"Hiss... why does Griseo's massage have more force than Aponia's?"
Jun An pondered this philosophical question.
Both Aponia and Griseo were MANTISes specializing in mental-type abilities, but Aponia was better suited for combat, and her physical constitution was also excellent.
In contrast, Griseo's body had stopped aging before reaching adulthood; her body hadn't fully developed. How could her strength possibly be greater than Aponia's?
"Jun An Papa, is it uncomfortable?" Griseo sounded a little hurt.
"Ah, not at all."
Jun An sat comfortably in the chair, enjoying a massage different from Aponia's—firmer, tighter, narrower... Why am I using these adjectives for a massage?
Anyway, it felt good, so whatever.
"Griseo, relax a little." Aponia started coaching from the side. "Your body structure is different from mine; you can't possibly accommodate everything. Don't force yourself."
Weird.
The more he thought, the weirder it got.
Aponia interrupted Jun An's thoughts. "Captain, how does it feel now? The force isn't as great as before, right?"
"Indeed, Griseo's movements are much smoother."
But Jun An still felt something was off. "Aponia, when will the consciousness synchronization be done? Can you undo the hypnosis for me? My head is all jumbled right now."
Actually, Jun An could forcefully break the hypnosis himself, but the synchronization process was still ongoing, so he didn't dare make any rash moves.
It was just that this hypnosis felt like a compulsive command, creating a conflict between Jun An's instincts and actions—like having an itch you can't scratch. It was somewhat uncomfortable.
"As expected of the Captain. Hypnosis of this level has almost no effect on you."
Aponia was quite confident in her hypnosis, but against a stats monster like Jun An, whose numbers surpassed her own, it really didn't have much effect. It could interfere with his judgment occasionally, but after a while, he would notice the strangeness, just like now.
"Just endure it a little longer, Captain. It'll be fine once Griseo gets tired."
Aponia looked at Griseo, who was diligently "massaging" the Captain. Although both were novices with zero experience, due to the difference in their physiques, Griseo's actions seemed somewhat arduous.
Aponia could only apply some mental control to Griseo as well to lessen the pain. After all, even she, built for easy childbirth, had frowned slightly when tasting this kind of opening-up pain; it would be even more difficult for the petite Griseo.
"Griseo, just hold on a bit longer; you should be able to adapt soon."
Although the size wasn't suitable, the bodies of MANTISes were just that miraculous.
Just like Mobius, who always kept her legs clamped together—even she could manage it. While it might be harder for Griseo, it should still be possible. Once she adapted, everything would be fine.
Thus, to divert his attention, Jun An started chatting idly with Aponia.
They mainly talked about the changes within the Elysian Realm.
Because the Elysian Realm was now connected to the internet, and with the end of the Honkai and their mission, everyone's mindset had changed to some extent.
For example, Kosma seemed to have become obsessed with the internet, Griseo had started seriously studying manga, and Eden, after spending a month rapidly understanding the world's new art forms and contemporary trends, immediately shot to fame.
Reportedly, Eden initially started by designing clothes, having Raven outside of World Serpent handle production and sales. Then, she spent some money hiring models for a fashion show, got noticed, and became a clothing designer.
Then, after earning enough money within two months, she asked Aponia to build a stage in the Elysian Realm. Elysia handled the filming, Kevin did the lighting, and Su was responsible for editing. These few were once Eden's loyal fans, so they put in considerable effort.
Thus, Eden, relying on songs she wrote in the Previous Era, polished and adapted to contemporary art forms, instantly became a hit. She continued to plagiarize herself, releasing an astonishing twenty high-quality songs in half a year, leaving other singers far behind.
Then Grey Serpent directly used World Serpent's legacy assets to establish a media company for Eden, bypassing the major players to become a world-class top star. Grey Serpent also made a fortune selling Eden's merchandise and albums during this period.
Even now, Eden's fanbase was still rapidly growing. Coupled with occasional collaborations with the account 'Fairy Miss Elysia', their popularity soared together.
Combined with Grey Serpent controlling public opinion, they didn't need to craft any persona or engage in public relations; they could directly attract massive traffic.
The only thing currently hindering Eden's popularity was her lack of appearance at any formal events. Concerts used projections, and there were no meet-and-greets or autograph sessions. Those big shots wanting to meet her and poach her couldn't even find a way in; even paparazzi had nothing to photograph.
Without benefits, naturally, growing popularity becomes somewhat difficult.
But currently, public opinion regarding Eden was controlled by World Serpent's media company, so it didn't really matter.
It could be said that Eden was once again the wealthiest person in the Elysian Realm.
And Aponia, after securing a sliver of hope for the world and witnessing the outcome brought by the sacrifice of the Previous Era's Elysia, had also started assisting Eden.
