Elysia brought Himeko to a special area in Eden's domain - a room filled with luxurious clothing and artwork. However, elegant attire was just one aspect; the room contained various other furnishings. Compared to Mobius's laboratory, Kevin's battlefield, or Griseo's art studio, this place seemed almost too normal.
After chatting for a while, the three decided to have an impromptu drinking party. Eden generously retrieved a case of wine from her cellar and set out some exquisite wine glasses.
Elysia's eyes sparkled, "Eden, these wines must be quite expensive, right?"
"They certainly were in our civilization."
In the previous civilization, any wine worthy of Eden's cellar would have been outrageously expensive. But here in the Elysian Realm, as long as Eden remembered the taste, they would automatically replenish during the realm's refresh.
Eden sat down and asked, "Elysia, didn't you go to counsel Mobius? That was quick."
While Eden and Mobius weren't particularly close, they were friends, and Eden was concerned about her condition.
Mobius had been listless these past few days. Even Griseo could sense the sadness in her colors while painting.
Without a doubt, the stubborn Mobius was troubled because of Captain Jun'an's memorial day recently. That's why Elysia had volunteered to comfort her.
"It's fine, there's someone more suitable than me to comfort her."
After downing a glass of wine, Elysia's cheeks flushed slightly as she asked, "Eden, want to guess who it is? If you guess correctly, I'll let you plan my wedding!"
Himeko quietly sipped her wine, trying to suppress a victorious smile.
"Now that's intriguing," Eden played along, assuming Elysia was joking, "Someone more suitable than you... could it be Aponia?"
Aponia was the most understanding among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Despite often being misunderstood due to her unique nature, and even being considered as dangerous as Mobius in MOTH, she might indeed be capable of helping.
More importantly, if Mobius was truly heartbroken, Aponia's mental abilities could provide sufficient comfort.
So besides Elysia, it should be Aponia.
"Wrong guess, Eden! Try again?"
"Could it be Griseo? She gets along well with Mobius."
Griseo's mother, Bianca, was once Mobius's assistant. After marriage, she had introduced Klein to Mobius's lab. Mobius had nearly become Griseo's midwife.
That's why Mobius had always been particularly friendly toward Griseo.
Elysia grinned mischievously, "Wrong again, Eden! Drink up as penalty~ One more chance, and if you're wrong again, you'll have to be my bridesmaid♫~"
"Can I get a hint?"
Eden took a few sips, her cheeks now slightly flushed. Though the current topic was somewhat silly, it was rare to discuss such things with friends.
Elysia nodded.
Eden asked, "Someone I'd never guess - do I know them?"
Elysia nodded again, "Of course you do! You even taught them how to sing."
Eden asked, "Could it be Pardofelis?"
Elysia shook her head, "Wrong again! Let me refill your glass!"
Eden turned to Himeko with a troubled expression, "Are they male or female?"
Himeko downed a glass boldly, "Male."
Eden's expression grew complicated, "Could it be Kevin?"
Elysia was shocked, "You taught Kevin how to sing?"
Eden nodded with a wry smile, "Well, a lot happened in the Realm over these 50,000 years. Though his accompaniment using Honkai beast howls was rather... overwhelming."
Elysia shook her head, "Sorry, wrong again~"
Eden had guessed Eden, Griseo, Pardofelis, and Kevin - a third of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers excluding herself and Elysia. She finally gave up, "Alright, I surrender. Just tell me, Elysia."
Seeing Eden's surrender, Elysia revealed, "Okay, I'll stop teasing you. It's a surprise Himeko brought! I was shocked when I first saw him too!"
Eden looked at Himeko and asked, "You brought someone new to the Realm for trials?"
"An old friend," Himeko smiled slightly, "It's the Captain. Jun'an has returned."
"The Captain is back? Are you serious?!"
The usually elegant Eden stood up abruptly, slapping the table - very out of character for her. "Where- where is he now? I must see him."
"Eden, calm down,"
Seeing Eden's confused state, Himeko reminded her helplessly, "Didn't Elysia just say? He went to see Mobius. He's probably undergoing the MANTIS surgery now, so he won't be back."
"I apologize, my friends. I lost my composure."
Eden quickly collected herself, though the alcohol had made her reveal her true feelings, "So what you said is true?"
"Of course it is♪~!"
Elysia answered, "Though he looks much cuter than before now, so delicate! You'll definitely like him, Eden!"
"Delicate?"
