"For intelligence matters, simply contact Gray Serpent"
"Serpent..."
Upon hearing Tian Shi's words, Dra. MEI gently tapped the table.
She thought back to that old woman, Mobius.
"Well, speaking of that, Doctor, do you have any plans for this afternoon?"
"No arrangements yet... but I cannot disappear"
Dra. MEI mocked Tian Shi's response.
There are too many people thinking about getting their hands on her Doctor.
"Cleo!"
"Here!"
Upon hearing Dra. MEI's shout, Jackal... that is, Cleo, trotted toward her.
"The laboratory is yours this afternoon, here is the schedule, complete all experiments before 5 p.m. I need detailed data"
After Dra. MEI handed the documents on the table to Cleo, the Egyptian-style beauty, with dark skin and golden eyes, immediately showed an expression as if her mother had died.
However, overwhelmed by Dra. MEI's imposing presence, Cleo could only accept it with a long face.
Who would have thought that the woman in front of me, who looks like a doormat, is the infamous diabolical scientist Jackal?
Dra. MEI has managed to dominate Jackal very well these last two days; she truly has a gift for it.
"Um... Dra. MEI, are you targeting Jackal a little bit?"
Tian Shi felt something vaguely.
"Because of Mobius?"
"What are you talking about?"
Dra. MEI smiled.
"No matter what happens, I would not bully her successor... or perhaps her female successor"
Does she not know what kind of personality Mobius has?
Cleo is euphemistically called a successor, but to put it bluntly, she is just a tool whose value has not been fully exploited.
While Mobius was not the epitome of evil, she was not exactly an easy type to defeat either.
Cleo, who was standing next to him, lowered her head in silence.
As expected, Dra. MEI only showed a warm smile in front of the Lord
"It is just a matter of squeezing her potential a bit, to be honest, I think Cle.o has a better future with me than with Mobius"
"What are you doing...?"
Tian Shi, who possessed the doll, was left speechless.
"You are clearly trying to poach Jackal to annoy Mobius, aren't you?"
"Cleo, what do you think?"
"I... Dr. Mobius was kind enough to teach me"
Faced with Tian Shi's question, Cleo closed her eyes and spoke with a half-dead voice.
"You big shots fight, but don't involve me in this, okay?"
"I'm just an ordinary scientist, okay?"
"Boring"
Dra. MEI waved her hand dismissively at Cleo's behavior, calling her boring.
Cleo's lips twitched.
She did not dare to stop for a single instant and immediately returned to her seat with the schedule in hand.
Then Dra. MEI tidied her desk and accompanied Tian Shi downstairs.
Then, in the first-floor lounge, he saw Kiana, Rita, and Bianca.
"The three together... this combination is truly a bit strange"
Tian Shi commented, stroking his chin.
Dra. MEI also nodded.
Although she has not been here long, the divisions between factions are still vaguely clear.
Just like Kiana in front of them, she is theoretically the type of person who would not get along with Rita or Bianca.
"Good morning, Dra. MEI, Mr. Tian"
The perceptive Rita greeted the two with a light laugh.
"Dra. MEI, are you leaving so early?"
"I have no intention of eloping with the doctor"
Dra. MEI, who understood the implicit meaning of Rita's words, said in an annoyed tone.
She had the bad luck of running into Rita, that sharp-eyed girl, when she came out.
Dra. MEI also found a seat in the lounge and took a bag of bread for breakfast.
"By the way, what brings the three of you together today? I thought you were the type who couldn't stand each other"
"It was just a small misunderstanding"
Bianca said.
"I was wrong at St. Freya back then"
"No, I was wrong too"
Suddenly, Fu Hua's voice rang out.
"I know perfectly well that Master Tian is the type of person destined to be caught in many romantic entanglements..."
"So you are saying I was the only one who got hit for nothing?"
Kiana muttered to herself while eating her bread.
At this point, Tian Shi understood that these people were talking about the time they invaded Schicksal.
"You two..."
"In fact, Kiana, you were too involved back then"
Fu Hua corrected her with a stern voice.
Do you really think they want to take Kiana with them?
If Kiana hadn't recited the spell Sirin gave her, this kind of thing could have been easily settled, right?
