Chapter 219: Mobius is trying to face himself

[After discovering that Vill-V is making some weird designs again, you... can't do anything about her]

[Not to mention that the "Box" designed by Vill-V is, in a sense, a powerful and versatile special weapon. Just the attitude that Vill-V has shown that she designed it specifically for you makes it hard for you to say anything more.]

[As for why the people in the Engineering Department are so eager to cooperate with Vill-V, even ignoring the possible punishment from the "Fire Moth" in the future, they want to help Vill-V improve and manufacture the "Box"... It's the same reason. They hope to change your mind and come to the Engineering Department from Mobius.]

[However, you are very clear about one thing. The people in the Engineering Department should not express their "invitation" to you so radically, nor will they be so "willful" as to invest all their resources into one of Vill-V's designs... Even if they really like Vill-V's design, they will never do so.]

[Because they know that while accompanying Vill-V on those designs, they must also leave out finished products that are at least above the "passing line" to deal with the "Fire Moth," so as to avoid the "Fire Moth" coming to cause trouble.]

[In other words, the fact that Vill-V was able to use all of her previous resources to create the "Box" was actually pushed by someone in the upper echelons of "Fire Moth".]

[And Vill-V and the Engineering Department thought this was a good opportunity to lure you to the Engineering Department, so they agreed to this idea...]

['…Tsk, how boring' you curled your lips, not really wanting to pay attention to those people above.]

[After that, you contacted the "Fire Moth" and briefly reported to them the contents and functions of the "Box". As for more detailed data later... the Engineering Department will provide it.]

[At the same time, you also briefly mentioned the situation that Vill-V had created, which could only recognize the commands of specific personnel... As expected, "Fire Moth" did not pay too much attention to this matter, and only carried out the old three things: verbal warning, written review, and requesting a written report on the relevant equipment. There was no other punishment.]

[And you just put this matter aside for now... The Engineering Department can handle the follow-up issues themselves.]

[As for now... just deal with what you need to do today.]

[You still have a lot of things to do, so you can't rest here.]

————————

"The energy frequency of the new weapon still needs to be modified; otherwise, it will not have a killing effect after hitting but an amplification effect... As expected, it is still a bit troublesome to use the stabilization effect in reverse."

"Well... even if it can't kill, it should at least be able to hinder the actions and perceptions of the Honkai creatures..."

"The application for the research of the [Third Herrscher] body has been submitted. According to their evaluation of the Doctor, they should get a reply the day after tomorrow... The official process will begin in a week."

Nozomi walked on the road, muttering to himself, thinking about the things he had already dealt with, and using the terminal in his hand to quickly understand the data to be processed later, which would facilitate his analysis and processing.

There was a bag hanging on his arm, which contained some fresh vegetables and meat from the cafeteria... If you asked Nozomi why he "took" from the cafeteria instead of "buying," Nozomi could only say that sometimes building good relationships with others is just for such a small "benefit."

Well, this may be too cold and realistic... In fact, these things were given by the chefs in the cafeteria.

In their words, they were just some scraps and not worth mentioning anyway. Besides, taking them back to cook for Dr. Mobius and ensuring her health was a good thing and it would save Nozomi from having to run around more.

"If nothing unexpected happens, they should conduct another assessment on the Doctor tomorrow to prevent her from using the body of the Third Herrscher to conduct excessive experiments... The Doctor's last research on Shesha must have scared them; otherwise, the requirements would not be so strict."

"Fortunately, the Doctor also participated in the recovery of Shesha's remains. Otherwise, the Fire Moth would definitely find a way to retrieve Shesha's remains... It would be really troublesome."

At the door of the laboratory, Nozomi continued to mutter to himself. He lowered his head to glance at the things in his handbag and only walked in after confirming that everything was complete.

"I'm back, Doctor."

"You came back early today, little one~"

"Are you back, Junior Brother?"

"Um?"

Nozomi looked up with some confusion and soon saw Mobius who was talking about something with Blanca. At the same time, Nozomi also saw Hen standing nearby, holding a child, and Danzhu and Cangxuan who were surrounding Hen and constantly teasing the little guy in his arms.

'...Tsk, these two girls.'

Nozomi frowned subconsciously, revealing a hint of displeasure... Judging from the current scene, Klein was the only one still working in the entire laboratory... What did this mean?

Not to mention Mobius, Nozomi would not care about her research. After all, Mobius was much more enthusiastic than him in this regard, so there was no need to worry at all.

But Danzhu and Cangxuan, don't you two still have unprocessed data? Are you still playing like this?

However, since Blanca and Hen were here, Nozomi couldn't attack directly, so he just gave the two of them a slightly warning look, then nodded to Mobius and Blanca.

"It's been a long time since we last met, Senior Sister... If you have anything to say, please talk to the Doctor first. I still have some data to process..."