Eden frowned immediately, "Did no one go with him?"
Mobius's desire to research the Captain was obvious to everyone. After all, the Captain's ability to know things in advance was even more extraordinary than Su's "foresight," and Jun'an's constitution that allowed him to undergo two MANTIS surgeries was also worth studying.
Everyone knew she had been eyeing Jun'an's body for a long time.
"Nope."
Elysia replied matter-of-factly, "The MANTIS surgery takes a long time after all, sometimes a day or two, so Himeko and I came down to find you."
The MANTIS surgery duration varies depending on the Honkai beast type and individual physique.
Take Kevin for example - when dealing with the Herrscher of Binding, Mobius barely modified him before sending him to battle. This meant his combat power didn't increase as dramatically as others, not going from 1 to 100.
But he was already strong enough. Even without the visible enhancement others received, he still surpassed 99.9% of MANTIS soldiers.
Elysia took another drink, her face flushed, "But don't worry, Mobius likes the Captain so much, she'll probably just take some hair, blood, or cells for research. She won't do anything bad to him."
Though Mobius's research often lacked humanity, at least she wouldn't easily harm those she liked. Like with Griseo - helping her become a MANTIS was only because MOTH had no use for "useless" children.
"Is that so?"
Eden was disappointed she couldn't see the Captain immediately, but then thought of something, "But you've been here with me for a while now. I mean, I heard Mobius revolutionized the MANTIS technology half a year ago."
Now the MANTIS surgery no longer required elaborate operations - just an injection of the corresponding MANTIS factor.
This was one of MOTH's former technologies. Fu Hua had received this kind of injection, though the technology was very immature then, requiring binding with the Divine Key of the Tenth Herrscher, and even then the success rate was low.
Kevin had once used this reagent but couldn't become a MANTIS even after consuming vast amounts of Xuanyuan Sword's power, not until Mobius personally performed the MANTIS surgery on him.
But times have changed. With World Serpent's accumulated experience and Mobius's research, she had solved most problems except mass production.
In other words, now Jun'an only needed one injection of MANTIS factor to become a MANTIS soldier, hardly taking any time at all.
The three's gazes fell on Eden's classical clock - an hour had passed since they came to chat with Eden.
If it only took one injection to finish... what were they doing with the remaining time?
"It should be fine,"
Elysia was the first to reassure herself, "Mobius is so stubborn, she must be the slowest one."
Himeko took a drink to calm herself, "Should be fine, with all those buffs, it probably won't get hard."
Eden looked worried though. Mobius never asked for others' opinions when doing things, and with her biological expertise, she could milk however many times she wanted.
"Elysia, Himeko, shall we end the drinking party here?"
"Agreed."
"Let's go."
---
Meanwhile...
"Wasn't this supposed to be a MANTIS surgery?"
Jun'an carried Mobius around the laboratory.
Since Mobius's mode of transportation was out of commission, Jun'an had to carry her to complete the experiment.
"Yes, but the technology has evolved. You're behind the times, little lab rat."
Mobius combined two reagents and placed them in a centrifuge, "Little rat, move a bit more to the left, I need to get those Honkai beast genes."
Jun'an struggled to move around the lab, "Um, couldn't we change the way I'm carrying you? It's hard to move when my back is to the workbench."
"You're not the one doing the experiment, I just need to face the workbench."
Mobius's small feet wrapped around Jun'an's waist, "Just behave, or I won't be responsible if there's an accident."
After a series of operations, overcoming difficulties in movement, sudden trembling, waist weakness, and hand weakness, they finally managed to prepare Jun'an's first MANTIS factor injection.
"Here, this is Brahma's MANTIS factor."
Mobius personally injected the slightly blue reagent into Jun'an's carotid artery. Jun'an felt some pain, but could clearly sense his Honkai energy absorption rate increasing.
"By the way, there won't be any side effects, right?" Jun'an worried Mobius might have added something extra to the MANTIS factor genes out of her peculiar interests.
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure about that, since no new MANTIS soldiers have been created since the end of the Honkai."
Mobius tossed the syringe into the trash, then said seductively, "Now we just need this MANTIS factor to circulate throughout your body. You know how to speed up blood circulation, don't you, little rat?"
"...Can I rest a bit?"
Jun'an wasn't inexhaustible after all.
"No,"
Mobius whispered in Jun'an's ear, "Besides, that was just the price for the first MANTIS factor. You'll need to trade more genes for the second one~"
Chapter End