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

Chapter 155 Snake Loli

Every inch of Shen Liang's skin was cracking; this was the price that Hu Qiandai had to pay for forcibly using his body according to his own abilities.

He was bleeding profusely, his organs were failing, and his tendons were ruptured, but he remained unmoved, for he was now truly beyond human comprehension. As his skin tore open, golden phantoms appeared beneath his body, forming the shape of dragon scales. That was the bloodline of the Sea Goddess Princess; only by stripping away his "human" bloodline once more and allowing the bloodline of the "other" to take over could he withstand such injuries.

【Great, that's it! How could a man who can command me, Miyuki Chiyo, be a weak mortal?】Tora Chiyo, taking advantage of the fact that no one could notice her, looked Shen Liang up and down and laughed loudly.

If genes were quantified, Shen Liang estimated that his human genes could no longer compare to the proportion of Haiqi Priestess's genes... Xin Hai once jokingly said that he could become the most beautiful living human god priestess in history, but now it seems that his words have come true. It is reasonable and justifiable for him to become the leader of Haiqi Island now.

Humans...

Shen Liang was somewhat lost in thought. The idea of ​​gradually departing from the definition of "Earthling" at the genetic level did indeed evoke complex emotions. But he decided to stop thinking about it. It didn't matter if his physical body ceased to be human; as long as he maintained the mindset of an ordinary Earthling, it wouldn't be a big deal.

The only problem is that we don't know if he, with his Sea God bloodline, is reproductively isolated from Earthlings. Although he doesn't have that need yet, Cocolia certainly won't tolerate him never marrying or having children. Will she suspect that he has a physical problem?

However, his thoughts had only wandered for a short while when he noticed the huge snake tail falling high into the air, and then he suddenly remembered that there was a person stuck in the snake tail!

Shen Liang immediately rushed forward and caught the falling Rita, his black longsword swiftly slicing through the snake's tail. He then carried her, who was as light as a leaf, to the ground. This alluring and sexy maid was incredibly soft; her clothes were torn to shreds, revealing her slender and delicate figure, but Shen Liang felt no sympathy whatsoever for her beauty.

Because she has almost no intact bones left on her body, her softness is not the softness of a young girl, but the softness of her broken limbs and spine. She is still alive and able to fight purely because she forcibly uses Honkai energy to hold her broken bones together.

“Rita…it looks like she won’t make it to the rescue.” Rita let Shen Liang support her waist, and laughed hoarsely, “I’m so sorry to have shown my esteemed guest such an ugly side of Rita. Please put Rita down; the tomb is about to collapse. Let’s escape now…”

“Shut your mouth,” Shen Liang said coldly. “It’s not time to give your last words yet.”

Rita was somewhat taken aback. As an S-rank Valkyrie, even though she was a maid, she had never been ordered around like this before. But this was the person who had just saved her life, and she couldn't feel any resentment towards him. In fact, she even felt that he was trustworthy.

Rita knew very well that even if she returned to Destiny now, she would probably not survive her injuries. Rather than wasting time here, she would rather let Shen Liang escape alone. But since Shen Liang had spoken, she inexplicably shut her mouth. This boy had a magical power that made people believe he could save them.

"Has Experiment kh-3637 been completed?" Suddenly, a little girl's voice came from behind them.

Shen Liang and Rita were both taken aback. At the same time, they both sensed a strange change in their surroundings. The tomb was stabilized, or rather, the entire spatial structure was stabilized. The Honkai energy that had been turbulent due to the battle also instantly returned to calm.

The little girl's voice came from behind again. Although it was a very childish voice, it was somehow alluring.

"So that's how it is. You were defeated by the Honkai Energy Compatible of this civilization. Shesa, you're really a disgrace."

Shen Liang turned around and saw a petite girl, seemingly young, wearing a floor-length dress made of artificial leather, stroking the head of the dead giant snake near its head.

"You are..." Rita's mind raced, her beautiful eyes widening in shock, "A hero of the previous civilization? You are a survivor of the previous civilization?"

"Ugh, how boring. I thought the humans of this era would be so strong to defeat Shesa, but it turns out it's just because 50,000 years have passed and Shesa has weakened beyond recognition." The young girl complained. "Sigh, that Eden guy... Couldn't someone else have figured out the test ritual for the Divine Key? Why did he make me record it? What a waste of my research time."

"Alright, let me introduce myself." The young girl lazily looked at Rita. "I am the tenth of the Thirteen Heroes of the Flame Chaser. You, who are not even qualified to be a guinea pig, can call me Mebius. Hmm, the one you call the pre-civilization. Of course, what appears here is just a segment of my AI, used to explain to you what happened when you complete the test to obtain the Divine Key. Hah... that's all."

