026 So I Really Am a Scumbag

"Oh my, not a bad physique. Quite solid, aren't you?"

"Ye, Brother Ye, what are you doing?"

"How old are you to be acting so shy? Come on, let me..."

"Ahem!" Mo Mo glared with annoyance at Ye Zhi, who was currently stroking Mo Bai's abdominal muscles. "Dr. Ye Zhi, this is a legitimate laboratory, and you are a legitimate doctor. Could you please conduct your examination properly?"

"Otherwise, I have the authority to report your misconduct and deduct your activity funding for next month."

"Whoa, scary, how scary..." Dr. Ye Zhi released his grip. "What a terrifying and clingy little sister."

"Regardless, I already knew the results. Mo Bai, is it? You can go now."

Ye Zhi gave Mo Bai's abs one final pat.

"You knew already???" Mo Bai looked shocked. "Then what the hell were you doing, feeling me up for so long?!"

"Eh? Just testing the texture?"

"Holy crap, a total weirdo!"

"I seriously thought you were performing some kind of mysterious ritual!"

It wasn't just a rumor that people who spend too much time in labs become superstitious, that they kowtow frantically to equipment before experiments to please the machine spirits or something.

But you? You just like to touch people?

Terrified, Mo Bai scurried over to Shen Qiqi's side and brazenly snatched a handful of potato chips from her hand.

"What are the results?"

Mo Mo had no time for such nonsense; she just wanted to know what state her brother was in.

Was he still human?

It wasn't unheard of for people to use superpowers without having awakened a bloodline, but most of them could no longer be considered human.

They were collectively referred to as "kin of the Lords."

Non-human existences gradually drifting away from this world.

Mo Mo was terrified that the Red Moon had done something to her brother, turning him into some sort of "god-man."

"Hmm... how should I put this."

Dr. Ye Zhi said slowly, "Although your brother's body isn't very healthy due to his lifestyle, his robust constitution compensates for that part."

"He is undoubtedly still human—a very qualified human."

Hearing that her brother was still human, Mo Mo let out a sigh of relief. However, she was happy too soon, as Dr. Ye Zhi's next sentence was...

"It's just that he seems to have become a 'god-man'."

Mo Mo: "?"

Mo Bai: "?!"

He stood up abruptly. "What god-man? I'm not, I didn't, don't spread rumors—I'll sue you for defamation!"

Because of a certain show that churned out "god-men," Mo Bai was as repulsed by the term as he was by a pile of excrement.

Gwah! He didn't want to become a "god-man"!

"You are one whether you want to be or not." Dr. Ye Zhi looked amazed. "First of all, your brother really hasn't awakened a bloodline; he is still a [normal human]."

"But not that normal."

Under the gaze of the Mo siblings, Ye Zhi continued to explain, "Your current ability is to see other people's 'components' and gain power from them, right?"

"Yes." Mo Bai nodded. "For example, you are a purple [Old Otaku] and a purple [Magical Girl Fan]."

"Eep?!" Shen Qiqi, who was eating chips on the side, looked terrified.

"Ahem, don't be so specific..." Dr. Ye Zhi's face turned red. "Anyway, if you look at it from another angle, the components you see are just the desires that people have rooted in them, aren't they?"

Mo Bai: "Huh, you're right."

Because of a desire for lolis, one becomes a lolicon, which is why the "lolicon" component exists.

Don't say it, you really shouldn't say it.

"Understand now?" Dr. Ye Zhi shrugged. "Your ability is undoubtedly bestowed by the Red Moon."

"But the absurd part is, She didn't demand any price."

"It's like an investment. If you help a company through a crisis, you'd definitely demand shares. That's what a 'kin' is."

"You gain power, but you are bound by those Lords."

"But Mo Bai, you are different."

"The Red Moon bestowed the power upon you completely without asking for any compensation. Your soul, your existence, everything you are belongs entirely to you."

"This is no longer just favor."

Dr. Ye Zhi said with emotion, "This is straight-up spoiling."

"A dignified Red Moon acting like a lovesick girl in front of you."

"I even suspect you aren't actually a butler at a maid café, but a top-tier gigolo from some district specialized in tricking girls."

Mo Bai was stunned.

He suddenly remembered the Red Moon calling him a "sis-con," a "scumbag," and a "trash man" in his dreams.

Looking at it from the Red Moon's perspective, she had spent eight years role-playing to comfort him, then bestowed power upon him without asking for anything in return.

And in the end, he had heartlessly told her, "I don't need you anymore, go away."

Hiss...

Damn, thinking about it that way, even Mo Bai felt like he was a scumbag!

He was such a scumbag!

