Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

"Well, well, look who's back!"

The moment Lin Wei returned to the main hall, Elysia's voice chimed in right on cue from the direction of the lounge.

"Isn't it Mr. Lin Wei, fresh from giving Mobius a sound thrashing at her place and returning in triumph~"

Elysia's tone was celebratory, like a cheering crowd lining the streets, sounding incredibly cheerful—though, admittedly, she always sounded cheerful.

"Heh, you enjoyed the show for quite a while, didn't you?"

Lin Wei retorted dryly. If you hadn't jumped in midway and fanned the flames, things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand later, he thought.

"And what do you mean, 'giving Mobius a thrashing'? We clearly called a truce and ended things peacefully!"

That was indeed the truth. The moment Lin Wei pulled out the Judgment of Shamash from within Mobius's belly, the farce had effectively ground to a halt.

After all, swinging that thing around was no joke!

It was just a game, half data collection, half petty squabble. There was no need, absolutely no need, to take it to the point of mutual destruction, or at the very least, severe injury for both—though naturally, his own fate would likely have been worse than hers.

If it had really been a life-or-death battle, wouldn't he have just used the Key of Corruption right from the start to end it?

The same went for Mobius. If this incident forced her to "die and resurrect" again, her reputation as the "Rattled Serpent" would probably echo through the Elysian Realm for a long time, becoming a favorite anecdote among the Flame-Chasers and their successors.

That's precisely why Lin Wei, upon exhausting his strength, had subtly hidden the Judgment of Shamash under his body, presenting an image of "surrender," waiting for that dense serpent to walk right into his trap, and then...

"I said, that's enough!"

So, while Lin Wei often came up empty when actually fishing by the water, when it came to luring someone... he was a pro!

Tsk, why do I always end up resorting to these kinds of 'dirty tricks'?"

Lin Wei muttered inwardly. I've always thought of myself as an upright gentleman. Why is it that the more insidious and underhanded the scheme, the more easily it comes to me, the more the ideas flow?

He couldn't figure it out!

"Heehee, achieving a 'peaceful end' with a Flame-Chaser like that… Lin Wei, you really are the first… Oh dear, what a mistake, what a mistake!"

Elysia stood mischievously at the lounge entrance. Midway through her sentence, she suddenly wore a look of chagrin, her voice filled with regret.

"If I'd known you could perform so brilliantly, I should have asked Eden to prepare a victory feast beforehand~"

At the mention of a "victory feast," Elysia's expression turned dreamy, as if it had actually happened. Her voice filled with joy and emotion.

"Imagine, gathering everyone together, celebrating this grand victory you achieved… Ah, wouldn't that be a wonderful picture?"

"…Does this 'everyone' you mentioned happen to exclude Mobius herself?"

Dark lines formed on Lin Wei's forehead. Elysia's bizarre imagination left even him, usually quite imaginative himself, utterly impressed.

"Wouldn't that instantly turn a feast into a funeral? The entire Elysian Realm might get completely overturned because of it, right?"

Also, how much do you love stirring up trouble?

"It wouldn't."

Elysia blinked, stating it as if it were obvious.

"With Kevin around, nothing would happen."

"…"

So, it's just because Kevin can keep things under control? You don't actually care about Mobius's feelings at all, do you?

"Actually, it's not quite what you think~"

Elysia blinked again, seemingly reading Lin Wei's thoughts. She took quick, small steps until she was right in front of him, leaning in close with a look of sincere cuteness.

"It's because I know you definitely wouldn't let everyone feel awkward, and you certainly wouldn't let Mobius feel embarrassed about it, right?"

"Is that so? How touching."

Lin Wei replied, his face blank.

"Also, could you please remove your restless hand?"

As he spoke, Lin Wei lifted the hem of his shirt slightly, swatting away the small hand that was sneakily probing towards his lower back. Where do you think you're touching!

Trying to be fresh, huh?

"Ahem…"

Caught in the act, Elysia sheepishly retracted her arm. Feigning nonchalance, she clasped her hands behind her back and adopted a playful tiptoeing gait, smoothly changing the subject without batting an eyelid.

