There's Really Not a Single Drop Left!

The Flame-Moth's mess hall had a dedicated spot for breakfast.

Perhaps "selling" breakfast wasn't the right term; everything in the mess hall was provided free of charge to the soldiers. Of course, it wasn't forbidden to pay if one wished.

But Lin Li thought that since she had finally left the laboratory, she might as well stay out for a bit longer. What if the Doctor and the two sisters hadn't finished tidying up by the time she returned? Wouldn't she just be standing around awkwardly again?

With that thought in mind, Lin Li stopped and walked towards the main gate of the base.

Yesterday, it seemed, was the day the new recruit training concluded after the Second Honkai War, which was why there were many soldiers walking around the base now.

While on the plane, she had heard Elysia mention that the higher-ups had already selected a captain for the Fifth Special Squad, also a girl, though Lin Li hadn't seen what she looked like.

Stepping out of the gate, Lin Li looked at the street before her, sighed for a moment, and then began searching for a less crowded shop.

It was purely because she didn't want to be jostled by others; she wasn't fond of crowded places... Of course, if she was with Elysia, she actually liked a bit of liveliness, as it made it harder for Elysia to get handsy with her.

Although, she didn't exactly dislike it when Elysia did that.

Wait, why am I thinking about Elysia again?! Wasn't I supposed to be getting breakfast?

Lin Li shook her head, but she couldn't shake Elysia off. She could only shove the thought of her deep down inside.

She arrived at a breakfast shop, the kind she wouldn't have noticed before.

This time, she only went over because there was a red-haired woman standing at the entrance, and Lin Li was curious.

"Hello, pretty lady, what can I get for you?"

"A cup of soy milk, three meat buns, and a fried dough stick," the red-haired woman said, her fingers playing with the long hair that fell to her chest. She twirled a few strands around her fingers before tucking them behind her back.

"Coming right up, please wait a moment."

The young lady at the counter snatched the phone from the boy standing behind her, who was slightly shorter than her, and said indignantly, "Did you hear that? Go get the customer's order."

"..." The boy pouted and reluctantly stood up from his seat.

The red-haired woman wasn't in a hurry. She just stood there, head slightly bowed, occasionally stroking her chin as if deep in thought.

She was probably thinking, because when Lin Li approached her, she didn't even glance her way.

"Um... how many meat buns," Lin Li said to the young lady at the counter.

"Hmm, specifically how many?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe three... Uh, and another cup of soy milk."

Lin Li looked like she was buying breakfast for the first time, or rather, she was more clueless than a child buying breakfast for the first time.

"Pfft~" The young lady couldn't help but laugh. "This is the first time I've met someone who doesn't even know how many they want to buy! Are you getting breakfast for someone else?"

"Yes," Lin Li nodded.

"Then please wait a moment too." After saying that, the young lady went to prepare the order herself.

Just then, the boy had already brought the red-haired woman's breakfast.

The woman also happened to look up at that moment, took her breakfast, and turned to leave.

The boy was stunned when he saw this and quickly called out, "Wait, pay for it."

"Ah... Ah?" The red-haired woman seemed confused. "Pay?"

"Yeah, pay." Seeing her expression, the boy wasn't so sure himself.

Wasn't paying the right thing to do?

"Oh... Oh, pay, right, I remember now."

The red-haired woman took out her phone, intending to pay, but found that she had no balance at all.

"..." Her already limited funds seemed to have been spent at the Flame-Moth's food street a few days ago.

It was then that she noticed the person standing beside her and had an idea.

The red-haired woman's gaze was so obvious that even Lin Li, who was slow to react, could tell what she was thinking.

Is she going to ask me for money?

No way, I finally got a job, and I don't want to lend out a single cent.

"...Miss, are you a soldier of the Flame-Moth?" the red-haired woman asked.

"Uh, yes. How much is yours?" Lin Li replied.

It's a joke, how could I refuse to lend money? Besides, she said she's a soldier of the Flame-Moth, so she's probably one too. If I don't lend it this time, won't it be awkward if we meet at the base later?

Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have come out. To run into this kind of trouble... what bad luck!

"It shouldn't... be too expensive, right?"

The woman noticed Lin Li's expression and looked at the cashier's scanner gun, which displayed the number eight.

"..."

Lin Li wasn't quite sure how to handle this situation, so she just handed over her payment QR code.

