After Lu Xiao closed the door, she was met with Teacher Xueli's uncomprehending gaze. "My dear, you're too gentle with them. It'll make them fantasize about you, and that's not a good thing."
This time, it was Lu Xiao's turn to be stunned. "This is considered gentle?"
'Is there some misunderstanding about what politeness is?'
"You have to understand, males are greedy creatures. They're experts at taking a mile when you give them an inch. If you just..."
"Teacher Xueli, why did you come to work here? Was it for the salary? Or because a respectable job like this satisfies your vanity? Or was it simply because you love the work?"
Caught off guard by the question, Xue Li's face showed a moment of astonishment. By the time she snapped out of it, Lu Xiao had already continued, "I'm here because I like it. I actually wanted to be a doctor, but no hospitals hire females. So I came here. I hope to achieve my dream of being a doctor here. Teacher Sherry, you'll help me do that, won't you?"
Xue Li stared blankly at Lu Xiao, at the natural, vibrant smile on her face. It was as if she were glowing.
She couldn't help but nod. She felt as if she had been bewitched, completely unable to refuse this Lu Xiao.
'She'd never had any dreams. From the moment she was born, she had everything. Or rather, all females in this world were born on a pedestal. Whatever they wanted, they got. No one could refuse them.'
'So there was nothing she couldn't obtain. If that was the case, what did dreams even matter?'
'But here was Lu Xiao, so full of anticipation, so vividly telling her that becoming a doctor was her dream, and that she had to come here to make it a reality because there were no hospitals for females.'
'In that moment, she felt Lu Xiao was different from every other female she had ever met, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how.'
"My Lady, your juice is ready."
Hearing the voice, Lu Xiao turned, opened the door, and took the orange juice from the officer's hand. "Thank you," she said with a smile.
"Y-You're welcome," the officer stammered at the closed door, the words coming out a moment too late. 'Oh my god,' he thought, 'I was just thanked by a noble female.'
Lu Xiao returned to the room with the orange juice and brought the straw to 3355's lips. "Drink some. The sugar in the juice will make you feel much better. Hurry up, unless you want my hand to get sore."
Upon hearing her, the dazed 3355 mechanically opened his mouth and took the straw.
Lu Xiao was satisfied seeing him drink the juice.
She even turned to the equally stunned Teacher Xueli. "May I treat him now?"
Teacher Sherry snapped out of it. "Lu Xiao, what on earth are you doing? This is very dangerous!"
"But the fact is, he hasn't hurt me, has he?" Lu Xiao set the empty paper cup aside and smiled at 3355. "Did you like the orange juice?"
3355 immediately replied, "I did, My Lady. I liked it very much. It's the best juice I've ever had."
"I had a feeling you would. How are you feeling now? A bit better? Can you tell me why you're here for an examination? And please, no official script. I want to hear what you really think."
As she said this, Lu Xiao walked over to the instrument and gently ushered Teacher Xueli away.
Xue Li retreated to the side with a helpless expression, trying to reason with her. "My dear, I don't know why you're doing this, but it's truly dangerous. They are masters of disguise, the most..."
"Could you please be quiet, Teacher Xueli? Or perhaps you could step out and relax for a bit?"
"No, I'm staying here to watch you!" Shirley turned and sat in the seat Lu Xiao had just vacated. In that moment, their roles had completely reversed.
"3355, before you answer the last question, may I ask your name?"
'I think I'm going numb from shock,' 3355 thought.
'This female not only showed concern for him and personally fed him orange juice, but now she was asking for his name. If it weren't for the complete lack of desire in her eyes, he really might have started getting inappropriate ideas, just as Xue Li feared.'
'Who wouldn't want to possess such a wonderful female?'
"My name is Claude. Before coming to the S-Class Shelter, I was a Lieutenant," he said. "If I hadn't suddenly become S-Class, I was about to be promoted." At this, Claude gave a derisive laugh.
It was the first time in his three years at the S-Class Shelter that he had outwardly expressed any emotion.
But there was no disgust or contempt in Lu Xiao's eyes. She simply watched him calmly, listening intently.
"I didn't volunteer to come here today. There's a regulation that people like us must have an evaluation every three months. For three years straight, my assessment has been 'Good,' but honestly, I feel like I've been getting worse lately. I can never sleep, and the medication barely works. Even when I do manage to fall asleep, I have nightmares... I dream I'm turning into a mindless monster. I've even lost control twice. But when I came to, I told them I couldn't remember. In truth, I remember everything. I know I'm probably not well, or rather, my condition is getting more serious. But in a way, that's a relief. I don't want to go on like this... I..."
As he spoke, Claude choked up, his gaze toward Lu Xiao filled with desperation.
It was the look of a terminally ill patient begging a doctor for a chance to live.
Lu Xiao watched the monitor as it recorded Claude's words. Meanwhile, the instrument tracking his condition showed that he remained in a harmless, stable state.
Lu Xiao didn't let him continue. Instead, she offered a reassuring smile. "I know, Claude. These past three years have been very hard on you. But it's not your fault. You're just exhausted and need a good, long sleep. Let me help you."
Lu Xiao walked up to him and pressed her hand against his forehead. The sight made Teacher Sherry, who was watching from the side, leap to her feet in horror. "Lu Xiao, what are you doing? How could you..."
"Teacher Xueli, would you please be quiet?"
Shirley stared at her in disbelief. 'She was now certain,' she thought, 'that Lu Xiao had gone completely insane!'
'How could she touch one of those filthy males with her bare hands!'
'How could she so casually perform a Spiritual Soothing?'
But Lu Xiao was doing exactly that, right under her nose.
'Claude's Spirit Sea was countless times worse than that of Ares. The tangled masses of thread, and the Dark Matter clinging to them, were on the verge of completely filling it.'
'So this is the Spirit Sea of an S-Class male?'
'Once this Dark Matter fills his entire Spirit Sea, Claude will lose his sanity completely, won't he?'
Lu Xiao channeled her purification power into him. She had been helping Ares cleanse his Spirit Sea recently, and her own power had improved considerably as a result.
That was why dealing with Claude's Spirit Sea didn't feel as strenuous as it could have been.
Thirty minutes later, Lu Xiao withdrew from Claude's Spirit Sea.
Just as she expected, Claude had fallen asleep.
'She took a moment to gauge her purification power. If it took thirty minutes to treat one S-Class male, she could probably handle four in a row without a break. After some rest, she should be able to do more.'