Shen Liang then saw her full appearance: a bright yet dangerous little girl, not much older than Rosalia. Her petite body was encased in a strapless dress resembling snakeskin, revealing her fair and delicate skin beneath the openwork, scale-like patterns on her lower abdomen. Her long, disheveled green hair resembled a tangled swarm of snakes, and a sharp crown of thorns adorned her elegant bangs. She always smiled, making her appear both alluring and innocent.

"A test for the Divine Keys...?" Rita stared at her. "No other Divine Key has ever had one like this..."

"That's because they used the place where the Key to the Gods was hidden as a test, but I'm lazy, so I just used this little guy as your test." Mebius ignored Rita's increasingly cold expression and continued to stroke the giant serpent's head. "Shesa, after fifty thousand years, we have finally met again. Have you been waiting for me in this land all this time?"

The giant snake's body trembled slightly. Shen Liang and Rita were shocked that the snake was not completely dead and were about to make another move! But it did not move. It simply tilted its head, flicked its tongue, and gently licked the hem of Mebius's skirt.

It's like a pet meeting its owner.

"The Honkai Beasts you released killed more than thirty of us!" Rita gritted her teeth. "Just because of a test from you?"

"Are you accusing me, woman? What's the point of killing a few worthless humans if you want to gain the power of a previous civilization? Actually, it would have been enough for you to have the Divine Key. I didn't even want to come out." Mebius said slowly, sitting on the snake. "But... there are reasons why I have to come out."

Shen Liang felt her vertical pupils, which were the same shape as the snake's eyes, staring dangerously at him.

Chapter 156 I Still Prefer the Name I Gave You Before

“The consciousness that Shesa transmitted back was because of you that it gave up resisting.” Möbius leaned against the snake’s head, propping his chin up as he lazily looked at Shen Liang. “As expected, my lovely little white mouse. After so many years and so many things, to see you alive again… indeed, snakes are creatures that do not succumb to death.”

Shen Liang had no idea what she was talking about. Her tone was as if she had known him for a long time, carrying a strange and distant air.

"I've lost my memory?" Shen Liang asked cautiously. His first thought was that he harbored many secrets, and perhaps even had some connection to the previous civilization, only to have lost his memory? Maybe he had a very powerful background? A genius hero from the previous civilization?

"Hmm? What are you thinking about, my cute little guinea pig?" Mebius chuckled. "Don't think about it. There's no place for you among the heroes of the Fire Chaser. You're not one of those wretched ghosts from our history. You belong to this era. Well, there's an exception for you. You can call me... Sister Mebius, little guinea pig."

Shen Liang was even more confused.

Although Mebius looks like a young girl, she's over 50,000 years old and seems unfathomable, so calling her "sister" wouldn't be unreasonable. But Shen Liang doesn't understand why she's inexplicably gotten closer to him.

but……

Unlike the furious Rita, he couldn't bring himself to feel any malice towards this former civilization's hero. Instead, Mebius's dangerous gaze and words only made him feel a sense of... closeness.

That desire for intimacy comes from a distant and unknowable past.

"Don't you want to, big brother?" Mebius tilted his head.

"Shall we each call ourselves brothers? You call me big brother and I'll call you sister?" Shen Liang couldn't help but ask.

Mebius's adorable, slightly sickly face visibly stiffened for a moment. She probably hadn't expected someone like her to nitpick her grammatical errors, but she recovered quickly. "Then it's settled, my lovely little guinea pig. Mebius will answer your questions right away."

"But I don't have anything that needs answering or explanation."

"Is that so? For example, the holy marks that another world etched on you?" Möbius said casually.

Shen Liang swallowed her words back, her heart racing instantly.

"What's the name of that world on the Tree of Imaginary Numbers again? Teyvat?" Möbius stared down at Shen Liang. "Do you think you have any secrets in the eyes of the snake?"

Shen Liang broke out in a cold sweat and subconsciously took a step forward.

"Oh? Your eyes have changed? Little mouse, are you planning to do something to me?" Möbius laughed. "But I'm just an AI, you know. The real me died 50,000 years ago... No, maybe, just like you, snakes are creatures that don't succumb to death. You can try looking for me too."

"Same as me? What do you mean?" Shen Liang pressed.

"Want to know the secrets that entangle you?" Mebius said. "Why can you traverse worlds? Why can you shrink? Why can you adapt to countless different powers? Why do you have an unfathomable system? But you are not there yet. My best plan, my most perfect creation, my most adorable guinea pig... You are not yet 'me'."

The little snake's words were full of temptation, and Shen Liang knew very well that she was using words to lure him into crossing a "forbidden line" that he didn't know what it was.

That makes sense, since snakes are inherently tempting creatures. Samael probably used the same teasing tone when he tempted Adam to eat the apple in the Garden of Eden.