With a beep, the [8000] on her system interface became 7992.

Eight yuan gone! It... didn't seem like a lot.

It was still pretty awkward though, she didn't even know who this person was, and yet she'd already been treated to eight yuan worth of breakfast.

Lin Li suddenly missed Elysia.

If Elysia were here, she would definitely know what to do, but she wasn't...

"Mm, thank you, sis," the red-haired woman said with a smile. "Let's get acquainted. My name is Himeko, but you can also call me Himiko, as not many people use the former."

"Lin Li."

Lin Li thought the name Himiko sounded familiar.

She seemed to recall hearing it when she played Tomb Raider a long time ago, and the person was supposed to be very powerful, like some legendary queen.

Lin Li didn't have much of an impression, considering she played that game ages ago. It was already good that she could remember it now.

She looked at Himiko and was surprised to see the other woman looking astonished.

"Lin Li? Are you Lin Li from the Second Special Squad?" Himiko asked.

"Uh, you know me?" Lin Li retorted, but the next moment she relaxed.

Er had mentioned that now, it seemed like no one in the entire Flame-Moth didn't know her and Elysia.

Of course, knowing of them was one thing, but most people hadn't actually met the two of them.

This was because they rarely spent time at the base.

"Of course, who doesn't know you? I didn't expect my luck to be so good this time. The great Miss Lin Li is paying for me." Himiko seemed to loosen up all of a sudden, becoming surprisingly generous, which Lin Li found very unsettling.

This was because the other woman had just thrown an arm around her!

Lin Li wasn't quick to react, but her speed was undeniable. She dodged immediately, just as the shop assistant brought over their breakfast. Lin Li also quickly scanned the payment code.

"I got injured fighting yesterday, and Elysia told me not to come into contact with anyone," Lin Li explained.

"Mm... Is that so? Alright then," Himiko nodded with a hint of regret. "I'll remember the eight yuan you owe me today. We should have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, and I'll pay you back then."

"O-okay."

"I'll be going now. I'll put in a good word for you with Elysia later."

"Perhaps that's not necessary..." Lin Li gave an awkward smile, but then suddenly realized something and asked, "How can you see Elysia?"

"Because the Flame-Moth's high-level meeting is in an hour, and the captains of all three special squads will be attending."

"Eh...? So, you're the captain of the Fifth Special Squad?" Lin Li asked in surprise.

"Mm."

"..."

Lin Li didn't know how to describe her current feelings.

She could only say it felt a bit surreal. She had been wondering who the captain of the Fifth Special Squad was on her way here, and now she had met her.

"Alright, Miss Lin Li, I'm leaving now."

"Oh... go, go ahead."

Lin Li was still a bit dazed, and Himiko almost couldn't resist stepping forward to ruffle her hair.

It wasn't until she returned to the laboratory that she gradually recovered.

"Doctor, your breakfast."

"Mm, bring it here." Mobius was introducing the various instruments in the research institute to the sisters Danzhu and Cang Xuan. She merely glanced at Lin Li, beckoning her over, and continued her explanation.

Lin Li joined them, listening with curiosity.

"You all know how to operate this centrifuge, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Cang Xuan nodded. Seeing this, Danzhu also nodded.

Mobius paused for a moment before moving towards something else.

Lin Li remained standing where she was, looking at the centrifuge.

She seemed to have some recollection of it; it was used to separate something, but she didn't know what specifically.

Well... it was normal not to know about this kind of thing, right? She was just an ordinary liberal arts student.

She followed Mobius's steps again, but the latter told her to sit on a restraint chair nearby and not move around.

Lin Li had no choice. Even though she didn't know what Mobius was up to, she had to do as she was told, after all, Mobius was her boss now...

Mobius took a small syringe from a drawer, tested it a few times to ensure it worked, and then took out an unopened needle, tubing, and other items, handing them to Cang Xuan.

"You know how to draw blood, right?"

"Mm."

Whenever Mobius asked, Cang Xuan was always the first to nod.

Danzhu, on the other hand, would assess the situation. If she really knew how, she would nod; if not... she would nod occasionally.

She knew what the doctor was talking about, but it was early in the morning, and her brain hadn't fully woken up yet.

However, she genuinely didn't know how to draw blood. Cang Xuan usually handled such tasks.

"As long as you can do it, go draw a tube now," Mobius said.

