A Gift!

"Hehe, didn't understand?"

Seeing Ling Xi's bewildered expression, Mobius's smile grew even brighter. She leaned close to his ear and softly asked, "I mean... how do you see me, Ling Xi? Or rather... what do you think of me?"

"Uh..."

Ling Xi was panicking right now, absolutely panicking. What the hell was going on?

Could this really be some cheesy plot where the Doctor could hear his thoughts? Probably not. After all, if that were true, the Doctor should have been planning to leave Changkong City long ago, considering the Third Honkai!

"Ahem, I..."

Ling Xi gave a light cough, then said solemnly, "I respect the Doctor very much. I think you're an outstanding person who cares about all humanity. You're beautiful, knowledgeable... practically perfect!"

"Oh... is that how you see me?"

With a smile on her face, Mobius lightly poked Ling Xi's cheek with her finger and teased, "I'm drunk right now, you know. If you say something to me now, I might just agree right away. But if you wait until I sober up, maybe I won't agree anymore. So..."

Mobius leaned her head slightly closer, then extended her tongue and lightly licked Ling Xi's ear. She chuckled softly. "If there's something you want to say, you have to say it..."

Ling Xi: "..."

Was his Doctor hinting at something here?

If that was really the case, then if he could be with Mobius, the matter of the Hibernation Pod in the future...

After hesitating for a moment, Ling Xi decided he could accept this. Who wouldn't want to marry such a beautiful and powerful Doctor? Besides, Mobius had already made her hints this obvious. If he still showed no reaction, he'd be letting himself down. So...

Ling Xi slowly opened his mouth. "Doctor, actually, I li..."

"Huh?"

Mobius instead put on a shocked expression and deliberately asked in surprise, "What... are you saying?"

Mobius smiled faintly. "I was asking what you thought about the experiments I conducted this afternoon. Who told you to say that?"

"Pfft..."

Ling Xi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Fuck, this...

In an instant, Ling Xi looked at Mobius with immense resentment. He seriously suspected she was messing with him. If she wasn't talking about that, then why had she used such a flirtatious tone and licked his ear? Was she playing with him?

"Haha, hahahaha..."

Seeing Ling Xi's aggrieved expression, Mobius looked even happier. She jumped straight down from his back and laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. Take a walk with me for a while."

"Yes..."

Ling Xi really wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it, but he still resentfully watched Mobius's retreating back. She had tricked him twice in one day, and... he had fallen for it both times. When he got the chance someday...

He would definitely show her what cruelty meant. Still...

Looking at Mobius's back, Ling Xi had to admit that his Doctor's figure was seriously incredible...

Following Mobius, the two arrived at an overpass and stood by the railing, letting the wind wash over them.

"Whew..."

Mobius spread her arms and gave a comfortable stretch. Smiling, she said, "Ling Xi, do you remember my question just now?"

Ling Xi: "..." Could they please stop talking about this?

"Hehe, are you still angry?"

Seeing Ling Xi's aggrieved expression, Mobius smiled, then directly raised an arm and hooked it around his shoulders. "Alright, alright. I was drunk, after all. Don't hold it against me."

"But I feel like you weren't drunk at all, Doctor..."

Ling Xi still looked resentful. Did Mobius look drunk at all?

"How could that be?"

Mobius refuted him righteously. At the same time, she pointed at her heart and said, "I was obviously completely drunk. For example, when you took the car keys from me earlier, I didn't even wake up."

Ling Xi: "???" Wait, if she hadn't woken up, how did she know?

"Alright, answer my question from earlier. That is..."

Mobius smiled softly. "What do you think about the things I did, and those experiments?"

"Nothing."

Ling Xi directly shook his head. "This is the Doctor's research work, and I'm the Doctor's assistant. That means the Doctor's work is naturally my work as well. As for work, naturally I don't have any thoughts about it."

"Then... what if those things weren't work?"

Mobius was still smiling as she looked at Ling Xi, following up on her earlier question. "I'm not asking you as the Doctor now, but... as a friend. If it weren't your job, then... would you still support me?"

"Yes!"

Ling Xi's answer was just as decisive. He gave it without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh, then I may conduct even more radical experiments in the future..."

Mobius smiled faintly. "By then, I might not only violate human morality, but even become an enemy of all humanity. What choice would you make then?"

"Well..."

Ling Xi thought for a moment, then smiled. "I, Ling Xi, am Doctor Mobius's assistant. So no matter what the Doctor does, I will support you. And... I don't think there's anything wrong with what you're doing."

"Oh? How so? Could it be... you think I'm right?"

Mobius was merely pleased by Ling Xi's earlier words, not surprised by them. But his final statement made her somewhat curious. He didn't think there was anything wrong with her actions... Could it be that this guy actually thought what she did was right?

If Ling Xi said she was right, then she could basically conclude that he was merely trying to please her. After all, while she herself didn't think there was anything wrong with her actions, she wouldn't call them right either. She merely...

Wanted to carve out a new path.

"That's right."

Ling Xi silently nodded and smiled. "I think the Doctor's actions... are right, but also wrong."

"Mm... go on."

Mobius leaned against the bridge railing, propping up her chin with one hand, her face full of curiosity.

"From the perspective of human morality, the Doctor's actions are clearly wrong, because they violate humanity's basic ethics. But..."

Ling Xi took a deep breath and said seriously, "But from a god's-eye view, with the continuation of all humanity as the goal, then the Doctor's actions are undoubtedly right. After all... everything is evolving. If humanity alone remains stagnant, then in the future, it can only be eliminated."

Gifts!

"Haha... hahahaha."

Mobius laughed, and she laughed happily, because she could tell Ling Xi was speaking from the heart rather than merely placating her. So...

