I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

To be honest, Quintus hadn't felt this way in a long time. After all, since joining the group, he had always been the one using his fellow countrymen to monitor others; he couldn't stand others watching him...

He glanced in the direction of the warning room, and ultimately, out of caution, decided to go and investigate to figure out what had just happened.

Having made up his mind, Quintus moved in that direction. Within moments, his body moved to the doorway with incredible speed.

Quintus arrived at the door and opened the door to the admonition room almost without hesitation, looking inside.

He had already used all his speed to block the door; he refused to believe that any little mouse could sneak away right under his nose.

"...?"

However, while the idea was appealing, the empty room in reality was like a slap in the face, completely stunning Quintus.

He was quite certain that he had indeed felt watched, but where was the person? It couldn't be that someone could turn invisible or teleport, could it? How could that be?

While pondering, Quintus began to contact his compatriots who were monitoring the church, asking them if they had discovered the intruders.

After receiving a negative answer from his compatriots, he was somewhat relieved, though he still had doubts. He absolutely could not allow the court to discover the secrets of the church.

After contacting his compatriots and asking them to strengthen surveillance in the surrounding area, Quintus cautiously made his way slowly into the depths of the tomb.

------------

Meanwhile, in a basement within Saltwind City.

The air in the basement was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant mixed with chemical reagents, creating a nauseating odor.

In the center of the room, there is a stone dissection table covered with a white sheet. The human-shaped mound under the sheet silently tells the story of what happened here before.

Meanwhile, the temporary owner of this basement, Mebius, was holding his recording equipment, recording something unknown.

The moment her hand stopped moving, Paddo's familiar voice rang in her mind, perfectly timed.

"Wow, Snake Sister, let me tell you, that was really close! We were just a hair's breadth away from being discovered by that bishop!"

"Oh, thank you for your hard work, Phyllis~" Upon hearing this, Mebius, who knew that Pado had completed the mission, unusually refrained from teasing her and instead spoke in a lazy tone.

"Haha, it's no trouble at all, just a small matter... Sister Snake, the experimental site you're looking for should be right under the tomb."

After hearing Mebius's words, Pado laughed and explained.

"We saw the bishop walk that way. Going to a place like that at this time, there's only one possibility. But how you infiltrate is up to you, Snake Sister; we can't help you with that."

"Hmm... I understand." After hearing Patto's explanation, Möbius calmly put down the instrument in his hand.

Actually, Snake knew the general location of the testing ground he was looking for, but he didn't know the exact location of the entrance.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I don't need you here for the time being. Go back to Lungmen and have some fun with your friends~" After sorting out the general situation in his mind, Mebius raised his eyes and said to Pado in his mind at a leisurely pace.

"Hey, goodbye Snake Sister! And take care of yourself." With those two sentences, Pado ended her conversation with Mebius in the blink of an eye.

What a joke! She knows Snake Sister's personality well. What if she hesitates a little longer and then suddenly changes her mind and drags her off to scout ahead?

Just think about the eerie atmosphere of Saltwind City, damn it! We absolutely have to damn it!

"Heh~" Upon hearing this, Mebius couldn't help but chuckle softly. He didn't say anything more, but instead turned his attention back to the instrument.

Snake took the next steps seriously, but that was about it.

She had already decided on her plan: to simply and directly infiltrate through the entrance. So there was no need for her to waste any more time on this.

After all, if she wanted to, those little lab rats at the bottom of the sea couldn't stop her...

As for why the clever and cunning Möbius would choose such a brutal method to infiltrate... well, it's because she had no other choice!

The location of the laboratory she wanted to infiltrate was perfect; it was in a cave beneath the city, surrounded by the sea and guarded by Hai Si.

From the very beginning, the snake had only two choices: either find an entrance and violently invade it, or enter the ocean and use even more violent methods to wipe out the swarms of sea creatures that invaded it.

Given the interconnectedness and shared bloodline among these mice in the sea, and not wanting to complicate matters too much, Möbius chose the former option.

To be honest, if her goal for this trip could automatically appear in front of her, she really wouldn't bother to deal with those sea mice in the ocean, except during experiments, of course.

"..."

Thinking of his goal this time, Mebius couldn't help but narrow his serpentine eyes slightly, then revealed a confident smile.

She was determined to get her hands on Laurentina, or rather, Ghost Shark, who was currently being held captive in the underground laboratory.

That's right, this time Snake went to great lengths, from hiring people to investigate to violently infiltrating, all to snatch this deep-sea hunter from Quintus.

Actually, at the very beginning, Mebius hadn't set her sights on the Ghost Shark. Her purpose in coming to the beach was merely to conduct some research and capture some of the sharks for study.

Because before she arrived at the seaside, neither she nor the other "selves" could be sure whether the deep-sea hunter had been rescued or taken to an island.

However, it wasn't until Mebius himself arrived and investigated that he discovered the ghost shark hadn't been rescued yet, at which point he changed his mind and turned his attention to the imprisoned deep-sea hunter.

There's no way around it; compared to those creatures in the water that are mentally polluting even to look at, Snake prefers Laurentina, this little guinea pig.

Moreover, the combination of Agor, Heinrich, and Originium is not something everyone can easily assemble...

Stopping the jumbled thoughts in his mind, Möbius threw himself back into his work, quietly awaiting the dawn of tomorrow.

Chapter 4 Actions and Invasion

After working in the basement all night, Möbius checked the time and, after confirming it was almost time, stood up and stretched his slightly stiff body.

According to Snake's previous investigation, there will be a gathering organized by Quintus at the church today. Although it won't be of much use, it's better than nothing and at least it can be considered an opportunity. She plans to use this as a starting point to begin her actions.

Since he had no intention of returning after succeeding, Möbius took advantage of the early hour to quickly tidy up the basement, which he was temporarily using as a laboratory.

