That Prison Li (Prisoner Fuli) pinned little Robin deep in the deserted alley and activated Jizo Mitama; he must be planning to train her into a Star Toy that obeys his every command!
—Such a thing was definitely impossible!
Half an hour later, in a secluded corner of a nearby Starbucks, Fuli and the heavily armed Robin sat facing each other.
Choosing this place was absolutely not out of worry that the Oriental Pearl Tower would transform into a defense tower and fire lasers at them if they went to Mixue Bingcheng. It was purely because the Snow King's shop was bustling with noise and really not suitable for discussing matters that required low-profile handling.
Ordering two iced Americanos casually, Fuli took a sip from his cup, his gaze falling on the figure opposite him.
Even through the thick mask and the tightly wrapped brown trench coat, he could feel the aura emanating from the other party, a mix of shame, anger, and vigilance.
"Um... Miss Robin?"
The boy tentatively spoke up.
"It's Origami Bird!"
Robin corrected him angrily, still brooding over the accident in the alley just now. She refused to admit that the unfortunate soul who was instantly defeated by the Star Saint's Path—eyes rolling back, mouth emitting terrible noises like "Hooooooohhh ohhh ohhh!!!"—was herself.
To be fair, Robin could understand Fuli's reaction.
Encountering a suspicious stalker hiding their face, controlling the situation immediately and trying to confirm their identity was standard procedure.
When she used her illusionary secret art Concerto of a Thousand Tones · Fugue of Stars to counterattack, his decisiveness in using a stronger method to subdue the enemy in one blow was also commendable. In her eyes, the smooth combo could even be called benevolent.
At least he didn't use Presence Concealment to catch her off guard with an Instant Slash to beat her half to death first. After taking off her mask and clearing up the misunderstanding, he didn't do anything to her defenseless self that would result in babies. He even actively invited her, still in shock, to the shop for a drink as an apology.
But Robin is still so angry!
That ability called Star Saint's Path is just too much!
Pervert! Beast! Scumbag! Public Enemy of Women!
"Hey, hey, hey, I don't accept these accusations."
As if hearing Robin's inner voice, Fuli put down his coffee cup and raised his index finger.
"First, in the supernatural world, gender has never been a standard for measuring threat levels. Especially on the Honkai side, the danger of women often far exceeds that of men. Facing a mysterious enemy with unknown combat power, it was reasonable for me to activate the Star Saint's Path at maximum power to subdue the enemy in one blow. This is legitimate self-defense against a potential threat."
Men in the Honkai World are a vulnerable group. We can't ignore this objective fact just because the top-level architecture is dominated by men. (Welt, Otto, KeBin)
"Secondly—"
He raised his middle finger, his tone resolute. "Regardless of whether the stalker is male or female, as long as they pose a threat to me, I will use this ability just the same. I will never discriminate against anyone because of gender."
Yes, Prison Li has always treated everyone equally in this regard. Whether male or female, I'll cut them down all the same!
Because the opponent is a woman with an incredibly moving face, I should show mercy and hold back?
LMAO, it's already the year 6202. Must I choose the fighting style that generates the most comments?
"And let me tell you, nine out of ten people in this world who are nice to you for no reason are lowly scum who crave your body." The boy argued plausibly. "Look at me; I have absolutely no such worldly desires for you."
"Heh, perhaps that's so." Robin let out a soft chuckle of unclear meaning. Even through the mask, one could feel her gritting her teeth. "It was me who was overly concerned with gender issues, Mr. Fuli of the Hyperion."
"You know me?"
"Like thunder piercing my ears."
Robin said faintly, biting the straw hard with her white teeth. She sucked the last bit of iced Americano from the bottom of the cup with a sizzling sound, finally making a noise of sucking dry air, as if venting her dissatisfaction through this.
"So, if you don't want your identity exposed under the eyelids of the Shenzhou high command." She looked up, those lake-green eyes staring straight at Fuli over the mask. "Please keep the scene you saw just now rotting in your stomach forever and ever!"
Hitting rock bottom and bouncing back is like this. Since he's already seen my worst side, I might as well smash the broken pot and let go completely.
"Our mutual assured destruction is guaranteed, right? Why do I feel like I've just experienced this scene once?"
