"Ring, ring, ring—"
"Hello, who is it...? Oh, Mobius. What's up?"
"I feel it's necessary to remind you that after today, it'll be a new year."
The reminder wasn't entirely useless. For instance, if it weren't for Mobius's words, Michael would have almost forgotten that nearly two months had passed since Raiden Ryoma's incident.
But useful didn't mean tolerable. Michael squeezed his phone, his face etched with the grumpiness that came with just waking up.
"So? Is that your reason for calling me this early and disturbing my sleep?"
"Heh heh, don't you dislike sleeping?"
"...When did I ever say that?"
The voice on the other end just laughed coldly without replying. Michael thought back carefully. He did seem to recall saying something like that, but it was a long, long time ago.
He'd thought that people were too groggy right after waking up, unable to fully concentrate on anything, which greatly reduced mission efficiency...
Besides, if he remembered correctly, there was a time when he couldn't sleep at all. The reason he could now was due to someone else's wishful thinking.
But putting all that aside... Michael's eyes slowly closed, his vision sinking into darkness, then slowly opened again, gradually regaining the light.
"Hmm?"
With a single breath, he seemed to have sobered up a little, enough to finally realize something was off. He felt the empty space beside him; even the bedsheet under the covers was cold.
He glanced at the large "Mobius" displayed on his phone's call screen, still a bit confused about the situation.
"What? Are you currently thinking—'Huh? Why isn't Mobius next to me? Huh? Why is Mobius calling me?'"
"..."
"First of all, you should probably check the time. Forget it, I'll just tell you. It's already past eleven-thirty. If you don't get up soon, Mei's lunch will be ready. Oh, right! You must be wondering why your alarm didn't go off, right? Hehe! It's because I felt sorry for you working so hard day and night, so I secretly turned it off for you. How was it? Did you sleep well?"
Mobius's tone was laced with a hint of teasing, as if she were fishing for praise. But what was most noticeable was that very familiar, yet not-quite-hers, way of speaking.
"Mobius, do you really enjoy imitating her that much?"
"Ahem! Alright, I'm not in the mood to joke with you either."
Sensing Michael's lack of enthusiasm, Mobius naturally wouldn't push her luck. She quickly steered the conversation back on track.
"I just said, I'm at the ME Corp building right now. Your judgment of people isn't half bad. I always thought of that Cocolia woman as a clown, but I didn't expect her to have a few tricks up her sleeve. In less than a month and a half, she's managed to dismantle most of the network Raiden Ryoma spent over a decade building—at least on the surface."
"Oh? So you're saying you got up bright and early just to proactively check on her and report back to me on Cocolia's work performance?"
Michael rolled over in bed, reluctantly patting the warm covers before forcing himself to sit up with a grunt.
"Hah—yawn! I'm not that free... We were 'working overtime' together. If you're tired, of course I'm tired too..."
Mobius put a subtle emphasis on the words "working overtime." Michael's Adam's apple bobbed as he fought back the urge to curse her out.
"Then come back early. You can take a nap this afternoon and rest for a bit."
"Tch! You think everyone's like you?"
Neither Michael nor Mobius were beings who relied on sleep. But while sleep couldn't bring much change to their bodies, it could offer a modicum of rest to their constantly tense minds.
However, Mobius didn't appreciate the gesture.
Michael couldn't figure out her thoughts, nor did he have the mind or obligation to do so. So he let his tone become curt again.
"So, what happened that Cocolia had to call you over?"
"Ahem!" Mobius cleared her throat. Michael didn't think she was one to choose her words carefully, but her current attitude, while not exactly evasive, was clearly hiding something.
"Forget it, maybe it's better to let Cocolia tell you herself... Hmm... It's a bit complicated, hard to explain in a few words over the phone. How about I bring her to the villa?"
"..."
"Hello? Michael? Are you still there?"
"Ptooey—I'm brushing my teeth!"
