Chapter 246: Feed Snow White

As soon as the Nikkes in Eden noticed Dorothy's arrival, they immediately set aside their tasks and hurried forward to greet her with great enthusiasm.

Dorothy, too, responded to each of them with a warm smile.

However, she soon realized that the Nikkes' eyes were not on her but on the person beside her.

Before long, a crowd had gathered. The Nikkes all stopped in their tracks, craning their necks and standing on tiptoes, their gazes filled with surprise and curiosity as they peered past the throng at the young Commander standing beside Dorothy.

"Is he the Commander everyone's been talking about lately?"

"No way, is it really him? He doesn't look like it."

"I heard he can destroy a Lord-class Rapture with a single punch."

"Get your facts straight, it was a Tyrant-class Rapture."

"Stop lying. Since when were humans that strong? If they were, we Nikkes would've been discarded a long time ago."

"Speaking of which, isn't he the one who enacted the Universal Human Rights?"

"You mean the law that treats Nikkes the same as humans?"

"Yeah, that's him. And he's also the owner of Gensokyo."

"Wow! So cool!"

"Let me see, let me see!"

"Finally, Eden is saved..."

The hushed murmurs and whispers kept flowing. Mo Chen filtered out the irrelevant chatter, catching only the key parts about Eden—confirming his suspicion that the place had indeed encountered some kind of crisis.

"The Commander's reputation precedes him. Even here, you're quite famous," Dorothy said, pausing her steps and turning toward Mo Chen with a gentle smile.

At that moment, a few Nikkes stepped forward to maintain order. Though the crowd was reluctant to leave, they were polite enough not to linger and cause a commotion. They soon dispersed, returning to their work—though some couldn't resist turning back multiple times, itching to take photos, only to be dragged away by their companions.

Mo Chen chuckled, saying, "I'm not some celebrity. There's nothing that interesting about me."

Dorothy let out a soft laugh.

"Commander, you're being modest. Your achievements—retaking the surface, defeating the Heretics, and reclaiming lost territories—are already enough to go down in history."

He shook his head.

"Being famous isn't always a good thing. If I had a choice, I'd rather stay unknown."

"There have been countless people throughout history who wished to leave their mark, to have their names recorded for future generations to admire," Dorothy said, genuinely surprised. "Commander, why would you think otherwise?"

"I have social anxiety."

"..."

As they continued walking through Eden, leaving the main streets behind, Dorothy suddenly halted. She gracefully turned around and smiled.

"The weather is nice. Would you like to take a walk in the garden first?"

Mo Chen nodded and turned his gaze toward the botanical gardens.

The gardens were lush and thriving, filled with various crops, the majority of which seemed to be fruits and vegetables—something rarely seen in the Ark.

Dorothy noticed Mo Chen's interest and began to explain.

"There are 93 types of trees in the courtyard, along with 13 types of livestock and various other edible organisms."

"Eden may have been built on barren land, but with advanced genetic technology and cultivation methods, we have managed to restore the landscape to how it was before the Rapture invasion."

As she spoke, Dorothy plucked a golden apple from a nearby tree and handed it to Mo Chen.

"Would you like to try it?"

Mo Chen didn't hesitate, taking the apple and biting into it.

Judging by its appearance, the apple looked quite appealing, so its taste shouldn't be too bad.

However, the moment he took a bite, he froze.

Noticing his expression, Dorothy asked, "How is it?"

There was a hint of anticipation in her elegant gaze, along with a subtle trace of pride.

Mo Chen silently put the apple down.

It wasn't that the apple was exceptionally delicious—rather, it was... a bit awful.

Yes, awful.

It had some crispness, plenty of juice, and a decent level of sweetness, but it just didn't taste good. After thinking about it carefully, he realized the problem was the lack of fruit aroma.

That was it. It had no fragrance—none of the natural scent an apple should have.

While it wasn't the worst fruit he had ever eaten, it definitely wasn't the best. Aside from its appearance, it hardly resembled a real apple at all.

It reminded him of those watermelons grown on wax gourds—outwardly identical to regular watermelons but larger, yet the flesh was thick, fibrous, and tasted more like a winter melon than an actual watermelon.

This was probably due to the genetic modifications Dorothy had mentioned. The apple trees had been altered, making them fundamentally different from natural ones.

"Hmm, it's pretty good," Mo Chen said with a light cough.

He couldn't just outright insult Dorothy's pride, especially when she looked so pleased while introducing her home's agricultural achievements.

At that moment, he found himself missing his own ecological farm.

Dorothy remained composed, but honestly, who wouldn't feel pleased when receiving a compliment?

After all, growing even a few acres of crops in this desolate wasteland was an achievement once thought impossible. Even the Ark couldn't sustain something of this scale.

Still, if Dorothy knew Mo Chen owned an ecological park spanning several hectares, what would she think?

"Commander, why aren't you eating anymore?" she asked curiously.

Mo Chen cleared his throat again and tucked the half-eaten apple away.

"I'll take it home to eat later."

The peculiar taste of this apple was too much for him.

Hearing this, Dorothy's smile deepened, displaying an air of elegance and generosity.

"If the Commander enjoys them, feel free to have as many as you like while you stay here. And when you leave, please take plenty with you—Eden has plenty of them."

Mo Chen hesitated. "We'll talk about that when the time comes."

He really didn't want to eat another one.

Might as well take them back and feed them to Snow White.

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen Snow White in quite some time. She hadn't even contacted him. Could something have happened?

As they walked side by side, stopping occasionally, it felt like a proper guided tour.

"…This is Eden's Central Laboratory."

Dorothy led Mo Chen to a futuristic-looking building. The moment he stepped inside, he was immediately surrounded by a highly advanced atmosphere—the place was immaculately clean, filled with various robots and cutting-edge experimental equipment.

"On your way here, you must have encountered some of the Nikkes affiliated with this place, correct?"