"Mhm~"
A gentle hum echoed through the pristine white room.
Lying on the hospital bed, Eden's delicate hand moved slightly. Feeling the familiar presence beside her, she softly hummed a song from days past.
Next to her, Fu Li was holding a small knife, peeling an apple slice by slice.
"Here you go."
A plate of apple slices was placed before her. Eden stopped humming, picked up a slice with a light smile, and popped it into her mouth.
"My great scientist? When do you think I can be discharged?"
"Hmm, looking at the data, you've recovered quite well. But since there are no urgent enemies to fight, it's better to rest and recover properly."
"Is that so?" Eden nodded, then used her hand to lift a slice of apple to Fu Li's lips. "Here, ahh~ you have one too."
"This..." Fu Li hesitated for a moment but still opened his mouth and accepted the piece of apple.
Just as the atmosphere between the two was perfect, and Eden was about to say something, the communicator on Fu Li's arm suddenly let out a piercing alarm.
"What's going on?" Fu Li frowned. He glanced at the hesitant Eden and said apologetically, "Wait a moment, I'll go see what's happening."
"Mhm." Eden swallowed the words she was about to say. Watching Fu Li's departing back, she couldn't help but sigh.
She had just worked up the courage, planning to confess after her surgery was a success.
This call really couldn't have come at a worse time.
Although she knew that any call for Fu Li would be an urgent matter, Eden still felt a little frustrated.
Five minutes after Fu Li left, she finally received his message.
The Eighth Herrscher has appeared. Rest well. I'll be back as soon as I can. -Fu Li
But in the end, Fu Li did not return for the entire day.
It seems that things like romance will have to wait until the Honkai is completely eradicated.
At that time, they would buy a small island, build a villa, and wake up every day to bask in the morning sun and gaze at the beautiful sky.
They would have a bright future. Eden firmly believed this.
[The Eighth Herrscher descended. You slew the Emperor-class Honkai Beast 'Mayuri' that accompanied her.]
[It was a great bird with golden feathers and a long, green tail. It could inject Honkai energy into a person's brain in the form of a neurotoxin.]
[You have obtained a portion of its genes and abilities.]
[Su fused with the genes of 'Mayuri' and became a psychic-type warrior.]
[However, the MOTHs' defensive line was nearly breached, and Su's teacher, Xipares, was sacrificed.]
[After Su located the Eighth Herrscher, you and he sortied together to eliminate her.]
[Upon seeing the Eighth Herrscher, Su was nearly consumed by killing intent and almost entered a state of Artificial Honkai Collapse. You prepared to fight both of them.]
[Fortunately, Aponia arrived at that moment and imposed her Discipline upon Su.]
[Afterward, the three of you worked together to slay the Eighth Herrscher.]
[Once the disaster subsided, you returned to Eden's side and completed five more wishes with her.]
[Eat an enormous ice cream sundae together.]
[Use precious gems for a stone-skipping contest.]
[Invest 10 billion in research funds for Vill-V.]
[Soar through the sky in a fighter jet.]
[Spend a day collecting seashells together.]
[Afterward, the Ninth Herrscher suddenly descended, and you slew it by yourself.]
[After that, you once again accompanied Eden and completed ten more wishes.]
[As Mobius's birthday approached, you used work as an excuse to stay at her lab.]
[The Tenth Herrscher was born. Unexpectedly, this time Klein did not become the Herrscher of Domination. You let out a sigh of relief.]
[This time, in the First Laboratory, you, Eden, Klein, Cangxuan, and Danzhu gave Mobius a proper birthday party.]
[You finally gave her the plush snakey doll you made by hand. Unfortunately, it was the same gift Klein had given her.]
[Although Mobius verbally dismissed it as useless, she accepted it nonetheless.]
[Ultimately, you eliminated 210 of the Herrscher of Domination's puppets. The rest were mostly dealt with by MEI and Kevin.]
[However, upon examining the remains, it was discovered that there were only 999 puppets this time.]
[After this Honkai Eruption, due to your influence, only 70% of human cities were destroyed.]
[At the same time, you and Mobius publicly released the research data on 'Artificial Honkai Collapse'.]
[The higher-ups of the MOTHs wanted to question and punish you before seizing your research, but they were beaten into submission by you yet again.]
[Afterward, Mobius suddenly created two combat puppets modeled after you and Klein, forcing them to work for her.]
[You and Klein were speechless but didn't care much, accepting the labor of the combat puppets with a clear conscience.]
[After the Tenth Eruption, you continued to fulfill your promise to Eden.]
[Spend a day together at an abandoned amusement park.]
[Return to the stage of the Australian Dome and finish singing that song.]
[Draw funny faces on each other.]
[Take an afternoon nap together under a green tree.]
[This peaceful life continued until the Tragedy of "Binding" occurred, leaving only fourteen MANTISes.]
[Elysia proposed the "Fourteen Flame-Chasers" project, but it was rejected.]
[You hid your identity and beat up the MOTHs again, holding them by their heads and gently compelling them to agree to the project.]
[The project was finally approved, but "Fourteen Flame-Chasers" became "Thirteen Flame-Chasers" at your request.]
[Elysia felt it was unfair to you afterward, but you stopped her, telling her that you had no desire to become a Flame-Chaser.]
[Although Elysia ultimately accepted your idea, everyone tacitly agreed to treat you as the "non-existent Fourteenth Flame-Chaser".]
[As a reward, Elysia secretly told you that Sakura's younger sister, Rin, was about to become the next Herrscher—the Herrscher of Corruption.]
---o---
"Eden, sorry, I'm not coming back tonight. Something's come up."
Outside Rin's prison, Fu Li, dressed in his combat suit, looked into the dim cell as he replied to Eden's call.
"Hmm? Does the operations department have another mission for you? My dear Li?" Eden's voice was soft and cottony; one could tell she was drunk.
She was always like this. Whenever she got drunk, she wanted to call Fu Li.
"Not exactly. I'm just a little uneasy about the situation with the prisoner, Rin, so I'm preparing to supervise her personally."
Fu Li used an explanation that Eden could understand.
"Is that so? Well, you'd better get to it then." Although she was a little displeased that Li was busy again because of another woman, Eden was still a reasonable person and accepted it.
After all, she was a mature older sister. Why would she compete with a little girl like Rin? She wasn't Mobius; she had no competition at all.
After saying their goodnights, Fu Li wiped the rain from his mask. He looked at the stern-faced guard who was aiming a gun at the cell and revealed his identity.
"I am the MANTIS, Fu Li. I'll ask you all to withdraw within ten minutes. Rin will be under my personal watch. Do you understand?"
Toward these people, Fu Li had no intention of being polite.