"By the way, why are you back alone? Where are the others? Like… Mobius, and those two girls with you? Shouldn't they have returned together?"

Lin Wei didn't press the previous matter and answered her question.

"Oh, it's just that my part of the battle is over. Yuno still needs to keep Mobius company for a while longer—according to Mobius, Yuno's constitution is particularly unique, requiring more data collection than Sakura and me, which takes more time."

When Lin Wei heard Mobius's explanation earlier, he chose to keep quiet. Life is hard enough, no need to expose her awkwardness; pressing further would be impolite.

"I was worried something might happen to Yuno alone, so I asked Sakura to stay and cooperate a bit. Without me, the deadweight, holding them back, they can also fight more freely."

Whether Mobius was genuinely "dedicated to the experiment" or just making excuses to save face, Lin Wei decided to cooperate and satisfy her request. What else could he do? You couldn't expect that stubborn snake to actually concede, could you?

That kind of thing probably wouldn't happen even if the universe itself went extinct!

"Oh, oh, oh, so that's how it is?"

Elysia exclaimed as if suddenly enlightened, then adopted a thoughtful expression, appearing concerned for the girls still with Mobius.

"Yes, that's right. Also, hands off~"

Lin Wei once again pressed down on the small hand fidgeting behind his back, finally asking, unable to bear it any longer,

"What exactly are you trying to find on me? Can't you just ask me directly?"

Elysia's actions were becoming far too blatant. Lin Wei felt if he didn't say something, she might even try to rip his clothes off…

"Wow! Lin Wei, how do you manage to combine 'straightforwardness' and 'shyness,' two supposedly opposite traits, so perfectly?"

Elysia praised him with feigned seriousness, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Sigh, that Kevin fellow, really. They're both boys, how can there be such a stark difference? Or perhaps, do all boys become boring as they grow older?"

"…"

Lin Wei suddenly felt like she was just messing with him for her own amusement.

"Heehee… Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you. I was just curious about one thing!"

Sensing Lin Wei was about to explode if she continued, Elysia stopped her mischief, satisfied.

"After all, besides Kevin, you're the second person to get so close to the Judgment of Shamash, even boldly using it as a bed board to sleep on, seemingly without any burns… I really, really want to know how you did it!"

Since it involved Kevin in a way, Elysia felt her curiosity burning like a cat scratching restlessly inside her.

"Hey! You have the nerve to bring that up?"

Now that she mentioned it, Lin Wei felt a surge of anger rising from his gut.

"If you hadn't popped out of nowhere like a ghost, shoving a pile of Divine Keys at me under the guise of 'representing everyone in the Elysian Realm to help me vanquish Mobius'; do you think she would have gone that far in the end?"

Lin Wei felt thoroughly tricked by Elysia.

If she hadn't suddenly interfered, having Klein arrange "backup" for him according to her own whims, the subsequent events would likely have been much more dignified.

Just the fact that she had prepared so many Divine Keys in advance proved she couldn't have been the backup Klein thought up on the spot. That infuriating, pink-haired troublemaker probably planned to make things "interesting" from the very beginning…

The more he thought about it, the angrier Lin Wei became. He decided to retaliate fiercely, looking at Elysia with a provocative expression.

"Come on, say something nice. If you make me happy, I'll tell you the secret!"

Finally having something to hold over Elysia, Lin Wei felt a refreshing sense of triumph. Always messing with people, huh?

"Lin Wei, you actually…"

Elysia's expression froze for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curved downwards rapidly, forming a look like she was about to cry, as if Lin Wei had bullied her terribly.

Lin Wei deliberately turned his head away, refusing to look at her. But no matter how he turned, no matter the angle, Elysia was always standing right in front of him, gazing at him pitifully with teary eyes, not saying a word, looking as fragile and helpless as an abandoned kitten.

"…"

More dark lines appeared on Lin Wei's forehead. Who is bullying whom here?

Could this be the legendary "Elysia-Style Bullying" that even Kevin and Mobius suffered from?

