Oh? Please Stop Me With Your Actions?

"You should know the base's internal communication network is under maintenance. Otherwise, this meeting certainly wouldn't require such primitive methods." MEI's voice held a hint of helplessness and headache.

For a technological era highly dependent on technology and communication, losing contact was clearly a rather troublesome disaster, especially for an armed organization like the Fire Moth with bases distributed globally.

"Uh... MEI, while I'm happy you'd think of me at such an important time, if it's a communication issue... unfortunately, I'm not very good at that... Perhaps you should look for Vill-V?"

Hearing Elysia's cautious and subtle tone, MEI nodded. "Indeed. Actually, Vill-V is currently investigating this matter."

If it were a technical problem, why would she specifically seek out Elysia? Everyone knew that while Elysia was fine for fighting small Honkai beasts or supporting banquet patients, her shortcomings in the technical field clearly weren't sufficient for her to participate in such matters.

"So..."

"Actually, I was hoping you could bring him here." MEI stated concisely, without much pretense. This made Elysia blink, stunned.

Wait, so you called me, Elysia, just to have Elysia summon that bad guy? Isn't that basically saying I'm just a medium, a mouthpiece, used to summon a certain Jiang-surnamed man?!

Of course, what made Elysia even more exasperated was that she had just been with that bad guy, yet MEI's purpose in calling her over was to summon him... Damn it, then why didn't I just drag that bad guy over here with me?!

"Fine...! I'll go get him!" Gritting her teeth, filled with resentment, Ms. Elysia ultimately prioritized the bigger picture and nodded.

"...He's back?" Noticing her phrasing, MEI instantly guessed something.

"Yeah...! Originally, Eden and I planned to go have a drink together, but that bad guy showed up! Since this matter here is more important, I let him take my place."

Feeling that telling the truth would be somewhat embarrassing, the rather face-conscious pink fatty lied smoothly, attempting to beautify her previous failure as her own 'modesty.' Of course, this did nothing to change the underlying complaint.

Strange, didn't I ask Eden to find Elysia?... Forget it, it's not important anyway. Although she could use more convenient methods, like the chat group, Elysia chose to go call him personally.

It was more troublesome, but for some reason, she had a strange feeling earlier, sensing she needed to go take a look. Maybe there would be some subtle gain. Even if there was nothing, Ms. Elysia felt she absolutely needed to go freeload some of Eden's fine wine.

After all, running back and forth like this made her feel somewhat parched and very unhappy. Perhaps mooching off Eden's wine would improve her mood considerably.

With this intention, Elysia, relying on her familiarity with Eden, arrived at Eden's room—she had often been invited here to play before. Hmph hmph, let me, Elysia, see if that bad guy Jiang Qiao did anything inappropriate to Eden while I, Elysia, was away!

"Elysia...?" To Elysia's disappointment, she didn't seem to find anything strange. Although the room looked messier than usual, besides the faint scent of wine and Eden's preferred light incense, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Weren't you at MEI's?" Eden, opening the door, looked somewhat surprised. Elysia didn't notice the subtle, guilty look in her eyes.

"Don't mention it... MEI called me over just to find this bad guy... Hmph!" Elysia, hands on her hips, fumed, sitting down on the luxurious sofa in Eden's room and shooting a disgruntled glare at a certain Jiang-surnamed man.

"Is it related to the communication issues?"

"Huh? How did you know before I even said anything?"

"After returning, I kept noticing a strange interference field... But since the impact wasn't significant, I didn't delve deeper. It seems MEI encountered considerable trouble."

Hearing this, Ms. 55kg became even angrier. What's worse than being a mouthpiece? Being a mouthpiece when the message didn't even need relaying because the recipient already figured it out.

Didn't I just run back and forth for nothing... And how come I, Elysia, didn't notice any strange field... The unhappy Ms. Elysia could only look glumly at the table, planning to use wine to soothe her unhappy mood and quench her thirst at the same time.

"Gulp... Gulp..." Using the cup closer to Jiang Qiao, Ms. Pink Fatty downed the wine like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit or an old ox chewing peonies (Journey to the West reference), demonstrating perfectly. Eden watched, feeling helpless yet amused...

Drinking such expensive wine like plain water... Forget it, let her drink if she wants, as long as she's happy. Hmm, this was purely indulgence, definitely not some kind of 'compensation' psychology!

"Hic..." Elysia, cheeks slightly flushed, put down the wine cup, looked at Eden, and suddenly found something odd. "Eden... is your outfit a bit strange?"

Unlike the neat appearance when they met earlier, Eden, though still wearing the same exquisitely designed clothes, looked somewhat disheveled, as if having gone through a 'messy' battle.

"Ah... Probably because I drank too much..." Eyes hazy with intoxication—hmm, definitely drunk—Eden replied with a subtle smile, calmly adjusting her skirt, blaming it all on the alcohol.

She wasn't sure what happened earlier... Probably nothing happened? Or maybe something did happen, but she didn't act? Or perhaps, she shouldn't have acted. Or maybe, something indeed happened, but thinking about it now was clearly too late.

Looking at the oblivious Elysia, a flicker of apology crossed Eden's heart. Sorry... Elysia... I just felt dizzy, like I couldn't control myself...

"Alright, since Dr. MEI needs you for something, you two should head over together."

"Eden, aren't you coming?" Facing Elysia's puzzled look, Eden remained perfectly composed, drawing upon her poise as a famous singer and public figure, speaking softly in her lazy, tired voice, "I probably won't be much help in that regard. If needed, you can find me... But for now, apologies... Ely, many things happened today. I want to rest properly now."

