Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Strange, truly strange.

Even two days later, when Eve went to Gu Zhaoxi for the Zerg extract, she was still pondering the unusual behavior Lorca had recently displayed.

...Did he really need to see a psychologist? she wondered uncertainly.

Those who have been ill for a long time are often emotionally suppressed, and living in a place like the Oliver Family residence—dark and austere everywhere, however elegant—even Eve felt her mood turning somewhat melancholic after staying there for too long, let alone Lorca, who had matters preoccupying him.

The sensitive doctor-patient dynamic between the two, coupled with Eve having saved him more than once, meant that his already unhealthy mental state was further intensified by the misattribution of arousal, eventually turning into an intense emotional reliance. This seemed not entirely implausible.

—In any case, Eve firmly believed that this unfortunate young man was simply acting strangely because he had been isolated at home for too long and overthinking things.

If others had been present, witnessing the Oliver Family's eldest young master being deferential and meekly expressing his dependence on her, they would surely have mistaken it for him having unusual feelings for her.

But Eve would never think that way. She was a very scientifically-oriented person, and her first reaction to abnormal situations was to carefully analyze the underlying reasons.

Fortunately, after several days of deep contemplation, she finally deduced the poignant truth behind it all. Thankfully, thankfully—Eve breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as though she had instinctively maintained her professional ethics—avoiding inappropriate emotional entanglement with her patient.

After much deliberation, she felt that changing Lorca's mindset needed to be done sooner rather than later. Even her steps, originally headed straight for the exit, diverted leftward as she turned toward Mrs. Luo's office.

Logically, Eve's direct superior was Family Head Oliver, and any matters should be reported directly to the Head's office.

However, Family Head Oliver had recently been rekindling his ambitions, tirelessly working to make Qin Mengde the pivotal point for the family's future. He left in the early mornings in a hovercar bearing the family crest and returned only at sunset, leaving early and returning late, diligent and committed—at least, Eve hadn't encountered him anywhere other than the dining table for two consecutive days.

Among the other family leadership, Ludwig also seemed to be in a precarious mental state. After careful consideration, Eve decided to report the matter to Mrs. Luo.

Mrs. Luo wasn't heavily involved in the internal affairs of the Oliver Family. Her domain was the social sphere. As the Family Head's wife, she was responsible for maintaining relationships between the Oliver Family and other noble families, as well as negotiating matters that were inconvenient to discuss openly.

Additionally, she was the elder sister of the Luo family head and occasionally had to handle matters on behalf of her maternal clan, effectively serving two families simultaneously.

However, Mrs. Luo's periods of busyness were cyclical. As the year-end approached, all the noble families on the capital planet were preparing for the explosive number of balls and social parties held during the New Year. During this time, social engagements had surprisingly diminished significantly.

If not for this, Eve wouldn’t have been so presumptuous as to trouble Mrs. Luo.

Compared to Family Head Oliver's office, which was deep inside the inner castle, Mrs. Luo's office was located on the second floor of the outer castle, perhaps for the convenience of her work. Its interior decor was strikingly different from the dark and austere style of the Oliver Family.

As soon as the door opened, a wave of warm, fragrant air greeted her, followed by a spacious, brightly lit room adorned with gilded carvings.

When Eve arrived, Luo Yunyi was discussing something with a young man sporting curly hair in a mix of black, yellow, and white. She seemed to have just woken up, still in her sleeping robe with only a fur-trimmed shawl draped over her shoulders, leaning languidly against the sofa.

Seeing Eve enter, Luo Yunyi gestured to the curly-haired man beside her, signaling him to pause, and then said with a smile, "Xiao Lu, it’s rare to see you come to me. Is there something you need?"

"There is something," Eve said, feeling somewhat constrained in front of Luo Yunyi due to their lack of interaction and her recent knowledge of the grievances between Mrs. Luo and Louis. "It's about the eldest young master."

