---o---
A full week had passed since the last simulation, and Fu Li had been resting the entire time. For some reason, the tracking chip he had placed at ME Corp headquarters hadn't moved at all.
On several occasions, he suspected that his tracker had been discovered.
But after several nightly visits to ME Corp, he found that the box was covered in a layer of dust, clearly untouched for a long time.
Helpless, he could only continue to live his peaceful life. Until today.
Knock, knock!
Early in the morning, a crisp knocking sound came from outside his door.
"Who is it? Knocking so early in the morning."
Lying in bed, Fu Li pulled the covers a little tighter and subconsciously asked, "Snakey, who's here?"
In the living room, a cute, miniature Mobius sitting in a custom-made chair looked up, a current of electricity flashing in her eyes.
"Boss, it is a very beautiful, unknown woman. Her Honkai energy intensity has reached S-rank of the current generation."
An unknown beautiful woman? A current-gen S-rank?
These two phrases piqued Fu Li's interest. He opened his eyes, his brows furrowing.
Speaking of living, current-era S-rank Valkyries, there were only a handful, and each one could be considered a major figure.
Why would such a prominent person be knocking on his door?
He was just an ordinary MANTIS, after all.
"Just a moment, I'm coming."
After signaling Snakey to return to the alternate space, Fu Li rolled out of bed, straightened his clothes, and cautiously peered through the peephole.
He didn't need a second look. He recognized the person instantly from her signature short hair and the beauty mark under her eye: Rita Rossweisse.
Why was the Vice-Captain of the Immortal Blades at his front door?
Suppressing his astonishment, Fu Li put on an innocent expression, opened the door, and greeted her.
"Hello? And you are...?"
"Hello. My name is Rita. I am your new neighbor."
Rita's voice seemed to possess a strange, captivating charm, capable of making one unconsciously lower their guard.
However, for Fu Li, who often spent time with Mobius, he had long grown accustomed to such a seductive tone.
"Oh, so you're Miss Rita, the one who just moved in next door. My name is Fu Li."
Like a shy young man meeting a beautiful older woman for the first time, Fu Li extended his hand with a hint of bashful restraint and shook hers.
"Um, Miss Rita, I was wondering what I can help you with?"
"Heh… Well, you see, since I'm new here, I've prepared some small gifts for all my neighbors. Please, accept this."
Rita's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled bewitchingly. She took a small box of cake from her basket and handed it to Fu Li. It looked exquisite, as if it were handmade.
As expected of the Super High School Level Maid.
"This is… thank you, Rita-jie. By the way, would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Fu Li stepped aside, holding the door open in invitation.
He didn't believe for a second that a woman like Rita had sought him out just to deliver a cake. She had to be here for another reason.
"I'm afraid I can't, my dear little brother. I haven't finished delivering my gifts yet."
Rita lifted her basket, in which three or four more identical cakes were visible, as if she really was, as she claimed, just delivering gifts.
"I see. Well, thank you for the cake, Rita-jie."
Fu Li showed just the right amount of disappointment, as if he were genuinely let down.
However, after saying goodbye to Rita and closing the door, his expression instantly turned grim.
He had already come up with two relatively plausible theories for her appearance here.
First, Otto had discovered something about him and sent Rita to monitor and investigate.
Second, Rita wasn't here for him at all, but genuinely wanted to blend into the neighborhood. Her real objective, of course, would be to observe Mei, the host of the future Herrscher of Thunder.
Both possibilities were on the table. He couldn't be careless.
Without hesitation, Fu Li walked to the kitchen, picked up something resembling a SIM card ejector pin, and inserted it into the cake.
A moment later, the test results were in. The cake was completely harmless; it wasn't drugged or poisoned.
It seemed Rita had no intention of making a move on him this time.
While relieved by this conclusion, Fu Li did not let down his guard.
In this world, Schicksal's power was practically all-encompassing, and Otto wasn't afraid of death like the higher-ups of the MOTHs were.
With his backup bodies, dying a few times was a trivial matter.
The situation was tricky since he couldn't just wipe out Schicksal directly. Perhaps he should go and dismantle Anti-Entropy after the Third Eruption.
Staring at the cake on the cutting board, Fu Li's brows furrowed unconsciously.
...…
Meanwhile, next door.
Rita set down her basket. Not a single cake inside had been given away. She sat down on a chair by herself, picked up a fork, and began to eat.
One bite, two bites, three…
Rather than eating the cake, it was more like she was using the action and the intake of sugar to keep herself calm.
Although she had seen Fu Li's photograph before she came, the shock of meeting him in person was overwhelming.
She knew that this Fu Li was most likely just an alternate-universe counterpart of that man, but the feelings of heartache and guilt were undeniably real.
It was so intense that it had made her flee from her mission target in such a disheveled state.
For the first time, Rita doubted whether she was truly capable of carrying out this mission.
"Fu Li… is it? Sigh…"
...…
Over the next few weeks, Fu Li and Rita had occasional encounters, but no deeper conversations.
It was as if they really were just two ordinary neighbors who would greet each other when they met but would never enter each other's lives.
The days passed, one by one. In the blink of an eye, only two months remained until the Third Honkai Eruption.
"Boss, your one-month rest period is over. It is time for you to enter the simulation."
One day, just as Fu Li finished his dinner, he heard Snakey's reminder.
As his exclusive serpentine AI, Snakey was naturally aware of the simulations.
The one-month break was a relaxation period he had set for himself.
After all, the lives he experienced in the virtual world were, in a sense, even longer than the life he had lived in the real world.
Although he could choose to seal away the memories, Fu Li could never bring himself to discard such precious recollections.
Therefore, if he didn't give himself enough time to rest, he knew that one day, the erosion of time would make him less and less like himself.
"Alright, I know, Snakey. Thanks for the reminder."
Reaching out, Fu Li ruffled Snakey's long, green hair, a gentle smile on his face.
Just as he had told Kalpas, a home was never just a place to stay; it was a place where you had family.
It was just a pity that of all his family from the simulations, only Snakey was with him now.