I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

"Ugh……"

Thinking of this, Sakura, sitting in her temporary residence, sighed helplessly.

In terms of strength, she naturally has no problem. Not to mention passing Saria's test, it wouldn't be impossible for her to even defeat the one known as Terra Superman.

However, Sakura was a little worried that something might be noticed and she would be eliminated immediately. After all... Saria's incredibly straightforward and blunt personality was undeniable.

Despite her concerns, Sakura still submitted her application beforehand.

She wasn't the type to hesitate because of worries. Since she had already made a plan, she was determined to try it no matter how difficult it was.

------------------

As the sun slowly set, large swaths of clouds turned a fiery red, displaying magnificent colors.

Meanwhile, in the Möbius Laboratory—

"call--"

With a slightly heavy breath, Mebius stopped what he was doing precisely. After blinking his sore eyes, he calmly placed the newly prepared potion on the shelf beside him.

"The new drug is ready; now we just need to see how it works."

Mebius, whose face was already showing signs of fatigue, showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he turned his gaze to the cage containing the experimental mice, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Several days have passed since his first meeting with Ifrit, and the next "treatment" is about to take place. Möbius hopes to fulfill his promise to the "guinea pig" before then.

For the sake of this promise she made to reassure the mice, Snake hadn't slept for several days. It could be said that since returning from outside, she had been working on experiments as fast as she could, with almost no downtime.

As a result, many people within the structural engineering department are now secretly discussing Möbius, even giving her various nicknames such as "workaholic" and "work maniac."

After all, the other researchers work regular hours, and even if they work overtime, it won't be too late, but... Möbius is different.

These days they've noticed that someone's office and laboratory are practically lit 24/7 without interruption, it's outrageous.

……

"Squeak-"

"..."

Looking at the mouse in front of him, which remained healthy and lively after the injection and a series of experiments and observations, Möbius breathed a slight sigh of relief, and his tense nerves slowly relaxed.

After hastily tidying up the mess in the laboratory, Snake left and headed towards his room at Rhine Labs.

Even though Mebius is a fusion warrior, the high-intensity concentration experiment that she hadn't slept for several days had left her somewhat mentally exhausted.

So now that the drug is successfully developed, all that's needed is a break between clinical trials. Snake plans to take a good rest and recover from his fatigue.

----------------

Nighttime, Ifrit's room—

Ifrit, lying on the bed, tossed and turned, feeling restless and unable to fall asleep.

As for why this is the case, it's because tomorrow is the treatment time that Hemer mentioned.

Although Ifrit could tough it out with Himeru and Saria by her side, no one likes pain.

Even now, the little dragon trembles uncontrollably whenever he recalls the excruciating pain he experienced during his previous treatment.

Previously, Ifrit was able to persevere only because she didn't want to disappoint Saria or worry Himeru, and she wanted to be the strong, obedient child they talked about.

But no matter how hard she tries, she's still just a child... and she's afraid of pain.

"Snake..."

As if she had thought of something, Ifrit stopped rolling around on the bed, propped herself up on her arms and sat up, looking at the dark room and muttering to herself.

To be honest, with the sweet taste in my mouth completely gone that night, plus the restless days I've been feeling...

In the quiet, uneventful night, Ifrit couldn't help but begin to doubt the authenticity of Möbius once again.

I suspect that everything that happened that night was just a dream, or even just an illusion.

After all, Charmander currently has nothing to prove the existence of "Snake".

"Heh~ Little lab rat, still not resting so late? Are you waiting for me to come and study you?"

Just as Ifrit was sitting on the bed, lost in thought, Mebius's distinctive, childlike voice quietly rang in her ears.

"!"

Mebius's sudden words startled Ifrit at first, but she quickly recovered, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, and she turned her head to look in the direction from which the voice came.

"snake!"

"Honestly, I told you not to call me by that name."

Hearing Ifrit's surprised voice, Mebius paused slightly in his fiddling with the finger guards, then said somewhat displeased.

"I thought you weren't coming."

Ifrit ignored Mebius's correction of her address and continued speaking to her with barely concealed excitement.

"You're my guinea pig~ We've already made a deal, so how could I possibly let you go before the deal is done?"

Looking at the excited child in front of him, Möbius narrowed his gradient-colored eyes slightly, and then continued:

"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's begin tonight's checks."

P.S.: I'm feeling really tired, everyone. See you tomorrow. (Just a quick reminder.)

