Night, three in the morning.
As the roar of the helicopter gradually faded, Pardofelis and her group, having just completed their mission, returned to The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame.
In the aftermath of the Tragedy of "Binding," the organization's roster of MANTISes had been reduced to just thirty-seven. Meanwhile, the power of the Honkai grew ever more rampant and unchecked, ceaselessly eroding humanity's last bastion of survival.
To protect humanity's final resources, MANTISes like them had to act like firefighters, rushing to wherever disaster struck.
"Whew, the mission frequency has certainly been a bit high lately."
A gentle night breeze blew. Sakura sheathed her sword, looked at Pardo, and said with a smile and a wave, "You should head back and get some rest. I should go see Rin."
"Okay, you go on, Sakura."
"Alright, see you."
Watching Sakura's light, brisk steps as she departed, Pardo couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
In an era like this, having the bond of someone you could call family was truly something to be envied.
"If you miss Li, then why don't we just go see him?"
Black Pardo's voice suddenly sounded by her ear, pulling Pardo back from her drifting thoughts.
"But... it's so late. Li should be asleep by now."
"Relax. There's no way he goes to sleep this early. You can go find him without worry."
Go find him?
Pardo's heart was still hesitant. She knew that Li hadn't done anything wrong, but a persistent, nagging awkwardness deep inside made her subconsciously avoid him.
She wanted to reach out, yet she didn't dare.
This conflicting feeling had been with her for a long time. Only by immersing herself in missions could she briefly forget this internal struggle.
However, while she was still grappling with her indecision, Black Pardo had already come to terms with it—or perhaps, she had never cared about such things from the beginning.
She had only stayed by the original Pardo's side to look after her, watching as she used constant fighting to numb herself.
But this time, she had gone too far! She had actually followed Sakura on missions for a whole month!
It had been a month since she last clung to Li. Heaven knew how hard this period had been for her. No matter what, she was going to make Pardo restore her old relationship with Li today.
Thus, Black Pardo hesitated no longer. She directly manifested her physical form and began pushing Pardo toward Fu Li's dormitory.
"Come on, Pardo, let's go see Li. Even if you don't dare to, I want to see him."
Black Pardo pushed on Pardo's shoulders, half-forcing her in that direction.
"But, Naiyisi, it's already so late..."
"You've already used that excuse. In short, no refusing! No talking! Just keep walking forward!"
Pardo was exasperated, but the girl born from her emotions was inherently willful.
Ultimately, with Pardo being half-pushed and half-complying, they finally arrived at the foot of Fu Li's dormitory building.
As expected, at four in the morning, only a few lights were still on in the entire building. Fu Li's was one of them. What was unexpected, however, was that Klein's light was dark.
Although she had felt some resistance just moments ago, standing beneath the familiar building and seeing the light that was still on, a different emotion began to swirl in Pardo's heart.
Even for a MANTIS, staying up all night isn't good for your body.
"If you're worried, why don't you just go see for yourself?" Black Pardo directly pointed out her thoughts, which naturally drew a rebuttal from Pardo.
"Naiyisi, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not worried about his health at all. You're the one who insisted on dragging me here to see him."
Though she said this, Pardo's gaze fell upon the hand resting on her own shoulder.
Seeing this, Black Pardo could only roll her eyes in exasperation. She applied a little forward pressure, and Pardo's feet automatically moved forward.
All she needed was a push to get started, and Pardo would move on her own.
However, as they, with hearts full of apprehension, skillfully retrieved the key from under the flowerpot by the door—a familiar habit—and opened the door, the scene before them made both cats freeze on the spot.
Inside the room, a man and a woman turned their heads simultaneously, looking in surprise at the suddenly opened door.
Fu Li's upper body was completely bare. Beside him, a composed-looking Klein was wrapping his shoulder with gauze.
"Ah... it's you two? Mission complete? Welcome back."
Fu Li felt his back go rigid. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet a wave of panic washed over his heart.
Klein is just bandaging my wound, so why do I feel so guilty?
"You two? What are you doing?"
In an instant, all the turmoil in Pardo's heart was cast aside. She asked calmly, almost as if she hadn't seen the scene before her at all.
But it was precisely this tranquility that made the temperature in the room feel as if it had dropped by several degrees.
"As you can see, I am helping Dr. Li clean his wound."
It was Klein who broke the silence. She answered indifferently, as if simply stating a fact, devoid of any other emotion.
"Yeah, that's right. Just cleaning a wound."
Fu Li hurriedly chimed in, following Klein's lead. He raised his arm in a fluster, revealing the injury as if to prove his innocence.
On his arm, patterns of various colors flickered and crawled.
They represented five different authorities, originating from the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Thunder, the Herrscher of Fire, and the Herrscher of Rock.
These were four of the five Domination slots Fu Li had chosen; the final position was reserved for the yet-to-appear Herrscher of Corruption.
This injury was trauma sustained while practicing his Domination. To adapt to this power, he had to acclimate to the wound and couldn't heal it with the Abyss Flower.
"What is this?"
Upon seeing the wound, Pardo pushed the current situation to the back of her mind. She and Black Pardo rushed to Fu Li's side, staring in astonishment at the energy within it.
The energies were not unfamiliar to her; she could easily identify them. But that was precisely why she was so shocked.
During the time I was gone, what has Li been doing behind our backs again?
"Regarding the specifics, it would be best if I explained."
Before Pardo could ask, Klein took the initiative, detailing Fu Li's plan to fight against the Herrscher of the End by relying on his Domination authority to control multiple gems.
Even so, the plan was one that even Fu Li, its creator, thought was unlikely to succeed. It could only be said that compared to the price of becoming the Herrscher of the End, he was more willing to bet on this final, slim hope.
After silently listening to Klein's description, Pardofelis's head hung low, and her hands, resting on her lap, clenched into tight fists.
She began to regret it. Why did she have to be so difficult with Fu Li? Why did she deliberately avoid him?