After Mei's waiting and the daily face-fluttering, heart-pounding 'energy recharges,' time quickly flowed into the next day.
Before heading to the new area, though hesitant about Elysia's claim, considering that Elysia undoubtedly understood Mobius better than she did, Mei ultimately chose to bring along that pink gift box.
"Mmm, good, good~"
Looking at the fully prepared Mei, Elysia casually opened a portal adorned with a green infinity symbol.
"Well then, Mei, just step right through here~ Once you enter Mobius's area, she'll naturally sense it and come out to see what's going on."
"Wait…" Mei finally processed it. "Elysia, aren't you coming with me?"
"Me? Hmm… If I went too, your trial might get interrupted for… various other reasons."
A mischievous smile played on Elysia's lips. "But I'll be watching over you from the shadows, okay?"
"This feels less and less reliable…"
Muttering to herself, the young woman stepped straight into the portal. Over a dozen minutes later, on the other side, Mobius lifted her head with a hint of puzzlement.
"A new visitor in the Elysian Realm? Has Gray Serpent been recruiting so actively lately?"
"...No, this one feels like… also a Herrscher?"
Mobius let out a resigned sigh.
"That Lynelle… bringing another Herrscher into the Realm again… Whatever. This Herrscher seems to be her friend anyway. Might as well go take a look. To break through this area's trial content in just over ten minutes—their strength is quite decent, I suppose."
"Really now… Next time Lynelle comes back, I'll have to properly collect a little 'interest' from her… Let's call it compensation for interrupting my experiment?"
--+--
"Alright, little guinea pig, the trial content here ended long ago. No need to add pointless workload for Klein anymore."
A few minutes later, while Mei was still 'beating a dead horse' with the simulated Honkai beast data from the trial, a voice suddenly rang out right in front of her.
"Huh?" Mei jumped, startled. After all, someone appearing before her without a sound, coupled with the eerie ambiance of Mobius's area, was more than a little spooky.
"You are… Dr. Mobius?"
"Correct. Looks like someone's already introduced me to you. Good, saves me wasting my precious experiment time."
Mobius waved a hand dismissively, already turning to walk back.
"Since you're Lynelle's friend, just look around this area as you please. Of course, if you want some more classified information, you'll still need to complete the trial… Hmm?"
Her words trailed off as she saw the exquisite gift box Mei suddenly produced.
"Dr. Mobius, this… is a gift I brought for you on this visit…"
"Eh?" The snake lady was taken aback.
This sudden slice-of-life scenario—'my daughter's classmate visiting and bringing a courtesy gift for me'—was genuinely novel for her.
After all, though her life's record was long, among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, few had ever experienced such mundane, everyday interactions.
"Alright… seems you're quite a thoughtful little guinea pig…"
Mobius took the gift box, then her movements subconsciously paused. "This wrapping… you didn't prepare this yourself, did you?"
"No," Mei admitted honestly. "Your daughter helped me prepare it."
In Mei's view, this statement was completely logical.
After all, Lynelle = Mobius's daughter.
Elysia = Lynelle's alternate personality.
Therefore, Elysia = Mobius's daughter—the equation stood perfectly.
"Is that so? Hmph, seems that little pink mouse hasn't forgotten about me…"
Mobius gave a satisfied hum and slowly opened the box… then, a little pink dress met her eyes.
Its familiar style let Mobius instantly recognize whose handiwork it was—after all, Elysia had used various methods to stuff her wardrobe with little pink dresses no less than dozens of times.
"Dr. Mobius… you're…?"
Watching Mobius visibly morph from a green wriggling snake into a red wriggling snake, Mei wore a puzzled expression.
"Even if you don't much like this gift, it's still the sentiment of your daughter…"
"…My dear little guinea pig," Mobius slowly turned her head, revealing a rather ominous smile. "Are you sure… the one who gave you this gift is my daughter?"
"Uh… Yes?" Mei scratched her head, confused. "Isn't Elysia your daughter?"
Mobius: "?"
Mei: "?"
"First, tell me, how did that Elysia explain her identity to you?"
"Um, she said…" Even someone as slow as Mei could now tell something was off about Elysia's claimed identity. "She said she was Lynelle's alternate personality."
"Heh. Hehehe…"
Mobius let out a laughter that sounded almost… corrupted. Though from Mei's observation, it seemed more like she was laughing in sheer exasperation.
"Good, good. So Elysia is also my daughter now, is she…"
Mobius's gaze snapped toward a specific direction. Several ink-black spikes erupted from the ground, assaulting a seemingly empty patch of space.
However, as the spikes struck that area, the crisp sound of impact against crystal rang out.
"Elysia! Get out here!"
"My, Dr. Mobius is angry~ You do love that little pink dress, don't you?"
The surrounding light distorted for a moment. Then, accompanied by a drifting feather, Elysia's figure materialized in the air.
"Though… Fenghuang Down isn't working well on Dr. Mobius anymore? Has your research on the Corruption virus made new progress?"
"Enough nonsense. I really need to get you under control properly!" The snake lady's form instantly melted into the shadows.
The next second, a giant serpent surged from the ground right where Elysia stood, unleashing a dazzling flurry of attacks.
"This…"
"Don't mind it. This is just daily life in the Realm. The Doctor basically gets riled up by Elysia every other week due to stubbornness or tsundere-ness. You get used to it."
A small green figure appeared beside Mei, gently tugging at her clothes.
"I'm Klein, Dr. Mobius's assistant, and also the Realm's administrator… Come with me to lay low for a bit first."
"O-okay…" At this point, Mei, who still hadn't untangled the complicated family relations in Lynelle's household, felt her head spinning.
"Are they really going to be alright like this? And just what is Elysia to Lynelle…"
"Hmm?" Klein glanced at Mei with some confusion. "So… you didn't know?"
"Elysia is also Lynelle's mother. If Mobius is Lynelle's creator, then Elysia is Lynelle's 'archetype'—so both of them are Lynelle's mothers."
"?"
Mei's brain ground to a halt.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.