Come, Let Big Sis Give You a Checkup! / Hold on to Snake-Snake's Legs Until the End of the World!

"Thanks, Doctor!"

Ling Xi did not hesitate to thank her as well. He truly meant it, because... he really did want to cling to Mobius's thigh. Saying thanks was hardly too much.

Klein: "..."

Come, Let Big Sister Check Your Body!

"Hehe, don't mention it, Ling Xi..."

Hearing Ling Xi actually thank her, Mobius could not help but smile happily. It had been a long time since anyone had thanked her, and now she had not only talked Ling Xi into becoming her assistant, but he had genuinely thanked her too...

"Here, Ling Xi. This is for you."

With that thought, Mobius took out the bank card she had just put away and handed it to Ling Xi again. She felt a little guilty about taking advantage of such an honest child, so... she would consider this compensation.

"Huh..."

Ling Xi looked rather puzzled. Hadn't he just refused it?

"Hehe, it's not payment. It's your salary."

Mobius smiled slightly. "You don't have much money on you right now, do you? So I'll advance part of your salary first. After all, you're my assistant now. How could I bear to let you go hungry? Right?"

"Uh... one month's worth?"

Ling Xi could not help asking...

"In your dreams. This is for a year."

Mobius replied irritably, "I'll set your salary at eight thousand for now. The extra four thousand will be your signing bonus."

"Uh..."

Ling Xi was immediately shocked. He had just started working, and she was already giving him eight thousand. Although this was Changkong City in the Far East, purchasing power was standardized worldwide, roughly equivalent to the red currency from his previous life. So these eight thousand...

Were a real eight thousand, with no trickery involved!

Still, he was only an assistant—and a part-time one at that—yet he could earn eight thousand. Should he say Changkong City's prices were absurd, or that this was simply the normal standard of the Flame-Chasing Moths?

Well, this was the real world, not some Bihu world where everyone made a million a year. Eight thousand was genuinely a lot...

"Thank you for trusting me, Doctor Mobius..."

Although Ling Xi suspected the salary might be a little too high, Mobius was willing to pay him so much and even advance a full year's wages. That was enough to show her trust in him, so Ling Xi truly was grateful.

"You're welcome. You deserve it. Our laboratory will need your help in the future, after all!"

Mobius merely smiled, then said to Klein, "Klein, please help Ling Xi complete the hiring procedures. Use... hmm, use my name. Ling Xi will be my personal assistant. Is that alright?"

"No problem, Doctor..."

Klein nodded and said to Ling Xi, "Ling Xi, lend me your identification. I'll handle your onboarding procedures."

"Alright, thank you, Klein..."

Ling Xi did not think much of it and directly handed his ID card to Klein. Klein then took the card and some documents, leaving the lobby to complete the procedures.

"Ling Xi..."

Once Klein had left, Mobius looked at Ling Xi again and smiled. "You'll need to undergo a physical examination before being hired. You understand that, right?"

"A physical... yes, I understand."

Ling Xi nodded slightly. He was not surprised by a pre-employment physical. Legitimate companies generally did this, both for their employees' health and to ensure new hires did not have certain conditions. It was perfectly normal.

"Then let's do the examination."

Mobius smiled slightly. "Our laboratory happens to work on biological genetic engineering, so we can conduct physical examinations too. Ling Xi, come... let big sister check your body..."

The smile on Mobius's face grew increasingly intense as she took Ling Xi's right hand and gently pulled him toward the laboratory...

Ling Xi: "..." Wait, why do I have such a bad feeling about this...?

Still, he had just accepted her salary, and he truly was Mobius's assistant now. So Ling Xi did not resist and let Mobius lead him into the laboratory.

Upon entering Mobius's laboratory, Ling Xi immediately saw several experiment tables and samples, including some white mice.

"Lie down."

Mobius looked at Ling Xi with a smile and had him lie on the experiment table...

Ling Xi: "..." Why does this feel more and more wrong...?

"Mm..."

Ling Xi swallowed and slowly walked over to the experiment table. Then he saw Mobius approach with a small syringe.

"Don't be afraid. I'm only drawing a little blood."

Mobius did not explain much, and Ling Xi did not ask. Of course, what was the point of a physical examination if they did not draw blood?

Mobius then professionally disinfected Ling Xi's arm and drew his blood. Looking at the full vial of blood, she wore a satisfied smile. "Alright, blood draw complete. You can go rest now. You can rest here or go straight home, but remember to come back tomorrow."

"Huh? I... can go home already?"

Ling Xi was stunned. He had just started working. Did she not even need to explain his job duties?

"Mm..."

Mobius nodded and smiled. "Klein will tell you about the specific work. Ask her if there's anything you don't understand."

"Oh..."

Ling Xi nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "Doctor Mobius..."

"Ling Xi, you can just call me Doctor."

Mobius smiled, signaling that he could simply call her Doctor.

"Alright, Doctor."

Ling Xi nodded to show he understood, then asked, "Doctor, about last night... you didn't tell Klein the truth?"

"That... I indeed didn't."

Mobius stroked her chin thoughtfully and smiled. "Under normal circumstances, Klein is the one who brings me home when I get drunk. But last night, someone led Klein away, which left me to return alone and led to what happened last night."

"So although this was technically Klein's negligence, since someone deliberately targeted me, it wasn't her fault either. Therefore..."

As she said this, Mobius no longer smiled. Instead, she looked at Ling Xi with a serious expression. "Don't tell Klein about this. If she finds out, she'll blame herself terribly. Understand?"