"Alright, fine, I'll tell you, okay…"

Lin Wei couldn't stand Elysia's pitiful act any longer and directly surrendered.

Hearing Lin Wei give in, Elysia's expression changed instantly. Her large, teary, misty eyes immediately brightened, becoming full of life. Cupping her smiling face with both hands, she looked at Lin Wei expectantly, adopting a serious "all ears" posture.

Lin Wei almost choked. This girl is way too good at this!

"…Actually, the truth is simple. I used the Ninth Divine Key, the Star of Eden, to manipulate gravity, creating a barrier that separated me from the Judgment of Shamash."

Lin Wei explained like a magician revealing the secret behind his amazing trick.

"I used the Divine Key's gravity authority to suppress the flames and heat of Judgment of Shamash at its base, while simultaneously compressing the space between me and the sword with gravity, creating a seemingly thin but actually sturdy and reliable 'heat insulation layer'—it's that simple."

Divine Keys in my hands might not unleash immense power, but they sure enable all sorts of fancy tricks!

Lin Wei shrugged.

"Unlike the real Judgment of Shamash, the one in the Elysian Realm, having passed through Kevin's hands, has long been fully unleashed into its 'Might of An-Utu' form. If I didn't use some special methods, forget lying on it like a bed board, just touching it would probably have severe consequences!"

In the downstream of the original timeline, after the real-world Kevin returned to his intrinsic world, Gray Serpent personally presented him with the Judgment of Shamash, already assembled into a greatsword but silent as ash. This suggested that the normal state of the Judgment Greatsword, provided one didn't rashly "swing" it, was relatively safe to simply hold.

But the moment Kevin took it, its form drastically changed, erupting in flames. At that point, safety was questionable. Anyway, after that, Kevin never let anyone else touch the sword—not that he used it much himself.

One could only say this sword was truly absurd—those who needed its power had to pay with their life force to use it, while the one who could wield it safely hardly ever needed it…

Lin Wei's goal was merely to scare Mobius, to let her see with her own eyes that he could "pick it up" and "swing" it. That was enough. Whether the method involved cheating… did it matter?

Mobius using her Artificial Cascade Form to bully him was already cheating enough!

"Wow, so that's how it works!"

Elysia nodded vigorously, her curiosity thoroughly satisfied. She wore a jubilant expression, providing Lin Wei with ample emotional validation.

"If Eden knew her Divine Key wasn't just being used as a crude weapon, but was developed for such an artistic purpose, she would surely be very happy, right?"

Since Lin Wei entered the Elysian Realm, he had brought Elysia unprecedented fun. No matter how she teased him, Lin Wei always offered unexpected surprises. She was growing increasingly fond of him.

Moreover, the more familiar they became, the deeper her understanding of Lin Wei grew, the more she felt there were other undiscovered secrets about him, making Elysia itch with curiosity just thinking about it.

But before she could speak again, a flash of green light suddenly appeared. A petite, green-haired girl materialized in the hall, huffing indignantly. The commotion instantly drew the attention of the two who had just been talking.

"Mobius, so glad to see you!"

Elysia greeted her warmly, stepping forward.

"What was the result?"

"Elysia…"

Mobius ground her teeth, looking at Elysia. I'll settle the score with you later, she thought. But her face remained deliberately calm as she announced,

"Naturally, I won!"

"…"

Lin Wei was speechless again. Weren't we just collecting experimental data? Why are you so obsessed with winning or losing?

Besides, won? Really?

"Hmph, little guinea pig, you…"

Seeing Lin Wei, Mobius instantly bristled again. Just as she was about to utter some taunts, the terminal in the center of the hall lit up. Her expression froze for a split second before she quickly composed herself, changing her tone to sound serious.

"You can come by my lab again later. This experiment did yield some results after all. I need to hurry back and organize them, so I won't stay any longer."

With that, she turned and vanished in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, the terminal went quiet, and Sakura and Yuno appeared in the center of the hall.

"…"

Lin Wei looked at them with a peculiar expression.

Won?

Seriously?