Don't use yourself as payment for the commission!

“No, Saria, Rhine Life has never changed.”

Christen raised her hand to gather the scattered Wave Havoc system back together, setting up a new defensive line to hinder Saria's progress, giving her time to express her true thoughts.

"We want to use science to change this land."

This is the original intention behind the establishment of Rhine Lab. Each of us, including Palvis, whom I just dismissed, firmly believes in this ideal... This land is indeed mired in suffering, but someone must lift their head from the mud, look up at the stars, and seek a way forward. This is civilization, science, life, and also my uncontrollable instinct.

"But there is more than one way to move forward than 'by any means necessary,' and we could have avoided many sacrifices!"

Saria finally blasted away everything in her way and arrived in front of Christen. The force of her punch made Christen's golden hair dance wildly.

The fist, already mangled and bloodied from the relentless bombardment, stopped less than three centimeters from Christen's face. Hot blood splattered onto her face, but ultimately did not fall.

Saria silently withdrew her hands, which were already healing at a visible speed, and coldly bid farewell to her former best friend.

"I am leaving Rhine Life."

No, you can't!

For the first time, Christensen, who had always been calm and collected, showed a look of panic.

She could accept Saria trying to stop or hinder her in any way she wanted in Rhine Life, but she never imagined the possibility of Saria leaving Rhine Life.

This is everything they created together, and Saria would never abandon Rhine Life.

I will never abandon her!

This is also why Christensen has always been so fearless.

When Christensen saw that Saria was really going to leave Rhine Lab, he finally lost his composure.

"Rhine Labs is something we built together, our ideals, our promises... You can't leave!"

"My mind is made up,"

Having said that, Saria, whose hands were already bandaged, turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Christen rushed over and grabbed her hand, calling out urgently,

"Wait...don't go!"

"Yada, Onegai, without you, Saria, Vatasi!"

"Let go! I can't let you ruin Rhine Life, and ruin yourself!"

Saria forcefully shook off Christen's hand. Terra's terrifying strength was so great that this one move almost made the golden retriever stumble and fall to the ground. He only managed to stay upright thanks to Bohai's support.

Unable to accept Saria's departure, Christen tried her best to make concessions in hopes of keeping her.

"Saria, if you don't want me to destroy Rhine Lab and want Rhine Lab to become what you want it to be, then stay here and stop me, change me!"

We promised each other that you would always stand by my side and protect me!

"What were your underlying motivations when you said that?"

Suppressed anger was reignited by Christen's words. Saria, shaking off Christen's hand, coldly looked down at the disheveled blond dog and said in a chilling voice,

“I can’t change you here, Christen.”

You have climbed so high, so very high, on the ladder called science, that your eyes are only on your own ideals, that you can only see the starry sky above you, and that you can no longer look down at this earth, forgetting who built this ladder, and for whom it was built!

"But I really..."

"You really only think about yourself."

Christen wanted to explain something, but Saria had had enough of her empty, wishful thinking. After uttering a final, cold farewell, she walked out of the room without looking back.

Christen was left sitting dejectedly in the commander's office, which was already in ruins due to the great battle with Saria. The cold and vast starlight poured down from the broken ceiling and enveloped Christen, casting a faint glow on his messy blond hair.

"Saria, Saria, Saria, Saria, Saria...."

As she repeatedly murmured the name of her departed best friend, Christen's once bright eyes gradually regained their resolve.

Saria, one day you will understand me.

Christen slowly raised his head, gazing through the broken ceiling at the dazzling, almost unreal starry sky. Suddenly, he raised his hand, then slowly clenched it as if trying to grasp the entire starry sky, clenching it tightly.

As if making a vow, they whispered and murmured.

"One day, I will tear this false starry sky apart!"

Katishia.jpg

....................................

The Rhine Life incident is pretty much over now, and after reviewing it, I feel there were quite a few problems.

