In her life before last, Vill-V had lived to thirty-five on Earth. In her previous life in the Three-Body world, she had lived ninety-four years. In this current life in the Honkai world, she was sixteen.
Altogether, that made one hundred and forty-five years.
The old scholar looked at the instruments.
Green light.
All physiological indicators showed that the girl's physical age was roughly between thirteen and sixteen, with a margin of error no greater than two years.
He raised his head to glance at the seasoned Interpol officer. The officer was already wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Catching the old scholar's gaze, he hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding.
Good heavens. At that age, even I'd have to call her Grandpa.
The legendary veteran who had traveled the globe trembled as he removed his glasses.
"This person's psychological defenses are unprecedented through ancient and modern times. Unbreakable. A swindler rarely seen in a thousand years. It is my fortune to witness this."
The moment he finished speaking, he choked on a mouthful of phlegm and fainted.
Afterward, several other psychologists from MOTH volunteered one after another to take their turns.
Not a single one managed to extract the truth from Vill-V.
One psychologist even declared outright that Vill-V's understanding of what constituted the "general public" was fundamentally different from that of normal people.
Heaven only knew what kind of creature the "general public" in her mouth actually referred to.
Under the barrage of psychological attacks, Vill-V remained calm as still water.
She even felt like complaining to Elysia. Wasn't she promised she wouldn't miss lunch? That clearly wasn't true. There was indeed a fragrant pork cutlet rice set placed in front of her—meant to soften her up psychologically—but food you couldn't eat didn't count as food at all.
In truth, Vill-V was already going easy on them.
If she let the Occultist persona out for a breath of fresh air, she would make this group of would-be mind explorers appreciate the whispers of an outer god and learn firsthand what a Cthulhu ritual truly meant.
Compared to the Three-Body world, the psychology of the Honkai world was far too conservative.
Since the Crisis Era, humanity had launched aggressive psychological research in order to exploit the "transparent thinking" nature of the Trisolarans.
What kind of insane psychological experiments had they not conducted?
There had even been a psychologist who proposed using cognitive contamination to eliminate the Trisolarans.
As long as one Trisolaran became infected, the contamination could spread endlessly through their transparent mental communication.
Such contamination was indeed developed.
Though by then, it was already the Bunker Era.
By the time Vill-V was spirited away amid the chaos by Blanca and Elysia, the psychological experts behind the screen were sprawled across the floor in crooked heaps.
Their faces were drained of vitality, as though their spirits had been worn down by endless years.
Each of them looked decades older.
"Honestly, making such a delicate girl answer questions on an empty stomach. With such a good figure, Vill-V doesn't need that at all."
"Even if you were a little bit more plump, it would only add more charm to adorable Vill-V."
Elysia bent down and picked up a slice of heart-shaped sausage from an exquisite lunchbox.
"So, to express my apology, how about I feed you?"
Vill-V hurriedly snatched the lunchbox and chopsticks from her hands. At some point, the restraints around her wrists had already been undone.
Watching Vill-V devour the food, Elysia chuckled softly.
"Are you shy, Vill-V? That makes sense. After all, we only met today. No need to rush.
"We can save this opportunity for a more private occasion later. That wouldn't be impossible either."
Indeed, the gaze of a certain pink woman was as sharp as ever.
Vill-V really was shy.
Elysia's aggressively affectionate social style left Vill-V—an introverted shut-in through three lifetimes—completely at a loss for how to respond.
And being fed by Elysia while passersby from MOTH watched from the roadside?
That sounded suspiciously like a form of torture.
Come to think of it, this heart-themed lunchbox... Elysia didn't make it herself, did she?
It tasted pretty good.
Blanca, standing behind them, broke the strange atmosphere at just the right moment.
"Miss Elysia, you may leave now. Dr. Mobius does not appear to have invited you to participate in the discussion."
It seemed Elysia had not been arranged by Dr. Mobius to bail Vill-V out.
She had come on her own.
Whether that meant she truly had too much free time, or that she genuinely valued Vill-V despite it being their first meeting, was unclear.
"Alright, alright. I have my own work to do too. Until next time then, cute great magician~"
After Elysia left, Vill-V was led by Blanca into a laboratory bathed in green light.
A woman with long, light-green hair tied back stood there with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, looking at a painting.
Before Vill-V could see what exactly was depicted—she only caught a glimpse of a starry sky—the woman tore the painting down and tossed it into the trash.
"You're here. I've been waiting for you for a long time. That painting just now was something sent by a certain idiot. You don't need to concern yourself with it."
"By the way, it was that fox-masked one who brought you to MOTH, wasn't it? Then you should be careful from now on."
"If you know anything about the academic world, then I won't need to introduce myself.
"I am Mobius."
Completely different from the venom-tongued impression in memory, the Mobius standing before Vill-V gave off a feeling similar to Blanca—brimming with intellect and composure.
If it were someone else meeting Mobius for the first time, they would likely form exactly this impression.
But Vill-V, who was accustomed to deception, was different.
At a single glance, she saw that Mobius shared the same essence as herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Mobius. To meet a scholar standing at the pinnacle of this era is a blessing across three lifetimes for Vill-V."
Vill-V extended her hand, as though intending to shake.
When Dr. Mobius saw the outstretched hand, she did not respond.
Her gaze sharpened.
"There's no need for us to test each other, is there? A genius who surpasses this era—clearly, you understand me. And I understand you."
"Of course, Dr. Mobius. I've even used your name without permission before." Vill-V lowered her hand with a smile. "So what does Dr. Mobius want with a genius who transcends the times like me?"
"Mm."
Mobius regarded Vill-V's self-assurance as only natural, and seemed equally unconcerned about the misuse of her name.
"First. You've already read the experimental data for the Massively Augmented Neo-Tech Integrated Soldiers Project, haven't you?"
It was clear that Mobius had long known Vill-V's involvement in the B-3 Laboratory incident.
The figure of the Mad Hatter captured on surveillance, the flashy balloons floating across the island, the prankish style of those so-called Harvard prodigy brats, the fraudulent magic displayed on Dusk Street, and finally Elysia's investigation—
Every clue pointed to the sixteen-year-old genius standing before her.
Mobius was certain.
There would not be a second rebellious genius in this world who could perform such absurd yet astonishing and delightful acts of performance art.
No one else could do it.
Not even Mobius herself.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Completely contrary to Mobius' expectation of a smooth confession, Vill-V's blank expression made her brows knit slightly.