So Mobius Is This Easy to Talk To

Since Heng and Bianca were also staying at Flame-Moth's place, Lin Li didn't escort them for long. She returned in a little over half an hour.

About twenty-five minutes of that time was spent with her dragging Heng down the street. It was quite a sight, and not a single soldier who passed by didn't turn their head.

The captain of the Third Special Squad being dragged by a member of the Second Special Squad? If word got out, Heng would be utterly ruined.

Well, it seemed he was already ruined.

But Lin Li didn't care about such things. Unless it brought her money, she was indifferent to everything.

On her way back, since it was on the route, she also stopped by the place where commissions were accepted. However, she was disappointed. There were no high-paying commissions; the highest one was for ten thousand.

But it was incredibly troublesome and involved brainpower, something she couldn't handle at all.

She didn't want to take on the other low-paying ones either, so she walked back into the research institute.

Mobius was just like when Lin Li had arrived in the morning, engrossed in operating on the surgical table.

Lin Li realized she never really knew what the Doctor was doing, so she walked over, bending down.

There were only scattered purple patterns on the surgical table; she didn't know what they were.

"You're back?"

Mobius sensed the presence beside her, came back to her senses, and asked.

It was like how an adult would say "You're home?" when seeing their child return. While it seemed redundant, it was actually a form of care for the other person.

Although there wasn't a parent-child relationship between the two people in the research institute, Lin Li still felt a warmth in her heart.

"Mhm," Lin Li nodded, even though this was also redundant.

"Then go sit down. I'll call you if I need your help."

"Okay."

There wasn't much more conversation between them. Or rather, Mobius wasn't focusing her attention on Lin Li at the moment—the items on her surgical table were clearly more captivating.

Lin Li was happy to have some free time and took out her phone to search for a school.

It was a university with a very complicated name. On the way back after escorting the two, she had mostly been listening to Bianca's stories and hadn't paid much attention to this.

Bianca's meaning was that two university graduates would come to work at the research institute later. It seemed Lin Li had mentioned this the first time she and Elysia came to the laboratory together.

But at that time, Mobius had asked, and Bianca had only mentioned it briefly.

She searched for a long time but couldn't find the name of the school. So, she gave up and started thinking about other things.

Bianca had said those two girls would come next week... ah, Bianca had said they could come anytime; it was Dr. Mobius who had asked them to come next week.

She wondered if those two girls were very capable and might take her job. What would she do if she had no salary?

Lin Li thought of some unpleasant possibilities, but at that moment, Mobius suddenly turned her head and said:

"Oh, right, Lin Li, tomorrow is your first official day of work. I have a task for you."

"What task?"

"Go pick up those two girls Bianca mentioned who are coming here to work."

"...?" Lin Li frowned slightly. "Didn't you say they were coming next week?"

"What, did I say it? Can't I change my mind?" Mobius glanced at her and then turned back. "Also, you don't need to use honorifics with me. I see you're not used to it yourself."

"Okay."

Lin Li didn't refuse this suggestion at all.

Because she really wasn't used to it. She had never worked before. She had originally intended to use honorifics with Mobius to maintain a good attitude towards her boss.

"Where do I find those two girls?"

"Far East, where I used to live."

"Uh, where is that?"

"?"

Mobius's expression was even more confused than Lin Li's current one, even bewildered.

The clarity in the other person's eyes told her she wasn't lying.

"Your bone age shows you're nineteen, but you don't even know the Far East?"

"..."

Lin Li lowered her head and looked at the laboratory floor.

She couldn't exactly say she wasn't from this world, could she?

"Tsk, it's fine if you don't know. I'll send the address to Elysia later... she'll go with you, right?" Mobius raised an eyebrow.

"I... I don't know."

Lin Li stammered.

"It seems you two have indeed had some conflict."

Mobius adjusted her glasses and said thoughtfully, looking at Lin Li's appearance, "Just now, I remember I wanted to let you speak about it and give you some advice, but Bianca and Heng interrupted me."

"Uh, actually..."

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't," Mobius waved her hand. "You've been with Elysia for so long, don't you even know what kind of person she is?"

"Even if you have some conflict, it's insignificant in her eyes. In other words... the person she cares about most right now should be you. Your indifference is what worries her the most."

"So, as long as you want to go, Elysia will definitely accompany you. Even if you refuse, she'll stick around."

"Hiss... Lin Li, you're the first person I've ever said so many comforting words to," Mobius chuckled and said. "It seems you really have a kind of magic about you. No wonder Elysia likes you so much."

"...Like?" Lin Li softly repeated the words, her voice barely a whisper.

"Alright, go back to looking at your phone. You don't need to do anything for now," Mobius shook her head as she looked at her. "Those two girls are top students who graduated in biology. They'll be working here later; they'll handle the thinking tasks..."

As she spoke, Mobius seemed to suddenly realize something and asked, "Lin Li, by the way... did I ever ask you what you studied before?"

"No," Lin Li shook her head. "I stopped studying after high school, and I was in the humanities. I can't understand any of the things you're researching, Doctor."

"You say that so easily," Mobius rolled her eyes. "Sigh, if it gets out that I have an employee in my lab who doesn't understand biology..."

"..."

Lin Li still kept her head down, her lips pressed together, saying nothing.

"Are you sad?" Mobius asked with a smile upon seeing this. "It was just a joke, don't take it to heart."

"Besides, don't you have your own strengths? From your previous performance, you're very strong, very fast... and not very emotionally intelligent."

"...Is the last one really a strength?" Lin Li's eye twitched.

"It can be considered a strength at certain times," Mobius nodded, then shook her head again. "At least in my lab."

