"Fuxi, why are you binge-watching a show?"
"Why... what about you, Nuwa? Why are you making a figurine?"
The two slackers stopped simultaneously, sharing a knowing smile.
"Because the Doctor is out."
The two let out a "Wahoo!" together, tossed aside the pile of boring, repetitive daily tasks, and began enthusiastically doing their own things. All of this was seen by Klein, who could only sigh helplessly.
It wasn't that Klein wanted to criticize them; the daily data allocation was indeed useless and highly repetitive, barely showing a 1% fluctuation over a week. Besides, these two were usually slacking off in secret anyway; now that the Doctor was away, they just didn't even bother pretending anymore.
After all, Mobius wouldn't dare entrust the real work to those two.
"Recently, everyone in headquarters seems to be in a rush. Is there some big news we don't know about?" Between making figurines, Nuwa had time to chat with Fuxi. They were among the most well-informed people in all of Fire-Moth, thanks to their ranks as the number one and number two posters on the Fire-Moth forums...
Fuxi said casually: "Ask Erwin."
"Because the MANTIS project and the Divine Key project have reached the end of their first stages."
The one who answered them was Klein, who was writing furiously.
"Eh? Senior Klein? You heard us?"
Klein gave a bitter smile. It would be hard not to hear. Although the lab was large, there were only three people in it; she could hear a mosquito flying, let alone their unlowered voices.
"Dr. Mobius went out for the MANTIS project as well. I don't know the specifics, but before she left, she told me to have the Project Soldier surgery preparations ready."
"...Could it be the Doctor herself wants to become a MANTIS?" Nuwa's words were shocking.
But Klein didn't refute. She had seen the excited look in Mobius eyes before she left—a look Mobius only showed when performing special experiments.
Moreover, Mobius herself was a paranoid and crazed person; nothing she did would be surprising.
"I think it's possible." Fuxi paused her TV show and turned to Klein gossipily, "Senior Klein, guess what Nuwa and I saw at the last ball?"
"...The Doctor and Mr. Lin?"
"How did you know?" Fuxi looked shocked, only to see Nuwa looking indifferent beside her. She immediately knew Nuwa couldn't resist telling Klein about what happened back then.
"Cough... anyway, I feel like the relationship between the Doctor and Lin is developing abnormally. When Lin Project Soldier surgery failed, the Doctor looked off for several days. So it's possible the Doctor wants to undergo the Project Soldier surgery herself, right?"
"...I think the Doctor wanting to become a MANTIS has nothing to do with Mr. Lin," Klein said flatly. "The Doctor isn't someone who lets emotions override reason. Mr. Lin is the same."
"Oh~ no wonder they look so awkward together."
"..."
The focus of their attention was always beyond Klein's expectations.
However... Mobius personally going out this time was something she hadn't told anyone except Klein. Even the high-level officials at headquarters thought Mobius was skipping meals and sleep to improve the Project Soldier surgery. Who would have thought that after noticing the news of the Honkai energy reaction of the Judgement-class Honkai Beast, Shesha, from the Third Eruption, she had quietly left headquarters?
...
"Vasak, a Terminus-class Honkai Beast. This is the first one in history. Kevin, aren't you nervous?"
Elysia put down her teacup and asked Kevin, who was sitting far away on the other side to prevent his cold air from spreading to others.
After half a year, Kevin control over the cold air had finally become proficient. The temperature around him would no longer cause frostbite upon approach, and the range was controlled to a very close distance. However, in such cold weather, it was still better to stay a bit further away from him.
"..."
Kevin didn't even bother to turn his eyes toward her.
"Ah... here we go again~ Before it was Lin, now it's Kevin. Can't you guys just smile like me~" As she spoke, Elysia looked toward Kosma. "What do you think? Kosma?"
"..." Kosma stared at Elysia for a while... but didn't speak.
"Goodness, how am I supposed to introduce you old-timers to the newcomers in the future?"
Elysia shook her head in a headache. She didn't know if Lin silence was contagious, or if all these boys in Fire-Moth eventually reached the same destination, all becoming quiet and dull.
If Ato was different because he was married, well, Kevin had a girlfriend too, and Kevin and MEI had known each other longer than Ato and Blanca had. So, in the end, it was Lin who had infected them, making them think Lin way of doing things was the right way?
"But hasn't the orientation always been handled by you, Elysia?" asked Ato, who had walked over from another cabin section.
"Of course it's me~ Mm-hmm, this kind of thing must be done by a cute girl. It wouldn't be good if the boys scared the newcomers." Elysia put her hands on her hips proudly. "If we let Lin go, what if he takes the newcomers to perform fifty missions as an appetizer?"
"Hahaha, the habits of a mission maniac are hard to change. Look at him, now that he's a bit better, he's off on a mission again."
Only Ato was talking with Elysia, breaking the relatively heavy atmosphere in the cabin. Hearing Lin being discussed, Kevin didn't seem to care, but he listened to their conversation without saying a word.
"But this time he actually didn't tell me what the mission was. When I asked him to say, he actually threw back at me, 'Classified mission, authorized personnel only.' Too much! We've known each other for so many years, what's so hard to say about a mission?" Elysia was quite dissatisfied, prattling about how Lin had treated her like a plague before he left.
"After all these years, neither his personality nor yours has changed."
"Eh? Do I need to change?"
"Anyway, if Lin wanted to tell you, he definitely would." After multiple contacts with Lin, Ato understood his temper somewhat. "A classified mission... even the subjugation of the first Terminus-class Honkai Beast isn't considered a classified mission. It really makes one think of bad things."
Elysia laughed: "Could it be he's dating a beautiful girl?"
"...That would really be hard on him." Ato smiled and shook his head. "With Lin personality, would he be likable?"