I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"……Feel sorry."

"This isn't your problem, it was just a little bit short, just a little bit...that's all."

All we can do is sigh and lament. Everything was just a little bit off, everything was a little bit too late.

"It's ok."

Eden spoke softly, his gaze never leaving the closed operating room.

"It will work."

She believed that.

After all, we had made a promise to sing together later...

Chapter 47 "Gold" Fades (4381)

"Ta-da~ I really hope people can come back to life!"

"Oh wait, I'm not dead yet! Anyway, I'm fully recovered! I feel amazing!"

Xi Wang's cheerful voice echoed in the room.

"It would be wonderful if the surgery could be completed smoothly..."

"Hmph~ Hope isn't so easily extinguished, is it?"

"Yes, yes, Xiwang is the best! But you've made us so worried these past few days. Eden and Sakura were so nervous too, you'd better make it up to us, okay? Of course, we should too~?"

"Okay, then... I'll sing for you guys then!"

"Great!"

Thanks to Xiwang's full recovery, everyone's anxiety was relieved, and they could play around with Xiwang as usual. Even Mebius, unusually, did not show any complaints.

"But Xiwang looks so pretty now~ Her hair is so beautiful~?"

Alicia moved closer to Xiwang and gently touched her long hair. The fine strands of hair flowed through her fingers, as smooth as water. With a slight movement of her hand, the hair flowed through her fingertips like a gentle breeze. She watched as the hair in her palm gradually transitioned from a dark color like the night to a white color like waves, and finally flowed away from her fingertips, slowly falling into the air... Alicia quite liked this feeling.

"Hmph~ If I dressed up Xiwang right now, I'm afraid people wouldn't recognize her, right? Or... they might mistake her for your sister or something? Hmph~ It's kind of interesting to think about~"

"For example...like this? Did you miss me, Alicia~?"

"Huh? Huh???"

Alicia looked at Xiwang with some confusion at first, and showed the same surprised expression as the others. Then she moved closer to Xiwang with great joy.

"Wow, that's amazing! I thought I had unconsciously started talking again... even the tone was the same! Ah... I have an idea!"

"You'd better put away those weird ideas of yours, Alicia."

Mebius's voice drifted over from afar.

"Also, my lab isn't for you to hold celebrations... If you want to have a celebration, get out. Right now, I need some peace and quiet here."

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Mebius~ You're clearly having a great time too~?"

"I do not have."

Mebius said expressionlessly.

"Also, I said get out now. I need a quiet environment... Don't make me repeat myself. Or are you all just bored? Looks like I'll have to talk to those guys and give you more tasks."

"Alright, alright, Dr. Möbius, don't be such a spoilsport..."

"And you too, you guinea pig."

Mebius then turned his attention to Xi Wang, who was trying to smooth things over.

"While I congratulate you on surviving... I must remind you to cherish your 'uniqueness'. There are still things about you that I haven't been able to figure out... I don't want such a unique lab rat to suddenly disappear for some inexplicable reason, that would infuriate me."

"...Finally, don't talk like Alicia, it annoys me."

"Okay~"

"No, Xiwang, let's talk to Mebius together~ in my voice~ her expression will be so cute, don't you want to see it?"

"Ai! Li! Xi! Ya!"

"Oh dear, what a pity! You almost caught me, Dr. Mebius!"

Skillfully dodging Mebius's attacks, Alicia revealed a slightly sly and adorable expression, and then slipped away before Mebius could get angry again, leaving behind only her silvery laughter and a sense of lighthearted joy.

"...You'd better not follow her example."

Mebius narrowed his snake-like pupils and looked at Xi Wang with a rather dangerous gaze, issuing a warning.

"Okay~"

Xi Wang nodded obediently, bowed politely to her, and said goodbye with a smile.

"Then I won't bother Dr. Möbius any longer... Ah, tonight, I might hold a celebration with everyone. It sounds a bit strange to say I'm holding a celebration for my recovery... but consider it my way of thanking everyone~ If it's alright, I wonder if Dr. Möbius would do me the honor of joining us?"

"...If you don't leave now, I'm afraid I won't have enough time."

