Esper X Family – Chapter 698 – What Kind of Joke Is This?

As everyone knows.

Even though Lou Wei and Fu Qi had long been famous, they had never given a single public interview.

All their work was carried out behind the scenes, and they clearly had no intention of acting as public-facing representatives for the Countermeasures Bureau.

The public’s understanding of the two came entirely from a certain war reporter’s livestreams and a certain mysterious streamer’s “inside scoops”.

Thus, the impression they gave was that of reclusive masterminds who preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

That was, of course, unless you brought up “Lou Weiwei” and “Fu Qiqi”.

Once those names entered the picture, that stereotype could be thrown right out the window.

Those were the great Crimson Wheel and Void Heaven. After witnessing their heroic feats in battle, who could possibly stay rational?

Who cared about their civilian forms?

Most people were metaslave players, with a dash of appearance-first mentality.

Everything else was empty; only strength was real.

After all, who wouldn’t want to call a human hero willing to appear in magical girl form “Mama”?

Even if they were male underneath, they were still a male mom ¹ Basically men who are really good at taking care of other people. !

At least, that was the sentiment among many young people.

No matter how outrageous the old-timers from the previous era found it, there was nothing they could do.

There was no way around it. The youth are the future, after all.

And now, the mysterious streamer with the strongest backing had brought in Crimson Wheel and Void Heaven, delivering a huge surprise to everyone.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were overjoyed.

“Tong Yao” could be interacted with fairly regularly, but the two legendary magical girls, Crimson Wheel and Void Heaven, were rarely seen; so much so that some people thought they had retired.

Rеaⅾ oո ΚаtRеαⅾiոɡCаfе

This was undoubtedly a fan meeting!

“So, what have you two big sisters been up to lately? You haven’t appeared in so long that everyone thought you two retired.”

Ye Yao began asking questions from off-camera, like a little reporter.

Fu Qiqi quietly composed herself.

At this point, she had already been outmaneuvered by Lou Weiwei.

Since she couldn’t avoid it, she had no choice but to maintain her adult image as much as possible.

The girl put on a steady smile.

“The world’s crises have largely been resolved. The people now live in a safe environment, so naturally, there’s no longer a need for magical girls to protect them.”

“Everyone can live the life they want through their own efforts, and that’s exactly the outcome we hoped to see.”

Fu Qiqi paused.

“However, even though you no longer need our protection on the surface, we’ve always been working behind the scenes to build everyone’s future.”

“Rest assured that Crimson Wheel and I have never left you. We’re not in a relationship of protector and protected; we’re partners moving forward together. We always have been.”

Fu Qiqi had never given speeches before, nor had she ever made grand promises to win public favor.

After gaining the identity of “Void Heaven”, she became even more reluctant to appear before the public.

Her colleagues and subordinates’ gazes had already been unsettling enough.

If she had to face civilian “fans” directly, Fu Qiqi didn’t know if she could maintain her strong-willed mindset.

At least in this regard, Fu Qiqi admitted that she wasn’t as good as Lou Weiwei.

Just look, Xiao Jing was covering her mouth and snickering just off-camera. Fu Qiqi felt like ants were crawling all over her.

What kind of joke is this?

Reaⅾ οո КаtRеаdіոɡСаfе

I’m the Director!

She absolutely would not accept that kind of “looking at a kid” expression!

But now, Fu Qiqi definitely didn’t want to admit she was the “Countermeasures Bureau Director” in this figure.

After Fu Qiqi finished speaking, the barrage of comments behind Ye Yao went wild.

Almost the entire screen was flooded with “Mama”!

“So gentle! So great! Definitely a mom!”

“So our dear Void Heaven has been working behind the scenes for everyone’s happiness all along? You truly are… I’m crying!”

“I’ve been a Void Heaven stan since birth!”

“Ah, I won’t follow the crowd and call her Mama… I dream of having a daughter like her!”

…

Fu Qiqi maintained an awkward but polite smile, pretending not to see the abstract content on the screen.

“Ahaha…”

She was about to crash.

Ye Yao silently gave Fu Qiqi a thumbs-up.

“Big Sister Void Heaven is great… there’s no need for more words. With you involved in building everyone’s future, I’m sure everyone will feel at ease!”

“Mm, it’s my duty.”

Fu Qiqi was completely at a loss.

Previously, Ye Yao had always called her “Uncle”, but now she was being called “Big Sister”.

The leap was absurd.

Reαԁ on КаtReαԁiոɡСаfе

It almost felt like she had lived a full life.

Fu Qiqi just wanted time to pass faster.

Then, Ye Yao turned to look at Lou Weiwei.

“And what about Big Sister Crimson Wheel? Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans in response to their support?”

“Thank you. I won’t let everyone down.”

Lou Weiwei maintained her usual cold persona. Or rather, she was naturally like that, unable to be lively at all.

Despite having a “sun” motif, she felt so distant.

But wasn’t that fitting?

Not everyone could get close to the sun.

That subtle sense of distance… it had so much appeal!

Even without showing extra enthusiasm, she still sent her supporters into raptures.

“Ah, the Sun Princess!”

“Not the Sun’s Daughter?”

“No complaints here, this is a real mom!”

“Won’t I get tracked down IRL for competing with Tong Yao for her Mom?”

“Which mom are you talking about again?”

…

Ye Yao gave a very satisfied thumbs-up.

“Mm, Sister Crimson Wheel is still cool on the outside but warm within. When it comes to being practical and action-oriented, both I and everyone else trust you!”

Reαԁ οո KαtRеaⅾіոɡCαfe

Lou Weiwei nodded slightly, doing her best to go along with Ye Yao’s little interview.

“Now that we know what the two big sisters have been up to recently, let’s chat a bit about some inside scoop!”

“According to rumors, the super animals on Bluestar are about to undergo a version update, and some familiar yet unfamiliar faces might show up. Does Big Sister Crimson Wheel have any idea about that?”

Ye Yao kept up her act of being a “roadside nobody”, playing the outsider.

Lou Weiwei naturally knew some of Ye Yao’s thoughts on this.

Suffice to say, it posed no harm to Bluestar.

Lou Weiwei responded: “Due to certain special reasons, the number of biological species on Bluestar will surge. Humanity’s former fantasies will appear in reality.”

Fu Qiqi had also learned some specifics from Lou Weiwei.

She had no objections and smoothly picked up the topic.

“As many of you may have seen in the trending topics over the past few days. Snakes transforming into dragons, winged horses appearing… If all goes well, you might even see quite a few familiar mythological creatures.”

“Even so, there’s no need to worry that their emergence will disrupt order. Humanity has already begun exploring the cosmos further, and these wondrous creatures will only become part of our shared strength.”

Fu Qiqi didn’t reveal that those creatures might take on human forms.

She certainly wasn’t going to say that this situation was caused by her niece’s little hobby, was she?

Fu Qiqi decided to respect her niece’s preferences.

The kid was already the strongest in the world. She could play however she wanted.

Author Note

As usual, I’ll include a picture in each chapter to liven things up, but unfortunately, I’ve become a lazy bum. It’s a shame I realized this too late. Whatever, I’ll just slack off for now.

Text: I come to your bowl every day

You get upset when it’s actually served.