As she spoke, she quickly reviewed her every move in her mind, making sure she hadn't revealed any obvious flaws.
Mobius looked at "Pardo" who was on the verge of crying. Her snake-like eyes narrowed slightly. Just as "Pardo" thought she was about to press further, or even activate her emergency plan—
"Heh…"
Mobius suddenly let out a soft laugh, her smile containing a hint of playfulness and… satisfaction?
She turned back to face the light screen, her tone returning to its previous languidness, "Just kidding. Look how scared you are, still so timid."
She casually swiped on the light screen, summoning Klein, who had been on standby: "Klein, pull up the real-time energy fluctuation data for Sector Three for me."
"Command confirmed."
Klein's calm voice sounded, and she began to execute the order.
Only then did "Pardo" let out a quiet sigh of relief, as if she had survived a catastrophe, feeling her back almost drenched in cold sweat.
She patted her chest and mumbled in a tone mixed with lingering fear and a hint of complaint:
"Sister Snake! You always scare me like this! You know I've been timid since I was a child and can't handle fright… I almost thought you were really going to use me for an experiment…"
Mobius didn't turn her head, her fingers rapidly tapping on the light screen, as if casually asking, "Oh? Is that so? Then let me ask you, that crystal you 'borrowed' from me last time, is it still easy to use?"
"Pardo"'s heart tightened again!
In a flash, Black Herta made a judgment—this was very likely another trap.
She immediately put on a bewildered expression, scratched her head, "Crystal? Sister Snake, did you remember wrong? When did I ever borrow that from you? Such a valuable item, I wouldn't dare touch it carelessly…"
As she spoke, she cautiously watched Mobius's reaction.
Mobius's finger, operating the light screen, paused almost imperceptibly, then returned to normal, her tone still flat: "Is that so? Then perhaps I remembered wrong. After all… there's too much experimental data."
She didn't press further, as if she had truly just mentioned it casually.
Perspective shift.
Kosma walked silently through the corridor where light and shadow intertwined.
According to the plan, Kevin should be bringing "Sakura" over at this moment.
However, when he turned a corner, what he saw was a scene that caused his brain to briefly shut down—
Not far away, Kevin stood expressionlessly to the side, his arms crossed.
And "Sakura" was standing in front of a… clean, new metal trash can, one hand even reaching into the can, seemingly fumbling for something.
Kevin watched silently, neither stopping nor questioning.
(…?)
Kosma's footsteps halted.
He was never good with words, and at this moment, he suppressed all his doubts deep in his heart.
(Is this… Kevin's arrangement?)
Based on his absolute trust in Kevin, Kosma didn't make a sound to disturb them. He just walked forward silently, mimicking Kevin's posture, standing on the other side, also with his arms crossed, watching as if guarding some important ritual.
His usually expressionless face was now filled with "Although I don't understand, I believe Boss Kevin must have a deeper meaning."
Meanwhile, on the edge of a scorched land where the sky was an ominous yellow, Kalpas paced restlessly.
The heat radiating from his body slightly distorted the air.
"That kid Kosma… and Kevin too… didn't we agree to meet here?" His brows furrowed under his mask, and he impatiently punched a nearby scorched rock, turning it to dust.
"Dawdling… nothing really happened, did it?"
He roared at the empty scorched earth, "I'll go check!"
Before his voice faded, he had already transformed into a scorching stream of fire, speeding back along the way he came.
Kalpas was incredibly fast. Before long, he followed the scent and found the corridor, and also saw the three figures gathered together.
Then, he saw the exact same scene that Kosma had witnessed—Kevin and Kosma stood like two door gods, one on each side, while "Sakura" slowly withdrew her hand from a trash can, even casually putting the lid back on, her movements as natural as if she had just completed a precise operation.
Kalpas didn't have Kosma's "patience" and "trust." He strode forward directly, bringing a scorching heatwave, his voice like muffled thunder: "Hey! You three! What are you doing here?!"
"Sakura" stood up expressionlessly, patted her hands as if dusting off non-existent dirt, and replied in her clear, cold voice: "Nothing."
Kevin also shook his head, his gaze shifting from the trash can to Kalpas: "No situation."
Kalpas was almost driven to laughter. He pointed at the trash can: "A broken trash can! You've been standing around watching it for ages, and you tell me 'no situation'? Kevin, since when did you learn to make such jokes?!"
He felt his intelligence was being insulted.
Kevin frowned slightly, seemingly re-examining the somewhat bizarre scene from earlier due to Kalpas's questioning. A hint of doubt flickered in his icy blue eyes, but it hadn't yet fully formed.
"Sakura" spoke at the opportune moment, changing the subject, looking at Kevin: "Where next?"
Kevin was silent for a moment, seemingly filing away the previous interlude, and returned to his usual decisiveness: "Let's go."
He took the lead, no longer looking at the trash can.
Kalpas looked at their retreating figures, let out a heavy "hmph," and squeezed out three words through gritted teeth: "Lunatics!"
Then he angrily turned and followed, his strides extremely large, clearly still seething with anger.
Kosma, who was lagging behind, looked at the trash can that had returned to its original state, then at Kevin's back ahead, and followed silently, thinking:
(Kevin's plan… is indeed profound and unfathomable.)
Mobius's Laboratory
In the laboratory, the faint green data stream continued to scroll silently.
"Pardo," who was pretending to organize equipment, suddenly felt something was amiss.
A strange sense of heat permeated from the surrounding space, not the heat emitted by instruments, but a… "burning sensation."
"Huh… why is it suddenly getting a bit hot?"
She couldn't help but fan herself with her hand, muttering softly.
Klein (not the doll), who had been on standby, silently glided over, her mechanical arm offering a cup of liquid with tiny bubbles.
"Pardo" was startled for a moment, then took the cup: "Thanks, Klein."
She felt a bit "parched" and took a sip.
The liquid was cool and slightly sweet, seeming to somewhat alleviate the inexplicable heat.
(It tastes pretty good… is it a new type of energy drink?)
But the "heat" enveloping the surroundings did not dissipate; instead, it seemed to intensify, as if the entire laboratory was being plunged into an invisible furnace.
She couldn't help but look at Mobius, who was still facing away from her, seemingly focused on processing data: "Sister Snake… don't you think it's getting hotter and hotter?"
Mobius didn't turn around. Her voice echoed in the laboratory, clearly reaching "Pardo"'s ears:
"Yes… it's very hot. Unusually… hot."
These words were like a switch!
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