"Ding ding! Guess which one of us is Pardo, and which is Naiyisi~"
Inside Laboratory No. 1, Mobius looked at the two who were hiding behind Fu Li, one on his left and one on his right, playing the fool. She irritably pinched each of them on the arm.
"Owowow, Sister Snake, what are you doing? That hurts!"
"Yeah, it was just a joke. No need to pinch people."
Accompanied by two cries of pain, Mobius just snorted irritably.
She had discovered that ever since she had gotten familiar with Fu Li, more and more people were losing their sense of awe for this laboratory of hers, which had once been called the 'Devil's Lair'.
While this made it much easier to trick guinea pigs into experiments, it still annoyed her to some extent.
"Alright, you're Pardo, and you're Naiyisi. Honestly."
"Eh? Sister Snake, how did you tell us apart?"
Hearing Mobius distinguish between them so easily, Naiyisi stopped hiding her eye color and reverted to her original appearance, looking surprised and confused.
She knew that this body was constructed by the authority of Reason. It was, for all intents and purposes, no different from a normal human's.
"Well, if I had to say, I'd call it experience."
Mobius leaned back in her chair and said with no small amount of pride, "I've dissected more corpses than the two of you have eaten meals. That's why I can perceive the subtle differences between you."
"Oh, that makes sense." Naiyisi nodded. Experience was indeed something hard to explain.
Seeing Naiyisi at a rare loss for words, Fu Li couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh. He sat back down in his own chair and put on a pair of white gloves.
He had brought Pardo and the others here for a reason that was more complex than simply introducing them to Mobius.
"Alright, Pardo, Naiyisi, sit tight. I'm going to draw your blood."
"Oh, okay."
Hearing Fu Li's words, neither of them had any objections. They obediently sat down in their chairs and, without any guard, extended their slender, snow-white arms.
Before coming, Fu Li had told them that today's physical examination had three purposes. First, to determine their physical condition. Second, to figure out the connection between them.
The third point was to study the portion of Domination's authority that was split between her and Fu Li.
"Alright, leave the analysis of the blood samples to Klein. The question of the connection between them is for us to study now."
"Mm, I have no objections."
Looking at the two cats and one person lying in the same room, their bodies covered in white electrode pads, staring at each other blankly, Fu Li couldn't help but feel a little resigned.
Back on Twilight Street, he had once thought about cultivating Pardo into someone with a wealth of scientific knowledge. But alas, she was free-spirited by nature and would run off every time class started.
Over time, coupled with his own tendency to spoil her, he had raised her into this lazy, dazed, and simple-minded girl.
As expected, people who are soft-hearted are not suited to raising children.
Three hours later, just as Pardo and the others had gotten so bored they started playing cards, Mobius finally figured out the basics of their situation and let them out of the observation room.
Watching the two cats who immediately stuck to Fu Li's side the moment they came out, Mobius gently ground her back teeth. With superhuman patience, she suppressed the annoyance in her heart and finally spoke:
"Hmm, the results are about what I initially predicted. The relationship between Pardo, Naiyisi, and Freeze-Dried is indeed a symbiotic one with Pardo as the primary host, but there are some subtle differences."
"To put it simply, Pardo herself is equivalent to an anchor in the real world, while Naiyisi and Freeze-Dried are ethereal souls from a wisp of nothingness in Imaginary Space."
"In this symbiotic relationship, Pardo is the foundation that maintains their existence in the world. Correspondingly, Naiyisi is responsible for controlling the authority of the Herrscher of Domination, and Freeze-Dried acts as an energy storage unit, capable of providing Honkai energy to the other two without any hindrance."
Speaking to this point, Mobius looked at the two girls and one cat, who all had expressions of "Meow meow meow, what are you talking about?" She sighed helplessly and concluded:
"All in all, it is a perfect and ingenious symbiotic relationship. Well done, Pardo."
"Oh, oh! I don't know what that means, but to be praised by Sister Snake, we must be really amazing!"
"Meow~ meow meow~"
"Hey, if you want to hug someone, go hug Can! Why are you hugging me!"
Watching the two of them start to cause a ruckus in her laboratory over a single sentence of praise, Mobius suddenly felt a deep sense of exhaustion well up from her heart.
In the second life, Eden had treated this place like a psychological counseling office. In the third life, Aponia often brought children over to visit, treating it like a kindergarten. As for the fourth life, Hua also began to occasionally drop by to deliver meals.
And now, even the timid Pardo would occasionally come to nap on the chairs or balcony of her laboratory, completely unafraid of waking up on an operating table.
Mobius felt that her authority was disappearing bit by bit, though she couldn't say whether that was a good or a bad thing.
"Alright, let's finally study the issue of the Herrscher of Domination's authority. Li, you'll be entering the lab this time as well."
"Mm, got it. Leave it to me."
Watching Li wave his hand, completely unguarded around her, an imperceptible smile hung on the corners of Mobius's lips.
If Aponia hadn't warned her that revealing their past too early would bring about great variables, she would have also loved to hold Li's head to her chest and, little by little, eat him up.
From a genetic perspective, a child born from the combination of the strongest brain and the strongest body... what a perfect existence that would be. Just the thought of it excited the snake.
Harboring these ulterior motives, Mobius began her research into the relationship of authority between Fu Li and Pardofelis.
After a series of ability measurements were completed, the three of them sat back down in the laboratory.
The results of the experiment were complex, yet simple.
In summary, Pardo's authority was to control the 999 different abilities, while Fu Li's authority was the essence of Domination, allowing him to control other Cores.
However, perhaps due to a backdoor left by the resentful spirits, if Fu Li wanted to use the ability of Domination, he had to have Pardo's assistance.
On the other hand, because the pressure of the Domination authority was now shared among four individuals, the burden on Fu Li was greatly reduced, and thus the upper limit of the authority was raised once again.
"So, if the projections are correct, your current limit should be simultaneously dominating five Herrscher Cores."
Taking off the non-prescription glasses that aided her experiments, Mobius leaned back lazily on the sofa, a hint of charm flashing in her eyes.
"Mm, that's right. I also feel that after losing the parts of the authority that were a burden to me, my operational capacity has increased significantly."
"Good, that's great. Then, the objectives of this physical examination have been basically achieved. I will send you the detailed data later."
"Alright. Then we'll be leaving first. I'll bring you dinner later. Don't work too hard."
"Mm, I know. Now go."
A short while later, looking at the once again deserted laboratory, Mobius brushed back the long hair on her forehead, picked up her coffee, and took a light sip.
After getting used to the liveliness, it really is a little lonely.
Habit truly is a terrifying thing.