"Wait a moment, little one."

Mobius spoke up.

"I need to ask for your opinion on this matter~"

"Um?"

"Do you think... is it okay to have more children in the lab?"

"...Um?"

Nozomi was puzzled by Mobius's slightly strange tone. He put the ingredients he brought back in the simple kitchen, then gently rolled up the bubble wrap in the bag and put it in his pocket.

Then, he turned his gaze to Hen, or rather, to the child in Hen's arms.

Nozomi knew her. She was the daughter of Blanca and Hen - "Griseo", a very beautiful and cute little girl.

After Griseo was born, when Blanca brought her to the laboratory for the first time, Mobius was completely frightened. Her expression was stiff and even nervous. The way she carefully took the infant Griseo from Blanca's hands was so hilarious that people could not help laughing.

Fortunately, Elysia was not there at that time; otherwise, she would definitely take a picture and spread it everywhere.

As Mobius's [assistant], Nozomi naturally knew Griseo and had even hugged her. And for some unknown reason, Griseo seemed to be particularly fond of Nozomi, so much so that Hen even complained a little.

And now this situation, and what Mobius just said...

"Did something happen to Griseo?"

Nozomi realized this immediately.

"Um."

Mobius nodded.

"Griseo...is not in good health, so we hope that she stays here for you to take care of her and see if you can get her back to health."

Blanca explained briefly and then added another sentence.

"I won't cause you too much trouble. I will come to take care of Griseo and by the way... I can also help you. I just don't know if you can accept having another child in the laboratory..."

"It doesn't matter, as long as the doctor agrees."

Nozomi responded casually, checked the time briefly, and found that he might need to hurry, so he returned to his seat without stopping. While responding to Blanca's words, he quickly carried out his own work and had to connect with Klein in the middle.

"Besides, Griseo has always been very well behaved and won't cause us any trouble... With you here to take care of her, we don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Then...I agree, little one?"

"Doctor, you just make the decision. This is your lab."

"Hmm~"

Mobius raised an eyebrow, then looked at Blanca again.

"Look, that's it. I told you the little one doesn't mind~"

"...Yes, Doctor, you are right."

Blanca tried to hold it in for a long time, but finally, she could only suppress her laughter and nodded to acknowledge what Mobius said.

As for the look of worry on Mobius's face, before Nozomi came back, as she was wondering whether having more people in the lab would add burden to the little guy, Blanca chose to swallow it and not say anything... otherwise Mobius would really explode in a while.

at the same time...

"…Hey~"

Nozomi felt a warm, small hand on his head, scratching his hair.

Then another little hand came up and directly hugged Nozomi's head, and even the little upper body was placed on Nozomi's head.

"...Hen, I don't have time to play with Griseo now."

Nozomi reminded helplessly.

"Do you think I want to?"

Hen's tone was filled with displeasure.

"Griseo was the one who came to find you... Really, what is it about you that attracts my little Griseo so much?!"

"I don't know either."

Nozomi withdrew one hand and slightly pushed away the small hand that Griseo stretched out from behind his head to prevent her from blocking his vision. His other hand did not stop and quickly entered data on the keyboard. Although his speed slowed down a lot because of the lack of one hand, he did not stop.

"Alright, alright, Griseo, let Brother Nozomi play with you later. Don't disturb him for now..."

Seeing this, Hen didn't dare to let Griseo make trouble anymore. What if Nozomi entered the wrong data and had to redo it in the end, that would be troublesome... In the end, Hen immediately left Nozomi, hugging Griseo, who was making "hmm-hmm, ee-ee" sounds and obviously expressing her dissatisfaction, and took care of Griseo with his wife Blanca, and took the opportunity to discuss what to do next with Mobius.

As for Danzhu and Cangxuan? Oh... sorry, they have been sent back to work by Mobius. If they don't hurry up, they will have to stay and work overtime tonight.

As for what happened next, it was actually simple. After discussing the follow-up issues with Mobius, it was almost time for dinner.

Because of the "guests" coming today, the food Nozomi brought back would definitely not be enough, so everyone decided to just go out to eat... Of course, this so-called "going out to eat" was actually just going to a "restaurant" within the base of the "Fire Moth", and they wouldn't go far.

After all, "Fire Moth" doesn't dare to let Mobius go at will.

As for the ingredients that Nozomi brought back, he naturally gave them to Blanca and Hen and asked them to take them home and make some midnight snacks at night, or they could find other ways to solve the problem.

At the same time, with the help of Nozomi and Klein, Danzhu and Cangxuan quickly completed their work and did not miss the opportunity to go out for a meal because of the need to work overtime.

