Serpent, Conquer the World!

"Huh?"

Now it was Xu Ziling's turn to be confused.

Wait... I thought the System's daily reward of Realgar Wine was still in my bag? And Serpent, you didn't sneak a drink, did you? How did your thoughts jump so far ahead to suddenly offering benefits??

Back before transmigration, he'd often sparred with his soon-to-be-hanged Dog Boss over a few hundred yuan in overtime pay. He'd never experienced a dream like this crashing into reality. He was uncharacteristically stunned, stammering, unsure whether to express joy or shock.

However, Mobius directly grabbed Xu Ziling's hand and said seriously:

"Little Mouse, you heard me correctly. I'm asking if, in your original era, you ever had a girlfriend. If not, how about me?"

"Hiss!~..."

Faced with Mobius's shocking proposal, Xu Ziling was completely flustered. After a moment of stunned silence, he tentatively asked:

"Doctor, are... are you drunk? I mean, I've never had a girlfriend, but I don't think I'm worth you just giving yourself away, am I? Besides... I really don't have that intention?"

He wasn't lying. Before transmigration, Xu Ziling was a bit of a Corporate Slave with some social experience. He didn't have a girlfriend, but he had plenty of waifus from anime. And with all those anime wives telling him, "Please don't be fooled by women in the real world!", Xu Ziling had never even held a girl's hand a few times, let alone had a girlfriend, before transmigration.

"Hmph, it's not just you, Little Mouse. To tell you the truth, I don't plan on dating anyone either. But according to the Fire Moth's research, 'emotion' is the most likely connection to transcend everything between people."

Mobius pouted, then looked at Xu Ziling seriously again and said, "In short, I think I have a decent face, and I'm somewhat authoritative. If you follow me, at least your future livelihood will be secured... Of course, that's assuming you cooperate with my experiments.

Or, if you really can't accept it, just think of this as... well, an experiment. Do you remember what you promised me? You promised you'd cooperate with my experiments to the fullest extent possible to repay my kindness... cough kindness. So now, as the Doctor, I'm asking you to cooperate with me on a long-term experiment. In this experiment, I want you to do everything you can to establish an 'emotional connection' with me. Only then can the variables in the experiment be minimized, and I can be completely at ease with you."

"So, what do you say, Little Mouse? Consider it?"

Mobius added, "I'm not in a hurry. Take your time to think it over. But in my opinion, you won't refuse. After all, this is a choice that's almost entirely beneficial for you.

The most direct benefit is that once your power is revealed, if you tell others you're my man, Mobius's man, they won't dare to ask questions. Everyone knows Mobius will do anything; turning her boyfriend into a humanoid beast isn't unheard of.

And as you said earlier, 'When you have the chance to make a choice, be sure not to regret it.' I'm giving you an opportunity now. It's time for you to make your choice."

"This... this this..."

Xu Ziling was still a bit dazed. It wasn't that his psychological resilience was weak; it was just that happiness had come too suddenly! When happiness knocked on his door, he wasn't ready!

Meanwhile, Mobius tightly gripped Xu Ziling's right hand. Although she said she wasn't in a hurry, all her actions proved she was quite eager.

This strange posture was maintained until...

[Ding~ Daily quest completed: Hold hands with any Valkyrie/Flame-Chaser for over ten minutes.] [Basic quest reward + extra random reward issued: Stellaron Shards * 150, Viper Serum.] [Viper Serum: Inject this, and you will be immune to all snake venom. Host, as a boy, remember to protect yourself outside. Don't be fooled by real-world women!] [Current Stellaron Shards: 300]

"Hiss~..."

The System's voice pulled Xu Ziling back to reality. He looked up at Mobius, subconsciously swallowing.

Even though he knew Mobius was just dangling a carrot, the carrot was too tempting. After a moment of internal struggle, Xu Ziling decisively gave up resisting. He cleared his throat tactfully and asked Mobius:

"Ahem, what you just said... is it true? Doctor?"

"Of course, it's true."

Mobius thought Xu Ziling was referring to the direct benefits she'd promised him once his power was revealed, so she casually replied, "As for how I'll achieve it... you don't need to worry about that. After all, 'Because I am Mobius, I can naturally do it.' Hmm? What do you say, Little Mouse, have you considered it?"

