"Hey, alright, alright, I get it. Stop pushing me."
Fu Li was exasperated, left with no choice but to be pushed along by Mobius towards the laboratory.
To others, their seemingly intimate behavior was perfectly normal. After all, the only two people who got along that well with Mobius were Fu Li and Klein.
After passing through the main office area under the strange gazes of the others, they finally arrived at the specialized laboratory.
Inside the room, a seemingly lifeless, green-haired girl and another carefree girl were already waiting.
Perhaps due to her second pair of ears, Pardo's hearing was exceptionally sharp.
Her ears twitched. She had recognized the owner of the footsteps long before the door opened. She had just mustered the courage to deliver the greeting she had rehearsed last night when the door swung open.
The door opened, and those beautiful red eyes immediately swept towards Pardo.
The moment their gazes met, Pardo felt her face grow hot. The words she had prepared got stuck in her throat, refusing to come out. In the end, all she could manage was a dry, stilted phrase.
"Um, good... morning?"
"...Good morning."
The atmosphere in the laboratory instantly plunged into awkwardness.
In the past, they had been far more intimate than this. But after piercing that thin veil, a strange feeling had developed in their relationship.
Now, just making eye contact felt as unnatural as having ants crawling all over her skin.
If an experienced romantic or an elder were present, they would have seen the chemistry between the two at a glance.
Unfortunately, while there was no one with romantic experience present, the only two elders had no intention of pointing it out.
In fact, Mobius had no plans to give them a chance to discuss things. She simply shot Klein a look, letting her figure it out for herself.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let's begin preparations for the experiment, Pardo, Dr. Li."
Klein received the signal. Picking up a file binder, she shifted the topic to the daily adaptation experiments.
"Oh, got it, Klein."
"Mm."
Fu Li nodded, walked over to the test bench, and put on the Unofficial Divine Key [Infinity Gauntlet].
Beside it, four Herrscher Cores lay quietly, pulsating with an eerie, multicolored light.
The experiment proceeded smoothly. With the assistance of the triple Domination entities—Pardo, Black Pardo, and the black cat—Fu Li mastered the use of the four gems with almost no pressure at all.
However, perhaps due to a lack of proficiency, their efficiency in using the gems could only be maintained at around 70%. Still, with all the authorities combined, they already possessed a power that could easily crush a Herrscher.
But perhaps because they were under the watchful eyes of Mobius and Klein, Pardo seemed particularly unnatural, even during the experiment.
Whenever she got too close and her tail accidentally brushed against Fu Li, Pardo would jolt and quickly put a good deal of distance between them.
Because of this, she was reprimanded by Klein several times.
But that wasn't the main issue. After a full day of training, Pardo was completely exhausted and on the verge of collapse. She lay draped over a table, her ears flattened, like a useless furball.
Ever since she had obtained the authority of Domination, this was the most intensely she had used it, aside from the time in the Domination Theater.
"Sigh... is the experiment... finally over...? I'm so... hah... exhausted."
"Honestly... Klein, how are you not tired after working at such a high intensity every day?"
Pardo looked at Klein, who was still full of vigor after a whole day of work, and couldn't help but marvel.
Klein tilted her head and, in a matter-of-fact tone, said something that would have been enough to get Mobius hanged from a lamppost.
"Mm. Before becoming a MANTIS, I probably would have gotten tired. But now, I don't feel any fatigue."
"Although my daily work hours have increased from 18 to 22, I don't feel tired. Perhaps it was with this consideration in mind that the Doctor performed the MANTIS surgery on me."
"Ah, this..." Pardo broke into a nervous sweat, casting a terrified glance at the snake sitting in front of the computer.
For some reason, she suddenly had the urge to never come here for a nap again.
She hadn't expected that in this world, the Klein who hadn't become the Herrscher of Domination would become a MANTIS for such a reason.
But it wasn't surprising. If she hadn't become a MANTIS, Klein wouldn't be this energetic. At the very least, her eyes wouldn't be as beautiful as they were now; they would be marred by dark circles and bloodshot veins.
It was just a pity she couldn't sell her any beauty products. A missed business opportunity.
However, just as she was grumbling internally, a bag of milk tea was placed beside her head.
Following the bag with her eyes, Pardo's tail shot straight up. She instantly jumped down from the table and scrambled back several steps.
However, contrary to her expectations, Fu Li, though his face was still slightly red, handed one of the milk teas to Klein before offering the other to Pardo.
At the end of the day, as a man, he couldn't just run away from Pardo's feelings.
Whether he accepted or rejected them, they had to face it eventually. And when dealing with a timid little cat, it was only natural that he should be the one to take the initiative.
"Um..." Fu Li's gaze shifted slightly as he extended the invitation. "If you don't mind, would you like to... go for a walk later?"
The sudden invitation caught Pardo completely off guard. But after a moment, she quickly tried to play it cool.
"This... haha, of course... I, I'm totally fine with it."
Besides, I'm not the one who confessed, so what do I have to be afraid of?
But even as she said this, the slight brush of their fingertips as she took the milk tea sent a light shiver through her body.
And this scene, witnessed by Mobius who was pretending to look at her computer, was naturally another strike she recorded against this fish-stealing cat.
Once the shielding bracelet was complete, she would definitely drag Fu Li into her room right in front of Pardo and punish him severely.
He clearly promised to be my assistant for life, and what now? Men, heh!
The remaining clean-up work was naturally handled by other staff. After a physical check-up, Pardo and Fu Li left the lab together.
The night breeze blew gently, rustling the hood of Pardo's cat-eared cloak and revealing the pale, almost translucent white skin of her neck.
Strands of hair were blown across her face, highlighting the faint blush on her ears.
This scene was not only witnessed by Fu Li, but was also taken in by another pink-haired girl sitting on a treetop.
She wore a plaid cape and held a pair of vintage binoculars, striking the pose of a London detective, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Oh my~ Li, I didn't expect you to make a move on a beautiful young maiden so soon♪ Really, it makes one so envious"
"I wonder when it will be my turn~ Ehe~♪"
---o---
Author's PS: By the way, what is the Herrscher of Human: Ego's authority? I didn't quite get it after watching the story, ehe.