Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

However, Mei certainly has no idea what Shen Liang is thinking right now.

Shen Liang now realizes that his thinking... seems to have a slight problem.

When he saw Kevin, he didn't feel much anger or smugness.

This is not right.

Why do I say that? Because he only decided to ask the system for help because of Cecilia's death. Although I don't know why he didn't go to Paradise but came to this godforsaken place, he should hate Kevin.

As for his secret delight, it was because Shen Liang wasn't stupid; he could easily see Kevin's feelings for Mei. But Mei had given herself to him, facing Kevin as a victor; he should have felt a sense of secret joy.

But he felt neither disgust nor smugness; he didn't even have much emotion, because he felt it was perfectly natural.

He naturally felt that Kevin could never possibly be spying on his plum blossoms, and that Kevin had no right to make him happy or disgusted. Shen Liang found his way of thinking strangely calm; he was gradually returning to the self he was during his time with the Fire Moth, a time when he was just as calm... or rather, cold-hearted.

For some reason, Shen Liang felt that things weren't going well if things continued like this.

He seemed...uncomfortable to become cold, uncomfortably calm; he had his own things to do and couldn't be dragged into memories.

—What happened?

—Oh, right, Cecilia, I need to save Cecilia…

—But does it matter whether Cecilia is dead or alive?

—It seems not so important, who is she again...?

Shen Liang didn't notice that after inexplicably returning to the Fire Chaser Base, he didn't even realize he should have called the system to ask. He naturally accepted life and everything here. The more memories of the Fire Chaser Moth returned, the fewer memories he had of Earth and Teyvat.

Regarding Earth, Teyvat, Cecilia, Sirin, Kiana, Durandal, Schicksal, World Serpent… those original memories are becoming increasingly blurred. Shen Liang vaguely senses that something is wrong. More and more of his memories are returning, while at the same time, more and more are fading away. He is…

Gradually becoming part of the past self.

"Are you spacing out?" Mei suddenly realized that the boy she was holding hadn't spoken for a long time, so she asked.

"I'm thinking about Mei and Kevin," Shen Liang said calmly.

"us?"

“Kevin likes Mei. But Mei is mine.” Shen Liang raised her head, her clear red eyes filled with a childlike longing, staring intently at Mei. “Mei is mine, and I will not hurt Mei.”

"Do you feel possessive of me?" Mei stopped and adjusted her glasses, her beautiful eyes slightly trembling.

"What is possessiveness? I don't understand."

"This is a common psychological phenomenon. People cherish what they love and don't allow anything or anyone they've ever owned to slip away. They only allow themselves to touch it, and they get unhappy if others even get close. If there's any intention to compete, they get even angrier." Mei looked down at the petite boy who was less than 1.5 meters tall, and her heart stirred. She hadn't expected that Eve would not only show her affection but also develop feelings for her in a more advanced way.

While many might consider possessiveness a negative term, May knew it wasn't; possessiveness wasn't a bad thing. And for Eve, possessiveness signified a further elevation of her humanity!

Mei was overjoyed.

“If this is possessiveness, then I have it.” Shen Liang tugged at the sweater dress Mei was wearing under her white coat and whispered, “I’m worried that Mei and Kevin will abandon me.”

Mei gasped softly, barely able to suppress her smile.

The fact that she could even say "worry" and "abandon me" shows that Eve's humanity is becoming more and more pronounced. She has developed a sense of crisis and has vaguely come to understand the concept of "jealousy".

Sure enough, as their relationship progressed, Eve became even more attached to her. Although this attachment might not have been limited to just her, perhaps it was because the other girls hadn't shown Eve any signs of insecurity that she began to feel this way with her!

"Eve, don't you like Kevin?" May asked softly, suppressing her excitement.

She wanted to test just how possessive Eve was of her, and whether it met the standards of a normal man for his beloved.

"I don't dislike Kevin, he's very strong."

Mei thought for a while before understanding Shen Liang's meaning. In Eve's heart, all the fusion warriors were beings that he could "respect". Therefore, he would not hate Kevin, but he also had no feelings for Kevin, and could only comment on his strength.

“Killing him is difficult, and I don’t want to kill him,” Shen Liang added.

The tall, beautiful PhD student was stunned. It took her a while to understand what Shen Liang meant.

Damn, this possessiveness is beyond the level of a normal man! You little guy haven't even understood the difference between men and women, yet you've already reached the point where you can kill for love? No, no, no, calm down. This kid wanting to kill Kevin is a pipe dream. It only proves that his self-awareness is not reasonable enough.

