It's Miss Pink Elf!

Ling Xi seemed a little surprised by that and could only smile. "Sorry, maybe I misunderstood."

"It's... it's fine. Then, we'll be going first. Let's talk again next time!"

Mei was feeling a little flustered as well and wanted to make a quick exit. With that, she took the lead and headed downstairs...

"Hehe, hello there, brother. My name's Kevin."

Kevin smiled at Ling Xi too. He had quite a good impression of Ling Xi!

"Mm, hello, Kevin. Just call me Ling Xi."

Ling Xi merely smiled. To be fair, these two were among the most tragic couples of the Pre-Collapse Civilization. They had clearly had a promising future, yet because of the Honkai, they ultimately never truly got together before they died. However...

They had both been heroes who fought for the Pre-Collapse Civilization and for humanity.

Perhaps their ideals differed. Perhaps their methods differed. Perhaps they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. But whether it was Mei, Kevin, Su, or Hua, they all had only one ultimate goal: humanity.

"Ling Xi, it's great to meet you, but I've got something to do today, so I won't keep chatting. I'll treat you another day."

The more Kevin looked at Ling Xi, the more pleasing he found him. This brother... was worth getting to know better!

"Sure. We can chat when we have time."

Ling Xi did not refuse. After all, standing before him was the legendary strongest man, Kevin Kaslana!

"Mm, see you around, then!"

Kevin nodded to show there was no problem, then hurried off to catch up with Mei, who was walking ahead.

"Kevin, Mei, Mobius..."

Ling Xi wore a thoughtful expression. He had already met the two strongest scientists of the Pre-Collapse Civilization and its strongest man. It seemed he really needed to stay at this school longer. After all, he still had to go find Seele tomorrow.

Watching Kevin's retreating figure, Ling Xi's gaze turned somewhat complicated. At this point, Kevin was still that generous, enthusiastic "prince" with absurd social skills, and he was very willing to make friends. Unfortunately, the Honkai would later turn him into what he became...

"Will humanity truly defeat the Honkai...?"

Ling Xi shook his head to himself and stopped thinking about it. After all... saving humanity was something so great that it was not something he could accomplish.

"Hey, Ling Xi, class over?"

When he arrived at the laboratory, Danzhu seemed to be sorting documents in the lounge. The moment she saw Ling Xi, she greeted him.

"Oh, it's Danzhu."

Ling Xi smiled back and walked over. "What are you doing? Where's your sister?"

"Sorting documents."

Danzhu spread her hands, looking bored. Then she looked behind her and said, "As for my sister... huh? Where is she?"

Ling Xi: "..." You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?

"I'm here..."

At that moment, Cangxuan emerged from Laboratory No. 5, yawning as she spoke. "Welcome back, Ling Xi..."

Ling Xi: "..." Was Klein really the only normal assistant in this laboratory?

"Cangxuan, what were you doing in the laboratory?"

Ling Xi asked casually. Wasn't this girl supposed to be helping Mei and Klein sort documents? Why was she hanging around the lab now?

"Doctor said she was conducting a parallel observation experiment, so she asked me to watch the ten culture dishes in the laboratory and record the results every hour."

Cangxuan yawned as she explained, "I've been observing them for twenty-three hours so far. This is the final hour. After that, I only need to make records every eight hours."

"Uh... that must be boring, right?"

Ling Xi could not help asking. Spending an entire day in the lab watching the same things sounded boring just thinking about it.

"Not really. It's an easy job."

To his surprise, Cangxuan shook her head slightly. "Observation work is one of the easiest jobs. I can do other things in my spare time. Oh, right, Ling Xi. I bought a few stocks today. I think the market might do well, and maybe I'll achieve financial freedom after a while."

Ling Xi: "???" Wait, ancestor, let me give you some advice. The stock market is risky!

"Sis, does that mean you can make lots of money?"

Danzhu's eyes immediately lit up. "Sis, I want to buy a figurine lately, but... I haven't gotten this month's salary yet. So... can you buy one for me?"

"No money. Goodbye. I need to continue observing the experiment."

Cangxuan refused decisively, turning around and heading back into the laboratory to continue checking the stock market...

"Tch, stingy..."

Seeing Cangxuan so decisively reject her, Danzhu was a little displeased, though she had expected it. As she returned to her own spot, she snorted, "Fine, I'll make one myself. Maybe I can even sell figurines to make money someday..."

With that, Danzhu continued sorting documents. Of course, every document she sorted had to be reviewed by Klein afterward, and Klein could find errors in nearly every review.

Ling Xi: "..."

Sure enough, there was no normal person in this laboratory. Mm... except himself!

Mobius was a research maniac, Klein was an overtime maniac, Cangxuan was obsessed with money, and Danzhu thought about figurines all day. Such a tiny laboratory was truly packed with hidden talents.

Forget it, forget it. Why was he thinking so much? He should stick to the spirit of slacking off and honestly stay by Mobius's side until he got his Hibernation Pod in the end. As for money addicts and figurine maniacs, all he could say was: as long as they were happy.

"Right, I almost forgot the important matter!"

Ling Xi suddenly remembered something. He had not planned to come to the laboratory today. The main reason he had still come was to ask Mobius about Mei's paper. He could not forget that.

Then, Ling Xi turned his gaze toward Laboratory No. 3, where Mobius usually stayed. Come to think of it... should he bring in a cup of milk tea today too?