What happened next… needless to say. After saying goodbye to Blanca's family, Nozomi supervised the training of Mobius and Klein as usual, and this time, Vill-V followed obediently and did not find an excuse to avoid Nozomi's time…

After the daily training was over, Nozomi said goodbye to everyone else as usual, and returned to the laboratory with Mobius...but on the way back, there was a slight accident.

"Lower your head, little one."

Mobius stood behind Nozomi and tapped his back gently with her finger.

"Um?"

"Lower."

"Um."

Nozomi nodded and lowered his body slightly.

Then, he could feel Mobius slowly approaching, with his arms stretched out from both sides of his head, crossed in front of his body, and hugged his neck, while the weight of Mobius' body slowly pressed on his back.

"Okay, little guy~ Let's go~ Take me back~"

"sigh..."

"Let's go~"

Mobius blew softly into his ear and spoke in a deliberately sweet tone.

"Ah... Doctor, if you're in a bad mood, you can just say it."

"No, I'm always in a good mood."

"I have bubble wrap in my pocket. You can squeeze it if you're in a bad mood... I brought it here especially."

"......"

Hearing Nozomi say this, Mobius stopped blowing air towards Nozomi's neck. She was silent for a moment before reaching out her hand. Her fingertips slid down along Nozomi's collar and slowly touched the bubble wrap in Nozomi's pocket.

Take out a sheet, flatten it, pinch one of the bubbles between her thumb and index finger, and apply gentle pressure...

pop!

A crisp sound was heard as the bubbles burst.

Then Mobius immediately pinched the next bubble and applied a little more force.

pop!

Another bubble was popped.

After that, there was a continuous "pop, pop, pop" sound. Mobius just rested her chin on Nozomi's shoulder, pinching the bubble wrap.

Although this action may seem childish, it is unexpectedly stress-relieving...at least for Mobius.

And maybe it was because Mobius was in a particularly bad mood, she pinched the bubble wrap very quickly, and in a short while she finished a piece of bubble wrap... Then she took out the next one from Nozomi's pocket and continued pinching.

After she had finished pinching all the bubble wraps, Mobius didn't say anything. She just waited in silence until Nozomi brought her back to the laboratory.

"Doctor, we are back."

"......"

"Doctor, let's start today's experiment. If you are any later, it will affect your rest time."

"......"

"...Doctor?"

"…I won't do it today."

After a long silence, Mobius slowly loosened her hands and fell from Nozomi's back to the ground. She casually tidied her clothes, took a step forward, and continued to move forward.

"Do you want to collect data? That's fine too."

"No, that's not necessary today. You're here anyway."

Mobius began to speak as she rummaged through the cabinet next to Nozomi's seat.

"I can take it anytime I want, right? Now or later."

"Yeah...it's true."

Nozomi did not object to this statement.

"In that case, let's not do that kind of thing tonight."

The corners of Mobius' mouth rose slightly. She finally found what she wanted in Nozomi's drawer... the box of chess.

"I remember you like playing this very much, so I'll try it today."

"...Doctor, you don't know how to play this yet."

Nozomi reminded helplessly.

"And why are you interested in this, Doctor?"

"It's okay. I can learn it right now. Besides... I've seen you play it before, and I know a little bit about it, too."

Mobius didn't seem to intend to say much. She just pulled over a chair, spread out the chessboard, and placed the chess pieces. Then, with one hand supporting her face, she stared at Nozomi with a meaningful smile, motioning him to sit opposite her.

"Or do you not want to accompany me? Are you planning to leave me sitting here alone?"

"…Doctor, you can tell me if you're in a bad mood."

"No, I'm always in a good mood."

Mobius narrowed her eyes, looked at Nozomi who was sitting in front of her, and responded in a happy tone.

"Okay, don't worry about it for now, just play with me first."

As she spoke, Mobius took the initiative to pinch her white chess piece and moved the pawn forward two spaces.

"sigh..."

"Stop talking nonsense and get off quickly."

Mobius seemed to have lost her patience, and her tone suddenly became unfriendly.

But then, she seemed to realize it, paused for a moment, and then laughed again.

"Maybe after you play with me, I'll be in a better mood?"

"...All right."

After realizing that Mobius was determined not to say anything, Nozomi shook his head helplessly, grabbed the black chess piece, and moved the pawn forward two squares.

After that, there was a... no, several silent games.

Without exception, Mobius was always the loser.

Although she understood the rules very quickly in the middle and tried to use some tactics, it was obvious that her mind was not on playing chess. She was just using this as an excuse to cover up something. She wanted to achieve something through this.

However, she seemed not to be ready yet, or she was simply hesitant and didn't know how to start.

This situation continued until...

"Doctor, you should rest."

Nozomi looked at Mobius, who took the initiative to clean up the mess and placed the chess pieces on the board and said expressionlessly.

"... Play another round."

"sigh."

"Play another game!"

"...um."

Nozomi finally nodded and waited for Mobius to make the first move with white chess pieces.

