"By the way, Miss Klein, what kind of work do you do here in Changkong City?"
"Hm? I just work at the Oceanographic Academy. I'm only a junior researcher."
Klein nonchalantly stated her long-prepared cover story as she forked a piece of steak.
To be precise, this identity was indeed related to what she was currently doing, but phrasing it this way made it sound ordinary to Fu Li.
"I see." Fu Li picked up a piece as well. After putting it in his mouth, he couldn't help but offer sincere praise. "Mm, this is really good. It smells wonderful."
"Hmph, hmph. Of course. An old friend taught me how to make this. I'm glad you like it."
The pleasant dinner for two soon came to an end. Fu Li had intended to stay and help clean up, but Klein ushered him out, using the excuse that he had school the next day.
The moment the door closed, the expressions on both Klein's and Fu Li's faces changed simultaneously. They returned to their respective apartments with almost perfect synchronicity.
Next, they both opened their computers. With the click of a button, all public surveillance cameras in the vicinity were hacked almost at the same instant.
In addition to the public cameras, dozens of micro-cameras blinked to life, their targets being the blind spots of the surrounding streets and the area outside Sakurajima Rin's room.
"Snakey, if you detect any movement from Sakurajima Rin tonight, wake me up immediately."
"Understood, Boss."
Fu Li wasn't doing this to be a peeping tom. His sole purpose was to observe Sakurajima Rin's movements.
The Honkai materials hidden beneath ME Corp had not been touched from beginning to end, and without the support of an organization, Fu Li had no way of conducting a large-scale search.
Before, all he could do was wait patiently or try his luck with nightly patrols.
But things were different now. Fu Li had a feeling that Sakurajima Rin's appearance was an opportunity for him to find Cocolia.
As for stopping the Honkai Eruption, Fu Li had no such intention. The most he could do was minimize the disaster's scope and control the source of the Honkai in a timely manner.
Otherwise, even if he stopped this one, as long as human civilization continued to exist, a Honkai Eruption would sooner or later break out elsewhere, leading to even more uncontrollable consequences.
This was the helplessness of this world. The Honkai could not be stopped. Fu Li could only choose the path of cutting his losses.
This was precisely why he deliberately kept his distance from the other students, to avoid forming too many unnecessary emotional attachments.
"Klein, huh... What a hassle... I need to find a reason to send her away."
As Fu Li was watching the surveillance feed out of boredom, a tiny hand suddenly tugged at the corner of his shirt.
"Boss, the analysis of that hair sample is complete. Do you want to see it now?"
"Of course. Thank you for your hard work, Snakey. You should get some rest too."
Fu Li slipped his hands under Mobius's armpits and lifted her onto a nearby chair before taking the report and starting to read.
First was the DNA. Fu Li could confirm that she was indeed unrelated to the Klein he knew.
Furthermore, based on her physical condition, she was definitely in excellent health. In fact, according to the Previous Era's algorithms, this Klein actually had the potential to be at least an S-rank Valkyrie.
The good news was that Fu Li no longer needed to persuade her to leave. The bad news was that she was already past her prime growth period and would likely only ever become an A-rank Valkyrie.
Not an immense amount of power, but it was enough for her to protect herself.
Of course, if he could reintroduce the MANTIS surgery in this era, Klein could surpass ordinary S-rank Valkyries, excluding prodigies like Durandal.
"Forget it. Honestly, spending all day thinking about this and that."
Putting down the report, Fu Li yawned. After handing over surveillance duty to Snakey, he drew the curtains, climbed into bed, and prepared to sleep.
Encountering so many things right after finishing a simulation was mentally exhausting, even for him.
The night passed without incident.
For the next few days, Fu Li stuck to his previous routine, readjusting to this world that now felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Although he himself felt he was acting completely normal, Mei would still frequently ask, intentionally or not, if he had run into any trouble.
Fu Li naturally understood the reason for Mei's concern.
But for someone like him, adapting to a peaceful life was a challenge in itself. Still, Fu Li was confident it wasn't a major problem.
Until this evening, when Fu Li, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly woken up by Mobius.
"Boss, Sakurajima Rin changed into a stealth suit and went out."
"What? Where is she headed?"
Hearing that the fish had finally taken the bait, Fu Li was instantly wide awake. In a flash, he had changed his clothes and was ready to go.
"Her destination is currently unknown, but I have already dispatched two drones to track her. At present, her heading appears to be westward."
"Mm, got it."
Having changed into his combat gear, Fu Li pulled open the curtains and leaped out. Following Mobius's directions, he ran towards the drones' location.
As time went on, the red dot representing Sakurajima Rin on Fu Li's gauntlet had already left the city limits.
And Mobius, based on her trajectory, projected that Sakurajima Rin's target was the Changkong City Oceanographic Academy.
The very place where Klein supposedly worked.