She uses secrets to lure you in, guiding you in the direction she desires.

But Shen Liang refused to be led by the nose. Even if he wanted to get closer to Möbius, he had to restrain himself. It was just a genetic affinity, but he was a rational person.

He slapped himself, waking himself from the greedy urge he felt to seek solace and answers by clinging to Möbius.

“I’m living a good life. I don’t need to know about my so-called ‘origins’ or any other secrets. What pre-civilization or current era? I don’t understand or want to understand all that nonsense. You can’t tempt me.” Shen Liang said coldly, “Mebius… Sister, everyone has their own way of living. You’re underestimating me.”

“Ah, Sister Mebius…that’s so beautiful. I’m glad I doted on you.” Mebius extended her slender hand, which was covered by a long black glove. “It’s alright. You will come to see me sooner or later…the day you truly need to face yourself, you will come to Paradise and find me no matter what. But for now, we shouldn’t talk for too long. I have to go now. Kiss the back of my hand.”

Shen Liang pretended not to hear.

But Mebius didn't care, and withdrew his little hand, saying, "On that day in the future, you will cry your heart out and kneel before me to repent for missing the chance to kiss me."

"We'll see when the time comes." In the past, Shen Liang would have said, "I've never seen anyone so narcissistic," but for some reason, he felt that Möbius wasn't joking... He always had a strange fondness and trust for Möbius.

"Hmph." The petite snake snorted coldly, then said, "I forgot to ask you, what's your name in this era?"

"Shen Liang".

“Shen Liang? What a terrible name, so androgynous. I still prefer the name I gave you before,” Möbius said. “Eve.”

Rita, standing nearby, twitched her lips, suppressing the urge to retort.

Finally, Mebius stopped looking at the two of them and turned his gaze to the giant serpent Shesa beneath him, his eyes filled with tenderness and reminiscence.

“How tragic, Shesa. Don’t you know that it was I who sealed you here for fifty thousand years? Fifty thousand years of torment, fifty thousand years of being neither alive nor dead, fifty thousand years of confinement,” Mebius said in a low voice. “You are just my experiment. Did you really think I treated you like a pet? I have no feelings for you whatsoever. I extracted your genes only because you have value in helping me evolve.”

The giant snake understood human language, but there was no hatred in its eyes. It simply used its last strength to lick Mebius's face.

"Can a Honkai Beast really act so foolishly? Such unrealistic delusions, do you still think I am your master?" Mebius bent down, embraced its head, and closed his eyes. "Your loyalty is worthless in Mebius's eyes. I don't need your loyalty. I only see value."

The giant snake hissed softly.

“But you have proven your worth,” Möbius gently reached out and brushed his hand across its eyes, “so—”

She clenched her fist tightly, and the Divine Key inserted at the seven-inch mark shone brightly, recklessly disintegrating within the massive Honkai Beast's body!

This is the true way to kill Shesa! Every cell is destroyed by the Divine Key's decomposition ability, every gene is shattered. The Honkai Beast's greatest strength is its vitality, and at this moment, Mebius completely strips it of its life!

But the giant snake didn't let out any painful howls; it just licked Mebius's face like a puppy that hadn't seen its master in a long time.

“Let’s go home,” Mebius said softly. In the boundless white light, her figure disappeared along with the giant serpent. In her final moments, she looked at Rita, as if remembering something. “Ah, right, what about you? If you want to live, I have two more ways.”

Rita was stunned.

“Snakes are immortal, and Shesa’s blood possesses the most vigorous vitality. Drinking it might only cost you scales or a half-human, half-beast appearance,” Mebius smiled slightly. “Or perhaps, submission to another snake?”

She raised her delicate eyebrows and gave Shen Liang a mischievous smile. "We've been separated for fifty thousand years, my lovely little white mouse. How about this little girl, who's passable in appearance but not bad, be my reunion gift to you?"

She finally disappeared completely from their sight.

Shen Liang also sensed the maid he was supporting staring at him with a conflicted look.

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P.S.: The action scenes on Earth have finally settled! The world-building on Earth has also been laid out! It's estimated that there won't be any more action or war scenes in the next 100,000 words, well... maybe not. The next action scenes will probably be fights between women.

Chapter 157 The Open and Covert Struggle Between Two S's

After the snake disappeared, Shen Liang and Rita looked at each other in silence.

One was just recovering from his injuries, while the other was critically wounded and on the verge of death. This should have been a dramatic, life-or-death situation, a time of intense struggle and heart-wrenching moments, but both tacitly agreed that their injuries weren't the most important thing at the moment. After the formidable enemy disappeared, the atmosphere between them became subtly awkward.

“The tomb is now stable,” Rita said first.

“It’s stabilized.” Shen Liang nodded in reply.