He Ought to Thank Him!

Klein: "..."

"Doctor, even if you hadn't called me over, I wouldn't have cried."

Klein gave Mobius a speechless look. So the Doctor knew her chances of success were low, yet she had still insisted on sending her...

Of course, the Doctor could never have imagined that Ling Xi not only didn't dislike Mobius, but actually had a somewhat favorable impression of her.

"Hehe, Klein..."

Mobius wrapped Klein in a very intimate embrace.

"Doctor, you should go see Ling Xi first. It wasn't easy getting him to come."

Klein still looked helpless as she urged Mobius to go meet Ling Xi. Her task was complete, anyway. Whether they could successfully recruit him would depend on Mobius herself.

"Mhm, you're right. Klein, let's go..."

Mobius nodded, released Klein, and headed toward the hall.

Upon arriving in the hall, Mobius spotted Ling Xi sitting on the sofa. She immediately walked over and smiled. "Hello, Ling Xi. Welcome to my laboratory."

"Mm, hello, Doctor Mobius. It's an honor to meet you."

Ling Xi quickly stood up. She was the great Mobius, after all; he still needed to show the proper respect.

"Heh, no need to be so formal. Just relax."

Mobius smiled and sat down on the sofa with Klein.

Ling Xi began sizing Mobius up. Although he had met her last night and had even experienced her embrace, that had been when he didn't know who she was. But now...

Now that he knew her identity, Ling Xi felt that something was off...

"What is it? Why have you been staring at me?"

Ling Xi made no attempt to hide his gaze, so Mobius naturally noticed it. Finding it somewhat amusing, she curiously asked the question.

"Mm... it's nothing, really. It's just that..."

Ling Xi scratched his head and smiled. "I feel like you're quite a bit bigger than I remembered."

"Oh?"

Mobius's expression shifted slightly as she deliberately smiled. "Quite a bit bigger... It seems you did something excessive to me last night, Ling Xi?"

"Pfft... cough, cough. Doctor, don't say things like that. I didn't."

Ling Xi hurriedly denied it. He had to deny it! If people really said he had harassed someone as powerful as her, he probably wouldn't even know how he died!

"Then tell me, what exactly is bigger?"

Mobius looked at him with a wicked grin. Of course, she wasn't trying to falsely accuse Ling Xi. She just found it entertaining and wanted to tease him.

"Uh..."

Ling Xi scratched his head. "I meant... your age..."

Mobius: "..."

In an instant, Klein sensed killing intent...

Klein: "..." Ling Xi, be more careful in your next life...

"Hehe, my age..."

Mobius forced a smile. "Tell me, Ling Xi, how old do you think I should be?"

"Doctor, I wasn't talking about your age. It's just that your appearance is somewhat different from what I remember."

Seemingly realizing he had said something wrong, Ling Xi hurriedly explained, "In my memories, you should have looked like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. That's why I didn't recognize you immediately last night."

"The appearance of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl..."

For a moment, Mobius didn't know how to respond to him. Back then, she probably wasn't even a researcher for the Flame-Chasing Moths yet. Could this guy possibly know her?

In the end, Mobius couldn't be bothered to dwell on it any longer. Smiling, she said, "All right, let's not talk about that. Let's discuss something more important instead. Like... what happened last night. Thank you, and sorry for the trouble."

"Indeed..."

The moment Mobius finished speaking, Klein nodded in strong agreement. "The Doctor is difficult enough to handle when she's drunk. You really had it hard last night, Ling Xi."

Mobius: "..."

"Uh... it's fine, it's fine. Helping someone when you see injustice is perfectly normal. Don't worry about it."

Ling Xi quickly said it was no big deal. Besides, this wasn't his first time taking care of someone drunk, though this lady had indeed been difficult to deal with... for two whole hours.

"Thanks still need to be given."

Klein spoke very seriously. "I'll keep a closer eye on the Doctor from now on, so what happened last night won't happen again—having the Doctor sleep by the roadside and get picked up by someone. It was fortunate that she met you. Otherwise, something dangerous might have happened."

"Uh... picked up by the roadside..."

