[Ania's surgery proceeded as smoothly as expected. She became the second child MANTIS within the MOTHs Who Chase the Flame, after Griseo.]
[Unfortunately, although Ania gained the ability of telepathy, she could only read the minds of ordinary people, and her physical constitution was far inferior to Griseo's.]
[Mobius's evaluation was that she could produce unexpected results in certain special situations, but could not be expected to engage in combat.]
[However, you and Aponia were not concerned about this, feeling only a slight sense of relief.]
[After that, you took Aponia, Mobius, and the two remaining children to a secret operating room on an isolated island.]
[In front of Mobius, Aponia pulled you aside into a small grove.]
---o---
Beneath the pure, azure sky of the island, Aponia grabbed the hem of her priest's clothes, a little roughly, and pulled him into a small grove.
She only stopped when they were out of Mobius's earshot.
"Priest, are you insane?" Aponia's voice was laced with anxiety. Facing Fu Li, for the first time, her tone carried a mix of questioning and anguish.
She had no idea what Fu Li was thinking. Since he knew she had the ability to see the threads of fate, why would he do this?
Ania was fine because she was not fated to die. But the other two children… their threads of fate were about to snap.
Why couldn't he just let them live out their final days in happiness?
Without even needing to see her expression, Fu Li understood her feelings perfectly, so he didn't feel any annoyance at being questioned.
"Sister Nia, please calm down. Do you really think I'm that unreliable?" he said softly, patting her shoulder reassuringly as he explained.
"The threads of fate… although I can't see them, I have a special ability that can sever all of them within a three-kilometer radius for one hour."
"At that point, we will perform the surgery. Their fates will be thrown into disarray, and the threads will be temporarily jumbled."
Before Aponia could ask, he continued:
"This is their only chance of survival. And the reason I brought you here is that I want you to witness the moment the threads are broken with your own eyes."
Silence… still more silence…
They were on a small island near the equator, the sun bright, the air warm.
Aponia was standing in the light, yet her expression was gray, despairing, and lifeless.
In truth, after gaining her ability, she had secretly tried to use it to change the fates of the prisoners in The Deep End, but all she had met with was failure.
She was a failure who couldn't do anything.
After a long while, she spoke, her voice no different from usual.
I can't just sit by and wait for death. I have to believe in the Priest, she thought.
"Alright. Besides observing their fate, what else do you need me to do?" Aponia relented.
Fu Li sighed, glancing at the "Wheel of Fortune" card that existed only in his mind.
Without a doubt, this was an extremely dangerous card.
It was also the first time he had made so many preparations just to use it.
"I need you to use your Discipline to give them the confidence to live on. That will stimulate their will to survive."
"Other than that, just use your psychic field to ensure no one comes within three kilometers of this place."
"Is that all?" Aponia looked up, meeting Fu Li's gaze. After a moment, she nodded firmly. "Don't worry. I will do my part."
"Good." In his pocket, Fu Li's hand tightened into a fist.
This was also the first time he would be performing such an uncertain surgery on people he knew.
[You brought Aponia back to the laboratory, where you found a sullen-looking Mobius.]
[After you told Mobius about the threads of fate, she showed a rare expression of astonishment.]
[Although Mobius verbally expressed her disbelief, her body honestly betrayed her by raising the security classification for the recording of this experiment.]
[Experiment Codename X-003, 'Yvonne,' female. Fused Honkai Beast: 'Beleth.' Suspected ability to be gained: transmutation of matter into gold.]
[Experiment Codename X-004, 'Windsor,' female. Fused Honkai Beast: 'Shu.' Suspected ability to be gained: control over wind.]
[Personnel with clearance to know of this surgery: Li, Mobius, Aponia.]
[Before the surgery, Aponia held their hands and gave them the Discipline: 'Never give up hope of living.']
---o---
"Sister Mobius, we only have one hour for this operation, so we have to be fast."
"Relax, I know." Mobius nodded, her expression unreadable.
Fu Li, on the other hand, took a deep breath to calm himself, purging any trace of emotion from his mind.
This was a necessary psychological quality for any doctor or researcher.
"The surgery will begin in ten seconds."
Fu Li's gaze slowly turned icy. In the distance, Aponia clenched her fists, her psychic energy radiating outwards.
"10, 9, 8…"
"3, 2, 1…"
"Begin!"
[You have used the Tarot Card — Wheel of Fortune.]
As the gleaming needles pierced their bodies, the world changed in an instant.
From a normal person's perspective, the world was no different than before—the same wind, the same water.
But from Aponia's perspective, the world took on a different color.
Where countless glowing filaments had once converged—the 'puppet strings' of fate that only she could see—they were now being ground into nothingness, bit by bit.
It was as if an invisible and enormous glowing gear was crushing the predetermined future with every turn of its cogs.
Please let them be alright… Aponia clasped her hands together, praying.
[During the procedure, both Yvonne and Windsor experienced several instances of intense rejection, but driven by some mysterious power, they miraculously pulled through.]
[In the end, under the hands of Fu Li and Mobius, two of the top scholars in the field of biological experimentation, both surgeries were a complete success.]
---o---
At the same time, the glowing gear in the sky slowly faded. The puppet strings of fate, like sharks that had scented blood, entangled them once more.
The threads of fate for Yvonne and Windsor continued to extend into the distance.
Looking at the threads, Aponia's hands trembled slightly. Amidst her excitement, a bashful blush appeared on her face.
It wasn't just because this was the first time she had witnessed fate being broken by human hands.
The deeper reason was that she saw a miraculous change in the threads connecting her and Fu Li. Two pink threads were now intertwined at the far end of their destinies.
It was the thread of romantic fate.