She was truly happy now. She had never expected that, in this world, besides Klein, there would be someone else who could understand her. No...

It should be said that Ling Xi was the only person who truly understood her. Klein merely obeyed her, understood her willfulness, and understood what she did, but...

Ling Xi was indeed the first person who truly understood her and knew why she did these things!

"Yes, you're right. Humans..."

Mobius raised her right hand and lightly clenched it into a fist. Smiling, she said, "Are still too fragile. Weak and unstable, always swayed by emotions, unable to touch the truth even in death."

"Millions of years ago, humans came down from the trees and fought their way through a world filled with thorns. In the end, they reached this point through wisdom. So naturally, people today all think technology is the ultimate goal. However..."

Mobius turned to look at Ling Xi. "Perhaps very few people realize that the human body is still the same body from tens of thousands of years ago, one suited for running through nature. That is why people today get sore backs after sitting in an office for too long, and become lethargic after going without exercise for a while. Because staying cooped up at home is simply not what the human body was meant to do. Humanity has only entered modern society for a little over a century, yet all sorts of symptoms have constantly appeared in our bodies. This is..."

"Proof that humanity lacks evolution. And there's another point..."

Mobius held up her index finger toward Ling Xi and smiled. "Though it may be disputed, modern medicine curing illnesses and saving lives is naturally a blessing from an individual perspective. But from the perspective of human evolution, it is a disaster. Because medicine advances, humans with illnesses can survive, and disease genes are passed down to the next generation. As time passes, these genes will only become more common, while humanity... will grow weaker and weaker!"

"Sigh..."

At this point, Mobius sighed as well. "The human body has long become obsolete. If it does not evolve again, it will be unable to adapt to future life. But because human technology has developed too quickly, natural evolution can no longer keep pace with the speed of technological advancement. So, humanity... needs a little help, Ling Xi..."

After saying that, Mobius looked at Ling Xi again and asked with a smile, "What do you think?"

"I... agree."

Ling Xi merely nodded silently. Whether Mobius's ideas were correct or not, humanity continuing to climb the tech tree was absolutely a dead end. The Pre-Collapse Civilization in the original story was the best example, unless...

It evolved into a civilization on the level of the Sky People!

But clearly, the Pre-Collapse Civilization had not succeeded, and had even been destroyed because it pushed technology too far!

Perhaps Mobius meant turning all humanity into Fused Warriors, and then... when the final battle came, billions of "Ancestor Kevin"s could unleash their ultimates together. Finality? How many masters did It have?

Of course, that was simply impossible. The Pre-Collapse Civilization had exhausted all its strength and carefully selected from countless participants. Although it did create many Fused Warriors, the excessively strict requirements and extremely high mortality rate meant that there were not many who ultimately became Fused Warriors. And those who had been sacrificed behind them...

Perhaps had to be counted in units of ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand times that number!

By the time the final battle arrived, humanity only had the thirteen strongest Fused Warriors left—the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths of the Flame-Chasing Moths!

"Ling Xi..."

After the two remained silent for a long while, Mobius extended her right hand toward Ling Xi and smiled. "You're still a student at Qianyu Academy, right?"

"Yes, the Doctor knows that very well."

Ling Xi did not know why Mobius was suddenly asking such an obvious question.

"Hehe, it's nothing. I just wanted to ask..."

Mobius smiled faintly. "Would you like to work full-time at my laboratory now? I... can keep your student status active and let you advance directly after graduation."

Hearing Mobius's invitation, Ling Xi understood that she had fully acknowledged him. As for him...

If this had been before he met Seele, he definitely would have agreed without hesitation. After all, wasn't his original goal to cling to the snake's thigh? But now...

"Doctor."

Ling Xi smiled as well. "I... still have some friends at school, and some matters I need to deal with. So... let's talk about working full-time at the Doctor's laboratory after I graduate."

"Mm, no problem."

Mobius did not say much in response to Ling Xi's answer. She only smiled. "Then... come to the laboratory more often in the future. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand. As long as I'm not conducting an experiment that absolutely cannot be interrupted, I'll answer you immediately."

"Alright, thank you, Doctor."

Ling Xi hurriedly nodded. Mobius was... treating him as her student.

"No... I should be thanking you."

Mobius placed her index finger against her lips, and a smile appeared on her face once more. "You made me understand that I am not alone in this world. If... something really happens to me one day, then at least... you'll still be here, able to continue leading humanity... toward the stars!"

"Doctor!"

Hearing this, Ling Xi immediately stepped forward and grasped Mobius's hand. He said seriously, "The Doctor said at noon that with me by your side to protect you, then... no one can hurt you, Doctor. No one!"

"Hehe, I'm truly touched. But there will always come a time when we have to part, won't there?"

Mobius smiled as well.

"Then we can just stay together forever, can't we?"

Ling Xi answered without even thinking. Nonsense, how could he leave the Doctor after clinging to her thigh?

"Oh..."

Mobius was clearly stunned for a moment by that answer, then deliberately smiled. "Can I... take that as a confession?"

"Uh... no... Doctor, that's not what I meant..."

Ling Xi hurriedly denied it. Nonsense, Mobius had already trapped him twice today. How could he possibly fall for it a third time?

"Hehe..."

Faced with Ling Xi's wariness, Mobius could not really say anything. After all, she had been at fault first.

"Ling Xi..."

Mobius called Ling Xi's name again.

"Mm, what is it, Doctor?"

Ling Xi immediately replied.

"Do you remember what I said before? That if you carried me home, I would give you a reward?"

Mobius looked at Ling Xi with a smile. "Tell me, what reward do you want?"

"Uh..."

Ling Xi did not quite know how to answer that question. After all... he did not really lack anything right now. He couldn't exactly tell the Doctor to save him a Hibernation Pod in the future, could he?