Even if neither of them wanted to hurt Kiana at that time, the other could have protected her even if one of them truly wanted to take Kiana.
"Waaah..."
Kiana looked away, feeling quite guilty.
"Actually... I knew it was an illusion from the beginning..."
"And then you got into character, didn't you?"
Tian Shi complained.
Kiana can be a bit clumsy, but she is no fool either.
When she opened her eyes and saw herself on a snowy plain, her first reaction was undoubtedly, "Am I dreaming?"
"None of your business..."
Kiana turned her head to the side.
"It doesn't matter, I'm going to find Mei!"
Kiana slammed her hand on the table and ran out.
"Hmm... I hadn't noticed before, but now I suddenly think Kiana is quite cute, isn't she?"
Rita watched Kiana run away with a smile on her face.
"..."
"Mr. Tian, please don't make that 'you scared me' face"
Rita's lips twitched slightly upon seeing Tian's expression.
"It's a very normal comment, it's normal, I simply like small figures; being young is not enough"
"Is this not already a criminal statement?"
Dra. MEI asked Tian Shi and Bianca, pointing at Rita.
"Undoubtedly, yes"
Tian Shi nodded.
"Hmm..."
Bianca stroked her chin, lost in thought.
"Lady Bianca... what are you thinking about?"
Rita asked her best friend in a low voice, realizing something was not right.
"Um... Rita, was this the reason why you agreed to be my aide back then?"
"It was an order from Bishop Otto! What does it have to do with me...? Well, it certainly influences it, but it's not the main reason"
Rita succumbed to Bianca's direct gaze.
"That's just sophistry"
"Subtlety"
"Could you two stop singing back and forth?"
The veins on Rita's forehead were barely visible.
"I believe in Rita"
Bianca said softly.
This caused the veins on Rita's forehead to recede considerably.
"But..."
It's here! A transition word!
"I think Rita should change this hobby, after all... it's like pedophilia, isn't it?"
Bianca carefully chose her words, fearing to upset Rita.
"Your careful choice of words is quite hurtful!"
But shouldn't she be moved that Bianca, with her direct nature, was careful with her words when answering her questions?
Rita really did not want to be moved in that way.
And even though you thought about it, it wasn't exactly a decision of subtlety, was it?
"Um... excuse me, are you talking about large vehicles?"
Mei appeared next to them at some point, her face flushed.
"Mei, be a bit more feminine!"
A frantic Tesla reached out her arm and covered Mei's mouth, while Kiana returned to their side.
"..."
Mei easily freed Tesla's hand and, looking at the frantic Tesla, a speechless expression appeared on Mei's face.
"Dr. Tesla, are you qualified to use the word lady?"
"What kind of look is that?"
Tesla felt insulted.
"Nothing"
Out of respect for Tesla being older, Mei looked away in silence.
To be honest, although the female scientists of Anti-Entropy have long since ceased to be considered ladies, if we really want to talk about it, besides Tesla, even a shrewd, eccentric, and emotionless girl like Ein could pull off a convincing performance.
Only Tesla... is completely out of place; you can't even pretend to be one.
"Is this really okay?"
Dra. MEI put a hand to her forehead and pointed at her with the other: "Don't use my face to say things like that!"
"It's fine"
Mei shrugged.
"I really want to give you plastic surgery right now..."
Mei could only say that when she saw the confident and self-assured attitude of Dra. MEI.
Mei's shamelessness in this aspect is still a bit inferior to Dra. MEI's
"What kind of explanation is that?"
Dra. MEI said, a bit annoyed.
"I only said the word big car, and all of you understood it perfectly, right?"
"One or two of you, why are you pretending to be innocent?"
"Um... what does big car mean?"
Mei: "..."
Well, there really is one person here who doesn't understand.
Mei looked at Bianca, who looked serious, and Rita, who was glaring at her, and after thinking for a moment, decided not to explain.
"So, is this an adult topic?"
Bianca seemed to have regained some of her senses.
"It's less about adult topics and more about slightly suggestive jokes..."
Rita explained with an awkward laugh.
Bianca nodded, but looking at Rita's expression and considering the context... Bianca blushed.
"Ahem, let's not talk about that anymore, how about we talk about something serious?"
"Do we have any serious topics to discuss?"