She glanced subtly at the young man on the side, and Luo Yunyi immediately understood, saying softly, "You may leave for now."

"Yes, Madam."

Once the man had left, Luo Yunyi said, "That’s the family’s chief designer. With the many year-end banquets and the Luo family having just delivered the latest fabrics yesterday, I called him over to discuss making new formal attire. If you have time these next couple of days, feel free to come by. We can get your new clothes tailored as well."

"I get to have some too?" Eve was pleasantly surprised.

"Of course," Mrs. Luo didn’t dwell on the topic but instead covered a light laugh with her hand before asking, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It’s like this, Madam."

Eve got straight to the point: "I think the eldest young master might have some mental health concerns. If possible, I hope you can find a counseling psychologist for him."

"......" As if stunned by her bluntness, Luo Yunyi was silent for a long moment before slowly uttering an "Ah?" and sitting up straight. "Why would you say that all of a sudden?"

Eve then carefully explained Lorca’s recent abnormalities and the reasons she had deduced. After listening to this lengthy, well-reasoned assessment, Luo Yunyi’s expression turned complicated: "This... this is a sign of psychological issues?"

"Perhaps not," Eve pondered for a moment, feeling that such a conclusion might worry a parent too easily, and amended her statement. "It might just be that he has too much free time, which leads to overthinking. Staying cooped up at home all day isn’t good for physical or mental health. I think the eldest young master just needs to engage more with the outside world, coupled with some appropriate psychotherapeutic support. He’ll probably show improvement quickly."

The temperature in the office was set rather high, making Luo Yunyi feel perspiration forming. Suppressing the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, she feigned calm and said, "I understand. I’ll handle it."

"Alright, as long as you’re aware," Eve said, standing up politely now that she had Mrs. Luo’s assurance. "I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now. Goodbye."

Only after the tall, erect posture of the young woman had completely disappeared through the doorway did Mrs. Luo’s expression change. She rubbed her temples and murmured, "Heavens above, how am I supposed to deal with this..."

The door to the inner office swung open, revealing a hidden room—Mrs. Luo’s private nap room. Through the narrow gap of the door, the outline of a large bed was faintly visible.

Mrs. Luo turned her head and saw Family Head Oliver, who had just pushed the door open, leaning his elbow against the carved door panel. He had used his wife’s room for a nap after returning and, unfortunately, had woken up just in time to hear Eve’s "accusations." His expression now was decidedly uncomfortable.

"I heard," he said.

Luo Yunyi walked over, reached out, and pinched her husband’s cheek, forcing Family Head Oliver to lower his eyes to look at her. "Darling, does this sound familiar? She says it’s a sign of psychological issues."

She suddenly let go and delivered a light slap to her husband’s face. In the crisp sound of flesh meeting flesh, she said displeasedly, "Look at you... your indecent influences have rubbed off on the child."

"Yes, it’s all my fault," Family Head Oliver said, entirely unfazed by his wife’s sudden attack. He turned his face and kissed her palm, his light green eyes gazing thoughtfully for a moment before he conceded that Eve might have a point. "Do you think I should talk to Lorca?"

"Alone?" Luo Yunyi’s gaze was skeptical.

"Mm," he said firmly. "Because this is something only men can understand."

"......"

Luo Yunyi looked at her husband as if he were insane and said after a long pause, "Vincent, sometimes I really want to send you to a psychologist too."

***

Meanwhile, in the central city district.

In just a few days, thanks to the continuous efforts of engineering robots, all traces of the destruction left by the unauthorized mecha operation had vanished. As the hovercar passed the familiar commercial street, Eve pressed against the window to look outside. The shops and buildings stood in orderly rows, the debris from the battle had been completely cleared, and the roadside trees swayed gracefully. Data streams had once again taken over all management of the streets.

Only a small area in the eastern part still had robots coming and going, continuing the complex reconstruction work.