"Huh? Whose blood are we drawing?" Cang Xuan asked, confused.

But the next moment, the sound of something being locked caught her attention.

Turning her head, she saw Lin Li, who was sitting in a restraint chair, with her hands and feet bound.

"..."

Lin Li was bewildered. Looking at her bound limbs, she wondered if she should break free.

She felt it wouldn't take much strength to snap them, but the question was whether she should.

It seemed like the Doctor had done this intentionally. If she broke free... the Doctor wouldn't be happy, would she?

So what was she supposed to do now? Why was she tied up?

Lin Li felt a little nervous. The moment she saw Cang Xuan approaching her with a syringe, that nervousness instantly turned into terror.

"Doc- Doctor, what are you doing..."

"Hmm? Can't you tell? Just drawing some blood," Mobius said with a smile, personally applying iodine to Lin Li's delicate, fair arm and telling Cang Xuan to prepare.

"Don't worry, it's not just you. Danzhu and Cang Xuan will be doing this too later."

"..." Hearing this, Lin Li thought that her two sisters would also be having their blood drawn, and her fear subsided significantly.

"Then, why aren't you drawing it yourself?" Lin Li asked.

Even though Cang Xuan looked professional, she was still just a student who had recently graduated! Her experience was bound to be insufficient, right? What if she missed the vein? Would her hand be ruined?

"Me? Are you sure? Have you already forgotten what happened when Heng came in the day before yesterday?" Mobius said, a slight curve at the corner of her lips.

"...Uh, then let Cang Xuan do it." Lin Li instantly remembered when she heard that. Heng's state of wishing he were dead before... She didn't want to experience that!

"Um, Cang Xuan, can you be gentle?" she then said to Cang Xuan.

"Lin Li-jie, drawing blood can't really be gentle," Cang Xuan said, suppressing a laugh. "If you're scared, I can have Danzhu cover your eyes, then you won't be afraid."

"Will it not hurt then?"

"No, because you won't know when the needle goes in," Cang Xuan replied.

"Isn't that even scarier!" Lin Li bit her lower lip, swallowed, and watched the needle tip approaching her arm. Finally, she pleaded, "Doctor, can we not do this?"

"No, we can't," Mobius said with a smile.

Like a demon, those words were a death sentence for Lin Li.

Although it wouldn't be that severe, the moment Cang Xuan inserted the needle, Lin Li instinctively closed her eyes. She only felt a very slight sting, and then nothing.

She opened her eyes and watched her blood flow through the tube into a container.

It seems I wasn't that scared after all, Lin Li thought.

However, it wasn't long before she felt increasingly dizzy, as if the three people in front of her were spinning.

"Relax, dizziness is normal," Mobius said.

"..." Lin Li forced out a smile that was uglier than a cry.

After a while, the Doctor finally told Cang Xuan to stop.

"Alright, that's enough."

Cang Xuan pulled out the needle, and Danzhu immediately took a cotton swab and pressed it against her skin.

Lin Li's restraints were removed, but she made no further moves. She just sat in the restraint chair, eyes closed... as if she were dead.

I'm really going to die, Lin Li realized her limbs had no sensation at all.

"Don't worry, I know my limits," Mobius said, seeing that she was still conscious. Then, she had Danzhu and Cang Xuan sit on two other restraint chairs.

She was quite satisfied with Cang Xuan's blood-drawing process. Her hand was steady the whole time, and she wasn't nervous. From now on, she would leave this kind of work to Cang Xuan.

As for Danzhu... she could try it when she had time.

This time, she was going to do it herself.

With Lin Li's experience as a precedent, it would be a lie to say Danzhu and Cang Xuan weren't nervous.

Danzhu, in particular, felt her scalp tingle when she saw Lin Li's state after her blood was drawn.

If Lin Li was like this after Cang Xuan drew her blood, what would happen if the Doctor drew it?

Although she didn't know what Mobius's blood-drawing was like, it definitely wouldn't be good, at least not better than Cang Xuan's.

Well... the reality was indeed like that.

After Mobius finished drawing blood, Cang Xuan could still move with some effort, but Danzhu's condition... it would be considered good to say it was similar to Lin Li's.

She truly felt like she was dying, that one more drop and she would really pass away.

Is this what they call the esteemed Dr. Mobius? She can really control the amount so well?

She has no blood left!