Pack up all the useful items and take them with you; destroy the useless ones on the spot without leaving a trace.

After doing all this, Snake leisurely left the basement and went up to the house. Reaching the window, she reached out and opened it.

The salty, damp sea fog outside had long since disappeared, replaced by the sun, which had somehow risen from the sea, and the cold sunlight that fell upon this historic but now decaying town.

Withdrawing his gaze, Möbius didn't waste any more time, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked outside.

The streets were deserted and quiet, completely devoid of their usual hustle and bustle. Only a few seagulls circled over the abandoned stalls, occasionally letting out a few mournful cries that broke the surrounding stillness.

Most of the houses on both sides of the road are dilapidated, with exposed wooden structures blackened by the passage of time, windows tightly closed, and doors locked, refusing all visitors.

The whole city felt gloomy and unsettling.

Of course, Mebius was not among those who felt uncomfortable or uneasy; she had seen enough of the desolation here in the past few days.

Because she was completely unaffected, Snake walked quickly and lightly to the church, arriving at her destination in no time.

The church wasn't crowded, but it wasn't empty either; there were more people than when the court had held services. After all, in this starving town, few could resist the offer of food during worship.

Of course, the Deep Sea Church is currently in a period of expansion, and they will not refuse anyone who wants to participate in worship, because they have ample "food" to meet their needs.

That is why, even though Möbius's attire and demeanor were completely out of place in this city, he still entered the dilapidated church without any trouble.

Inside the church, the devotees, who worship the Mother Goddess, warmly served everyone who entered the hall to listen to their speeches. Of course, if you refused, they wouldn't force you to listen.

Here, everything is "voluntary".

After scaring away anyone who wanted to disturb him with his eyes, Möbius sat silently by the side door, observing everything in the church, as quiet as a scholar who had come out of curiosity.

In reality, however, the snake was simply waiting for an opportunity to enter the backyard and reach the tomb entrance.

As time passed, more and more people entered the church... At the same time, she noticed the detail that someone was always holding the side door.

"..."

Mebius gazed at the veiled cultists there, his snake-like eyes narrowing slightly.

It seems that Bishop Quintus's understanding of the human body is rather poor. Those standing motionless believers appear to be merely faithfully carrying out an instruction under the influence of the Haisi cells.

Although meticulous and seemingly serious, he still lost some of the wisdom that a person should have.

Having understood the situation of those believers, Snake lost interest and withdrew her gaze. After all, no one would be so bored as to stare at a stone statue indefinitely, and she certainly didn't think she should waste her time on it.

Not long after Mebius withdrew his gaze, Quintus, the masked leader of the Deep Sea Church, made a dazzling entrance amidst the attention of the crowd.

He appeared significantly taller than average, standing approximately 1.95 meters, with his lower body completely concealed by a bluish-brown church robe. His movements were also remarkably slow; to the snakes, it was more like wriggling than walking.

Yes... a slow, creeping movement.

Both the information from Pado and the plot he knew well told Mebius about the current state of the bishop in front of him.

Quintus was already a non-human being, but that's precisely why the snake looked down on him even more; he was nothing more than a failed product that couldn't maintain a human form.

If you can't even maintain your original form, how can you call it a successful "evolution"?

As a scholar who pursued competition, Mebius expressed disdain for the "evolution" displayed by Quintus.

Rather than evolution, she sees it as regression, a voluntary assimilation of other species that is utterly foolish.

In Snakes' opinion, only the Deep Sea Hunters can be considered to have evolved, maintaining their fundamental human qualities while wielding immense power. Conceptually, they aren't much different from Fusion Warriors; they're simply fused with...

It's just that the West is different.

Of course, it is precisely because of this that when she sees people who voluntarily accept assimilation, she can't help but feel a sense of absurdity, as if fusion warriors are voluntarily assimilated by Honkai Beast factors.

With his arms crossed, Möbius stopped his thoughts and mercilessly labeled Quintus as brainless and a waste of experimental materials.

There's not much to say about the former who would willingly transform themselves into something neither human nor ghost.

As for the latter, looking at the believers standing like stone pillars in the church, Snake didn't think these guys would make good use of good experimental subjects. At best, it would just be some brute-force attempts, as for sophisticated reverse engineering... hah.

Just as Mebius was defining Quintus in his mind, he took out his lecture notes and began to recount the teachings of the Deep Sea Church to the people who came.

Everyone closed their eyes in respect as the bishop led the prayer. Even the townspeople who were attending for the first time followed suit, closing their eyes in prayer to give thanks for the blessings of the Mother Goddess.

In those few short seconds, Mebius stopped sitting and acting as a scholar, bursting forth with his fastest speed and silently slipping out of the hall through the side door.

After all, although it is called a side door, there is actually no door there, otherwise the believers would not have needed to guard it in the first place.

Therefore, the snake entered the church without any fuss and headed straight for the tomb.

When she arrived at the backyard, the empty and quiet environment was exactly as she had expected.

This is also one of the reasons why Mebius chose this time to come to the Deep Sea Church. At this time, those annoying believers are all gathered in the church hall, and there is no one wandering around and hindering her plans.

Of course, she didn't care too much, after all, she came here to violently invade.

Without hesitation, Snake calmly walked into the entrance to the church crypt.

Meanwhile, Quintus, who was still reading his lecture in the hall, couldn't help but pause slightly, and then his eyes narrowed.

He noticed that the strikingly beautiful woman who had just disappeared from the hall was now heading straight into the tomb entrance.

A question mark involuntarily popped into Quintus's head. How could someone find the entrance to the experimental field? And head straight for it... Wait, in an instant, he couldn't help but think of the feeling of being spied on last night. Damn it!

"Boom boom——"