Mobius: My House Is Pretty Big... (4k)

Klein regretted things a little now.

Perhaps she really should have checked the almanac before leaving the house yesterday, or found a fortune-telling old man in Changkong City's streets to see whether her fate according to the Five Elements had doomed her to bad luck yesterday.

Otherwise, how could Klein, a model student, have encountered so many bizarre events in the span of a single night?

It had been nothing more than an ordinary day... except that her homeroom teacher, who had recently been so busy dealing with the college entrance arrangements for the senior class that she could barely spare a moment, had suddenly found time to seek Klein out alone. She had insisted that Klein attend a lecture given by a famous biology professor at Chiyu Academy that evening. Otherwise, the homeroom teacher would be finished...

Strange... Why had the homeroom teacher said that she would be doomed if Klein did not attend the lecture?

Klein could not figure out the reason, but this was, after all, a request from the homeroom teacher who had taught her for an entire school year. Besides, Klein had always been very interested in biology, so she did not think too much about it and agreed at once.

And so... her journey of misfortune began.

Aside from Kevin, who was exceptionally unruly and got thrown out of the lecture hall by "Professor Serpent," things inside the lecture hall had been fairly normal... It was just that the biology knowledge Professor Serpent taught was somewhat too profound. Even Klein, who was often praised by others for possessing extraordinary talent in biology, had struggled to keep up.

However, the rewards had been directly proportional to the effort. Klein had clearly felt that every word Professor Serpent spoke in class had hit precisely upon the doubts and confusions she had previously had about the knowledge in her biology textbooks. It was almost as if... Professor Serpent's lecture had been specially tailored for her...

At the time, Klein had thought that once class ended, she absolutely had to ask Professor Serpent for guidance. If the other woman happened to have time, Klein would surely be able to resolve even more of her academic doubts and avoid several months' or even several years' worth of detours. And even if she had no time, merely becoming familiar with such a knowledgeable young professor could only benefit Klein.

With those thoughts in mind, Klein had not listened carefully to the second half of the lecture, which was taught by "Assistant Xu."

After class, Klein quickly packed up her notebook and study materials, intending to follow Assistant Xu and find Professor Serpent.

But... after leaving the circular classroom, she could not find Assistant Xu anywhere.

Klein fell into brief confusion.

Little did she know that during the time she hesitated, she had already missed her best chance to escape.

As for what happened afterward... Klein could not remember. She only recalled that she seemed to have seen something extremely stimulating. It seemed that Assistant Xu had pinned Professor Serpent down... No, no, no, how could that possibly be? Assistant Xu and Professor Serpent were both "girls." How could they do something like that? She must have seen it wrong.

But when Klein's consciousness became clear again, she was surprised to discover that she had been kidnapped together with Professor Serpent.

The masked criminal in black had been terrifying, and his intelligence seemed extraordinarily high as well. He had effortlessly seen through all her thoughts. Klein could not even figure out where she had offended such a highly intelligent criminal.

But that was secondary. No matter what, he was at least a human being. Though his words were sharp, at most they could make Klein despair; they could not directly frighten her unconscious.

--Imagine that, in the dead of night, something that looks like a human but approaches you with movements you cannot understand. How would you react?

That had more or less been how Klein felt at the time.

While she was still thinking about how to make the criminal in black let her go, she suddenly caught sight of someone in the light not far away—a strange "person"... stiffly imitating human movements as it approached them... coming closer and closer...

Klein could no longer remember the details. She only remembered that beneath that filthy, disordered hair was the strange figure's... horrifying face.

"Ah!!!"

Klein jolted awake from her nightmare. Her not-yet-fully-developed chest heaved up and down, her mind filled only with the terrifying appearance of that sapient being that looked human but was not. When she touched her back, it was already drenched in cold sweat.

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice sounded beside her. Klein looked over instinctively and saw a blond, blue-eyed... beautiful mature woman holding out a hot towel to her.

"Since you're awake, wipe your face."

Xu Ziling handed the towel to Klein, who was on the bed in the small building, then pointed at the bedside table and said,

"There's coffee over there. You can use it to clear your head later."

"Who... are you?"

Klein looked around the room in confusion. She found herself in a simply decorated room. After somewhat blankly accepting the towel Xu Ziling handed her, she asked,

"Where am I now...?"

"You experienced a serious kidnapping and assault last night, but don't worry. Everything is fine now."

Xu Ziling answered honestly.

"You are... Ah, I remember now."

After staring at the blond, blue-eyed Xu Ziling for a while, Klein hurriedly said,

"You're Assistant Xu, right? There's something I have to tell you as soon as possible. Last night, I saw Professor Serpent get kidnapped! Kevin tried to come rescue us, but he failed..."

After waiting for Klein to finish recounting all her terror, Xu Ziling realized that, because of his "Physical Deep Sleep Method," Klein did not remember seeing that extremely stimulating scene involving him and Mobius at the academy... But that was good, too. It saved him the trouble of explaining.

When Klein finished, Xu Ziling smiled and said,

"Don't be nervous, student. The fact that you can sit here now doesn't prove that you and the doctor have already been rescued? Rest assured. You and the doctor are both safe now."

"Oh, I see... Thank you."

Hearing that Professor Serpent, who had imparted so much knowledge to her in just one lesson, was fine, Klein immediately relaxed. She looked at the towel in her hand, then wiped her face with it, easing the dizziness that still clouded her mind after waking.

"Student, you really don't need to thank me."

Xu Ziling suddenly spoke with a serious expression.

