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

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Showering with the door open makes it hard to reach the back being scrubbed; Can't sleep at night, timid and needs a hug~

Late at night, on the Pattaya coast, the daily hula dance festival on the beach came to an end, the crowds dispersed, and even the mess on the sand was cleaned up by the staff.

All sounds are silent.

Only the faint light flickering in the sea in the distance floated in the darkness.

Travelers might mistake it for a lighthouse in the middle of the sea, but locals know that since the collapse that swept the world, once-bustling shipping routes have been almost completely cut off, and the lighthouse has long lost its guiding function. That faint light is not a lighthouse, but simply a ship.

A white, approximately twelve- or thirteen-meter-long leisure yacht floats on the sea. These are recreational yachts rented by beach tourism companies to wealthy individuals, typically for families or couples. The cabins are heated and brightly lit, with plush carpets extending from the cabin floor to the gunwale.

Pado, barefoot and feeling completely exhausted, struggled to climb onto the deck. She lay there resting for a while before slowly putting on her swimsuit. She then sat against the deck railing, enjoying the cool night breeze as she gradually recovered.

Then she casually took a drink from the small refrigerator next to her, crossed her slender white legs, stared at the sea, cleared her mind, and then drank the iced cola in one gulp.

"Ah, that feels so good!" The cat-like girl stretched her body and sang a happy song.

"Help...help me..."

Just as Pado was enjoying the sea breeze, the cabin door was pushed open, and a beautiful blonde girl with disheveled hair crawled forward on the carpet while wailing and shouting, struggling towards the stairs to the deck.

Pado's cat ears twitched in fright, then she realized what was happening and looked at her with pity.

"Padoo...Padoo, save me...I'm dying..."

Desdovia's helpless voice was almost hoarse as she reached out to Paddo, then her expression suddenly froze.

Her blonde hair was grabbed and pulled back, forcing her to tilt her head back as if she were being forced to.

"Oh ho." Pado shrugged.

Des Dobiya was pulled towards Shen Liang, who then approached her earlobe from behind, her small face expressionless: "Why did Dobiya run away? You were the one who said you'd let me see what you look like with your hair all over the place."

“Doll…but…sob…” Upon hearing this, Daisy Dobia’s expression shifted from fear to anticipation.

But Shen Liang ignored her fluctuating emotions and dragged her back to the cabin by her ankle. Daisy Dobia desperately clung to the steps and carpet to resist, but was still mercilessly pulled through the cabin door that symbolized heaven and hell by the handsome young man with long, straight black hair.

"Pado! Pado! I was wrong! I shouldn't have laughed at you! Pado, save me... save me! I'll take you on missions from now on, I'll help you on five! Ten! Ten!"

The cat-like girl simply watched, quietly admiring the moon and the sea.

Ah, the sea after midnight, shimmering with light.

About half an hour later, when Pado had caught four fish, the hatch finally opened again.

The blonde girl, wrapped only in a white towel, nearly collapsed as she climbed onto the deck, leaning against the wall. With Pado's help, she lay exhausted on the ship's side, too tired to move. After a long while, she turned her head and glanced at Pado, saying angrily, "You heartless bastard who left me to die! Are you still my sister?"

"How can you say that about me! If I really didn't consider you a sister, I would have left you to deal with the doll alone from the beginning. I even had a reason, like saying today is the most important day for you and the doll, and it's not appropriate for me to interfere!" Pado glanced at the bright red scale mark that was gradually appearing on her waist and said indignantly, "I took on some of the firepower for you first!"

"Then I was bullied for half an hour!"

"That's because you're bad at cooking! You don't know how lucky you are!"

"Don't make fun of me with Asian slang, I don't understand it! And wouldn't you be even worse if you had half an hour less?"

"I'm letting you enjoy the experience all to yourself!"

The two seemingly best friends teased each other for a while before finally pouting at each other and lying on the deck to look at the stars together.

Where's the doll?

"The baby is sleepy."

"Ah? Oh, that makes sense. The baby's biological clock is actually quite healthy. We've already disturbed his normal sleep schedule by 3 a.m. tonight... Don't tell Sister Mei, although she probably already knows that I won't let the baby sleep well if I bring him out..."

"Phew... It's hard to believe. No wonder you all call him 'Little Wolf Dog.' I really can't figure out whether we're fusion warriors or he is."

"Do you understand now?"

"Understand what?"

"Do you understand why we need two volunteers at a time?" Pado grinned mischievously as she handed her a Coke. "You've made a significant contribution to the survival of humanity. The success of the Son of Man project is partly your doing. Shall we have a toast?"

