For the next few days, Lin Wei stayed by Yuno's side, always holding a feather in his hand, using the Fenghuang Down Simulated Feather to control Yuno's fragmented mind, guiding her, almost like teaching a toddler to walk, to adapt and navigate this special world.
Yuno's mental state was already unstable, and her current predicament made her even more vulnerable. This, in turn, made her already fragile mental barrier even more overwhelmed.
The feather in Lin Wei's hand, which often glowed faintly, along with his ever-present comforting smile and gentle guidance, constantly helped her mend her crumbling sanity, allowing her to take one difficult step at a time.
This process was quite torturous for Yuno. She longed for, and was more accustomed to, venting the immense pressure on her body and mind through intense battles. But Lin Wei kept restraining her, forcing her to calm down again and again.
"Are you controlling your power, or is it controlling you?"
Only when it came to this question would Lin Wei put away his ever-present smile and become serious and stern.
This contrast gave him a certain authority, making Yuno obedient like a child who had made a mistake, simply by being looked at.
Of course, this process wasn't always smooth sailing. There were occasional small accidents...
Besides helping to stabilize her mind, Lin Wei generally didn't interfere with her other actions in the Elysian Realm. So, one day, Lin Wei watched helplessly as Yuno stepped into Kalpas's zone.
Originally, this wasn't a big deal, after all, she had met Hua and Sakura before, and they got along relatively well.
But after meeting Kalpas, they got along a little too well—
Simply put, they clashed the moment they met, and Lin Wei couldn't stop them.
Until the commotion became so great that it alarmed several people, who then worked together to separate them...
"Oh my god!"
In the lounge, Lin Wei collapsed on the sofa like Ge You, his face full of disbelief,
"Doesn't Kalpas always like children? Why is he like this today?"
"Children?"
Elysia blinked, repeating the word, moved closer to Lin Wei, and chuckled,
"She's clearly a lovely young lady. If Yuno heard you say that about her, she would be heartbroken!"
"...That's true."
Lin Wei was speechless, then remembered that Yuno and Mei were schoolmates, about the same age.
"And she was the one who attacked first! Kalpas was just defending himself? Hmm... just that the commotion he caused was a bit too much?"
Elysia said uncertainly.
"...I should have found a way to stop her."
Lin Wei was speechless.
Kalpas's beast-like aura, coupled with his way of speaking, always mentioning "killing," was too easy to trigger Yuno's fragile nerves.
And Kalpas himself always had a casual attitude towards life and death, never backing down from a fight. How could he tolerate her behavior?
So…
"It's better to keep her away from him in the future, lest she learns bad habits..."
Lin Wei covered his face with his hand, feeling utterly hopeless.
What is this?
"Kalpas will be sad if he hears that!"
Elysia said with a giggle,
"He's always been a gentle and good boy, you've always known that, haven't you?"
"...You know what I mean."
Elysia's teasing gave Lin Wei a headache,
"She's not in the right mental state now. She can't learn from anyone, especially not Kalpas. What will happen then?"
Kalpas might be crazy, but that was just a facade. He always knew what he was doing, what he wanted.
Yuno wasn't the same, when she went crazy, she was truly crazy just for the sake of being crazy...
"Wait, let me see… Hee hee, your expression is so interesting right now~"
Elysia suddenly removed Lin Wei's hand, looked at his covered face, her eyes lighting up, and chuckled,
"How should I describe it? Just like when Griseo was just born, Kosma was guarding the door of the ward, eager to do something but not daring to act rashly."
"..."
Lin Wei frowned, his expression suddenly calming down. After a moment, he said calmly,
"I have a lot to do in the outside world, I can't stay here too long."
"Uh-huh!"
Elysia nodded vigorously, looking like she was all ears, waiting for him to continue.
"I want Yuno to stay here for a while. I'll discuss the specifics with World Serpent myself."
Lin Wei said helplessly,
"That was my original plan, but these frequent accidents make me very worried..."
"Oh↑↓, so that's how it is~"
Elysia nodded understandingly, then looked Lin Wei up and down, making "hmm?" and "hmm!" sounds, nodding and shaking her head from time to time.
"...What are you doing?"
Lin Wei was confused.
"I'm thinking, I can't believe it, inside your young-looking body, there's such a world-weary soul!"
Elysia chuckled,
"How should I describe it? Like an old father sending his unruly daughter to school, full of worries, looking back every step of the way♪"
"...You, a 50,000-year-old, have the nerve to call me old? Stay away from me, don't affect me!"
Lin Wei pushed Elysia away with a disgusted expression,
"I'm still young. If it weren't for… I should be doing my university internship now!"
"...Oh my god, how can you say such cruel things?"
Elysia clutched her chest with a hurt expression,
"Don't you know that telling a girl her age is as serious as telling her weight?"
"Really? I can't tell you're old, nor can I tell you're fat."
Lin Wei also looked her up and down and said expressionlessly.
"You should be more gentle when talking to girls~"
Elysia instructed earnestly, then chuckled,
"But the two of you don't look that much different in age, yet you really look like an old father. It's so interesting every time I see it~"
"..."
Lin Wei shuddered again. Is this your revenge, using such exaggerated words?
Putting aside those messy emotions, after carefully recalling his experiences and thoughts, Lin Wei couldn't help but sigh and say,
"Because she has a special meaning to me, I can't help but pay extra attention to her."
"How so?"
Lin Wei's rare serious expression made Elysia curious.
"She's a pitiful person ravaged by the Honkai, and so am I. She should have died from the Honkai, and so should I."
