Chapter 124: Making Contact

"..."

Hearing Vayne's excited shout, Ling Mo felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his forehead. To ensure he hadn't misunderstood, he double-checked with her: "Your aunt has a brother complex?"

"Master, do you not know the term 'brother complex'?" Vayne looked slightly puzzled. "Ah, right. You've lived in the wilderness for so many years; you might not be familiar with modern slang. A 'brother complex' refers to a sister or brother who harbors impure romantic or platonic feelings for their biological brother. They..."

"You don't need to explain in such detail," Ling Mo interrupted hastily. "I understand the meaning of the term. I'm asking, how do you know your aunt has one?"

"It's incredibly obvious! You can tell at a glance," Vayne said as if it were common sense. "Ever since my sister and I could remember, Auntie has always been circling around Dad. Mom even seemed unhappy about it at one point. Auntie knows all of Dad's preferences and habits. Whatever Dad asks of her, she fulfills with all her might, including looking after my sister and me. Even when she became a professor at Ivy University, it was because Dad had once sighed about needing an assistant. Auntie, who originally hated studying, spent a year and a half self-studying and qualified as a guest professor. It’s just a pity that by the time she joined the research group, Dad had already been transferred to another project. They never got to work together; it's quite a shame."

Catherine listened blankly for a long time before quipping, "That’s quite an inspirational story..."

"It’s not an inspirational story; it’s a tale of bad luck," Vayne corrected her. "Though it feels a bit mean to say it about her, she really is incredibly unlucky. She loses at least three sets of keys a year, falls into sewer drains right in front of her own house, and the birthday cakes she bakes for Dad are either stolen by cats or Dad is too busy to come home and eat them. When she confessed her feelings to Dad, he mistook it for a sisterly affection, which made my sister and I want to shed tears of sorrow for her. Even when she made up her mind to 'night-raid' Dad, she was so nervous that she ran into the doorframe and knocked herself unconscious until the next morning... Pfft!"

Before Vayne could finish, she received a heavy blow to the face. Caught completely off guard, she tumbled to the ground. While she had been spilling her aunt’s secrets, Mysia’s face had turned bright red, practically steaming. Since she was a spiritual entity, this was literal—smoke was actually rising from her forehead! She had managed to endure the initial embarrassment, but when Vayne mentioned the "night-raid," Mysia finally snapped, punched her niece to the ground, and lunged forward to cover her mouth tightly.

With shameful tears in her eyes, Mysia shouted angrily, "En! You’re as indiscreet as ever! When did I ever 'night-raid' your father? I was just sleep-deprived that day and bumped into his doorframe while returning from the bathroom! Do you hear me?!"

"Yeah, right. Like anyone brings a pillow to the bathroom..." Vayne muttered, but upon catching the increasingly terrifying look in Mysia's eyes, she wisely chose not to continue the topic. Instead, she turned to Ling Mo and said, "What do you think, Master? Dad is a perfect candidate for Auntie’s obsession, right?"

"Perfect is an understatement; it’s practically overkill," Ling Mo said, speechless. He then asked, "So, what now? Can you reach your father?"

"Dad is likely in some top-secret research base, so standard communication probably won't work," Vayne shook her head. "But with my sister’s total mental power, she should have a way. I’ll call her out."

Before the words had even left her lips, Vayne’s demeanor shifted abruptly. A massive surge of mental energy spread out, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. The moment Weiss emerged, she spoke urgently: "I’m contacting Dad immediately. The sooner the better. Miss Catherine, may I borrow your Magic Eye Sprite—"

"W-wait!" Mysia interjected, stopping Weiss, who had already begun channeling her energy. She looked flustered. "Hold on, I... I’m not ready yet!"

Weiss asked, confused, "Ready? Ready for what?"

Mysia didn't answer. She quickly pulled a small mirror from her little bag, checking her reflection left and right. She took out a tiny comb and diligently smoothed out her slightly messy medium-length hair, occasionally fussing over her bangs until she finally deemed herself presentable.

Seemingly dissatisfied with her pale complexion, she pulled a small container from her bag and squeezed something out, applying it to her face. After a while, she noticed her skin tone remained just as pale as before. She stared blankly for a moment, then sighed. "Right, I’m already dead. Cosmetics are useless on me now... Oh well, let it be. Sis, you can connect to Dad’s line now."

Weiss looked at her aunt blankly. "Auntie... you know you’re dead?"

"Yes, and I know I’ve become an earthbound spirit. I understand most of your conversation now," Mysia replied with a wide, open-minded smile. "Don't let my appearance fool you; I was a learned professor while I was alive. An earthbound spirit can't accept information they didn't know in life, but I was quite knowledgeable, so I understand my current state. It’s just that my perspective on the world has changed drastically, that's all."

"You might disappear in a few days. Aren't you upset?"

"It’s alright. Compared to those colleagues who died instantly on the spot, I’m already very lucky, aren't I?" Mysia’s voice remained cheerful. "Though I’ve been unlucky my whole life, I’ve finally had a stroke of luck at the very end. I’m satisfied. Besides, aren't you all working hard to save me?"

Weiss fought back the stinging in her nose and nodded heavily. Taking the Magic Eye Sprite from Catherine, she traced a dozen interlocking magic circles beneath her feet. The light from these circles intertwined, using the hovering sprite as a relay point to create a thin line of energy that shot directly toward an unknown 'star' in the sky!

*Zzzzt—!*

The star in the sky lit up. A burst of static came from the sprite, followed by a projection of light that expanded into the air. After a few ripples, the image stabilized. A young boy with thick glasses and delicate, doll-like features—looking no more than ten years old—stared at the lens, clearly astonished. His voice, when he spoke, was a crisp, childish tone: "Sis? Why are you using the emergency line? What happened?"

Then, he spotted Ling Mo smiling in the background. His expression shifted violently, and he said with immense difficulty, "How could it be you?!"