could easily touch the truth of the world and deconstruct and reshape it.
—This was the authority of the Herrscher of Reason.
Lucius knew that at this moment, he not only possessed worldly wisdom but also mastered worldly power. Now he could do anything, including math problems!
Mobius stared blankly at Lucius beside her, emanating a pale blue glow as if special effects had been turned on.
Then she saw Lucius actually extend his arm and thrust it into his heart without any obstruction, not a drop of blood flowing out. When he withdrew his hand from his chest, he was actually holding a glowing crystal.
After seeing that crystal, Mobius looked as if she had seen a ghost.
"???"
"The Herrscher of Reason's core?!"
---
Advanced 30+ Chapters in pat/reon.com/Sleepy_Hua