Using her near-supreme authority within the Elysian Realm, she could create any stage Eden desired. This saved Eden considerable time in producing music videos, significantly shortening production time and improving quality.
Aponia also earned some extra money from this. Although money wasn't needed in the Elysian Realm, and the material wealth within it was already abundant for Aponia, having it was better than not.
What if, one day, a friend outside the Elysian Realm needed it?
Just like Mobius. Her work wasn't artistic but involved actual biological experiments and research on Finality. Since the properties of materials in the Elysian Realm were determined by memory, many things differed from the outside world. Therefore, her experiments required purchasing materials from outside.
Thus, Mobius initially owed Eden a large sum of money for her experiments. However, she later sold a patent and paid off the debt within the first month.
Later, needing more for her experiments, she even went into partnership with Eden to buy some things, collaborating with Vill-V to upgrade the entire Elysian Realm.
This resulted in the current Elysian Realm, which could interact with the outside world to a certain extent.
"Then what about Kalpas, Pardo, and Sakura? What are those three doing?"
Jun An looked at Aponia, who was facing away from him, massaging him in a strange posture, suppressing the urge to break the hypnosis. "Have they found jobs too?"
"Kalpas hasn't changed much; he's still training in his hunting grounds."
Aponia's body swayed, her voice trembling slightly. "Sakura has been learning programming recently, like Kosma. Pardo... she's become busier than before because there are more things in the Elysian Realm now. We rarely see Pardo around lately..."
Everyone knew what Pardo was busy with, but generally, no one interfered because she rarely caused major trouble.
In fact, the little incidents Pardo stirred up in the Elysian Realm were the spice of life for the memory simulacra over tens of thousands of years. After all, not everyone was like Kalpas, able to do what they loved within the Realm.
"Jun An Papa, what have you been doing this past year?" Griseo also grew curious about Jun An's year.
"I just came back to life a week ago."
Jun An recalled the events of the past week, his face a mask of complexity. "The only proper thing I did this week was quell a war between two countries and capture a group of anti-push activists. Then I was repeatedly exploited by three bad women..."
During this period, Jun An felt like he was turning into a pile driver.
"Poor Jun An Papa." Griseo massaged his back. "Having to work even after becoming a child."
"Just like your Grandma Mobius, even if my body shrunk, it doesn't change the fact that I'm an adult."
Jun An relaxed his body. "Seriously, having you mother and daughter give me a massage right after arriving here... days without exploitation are the good days."
So he said, but the strange feeling brought by the hypnosis still hadn't ended.
Jun An looked at Aponia's pristine white back, and those heavy armaments, no smaller than his own head, swaying before his eyes, and the occasional 'tongue massage' from Griseo behind him.
It was supposedly a normal scene, so why did he feel so strange deep down?
And in a corner unnoticed by them, a cat's tail quietly retracted.
Pardo was currently hiding atop a pillar, teary-eyed, covering Can's mouth, not daring to make a sound.
"Shh, Can, quiet down, or we're doomed!"
She had just come here to 'stock up', but seeing Jun An made her unable to move. She wanted to go up and talk to him, but was also afraid Jun An would treat her like a cat and frantically rub her belly. So she decided she had to find something first before getting petted.
She should have left after finishing her 'stocking up', but just as she was about to return, she saw Sister Nia hypnotizing Brother Jun An.
They say curiosity killed the cat. After Aponia demonstrated knowledge she was unaware of, Pardo found herself hard-controlled by her own thirst for knowledge for a good ten minutes.
She only remembered to leave when Griseo arrived, but the door wouldn't open no matter what. If she used the Thousand Worlds Sutra, Sister Nia and Brother Jun An would definitely find out, and they'd settle scores with her later! She'd be finished!
This weak little chicken couldn't grasp the power difference; she only knew that no one besides Kevin and Elysia could break Aponia's hypnosis by their own will.
Brother Jun An was already controlled, he definitely wouldn't side with her. Even the usually adorable Griseo had become an accomplice.
If word got out, Sister Nia wouldn't be able to sneak snacks anymore, and that score would definitely be settled on her head.
Compared to an angry Aponia, she'd rather provoke Kalpas. After all, Kalpas didn't bully children; he'd hit her twice and be done with it. But Aponia could genuinely kill her, or even make her wish she were dead!
Now she could only wait for them to finish, then sneak out偷偷溜出去.
Watching them massage Jun An, Pardo was already blushing furiously, unable to stop swallowing saliva, looking down at her own overdeveloped chest and jade-white thighs.
A new curiosity occupied Pardo Felis's mind.
—Sister Nia and Little Griseo look so comfortable... Does it really feel that good?
—Maybe... maybe I should try it too?