I've actually wanted to write the storyline about Ifrit and Saria ever since I read the Rhine Lab manga around 2023, but I was busy writing Star Iron at the time and couldn't find the time. Now that I've actually tried to write it, it's been a complete failure. I was only thinking about rescuing Ifrit, capturing the fat snake, and Christensen's Mygo reference, so the earlier part of the story felt a bit like a diary entry. Compared to the storyline before it was released or the part in Honkai Impact 3rd, it's much less interesting. It's given me a lot of experience in writing for Arknights, and I'll definitely pay attention to that in the future.

As for the upcoming plot, it finally enters the part mentioned in the synopsis where Star Iron Old Yang ultimately insults Otto. Ark will also advance the Sui family storyline (it's so pitiful that the landlady Xi in the synopsis has only appeared twice so far).

Chapter 95 Mimi: One day, you will come to save me. You have alerted the cyber ghost.

Rhine Life, Eco Park.

On this land, it is difficult to find a place like Rhine Life's ecological park that is completely untouched by Originium pollution and retains its most pristine ecosystem.

This is also the most beloved and exquisite birdcage of Muels, the elf.

The spirits who once roamed freely in rivers, lakes, and seas have lost their wings and can only huddle in this small paradise they created, seeking a chance to continue their lives and the survival of their race.

From this perspective, it's not an exaggeration for Muirses to tell Seria that he was just a weak, helpless, pitiful little thing who only wanted to survive.

"I never expected that Saria would actually choose to leave Rhine Lab."

A green-haired girl with long, elfin ears stood on tiptoe under the leaves of a plant in the ecological park, looking at the dew on the tips of the leaves while complaining to the white-haired young man beside her.

"In the end, it was still not enough to save these two people who were drifting further and further apart. Now, friends are no longer friends, and Rhine Life is about to fall apart."

Muirses sighed helplessly, feeling that he had sacrificed far too much for this family.

A dance for three people is ultimately too difficult to perform.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xun couldn't help but laugh and ask,

"When the mole leaked the Flame Demon Project to the Melander Foundation, didn't you...?"

"Waaaaah! You, you shouldn't say such things!"

Just a second ago, Muels was cosplaying as an artistic young girl, gently sniffing the dew. Upon hearing this, she immediately let out a sharp bang and rushed forward to cover Bai Xun's mouth with her small hand. After looking around to make sure no one was nearby, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She blinked her clear, big eyes, feigning innocence and guile.

"What are you saying? Miu Miu doesn't understand!"

--ah!"

Completely unexpectedly, Bai Xun actually stuck out his tongue and licked his palm. Muels almost exploded into a drop of water on the spot and quickly took a few steps back to distance himself from Bai Xun.

What do you want to do?!

"I just wanted to test whether your body is also manifold."

Bai Xun smacked his lips, savoring the taste of Muels.

It doesn't have any special or obvious flavor; it simply has the purest, most natural scent, like the dew that condenses on leaves in the early morning.

"Could you please not do this in front of me? It's a bit scary."

Looking at Bai Xun, who was smacking her lips with a look of lingering enjoyment, practically ready to give him a little "rerorerorero" with her nimble tongue, Muirses felt her chastity was in an unprecedented crisis.

Fortunately, Bai Xun did not take any further excessive actions, but confirmed that the Muelses in front of her was not just a manifold but her true form.

He's now a little curious about what the blood of elves tastes like, something he's never actually tried before.

Relieved, Muels slowly moved back to Bai Xun's side, sighing softly as if asking Bai Xun, yet also as if talking to himself.

"What will become of our Rhine Lab...? (choking back tears)..."

"I don't know!"

Bai Xun proudly gave the best answer, which made Muels unable to resist punching him on the shoulder with his little fist, his thin lips pursed and his eyes filled with a hint of resentment.

"Wow, how can you be so mean?"