Recalling his previous interaction with the little rich lady Asta, Fuli lamented that history was always shockingly similar.
He nodded. "Then let's skip the trivial details neither side wants to mention again and happily get straight to the point, Rob—"
"It's Origami Bird!"
The girl emphasized again.
"Okay, Grandmaster Origami." Fuli followed good advice naturally. "What exactly did you want to do by sneaking around and tracking that Inazuma Makoto?"
"What about you?" Robin retorted immediately, her eyes sharp. "Why were you trailing far behind me and Miss Makoto like a stalker pervert?"
"I'm actually a private detective." The boy straightened his back and spouted nonsense with a straight face. "Someone asked me to investigate Miss Inazuma Makoto's recent situation."
Detective and private detective are two completely different concepts. The former is a profession responsible for investigating cases, civilian police specifically responsible for investigating and solving criminal cases; the latter investigates extramarital affairs, finds people, and searches for various secrets for clients through private commissions.
Kiana's request could barely count within the scope of the latter's business.
"I see."
Robin nodded, quickly digesting this information.
"Wait, you actually believed it?"
Fuli was a bit surprised instead.
"For VTubers, being investigated, or even doxxed, is to some extent part of their career." The girl carried a kind of indifference. "This often means they have truly entered the public eye, and their career has officially taken off."
"That industry is really twisted, huh."
They're already cheering loudly and swooning over a fake skin, yet they don't hesitate to spend heavy money investigating the real information behind the virtual shadow.
Robin asked back, "Then let me ask you, is it possible that these two groups of people aren't the same?"
Fuli showed a surprised expression. "You seem to have deep experience with this."
"It's like this." The girl smiled slightly, carrying a trace of imperceptible bitterness. "After all, I count as a somewhat famous singer."
"After getting famous, all kinds of weirdos pop up, right?" Fuli, instantly understanding her situation, sighed. "Every family has its own difficulties."
He quite admired this internationally famous superstar before him. If it were Fuli himself, possessing supernatural power, who knows if one day he wouldn't crawl through the network cable and physically silence the guys daring to badmouth him with a slash.
Some keyboard warriors have truly toxic mouths. The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons.
"Speaking of which, I have a doubt." He suddenly remembered something and asked with interest, "Grandmaster Origami, haven't you always conquered the world with your true face and singing voice? Why are you so familiar with the VTuber circle's ways?"
Baby Bird's body stiffened.
Fuli intended to tease her. "Could it be that the Singer of the Epyreon, radiant under the spotlight by day, actually wears a virtual skin in secret, transforming into a VTuber in some unknown livestream room to spew profanities, let herself go, and relieve stress?"
"The reason I was tracking Miss Makoto is that her condition in the past few days has been very wrong!"
Robin brought her legs together, her sitting posture instantly becoming incredibly upright and serious, trying to overwhelm the other party with her aura.
However, this movement seemed to trigger the lingering effects of the Star Saint's Path, almost causing a faint, ambiguous hum to escape her throat.
Fortunately, Fuli didn't notice this small loss of composure. "Changing the subject, right? Hurry up and tell me the ID! I want to go to the livestream room and be an onlooker eating melons!"
Robin ignored him and continued to explain her reason for tracking Makoto on her own.
"Sensed something strange?"
Seeing the other party bring out the serious topic card, Fuli also put away his joking mind. "Are you sure it's not just that being a backup dancer for a world-class superstar like you is too much pressure, causing her mental tension to snap the last string in her brain, leading her to completely let herself go?"
Suddenly having to give a live speech on the same stage with a national-level cadre in front of the whole country—which low-level civil servant could handle that mentality?
"No, I don't think so."
Robin shook her head, her eyes grave. "If it were just a change in mentality or stress release, I wouldn't have sensed that strange dissonance in her."
"Then we might as well open our minds a bit like Kennedy." Fuli lowered his voice to deduce. "Could she have been switched?"
Methods like changing appearances to pass off the fake as real are not uncommon on the Honkai side.
Coupled with Inazuma Makoto being named by Director Hu Tao's 'Buy One Get Second Tombstone Half Price' before, it really wouldn't be strange for an accident to occur.
"Switched..."
