“Miss Labi, where did you run off to just now?”
Lucia voiced her dissatisfaction.
It wasn’t until Clara rescued Lucia that Miss Labi finally arrived with the resort’s security staff, belatedly coming to round up the moon rabbits at the warehouse.
However, those rabbits had already vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a few burrows that couldn’t be tracked due to the collapse.
With an apologetic look, Miss Labi replied, “Sorry, I went to get reinforcements from the security department. See, I’m back now, aren’t I?!”
“And you didn’t even think to call me when you ran away at a time like that?!”
Lucia felt she had misjudged her, still grumbling.
“Even the reinforcements took so long to get here! If those rabbits hadn’t been hungry, I’d have been eaten clean by now!”
Miss Labi could only keep apologizing to Lucia, trying to soothe her.
“Honestly, it’s bedtime already, and everything’s a mess again… more rabbit trouble?”
Hearing the commotion, Fran came over, a lollipop in her mouth, and addressed Miss Labi:
“Are there any other places on the island like this warehouse and the pollution center where people don’t usually go in? You’d better check all of them… Regardless of dealing with the Fourth Calamity officers, you should at least handle the risk of the moon rabbit disaster, right?”
To this, Miss Labi explained, “Miss Fran, the appearance of moon rabbits on the island was entirely an accident. Plus, we’re only in the trial operation phase, and the stations aren’t fully staffed, so we’re short-handed…”
“Don’t make excuses! How much time does it take to just send someone over to check?”
Both Fran and Clara had “secret inspector” as their secondary identity, but while Clara was more or less satisfied with the overall situation, Fran was quite displeased with how things were run on the island.
If she ever returned to Central City, she’d write a ten-thousand-word complaint for sure!
She turned to look at Clara.
“I’ve already contacted the president, she knows about the situation at the resort. She said once the Sun’s bad mood passes, she’ll come help…”
Clara, however, was unconvinced.
What could the little president do if she came?
Make the moon rabbits have nightmares?
Besides,
that prerequisite made the statement sound more like empty words.
If this solar storm would just settle down, why would they need reinforcements at all?
Clara would have already told BB-0027 to drive away, and what loss the resort suffered would have nothing to do with her.
Thinking this, Clara asked,
“The important thing is… when will this solar storm finally end?”
Fran, the only one who could check the weather forecast online, shrugged and replied with little optimism,
“It’ll be a while at least. Even if the show filming goes smoothly, the solar storm may not let up even a week from now. As for when it’ll end, no one knows…”
“What a pain. Let’s just go back to sleep!”
Clara decided to give up thinking, but Fran pulled her arm.
“Hey, wait, about the strange situation you and Lucia encountered, I have some thoughts.”
She meant the moon rabbits dancing around them in a ritual, yet not attacking.
Nyx explained it as them picking up a scent, but Fran seemed to have something more to add.
“Then let’s talk as we walk.” Clara yawned.
Fran glanced back at the scene.
“Alright…”
She linked arms with Lucia, picking up a blanket, and walked toward the guest rooms.
“Right now, the moon rabbits we’ve encountered are all just sub-bodies. These guys are like worker ants, basic units, but their main body and Ps-ycho haven’t shown themselves yet.”
Fran continued the previous topic.
“While these moon rabbits will follow orders from above, they’re basically left to roam as they please. Bumping into you two was just an accident, not part of their plan.”
She was very familiar with what had happened in the warehouse.
[It was Nyx who told her the situation.]
“I knew it…”
Although it saved some explanation, Clara still felt like she had a traitor living in her head.
“Their moon rabbit cells are extremely adaptable, capable of coping with all sorts of extreme environments, even generating new organs they didn’t have before. For example, a moon rabbit going into the sea might grow gills.”
Seeing the conversation go off-topic, Clara couldn’t help but prod,
“Doctor, stop beating around the bush. What are you trying to say?”
After all that setup, Fran finally laid out her hypothesis.
“Do you think there’s a possibility that there really are humanoid moon rabbits with a higher status, living hidden among humans most of the time? Maybe that’s why the other rabbits mistook your identity and didn’t attack you or Lucia?”
But then again, scent alone can’t explain it—moon rabbits do have eyes, after all.
Still, a hypothesis without evidence is just a hypothesis.
Back in the guest room.
As soon as Lucia entered, she pounced onto the bed and hugged the moon rabbit combat body coiled up there.
Then she buried her face into the rabbit’s belly fur.
“Chirp!!”
Clara (the moon rabbit) didn’t know how to react, flailing her limbs in an attempt to push Lucia’s head off, but not daring to use force on her little sister.
“Little bunny, your scent saved my life.”
The feeling of being sniffed by her sister was strange, and behind her, Sista was stretching her neck, watching from the bedside, clearly wanting a turn.
Clara knew that look well.
It was the same gaze she used to have as a child, envying other kids who had video game consoles.
But unlike Lucia, Sista clearly knew this rabbit was her too! How could she have such a scary thought?
“Let’s get some sleep early today, everyone’s tired.”
Lucia and Fran snuggled the moon rabbit on the bed;
Clara and Sista slept on the floor.
Although the bedding was spare from the warehouse, the resort itself had only just been built, so everything inside was brand new.
“Good night.”
Clara said as she turned off the light and closed her eyes.
So much had happened today (about thirty chapters’ worth), and Clara was thoroughly exhausted. The moment her eyelids fell, she couldn’t open them again. Sista quickly fell asleep, but Clara herself struggled to drift off.
When you have two brains at once, falling asleep is really difficult.
Especially when Clara’s main body was asleep, the moon rabbit side became more and more energetic.
Asleep, but only halfway.
Makes sense,
after all, since being created, she’d always been hugged as a big plush toy, hardly ever getting to burn off her boundless energy. How could she not be lively?
Maybe… go out for a walk as the moon rabbit?
Having made up her mind, Clara (moon rabbit) tried to wriggle out from Lucia’s embrace…
…
Yet, it was impossible to move.
The girl was completely exhausted today, already fast asleep on the bed with no sign of waking, but her limbs were wrapped tightly around Clara like gnarled old tree roots. If Clara tried to force her way out, she’d definitely wake Lucia.
So she could only obediently be a plush toy?
Just as Clara was at her wits’ end, she noticed Fran watching her with open eyes.
“Can’t sleep, want to sneak out?” Fran asked with a smile.
Clara nodded her rabbit head.
Fran sighed and gently lifted Lucia’s arm, finally granting Clara her freedom.
“Then be sure to come back early.”
Secret agent rabbit.