Hearing the sounds of someone washing up that didn't seem fake, Mobius covered her phone's microphone and let out a long sigh of relief before giving Cocolia, who was sitting across the table, an "OK" sign.
"She still has a ton of work to deal with here. Why don't I just wait for her to finish and bring her back then?"
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle... Ptooey—You can decide for yourself."
"Alright, that's settled then. Hanging up now!"
Mobius unhesitatingly pressed the red button on the screen. After a short, busy tone, she carelessly tossed the phone onto the table.
"Thank you..." Cocolia gently put down the pen in her right hand. With her left thumb and forefinger, she pinched a corner of a document, rubbing it gently and creating a soft "shh-shh" sound.
"Don't thank me. I don't know anything. You used your slick words to deceive me and got the chance to go there. Even if I'm at fault, it's merely a lapse in judgment, understand?"
"I understand!"
Unlike her previous arrogance, the current Cocolia was incredibly docile in front of Mobius.
World Serpent—it wasn't the first time she'd heard the name. She had tried to investigate the organization before, but the more she dug, the more it seemed they were everywhere. It was one thing for the loosely structured Anti-Entropy to be infiltrated, but even old-guard organizations like Schicksal and Mount Taixuan were riddled with traces of World Serpent's influence.
She didn't know if the Overseer of Schicksal or the Grand Master of Shenzhou were aware of this. It was impossible that they weren't, but knowing and doing nothing to counter it didn't make sense either.
There could only be one explanation: there was more to it than met the eye.
What was it? Based on the information Cocolia currently had access to, she couldn't make heads or tails of it.
But when she had first arrived in the Far East two months ago, she never would have imagined that her fledgling team would run headfirst into a brick wall like World Serpent...
What she expected even less was that World Serpent would extend an olive branch to her personally. Yes, it was strange. World Serpent didn't seem to care about the connections she had built or the ME Corp she had just acquired; they were only interested in her.
Cocolia didn't know what she had that was worth World Serpent's attention, but when her own life, along with the lives of the children she had adopted, were in their hands, she had no choice.
Of course, switching allegiances didn't weigh on her conscience at all. Anti-Entropy, Schicksal, World Serpent—it made little difference to her.
The word "loyalty" had ceased to exist in her world fifteen years ago, the moment she was framed by her own compatriots and thrown in prison.
Operating under the banner of Anti-Entropy before, and now accepting World Serpent's control, were both just measures of convenience.
If she had to say she was loyal to anything, it was, and only could be, the abstract concept of humanity itself.
However, it had to be a human civilization led by her.
At this thought, her eyes narrowed, just like the predators she had seen back home in the snowfields of her youth. No matter the beast, before attacking, it would crouch low, narrowing its eyes, and she was just like...
That's what she was thinking, but her gaze was caught off guard by a flash of green.
"What are you thinking about?" Mobius was leaning back comfortably, her entire upper body's weight on the chair. But her fingers, coated in green nail polish, reached out in front of Cocolia and tapped lightly on the table.
"N-Nothing. It's just... I haven't seen Seele and Bronya in almost two months. The thought of tonight... especially on such an important day, makes me a little excited."
"Tch!"
Mobius sneered. Even though she was prepared for it, the undisguised disdain still made Cocolia's entire body tremble.
"You know, you're quite the contradiction."
"Ah..."
"Your mind is filled with schemes and plots... No, saying that is an insult to the words 'schemes and plots.' Heh... it's ironic that even someone like me can't think of a word to describe you... In short, for a woman whose mind is full of ruthless tactics, you're awfully devoted to a bunch of kids you have no blood relation to. It's quite an eye-opener."
Cocolia's mouth hung open uselessly. She wanted to explain something, but she hadn't even formulated her "self-defense" yet.
"Speaking of which, this is even funnier."
Mobius relentlessly stood up and picked up a document from beside Cocolia's hand, opening it. "Tsk! You talk about caring for them, but you've already drawn up plans to use them in experiments."
"Bronya and Seele are under Lord Michael's personal care now. Naturally, they won't be part of this experiment."
