Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Interlude 133 "After Awakening"

Timeline: June 14

As dawn broke, the first rays of sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and onto the hospital bed. The hospital building, towering high in the heart of Tiangong City, stood silently in a luxurious ward on its top floor.

Suddenly, Ming, who was lying on the hospital bed, twitched his eyelids slightly and slowly opened his heavy eyes.

"Where...am I?"

Ming's vision was still somewhat blurry, but as his consciousness gradually returned, the surrounding scenery began to become clearer.

The white walls, the light blue curtains, the neatly arranged medical equipment—it all seems so familiar…

"We meet again, Klein..."

Ming turned his head and looked in the direction of the faint sound. He saw a strange little girl sitting next to him, who was 1.49 meters tall and had long, emerald-green hair that gently fell over her shoulders.

When his gaze fell upon the girl's face, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

"Who are you... little sister? Did you bring me to this hospital?" Ming's expression was somewhat puzzled.

But looking further down, the eyes that were drawing the little girl's gaze were like deep snake pupils, exuding a dangerous yet alluring feeling, reminding Ming of someone.

“Dr…Doctor!” Ming blurted out instinctively.

The little girl tilted her head and smiled when she heard Ming call out "Doctor." "Hehe, you only just recognized me? Klein~ Did that fight five days ago make you stupid? That won't do… If you, who have reached such a perfect state of life, were to go crazy, I'd cry~"

Faced with Möbius's teasing, Ming frowned, trying hard to recall what had happened before. What exactly was the tail five days ago? He had absolutely no recollection of it.

"I really can't remember, can you tell me?"

Ming stared at Möbius, looking completely bewildered. Möbius winked mischievously, then lowered his head and pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears from the corners of his eyes, feigning sadness.

"Waaaaah~ Klein... I never thought you were like this, Klein~ You personally murdered your master five days ago, and now you've woken up today and forgotten even the details of the crime? As your master, I'm so heartbroken, waaaaah~"

"Hmph, old woman, shut up! Even if you look like a little girl under 12, what you're saying is too easily misunderstood! And then there's the hospital..."

Ming rolled his eyes as he said this. The real age that Möbius had once revealed to him was now more than twice his own age.

"Alright, alright~ Of course it's with my cute little assistant Klein, just kidding~ By the way, this famous hospital in the Heavenly Palace isn't mine either~"

She spoke with a playful expression, while gently raising her hands to hold a small playback display device between them. She shook it casually a few times before tossing it to Ming, who was lying on the hospital bed.

Ming took it, but instead of checking it first, he looked at Möbius and asked two questions.

"Doctor, what's the date now? Also, what's your current condition...?"

After hearing this, Möbius casually picked up an apple from the table, put it in his mouth, and replied while chewing:

"Today is June 14th~ It's your fifth day in the ward." After taking another bite of his apple, Möbius slowly pointed to himself, licked his lips playfully, and continued:

"As for my condition, Klein, you can think of it as me taking a precaution because I'm afraid I'll be dead by the time you recreate the spell to maintain immortality."

What kind of insurance?

"Back in London, after you took down Salestio, I went to his lab and got hold of the cloning technology he used before. I tweaked it a bit, extracted the essence, and combined it with a display device. That way, after someone dies, their soul can be transferred to a cloned body that was pre-buried under a tree in Tiangong City!"

“But what about DEM? Even if you and Westcott are related, I don’t think he’ll let you off the hook since you have all the cutting-edge technology.” Ming asked, looking at Möbius.

"It's very simple~ I volunteered to come and take you down, and I even arranged an identity for this body in Tiangong City in advance, and transferred all my assets to this body's name, Doctor, aren't I smart!" She put her hands on her hips and did indeed show some girlish charm.

Ming did not answer, but instead acknowledged the genius's terrifying nature through silence.

……………………After a long time~

The master and apprentice walked out of the hospital, and Ming, led by Möbius, walked along the commercial street of Tiangong City.

Along the way, Möbius hopped and skipped along like a cheerful little rabbit. Her light steps and agile gait seemed full of life and vitality.

Suddenly, Möbius's gaze was drawn to a charming dessert shop by the roadside. Her eyes lit up. "Klein! Klein, I want to eat this!" Möbius exclaimed excitedly.

She tugged at my clothes and said sweetly, "I want to eat the desserts from this shop! Please buy them for me!" Her adorable appearance made her look just like an innocent little girl.

Ming simply said, "Old woman, please be more mature. I know you're adapting to a child's body, but please don't do this, I'm afraid..."