Ling Xi looked somewhat confused. Wasn't last night because...

"Cough, cough..."

Mobius hurriedly coughed and deliberately said, "All right, all right, let's stop talking about last night. Besides, it wasn't like I wanted to drink. The investors insisted on inviting me to a reception, and I had no choice but to attend. What else could I do?"

"Mm..."

Klein merely rubbed her forehead at Mobius's words, but she didn't refute them. There was no helping it; the investors were the ones paying the bills.

Hearing that Mobius seemed to be deliberately concealing what had happened last night, Ling Xi didn't expose her. Perhaps Mobius had her reasons.

"Oh, right, Ling Xi. I'm really sorry for troubling you for so long last night, so..."

Mobius took out a bank card and smiled. "There's one hundred thousand in here. It isn't much, but we're actually rather poor too, so please don't turn it down."

"No, there's no need..."

Ling Xi quickly shook his head and refused. Smiling, he said, "I already said it—I only made the choice any normal person would make. I wasn't seeking any reward. Doctor Mobius, you should take it back."

Naturally, Ling Xi couldn't accept it. He had saved her last night, first because he couldn't stand by and watch someone die, and second because he had a mission. He had never considered accepting payment.

Besides, building a good relationship with Mobius was countless times more valuable than any so-called reward.

"Oh?"

Seeing Ling Xi refuse without even a moment's hesitation, Mobius couldn't help but regard him more highly. According to her investigation into Ling Xi, this guy... honestly, he was quite poor. He basically relied on the monthly scholarship from the academy, plus some odd jobs, to get by. Worse still, he had quit those odd jobs two months ago, after returning from H City!

So, Ling Xi should have had very little money now. As for savings... Mobius had calculated his income and expenses. He would basically have no savings left at the end of each month, and even if he did, they certainly wouldn't exceed four figures.

Yet even under such circumstances, Ling Xi had still refused the reward without hesitation.

"Then all right. Let's just say you owe me a favor."

Seeing that Ling Xi truly didn't want her payment, Mobius put the bank card away. Then she said, "But... although you refused my gift of thanks, as far as I know, your financial situation doesn't seem very good right now. And you've already quit your job."

"Mm... that's true."

Ling Xi silently nodded. "That job took up too much time, so I quit."

"What will you do from now on?"

Mobius pretended to be concerned. "Although Qianyu Academy provides outstanding students with a certain amount of financial aid, that money probably isn't enough for you, is it? And prices in Changkong City aren't cheap."

Klein looked at Mobius in confusion. Strange. Since when did the Doctor care about someone else's livelihood? Especially someone she had known for less than a day.

"It's fine."

Ling Xi shook his head and smiled. "I've been planning to leave Changkong City soon anyway, return to Shenzhou, find a job, and then consider what to do next."

"Leave...?"

Mobius immediately became alert. "Aren't you a student at Qianyu Academy? You only have half a year before graduating from high school. If you leave Changkong City now... are you giving up your studies? And if you withdraw, Qianyu Academy's financial aid will be gone too."

"Uh..."

Ling Xi hesitated, not knowing how to explain it. He couldn't exactly tell Mobius that he knew the plot and that the Third Honkai Eruption would soon break out in Changkong City, could he?

Damn it, if he said that but couldn't give a reasonable explanation, wouldn't he get captured and sliced into pieces?

"Because of financial pressure, perhaps."

Klein offered a fairly reasonable guess. "Changkong City has high prices and a large population, so naturally there are many people looking for work. The result of all that competition is high prices and low wages."

"Uh... yes, yes, exactly."

Ling Xi hurriedly nodded. Out of money, so he was going home. That was a perfectly reasonable explanation, wasn't it?

"I see..."

Mobius nodded thoughtfully. Then the smile on her face gradually turned sinister as she looked at Ling Xi with narrowed eyes. "Student Ling Xi..."

Ling Xi: "..." Hey, hey, hey, can you not look at me like that? I'm scared!

"Cough, cough. Don't be afraid, Student Ling Xi. I'm not a good person... pfft, I mean, I'm not a bad person."

