In the basement, the atmosphere had frozen solid.
There was no need for explanations or excuses. The scene before her was enough for Mobius to understand the situation completely.
"I made it perfectly clear, Eden. Right now, we cannot have any excessive emotional entanglement with Li."
Mobius didn't wait for Eden's reply. She simply extended a hand, her voice merciless.
"Now, give Li back to me, Eden. Don't make things worse. This runs deep; you can't handle it."
However, faced with this firm advice, Eden showed no sign of wavering.
She simply held Fu Li, as if clutching her most precious treasure.
"And what about you, Mobius? Do you think you can handle it?!"
Her tone was a sharp question, but Mobius could hear the unwillingness and helplessness hidden within it.
She understood, but she would not tolerate it.
Especially not when she was this furious.
"Eden, give me Li. The commotion here was too loud. We have to cover this up!"
"Besides, you wouldn't want anyone else finding out what you've done, would you?"
Dark green liquid billowed out from behind Mobius. Green hands emerged from it, one by one, surrounding Eden.
It was clear that if Eden refused, Mobius would no longer concern herself with the consequences and would act directly.
Moreover, she had noticed as soon as she entered that while Fu Li's upper body was bare, his pants were still intact.
That alone was what gave them the slightest room for negotiation.
"Alright, alright, Mobius, don't be angry."
Having succeeded in her gambit, Eden was happy to take a step back.
She smoothed her messy hair, adjusted a fallen shoulder strap, and finally picked up a coat that had been prepared beforehand by the side of the waterbed.
Although she hadn't exposed herself in front of Mobius, that cold, suppressed fury was still making her a bit uncomfortable.
The only pity was that the one draping the coat over her shoulders wasn't Li.
After putting on the coat, Eden picked up her golden goblet and drank the seemingly inexhaustible liquid within.
This taste of victory, mixed into the drink after the fact, was truly exquisite.
Eden squinted as she watched Mobius let out a cold snort and manipulate the dark green liquid into tentacles that slithered onto the waterbed.
As the tentacles took Fu Li away, they retaliated by utterly destroying the entire waterbed.
Water flooded the floor, soaking Eden's fair toes, but she didn't care.
With her wealth, recreating all of this would be no trouble at all.
After helping Fu Li get dressed, Mobius lifted him in a princess carry and let out another cold huff.
"I won't let today's matter slide, Eden."
"Yes, I know."
"Hmph..."
Seeing Eden's nonchalant attitude, a ruthless impulse seized Mobius. Her canine teeth sharpened, and she bit down hard on Fu Li's neck.
As expected, the action successfully made the color drain from Eden's face.
"What are you doing!"
"Heh..." Mobius sneered, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Do you think I'm as sordid as you? I'm simply helping him detox."
Though she said that, deep down, Mobius felt a sense of satisfaction, as if she had finally vented some of her pent-up anger.
She didn't spare Eden another glance and carried Fu Li out of there.
Of course, to avoid suspicion, she specifically took a route that bypassed the MOTHs soldiers heading to investigate the disturbance, bringing him back to her own private villa.
Looking at Fu Li, still dazed on the bed, Mobius extended her tongue and licked the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Although she was tempted to strike while the iron was hot, she didn't want to.
After all, she wasn't the one who had drugged him. Doing so would just feel... strange.
First, I'd better check if the [Quantum Link] between him and Pardofelis was affected by this.
While Mobius began to examine Fu Li, in a thicket of bushes somewhere outside the MOTHs headquarters, a certain cat opened her fluffy, sleepy eyes.
Pardo looked at the setting sun, her ears twitching. For some reason, even though she had slept comfortably, she didn't feel the usual sense of happiness.
It was as if she had lost something in the grand scheme of things.
But it's probably just my imagination...
Pardo quickly pushed the strange feeling to the back of her mind. She leaped up from the grass and stretched languidly.
As expected, after a good nap, many things had naturally sorted themselves out in her mind.
If Fu Li agreed, then it was a happy ending for everyone, and she could reap the rewards.
If he refused, well, she wasn't the one who confessed. It was her other self, Black Pardo. What did that have to do with her?
Once she had figured that out, her worries naturally vanished into thin air.
In fact, she was faintly beginning to look forward to her meeting with Li at Mobius's laboratory tomorrow.
..........
The night passed without incident, save for the Golden Courtyard, which was undergoing renovations starting from midnight.
The next morning.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
Anyone who has ever been unconscious or experienced a blackout knows this feeling.
Though consciousness returns to the body in an instant, the perception of time and memory remains sluggish.
Some people, in these moments, can hear the blood rushing through their veins—the sound of the mortal world calling the living back.
He opened his eyes. The contours and size of the head in his lap were familiar, and the softness behind his own head was just right.
Unfortunately, Fu Li felt his mind was still foggy, but he spoke out based on that sense of familiarity:
"Sis... Big sis!"
Hearing this voice call out such a familiar term, the owner of the familiar lap trembled slightly, though Fu Li didn't notice.
Soon, however, Mobius's playful voice rang out.
"What is it, Dr. Li? Are you still half-asleep? Look closely, I'm not your sister."
"Ah, my apologies..."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Fu Li quickly sat up from Mobius's lap, looking rather embarrassed.
"Sorry about that, Doctor. Am I in the research institute? Strange, shouldn't I be at the Golden Courtyard?"
Even though he was awake, Fu Li's memory was still a blur.
He only remembered chatting with Eden last night, eating a bite of steak, and then drinking a glass of red wine. He couldn't recall anything after that.
Just then, Mobius expertly patched the holes in his memory with a helpless tone.
"You drank yourself into a blackout last night. Eden wanted to send you back to your dorm, but you got loud and insisted on coming to the lab to do research."
"When I came in today, I found you lying on the sofa, so I took pity on you and decided to look after you."
"Er... is that so?" Fu Li felt that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
Mobius, naturally, didn't give him too much time to think. She quickly pulled him towards the laboratory.
"Alright, stop thinking about such boring things. Now that you're awake, hurry up and help me with my work."