Damn it, his non-existent conscience was aching.

Mo Mo furrowed her brows. "So, you're saying my brother is perfectly fine, right?"

"Of course, what could possibly happen to him? The Red Moon loves him that much."

Ye Zhi made a snide remark, then said to Mo Bai, "However, don't go telling people about the ability the Red Moon gave you; it will arouse the desires of certain people."

Mo Bai nodded quickly. "I understand, I understand."

"A man is innocent, but his treasure makes him a criminal, right?"

He might also run into some "sour grapes."

So that's how the Red Moon looks in your eyes. She looks completely different to me. If you can handle it, keep playing the videos I sent you.

Mo Bai's matter was settled—a clear case of him being a "god-man."

Next was Shen Qiqi.

Shen Qiqi stopped watching her magical girl show, stood on her tiptoes, clenched her fists, and looked nervous. "What about me? What about me?"

"I'm not a 'god-man' too, am I?"

"Oh, you." Dr. Ye Zhi looked calm. "You're just an ordinary magical girl."

"That's good."

Shen Qiqi was happy and gave Mo Bai a 'V' sign. "Yay! I'm not a god-man!"

Mo Bai sneered. "Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh..."

Shen Qiqi: "!"

Her expression turned instantly shameful. She covered her face and said, "Don't, don't do that, Brother Mo Bai. I was wrong, I won't dare to mock you ever again, wuwu..."

Watching Shen Qiqi and Mo Bai fooling around, Mo Mo forced herself to look away and asked in a low voice, "So, what's the deal with her?"

"I told you, she's just an ordinary magical girl."

Dr. Ye Zhi said proudly, "An ordinary girl who, by accident, awakened a bloodline called 'Magical Girl'."

"Team Leader Mo, it's truly ironic."

"The magical girls we carefully select and entrust with missions are, in the end, not as good as an ordinary girl who wasn't chosen by anyone, yet took up the duty of a magical girl without hesitation."

"You cannot deny her existence as a magical girl."

"Because this is her bloodline, her everything."

Mo Mo was silent for a while. After a few seconds, she said calmly, "I will report this."

"How she is handled will be decided by Director Chu."

Ye Zhi smiled. "Then I trust Director Chu's decision."

Mo Mo walked out of Ye Zhi's laboratory.

She stretched, feeling that a chapter of the matter had finally come to an end. Her tightly wound nerves could finally relax.

Mo Bai chased after her from behind. "By the way, little sister, there's one thing I haven't asked you yet."

Mo Bai's tone became serious. "Aren't you in your first year of high school? How did you suddenly get into the system?"

"How long have you been in?"

"O-one year," Mo Mo said obediently. "After I awakened the Alaya Consciousness, Sister Chu scouted me."

"But don't worry, Brother. Transcendent entities have their own special rules; I won't let it affect my studies."

"I can also subsidize our household expenses so you don't have to work so hard."

Mo Mo said softly.

Mo Bai: "..."

To think he'd let his sister do such things to subsidize their home—he was truly an incompetent brother.

Mo Bai gave a bitter smile. "Is it dangerous?"

"It's alright. This is a small place. You rarely see anyone at Lu Yuan's level even once a year, and I'm constantly getting stronger."

Mo Mo looked up, watching Mo Bai nervously. "Brother, are you coming?"

After watching Mo Mo quietly for a few seconds, Mo Bai shook his head. "No, I still prefer working at the maid café."

Mo Bai had no intention of interfering in his sister's life forever. She deserved to sharpen her own wings.

The fact that she had been doing this secretly for a year showed that Mo Mo enjoyed her work at the Authority.

If he joined, he would only affect Mo Mo.

It was better to protect her silently from behind.

Sure enough, upon hearing Mo Bai's answer, Mo Mo gave a sweet smile and hugged him gently.

"I love you the most, Brother."

"Yeah," Mo Bai nodded. "I love you the most too, little sister."

...

Night, late at night.

Mo Bai's room.

At the head of the bed.

Because someone had said they didn't need her and told her to hurry back, she had come here to say her final goodbyes.

However.

The girl with crimson hair widened her eyes.

There were sticky notes—countless sticky notes attached to a string, like prayer charms on a tree at a shrine, fluttering in the cold wind.

On every note, the same words were written.

"I'm sorry!"

"I was wrong (kowtow)!"

"Don't go!"

"Let's be friends!"

——Mo Bai.

The girl: "..."

She gently tore one off, stepped past the notes, and stood in front of Mo Bai.

She caressed his face softly.

"You're the one who said it."

"Let me stay."

She chuckled as if she had encountered something wonderful. "Truly..."

"You are a complete and utter idiot."