Okay~ Thank you very much~

Xi Wang was quite pleased to receive a response, and amidst the laughter of the crowd, she walked slowly away side by side with Eden.

"...So, how is he?"

After everyone else had left, Mei, who had been silent and hiding in the corner, pushed up her glasses and asked.

"It went much better than expected, and the entire surgery went very smoothly... The only problem is that I don't know why he was asleep for so long after the surgery."

Mebius looked down at the data in his hand and said.

"Seven days... How interesting, another seven days. If it weren't for the fact that he was still alive and his vital signs were stable after the surgery, I would have suspected that the surgery had failed... And, Mei, do you know what, I also discovered something very interesting."

"this is……"

"The Honkai Beast I picked out for him."

"【Raphael】?"

"Yes, it's the special Honkai Beast that discovered his [characteristic] back then."

Mebius narrowed his eyes, revealing a meaningful look.

“When the tests were conducted, I found that his compatibility with Raphael was ridiculously high, but Raphael’s compatibility with other people was ridiculously low, which can be described as two extremes. And it was the same during the surgery. His genes fused with Raphael’s very smoothly, with almost no rejection reaction... as if it were preordained.”

"In the subsequent tests, he did not seem to exhibit any special abilities befitting a fusion warrior... Apart from his [trait] being slightly enhanced, there were no particularly special signs, and his outward appearance was also lacking."

Mebius gently touched his face, his fingertips lightly tracing the corner of his eye.

"After becoming fusion warriors, whether it's Kevin, Alicia, me, or... Sakura, we all undergo obvious changes in appearance. For example, Kevin's body temperature drops too low, Alicia's ears, my eyes, Sakura's ears... But he only has an extra patch of white hair. Don't you think that's a bit strange?"

"……what do you want to say?"

"Mei, when did you become so stupid? Or... do you want me to just say it outright?"

"There is no concrete evidence yet, so let's not make such pointless speculations; it will only disturb everyone's peace of mind."

Mei shook her head and did not respond to Mebius's words.

"Ha... May, you're getting more and more boring."

“You’re sometimes too radical, Möbius.”

"These are just some necessary measures... and I think I only used a few slightly more efficient methods."

"Not now, Mebius, especially not against him."

Mei's tone unusually serious.

"Don't worry~ It won't happen for a while~ After all, I still want to see what kind of even more peculiar effects his combination with [Raphael] will have..."

Mebius shrugged and said with a smile.

“I believe there’s still untapped potential in his abilities. I can sense that it’s an ability that will amaze us all… Hmm… Perhaps it’s just that we and he are using it incorrectly?”

"I won't do anything to him until I find out that, so don't worry."

"……I hope so."

Mei slowly withdrew her gaze, put away the documents, and turned to leave.

"...Wait a minute, did you talk to him about Sakura just now?"

"Ah, I seem to have forgotten... But don't worry, Eden will tell him, and even if no one tells him, he'll ask himself."

Mebius said nonchalantly.

"Is that so...that's true."

Mei nodded, no longer pursuing the matter, and turned to leave.

"Hmph~ Little white mouse~ Little white mouse~ You really are a treasure trove~"

After Mei left, Mebius chuckled, narrowed his dangerous snake-like eyes, and continued to examine the monitoring data belonging to Xiwang.

"I'm so curious, what kind of surprise will you bring me, hehe..."

…………

………………

"Hmm? Hmm..."

"Are you curious where Sakura went, Xiwang?"

Seeing Xi Wang looking around with some confusion, Eden said with a smile.

Now only the two of them were walking side by side; everyone else had tactfully left, leaving them space to whisper to each other.

“There’s something… Although Sakura might have a mission to go on, I always feel like Sakura is still at the base, and I always feel like there’s something you haven’t told me.”

Xi Wang tilted his head and said in a strange tone... This feeling was inexplicable, as if some being had told him this news.

"Yeah...it's true."

Eden was somewhat surprised that Xiwang had noticed this, but... it didn't really matter, since she was planning to tell him anyway.

"Xi Wang, go find Ying."

Eden stopped walking, let go of her hand, and said softly.