With things said this far, pushing away the happiness that had come knocking would be truly idiotic. Xu Ziling couldn't hide his excitement, slapped his hand hard, and said:

"Okay. Then Doctor, I promise you, for the rest of my life, I will dedicate all my time to the experiment of 'finding every way to conquer you.' Please symbolically increase the difficulty; don't be conquered too easily!"

"Mmm~..."

Seeing Xu Ziling, who was already beginning to be ensnared by "emotion," Mobius nodded with satisfaction. She then reached out, brushed aside Xu Ziling's brilliant gold hair, gently pinched his delicate face, and murmured to herself:

"Excluding the feminine features... he's quite handsome. He's worthy of me."

"Hmm? Doctor, what did you just say?"

"...Nothing. I just wanted to see how you plan to establish an emotional connection and conquer me. Let me tell you beforehand, if the relationship you build isn't strong enough, I'll take the initiative too."

"It's fine, I like proactive people the most."

"You... Sigh, never mind. It doesn't matter. You'll need to cooperate with me for another experiment later."

"I have to wait? ...Not now?"

"Of course not. My body isn't as abnormal as yours; I need to eat. Let's go, Little Mouse, upstairs to try Elysia's cooking.

Oh, right, Little Mouse, you said just now you were helping Elysia make breakfast for the research institute. What did you make?"

"You're asking about that? It was just a very simple Shenzhou breakfast."

"What?"

"Eight Treasure Congee."

"Ching ching~ Professor Mobius and Little Ziling are off for some alone time. I'll have to trouble you, Little Blanca, to try this 'Congee Treasure' I made, okay?~"

"Congee... Treasure?"

Blanca looked at the bowl of Eight Treasure Congee that Elysia had placed in front of him and asked with some confusion, "Miss Elysia... while Doctor and I don't visit Shenzhou often, nor have we eaten much Chinese food, if I recall correctly... this is supposed to be called Eight Treasure Congee..."

"Huh? But I saw on an online tutorial that this is called 'Congee Treasure'?"

Elysia scratched her head, then took out her phone to re-watch the tutorial. Afterward, she showed the phone screen to Blanca with a serious expression and said, "Look, the tutorial says... most people are unlearned and cannot grasp the true meaning of breakfast congee names. But this congee, being so devoted to the creation's spiritual energy, is surely a great treasure! That's why it's called 'Congee Treasure,' it's definitely right?~"

Seeing Elysia earnestly explaining this to him, Blanca's mouth twitched slightly. He then extended a finger and swiped through the phone screen Elysia was showing, saying with a sense of helplessness:

"But Miss Elysia... you look yourself, in the same tutorial, someone is calling this 'Congee Venerable MK2000'..."

"Eh? Eh eh eh?"

"Heh, Blanca, haven't I told you many times? Stupidity is a chronic illness. Talking to idiots less will prevent you from getting infected."

A familiar voice rang out. Mobius, with Xu Ziling, emerged from the hidden elevator connecting the research institute and the small building. Seeing her assistant being teased by that pink demon again, Mobius shot Elysia a glare and said unceremoniously, "Let's be clear, Elysia. Since you've taken on the responsibility of cooking, don't make a bunch of weird things. At the very least, it needs to meet the basic standards of 'convenient' and 'quick.' If it's truly too disgusting, don't blame me for speaking harshly."

"Mhm~"

Elysia smiled and then brought another bowl of congee out from the kitchen, saying, "I'll consider this... Professor Mobius's culinary trial for a beautiful girl! Come on, try it. Although I was a bit rusty when I first started cooking Chinese food, I'm quite skilled now! Little Ziling, you should try it too? It's definitely more delicious than the instant noodles you used to eat!"

More delicious than instant noodles?

Hearing Elysia's boastful words, Mobius raised an eyebrow and then dismissively curled her lips, saying, "Give me a break, Elysia. Who can't brag? I, Mobius, would rather starve to death today, be crushed by research funding, or run away from home than admit that there's anything in the world more delicious than instant noodles."

"Mhm~ Professor Mobius, you've said so much, why don't you hurry up and try it? Whether it's delicious or not, your tongue will know the truth!"

"Heh, how could this ordinary breakfast possibly be better than instant noodles...!!!"