"Okay, I forgive you."
Xi Wang responded almost immediately. After all, he would not blame Alicia for such a thing.
"By the way, I came here today to bring you Sakura's gift. Please accept it with gratitude. And remember to look for Sakura later."
Alicia took out the small bag and handed it to Xiwang.
"I got it, and...I will."
"Then I'll wait for good news from you two~ Hehe~"
"........."
"But it seems like you still need to rest~ Then I won't disturb you for now~ Have a good rest~"
As Alicia spoke, she retreated towards the door, and then when she was about to close the door and leave, she leaned over and spoke to him again.
"Ah, I'll fix the door for you soon~ Don't worry~"
Then she closed the door and left quickly.
After walking for a distance, Alicia quietly tightened her sleeves, paused slightly, and then immediately turned around and walked towards the direction of Mobius Laboratory.
"Dr. Mobius, please open the door."
"...You actually gave me a heads up in advance. What's going on? Have you gotten yourself into trouble again? Or are you just here to cause trouble in my lab?"
Mebius' voice came through the intercom at the door.
"I won't open the door for you if you don't make it clear."
"...I need your help."
“…Haha, that’s rare.”
Although she really wanted to tease Alicia for asking her for help, she could still feel that Alicia was talking about something very serious, so she just chuckled and sighed, and then let Alicia in.
"Tell me, if what you call help is something as trivial as [trying clothes], I guarantee that you will be in trouble, Alicia."
"I was hoping you could help me analyze this."
Alicia took out a small candy box.
"Isn't this that guy's thing? How did it get into your hands?"
Mobius, who had been trying to catch Xiwang to the research platform, had naturally seen this candy box. Although Xiwang had never let anyone else touch it, not even Ying, it was now in Alicia's hands... But if you think about it carefully, it wouldn't be surprising if it was Alicia.
"Please, can you help me analyze the ingredients inside? This is very important."
"...Please wait a moment."
Seeing that Alicia had not used that relaxed, joking tone for such a long time, Mebius obviously understood that Alicia really took this matter seriously. He immediately took the candy box and called his new assistant Klein, asking her to stop what she was doing and help her analyze what was in front of her.
Soon, Mebius returned to Alicia and said to her with a frown.
"Alicia, go find Mei now... No, I'll notify Mei. Go tell Kevin to stay with Mei more recently. Just find a reason... protection, date, or if he's in the mood to do some reproduction, just let him stay with Mei."
"……what?"
"Someone wants to assassinate Mei."
Mebius took out a small piece of paper. The cipher text on the paper looked familiar to Alicia. There was also some powdered sugar on it, which obviously showed that it was taken out from the candy box just now.
"The ciphertext above was written using the ciphertext you made up as a joke. This is the message I just deciphered. Considering what happened to the Fire Moth recently... the accuracy of this message should be fine. Tell Kevin and Mei so they can be prepared."
Alicia remembered that it was a party organized by her. She made a decryption game for everyone to play, and the ciphertext was in that game.
"…What about the other stuff in there?"
Alicia was stunned, and didn't even pay attention to why Mebius could decipher the ciphertext she had made as a joke. She had clearly said that she was not interested... But Alicia just asked this at this time.
"something else?"
Mebius was a little confused.
“It’s just sugar.”
"Just sugar?"
"What else? Wait...you didn't come here to deliver this message?"
Mobius soon realized what Alicia was wondering about. She originally thought that Alicia had forgotten the code of the game and came to find her. Now it seems...
"…It's okay. I'll go find Kevin first."
Although Alicia still had something to say, considering the message on the note, she closed her mouth and left quickly.
Things have their priorities and urgency. What is more important now is to tell Dr. Mei that someone is ready to use "outside the rules" means.
Just, hope...are you...really okay?
Is that really just sugar...?
Alicia was worried in her heart.
…………
........................
"Ha ha……"
Only when the sound of Alicia's footsteps had completely disappeared did Xi Wang completely relax. He panted, rushed into the room with a hurried and hurried pace, took out a small box of candy from the cabinet, and poured it into the palm of his hand.
At first he wanted to carefully count the number of candies in his palm, but in the end he couldn't help it and stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing them with all his strength.
"call……"
It was not until this moment that Xi Wang completely relaxed. His body slowly slid down and sat in the corner of the bedroom against the wall.
"I'm sorry...for lying to you..."
Xi Wang murmured softly, then gently rubbed the slightly rough small sugar bag in his hand, took out a pink candy in the shape of a cherry blossom, and slowly put it into his mouth.