Robin fell into deep thought, her fingertips unconsciously drawing circles on the table.
After a long while, the girl looked up. "Miss Makoto actually has a younger sister."
"She has a sister? Is she still alive?"
Fuli asked subconsciously.
Given Kiana's 'Book of Friends from the Grave', let's hope the bad luck from the follow didn't transfer to the sister.
"Or, did the older sister meet with an unexpected death?" He continued to brainstorm. "The grief-stricken younger sister Ei couldn't accept reality, so she disguised herself as her older sister Makoto and appeared in front of you?"
"She did not!"
Robin rolled her eyes at him grumpily. "Ei—Miss Inazuma Ei is indeed introverted in personality, but her body has always been very healthy!"
"Besides, this is a society under the rule of law. If Miss Makoto met with foul play, how could the police remain indifferent?"
They say the impression of police often changes after the first time calling them. In reality, when it involves major cases, they are quite reliable; it's just that people encounter too many trivial matters daily.
At least currently, in the Sapphire City police archives, although the sisters didn't live together, they were both alive and well.
"Oh."
Fuli expressed understanding, then raised his hand. "Then what if we just capture Inazuma Makoto directly?"
He took out the Memory Modifier that hadn't been seen for a long time. "The Star Saint's Path can modify memories, but that effect is a bit too much for ordinary people. This is better; just wipe the corresponding part of the memory after interrogation, unbeknownst to gods and ghosts."
Immediately, he saw the girl opposite looking at him with an extremely rare look of disgust, and he couldn't help but put it away resentfully. "Fine, doing that might alert the enemy."
Robin, withdrawing her gaze, said seriously, "In short, I will use the opportunity of rehearsing at the Sapphire Stadium to secretly observe Miss Makoto's situation."
Anyone with a bit of knowledge would instantly detect the hidden issue in this sentence.
Normally, when top stars come to Sapphire City for a concert, the Mercedes-Benz Arena is almost their only choice.
Taylor Swift did so, Jay Chou did so, Mayday and JJ Lin did so too.
Robin, whose fame surpassed theirs, chose to hold it at the Sapphire Open-Air Stadium. This in itself was an irrational act that damaged her commercial value.
But considering the Mercedes-Benz Arena could hold at most 18,000 spectators, and some obstructed seats might lead to slightly fewer actual ticket sales; while the stadium could hold 72,000 people, the reason for the girl's choice became obvious.
A true singer won't only sing to the audience close to the stage.
"Then I'll be responsible for Inazuma Ei's side." Unfortunately, Prison Li knew nothing about this. "On one hand, to see if there's anything unusual about this younger sister; on the other hand, to protect her from possible harm."
He looked at Robin. "Do you have her home address?"
"Yes, yes, uh..."
"Don't hesitate." Fuli spread his hands. "I won't do anything to her."
That is true.
Robin thought.
The girl considered herself somewhat attractive, yet he put away the Flame Lance even when faced with her defenseless self. Naturally, there wouldn't be much problem on Ei's side.
Thinking to this point, Robin felt a subtle annoyance again.
A strange feeling of being looked down upon by him.
"Please give me your phone."
Fuli did as told. Soon, the phone vibrated.
"I've sent Miss Ei's address to your account." The girl handed the phone back. "Also added you on WeChat. Contact me through it if anything happens."
"Istaroth the God of Time? This is your ID." (again Va joke)
Looking at the avatar that somewhat resembled Robin, Fuli thought to himself that the beauty filter was turned up a bit high, but it looked more like a deliberate adjustment to make people not recognize it was her.
Unlike a middle-aged woman he met once on a bus ride in the past. The two chatted happily, and Fuli suddenly saw a woman on her phone wallpaper who looked very much like her, but obviously younger, prettier, and with better skin.
Not knowing what he was thinking, a strange impulse made him say:
"Big Sister, the person on your phone wallpaper is your daughter, right? She's so pretty!"
The middle-aged woman froze and ignored this guy from then on.
Thinking about it now, obviously that auntie had beautified her wallpaper too much, and Fuli accidentally poked through the cruel truth, so she could only pretend not to hear.
"Time, truly a butcher's knife."
He sighed and stood up to pay the bill.