Chapter 2: "Things" That Mobius Despised

"..."

It wasn't until Mobius returned to her office and closed the door that her expressionless face couldn't help but twitch. Although she never showed it, from the moment she heard the details of the mission until now, her heart had been in a state of speechlessness and annoyance.

You see, Mobius is not like Bianka or Griseo, who are easygoing and unconcerned. She doesn't appreciate "sudden situations" disrupting her plans and arrangements.

However... even Mobius had to admit that the rewards offered by this troublesome system were always quite generous. This time, aside from her special weapon, she sensed that Vill-V alone could be quite useful...

"Huh—"

Finally, after struggling for a while, Mobius exhaled a breath of frustration, sat down, and began to think about the relevant issues and look up necessary information.

Although she was displeased with this system task, she still planned to accept it because she was somewhat interested in Ifrit, and the reward was indeed tempting.

Taking on this task also meant that her recent focus on learning and research would shift slightly toward Ifrit.

After all, even if Mobius was a genius, she wasn't omnipotent... especially in this new world, which was unfamiliar to her. There was too much knowledge and too many novel substances here that she needed to relearn and understand.

Moreover, even if she started studying and researching now, it would take time to make significant progress on the problem of mineral disease. Even if she managed to develop an antidote quickly, scaling it up would be a whole other challenge.

So, if she wanted to complete the task in a short period of time, Mobius was more optimistic about using Black Abyss White Flower rather than directly researching the antidote herself.

After all, she wasn't deeply involved in the research of special medicine for mineral disease, and there were too many unknowns that required continuous exploration, experimentation, and verification—a process that would start from scratch.

However, she not only had a clear idea and analysis of using Black Abyss White Flower to treat Oripathy but had also confirmed its feasibility. It could be said that as long as the personnel and weapons were in place, relevant experiments could begin.

Moreover, even if there wasn't a mission to save Ifrit this time, if the experiments on Black Abyss White Flower were successful, it would solve an urgent problem in various ways and buy Mobius more research time.

This is also why she would "remind" Bianka from time to time, and Bianka's attitude was generally cooperative.

"It seems there's still time..."

Mobius looked at the report on Hayden No. 1 Laboratory on the computer in front of her, and a trace of unknown darkness slowly passed through her gradient vertical pupils.

She knew that Ifrit had come to Rhine Labs for "treatment" before, but because she wasn't very interested and was constantly busy studying, she didn't pay much attention, not even knowing how long the "treatment" had lasted.

But now, Mobius speculated from the timeline that Ifrit hadn't been there for long.

If this so-called treatment were divided into two parts, then the stage Charmander was currently in was still relatively safe and less painful—the "treatment stage."

This was good news for Mobius, who intended to take on the task. If it had progressed to the later "experimental stage," things would have been much more complicated.

Not to mention that in the later stages, the mental state of the "experimental subject" Ifrit would likely deteriorate. After all, these experiments were accompanied by unbearable pain and loss of control.

"What a waste. Truly disgraceful~"

After sorting through everything and making a plan, Mobius retracted her gaze and sighed softly.

To be honest, if Mobius hadn't intended to care before, it would have been fine—out of sight, out of mind.

But now that she had decided to take over and had to monitor the situation, no matter how many times she watched, she felt... this group of people was really wasting experimental subjects—simply squandering high-quality specimens.

And another point: Mobius really despised people who used children in experiments, in every sense.

"..."

Then, Mobius looked at the time in her office and found it was still early, so she plunged into the ocean of knowledge and began to study.

However, this time, she set an alarm to remind herself of the time so she wouldn't get too absorbed. Later, she had to leave Rhine Lab for other matters.

---

In a sophisticated laboratory of Rhine Lab—

"Ah... well, Ifrit, you did very well. The treatment is over. Take a good rest."

After hearing what the woman—Saria—said, Silence immediately began to comfort Ifrit.

"..."

Hearing this, Ifrit had no intention of speaking at all but just nodded gently. Then, she stretched out her hand and gently grasped Saria's hem, wanting someone to stay with her a little longer.

"Ifrit, I know you really want Director Saria to stay with you for a while, but she has a task later. So, can I stay with you?"

Seeing the scene in front of her, a trace of helplessness flashed in Silence's eyes. Then she leaned over, gently touched Ifrit's little head, and softly comforted and explained.

"..."

After hearing what Silence said, Ifrit's eyes flashed with a trace of reluctance, but in the end, she nodded gently and let go of her hand.

"After the mission is completed, I will come to accompany you next time." Looking at the girl in front of her, Saria's tone softened considerably.

"..."

Although Ifrit didn't speak from beginning to end, she still nodded and obediently agreed when facing Saria, Silence, and their words.

Finally, Saria left the laboratory area of the structural department and went out to perform the mission.

Ifrit returned to her room in Rhine Lab, accompanied by Silence...