Dra. MEI addressed the core of the problem directly.
"We are all gathered for Tian Shi, okay?"
"Without Tian Shi, what do I care what your family does?"
Well, it's not that we don't have common matters to deal with, but... we don't need them for the moment.
And then again... Dra. MEI looked around and rubbed her temples.
To be honest, wouldn't the people surrounding Tian be considered, in a sense, at least half of the essence of this era?
"By the way, Ms. Kiana, how have you been feeling these days?"
Just now they were talking about Kiana, so Rita asked casually about it.
From a certain perspective, this can be considered a serious matter.
"Am I okay?"
Kiana pointed to her eyes.
"They're back to normal, though I think the heterochromia is quite good"
Tian Shi then noticed that Kiana's eyes had returned to their original color.
Because the simulation and reality were closely connected, Tian Shi didn't notice at first.
"Is that so?"
Kiana blushed slightly.
"?"
Mei turned her head in confusion.
Isn't Kiana's reaction a bit strange?
"Ahem! My business is none of your business!"
Kiana pulled Mei to her side.
"Don't think you can please me this way!"
Mei: "..."
"That's all I have to say, could you please stop pulling me?"
"I'm afraid Brother Tian will misunderstand!"
"Oh, speaking of that, does this mean Theresa and the others no longer have to stay in Abyss City?"
Tian Shi thought for a moment, but couldn't imagine what they could do in Abyss City.
"Perhaps we could help Kevin?"
Dra. MEI intervened.
"Even if he is an idiot, idiots have their value... However, the ruins of Abyss City should still contain some technology from the Continent of Mu, but it's not very valuable"
Everyone looked at Dra. MEI; only this person could say something like that.
"When I have time, I will help you complete the technology; for example, the Moonlight Throne; although it is the path of losers, I think it still has some reference value"
Dra. MEI said that when she learned that the Moonlight Throne of the current civilization requires four cores to fully activate, she felt like cursing.
What a waste of money!
It would be better to use these basic components as a power source...
Wait a moment.
Dra. MEI's gaze fell on Kiana; that aggressive look made Kiana shiver
"W-What are you doing?"
"Miss Kiana, you... if I remember correctly, you have two cores in your body right now, don't you?"
"Yes"
"I checked the records and seventeen years ago, Sirin had a maximum of five cores"
Because the Herrscher of Reason is now Joyce, Sirin back then could not reach six cores
"Can I understand... that five is not the limit?"
Dra. MEI's eyes sparkled with interest.
Since this situation had never occurred in the previous civilization, Dra. MEI did not know how many cores a Herrscher could hold at most.
"How does the strength of the Herrscher of Finality compare to that of a 12-core Herrscher?"
Dra. MEI does not know that, among the fourteen Herrschers, the thirteenth does not exist... or rather, is not the 13th.
"Or rather... how does it compare to a 24-core Herrscher?"
"???"
How did it suddenly jump to 24 cores?
"Wait, what do you want to do?"
"The Divine Key"
Dra. MEI nodded.
"Although it cannot regain its original form, we can still harness its power through a special method"
"I have a bad feeling..."
Kiana made a slight face at the corner of her mouth.
"24 cores, there's no way I can fit them, right?"
"Kiana, your statement is ambiguous"
Mei kindly reminded her from the side.
"That's not the point at all!"
Kiana retorted, observing Dra. MEI's strange attention.
"Don't worry, this is our best-kept secret method"
Dra. MEI assured her.
"I don't believe it"
Kiana looked at the fake Mei in front of her, her face full of vigilance
"Anyway, let's skip this topic!"
"Okay, okay"
Dra. MEI nodded indifferently.
"Totally unconvincing..."
Kiana muttered
Two cores had already left her in a miserable state; what would happen with 24?
"But speaking of that, how is Himeko-sensei now?"
Kiana's seemingly unintentional question immediately drew Mei's attention.
There was no other reason than the one Kiana was making to Tian Shi.
This also means...
"Kiana, did you notice that?"
Mei asked with a slight smile.
Of course she hadn't misunderstood her before.
"Ah... eh..."
She had talked so much with Rita and Bianca before, how could she not notice?
"I-it's okay! I still love you Mei, just like you also love your older sister!"
"Hehe..."