"Although I did manage to make amends at the last moment... no matter how you look at it, the situation reached that point because I failed in my duties as the doctor's assistant and bodyguard, even causing you to suffer for nothing. You don't need to thank me. On the contrary, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"Ah... huh?"

Klein was a student who had only just turned eighteen, and her personality leaned toward the timid and conservative side. How could she withstand such an apology? Her emotions became flustered as she watched Xu Ziling take a step back and bow deeply to her. She hurriedly said,

"Ah... no... There's no need. You're too polite. It's good that Professor Serpent is fine. As for me... there's no need to be so formal."

"No, student. Please at least accept my apology. This incident happened because of my personal negligence."

If one ignored the fact that Xu Ziling was only offering a verbal promise without any practical compensation, his words at that moment were so sincere and convincing.

Klein, however, clearly fell for it. Under Xu Ziling's apology, she seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

"Um... If Professor Serpent is fine, then there shouldn't be anything left for me here, right?"

After calming her flustered emotions, Klein no longer wanted to seek out Professor Serpent, who had just gone through a kidnapping like she had, to ask questions. She only wanted to return to her normal life as soon as possible, so she asked Xu Ziling,

"Assistant Xu, I... Can I leave now? Today should be Saturday, and I still have club activities at school..."

"Of course you can, student."

Xu Ziling nodded, then added,

"However, student, before you leave, please at least sign a confidentiality agreement with us. You personally experienced what happened last night, and what happened yesterday evening... really shouldn't be made known to too many people."

"Ah? Is it really that serious... 'Shouldn't be made known to too many people'?"

Klein was somewhat puzzled. Although the kidnapping had been serious, if the criminal had already been arrested, it should not be necessary to...

"Wait, are you saying that the person who kidnapped Professor Serpent and me last night hasn't been arrested yet?"

Klein's tone became somewhat panicked. That was the only explanation for why she needed to sign such a formal confidentiality agreement: the criminal had not been caught...

And if the criminal had not been caught... then if she returned to Chiyu Academy now, would she not be putting herself in danger as well? She had witnessed the other party's insane criminal acts only last night. If he learned that she had returned to Chiyu Academy and gone to school as if nothing had happened today... Even if he did not care that such an act was practically a provocation, he would certainly attack her again to prevent her from revealing what she had experienced yesterday!

Klein had no doubt that the terrifying, inhuman strength and extraordinarily high insight and intelligence the other party had displayed during their conversation last night would make it easy for him to manipulate her, a mere high school student.

Professor Serpent had been kidnapped despite having a capable assistant protecting her. If the criminal really came after Klein, she did not believe Chiyu Academy could protect her.

In short, she absolutely could not return to the academy for the time being. She would be in danger if she did!

--Klein, who usually sneaked peeks at romance and palace-intrigue novels, imagined all this.

Xu Ziling, meanwhile, looked at Klein in surprise. He could sense that this girl, whose emerald-green hair and cerulean eyes resembled Mobius's, had apparently imagined something extraordinary. And judging from the situation... it seemed to be very advantageous to his next move?

After thinking for a moment, he gave a tactical cough and said,

"Ahem... Student, do you have nowhere to go right now?"

"Um... Yes..."

Klein nodded somewhat dejectedly. The college entrance examination was approaching, after all, and if she stayed away from the academy for a while, she might fall behind her classmates and cause her final score to drop... But between a lower exam score and her life, Klein still knew which one to choose.

"Hmm... Then, student, look around you."

Xu Ziling pointed at the nicely decorated room and said,

"What do you think? Personally, I feel that... the doctor's house is pretty big..."

"?"

Hearing those dangerous words, a large question mark rose above Klein's head. She asked Xu Ziling in confusion,

"Assistant Xu, do you mean...?"

"I just thought about it. Letting you leave now would be exposing you directly to that criminal's gaze. That's no different from sending you to your death..."

Xu Ziling spread his hands and said,

"Since you were dragged into this because of my dereliction of duty, let me compensate you in my own way... If you're afraid, you can stay here for the next few days. I'm fairly confident in my own abilities. Although I can't be in two places at once sometimes, as long as you stay inside the doctor's residence and don't go out... I guarantee that you'll be completely safe. The doctor has also decided to stay in and conduct experiments for the next few days. She was just targeted by someone, after all, so it really wouldn't be suitable for her to go out."

"You'll... protect me?"

Klein blinked, then looked at Xu Ziling's slender build and fair skin. No matter how she looked at him, he resembled a "weak woman" who generally needed others to protect her. Could such a "weak woman" protect two people at once under the gaze of that highly intelligent criminal?

"Ahem."

Xu Ziling knew that empty words were not very convincing, so he scanned the room and took a pair of scissors from inside.

"Actually, I think I'm pretty capable... Student, see for yourself."

With that, Xu Ziling exerted a little force with his right hand. The scissors, including the sharp metal blades at the front, quickly twisted and deformed. Under Xu Ziling's nearly unreasonable physical strength, the aluminum-alloy scissors were forcibly crushed into a nearly spherical lump of scrap metal and plastic no more than three centimeters in diameter.

Klein stared blankly at the scene. After pondering for a long time, she said:

"Assistant Xu, you call the strength to twist alloy barehanded... 'pretty capable'?"

"The doctor is beautiful enough to attract the attention of people with ulterior motives... And as her assistant and bodyguard, being able to break steel with my bare hands is perfectly normal. Don't you agree, student?"

Klein: "..."