"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go! Miss Elf can't handle this alone!"
Xu Ziling and Blanca were about to leave to give Elysia some space, but at this crucial moment, Elysia instead backed down. Hugging Mobius, she trotted over and said,
"Ara~ Don't rush off, you two. Miss Elf would be delighted to take care of Professor Mobius while she's unconscious, but if Professor Mobius wakes up and sees me... wouldn't that only make things worse?
"So, the important task of taking care of Professor Mobius should still be left to Little Ziling and Little Blanca. Miss Elf has even more important things to take care of, you know?"
As she spoke, Elysia unceremoniously stuffed the unconscious Mobius into Blanca's arms, then casually took off her own coat and draped it over Mobius.
Xu Ziling noticed that Blanca, who was holding Mobius securely, had an expression that was weary yet accustomed to this. Clearly, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Out of professional habit, Blanca didn't ask what exactly Elysia meant by "more important things." He merely nodded at Elysia before carrying the unconscious Mobius toward the rest area of the underground laboratory.
Then Elysia briskly took two steps forward and stopped in front of Xu Ziling. With both hands behind her back, she leaned forward slightly and smiled.
"Little Ziling... There's no one else here now, right? May Miss Elf ask you a few questions? There'll be a reward whether you answer correctly or not!"
Here it came. To investigate any potential hidden problems that might arise among the important people around her, and thus came Miss Elf's personal questioning session?
Thanks to Dog Boss occasionally giving him dirty looks before he crossed over, Xu Ziling quickly adjusted his state of mind.
This time, Xu Ziling didn't hide any schemes in his words or actions. He also withdrew the passive skill he had possessed even before crossing over, because he knew that with someone as pure and flawless as Elysia, only sincerity could earn that especially genuine trace of goodwill in her heart.
Elysia seemed quite satisfied with Xu Ziling's reaction as well. After smiling happily, she suddenly extended a hand toward him. With a turn of her wrist, a lifelike crystal flower appeared in her palm.
"Pretty, isn't it? Mm-hmm~ I put in a lot of effort to carve this!"
When Elysia said this, her voice was filled with pride, and her expression seemed to say, Come on, praise me!
"Pretty."
Xu Ziling looked at the lifelike crystal flower and gave his honest assessment. It wasn't that he didn't want to say more; it was just that before crossing over, he had been nothing more than an overworked employee. He had maxed out his passive skill for slacking off, but if someone asked him to praise another person... that truly involved knowledge from a forbidden zone.
"Mm-hmm?~ Then it's yours! Consider it Miss Elf's welcome gift. No need to be polite~"
Elysia smiled, then extended a slender finger and tapped Xu Ziling's neck before quickly retreating.
Xu Ziling noticed that the crystal flower in Elysia's hand had been transferred to the collar of the white lab coat he was wearing with just a point and a flick of her right hand.
At the same time, the crystal flower, which had originally been pink, began changing color from within, gradually transforming into a platinum hue. Paired with Xu Ziling's current extremely handsome, golden-haired appearance, the platinum crystal flower truly made for an exquisitely crafted ornament.
However, when Xu Ziling saw the crystal flower slowly changing from pink to platinum, his expression suddenly froze.
He hadn't felt anything when it was still an ordinary crystal flower, but now that it had suddenly changed color on its own... Xu Ziling immediately recalled some ancient memories.
In the later story of Paradise... there seemed to be something like this...
Hiss... And wasn't this thing a fragment of Elysia's resurrection token? Why did she give it to me right away?!
Besides, the wicked hand of the scriptwriter couldn't possibly arrange a resurrection token that would never be used. In other words, as long as this thing existed... Elysia was destined to die at least once???
At that thought, Xu Ziling's fingers suddenly trembled. For a moment, he actually felt like throwing the thing away and escaping reality.
"Shh—"
Just then, Elysia mysteriously leaned over again. After making a silencing gesture toward Xu Ziling, she smiled and said,
"Since Little Ziling and Professor Mobius are good friends, then you're my good friend too~ This crystal flower has chosen your color, so Little Ziling must remember to keep it safe, okay? Also, don't let Professor Mobius see your crystal flower!"
After saying that, Elysia seemed to feel that her words were inappropriate. She scratched her head, thought for a moment, and added,
"Mm... I actually made Professor Mobius a green crystal flower too, you know? It's just... Well, Little Ziling, you should know that Professor Mobius gets shy sometimes. If I gave it to her directly, she would definitely refuse. So I still need to find the right opportunity...
"Before then, Little Ziling, you have to promise me that you won't let Professor Mobius see your platinum crystal flower, okay? If Professor Mobius sees it, this gift won't seem very original, and Miss Elf will be sad..."
Right.
Elysia's words had essentially stacked a whole pile of buffs onto Xu Ziling. Now, the "Collect All Fragments to Exchange for Elysia (Platinum)" in his hand was completely impossible to throw away.
"All right, all right, put it away quickly. The welcome gift has been given, so next comes Miss Elf's questioning session~"
Elysia smiled, then brought two small stools over from the laboratory. After sitting down on one, she patted her leg, signaling for Xu Ziling to sit in front of her.
Xu Ziling helplessly removed the platinum crystal flower from his collar and put it in his pocket. After sitting down in front of Elysia, he said,
"By the way... why does the laboratory have stools like these?"
"Ara, don't worry about those details~ This is Miss Elf's questioning round now, okay? Little Ziling isn't allowed to interrupt."
Elysia smiled and waved her hand before continuing,
"But... it's obvious that Little Ziling has a lot of questions he wants to ask me too! So I'll keep this brief.
"Mm... partly for a tiny bit of selfishness, Little Ziling, I'd like to know about you and Professor Mobius... For example, how did you meet? Hey, hey, don't blame me for prying! Who told me that Professor Mobius was getting along perfectly well with Miss Elf just yesterday... and then suddenly had a new research assistant by her side today?
"Miss Elf would be delighted to see Professor Mobius make ironwood bloom... but being willing to offer blessings is one thing, and curiosity is another!"
As she spoke, Elysia pressed her palms together and said,
"So~ I want to know how you and Professor Mobius met... Please, the answer to this question is really important to me!"
Before you continue