Financial freedom!.jpg

This Is Miss Pink Elf.

"Doctor..."

Arriving at Mobius's laboratory, Ling Xi called out carefully...

"Ling Xi."

Hearing Ling Xi's voice, Mobius immediately put down her work and turned around, smiling at him. "Ling Xi, didn't I tell you that you didn't need to come today? Why did you still come?"

"Uh... hehe, I wanted to see Doctor. Besides, I don't really have anywhere to go after school."

Ling Xi chuckled. Naturally, he did not state his purpose directly. After spending the day together, he had begun to understand Mobius a little. Simply put... she was actually quite a nice person, but she would deliberately get upset over little things, so...

Ling Xi had learned Klein's method. When dealing with Doctor... he had to coax her!

"Hehe."

Sure enough, upon hearing Ling Xi's words, Mobius smiled. "Here, sit beside me. Yesterday, there were some things I didn't have time to teach you. I'll teach you today."

"Uh... but Doctor, don't you need to conduct experiments? Wouldn't this be..."

Ling Xi felt that might not be very appropriate. After all, he had come to be Mobius's assistant, not her student. If Mobius was willing to teach him knowledge, that was kindness, not an obligation!

"It's fine. Experiments can be done every day, but Ling Xi, you can't come every day, can you?"

Mobius smiled happily and pulled Ling Xi over to a chair in the laboratory. "All right, all right, stop talking so much. Today, I'll teach you about the expression of genetic traits. This is introductory knowledge for genetic engineering research..."

Thus, Ling Xi, who had originally come to ask Mobius about Mei's paper, was dragged off by Mobius to study with a baffled expression...

"How was it? Did you understand?"

"Mm, I understood."

"Mm, very good. Then let's move on to the next point."

"Okay, Doctor."

Inside the laboratory, one was willing to teach and the other was willing to learn. Ling Xi was already quite interested in these things, and seeing that he was interested, Mobius naturally wanted very much to teach him properly. Perhaps then Ling Xi could truly become her assistant.

And perhaps in the future, he could even conduct experiments with her.

"Doctor, Ling Xi, it's time for dinner."

At that moment, Klein walked in and said, "I'm going to the cafeteria to buy dinner. What would Doctor like tonight?"

"Anything."

Mobius waved her hand to indicate that she did not care. In any case, Klein knew what she liked to eat.

"Understood, Doctor."

Klein could only nod, then looked at Ling Xi. "What about Ling Xi? What would you like?"

"Uh..."

Ling Xi hesitated for a moment before asking, "By the way, can't we just go to the cafeteria and eat there ourselves?"

Ling Xi had been to the institute's cafeteria before. The environment there was quite nice, and the round trip was only five hundred meters. Wouldn't it be more convenient to go directly?

"Ling Xi, Doc..."

Klein seemed about to say something, but Mobius stopped her with a glance.

"Ling Xi."

Mobius turned to Ling Xi and smiled. "Then let's go together. It'll be a good chance to get some fresh air."

"Mm, okay."

Ling Xi hurriedly nodded to show that he understood.

Klein still looked at Mobius with some confusion because... Mobius rarely, or rather never, went to the cafeteria to eat. Even when she occasionally went, she only picked up a nutritional meal and never lingered there. As for the reason...

Don't ask. If you did, it was one of the Flame-Chasing Moths' top ten rumors...

"Klein, don't worry. There shouldn't be many people in the cafeteria at this hour, so it won't be crowded."

Mobius smiled, then took off her white lab coat. "All right, let's go."

"As you command... Doctor."

Klein could only obey.

The three of them arrived at the cafeteria together and found that there really were not many people there. The entire institute had fewer than five hundred people total, including security personnel. And since the cafeteria provided food twenty-four hours a day, meal times were basically staggered!

It was unlike school, where students rushed toward the cafeteria after class like chickens, ducks, and geese being fed...

Furthermore, the institute's cafeteria did not require payment. Everyone used their ID cards, and each month came with a certain free allowance. As long as they did not exceed it, they did not need to spend any money. Though... Klein often exceeded hers, since she had to buy meals for two, while Mobius spent nearly all her allowance on instant noodles and snacks...

"Mm, this tastes pretty good."

After buying dinner, the three found a place in the cafeteria to sit and eat. It was Ling Xi's first time eating in the institute's cafeteria.

"Of course. The institute's chefs are all professionally hired chefs."

Mobius nodded as she ate. The Flame-Chasing Moths did not lack money, after all, and they provided researchers with extremely generous compensation and benefits.

Mobius looked at Ling Xi with a smile. "If you like it, you can come eat here more often. It would be a waste not to use the allowance anyway."

"I will, Doctor!"

Naturally, Ling Xi would not refuse. Who did not like free food?

During that time, a few people came to eat in the cafeteria. However, upon seeing Mobius there, almost all of them chose to take their food away. Even those who stayed sat far away from the three of them.

"Oh, isn't this Klein?"

Suddenly, a girl appeared behind Klein...

"Oh no..."

Just hearing that voice made Klein sense trouble. She immediately wanted to get up and flee, but...

"Klein..."

A pair of hands suddenly appeared and pinched Klein's cheeks from both sides, gently kneading them. "Aww, Klein, you're so cute..."

"Elysia... stop touching me..."

Faced with Elysia's kneading, Klein had nowhere to struggle and nowhere to run. She could only silently endure it.

"Elysia!"