Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

Kalpas laughed wildly, raised his hand, and taunted coldly, "Hahaha... The feeling of killing you last time is still fresh in my memory. Do you want to experience it again, hmm?"

Mobius chuckled mockingly, looking at Kalpas with disdain, "Last time? That was merely part of an experiment. Do you really think I would waste my time playing with you?"

"Or... is it that this unfamiliar Elysium we find ourselves in... has given you different thoughts, Kalpas?"

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At this moment, Kalpas also calmed down, crossed his arms, and said disdainfully, "That's you, Mobius. Sneaking around all day… Tell me, what are you up to?"

Mobius glanced to the side with her snake-like pupils and then spoke in a mocking tone, "Oh my, haven't you been watching closely? Seems like you're indeed a step above an 'idiot.' That little lab rat over there, don't you think so~?"

[Mission Triggered, Remove Kalpas's mask and take a picture of his true face.]

Fu Lin, "..." Isn't this a bit too difficult?!

Kalpas also looked at Fu Lin, then gripped his mask and burst into wild laughter, "Hahahaha! Another one who's 'courting death'! Hahahahaha!"

Fu Lin's lips curled up slightly. He gave Kalpas a thumbs-up, then flipped it downward with a look of disdain, "Hahahahaha! You? Hahahahahaha! This is killing me! You're not even qualified~ Hahahaha! I'm standing right here, and you can't even touch me."

Kalpas stopped laughing, stunned for a moment at Fu Lin's even more arrogant attitude. Then, flames erupted all over his body as he clenched his massive fists and charged at Fu Lin.

"Good! You will pay a heavy price for your words. Prepare to face death…!"

Just as the flaming fist was about to strike Fu Lin, he swiftly pressed the time-stop pocket watch hidden behind his back.

In an instant, everything fell silent. Kalpas was frozen in place, mid-punch. Even Mobius, standing in the distance, remained motionless, watching the scene.

"Phew, that was close. As expected, I'm still one step ahead."

Fu Lin wiped the sweat off his forehead and quickly summoned Twilight, transforming it into a long rope. With a mischievous grin, he tied Kalpas up in a tortoiseshell bondage pattern.

(As for where he learned this, go ask Kiana.)

Then, he looked thoughtfully at Kalpas's mask. Just as he reached out to remove it, wanting to see his true face, and was mere millimeters away...

A surge of heat suddenly rushed in. Fu Lin quickly retreated, watching Kalpas recover with a look of regret—it was so close!

"... Let death descend!"

As time resumed, Kalpas finally finished his interrupted sentence. But in the next second, he felt the restraint on his body and realized he had somehow been tied up.

Although he didn't understand when he got bound, it didn't stop him from laughing wildly, even while lying on the ground, unable to move his limbs.

"Hm? When did this…? You don't think this can hold me, do you?! Hahahaha, burn it all to ashes! Hahaha…!?"

"...." Flames erupted around Kalpas, blazing furiously. However, after a while, the fire gradually extinguished. Seeing that the whip binding him remained completely unharmed, he immediately flew into a rage.

Glaring at Fu Lin, who was sitting casually in a chair with his legs crossed, looking completely unbothered, Kalpas gritted his teeth and shouted, "What the hell is this?! Untie me right now!"

Fu Lin lightly licked his melting ice cream, looking smug, "Don't struggle, Brother Kalpas. The more you resist, the tighter it gets. You won't be able to break free unless you beg me~ Or, you could let me see what's under your mask."

Kalpas, "Don't even think about it, I…!" (Ten thousand words omitted.)

Mobius' glowing green snake-like eyes fixated on Fu Lin like a predator eyeing its prey. A faint blush appeared on her face, and her soft pink tongue gently traced her lips.

'…Interesting. If I could dissect him for a detailed study, that would be even more fascinating~'

"Hiss~ Who's thinking of making a move on my body again?!" The last time he felt this way was because of Kiana…

Fu Lin shuddered as a chill ran down his spine. Looking at the ice cream in his hand, he suddenly wasn't sure whether to keep eating it or just throw it away.

Mobius walked up to Kalpas, watching him struggle on the ground with a smirk, "Oh my, Kalpas, how did you end up tied up like a stray dog in the blink of an eye~?"

Propping himself up with his upper body, Kalpas glared at the gloating Mobius and retorted disdainfully, "Hmph! Like you're any better! Who doesn't know that your carefully crafted plan, after tens of thousands of years, was utterly destroyed by that Herrscher?"

"Who doesn't know that, in the end, you pathetically lay on the ground, begging in humiliation as you faced a miserable defeat?"

"Hahaha! Too bad I wasn't there to witness it myself. What a pity."

Fu Lin got up and walked toward Mobius and Kalpas, casually tossing his ice cream stick into a nearby trash can before grinning,

"Say, you two, is bickering like this really that fun? How about shaking hands and making peace, working together to build a beautiful future instead?"

Kalpas burst into laughter as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world,

"Hahahaha, with Mobius? Are you telling a cold joke?"

"Well, congratulations! You really got a laugh out of me!"