Want to hold hands? Pay up!

The atmosphere in the living room fell into a prolonged silence.

Elysia and Dr. Mobius were both waiting for Lin Li to come out, but it seemed to be taking quite a while.

Dr. Mobius pulled up her sleeve and glanced at her watch.

It was ten in the morning. If she remembered correctly, she had left the laboratory at nine-thirty. Accounting for the less than ten minutes it took to get here...

"Why hasn't she come out yet?"

Dr. Mobius was clearly growing impatient.

Usually, others waited for her, and this was the first time she was waiting for someone else.

Not to mention waiting for so long.

"Uh... Little Li should be almost ready. She's probably picked out her clothes by now," Elysia said, looking towards the bedroom door.

Oh, please don't come out, Little Li. Don't let the Doctor drag you away just yet. I still want to go out with you.

"Tsk, is it really that troublesome to get dressed?" Dr. Mobius narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the bedroom door and Elysia. "Or is this a premeditated wait? Is the goal to make me lose my patience and leave?"

"Ah... Haha, how could that be, Doctor? You're joking."

Elysia forced a smile.

I wish I could do that. If only I had Lin Li's phone number, I would definitely tell her not to come out.

"Your eyes tell me you're very nervous right now," Dr. Mobius adjusted her glasses. "What are you nervous about? Did I guess what you were thinking? Or..."

Creak—

The sound of the door slowly opening was very clear in the spacious living room.

The two people sitting on the sofa looked over simultaneously, only to see...

Inside the room, Lin Li looked into the mirror and was momentarily stunned by her own appearance.

"Holy crap, I'm so damn good-looking."

Yes, that was the only adjective Lin Li could think of.

If she were still a high school student, she could probably describe her appearance with many eloquent sentences, but she wasn't. She hadn't studied after finishing high school.

Now, all she could say was "holy crap."

Lin Li raised her hand, looked at herself in the mirror, and touched her face.

It all felt so unreal.

She could tell that this face was about seventy percent similar to her face in her own world, but she didn't know where the other thirty percent was different.

She looked so much like her former self, so why was she so beautiful now?

Well... of course, she wasn't saying she was ugly before.

It was just that compared to the person in the mirror now, she was a bit lacking.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Lin Li sighed with emotion.

But she immediately stopped paying attention to how she looked and started choosing clothes.

After spending some time, she picked out three or four outfits in colors and styles she used to wear frequently, trying them on one by one.

Thus, twenty more minutes passed, and Lin Li finally found an outfit that seemed to match her temperament. She struck a pose in front of the mirror and exclaimed:

"Damn, I'm so good-looking."

Then, she composed herself and pushed the door open to walk out.

The first thing the two saw was a face as exquisite as an ink wash painting, delicate yet gentle. Her star-like black eyes were like jade stones unpolluted by the mortal world, pure and captivating, reflecting a faint glow under the light.

Lin Li's hairstyle was simple yet refined, a half-up style with a few wisps of hair framing her forehead, gently brushing her eyebrows, exuding a touch of playfulness and dynamism.

She was wearing a loose white T-shirt with a subtle pattern, paired with white straight-leg pants and white canvas shoes, giving her a stylish yet understated look.

Lin Li's red lips curved slightly, adding a hint of charm, making her look like an ethereal fairy who had descended to the mortal realm.

Her gaze locked onto the two people on the sofa. Upon seeing Dr. Mobius, she paused for a moment before walking over to the sofa.

"Elysia, is this...?"

"Dr. Mobius," Elysia introduced. "It's the one we were just talking about."

"Oh... Oh, hello, Dr. Mobius."

Lin Li nodded at Dr. Mobius.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Mobius stood up, frowning, and observed Lin Li.

"So you were talking about me just now? What did you say? Tell me about it."

"..."

Lin Li looked at Elysia, who gave her a subtle look, signaling her not to say anything.

But Lin Li had always been bad at understanding hints and didn't know what Elysia wanted to say, so she spoke her mind.

"Elysia and I were just talking about me becoming your assistant."

"w(?Д?)w"

Upon hearing this, Elysia instantly felt like it was all over.

"Oh~ you want to be my assistant? Interesting." Dr. Mobius glanced at Elysia. "She must have suggested it, right? It seems your relationship isn't that great either."

"What...? Why do you say that?" Lin Li frowned slightly, looking puzzled.

"Heh." Dr. Mobius let out a cold laugh. "Be my assistant? Forget it. Most soldiers probably wouldn't dare to stay with me. You, being new, naturally wouldn't feel anything."

"For Elysia to even tell you this, it's really... tsk."

"Never mind that. If you want to be my assistant, you can, but... what is your purpose?"

"To make money." Lin Li always preferred to be direct.

"...Huh?" Dr. Mobius touched the earring on her earlobe, suspecting she had misheard. "Your purpose for coming to my lab is solely to make money?"

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" Lin Li retorted, her large eyes filled with confusion at the other's question. She tilted her head. "Elysia recommended me for this very reason, it's closer to home, and the salary is higher..."

"Wait." Dr. Mobius interrupted, a hint of disbelief flashing in her emerald eyes. She turned to Elysia and asked, "Where did you hear that my lab pays very well?"

"Huh... Isn't it?" Elysia also looked confused at the question.

"Of course not!"

Dr. Mobius rolled her eyes and walked casually a few steps around the living room, seemingly pondering whether these two were genuinely ignorant or just playing dumb.

Based on the current situation... it seems they really didn't know about it.

Alright, it seems she had wrongly blamed Elysia.

"My lab's salary is actually very low, and there's a lot of work, all of it dirty and strenuous. Blood is involved every day... With that said, do you still have any thoughts?"

"No." Lin Li shook her head like a rattle drum. "Actually, you didn't need to say anything after that. The moment you said the salary was low, I lost interest."

"So you really just want to come here to make money?" Dr. Mobius confirmed again.

"Yeah, why else?"

"..."

Dr. Mobius was speechless.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling like this was the first time she had encountered something so absurd.

If her lab paid well, she probably wouldn't only have Blanca as an assistant right now... Wait, the reason her lab had so few people wasn't necessarily the salary.

It was because most people were afraid of her.

Right, she had just brought up the resignation matter with Blanca again. Blanca was leaving in a week. Damn it, by then her lab would only have one person. Looking at it that way, she could indeed lure Lin Li in.

Tsk, her original intention was to research Lin Li, but now it seemed she might as well lure Lin Li into her lab first.

Dr. Mobius let out a breath and walked to the door.

"Aren't you two going out? Let's talk as we walk."

"..."

Lin Li looked at Elysia, who seized the opportunity to grab her hand and head towards the door.

But Lin Li directly pulled her hand away.

Then she saw Elysia looking utterly pitiful.

"Xiao Li~ How could you do this..." Elysia tried to grab her again, but Lin Li, having boosted her agility, quickly put distance between them.

Dr. Mobius narrowed her eyes as she watched this scene, a slight shock in her heart.

Such speed, but her reaction seemed a bit slow. Elysia's hand had almost touched Lin Li before she dodged.

Lin Li wasn't swayed by such displays of affection. She was a girl herself, and this sort of thing had no impact on her... although Elysia looked truly pitiable when she acted spoiled.

However, speaking of which, even though she wasn't swayed, she couldn't stand seeing a girl make such an expression.

Therefore, after much deliberation, and checking her system panel, adhering to her professional ethics, she said:

"Pay up."