"Okay then..." Seeing Eden's tired, tipsy state, looking somewhat incoherent, Elysia didn't think much of it. Instead, she showed concern, saying caringly, "Rest well, Eden~"

Witnessing the two leave, feeling the subtle sensation she had never experienced before, in the shadows, a trickle like wine slowly slid down, perhaps dripped, staining the incomparably luxurious carpet with a damp spot. It seems she drank a bit too much wine.

---||---

Elysia, now with Jiang Qiao, glared at him, though the reason this time was surprisingly simple: "Honestly, why did you let Eden drink so much?" She pouted, her tone tinged with annoyance.

Although Bad Jiang Qiao hadn't done anything strange to Eden—which kept her mood somewhat decent—for Ms. Pink Fatty, seeing Eden get that drunk actually made her unhappier.

After all, drinking so much is very bad for the body! It would have been better if he had done something strange; at least Elysia was already used to a certain bad guy bothering other pretty girls.

"I wanted to stop her, but... you should know Eden's personality." Jiang Qiao sounded somewhat helpless. Eden's personality was just like that—seeming very soft, very easygoing, but at certain times, surprisingly stubborn. Few could change her mind once she decided on something.

Of course... [Ely] seemed to be an exception. However, even facing [Ely], or perhaps especially facing [Ely], things might become more troublesome.

For example: Please stop me with your actions. What? You won't stop me? Then I'll have to initiate 'action' against you!

Got tipsy, gotta do something, right? If you don't let me, Eden, drink wine, then I'll have to drink something else. You don't want me to drink myself sick, do you?

"Honestly... Can't you be a bit firmer! If it were me, I definitely would have stopped her from drinking more without hesitation." Elysia curled her lip, then gestured emphatically. Hmph, what does being a best friend mean? I see you really don't understand!

You're not qualified as a best friend at all! A true best friend, that has to be me, Elysia! If it were me, Elysia, how could Eden possibly get that drunk? In conclusion, I, Elysia, am Eden's bestest best friend!

Thinking this, Elysia's lips curled upwards—after all, didn't this seem like she had already surpassed Bad Jiang Qiao by a step?

"Anyway, don't let her drink like this next time! If it happens again..."

"Then, let's drink together!" After pondering for a moment, as if threatening, Elysia said 'fiercely.' What? Doesn't sound like a threat? Hmph hmph... If I, Elysia, get drunk, what might happen? Even I, Elysia, don't know!

Wait... Elysia paused. ...This idea seems quite good. After all... once he's drunk, wouldn't it be easy for me to do whatever I want?

Seeing Elysia like this, Jiang Qiao's lips twitched. "It's just drinking..." Seriously, these two... their drinking habits are somewhat terrible...

---||---

"You're here." Arriving at MEI's lab, MEI smiled upon seeing Jiang Qiao with Elysia. But unlike when Elysia left, this time, Mobius and Vill-V were also present.

"Everyone's here."

"Hehe, after all, such a major incident occurred, it needs to be dealt with swiftly~ If communications remain disrupted like this, my experiments will also be interfered with," Mobius said cheerfully in her sweet tone.

Her snake-like eyes flickered between the two, her pink tongue darting out, appearing like a viper's tasting the air. Noticing something, her tone towards Jiang Qiao became subtle and playful, full of teasing. "Looks like you've been doing well recently~"

"It's alright... not much different from before."

"But it seems you're doing well now too... That power suits you exceptionally well."

"Indeed, it has been quite helpful~ So, shall I thank you properly?" Mobius slithered like a snake to Jiang Qiao's side, her slender index finger tracing over him, her tone full of ambiguity and playfulness.

Despite Elysia's huffy glare, the former seemed even more excited, her provocative actions becoming more intimate.

"As long as you are satisfied with the power."

"Honestly, you're still the same as before~ If you keep this up, you could easily get 'eaten clean'," Mobius teased.

Vill-V interjected, somewhat exasperated, cutting off the 'dispute.' "Alright, alright... If you want to chat, let's do it after we figure out the current work... My head is about to explode."

"Mm, have you found anything on your end?" Jiang Qiao asked Vill-V.

"Found anything?... I'm about to die from anger!" Vill-V complained. "The more I repair, the more problems arise... It's endless, simply endless!"

"This isn't a programming issue or anything like that, okay!"

"This is an anomaly happening at the fundamental level," she stated, her tone unpleasant.

MEI didn't mind; after all... her mood was quite similar. Because, as the Herrscher of Thunder, she was actually facing and discovering the same thing. Namely... electromagnetism was weakening.

This was, in fact, the problem currently faced by the Fire Moth, and indeed the entire Previous Era civilization. Electromagnetism... no, even gravity... the entire system of 'mechanics' was suffering an unprecedented blow.

While not disappearing entirely, even simple 'weakening' was a major disaster for a civilization built upon physics, upon traditional mechanics. Especially for researchers specializing in this field.

If an engineering master like Vill-V was this frustrated, it went without saying for a deep-level research expert like MEI.

"Not just electromagnetism, gravity... even Honkai energy, which falls outside normal mechanics, is currently being affected... This is a change that didn't appear in the data you provided us."

"I suspect it's probably another Herrscher's ability undergoing changes... But this strange direction of development makes it impossible for us to determine what exactly it is."

"Therefore, I thought of you..."

"I think, if it's you, perhaps you can discover something, Jiang Qiao!"