Chapter 15: ta also looks forward

Kailifu: "【Do you think your foster father ever thought that? That you wouldn't be able to make friends?】"

She: "【Yeah, overthinking it, being friends with AI isn't impossible, and besides there's an online friend like Kailifu.】"

Familiar monster display case, familiar demon and Mechanical Wind Demon King.

One person sits in a gaming chair fiddling with a terminal, browsing webpages related to Heaven Gate City; another extends an arm from under a wide cloak, unexpectedly lacking metallic elements, merely a leather-covered arm, with sharp mechanical claw fingertips at the end, fiddling with the mold before them.

This scene has a certain liveliness that deviates from the frightening appearance.

The frequent popping of speech bubbles also adds a sense of absurd comic feel.

"【Sounds like you don't plan on meeting me at all~】 Kailifu drew out the tail of his speech, even the text in the speech bubble also carried a playful wavy tilde, yet he also did not therefore neglect the grayish clay in his hands."

Clearly overly sharp fingertips, yet on the clay that was still just a lump, he carved fine lines.

"【Just referring to online friends anyway, does Kailifu want to meet me?】 Emo slid the progress bar on the light screen, gazing at the photos on the page with unusually striking angles."

Those photos all show Heaven Gate; around the massive star gate are visible space cracks visible to the naked eye, and within the cracks it's not pure darkness but a complete corner of a landscape.

Through additionally placed animations, one can even see that the scene inside the crack is actually rapidly changing, and only with a sufficiently precise structure and fast enough photography can that instant's normal image be extracted.

"【No way, what if upon seeing the real Little Snake I discover it's different from what I've encountered, that would be terrible?】"

Fingers pressed together and wiped over the clay, the clay already had a somewhat recognizable outline; Kailifu slightly bowed his torso, the huge ferocious faceguard showed utter focus.

"【Right, both sides would have this worry, so please don't tease me.】"

Actually, checking the news from the Junction Gate District might let one see oneself interviewed for the college entrance exam, but Aomo also didn't bring it up.

Emo merely glanced at the model they had shaped, then lifted a finger to slide again on the light screen; in the blood-red vertical pupil beneath the exoskeleton's facial eyehole, the newly searched building name was reflected.

"【No, I think Little Snake actually doesn't care what I'm like, right? And Little Snake might have already guessed what I'd be like, right?】"

Kailifu still didn't lift his head; the clay under his hand, still moist, already had a layered bulging outline.

"【You have this habit, subconsciously you'll piece together a model of a person, from lifestyle to occupation to possible inner activities.】"

"【Just guessing by tone through the skin suit, not even a fifty percent success rate, I'm not really willing to bet】"

Adding the marked webpage to the favorites selection, Emo began searching for a new place name, this time a landmark: Round Valley 8 Hall, the webpage's image shows many Ultraman sculptures standing upright.

"【Is this meant to reassure me, Little Snake?】"

"【Just stating the facts, by the way, what you're shaping is... Red King?】"

Kailifu remained focused, but Emo had already turned to look at the clay under their hand; the colorless embryo already had a sufficiently clear outline, undoubtedly a thick, long neck like a colorless corn cob, which is unmistakably that classic skeletal monster.

Although always being mistaken for a corn monster......

"【Yeah, I discovered yesterday that this exhibition hall is really lacking it.】"

Kailifu indeed showed great craftsmanship; as the progress advanced, his finger movements became even more careful, and he never lifted his head when responding.

However, we also owe it to the fact that their mouth area is merely a sealed helmet with side-by-side screens, so speaking never poses a problem of blowing air onto the clay.

"【Just upload the images and the computational model can place them, right?】"

"【That would be boring; monsters must be born bit by bit from the hand to be true creators, and it's rare here to be able to avoid those troublesome preparatory tools, allowing more freeform shaping—Little Snake, your attitude is a creator's dereliction of duty!】"

I'm not a creator either; how did this topic turn around? Saving tools must be the reason you're interested, right?

Inside they already had a response, but outwardly Emo remained unmoving and asked: "【May I inquire if there is any literary creation?】"

"【I don't have the sci-fi novels you love, Little Snake; I don't like creations with too much randomness.】"

"【Does that mean there are novels besides sci-fi?】"

"【Nope, actually I once sent a script proposal to the Special Effects Association, but it was rejected, saying the monster proportion was too large】 Kailifu touched the last details, cheerfully recounting the initial failure."

"【Could it be that the villain role is too overdone?】"

"【But that's a monster, isn't it not strange?】"

"【Just let monsters take the hero's place; monsters can also be heroes, right?】"

Just as Emo finished saying that, they saw Kailifu's hand pause, the entire faceguard turned toward them, the crimson V-shaped lenses facing them directly, thereafter seeming to have a pair of eyes scrutinizing them closely.

"【Uh, did I say something wrong?】"

Recalling the last time being scrutinized like this, or rather the first meeting in the chat room, the other party was evaluating their own demon appearance.

Then the other party lost interest, largely feeling that the demon's exotic elements were somewhat weak.

"【Little Snake, are you serious?】"

The arm retracted beneath the cloak, and Kailifu, having straightened their posture, actually stood a bit taller than Emo; the blood-red lenses behind them faintly glowed, their eyes looking down from above.

On the contrary, Emo saw that the other's gaze was quite serious, savored their own words just spoken, and once again confirmed:

"【Serious】"

"【Then I look forward to Little Snake persisting, 】 saying that, Kailifu again reached out toward the already completed model, 【INSTANCEDOMINATION】

The moment the words meaning 'instance control' were spoken, the colorless model was coated with a plain earth-yellow.

"【The color's a bit flashy, huh?】 Emo crossed arms and evaluated the model."

"【Red King should be more earth-gray.】"

"【Seven and eight generations are exactly this color! And twelve EX is all-red!】 Kailifu raised a finger, declaring firmly."

"【If talking about red, that's also the case in Episode 7 of Virtuous Triumph】【Yes yes, that's also the case in Episode 7 of Virtuous Triumph... What is Virtuous Triumph?】 Kailifu raised a finger, declaring firmly."

Originally, Kailifu was in an enthusiastic state discussing monsters, but upon hearing an unfamiliar topic, they instantly cooled down.

"【I have a time-traveler friend who will send me internal magazines; they contain many special effects works from other worlds, none of which have been disseminated.】"

Like Orb, Ze Ta, Virtuous Triumph and such, the originals don't exist in the present world; perhaps because those time-travelers themselves haven't finished watching, or maybe for some other reason... Aomo also didn't look into it.

Emo merely said, lowering their head to examine the model the other had made, then seriously suggested:

"【Have you considered opening a handmade model shop?】"

"【No plans.】 Raising a hand and making a gesture, the essentially virtual room responded to the owner's permission operation; the Red King's model, as if wrapped by telekinesis, flew through the air to a corner as a model display stand, and was fitted with a glass cover."

"【Then again, you, planning to go to Round Valley to see monsters?】"

Emo's webpage beside them remained unchanged, and they hadn't added a 'only self-visible' anti-peeping setting, so Kailifu could easily glance at it.

【Any suggestions?】 The demon believed that if it were Kailifu, this monster fanatic would say, such a pilgrimage site would definitely have been visited early.

【Recently there's an urban legend, oh, saying that near the corridor's display case, the monster models come to life.】

Such a somewhat strange answer made the demon stare, then it said via the interface:

【Then I'll verify the truth for you at that time.】

【Besides, you need to study hard for the exam, you can't keep coming here to slack off, shouldn't you be doing practice questions?】

【Alright, let's go, let's go.】

The demon, feigning weariness, stepped toward the exit magic circle.