Mobius seemed to have no intention of continuing to study the things on her operating table. It looked like she was preparing to start chatting with Lin Li about other things.

In the lab, there was no other meaning in researching by herself. She didn't particularly like this kind of life.

Although... when she discovered certain new things, it was indeed delightful.

She walked over to Lin Li and sat down, asking:

"Would you like a glass of water?"

"Uh... shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Lin Li looked up, confused.

"If you know that, then hurry up and go get it," Mobius's lips curved slightly. "I want a cold one."

"..."

Lin Li stood up and got two glasses of water, one warm and one cold.

After handing the cold one to Mobius, she drank the other glass in one gulp.

"...Do you always drink water like that?" Mobius asked, sounding a bit curious.

"Uh, sometimes," Lin Li put down the cup and wiped her mouth.

"It doesn't look like 'sometimes'," Mobius commented, taking a small sip herself.

Although it was just drinking cold water, and "sip" might not be the most accurate word, it fit the situation well.

Mobius's way of drinking water was very much like drinking alcohol.

"There's nothing to do right now, and with Blanca gone, I don't have the mood to do research. Why don't you stay here and chat with me?"

"Okay."

"Refreshing. Then let's start by talking about your childhood. Is this topic okay?" Mobius said with a smile.

"Uh, it's okay, but... what do you want to hear, Doctor?"

"Tell me about your experiences. Tell me everything."

"That might be a lot."

"We have plenty of time. By the time Elysia gets here at seven, I should have a general understanding of you," Mobius leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Tell her now to bring two meals tonight. The lunch one was quite tasty, so pick that one."

"Mhm."

Lin Li relayed Mobius's exact words to Elysia via her phone and also told her to arrive at seven.

She also thought the lunch meal was quite delicious.

It had been a full three hours since Mobius decided to chat with Lin Li.

Lin Li went from being rather shy at the beginning to gradually letting herself go.

Initially, she thought Mobius was a very serious person and difficult to talk to, so she had been speaking very cautiously before.

But after chatting with Mobius for so long, she discovered that wasn't the case.

Mobius was a very talkative person and could empathize with what she said. As they went back and forth, their relationship unknowingly improved, even becoming somewhat intimate.

Like now, Mobius had an arm slung around Lin Li's neck, looking like good sisters.

Although their outfits looked quite different. Mobius was in a standard white lab coat, while Lin Li was in casual wear, a light pink top and off-white straight-leg pants, looking like an ordinary girl.

So when Elysia appeared at the laboratory door exactly at seven o'clock, she was stunned by the scene inside.

She never imagined Lin Li and Dr. Mobius's relationship could become so close that they'd be slinging arms.

Seeing Elysia arrive, Mobius put down her hand and beckoned her over.

Lin Li noticed she was holding three meals, so she went to get another stool.

Elysia sat beside Lin Li, her eyes filled with unspoken questions. Lin Li could feel it, but she didn't know what Elysia wanted to ask.

"Xiao Li."

"Yes?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you," Elysia said with a smile. "I know you like spicy food, so I specifically prepared some chili sauce for you."

"...Thank you," Lin Li replied.

But Elysia, hearing this, was somewhat displeased.

She always felt Xiao Li's tone was neither here nor there. Before... it wasn't like this when Xiao Li said thank you!

Could it be because Dr. Mobius had said something bad about her?

Elysia looked at Mobius with a scrutinizing gaze.

Receiving the look, Mobius raised an eyebrow as if asking what she was doing, then opened her lunchbox.

"Xiao Li, can you feed me?"

"..."

Lin Li's hands paused, as if contemplating whether to feed her.

Mobius couldn't stand it anymore and said, "What? Does the captain of our Flame-Moth's Second Special Squad not have hands? Needs to be fed to eat?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she received two looks.

One was Lin Li's gratitude, and the other was Elysia's displeasure.

The latter pouted her rosy lips, looking unhappy.

"Hmph, Doctor, you still owe me for lunch."

"Tsk, it's only thirteen yuan, what's the rush?" Mobius said indifferently, her expression calm. "Including this meal, it's twenty-six. I'll give it to you when it adds up to a number I feel comfortable with. You're not short on money anyway, and you don't lack this much from me."

"...I never said I wasn't short on money," Elysia signaled Mobius frantically with her eyes.

"Ah, yes, of course, you're the most short on money," Mobius replied perfunctorily.

She could tell Elysia didn't want Lin Li to know she owned a restaurant, though she didn't know why.

Although it seemed they didn't have a good relationship, she wouldn't do something like revealing what the other person didn't want said.

Speaking of which, there was a question she hadn't noticed. Since Lin Li wanted money so badly, and Elysia had so much, why did she still come to work for her here?

Could it be she wanted to rely on her own efforts? Honestly, if she paid Lin Li her usual wage, it probably wouldn't even be five hundred.

This ten thousand was purely set arbitrarily, just to make Lin Li happier and get her to do a bit more. The people she truly researched in her lab didn't need any wages.

Well... actually, one-third of this ten thousand was given because Lin Li was good-looking. She was indeed the most beautiful girl Mobius had ever seen.

Lin Li was the type who grew on you; stunning at first glance, and even after looking for a long time, there was no aesthetic fatigue. That's why she was happy to chat with Lin Li.

Lin Li also looked good when she smiled, though most of the time she seemed a bit slow, even... dull.

In short, she was a bit vacant. Perhaps, in Elysia's words, this was cute?

Mobius shook her head and chuckled self-deprecatingly.

When had she ever thought so much about someone? It was truly strange.

The three of them finished their dinner in silence.