"Don't worry. I understand."

After Mobius reminded him, Ling Xi naturally would not be foolish enough to tell Klein. Still, he was curious. "Doctor, you said they deliberately targeted you. Then last night... who were those people?"

At that moment, Ling Xi realized those three people had clearly not tried to abduct Mobius simply because she was beautiful. It was because of... Mobius's identity!

"Hehe, well..."

Mobius smiled at Ling Xi. "Actually... they were people from the Flame-Chasing Moths."

Ling Xi: "..." I killed myself?

...jpg

Hold On to Snake Legs Until the End of the World!

"Ling Xi, this is your Flame-Chasing Moths employee ID card."

When Ling Xi returned to the lobby, Klein had already completed his onboarding and retrieved his ID card. She handed it directly to him. "You have seen the identity verification process before. With this card, you can freely enter and leave the research institute. Later, I'll help you register your iris and fingerprints. That way, if you lose your ID card, you can still enter using that information."

"Mm-hmm, got it. Thank you, Klein."

Ling Xi accepted his ID card and thanked her.

Although this girl named Klein looked a little blank, she seemed like quite a decent person. And based on what Mobius had said earlier, Klein should be the second-in-command of the laboratory. It was necessary to maintain a good relationship with her!

"You're welcome."

Klein still nodded expressionlessly, then said, "You're a third-year high school student, while I graduated from university less than a year ago. I was also a student at Qianyu Academy. Technically, I'm your senior, so looking after a junior is what I should do. Oh, right..."

Klein suddenly asked, "Do you know how many people there are in our laboratory?"

"Um... I don't."

Ling Xi decisively shook his head. He had been here for less than an hour and had known Mobius for less than half an hour. How could he possibly know how many people worked in this laboratory?

"Excluding personnel who maintain the equipment and intern assistants, there are only three assistants with official positions in our laboratory."

Klein spoke while thinking. "Me, and Danzhu and Cangxuan."

"Danzhu and Cangxuan?"

In an instant, Ling Xi seemed to realize something. They... should be the legendary ancestors from Shenzhou civilization, right? In the Honkai world setting, they were humans from the Pre-Collapse Civilization who went to the new era with Immortal Fu Hua before the previous civilization was destroyed to carry out Project Fireseed. Except...

Weren't they Immortal Fu Hua's assistants? Why were they in Mobius's laboratory now?

"What? Do you know them?"

Klein seemed to notice the change in Ling Xi's tone.

"Uh... I've heard of them, but I've never met them."

Ling Xi nodded, then shook his head. Although he did not know why Cangxuan and Danzhu were here, it did not matter. Those two would eventually carry out Project Fireseed with Fu Hua. As expected, clinging to Mobius's thigh should let him secure a Hibernation Pod slot.

"So, aside from Doctor Mobius, there are only four assistants in this laboratory in total?"

Ling Xi suddenly felt that something was off because... that seemed far too few!

After all, Mobius was one of the greatest scientists of the Pre-Collapse Civilization. She had many projects and research subjects. Were so few assistants really enough?

"Yes."

Klein silently nodded.

"Then... what work is everyone responsible for?"

Ling Xi continued curiously. He still felt there were too few people. Assistants did not merely help the Doctor clean up afterward; they also handled data planning, consolidation, analysis, and more. Ordinary assistants could handle that sort of work, since it did not require much technical expertise.

"Work..."

Klein touched her chin and said, "The work I'm responsible for is... everything!"

Ling Xi: "..."

"Then what do Cangxuan and Danzhu do?"

Ling Xi was curious. Klein handled all the work, so what did those two do?

"Well..."

Klein spread her hands. "Cangxuan is responsible for messing up her share of the work and making me redo it, while Danzhu is mainly responsible for buying milk tea for the laboratory."

Ling Xi: "..." I'm just saying, why doesn't your Doctor kick those two freeloaders out? Is she keeping them around for New Year's?

"Just kidding."

A faint smile appeared on Klein's face. "Cangxuan and Danzhu do handle some scattered organizational tasks. Although I have to redo quite a lot of it, still..."

Klein quietly said, "Before you, aside from me, they were the only two people willing to remain by the Doctor's side and work for her."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Ling Xi was immediately confused. No, with someone as capable as Mobius, it should have been impossible for her to fail to recruit people. Rather, people should have been fighting desperately to join Mobius's laboratory. So why...

Had he encountered a fake snake?

Uh... maybe that really was possible. After all, the snake he had encountered in the game had always been a tiny loli, while the snake in this laboratory was a mature woman. And...

Since Mobius was in her tiny loli form when she left her memories in Elysian Realm, then... had Elysian Realm already appeared years ago? Was Mobius already one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths?

Uh... no, no. Although he did not follow the story much, he still knew a fair bit about the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths. It seemed that Elysia ranked them after all thirteen had gathered. But now, never mind thirteen Flame-Chasing Moths—he had seen Ancestor Kevin playing basketball at school just a few days ago...

So...

What the hell was going on? Had he really encountered a fake snake?

"You should ask the Doctor yourself about that."

Klein shook her head and smiled at Ling Xi. "In any case, the Doctor hopes you can remain in the laboratory. As for work, you don't need to worry, because... as long as you don't increase my workload, that will already be the best work possible."

Ling Xi: "..." I'm not like those two freeloaders. Besides...

Leaving was impossible. He would never leave in this lifetime. After all, he still wanted to cling to Mobius's thigh and secure a Hibernation Pod slot. In short, he had to hold onto Mobius's thigh until... the end of the world!