Desdovia picked up the can, the two of them clinked their cans together, and each took a sip. Then she smacked her lips, looking rather puzzled: "This cola... doesn't taste right."

"I added something," Pado said with a smile.

Desdovia looked puzzled. "What did you add?"

"Progesterone powder. I asked Sister Mei for a two-month supply before I left. Every volunteer involved in the doll's gene preservation project gets one, but I specially got you a month's supply." Pado reached out and scratched her chin, snorting, "I knew all along that you had designs on the doll, Dobiya. I've been preparing for this day!"

Having spent so much time at the Firemoth, interacting with researchers daily, Desmond Dobby had a basic understanding of the properties of these drugs. Progesterone, also known as luteal hormone, is the main biologically active progestin secreted by the ovaries. In layman's terms, it's often used by girls as a pregnancy-supporting drug.

Dobiya glanced at her, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "So you had this planned all along. No wonder you insisted on taking me on your honeymoon."

"So, you've been pestering me for 'insider connections' every day. Now you know what 'insider connections' mean? I, Padofelis, am your all-powerful best friend!"

Desdobia nodded in agreement.

The two drank a few more cans. Actually, there were many other kinds of alcohol on the yacht, but those alcohols were extra and quite expensive. Neither Pado nor Daisy Dobia were the kind of people who would waste money. In fact, they had tricked Shen Liang into using their own pocket money to pay for the yacht.

—In essence, Shen Liang is richer than the two of them, because Mei, Eden, and Möbius are all wealthy. These people often give Shen Liang pocket money from time to time, which is often equivalent to their monthly income. Shen Liang can't spend it at the base, so as soon as he comes out, the two girls find that their little boyfriend has seven or eight zeros in his account.

Secondly, Shen Liang cannot drink alcohol. Mei ordered everyone not to give the child any psychiatric drinks or drugs, and tobacco and alcohol were all forbidden to prevent the immature Shen Liang from becoming addicted to alcohol. One of his few hobbies is playing video games, and it is obvious that he plays video games more frequently than ordinary children, which shows that his self-control is definitely not strong.

And so, the two girls, dressed in swimsuits and wrapped in towels, drank one cup after another, lying together to feel the coolness of the night, and casually grilled the fish they had caught with a lighter for a late-night snack.

At this moment, Pado casually opened Daisy Dobby's terminal, which had been turned off for a long time.

Although fingerprint or voice recognition is required to power on, the screen still displays the number of missed calls or messages even without unlocking. Paddo reached out and pinched Desdobia's waist. "Where's Kosmo's text message?"

Desdobia's pupils contracted slightly as she calmed down from her previous excitement, her expression becoming somewhat complicated. "I should block him."

“Hey, hey, hey, even though you’re Doll’s pet now, you can’t just block him. What if we need to go on missions together again? We’re still colleagues, after all.” Pado handed her the terminal. “But you still have to be ruthless. Or I can help you talk to Kosmo when we get back. Doll won’t like you being entangled with him. Don’t be fooled by his calm, 'whatever you do, I don’t care' expression. He’s actually incredibly petty!”

Desdovia looked down at the scale mark on her body, a "proof of participation in the Son of Man Project" personally designed by Alicia.

But Desdobia could guess the true nature of this thing. The girl named Alicia had long realized the allure of Eve. Just as the scriptures say, he is "Eve," and there will be millions of "Adams" in the world who cannot resist him.

Therefore, she used this kind of tattoo as proof to declare Eve's possessiveness and aggression. This largely prevented some fusion warriors who had no liking for Eve, or even just "wanted excitement," from using the "Gene Preservation Project" for fun. After all, if most people knew that the consequence of participating in the project was being marked with Eve's mark, they would definitely back down.

However, Desdobia had already made up her mind that she didn't care about these things... Essentially, fusion warriors who live only a day and die at night don't really care about these things unless they are already in a romantic or marital relationship.

Desdovia unlocked her phone, opened the messages, and found that Kosmo had sent her not just one, but a dozen or so messages in a row.

For some reason, Desdovia felt a little down. The time Kosmo sent her was the same time she was on the yacht with a certain young man after turning off her computer.

Amidst the somber mood, a subtle, indescribable, dark pleasure emanated from this fusion warrior of the mind.

"So many? Looks like Kosmo is really interested in you." Pado perched on her shoulder, urging her to turn the pages. "Too bad, our rich young lady Dobia has already been won over, hehe."