Mobius cleared her throat and smiled. "Aren't you planning to return to Shenzhou because of financial problems? Then... if I helped you solve those financial problems, could you stay?"

"Huh?"

Ling Xi was instantly stunned, but he quickly reacted. "Doctor Mobius, I already said that I didn't do those things last night for repayment. Please don't bring it up again."

"No, no, you misunderstood what I meant."

Mobius quickly explained with a smile, "What I mean is, how about I help you find a job? Once you have a job, you can stay in Changkong City, right?"

"A job..."

Ling Xi hesitated, but he had no intention of agreeing. Come on, he wasn't staying in Changkong City for some job in the first place. It was entirely because of the Honkai!

"Don't rush to refuse. This job is very easy."

Mobius smiled slightly. "Look, my laboratory is so large, but we're severely understaffed. So... would you like to work in my laboratory? That would solve your employment problem."

Klein: "???"

As expected of the Doctor. With this move, she was not only tricking Ling Xi into working in the laboratory, but recruiting him under the excuse of helping him solve his employment problem. That way, the Doctor would achieve her original goal of recruiting Ling Xi, and in the end, Ling Xi might even have to thank them!

"Uh..."

Hearing Mobius's offer, Ling Xi was immediately tempted. He had no choice but to be tempted. Who was Mobius?

A major figure of the Pre-Collapse Civilization, one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths, and a super scientist. If he could cling to Mobius's powerful thigh, then... a spot in a Hibernation Pod would definitely be secured!

Still, Ling Xi knew his own capabilities fairly well, so he said, "But I don't understand laboratory work at all. I'm afraid I'd just hold you back..."

"It's fine, it's fine. Klein is here, after all."

Mobius's smile grew even brighter. "If there's work you don't understand, just ask Klein for help. Or hand it directly to Klein to do. Anyway, once you finish your work, Klein will have to inspect it."

Klein: "..." Hey, Doctor, could you please stop increasing my workload?

It was already painful enough having Danzhu and Cangxuan, those two troublemakers, increasing her workload in the laboratory. And now... there would be another one?

Ling Xi, meanwhile, was still considering whether he should prioritize fleeing Changkong City to save his life, or start clinging to Mobius now.

If this had been anywhere other than Changkong City, Ling Xi would have agreed without hesitation. But the problem was that this was Changkong City. He was afraid that if he stayed, once the Third Honkai Eruption broke out, he would fail to cling to Mobius and simply die instead...

But... that probably wouldn't happen, right? After all, he had Aslaug and the Tesla Stigmata, giving him rather high resistance to Honkai Energy. As long as he didn't face the Third Herrscher's thunderous might head-on, he would most likely be safe.

Thus, after considering it for quite some time, Ling Xi asked again, "One final question. I'm still a student at Qianyu Academy..."

"That's no problem. Qianyu Academy has a cooperative relationship with our branch, so just treat this as a part-time job. Besides..."

Mobius smiled slightly. "You don't have classes every day now, do you? You can come whenever you're free, or whenever I notify you. Normally, it won't interfere with your life."

"All right, then. Since Mobius is sincerely inviting me, I'll give it a try for now."

Since Mobius had put it that way, Ling Xi went along and agreed. No matter what, he should first cling to a Flame-Chasing Moth's thigh. Getting access to a Flame-Chasing Moths Hibernation Pod was definitely more reliable than starting from scratch and researching how to make one himself.

"Then it's settled. Starting today, you're my assistant. Please take care of me!"

Seeing Ling Xi agree so easily, Mobius beamed with delight. Whether Ling Xi was the person from H City that day or not, the ability he had displayed last night had made her very interested!

"Doctor, is this... really okay?"

Klein watched Ling Xi, who had clearly been tricked yet still looked somewhat grateful to Mobius, and she truly couldn't bear it.

"What's not okay about it?"

Mobius spoke with a perfectly serious expression. "I've solved the laboratory's staffing shortage and Ling Xi's employment problem at the same time. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone? Besides... I helped Ling Xi solve his job problem. He should be thanking me!"