[As time slowly passed, there were less than ten days until Mobius's birthday.]
[However, as the day drew near, you began to sense that the surrounding Honkai energy was showing faint signs of agitation.]
[You noticed that Klein seemed to be growing increasingly sleepy lately, but she didn't seem to think anything was wrong with herself.]
[You coaxed Klein into undergoing various physical examinations, but no problems were found.]
---o---
12:00 AM, midnight.
Wielding a kitchen knife, Fu Li skillfully shredded a head of cabbage and placed it onto a plate to the side.
During this period, whenever he finished his work, he would come to the kitchen to cook.
The freezer, provided by The MOTHs, was already stuffed full of various types of dumplings that had a long shelf life and were easy to prepare.
Just as he finished preparing the filling and was about to start wrapping, the pressure cooker next to him suddenly began to hiss.
"Hm? The chicken soup is ready."
Glancing at the clock, Fu Li put the dumpling filling back in the refrigerator before walking over.
In the dead of night, after a long day of overtime, what could be more heartwarming than a bowl of hot chicken soup?
Danzhu's bowl... Cangxuan's... and Klein's... hmm...
After filling each person's bowl to the brim, and adding an extra ginseng root and caterpillar fungus for Mobius, he finally carried the soup over to the group still working overtime.
"Everyone, take a break. The chicken soup is here. Drink it while it's hot."
Danzhu shot up from her chair, took her small, vermilion-colored bowl, and took a sip. "Wow, the chicken soup Li makes is delicious, as always."
"Indeed. It's good..." A look of enjoyment also appeared on Cangxuan's face.
"Yeah, yeah! I really can't believe it. Li, your fighting style is so brutal, but you're surprisingly meticulous."
Danzhu giggled and, taking advantage of Cangxuan's distraction, snatched the chicken leg from his bowl.
"Hey! Danzhu! Give it back!"
"Ehh~ I won't. Come and get it, you dummy Cangxuan~"
"You already took a bite out of it!"
"You two..." Watching the lively duo bicker, Fu Li glanced at the two remaining bowls.
They were custom-made; one had a snakey pattern, and the other had a portrait of Klein.
Klein nodded, looking drained of energy. "Thank you, Li."
Mobius stretched lazily. "Mm~ Little brother, your cooking is getting better and better."
"If you like it, Sis, I can make you whatever you want to eat."
"It's a deal, then. For lunch tomorrow, I want sweet and sour pork ribs and braised pork belly."
"Yes, yes, as you command."
Looking at the harmonious atmosphere in the lab, Fu Li smiled and took a sip of his own soup.
It was a peaceful night, just like any other.
"Alright, Fu Li, we're leaving! See you tomorrow!"
"Okay, go on. Get some good rest."
After seeing Cangxuan and Danzhu off, Fu Li returned to the table, only to find the freshly cleared surface once again piled high with a mountain of documents.
Ten days left... I wonder how Klein is doing...
Fu Li sighed and began to process his own files.
At some point, Mobius put down her work and went to the underground laboratory, but he didn't pay it much mind.
She often went down there to conduct experiments whenever inspiration struck.
However, when one is exhausted, accidents often happen unexpectedly.
Just as Fu Li put down a report he had just finished reviewing, he looked up and realized that Klein had, at some point, also left.
'How is that possible? Klein is just an ordinary person. How did she slip past my senses?!'
Fu Li was about to pull up the surveillance feed for the underground lab when two powerful bursts of Honkai energy erupted within his perception simultaneously.
Dark... damp... frenzied...
Vacant... hollow... mechanical...
The former was very familiar to Fu Li, but the latter...
"The Herrscher of Sentience! Damn it!"
Fu Li had to admit that a sliver of fantasy had remained in his heart.
He had fantasized that the butterfly effect caused by his appearance could have naturally changed Klein's fate of becoming the Herrscher.
But now was not the time for sentimentality. Fu Li's body tensed, and his own Honkai energy began to boil.
[The floor of the laboratory shattered under your foot as you entered your first-stage bestial form. You rushed to the source of the Honkai energy eruption at your fastest speed.]
[In just one short minute, the area had already been transformed into ruins of steel.]
[Automated machinery lay like broken toys—twisted, corroded, and completely devoid of power.]
[This laboratory had been contaminated by a familiar green liquid, which craved you, craved the Honkai energy within your body.]
[And in the center of the liquid, a gigantic snake head had formed, its massive maw slowly opening toward Klein's head.]
[Facing the abyss-like mouth of the snake, Klein's eyes were filled only with numbness. Like a puppet, she allowed the green liquid to envelop and bind her.]
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Fu Li gritted his teeth. Despite his rage, he knew what he had to do.
Just as he had rehearsed countless times in his mind, Fu Li took a single step, snatching the enveloped Klein away just before the snake's head could strike.
CRUNCH!
As if displeased that its 'food' had been stolen, the giant green serpent roared, and the green liquid began to converge.
Things weren't easy on Fu Li's end either. Freed from her bonds, Klein showed no gratitude. A blood-stained dagger stabbed directly toward his eye.
However, as a single entity of the Herrscher of Sentience, even with Klein's Honkai energy attached, how could she possibly be a match for Fu Li?
"Klein, stop messing around!"
His hand shot out, effortlessly subduing Klein. Fu Li carried her and quickly fled the underground laboratory.
[The moment you escaped the lab with Klein, the highest-level alarm blared throughout The MOTHs' headquarters.]
[But you paid it no mind, because you heard the sound of the laboratory behind you exploding.]
[Amidst the smoke and dust, a giant figure, half-human and half-snake, wielding a scepter, appeared.]
[Frigid... Savage...]
[It was Mobius's Artificial Honkai Collapse Form.]
[But you remained unconcerned, because you knew that Su would arrive soon.]
[You and Mobius engaged in a chase. You ran, she pursued.]
[The chase did not last long. Su arrived and managed to delay Mobius.]
[And you took this opportunity to activate the item 'Tarot Card - The Fool'.]
[Tarot Card - The Fool: Allows you to fool history once, grafting the fate of a person destined to die onto yourself.]
[The history you have chosen to fool is this: the one to become the Herrscher of Sentience and be killed by Mobius is not Klein, but... you.]
Looking at the peacefully sleeping Klein, a bitter smile touched Fu Li's lips.
The moment the item took effect, Klein had collapsed unconscious, and within his own body, a Herrscher Core had appeared.
The core was emitting a strange power, attempting to influence his mind, but he merely scoffed at it.
He had successfully fooled fate, but as Aponia said, fate cannot be changed.
It was called 'fooling', but in reality, it was 'grafting'.
The threads of fate intertwined and twisted, forming a cage that trapped him within.
Klein was fated to die at Mobius's hands, and now, so was he.
A person cannot defy their destiny, but they can choose how they arrive at its end.
"Klein... Danzhu... Cangxuan... Dr. MEI... Elysia... Aponia... Sis Vill-V... and... my sister, Mobius..."
"I really wish... I could have made you all some more delicious food..."
Fu Li looked up. Seeing the giant serpent in the distance breaking free from Su's grasp, he revealed a gentle smile and slowly walked toward it.
As he walked away, a single tear slid down from the corner of Klein's eye.