“The moment I took the initiative, the little one understood and made a move on me without any shyness. No wonder she’s been raised to be a little playboy.” Daisy Dobia shrugged. “On the other hand, I’ve been taking the initiative for years and I still haven’t figured it out.”

"So Dobia really knows how to flirt with boys~ Why don't you teach me? I've asked the best flirt in the entire Fire Chaser Base, but they all said it was a secret! You even managed to flirt with that idiot Kosmo and he's finally realized it now, so teach me! I want to make Doll fall at my feet!"

"That's easy, you always twist your ankle when walking, lose your keys when you go out; you can get drunk on water, and your stomach hurts when you lie down; you don't close the shower door, so you can't reach your back when you're scrubbing it; when it's time to turn off the lights, you say you love sleeping naked; you can't sleep at night and are scared, so you need a hug~"

"Wow, how many doujinshi did you read to figure out this plot!"

"Don't criticize me, learn from me! You're one of the nine most important people in the doll group. You're different from me. Your opponents are super beauties like Alicia and Eden. You have to learn from them, kitty!"

"We will definitely fulfill our mission!"

As they chatted, Kosmo read through the messages he sent one by one.

Most of the messages were boring and useless, either asking themselves what they had done wrong or when she would return. Daisy Dobia quickly grew annoyed and scrolled to the last page. Seeing that there was more content this time, she instinctively turned away so that Pado wouldn't see her.

Then she realized that Kosmo had sent her something serious, and her expression gradually became serious as she read the message aloud to Paddo.

"...There is a large-scale power and internet outage in the base now. This text message was sent privately in violation of Mei's rules. The eighth Honkai may have already begun. You must be careful outside, and tell Paddo and Doll to be careful as well. You are the only one with combat ability now, and you are their bodyguard."

"...May's instructions are to be wary of anything with 'text' on it. I don't quite understand this order, nor do I know how to be wary. If you were here with me, I could ask you."

"...You're my partner, I need you so much, right now..."

She suddenly felt dizzy, and suddenly understood something. She turned her head sharply to look at Pado, wanting to say something to remind her, but before she could speak, she couldn't control her mouth muscles, and her vision went black and she collapsed.

Paddo stared in astonishment at Dobiya's dizziness, completely bewildered. She quickly shook Dobiya and then pulled out a syringe to inject Dobiya into her body.

That's a forced stimulant, one of the drugs that the Moth Chaser squad always carries when they're out in the field. First, it can deprive a person of the sensation of pain and make them tired for a period of time when they are seriously injured and unable to fight. Second, it can forcibly wake a person up when they are in shock, unconscious, or drowsy, and maintain their vitality temporarily.

But Desdobia did not react.

“It’s a deep sleep, a sleep that can’t be awakened by stimulating the nerves.” Just as Pado was confused, Shen Liang, who had watched the whole thing, said quickly with a cold face, “This is not a normal situation. It’s a sleep that can only occur with forced sedation. In other words, it’s caused by external force.”

"Is someone launching an attack against us?" was Pado's first reaction.

"What just happened? She just looked at her phone and suddenly fell asleep?" Shen Liang picked up the terminal, wanting to check the records, when at that moment, Pado's brain suddenly issued a warning.

As a fusion warrior who has fused with a Honkai Beast, Paddo has focused her few talents on intuition. She has always known that she is lucky, so she has always trusted her intuition.

She immediately jumped out and snatched the terminal from Shen Liang's hand, and Shen Liang, knowing Pado's lucky attribute, immediately understood.

"That's right. Originally, this terminal was in your hands... You were the one who was unconscious. You were lucky, so the terminal ended up in Dobia's hands, and she was the one who was unconscious... The reason for her unconsciousness was the cell phone."

Learning from Mei and Möbius every day, Shen Liang's thinking logic is equally astonishingly imaginative yet meticulous.

He doesn't have the typical values ​​of an ordinary person; he tends to view things purely rationally. Therefore, once he establishes a logical framework, his judgments are very quick and accurate.

“If what Dobia said is true, and ‘writing’ is something to be wary of, then… what ‘writing’ did she see that caused her to faint, while you didn’t hear or see that writing, so you survived?” Shen Liang pondered. “Humans can read much faster than they can recite. She just read, ‘You are my partner, I need you very much, now…’”

Shen Liang stopped reading at this point, just as Daisy Dobiya had finished reading.

He tilted his head, looked at the cat-girl, and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, that's the keyword."