Cocolia's explanation was weak and pale. Mobius smiled, flipped the document to the last page, and pointed her finger at the still-blank signature and seal area.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! And here I thought this plan had already been approved and was ready to be implemented."
"An experiment this important must, of course, be presented to you, Doctor, and to Lord Michael before a decision can be made."
Cocolia laughed twice, but if one looked closely, they would see that her smile was forced, pulled from the corners of her mouth through repeated twitches.
"Oh, is that so."
Mobius suddenly used her finger to pry out the staple holding the document together, then tossed the entire file into the shredder with a "whoosh."
"Then, on behalf of World Serpent, I veto this meaningless experiment. Do you have any objections?"
"Of course... not."
Cocolia stared blankly at the pile of shredded paper spat out by the machine into the trash can. Suddenly, she felt that her old employer, Anti-Entropy, actually had an advantage that neither Schicksal nor World Serpent possessed—freedom and a future.
Because the American HQ couldn't be bothered with its various branches, Anti-Entropy provided the least help but granted the most operational freedom to an executive who was once a one-woman show.
It was because of this freedom that she could pursue the future she desired—like taking out Raiden Ryoma and annexing the Anti-Entropy Far East Branch.
And now, Mobius was telling her with that pile of white confetti: Sorry, you won't find any of that in World Serpent.
"Alright, things that aren't suitable for the present or the future should be discarded early. Oh, right... you'd better deal with the remaining documents quickly."
"Is there something urgent?"
"No. I just think you should go early and leave early, so you don't disturb our dinner."
...
"Aaargh! Uncle Michael, you're finally up! Just three more minutes and you would have successfully broken my record... Ouch!"
Looking at Kiana, who was clutching her forehead and glaring at him from the front of the stairs, Michael grinned. He glanced at the wall clock, which showed the time as 11:34.
"First, don't call me Uncle. Second, uh... your record for sleeping in is only until 11:37? I thought it would be until one or two in the afternoon, or at least past noon... Are you sure you remember correctly?"
"No, the idiot Kiana remembers correctly. Because in the idiot Kiana's world, eating and sleeping are equally important. Sleeping in has already cost her breakfast. If she doesn't get up before noon, she'll lose the chance for lunch as well, which is an intolerable situation according to the idiot Kiana's values."
Bronya was helping Mei carry small plates of food from the kitchen to the dining table. It was a bit early to be eating lunch, so Bronya was naturally slacking off a bit—
As Kiana blocked Michael at the foot of the stairs, Bronya, empty-handed, walked up behind Kiana with a deadpan expression. The way she looked, Michael wouldn't have been surprised if she had pulled out a club and whacked Kiana on the back of the head.
"Ahem!" Kiana cleared her throat, her hands on her hips, and mimicked Michael's tone, "First! My name is not idiot Kiana... E-e-e-e-e-e-eh!"
If you're going to imitate, you have to go all the way.
She had wanted to poke Bronya's forehead hard with her index finger, just like Michael would, but the former mercenary's reflexes were much faster. Her vision blurred for a moment, and her finger was caught in Bronya's grip.
"Aaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Have mercy! Have mercy, Bronya! I didn't mean it!"
"Ah—Big Sis Bronya!"
Another cry came out. Bronya and Michael looked toward the same spot—
At the dining table, Seele was suppressing her laughter, righting a cup she had just knocked over on the tabletop.
"Hmph!"
Bronya pouted at Kiana, then walked back to Seele's side, her twin silver drills swaying.
"What happened?"
"Nothing... I just accidentally almost knocked over the cup... I'm sorry, Big Sis Bronya..."
"Ah..." Bronya sighed, gently patting Seele's head. "I thought it was a big deal. It's fine, anyway... the cup isn't ours."
"Huh? Our... home...?"
While Bronya wasn't looking, Seele turned her head to the side, only to see the back of Michael as he escaped Kiana's pestering and hurried into the kitchen.