After that, it was a dull situation again, until the last round was almost over, when Mobius slowly spoke.

"...Little guy, why are you still staying here with me?"

"Um?"

"I asked, why do you still stay here with me?"

Mobius lowered her head and looked away from the chessboard as if she was still thinking about how to turn the situation around.

"Is it that the treatment given by the Fire Moth is not good enough? Is it that the [gift] sent by the people in the Engineering Department does not satisfy you? Is it that you don't like Vill-V? Or is it that the promises made by the Operations Department are not enough to impress you?"

"Or do you prefer to stay with me, who spends all day thinking about how to study [Demon]?"

"…The elephant eats the car."

After thinking for a long time, Mobius slowly made a move.

"Doctor, that's not a question you would ask. A horse eats an elephant."

"Just answer me."

"…I just don't think it's necessary."

"Not necessary?"

Mobius raised an eyebrow.

"Well, even if I follow the arrangement of the Fire Moth and become independent from you, the things I need to be responsible for will not change. In this case, why should I leave?"

"Maybe you can get better resources? After all, it's obvious that the Fire Moth favors you now... Move the car backward, and move it to six."

"Here you can... eat a car."

"Maybe it will be easier? Backward facing car, back four."

"But in the end, isn't that all I have to worry about? Bishop back, Bishop three, Check."

"At least it will be easier than here, right? Rook to Bishop, Rook to Two."

"...Doctor, you seem to want to push me out?"

Nozomi paused for a moment before asking this.

"From what I know, you don't seem to be the kind of person who would let go easily... especially when there is something about me that interests you."

"You don't seem to be someone who would easily give up a favorite [research subject]."

"…It's your turn, little one."

In response, Mobius did not respond but just spoke calmly.

"... eat the rook from behind, Check."

"Then why are you willing to be my [research subject], little one?"

Mobius asked slowly, pinching her chess piece.

"In order to explore my own uniqueness, I will advance my research."

"Is that all? You should know that such research is very dangerous to yourself...."

"But I trust you, Doctor. You won't hurt me, will you?"

Nozomi shrugged.

"Although in the eyes of others, you seem to be a person who will do anything to achieve your goals, but when it comes to research, you do have your own bottom line... although your plans are indeed very radical in many cases."

"Because of this, I have to keep an eye on you to prevent you from doing anything too extreme. Not to mention the impact on others around you, your own safety alone will be a problem... the elephant eats, Check."

"That was the case with the previous study of Shesha. Not to mention the Fire Moth, it gave me a headache for a long time... Fortunately, the follow-up treatment was fine, otherwise it would have been a big trouble. I don't want to fish you out of that pile of black mud under the thunder and lightning."

"…Are you concerned about me, little one?"

Mobius' tone suddenly rose slightly.

"When have I never cared about you?"

"hehe..."

Mobius did not deny this.

"Then... if that kind of accident really happened, would you come and rescue me?"

"If you're still alive, Doctor."

"Hehe... if that situation really happened, I would definitely still be alive."

Mobius laughed twice again, pinched her most crucial chess piece with her fingers, raised her head, and looked at Nozomi.

"Little guy, I have a great suggestion... Whoever wins this round can make a request to the loser, how about it?"

"I just want you to finish your work quickly, Doctor, and go to sleep and rest."

Although he didn't know why Mobius would make such a problematic suggestion at this moment when he was bound to lose, Nozomi still said it expressionlessly.

"…How boring."

Mobius curled her lips and moved her chess piece.

?

Nozomi looked at Mobius strangely, but all he saw was her meaningful smile.

"... The soldier eats the king."

"Okay, little guy, tell me a request~"

"Any request?"

"That's it, including..."

"Then please take a shower, brush your teeth, drink a glass of water, and go to bed."

Nozomi interrupted her to prevent her from bringing up the matter again.

"...snort."

Mobius snorted reluctantly but finally stood up and walked towards the lounge.

After washing up, before Mobius could say anything, Nozomi handed her a glass of water.

"Drink water and sleep."

"Got it, little one."

Mobius rolled her eyes but still listened to him, drank the water, and then obediently moved to the single bed in the lounge... The previous lounge chair had been replaced with a more comfortable single bed at Nozomi's request, which would allow Mobius to rest more comfortably.

"Well... see you tomorrow, Doctor."

"... Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Mobius watched Nozomi close the door, then waited for a while before slowly lying down on the bed.

"ha..."

Mobius buried half of her face in the pillow, with a hint of fatigue and disappointment in her eyes... disappointment in herself.

Especially when thinking back to her previous appearance, Mobius's thoughts became somewhat complicated and bitter.

"sigh..."

It turns out that she, Blanca, and Mei are no different...

In the end, she just smiled at herself, slowly closed her eyes, and planned to fall asleep.