Eve’s sharp eyes caught sight of cylindrical-headed, rectangular-bodied robots with insignias of blooming clematis on their heads. She picked up her terminal and scrolled through the recent news. It didn’t take long before she came across articles about the Medici family actively compensating and participating in the reconstruction efforts. Although there were still many criticisms, the public sentiment had improved considerably compared to when the news first broke.

It was not too late to mend the fold after the sheep were lost. The Medici family’s immediate response to take responsibility had earned them significant goodwill and forgiveness.

"They acted really fast," Eve remarked before losing interest and turning off the screen.

Her assessment was that there was a certain element of performance, but they had indeed made amends for their errors.

The hovercar soon passed through that area.

Gu Zhaoxi had arranged to meet her at the bar again today, but unlike the usual procedure, as soon as Eve entered, she noticed something unusual about the person sent to receive her.

—A waiter wearing a half silver mask and a black-and-white vest uniform stood before Eve, holding a neatly folded black robe. His voice was monotone as he said, "The master is awaiting you at another location."

"Wear this to see her?" Eve pointed at the clothes on the tray.

But the waiter didn’t answer the question, only staring at her silently with his unnervingly large and jet-black eyes.

So Eve knew that today was likely to be unusual circumstances.

Unlike previous visits where she was directly led to the private rooms upstairs, after Eve threw on the black robe, the new attendant led her further inside until they boarded an elevator. Only then did she retrieve a circular disc hanging from her bracelet and gently tapped it against the elevator's sensor panel.

"Beep."

All the floor buttons retracted into the control panel, leaving only a single green, unmarked button in place. Eve stood beside the attendant, watching as she pressed the button with an expressionless face.

The moment it was pressed, a sense of weightlessness washed over her from every direction.

The entire elevator car instantly shrunk down into a capsule shape. Inside the enclosed space, Eve could only hear the whistling wind through the cracks in the metal, the faint, cool breeze hinting at the incredible speed at which this iron capsule was traveling.

This was actually a retrofitted transport chute.

After about half an hour, the capsule gradually slowed to a stop and stretched back out into the shape of an elevator car. With a *ding*, the titanium alloy doors slid open to both sides, revealing a lush, vibrant botanical garden before her eyes.

Eve stepped out of the elevator but noticed the attendant did not follow. She turned back to see the statue-still attendant standing inside the elevator, stating impassively, "Only you are allowed to enter."

She asked, "How will I leave later?"

"I will wait here for you."

"Alright."

Eve shrugged and turned to walk into the botanical garden, wondering what kind of game Gu Zhaoxi was playing this time.

Inside the garden, ancient trees twisted and stretched, their dense green leaves sheltered under a ceiling of colorless glass, with brilliant sunlight flooding down.

Amid the well-spaced trees, a small pebble path lay before her. As Eve walked along it, feeling the hard texture beneath her feet, she thought it was weird Gu Zhaoxi was into this kind of vibe.

The pebble path was not long, and after a short walk, it came to an end. A colossal tree, towering to the sky and so wide it would take dozens of people to wrap around it, stood at the center of the garden. Its trunk had been hollowed out, with no door—only an opening connected to the outside world by a platform. A row of carved wooden steps spiraled down to the ground, stopping right at Eve's feet.

Today, Gu Zhaoxi was no longer wearing the bar staff uniform but instead was wearing a loose, dark green robe, its collar adorned with five glittering silver stars.

She still wore her exquisite half-mask, her hands tucked into her sleeves, perched perfectly as she sat on the thin wooden railing of the platform with one leg crossed over the other. Her forest-green hair, left untied, cascaded down her back and reached the ground.

As Eve observed Gu Zhaoxi, Gu Zhaoxi was also squinting her eyes to study the black-robed alchemist standing below.

Noticing that the other hadn't moved for a while, she raised her hands in a megaphone shape and drawled impatiently, "Why are you just standing there down below—don’t you want to come see my laboratory?"