Möbius pouted, "Hmph! Klein, if you don't buy it for me, I'll tell everyone you're bullying a child." Ming sighed helplessly and could only lead her into the dessert shop.

The shop was filled with a sweet aroma, and Möbius's eyes lit up as he pointed at the various desserts and chattered excitedly as he ordered.

After buying the dessert, Ming continued walking with Möbius on the street.

"Old woman, where are you planning to go? You've been wandering around for so long. If you need someone to do your shopping, I'm leaving. You can do whatever you want." Ming asked impatiently as they walked.

After all, it had been five days since I last visited the Itsuka family, and I had even missed the news that Kotori was an elf. If suspicion were to arise, it would inevitably arouse some suspicion.

Mobius grabbed Ming, who was about to turn and leave, and said with a grin, "Oh dear~ Klein, are you going to work at that place that Little Woodman arranged for you?"

"how do you know?"

"To be honest, I do have some connections with the Asgard Company."

Ming frowned. "I see. Then why were you holding my hand?" Möbius just smiled slyly.

Don't you feel guilty?

"What's the meaning……"

When faced with Möbius's question, Ming stopped and looked at her. He understood what she meant, so his expression was slightly displeased.

"Oh dear~ This road leads to my old friend's house where I'm temporarily staying. Let's take a walk together, Doctor~"

"........."

Ming responded with silence, simply continuing to stroll along the street with Möbius, who was walking with his hands on his head.

"...Old woman, do you know what happened to those people after they fought me...?"

"Of course I know~ Of the six people who surrounded you, apart from me who was already planning to quit, and Miss Jolena who I stopped in advance, they're all quite pathetic~"

"........."

"First, there was Miss Qing, who came to me for surgery. Her story is quite tragic. Her family was killed by a spatial quake. She came to England to study, hoping to become a magician and return home to save more suffering families. It's a pity... In the end, you devoured her heroic dreams bit by bit, and as for her lifespan..."

Möbius didn't continue. She knew very well that someone like Ming would definitely know about the side effects of DEM's Magic Adaptability Enhancement Surgery.

"Ah~ are you listening? You look a little dazed."

"...Go on, I'm listening."

"Then there's that kid who openly started some kind of Allen cult in DEM. He's quite an interesting guy. I heard he was lonely because he was ostracized, which is how Little Allen noticed him and made an exception to recruit him. It's a pity that now he can only barely survive using bionic organs."

"What about Artemisia?"

"Her situation is somewhat better, because of her innate strength and physical condition. Although only half of her body was severed, it was grafted back using genetically modified flesh and a visualization device."

"I see."

Ming replied calmly, indicating that he had long been prepared to harm innocent people in order to move forward.

"Oh dear~ You don't need to take their problems upon yourself. For a crazy person like me, since they've already set their sights on you, it's like opening Pandora's box. Whether it's good or bad, you have to accept the consequences. Hehehe~"

"What a shameless guy..." Ming was somewhat disgusted by Möbius's words of comfort.

"Well, how can you say that? Klein, Doctor, it's not that I have no bottom line, it's just that I have an extremely flexible moral compass~"

The two chatted along the way and unknowingly arrived at a certain place.

From afar, one can see a grand and imposing mansion standing before one's eyes.

This mansion is filled with a strong atmosphere of ancient Japanese culture, as if it can instantly transport people back to the distant Shogunate era.

Ming slowly turned his gaze to the plaque hanging in front of the tightly closed door, frowned slightly, and tried hard to think, but he just couldn't remember.

The plaque hung quietly above the door, with the five large characters "栖空辺宅邸" written on it in vigorous and powerful characters.

"Old woman, is this your temporary home?"

"Yes, this is the home of a magician friend of mine who was quite close to me in Japan. It's a pity he passed away. Luckily, his granddaughter is very understanding and took me in temporarily."

Möbius stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a short while, the door slowly opened. A little girl dressed in a traditional kimono and wearing glasses, who looked like she was still in elementary school, appeared in the doorway. Upon seeing Möbius, a smile immediately appeared on her face.

Then he crouched down and pounced on the girl, shouting, "Aya, your great-auntie has missed you so much—!"

Aya felt Möbius, who was tightly hugging her, fall to the ground. Her face gradually flushed, and steam began to rise from her cheeks. "Ah? Grandma Möbius, you... don't do this!!"

"Slurp~ How could that be~ Your Grandma Möbius is already the same age as you now, don't be shy~ We'll be living together for a long time to come!"

Seeing Möbius already groping Aya, Ming felt he looked somewhat immoral, so he immediately turned around and left without anyone noticing.

"Humph..."