“Ah…”
Kiana was stunned to see a black dragon sitting on the corner of the bed.
It is Shi Tian wearing the practical second grade onesie.
He decided to try out its functions inside this room. Only Kiana would see it. This is not considered an aura debt.
“It looks uber cute! Where did you buy it?”
“...It’s my pajama. “ He said after some pause. “Master sent it back to me… I don’t know, maybe a reward?”
Her eyebrows raised at his eccentric “Master”. Kiana got used to it. She did not doubt Shi Tian’s explanation about the things he suddenly brings out.
‘She seems unreliable… just like my old man.’
Kiana hid her thoughts.
“Does it do something?”
“Yes, yes. It speeds up my circulation speed by a third…”
It did not end with the cultivation speed boost. It also granted mental clarity, temperature control, automatic cleaning, body strengthening…
It is the most perfect auxiliary cultivation tool that works until the middle stage.
“I can actually… you know, let you borrow it. The pajama’s effective until the middle stage only. Once I surpass it, it’s useless.”
Kiana’s eyes brightened even further. She took a couple of steps before closing onto him. Her hands played around with the huge tail on Shi Tian’s back.
"It's uber soft. Wait, is this pajama glow in the dark too?!"
"That's the patterns at work. It's not for a childish function..."
"Heh. Aren't you younger than me?"
"Come on. Both of us know I am more mature..."
*****
August 17, 2012.
A day passed since we arrived in the city.
As I expected, nothing unusual happened. I stopped caring about Otto a while back. It is precisely the notion of being unaffected of potential futures did I break through the Sword Nurturing Pagoda. The change in my mindset is a crucial part of it. I am clear about this.
Then again, if it comes to the logical side, it's the fact Otto does not have the Second Divine Key yet. That is a crucial part of his "False God" plan in Klostern.
“Hum… You are fine with me being here?”
“You wanted to come.”
“I thought you’re the only one allowed?”
“Since when did I say that?”
“...”
Seeing Kiana’s dead stare, I held back the urge to laugh.
“Sorry about that.”
“Humph.”
We waited for a while. The rice paddies around us gave a serene countryside feeling.
Suddenly, a huge silhouette blocked the sunlight. It is first covered with dark blue light before turning normal.
A familiar red-colored mech appeared in my eyes.
Never had I expected to see this… Sinanju, right here.
The mech knelt down as its chest opened up. It revealed a woman with short red twintails.
“It’s been a long time.”
“A month does feel like that, Doctor Tesla.”
“Eh. Mophead’s too busy nowadays. Part of her management obligation fell on me!”
She spoke like an overworked blue collar employee. Her rants are nothing new to my ears.
When I looked at Kiana, she is giving me that judgemental stare again.
I bit my lower lip. My spiritual consciousness connected to her mind.
“Doctor Tesla has someone else she likes.”
“W-what? I’m not saying anything! Are you feeling guilty?!”
This Tuna…
She dropped her older sister facade a week ago. She swiftly turned into the Kiana I am familiar with.
I finally knew how obnoxious and bratty she truly is.
“Oh. Siegfried’s… girl. She’s here?”
Tesla gave me a questioning look.
“You never prohibited me from bringing her along.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “It’s been a month since we last met. Here are the problems we came across with our studies.”
Tesla went back to her cockpit and took out hard-bound research papers. It reminded me of the thesis we made in our graduating year.
“You can send the answers through the Internet.”
“You didn’t come here only to hand these over, no?”
“Of course not. Welt succeeded in making your artifacts. He wants your feedback.”
Welt Yang succeeded?
It’s been, like, two months?
This world is too unfriendly to immortal cultivators. There are no resources (spiritual materials) present. It cripples more than half of cultivation’s potential.
When I came to Anti-Entropy, I had the idea of asking for their help in this regard. Welt wanted to create spiritual artifacts—items suitable for cultivators. Even he saw the problems immortal cultivation has when it comes to the lack of suitable resources.
Naturally, I agreed. I taught him some stuff. I did not expect to see some results after only
I blankly received the three silver cases Tesla handed over. Before returning to the cockpit, she made a remark.
“You two really turned me into a courier.”
“If I can deliver things on a cool mech, I wouldn’t hesitate to sign up.”
She still owes me the design to her Sinanju. When I gave the sketch I made using spiritual consciousness, Tesla created an Anti-Entropy Titan based on it.
It doesn’t end here. I told her I have more than a dozen designs in my head. The Gunpla models I safeguarded from my younger cousins are not for naught.
“Okay, okay. You make a valid point. Stay safe. You too, Kiana.”
“Hum?”
Kiana’s startled expression did not escape my sight. She probably did not expect Tesla to call her.
“You might… Nevermind. Stay safe.”
Tesla did not finish her words. The cockpit closed. The huge mecha disappeared soon after.
“I think… She’s quite familiar.” Kiana stated. “Did I meet her before?”
“She’s Doctor Tesla. She worked together with your father once.”
“Really? When?”
“I… didn’t hear from her.”
I chose not to say anything. If I explain further, I won’t be able to explain how I knew things. Tesla did not say anything to me, either.
It’s best to let nature take care of itself.
“That stinky old man hid a lot of things from me…”
I raised my eyebrows. Kiana’s changes included her adding an adjective to Siegfried. It’s not something she would normally say to others.
Meaning…
Am I trusted enough?
I looked at the five cases on the ground. A quick sweep of my spiritual consciousness showed their contents. Three of them are guns. One of them is a high-tech looking dagger. The last one is a pair of visors.
Shockingly, all five of them contained spiritual qi. Their spirituality—conductivity to spiritual qi—lies in the middle first grade. I have a feeling their prowes far surpasses that, however.
I set aside them for later. It’s like receiving Christmas gifts out of nowhere.
“Where do you want to eat?” Kiana asked.
“Hm… Let’s go find a good braised pork belly. Can you handle its spiciness?”
“I’m not scared of spicy things!”