The sweet taste with unique floral aroma slowly spreads in the mouth, and the monotonous sweetness in the mouth is gradually permeated by this light floral aroma.
He savored the special taste, as if he wanted to engrave this unique sweetness and the feelings contained in it in his heart.
But in the end, he lowered his eyes slightly and muttered to himself with a little disappointment.
"Feel sorry……"
…………
........................
Late at night a few days later, in a quiet park, a small boat was drifting quietly on the lake.
“…She’s here.”
Kevin sniffed the air briefly and spoke softly.
"Sure enough, she is very punctual."
Soon, the girl he was protecting behind him, Mei, also smelled the faint floral scent.
But what followed was a bone-chilling cold, and Kevin kicked up the greatsword hidden on the side of the boat. While protecting Mei behind him with one hand, he used the sword to block in a dark direction with the other hand.
Clang——
There was a crisp sound as the two weapons collided with each other. The huge force caused the small boat under the two men to shake slightly, causing waves, but the boat was soon stabilized by the rapidly freezing lake surface.
After a moment of stalemate, the other party quickly withdrew, but this also allowed the two to see clearly the weapons held by the other party.
The prototype Honkai energy weapon - [Ice Tantian], which was supposed to be used against Honkai beasts, is now being used against humans.
"........."
It was obvious that after the failed attack, the opponent did not intend to let the two of them go. After a brief silence, he launched another attack, but they were all blocked by Kevin one by one.
A layer of ice formed on the surface of the lake around the boat, and then the ice was cracked by the shaking of the boat, but was soon frozen again by the cold air. The ice surface broke and solidified back and forth, becoming thicker and thicker.
"It's enough to get here."
Mei spoke at the right time.
"I think this is enough to prove that you can't kill me in front of Kevin, and naturally you can't complete your mission."
"Perhaps we should talk business now, right? Miss Forget-me-not in the Poison Pupa."
"…Your intelligence network is larger than I thought, Dr. Mei."
The cold blade stopped attacking, and a pink figure gently landed on the ice outside the boat.
"Sure enough, you are a very good choice."
Ying slowly put away the knife and sighed softly.
"You passed the news of the assassination to us through your own means. You wanted to negotiate a deal with us, right?"
Mei pushed up her glasses and said.
"Yes, but you may need to contact my superiors later...although the current situation is all my own decision."
"But I think you should be interested. After all, you are more willing to focus on fighting against Honkai rather than the internal struggle for power, right?"
"…You're right, but what can we gain?"
"A knife called Forget-me-not, and an Ally with sufficient deterrent power... although the latter one needs to be discussed by you."
Sakura said softly.
"Accordingly, I hope you can use your power to protect someone."
"If you mean your sister Ling..."
Before Mei could finish her words, the bone-chilling coldness struck again, leaving an icy-blue trail in the dim night and finally stopping in front of Mei, unable to move forward an inch.
Kevin blocked the swift attack.
"what……"
After a moment of stalemate, Ying finally sighed and withdrew her action.
"Should I say you are worthy of me, Dr. Mei? Logically speaking, Ling and I's information should be well protected."
As long as there is no sign of defection, her and Ling's information will be kept confidential by Du Pupa with the highest standards. This was what was promised at the beginning.
"You should have more faith in the people you choose."
Mei pushed up her glasses, not seeming to be frightened by the attack.
"Back to the topic just now. If it's your sister Ling, then you can change your request. She is now in the base of the Fire Moths, being taken care of by one of my colleagues. I can guarantee that your sister will receive the same protection as the [Family of the Fire Moth Warriors] in the future. If necessary, you can also ask Dr. Mobius for better protection in my name."
"Like you said, our focus now should be on resisting Honkai rather than fighting for power. We do need a sufficiently stable environment to ensure our research, and a comfortable environment requires sufficient deterrence to maintain... I will talk to your boss about what happens next."
"But in order to ensure the progress of things later, you may need to stay in jail for a few days."
"No problem, and...thank you."
Apparently, Mei agreed, which made Sakura feel a little relieved.
"So, do you have any other requests? I'll agree to it depending on the situation."
"……there is none left."
Someone's image flashed through Sakura's mind, and then she shook her head and chuckled.
"Really?"
Mei raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, after all...if we say more, it will be dangerous for both of us."
"Too."
Considering Sakura and his identities, Mei quickly figured out the key.
"Then... it's a pleasure to work with you."
"It's been a pleasure working with you, Dr. Mei."
Chapter 20 I will never point the blade at you
