"Doctor, why did you call me here?"
"My dear Klein, can't I call you here unless there's a reason?"
Faced with Mobius's teasing, Klein was clearly a little flustered, but she had become quite adept at dealing with it in a wooden manner. She stood rigidly in place, neither speaking nor responding.
"Alright, stop looking like you've been frozen by liquid nitrogen. One person showing that expression is enough." The person Mobius referred to was obviously the one who claimed to hand everything over to her but was mostly useless. "Actually, I wanted you to deliver something to that Liquid Nitrogen Man."
"Is it for Mr. Lin?"
"You don't need to be so respectful to that guy. You're not even that respectful to me." Mobius sounded quite annoyed. "Doctor" was, of course, a respectful title, but Klein's tone was clearly more deferential toward Lin.
Or rather, Klein respected everyone who dared to sacrifice themselves, and Lin was just one of them.
"Um..."
"Never mind, there's no point in discussing this with you. I don't know whether to call you likable or annoying. Anyway, the thing is over there. Deliver it to him later."
Mobius's finger pointed to a syringe on the desk. The maliciously green liquid inside was clearly her handiwork.
"Curious? Do you want to hear what it is?"
Mobius was quite pleased with Klein's curious-baby look. She wore a rare, warm smile: "That fellow Lin has long used a system called 'Neural Link' to connect with AI and mechanical systems. But human nerves are the most fragile part of the body, and even a slight disruption can cause a collapse of the entire sensory system."
"For example, a byproduct created during my research into that medicine."
Mobius picked up another syringe with the same green liquid from a nearby table. Her attitude towards this one was more ambiguous: "When injected, this medicine causes minor confusion in the cranial nerves, leading to a difference between the sound produced by the vocal organs and the intended meaning, a difference the person can't perceive. For example..."
"A person who wants to say, 'I hate you,' might, after injecting this drug, say, 'I like you,' 'Please don't hate me,' 'I'm sorry,' or something even more bizarre. But in the speaker's cognition, they clearly expressed their intent."
Klein shivered, noticing Mobius's eager eyes. To prevent her from practicing her impulsivity on herself next, Klein decided to change the subject: "Is the medicine you're giving Mr. Lin the same kind?"
"How could it be? He used some medicine I formulated before, which was also nerve-related. So, this time, I modulated one with the opposite effect for him to try, to see if it can eliminate the sequelae of those drugs."
"Sequelae..."
This term was not unfamiliar to Klein, who had long been involved in research. Using the word "sequelae" implied that the symptoms were quite obvious and persistent. So, Lin likely had symptoms similar to an illness right now.
"He occasionally experiences excessive nerve excitement, which increases his processing speed but causes nervous breakdown, insomnia, and exhaustion. These are likely double symptoms caused by those drugs and the Neural Link. This medicine is meant to alleviate his sequelae."
Mobius usually explained things in detail to Klein, which allowed Klein to quickly understand what Mobius had done.
She found Klein's reactions quite interesting. Even when discussing the mistreatment of others, Klein wouldn't show fear, something the two sisters couldn't manage.
"Alright, I understand..." For instance, now, Klein could sense that the previous "medicine" Mobius gave Lin was likely not a good thing, but she focused more on the therapeutic drugs Mobius was prescribing for Lin now.
Well, let her interpret it as she wished.
Mobius nodded contentedly: "Then deliver it later... Oh, right, where is the data sheet I asked you for yesterday?"
"Um... I was just working on it when you called me in, Doctor..."
Mobius covered her forehead, helpless: "Never mind, go finish that first."
Klein remembered that the data sheet was indeed near completion. So, she nodded and left the office to finish the data sheet at her workstation.
After two hours of continuous keyboard tapping that left her back aching, she printed out the data sheet. She sighed, looking at her timetable with a massive amount of work remaining, feeling that even two of her wouldn't be enough.
As for Nuwa and Fuxi? It would be great if they just didn't hold things back...
Just then, Nuwa happened to be carrying the report Mobius requested and was heading to the office. Klein called out to her: "Wait a minute, Nuwa."
"What is it, Senior Klein?" Nuwa looked curiously at the busy, short-haired girl.
"Help me deliver this to the Doctor and also bring out the syringe from the Doctor's desk."
Klein wanted to use this gap to buy a cup of milk tea, so she asked Nuwa for a favor.
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Nuwa, who usually begged Klein for help, immediately agreed to help when her senior asked. After all, she had benefited too much from Klein—even if she was shameless, Klein had helped her revise reports and data so many times, she couldn't just keep letting her do all the work...
"Mhm, good..."
Klein walked out the door, stretching. She felt like she had forgotten something, but after thinking it over, nothing seemed wrong. So, she hurried toward the headquarters' cafeteria to buy milk tea.
For the Doctor, for Nuwa, for Fuxi, for herself... Should she add pearls and jelly today?
Then, on the way, she coincidentally ran into Lin.
"Mr. Lin?"
Lin stopped and looked at Klein. He still remembered this assistant who had the same hair color as Mobius. He could tell from Mobius's words that she greatly admired her assistant.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, I just came out to buy something... Are you heading to the lab?"
"Yes, I do my monthly physical examinations in your lab."
"Oh, perfect. When you go later, ask Nuwa for the medicine Doctor Mobius prepared for you. It's for nerve damage treatment."
"..."
Treatment for nerve damage?
Lin didn't think much of it and nodded.
...
Syringe... Syringe...
Nuwa searched the cluttered desk and quickly found two syringes.
They look exactly the same. They must be the same medicine. I'll just grab one.
Nuwa happily took the syringe and walked out the door.