Mobius watched what Elysia was doing to Klein and seemed a little angry. She said to Elysia sternly, "If you don't let go of Klein, I wouldn't mind making you lose both hands during your next surgery."
"Oh my, how scary. It was just a joke."
Elysia did not seem bothered by the threat at all, but she still let go of Klein. After all, jokes could not be taken too far.
"Elysia..."
Ling Xi finally got a clear look at the newcomer. Pink hair, an adorable appearance, and that all-too-familiar tone and voice—wasn't this the pink fairy lady who had joined the ship in Version 5.0?
"Oh..."
Hearing Ling Xi call her name, Elysia smiled and looked at him. "I was only away on a business trip for a few days. The moment I came back, I heard Mobius had recruited someone new. Could that be you?"
"That's right."
Ling Xi smiled at Elysia and said politely, "My name is Ling Xi, Miss Elysia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Illustration, Fairy Lady!.jpg
Taking Care of Doctor Is Also an Assistant's Duty!
"Ling Xi..."
Seeing Ling Xi greet her so politely, Elysia smiled. "Mm... Not a bad name. So, Ling Xi, do you think my name sounds nice?"
"Of course it does, Elysia. That name..."
Ling Xi nodded without hesitation and smiled. "You can tell right away that it belongs to a cute girl."
Ling Xi was not deliberately trying to flatter her. He was simply telling the truth. Still, he had mispronounced Elysia's name many times back then, always remembering it as Emilia...
"Hehe, Ling Xi is so cute. Come, let me give you a hug..."
Elysia directly reached for Ling Xi's face, seemingly intending to pinch it just as she had pinched Klein's.
"Eh..."
Ling Xi froze on the spot, unsure whether he should accept it, accept it, or accept it?
"Elysia!"
Suddenly, Mobius reached out and blocked Elysia's hand. Smiling faintly, she said, "Didn't your family teach you not to touch other people's things whenever you please?"
"Things..."
Elysia looked at Mobius with a smile. "His name is clearly Ling Xi. How can you call him your thing?"
"Ling Xi is my assistant and a member of my lab. How is he not mine?"
Mobius smiled at Elysia without giving an inch, still holding Elysia's hand. Pinching my Klein was one thing, but she actually wanted to pinch my Ling Xi too? Dream on!
"Assistant?"
Elysia seemed momentarily stunned as she looked at Ling Xi in surprise. No way—aside from Klein, her close friend, and that pair of slackers... someone was actually willing to join Mobius's lab?
"Hmph. If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."
A trace of pride appeared on Mobius's face. She released Elysia's hand, looking utterly confident.
Elysia "..."
"Ling Xi, are you really Mobius's assistant?"
Although Elysia found it hard to believe, Mobius looked so smug that she decided to ask Ling Xi anyway.
"Uh... yes."
Ling Xi scratched his head curiously. Honestly, he could not quite understand whether these two had some kind of conflict. Why did they seem so confrontational the moment they met?
"So it's... really true..."
Elysia said to Ling Xi, "Ling Xi, you weren't tricked into joining, were you? Or... were you forced?"
"Elysia!"
Mobius seemed a little angry.
"Hehe, joke, joke. Just kidding."
Elysia hurriedly apologized. She knew Mobius rather well. Mobius might be short on staff, and she might conduct experiments that crossed humanity's moral boundaries, but she had never forced anyone to take part in her experiments. Mobius had one extremely firm principle: voluntary participation!
"I just think Ling Xi is a little young."
Elysia quietly sized Ling Xi up and smiled. "Ling Xi, how old are you? Where did you graduate from? What's your phone number?"
"Well... I just became an adult. I'm eighteen, and I haven't graduated yet. I'm a third-year high school student at Qianyu Academy."
Ling Xi briefly shared his information. It was not exactly a secret, and even if he did not tell her, Elysia would surely be able to find out.
"Third year of high school..."
Elysia cautiously glanced at Mobius before turning back to Ling Xi. "Ling Xi, don't let certain girls fool you. With your current level of knowledge, some people might claim to recruit you as an assistant while actually using you as a lab rat. You have to be careful."
"Elysia, Ling Xi is my assistant, not a lab rat. Watch your wording."
Mobius's gaze toward Elysia grew increasingly unfriendly. "If you don't know how to speak, then shut your mouth. Or come to my lab and let me stitch it shut for you. It'll be free."
"Eh, eh, eh... So scary, so scary."
Elysia took a small step back and smiled at Ling Xi. "Fine, fine, I won't disturb you two anymore. But..."
Elysia suddenly flashed to Ling Xi's side, then quickly bent down and whispered something in his ear...
"Hmph..."
Mobius moved again, trying to push Elysia away.
But Elysia had already dodged aside and run straight for the door. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Bye-bye."
With that, Elysia swiftly disappeared from view. Ling Xi, meanwhile, looked at Mobius curiously, because...
How should he put it? Although he had indeed saved Mobius, Mobius really seemed to treat him a little too well.
"Ling Xi."
Noticing Ling Xi's gaze, Mobius hurriedly took his hand and smiled. "That crazy woman is like that. She always likes stirring up conflicts between people. And she is the least trustworthy person in the Flame-Chasing Moths, bar none. So..."
Mobius smiled faintly. "Don't believe a single thing she says... No, not even one word."
"Mm, I understand, Doctor."