Lin Wei said seriously,
"When I first met Yuno, she was lying in a pile of corpses, constantly absorbing Honkai energy, something terrifying growing inside her, neither dead nor alive. And I, at that time, was just a dying person eroded by the Honkai, not much better than her."
"You probably know something about what happened later. With Hua's help in the real world, I escaped death. And Yuno is the first person whose fate I truly changed in this world. Seeing her often reminds me of my past self."
Lin Wei looked at his hands, as if looking into an invisible mirror, his tone filled with emotion,
"Although it was just a chance encounter back then, when the girl I saved came to me again and asked me about the 'meaning of life,' I suddenly felt a pang in my heart, a sense of responsibility, an obligation to lead her to a completely different life..."
"Is that so..."
Elysia nodded understandingly, then summarized seriously,
"It's really like adopting a child~"
"..."
You little…!
Seeing Lin Wei's dark expression, Elysia became even more amused. She really enjoyed teasing people.
"...Alright, back to the topic."
Lin Wei really couldn't do anything about this sprite-like girl, so he simply ended the topic,
"I don't know how many more days I can stay here, probably not too long, but there are still many things to do, I can't keep delaying like this."
"Uh-huh♪"
Elysia nodded seriously, all ears.
"So I want to ask you a favor..."
"Uh~huh♪"
Elysia tilted her head, still listening attentively.
"..."
Lin Wei didn't speak immediately, but remained silent for a few seconds, re-weighing the pros and cons. Then, he looked at Elysia seriously and slowly said,
"I want you to take me to see Mobius. I want to ask for her help."
"Uh↓huh?"
Elysia nodded slowly, a look of surprise on her face.
There were a few Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm whom Lin Wei had never met, and the first among them was Dr. Mobius.
Lin Wei had been very laid-back during his last stay in the Elysian Realm, generally not venturing into the deeper areas, and thus hadn't interacted with those Flame-Chasers residing in the deeper layers—except for Vill-V, who, with her control authority, took the initiative to pull Lin Wei to her and forcefully interact with him.
And among them, there was another special Flame-Chaser, who was directly blocked at the door by Kevin, forced to stay in her lab to prevent her from doing anything bad to Lin Wei.
Lin Wei was very satisfied with this arrangement. After all, he was just wasting time in the Elysian Realm back then. Compared to seeking out dangerous individuals for thrills, it was better to bask in the sun with Pardo.
And now, Lin Wei actually took the initiative to mention this name. This was really...
"Why are you looking at me so surprised? Didn't you remind me before?"
Lin Wei looked at her dramatic behavior speechlessly. This girl was really a good actress.
"Did I?"
Elysia blinked innocently.
"Yes, you did."
"Oh, I remember now, I did mention her name. But I was clearly warning you to be careful of her, not to take the initiative to seek her out~"
Elysia tried to defend herself.
Still acting…
Lin Wei looked at her helplessly and put it bluntly,
"As the creator of 'MANTIS,' the scientist second only to Dr. MEI in the field of biology in the Previous Era, Dr. Mobius should be the most capable person in the world to provide me with help, so I naturally should seek her help."
Lin Wei had actually set his sights on Mobius long ago, and had prepared to face her directly before entering the Elysian Realm for the second time.
According to his initial guess, Yuno's existence alone should be enough to pique her interest, coupled with his own special existence as someone who returned with a natural Stigmata, Mobius had no reason not to be interested in them.
His original plan was to let Yuno roam freely in the Elysian Realm while he waited patiently, silently observing her movements.
When Mobius couldn't resist and started to target her, he could cast his net, using this as an excuse to bargain with her and establish a cooperative relationship...
It was a good plan, but reality was a bit harsher:
Yuno was relatively stable in the real world, but started losing control as soon as she entered the Elysian Realm—how could he fish when the pond was in such a state?
Lin Wei waited for several days, but Mobius never showed up, and he finally realized: Mobius was secretly watching him, waiting for him to come to her.
She's the one sitting patiently!
Actually, if he continued to wait, maybe that woman would eventually jump out first. After all, although she had snake-like pupils and appearance, she didn't have the cold-bloodedness and patience of a snake.
But although Lin Wei had plenty of patience, he didn't have that much time to waste on this battle of wills, so he decided to save time and take the initiative.
If the mountain wouldn't come to him, he would go to the mountain. It was that simple.
"Wow~ Don't let her hear you say 'second only to Dr. MEI.' She'll be very angry!"
Elysia smiled, as if she had heard something very interesting,
"But I really didn't expect you to want to see her so proactively. This is really surprising. Even in our era, not many people dared to provoke her!"
Aren't you one of them?
"After being in the Elysian Realm for so long, I have faith in you guys. There won't be any real enemies here."
Lin Wei glanced at her and said,
"And even if something unexpected happens, won't you be there to protect me in secret?"
"Oh my, why would you say that? It seems like I can't refuse now~"
Elysia's beautiful eyes darted around, her smile becoming even more beautiful,
"However, I have a small condition..."
"What condition?"
Lin Wei shuddered,
"I don't have anything on me, don't touch me randomly!"
Go to Mei for that kind of thing, not me, I don't have anything!
"Touch? How could that be, what are you thinking?"
Elysia gave him a reproachful look, then her smile turned mischievous,
"It's just a very~ small condition, you can easily fulfill it!"
"...What condition?"
Lin Wei's heart sank. Usually, this kind of talk wasn't followed by anything good.
"I just want to hear you tell some stories~"
Elysia's eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly,
"Tell me all the stories after you left the Elysian Realm and before you entered it again, okay?"
"..."
Lin Wei's dangling heart finally plummeted.
After all this time playing the fisherman, he had finally been caught…
Why don't you just touch something instead, really!