Yo, Little Mouse, You're Blushing

After a chaotic scramble, Xu Ziling took the lab coat Mobius had thrown at him and hurriedly draped it over himself.

"Ha ha~"

Thinking of Xu Ziling's dejected expression from earlier and seeing how embarrassed he looked now, Mobius couldn't help chuckling before casually saying,

"Little Mouse, you're blushing."

"...Doctor!"

Xu Ziling sounded utterly on the verge of tears.

He had been locked in a stone statue's tiny cell right after crossing over, gone berserk from extreme hunger the moment he woke up, and, just after regaining his senses, discovered that he was naked and "completely honest" with Mobius... And in the end, Mobius still had to tease him. What kind of life was this?!

But the most, most, most, most important thing was... he had forcibly kissed Mobius—a privilege countless creeps before his transmigration could only dream of enjoying—and he had actually enjoyed it... That should have been enough to make him die happy, but the problem was... Xu Ziling hadn't been conscious at all back then!

It was like ordering the food, taking the drugs, and buying the condoms... only to pass out because you drank too much! You spent the entire night without enjoying a single thing... How was that any different from pulling the Hydro Archon and then dying before you even got the chance to pull for yourself?!

How was Xu Ziling supposed to accept this?! How?!

Xu Ziling: Regretting Everything (Part Two)

"All right, Little Mouse. I'm done joking around."

Mobius walked over and patted Xu Ziling on the shoulder.

"In any case, I hope you understand that in our civilized era, if one person forcibly kisses another, they have to take responsibility... Although you survived from the previous civilized era and are now living here, that rule doesn't make an exception for you...

"Of course, Little Mouse, by 'responsibility,' I specifically mean this: 'When someone else tries to take you away, you have to refuse them.' Other than that, I won't restrict where you go, nor will I make excessive demands of you. Between us, you're still—though only still—in a doctor-patient relationship. Understand?"

Hearing this, Xu Ziling felt even more devastated.

As expected, a heaven-sent opportunity like forcibly kissing Mobius... could never happen a second time. Aaaaaah!

Seeing Xu Ziling looking as though he had suffered a severe emotional shock, Mobius assumed he was once again remembering his long-lost civilization and growing melancholy. She coughed twice in a tactical manner and said:

"Little Mouse, if you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement... But you don't need to be so heartbroken about having to stay with me in the future. I may be down on my luck now, but I'm still one of the world's foremost biologists. Since you have the chance to follow me, don't act ungrateful after getting such a good deal.

"If you agree, I can give you the status of my experimental assistant right now. That way, the institute will be responsible for your daily needs and meals. All you'll actually have to do is come over and cooperate with a few experiments whenever I need you to... Well? Are you tempted?"

At this, Xu Ziling's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly twice.

That tone of Mobius's... Classic. It was just too classic! Before crossing over, when his Dog Boss patted him on the shoulder and said, "Little Xu~" while painting him a rosy picture, he had used this exact tone!

The passive skill Xu Ziling had developed from being pressured by an unscrupulous boss made him instinctively adjust his emotions at lightning speed. Looking at Mobius, he began bargaining almost subconsciously:

"Doctor, it's not that I intend to refuse your invitation. It's just... you've seen how much I eat. For certain reasons, my dietary needs are much greater than a normal person's, and I can't change that...

"And I'm not saying this because I don't want to take responsibility for my impulsive actions toward you. Quite the opposite—I earnestly hope I'll have the chance to compensate you for your emotional damages and material generosity. It's just that I feel... if you took me in and provided me with three meals a day, your institute might be dragged into bankruptcy by me."

After saying this, Xu Ziling himself was stunned for a moment.

Oh no... I unconsciously used the same bargaining tactics I used with Dog Boss before crossing over on Serpent... After that whole speech, even I feel like I'm about to become the scum of the earth.

Forget it, forget it... I'll be more careful from now on.

"Heh, that's hilarious. How could an institute as large as mine possibly be brought down by one extra mouth... Er..."

After hearing Xu Ziling's words, Mobius had just been about to deny it and use the loophole in his wording to bind him completely to her side.

But halfway through her sentence, she stopped herself.

She glanced at the empty instant-noodle cups stacked almost as high as a wall nearby, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

It seemed... the institute really couldn't afford one more mouth after all...

But now that things had come this far, giving up was impossible! This guy had eaten her instant noodles, wrecked her institute... Oh, right, he had also stolen her first kiss... In short! With all those buffs stacked together, if she still couldn't tie this guy firmly to her side today, then from now on, she, Mobius, would (M Continent profanity) change her name to that of a demon and call herself Elius!

"Ahem..."

Mobius forced a smile at Xu Ziling and said,

"It's fine, Little Mouse. Although the institute's instant-noodle reserves have run dry... we still have high-concentration glucose solution! There's plenty of it, and it's filling. Eat as much as you like. Just remember to cooperate with my experiments."

Xu Ziling had never actually intended to bargain with Mobius. His speech earlier had been entirely instinctive. Now that Mobius had offered him a way down, he naturally took it, nodding at her.

"Then... sorry for the trouble, Doctor. I'll do everything within my ability to help you and your institute."

Hearing this, Mobius let out a sigh of relief.

Although the price she had paid seemed a little steep... at least this Little Mouse had already begun to identify with her. All she needed to do later was spend a little more time cultivating their relationship. Then he would become experimental data belonging solely to her, Mobius. Conducting a series of experiments on him would certainly be more convenient with an emotional foundation.

It was just a pity for poor Blanca... For the next month, and perhaps for quite some time afterward, she might have to rely on glucose solution to keep herself going with Mobius...

"By the way, Little Mouse."

Mobius suddenly thought of something. She opened her phone's camera, using it as a mirror, and held it out in front of Xu Ziling.

"Why don't you go take a shower first? You just woke up from underground, so there's a very high chance you're carrying ancient viruses. I'll basically be fine, but if Blanca gets infected... that could be troublesome."

Xu Ziling was just about to nod when he suddenly froze.

Because in the reflection on the phone Mobius had held out as a mirror, the person shown wasn't "himself" at all. Instead, it was a European seductress with brilliant golden hair and emerald-green eyes—what the hell?!