"You suddenly jumped out and messed up my, Christensen's, and Saria's dance, then after you'd had your fun, you abandoned me and ran away. Have you any responsibility?!"

"Don't make fun of me. At most, I'm just a supporting character like Aine. Even without me, Saria would have been attacked by Christen because of the Flame Demon incident, and it would have been much worse than it is now."

"You speak with such certainty, as if you can predict the future."

Muirses pouted and muttered a sarcastic remark, unaware that she had inadvertently revealed the answer.

Not receiving a response from Bai Xun, Muels looked up at the mysterious blood demon youth beside him. After a moment's hesitation, he finally asked the question that had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

“I’ve talked to Horhaya, and you seem to know everything… It’s making Horhaya think of you as some kind of deity.”

"I don't know everything; I just happen to know what I do know."

Knowing he would be asked this question, Bai Xun once again quoted the class president's words, but Muels continued to press for an answer.

"Then are you a deity?"

"Not a god."

Bai Xun smiled and shook his head.

"I'm just a little helper who fulfills everyone's desires. If I had to say, I'm closer to a demon, but a demon who keeps his promises."

You pay the price, I provide the service—it's that simple, isn't it?

"A demon that can be hired with a single candy?"

Muirses winked playfully, a smile playing on his lips.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xun could only offer a somewhat helpless explanation.

“Things are valued because they are rare. For Charmander, that candy was of extraordinary value, so she could use it as payment. But the price others have to pay is quite different.”

"What about me? What about me~"

Muels approached Bai Xun with great anticipation, pointed at himself, and asked with a grin,

"What price would I need to pay if I wanted your help?"

"Then it depends on the specific content of your commission, Miu Miu, to determine the price. You already understand the principle of equivalent exchange."

"Then let's forget about it. I'm not ready to pay a heavy price right now."

Muels stuck out his little tongue and shook his head, but just as Bai Xun thought Muels was just joking with him and trying to get information out of him, he suddenly felt his sleeve being gently tugged.

"But, one day..."

Looking back, he saw an elven girl gently tugging at his sleeve, raising her head to give him a faint smile, whispering something as if making a request.

"You must remember to come and save me."

Even Bai Xun was momentarily stunned when he saw Muels' eyes flashing with some unknown emotion.

Then, under the girl's expectant gaze, he nodded seriously.

"Don't worry, as long as the reward is right, I'll kill even a god for you to see."

"Hey, shouldn't you be saying 'I'll definitely come to save you' at a time like this? Why are you talking about something as unromantic as compensation?"

The sweet atmosphere that lasted only a moment was broken by Bai Xun's emotionless words. Muels seemed a little annoyed, puffing out his cheeks and putting his hands on his hips, but in the end, under Bai Xun's gaze, he couldn't help but laugh out loud at his angry little expression, and the ecological park was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

..............................................................

While Bai Xun and Muirses were accomplishing great things at the ecological park, Möbius had just finished a whole night of hard work. She carefully placed the two small red items—the quantum storage and experimental data—from her notebook into the safe box on her wheelchair.

Then, he sat in his electric wheelchair and went deeper into the laboratory. He looked up at the giant black egg that Lanliu was holding in mid-air, and recalled the details of the experiment while counting down the last time.

"twenty three..."

It's not about creating a feathered serpent, but about restoring one. The difficulty of these two tasks is vastly different. All Möbius had to do was make Horhythia achieve a return to her ancestral form.

"twenty three..."

Although research on Terra species is quite limited, with only data on the degenerate feathered serpent Horhya, this experiment was not particularly difficult for Mebius.

"twenty three..."

After all, Horhya herself didn't know what the real feathered serpent was like. The ancestral wisdom in her mind only left her with vague and ambiguous inheritances, such as feathered serpents having wings, or feathered serpents having invulnerable skin, and feathered serpents being powerful and aloof. Therefore, Mebius only needed to make Horhya resemble the feathered serpent in her inheritance.

"twenty three..."