However, Mei still bent down and gently kissed Shen Liang's forehead. For her, kissing Eve in public was not something to be ashamed of. Among the girls of the Fire Moth, there were at least eighty or a hundred who had kissed Eve, and only on the forehead. Even Kevin had kissed his forehead when he was a child.

“I will not abandon you, doll, none of the Firemoths will abandon you,” she whispered. “You are a child loved by everyone.”

Mei knew she was lying. Most people at the Fire Chaser Base didn't have much affection for Eve. Many didn't even treat him as a child but as an ordinary experimental subject. Even those female fusion warriors who were politely knocked on by Eve at night and then excitedly carried inside for intimate encounters mostly used Eve to relieve their loneliness, rather than truly regarding him as a loving partner and emotional support.

But Mei thinks it's probably because Eve was sensitive enough to realize that many people weren't looking at him as a "person," which is why he was never able to grow into a "person." He was very possessive, and people with strong possessiveness simply want more love from others.

The more someone lacks love, the more they demand it from others.

May wanted him to always feel loved; if others didn't, at least she would. She could always satisfy Eve's aggressive possessiveness and always make Eve feel safe. For a little monster who was orphaned or even just created, even a little bit of security might be enough to maintain his precious humanity.

"I want to hear what Mei has to say," Shen Liang said, looking up.

“I love you, Eve,” May replied gently.

The automatic door opened and closed, and the two entered the "confinement room." There was already someone standing at the door of the confinement room. It was a slender and tall pink-haired girl. She was wearing the light armor of a fusion warrior, or rather, a black jacket, with a white tube top and hot pants underneath. Her right leg was wrapped in tight white stockings. She looked young and capable.

"Good morning, Rabbit." Shen Liang greeted her casually, noticing the two long ears standing upright on the girl's head.

Mei chuckled.

The pink-haired girl's usually cool and aloof face crumbled instantly. She glared at Mei, then squatted down to be at eye level with Shen Liang, feigning a slightly angry expression: "Remember my face. When you see me, you should call me Sister Ying!"

“I was just kidding, Sakura.” Shen Liang tilted his head.

"You don't sound like you're joking at all, especially since it's Sister Sakura. Don't just say Sakura and let it go." Sakura chuckled. "But that's just your personality, Doll. I know you won't change."

“They’re clearly fox ears, so at least you should say they’re foxes,” Mei laughed. “Rabbit ears and all that is a bit much.”

"Actually, fox ears are almost too much. I don't know why the Honkai Beast factor I fused with grew ears, even though no one else has this change." Sakura stroked her fox ears, somewhat helplessly, "I'm mistaken for a rabbit by the dolls every day."

"I was just kidding." Shen Liang frowned her beautiful eyebrows.

"Alright, alright, I know the doll was just joking, Sakura isn't angry." Sakura chuckled, then looked at Mei seriously, "Leave the rest to me. This time, the Herrscher we've contained is, well, a bit special."

"Special" refers to what?

“She’s alive. Kevin captured her himself.” Sakura took a deep breath, took Shen Liang’s small hand from Mei, and then opened the door to the solitary confinement cell.

“They’re alive and well. Every time we capture a Herrscher, they’re alive. We’re just giving the doll… nutrition?” Mei wanted to say “feeding,” but she held back.

She didn't want to use such cruel words to describe Eve.

Her name is 'Seele'.

Chapter 5 The Herrscher's Flavor is Really Great!

Shen Liang and Ying entered the A5 biochemical storage room.

This place is also known as the "Solitary Confinement Room".

The electronic gates to the detention area were opened. The gates were over thirty centimeters thick and constructed of high-density materials, easily withstanding even missile attacks. Shen Liang walked through three gates, each guarded by a fully armed fusion warrior watching over the solitary confinement cell.

Shen Liang was used to this setup, because this was a biochemical storage room, which generally stored living Honkai Beasts, living zombies, or various creatures corrupted by Honkai, making it extremely dangerous.

This place is located in the experimental area of ​​the Fire Chaser Base, where many researchers who are physically weak work. If a storage error occurs, it could lead to an unimaginable accident.

Shen Liang and Ying stepped into the last room and saw a girl with long black hair sitting in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest.

