"Dr. Tesla, don't rush just yet."
Kiana☆ walked over to the console and gently patted Tesla's tense shoulder, her tone carrying a calm, reassuring certainty, "Welt will be fine, I already met Welt before, in another universe."
She paused, then slowly recounted everything about Welt from the Honkai, Star Rail universe.
"Kiana?" Hearing this, Tesla's reddened eyes suddenly lit up.
She turned around excitedly, opened her mouth as if she wanted to shout something, and unconsciously clenched the corner of her clothes with her fingers.
But when the words reached her lips, they ultimately turned into a heavy sigh. The impatience in her eyes gradually gave way to complicated emotions, "So that's how it is... That idiot is still feeling guilty about what happened back then."
She raised her hand to rub her sore eyes, her voice softening, unable to hide the concern within, "Ah～ I don't ask for anything else. As long as he can come back safely, that's enough."
With the matter of Welt coming to a temporary close, the tense atmosphere in the laboratory finally relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Tesla rubbed the aching back of her neck. Just as her fingers brushed the edge of the console, her nose was suddenly caught by an enticing fragrance.
It wasn't the smell of instant noodles, it was the real aroma of meat mixed with caramelized sweetness, instantly brightening her eyes.
"Smells so good! Who's cooking?"
These past few days, in order to bring Welt back, she had gnawed on dry, hard instant noodles while pulling several all-nighters.
Her mouth had long since lost any taste, so the moment she smelled proper food, her stomach immediately let out an uncooperative "gurgle."
Before her words had even faded, she abruptly stood up. Her red twin ponytails left an afterimage as she rushed out first.
Kiana☆ followed closely behind, but her heart skipped a beat, an ominous feeling rising within her.
Sure enough, at the kitchen entrance, Fu Lin was holding a white porcelain plate.
The chicken wings on it looked so good that just one glance made people swallow involuntarily.
There was a dab of brown sauce on the tip of his nose. Seeing Tesla and Kiana☆ coming over, the curve of his lips grew wider, his eyes sparkling, brimming with undisguised anticipation.
Fu Lin held the plate forward, offering it like a treasure, his eyes full of expectation, "Kiana☆, Dr. Tesla, hurry up and try my new creation!"
"Wait! Dr. Tesla! You can't, eat that!!!"
Kiana☆'s heart tightened. She reacted quickly and reached out to stop her, but for some reason was still half a beat too slow, and could only watch helplessly as the chicken wing was brought to Tesla's mouth.
The skin was charred and fragrant with just the right chew. The moment she bit into it, tender, juicy meat wrapped in sweet-and-salty sauce melted across her tongue.
Tesla's eyes lit up, genuine enjoyment appearing on her face as she praised it indistinctly,
"Not bad, kid! You're pretty good at cooking, looks, aroma, and taste, it's all there!"
Watching Tesla chew with relish, Kiana☆'s face was filled with "worldview collapsing," question marks almost floating off her face.
Her gaze darted back and forth between Tesla and Fu Lin, disbelief written all over her.
'Amazing, Kiana☆ didn't recognize me! My power finally works on Kiana!'
Fu Lin smiled innocently and moved the plate a bit closer to Kiana☆, "Kiana☆, want some too?"
After finishing the last bite, Tesla licked her fingers with lingering satisfaction and turned to Kiana☆ in confusion, "Why were you stopping me just now? What could go wrong from eating a chicken wing? Don't tell me he poisoned it or something?"
Kiana☆ opened her mouth, looking at the alluring plate of chicken wings, then at the perfectly fine Dr. Tesla. For a moment, she didn't know how to explain it.
At that moment, Fu Hua walked out of the kitchen holding a cup of hot tea. Her gaze fell on the "Fu Lin" in front of her, and her brows knit slightly,
"Fu Shi, why are you blocking the doorway?"
Fu Hua's voice was calm and steady, but it was like a stone thrown into still water, instantly freezing the atmosphere at the kitchen entrance.
"???"
Tesla's chewing motion froze midair. Sauce still clung to the corner of her mouth as she looked back and forth at the "Fu Lin" before her, her eyes full of confusion, "What's going on?"
Kiana☆'s eyes widened even more, her pupils shrinking slightly, disbelief nearly spilling off her face.
The exposed "Fu Lin" stiffened in place. The smile at the corner of his mouth slowly disappeared, and the brown sauce on his nose suddenly looked rather comical.
The next second, the "Fu Lin" in Tesla's and Kiana☆'s eyes really did turn into Fu Shi, her face still smeared with sauce she hadn't wiped clean, both hands still holding the plate.
"Hey, old antique, you really didn't leave me any face at all, exposing me on the spot like that～"
Fu Shi pouted, her tone tinged with resentment. Still, she set the plate aside and wiped her face with her hand, only to smear the sauce even more.
Kiana☆ fell into deep self-doubt. She frowned, pressed her temple, and muttered in confusion and disbelief, "How is this possible? I really didn't recognize you at all just now? Your authority should be ineffective against me. How did you manage to alter my perception?!"
"Heh heh, that starts with the fact that the powers of Herrschers have limits. And me, I'm not a Herrscher anymore, Kiana☆!"
The Herrscher of Sentience slowly raised her hand, a brilliant yet defiant smile curling at her lips,
"Power, destination, ideals.
When I inherited the name of the Herrscher of Sentience…
But why should I play the shadow of Finality…
This is my own power, my own destination, my own ideals. This is the real me!"
"Huh?" Kiana☆ stared at her, eyes wide, wearing a clear "what nonsense are you talking about" expression.
Fu Shi cleared her throat and quickly put away that arrogant demeanor, straightening up seriously with her hands behind her back, "In short, before, I was restricted by Finality. When I went to the Honkai: Star Rail universe last time, I got a tiny bit of help from someone."
"Now I've finally broken free of those shackles, and from now on I can keep getting stronger along my own path. Sooner or later, I'll become strong enough to completely rewrite your consciousness, make you forget that Fu Lin even exists, and then monopolize Fu Lin!"
Kiana☆ rolled her eyes and dragged out her words sarcastically, "Wow, you're really·amazing～"
The drawn-out ending was full of undisguised mockery, and she even raised her hand to clap twice symbolically.
"What's with that weird sarcastic attitude?!" Fu Shi exploded, jumping up with her hands on her hips, glaring at Kiana☆ as her cheeks puffed up in anger.
"I'm saying I'll rewrite your consciousness and make you forget Fu Lin, and this is your reaction?"
"Then what?" Kiana☆ raised an eyebrow, deliberately putting on a perfunctory look.
"Should I applaud and cheer for you, then give you a little red flower?"
"At least show some sense of crisis!"
Seeing Kiana☆ still acting indifferent, Fu Shi stamped her feet in anger, invisible steam almost rising from her forehead, "When I really rewrite your consciousness, you'll only be able to stand aside and watch me and Fu Lin be together always and stroll everywhere together!"
Tesla silently gnawed on a chicken wing at the side, eyes full of shock, letting out an "Huh?" Are young people these days really this bold?
"Oh～ how scary."
Kiana☆ clutched her chest and deliberately pretended to tremble, though her eyes were full of laughter, "Then should I start crying and beg you to show mercy later, please don't steal Fu Lin away, and let you raise the unborn child of me and Fu Lin?"
"…That's not impossible." Fu Shi's voice paused suddenly. Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Kiana☆'s belly, clearly tempted by the suggestion.
Just then, Fu Lin walked in. Seeing the noisy scene at the kitchen entrance, he froze for a moment,
"What are you talking about?"
Fu Shi and Kiana☆ stopped arguing at the same time and turned to look at him in unison.