Ling Xi smiled at Mobius and nodded to show that he understood.
As for Klein... she kept her head down and ate throughout the whole thing, playing dumb and acting cute. This had nothing to do with her!
"Good. As long as you understand."
Seeing that Ling Xi seemed to have something on his mind, Mobius did not say anything more. She turned to Klein instead. "By the way, Klein, do I have a cocktail party tomorrow?"
"Yes, Doctor."
Klein immediately took out her phone and checked her schedule. "Tomorrow afternoon, Investor Number Three has invited Doctor to attend a banquet at Moonshadow Restaurant in Changkong City. They said they wanted to discuss investment and research directions for the next phase. Doctor agreed to this last month. It's tomorrow afternoon."
"Is that so..."
Mobius rubbed her forehead with a headache. She truly did not want to attend some cocktail party, but there was no helping it. For the sake of funding, she had to go.
However, after the last incident, Mobius had also realized that her safety might be affected...
"Ling Xi, this time... do you want to come with me?"
So, Mobius immediately set her sights on Ling Xi and planned to take him along. If he came, not only could he drink on her behalf, but he could also bring her back. He could protect her and take care of her after she got drunk.
"A cocktail party..."
Ling Xi hesitated for a moment, remembering what had happened after Mobius attended the last cocktail party. So...
Ling Xi nodded and said, "No problem. I don't have class tomorrow afternoon, so I can go with Doctor."
"Hehe, that's good..."
Mobius immediately hugged Ling Xi and said affectionately, "Ling Xi, then you... have to protect me, okay? Hehe..."
Ling Xi "..." Couldn't you bring some people yourself? There were clearly over a hundred guards at the institute...
Still, even though he wanted to complain inwardly, Ling Xi could only accompany Mobius. After all... taking care of his Doctor in every possible way was one of an assistant's duties!
Doctor, let me take care of you.jpg
Please, Doctor!
The three of them continued eating dinner. Elysia's earlier appearance had not ruined the atmosphere too much.
"By the way, Doctor."
While eating dinner, Ling Xi felt this was a good opportunity to mention Mei. He smiled and said, "When I was in class this afternoon, I met a very interesting girl. I talked with her for a while."
"Oh, a girl... talked for a while..."
Mobius immediately became vigilant and smiled faintly. "Ling Xi, what are you trying to say?"
"Since I talked with her for a while, I suddenly realized that she was Mei, the person who published that quantum mechanics paper not long ago!"
Ling Xi continued, "Although I don't know much about quantum mechanics, after speaking with her for a while, I realized she's a genuine genius. Of course, she can't compare to Doctor at all, but..."
At this point, Ling Xi looked seriously at Mobius and said, "I think that if she were given enough time and resources, then one day, she might achieve things no less remarkable than Doctor."
"Oh? You think that highly of her?"
Seeing that Ling Xi did not seem interested in Mei herself but rather in her abilities, Mobius relaxed slightly. Still, Ling Xi's high opinion of Mei made her rather curious.
"Yes, because... of her attitude and intelligence."
Ling Xi nodded with great certainty. As for the attitude part, he had just thrown that out casually. The real reason was obviously that he knew the plot.
"Hehe, indeed. You're right."
Mobius nodded and smiled. "I've read Mei's paper as well. To be honest, it was very well written. So... I won't dispute what you just said. If she can take that step, then her achievements may... no, they will definitely not be inferior to mine."
"Oh, so Doctor also thinks that paper was very good?"
Hearing Mobius give such a positive evaluation, Ling Xi was a little surprised, though not truly shocked. After all, how could a paper published by Doctor Mei, the future greatest scientist, possibly be poor?
"Mm."
Mobius nodded quietly and smiled. "In terms of overall comprehension across every field, she is far inferior to me. But in the field she specializes in, she is not that far behind me. In some areas, she even surpasses me."
"Then, Doctor, do you think there are any shortcomings in this paper? If it were you, what advice would you give?"
Ling Xi took the opportunity to press Mobius further for her thoughts.
"Shortcomings... There aren't any obvious ones. After all, there are things even I don't know. As for advice..."
Mobius smiled at Ling Xi. "Do you think you'd understand if I told you now?"
"Uh..."
Ling Xi scratched his head awkwardly. Indeed, compared with Mobius, his current level was at least ten... no, twenty years behind.
"Please tell me anyway, Doctor."
Ling Xi took out his phone and said seriously, "I'll write it down. If I don't understand, I can slowly study it later. Please, Doctor!"
"Sigh, fine, fine. I really can't do anything about you."
Mobius rolled her eyes at Ling Xi. Honestly, she had little interest in this sort of thing, yet Ling Xi insisted on asking her. Fine, she would explain it to him. She had time now, anyway...
Ling Xi "..." Wait, Doctor, that line... sounded a little familiar. Did you pay the copyright fee?
The next morning, Ling Xi was once again sitting in the familiar classroom, attending class from his usual seat by the window in the second-to-last row.
However, Ling Xi's mind was not on class. He kept checking the time, since he still had to go find Seele after school.
Then Ling Xi checked the time again. It was eleven thirty. There were still twenty minutes until class ended...
"Mm?"
Suddenly, Ling Xi saw a message on the Flame-Chasing Moths' internal app...
Honkai activity has appeared around Laboratory One. All personnel, evacuate immediately! Repeat, evacuate immediately!
Ling Xi "???"
Before you continue