After seeing Vill-V calm the red-eyed girl down, Su finally introduced the two girls:
"The one sitting at the table is Vill-V, also a scientist. If you have any questions you don't understand, you can ask her. Technically speaking, she's about a quarter of your senior."
"Hehe, hello there. If you ever want to see a magic show, feel free to come to me anytime~ anytime~" Magician pulled out two candied hawthorns from her pocket.
Dan Zhu huffed angrily. "What? This person is my senior? I refuse to accept that!"
A single large cake wasn't enough to completely erase her resentment.
Dan Zhu held grudges very well—especially against a beautiful girl who completely outclassed her in figure.
But grudges were grudges. The candied hawthorn she was offered... she couldn't just ignore that.
Cang Xuan noticed something. "Why is it a quarter?"
"Also, why is there someone acting like a wooden statue? She hasn't moved at all since we came in." Holding a small piece of cake in one hand and a candied hawthorn in her mouth, Dan Zhu leaned toward Hua and tilted her head curiously.
"..." Hua adjusted her glasses, using the reflection to block Dan Zhu's probing gaze. "I'm listening."
Su introduced her, "This is Hua, our Azure Empyrea."
"...Hello." Being introduced like that in front of others made Hua feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The title Azure Empyrea still felt too grand for her current self.
"What a quiet person. I thought we could be comrades on the same side."
After finishing her cake in one bite, Dan Zhu flopped back onto the floor, turning into a salted fish again.
Taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, Su introduced the two girls to Vill-V and Hua. "These two are assistants I've invited. They are both PhDs in biology from Shenzhou University of Science and Technology."
He pointed at the red-eyed girl rolling on the floor. "Dan Zhu, PhD in life science technology."
Then he pointed at the composed, elegant blue-eyed girl. "Cang Xuan, PhD in biomedical engineering."
"Eh?"
Although she seemed to have heard Dan Zhu's name earlier, hearing Su confirm it still surprised Vill-V.
She sized up the pair of sisters.
Weren't Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan supposed to join Mobius' lab during MOTH's recruitment after the Sixth Honkai Eruption?
Why were they here now, at this moment?
"Alright, Dan Zhu, get up already. Stop throwing a tantrum," Cang Xuan crouched down and urged the still-rolling Dan Zhu.
But Dan Zhu seemed to be enjoying herself, rolling around on the ground even while eating cake.
"Nope, nope. The floor is nice and cool. Cang Xuan, you should try rolling too."
Cang Xuan covered her forehead. "Dan Zhu, this isn't the doctoral dormitory. Don't forget why we're here."
She could tolerate Dan Zhu's usual absent-mindedness, but right now they were supposed to understand important work details.
In a city like this, even a little carelessness could cost them their lives.
Only then did Dan Zhu reluctantly get up.
"By the way, why did you join the Mad Hatter Party?" Vill-V asked, watching Cang Xuan tidy Dan Zhu's clothes.
Dan Zhu answered without hesitation, "Because there's food here!"
Smack.
Cang Xuan tapped Dan Zhu's head, cutting off her foolishly honest answer.
"Hey, I'm not wrong! Didn't you say the salary and benefits here are super good? You dragged me here," Dan Zhu argued while rubbing her head.
Food, shelter, and salary were all important—but she couldn't just say that directly in front of them.
Cang Xuan pretended nothing had happened and explained:
"We were exchange students from Shenzhou University of Science and Technology to Harvard University, originally scheduled to graduate this year."
"However, as you know, the powerful tornado disaster in North America destroyed the university, so we couldn't complete our studies."
"After being rescued by the Mad Hatter Party, we heard they were in need of talent, so we decided to join and complete our fourth-year internship and doctoral thesis."
"As long as we finish our internship and submit our doctoral thesis report, we can apply for graduation through Harvard's academic affairs office and employment committee."
So during the Fourth Honkai Eruption, when the Mad Hatter Party was rescuing people in North America, they intercepted these two sisters.
Originally, Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan would have joined MOTH to complete their thesis.
After all, MOTH had proper research facilities and official backing, making it an ideal place to finish a PhD.
And they would have naturally joined Mobius' lab.
But now, since they never encountered MOTH and instead met the Mad Hatter Party, they simply chose to stay.
In their eyes, the Mad Hatter Party was probably some kind of international humanitarian organization.
Only... when they later filled out their internship records, listing their organization as the Mad Hatter Party—a group already designated as a top-tier terrorist organization by the international government—would that really be okay?
Well, since they were already here, leaving wouldn't be so easy.
It would be nice to gather the Shenzhou trio together with Hua sooner.
"Welcome to the organization. Your first task is to create a high-quality figure of Azure Empyrea."
"A figure?!"
Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan reacted very differently.
Dan Zhu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She loved anime and manga, and the Homu series merchandise was her absolute favorite.
The Homu series wasn't just mascot-style characters—it also had anthropomorphic animations and live-action films, each of world-class quality. HoMu Company even had an entire wall filled with trophies.
HoMu Company was also an industry benchmark for figures. Dan Zhu even had several displayed in her dorm.
Meanwhile, deep suspicion appeared in Cang Xuan's eyes. Were they in the wrong company? Weren't they supposed to be recruiting biological researchers? What kind of task was making figures? Were they supposed to create some kind of organ-assembled toy?
...
After Vill-V finished explaining the details, she handed them a photo collection of Azure Empyrea that she had somehow already prepared.
Watching Dan Zhu excitedly drag Cang Xuan out of the room, Su sighed, realizing he would need to find new assistants again.
That mountain of documents still needed someone to handle it.
Training two nearly graduated PhD students as assistants had been a very cost-effective choice.
But since Vill-V had personally requested them, it must have been something important.
Making a figure of Azure Empyrea... was probably more important than helping him process documents.
Su could only console himself like that.