"Don't rush, I'll explain it to you step by step."
Facing Sampo's questions, Nero first took a small step back, fully revealing Sampo Korgi to him.
"Looks a lot like you, right? Aside from the height and the eye color, it's almost exactly the same as you everywhere else. I call it Sampo Korgi."
Because Sampo Korgi's appearance was indeed extremely similar to Sampo's, you could even say they were carved from the same mold, when Nero said Sampo Korgi looked a lot like him, the latter kept nodding.
But the moment the name "Sampo Korgi" came out, Sampo froze in place.
"Sampo Korgi... means...?"
"Korgi is just a corgi... oh, right, I forgot, you don't know."
Nero first looked at Sampo in confusion, subconsciously thinking that corgis were a pretty well-known dog breed. But then he quickly reacted, this was the Honkai: Star Rail world.
The longer he stayed in this world, the more it started to feel like home. Sometimes when he spoke, he couldn't even tell the difference between the two worlds anymore.
But it wasn't a big problem. Right now, this was just a private conversation between him and Sampo.
After that, Nero stretched out both hands in front of Sampo, forming "claw" shapes above his forehead, then slowly pinched them inward.
He tried to use this method to show a difference in length.
While making the gestures, Nero said to Sampo, "A corgi is a type of dog. Because of genetics, their legs are relatively short."
"Look, your legs are so long, so you're called Sampo Koski. Its legs are so short, so it's called Sampo Korgi."
"Very reasonable, right?"
Nero's actions undoubtedly gave Sampo a vivid and intuitive demonstration of what "Sampo Korgi" meant.
At this point, Sampo had no choice but to nod in agreement.
If there really was the kind of dog Nero described, then this naming method was indeed quite reasonable, just that...
As the person involved, he still felt a bit strange about it.
There was an inexplicable feeling of being called a dog... but considering that the little colleague in front of him was even willing to give him all of his Winter City Shields.
Then maybe this really was just what he meant.
There definitely wasn't any deeper implication, right.
The little colleague surely didn't mean to insult Sampo.
This time, Sampo guessed right, but he seemed to be the kind of person who never learned his lesson and would keep getting burned again and again as he went further down that road.
After explaining Sampo Korgi to Sampo, Nero continued, "I don't know what this thing is either, but it should be some kind of monster. Earlier in the Goethe Hotel, I took care of one of its kind."
Sampo listened carefully and even nodded.
"When I dealt with that monster in the Goethe Hotel, I dissected it along the way. This kind of monster has a structure similar to humans, but no internal organs. Its blood is black, and it has some ability to communicate."
"At the moment, I don't know whether they need sleep or any other form of rest, but they probably don't need to eat normally. For all we know, they could survive on old batteries."
Sampo was still listening carefully, and nodding...
"Huh? Dissected?"
"Yeah, dissected. I'm not professional, but the results were good."
Nero nodded seriously, as if he hadn't noticed Sampo's stunned expression at all.
"Anyway, after the dissection, I think this kind of creature has the potential to become labor. I believe that after hearing the information I got from the dissection just now, you've reached the same conclusion."
"No, I didn't... um..."
Sampo wanted to say something to Nero.
Probably some kind of talk to correct his worldview, since he actually liked kids quite a lot.
Nero might not strictly count as a kid, but from Sampo's point of view, there wasn't much difference.
However, the thought of "this kid in front of me is a colleague" in Sampo's mind stopped him from saying those things. That piece of information told him that even if he said it, it would be completely useless.
At the same time, Nero didn't give Sampo a chance to speak.
"After reaching that conclusion, I came out to see if I could catch a live one to run some experiments, and at the same time verify this kind of creature's abilities and physical qualities."
"You can see the results now. I successfully caught a live specimen, and I've also confirmed that this kind of creature's physical abilities really can be used as labor."
As he spoke, Nero stretched out his hand and pointed toward the alley beside them, asking Sampo, "Can you see an alley here?"
Sampo turned his head and only saw a wall stretching across in front of him. He shook his head.
"Teacher Dan Heng and the others can't see it either."
Nero said, "But I can see it. Before entering the Goethe Hotel, I already saw one of them disguising itself as March and calling out to me there. Of course, you saw it too, aside from being imperfect, their disguises are actually quite perfect."
"This should also be part of their ability. Only prey that has been targeted can see their hiding places."
"Considering Belobog's current situation, it's reasonable to suspect that this unknown creature is also a type of Rift creature."
"In the future, when you see them, you can try entering their habitats, capture them, and then have them work as labor to catch other Rift creatures of the elemental crystal type."
Sampo stared blankly at Nero. He thought of the heater made from Flamespawns that this little colleague had been holding when they first met, as well as the business proposal he had made afterward.
'Brilliant!'
'Really brilliant!'
From this deal and Nero's behavior, Sampo felt like he had already glimpsed the fun hidden within.
But with the idea of steering a child's worldview back onto the right track in mind, he still tried to say something, "It does sound like a good idea. But isn't it a bit wrong to do this? And these Rift creatures might not be willing to do this kind of work."
Sampo thought Nero would obediently nod and say that Sampo was right.
But the other's reaction left him utterly shocked.
Sampo saw the temperament of the boy in front of him seem to change in an instant, the kid spread his hands, half-lidded his eyes, and revealed a damnably bad expression.
"To hell with that! They won't work? If they won't work, chop them up and feed them to the Trotter! Rift creatures are threatening humanity's living environment anyway, right?
"Besides, there are so many Rift creatures. If this one won't work, there are plenty of Rift creatures that will!"
Faced with such an answer, Sampo could only shake his head and sigh, and sigh inwardly, 'A kid is a kid, a colleague is a colleague, when the two combine, I get a headache.'
And Sampo Korgi lying on the ground was even more terrified by Nero's words, trembling all over, nearly peeing himself.
As for this, even Aha, who was observing from the shadows, had to say, "Fun! This is really too fun!"
"Oh, right. You can take Sampo Korgi with you. If you have time or interest, you can also help run some taming experiments."
Nero spoke to Sampo.
Sampo looked at Nero, then at Sampo Korgi, and finally pointed at himself.
"Huh? Me?"