This room differed slightly from Shen Liang's memory. Unlike the empty solitary confinement cell where the Herrscher was imprisoned, where the Herrscher was stripped of her combat abilities and even restrained in the room, this room was a normal bedroom. The floor was covered with wooden flooring and carpet, the bed had neatly made clean bedding, and there was a small table for eating in front of the sofa.

There were even windows, outside which was a virtual blue sky and sea, with sheer curtains adorning the windows, and the girl huddled below them.

Even when someone came in, she never looked up.

"Have the higher-ups already sent out dolls?" The researchers in white lab coats stared intently at the screen showing Shen Liang, Sakura, and the Herrscher girl meeting. They then exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat grim.

This is another room in the Fire Chaser Base laboratory. They usually use cameras here to monitor and study the Herrschers. At this moment, Mei cleared her throat and looked around at all the scientists. "Let's give our Herrscher of Death some privacy. All male staff, leave. Only staff related to Eve can stay."

All the researchers left the room one after another, but one female researcher couldn't help but turn back to look at Mei: "Couldn't we have postponed it for a little longer? The Herrscher of Death clearly...didn't do anything."

"Don't say such foolish things," Mei replied calmly.

Soon only Mei and the other researchers who knew Eve remained in the room. Mei stared at the screen without saying a word, and then, hearing the door open and close, she said coldly, "I think this kind of experiment can be done without Eve's involvement. I'm worried that it will make Eve's humanity even more detached."

"So you mean you want me to take action? Kevin struggled for a long time before deciding to let Eve end her suffering. After all, if it were me, you can't even imagine what I would do to a living Herrscher. She's an extremely rare guinea pig."

Entering the room was a young girl with long green hair, petite yet graceful, with vertical snake-like eyes that resembled those of a cold-blooded animal. Despite being a little girl, her words and actions possessed both allure and innocence.

Mebius sat on the high chair that supported her as she wandered around, casually propping her chin up with her hand, and added with a light laugh, "I don't care if she's an innocent Herrscher or not. Or rather, there are plenty of innocent people who have died in this broken world, one more won't make a difference. Only a big boy like Kevin who doesn't yet understand the cruelty of the world would be unable to bring himself to do it."

“I’d rather you do it, let Eve… Sigh, I really don’t want Eve to continue living such a cruel life.” Mei sighed.

"Oh? You're not feeling sorry for that innocent Herrscher girl, but for the doll?" Mebius shrugged. "You've really started to see the doll as a source of emotional support? Mebius, you haven't actually fallen for the doll because of what happened yesterday, have you?"

"If so, is that not allowed?" Mei remained noncommittal.

“It’s not impossible, Kevin probably wouldn’t guess anyway, but you should know very well that you and Doll probably won’t end up together.” The snake-eyed loli looked at her in surprise, then pouted. “Besides, Doll might just be playing around with you. He’s cruel by nature, which he inherited from me. You can’t really misunderstand his feelings for you. I don’t want the scientist who is second only to me in the Fire Moth to be blinded by love.”

"He already wants to have me all to himself."

"Oh? That's unusual, but even wild animals have possessiveness, so it doesn't prove much. The doll doesn't understand what love is; he only has desire, and possessiveness is still desire."

"You're telling me so much that you hope I won't fall for the doll, isn't it because of Klein?" May suddenly said.

A look of panic flashed across Mebius's delicate and alluring face, then she snorted coldly, "Klein? I don't understand what you're talking about. Please don't suddenly change the subject."

"Your assistant Klein seems to really like Doll, and as far as I know, Doll likes her too. Yes, I don't mean the kind of liking that sees Doll as a toy to relieve loneliness. You know Klein isn't the kind of girl with open-minded views. She's one of the few girls at the base who would make Doll late-night snacks and handmade clothes—are you trying to eliminate a competitor for her?" May pushed up her glasses, her gaze sharp as a knife.

"Wh...what do you mean by eliminating competitors? Mei, you're completely obsessed with the dolls! All you can think about right now is the dolls...I, I don't want to discuss Klein's affairs with you! I'm so busy, how could I possibly have time to care about Klein's love life?!" Mebius said in a panic.

"Don't worry, you can tell Klein that although I've spent a lot of time alone with Eve, I didn't intend to possess her as a 'woman'. The doll isn't just my possession, but a treasure of the entire Flame Chaser, and no one has the right to possess it." May said, then seemed to remember something and curled her lips into a smile, "However, it's quite possible that he could possess it, as the doll's possessiveness has always been strong."