Chapter 73 Ifrit's Choice

After a series of meticulous examinations of Ifrit and a review of the existing data in the laboratory, Mebius found no major problems; everything was still under her control.

However, this routine check-up wasn't her main purpose for coming here tonight. After all, she could have done this any night; there was no need to choose tonight.

"..."

Thinking this, Mebius stopped what he was doing and silently stared at Ifrit with his gradient-colored snake eyes that glowed with an eerie light.

"?"

Noticing Mebius's gaze, Ifrit tilted her head slightly, looking at her with a puzzled expression, and said, "What's wrong, Snake?"

"Ha~"

Looking at the girl gazing at him with innocent, bewildered eyes, Möbius chuckled softly, seemingly lost in thought. He no longer minded the disliked nickname, and instead, after gently touching his lips, he spoke seductively:

"Little lab rat, I disdain to deceive you, so I will grant you the right to choose."

"I have a medicine here that can make you feel less pain, or even painless, when you receive [treatment] from those people, but..."

At this crucial point, Möbius paused slightly, a flicker of light in his beautiful eyes, before continuing:

"This drug has not undergone clinical trials except for its successful testing on adorable white mice, after all, samples like yours are too rare."

"So, will you choose to inject this newly effective medication tonight, or wait a while longer while you're in pain?"

After speaking, Mebius narrowed his eyes slightly, then took out the potion he had prepared and placed it in front of Ifrit, quietly waiting for her decision.

In fact, Möbius originally intended to conduct clinical trials, but unfortunately, he couldn't find suitable candidates. This was because Ifrit's condition and individual circumstances were quite unique.

After all, without similar cases and circumstances, clinical trials of the injected drug simply cannot achieve the effects that Mebius wanted.

Although in a sense she could create an identical individual, she didn't want to do such a "meaningless" thing, nor did she bother to do it.

Finally, given that there wasn't enough time, she simply gave up on this step and handed the choice directly to Ifrit.

"Eh……?"

After listening to Möbius's "long-winded speech," Ifrit was slightly taken aback, looking as if she hadn't quite grasped what was happening.

Clearly, she hadn't expected Mebius to suddenly utter such a long and information-packed statement.

"Hmm...hmm...let me think about it."

After a while, when she came to her senses, Ifrit didn't rush to answer. Instead, she reached out a hand to touch her chin, furrowed her brows, and looked like she was struggling to think.

However, this state did not last long, because after a short while, the little dragon's gaze involuntarily drifted towards Mebius again.

"..."

Mebius, noticing Ifrit's gaze, raised an eyebrow slightly, but ultimately said nothing. This wasn't the first time this little brat had looked at her like that that evening.

At first, she was still interested in teasing the little dragon, but after being seen so many times, she's gotten used to it now.

"Well……"

With a meaningless murmur, Ifrit slowly withdrew her gaze from Mebius and looked down at the potion in front of her, which shimmered with a ghostly blue light in the dim room light.

Actually, I was already excited to see Snake tonight.

After the initial excitement subsided, Ifrit noticed... noticed a hint of weariness hidden deep in Mebius's eyes.

Although the snake teased him as soon as it arrived, just like last time, the little dragon still noticed and noticed the difference between her and last time.

However, although she had noticed it, Ifrit hadn't quite understood why before, but now... looking at the vial of potion in front of her, she realized that she seemed to understand.

It turned out that the night before was not a dream after all; she had indeed made a promise with a "strange" guy... and while she was keeping her promise, she was also trying her best to fulfill it.

"..."

To be honest, this realization gave Ifrit a strange feeling. A warm feeling...

Finally, Charmander raised his head again, looked at Mebius seriously for a moment, and then stated his choice.

"I believe in snakes!"

"..."

This brief statement made Mebius understand Ifrit's choice, while also plunging her into a brief silence.

However, this situation did not last long. After a moment, as if he had heard a joke, Mebius slowly lowered his eyes and chuckled:

"Ha~ You actually chose to trust me? Well, I hope you won't regret your choice~"

Although Snake spoke in the same tone as before, if someone could look directly into her eyes at this moment, they would notice... a fleeting complexity within them.

"I won't regret it!"

After hearing Mebius's words, Ifrit became unconvinced and, as if eager to prove her determination, raised her voice considerably.

"Then let's wait and see, little guinea pig~"

After saying that, Möbius put away the potion on the bed, stopped looking at the girl on the bed, and turned to make preparations.