The moment Iris finished speaking, Lin Qingyue nearly lost it, barely suppressing an outright burst of laughter.
What kind of outrageous talk is this?!
Kidnapping men from their families?
And the target is a handsome Elf?!
A ludicrous image instantly flashed through her mind:
A towering, muscular Amazonian woman, casually slinging a terrified, slender male Elf over her shoulder as she sprinted through the forest, her demonic laughter echoing like the clang of barbells.
No wonder this world amplifies desires. Even research-obsessed Mages are this wild and unrestrained?
Sis, I absolutely live for this kind of drama!
"Ahem."
Sensing Lin Qingyue's runaway thoughts, Iris added, with a hint of resignation:
"Mage Karula's temperament is... quite unique."
"Her obsession with magic far surpasses any worldly concerns. You'll understand when you meet her."
With that, Iris fell silent, turning to lead the way.
"Got it. An academic madwoman, huh? You know the type," Lin Qingyue muttered, her mood visibly brightening.
If even the steadfast Elven Garrison Commander wore such a troubled expression, Mage Karula must truly be a top-tier source of amusement.
Led by Iris, Lin Qingyue passed through the Elven settlement's residential area and arrived at a secluded grove of ancient trees.
The air here was thick, mingled with the acrid scent of burning runes and the musty odor of ancient tomes.
The concentration of magical energy was so high it was almost visible to the naked eye, manifesting as wisps of shimmering light drifting through the air.
Iris stopped before an exceptionally massive ancient tree.
A vast, natural cavity in its trunk emitted a soft, gentle glow, while a low, persistent hum emanated from within.
"She's inside—our Elven Race's magical research area," Iris said, turning to face Lin Qingyue with a solemn expression. "Prepare yourself mentally. She's... extremely focused."
Before Lin Qingyue could even approach, a frenzied, urgent female voice erupted from the cavity.
"No! The weight for variable C is too low! Increase the weight for 'fear of social constraints' to seventy percent!"
"Lilas, hurry! Don't let the model collapse! Hold on!"
A deeper layer of helplessness settled on Iris's face.
She gestured for Lin Qingyue to enter, her eyes plainly conveying, "Good luck."
Lin Qingyue stepped into the Tree-Hollow Laboratory.
The sight before her instantly stole her breath away.
It was an impossibly vast cavern.
The inner walls of the tree hollow were engraved with countless Magic Runes, swirling like a silver galaxy of stars, slowly rotating and illuminating the entire space while providing energy.
At the very center of the cavern, a colossal, dizzyingly complex three-dimensional Magic Circle spun rapidly.
Countless silver lines crisscrossed the ground, forming an impossibly intricate pattern, each node glowing with Runes of varying colors.
A human woman clad in a black robe and wearing an enormous mage's hat, her face obscured, stood at the edge of the Magic Circle alongside an impossibly handsome silver-haired male Elf.
Before them floated a miniature Sand Table constructed entirely of pure light and shadow.
Upon the Sand Table lay a complete model of a city!
What made Lin Qingyue's heart pound even harder was that the ant-sized light-and-shadow figures within the Sand Table were precisely enacting scenes she knew intimately.
On the streets, red dots representing women boldly and proactively surrounded blue dots representing men.
The blue dots scattered in panic, desperately fleeing in all directions.
In another corner of the city, several blue dots furtively slipped into a building bathed in ambiguous light.
Isn't this just a 3D holographic simulation of the performance art at Blackrock Stronghold?!
The female Mage stared intently at the Sand Table, continuously issuing commands to the Elf beside her.
"Inject Variable E! 'Instinctual Desire for the Strong'! Hurry! I need to see if the social tendencies of the Professional models will shift!"
"Record the data! Their behavioral patterns have indeed changed!"
Lin Qingyue was speechless.
Holy cow! While normal people's dates involve moonlit strolls and romantic dinners, this powerhouse's "dates" consist of dragging handsome men into sociological experiments and writing papers on the spot?!
Just as she was reeling from this revelation, a crucial Rune at one corner of the Magic Circle suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of fire, accompanied by a crisp explosion.
Crackle—!
The entire Sand Table flickered violently, and all the tiny figures of light and shadow instantly collapsed, transforming into countless shimmering motes that dissipated into the air.
"Damn it! Another logic paradox causing the Runes to overload!" Karula growled in frustration, her voice filled with resentment at the interruption of her pursuit of truth.
Forced to halt her experiment, she finally raised her head impatiently, as if only just noticing the additional presence in the chamber.
She yanked off the black Witch's hat that had concealed most of her face.
Her face was unnaturally pale from prolonged lack of sunlight, revealing no clear age. Her cheekbones were slightly high, and her lips were thin.
But her gaze, like two icy probes, instantly locked onto Lin Qingyue.
The gaze was devoid of emotion, purely analytical, as if assessing a new experimental subject.
"Who are you?" she demanded bluntly. "Did Iris let you in? What do you want?"
"Lin Qingyue, Captain of the Quantum Battleship Squad, Adventurers' Guild," Lin Qingyue replied calmly, meeting her oppressive gaze head-on.
"The Raya Lucaria Magic Academy issued a missing person quest for Mage Karula. It seems we've found her."
Karula, the mage standing before her, didn't hesitate for even a second after hearing the answer. She simply waved her hand dismissively, as if swatting away a fly.
"Missing? I'm not missing. I simply haven't had time for those old fossils at the Academy."
"My research is at its most critical stage. I absolutely cannot abandon it now!"
"Research?" Lin Qingyue glanced pointedly at the now-extinguished Sand Table, feigning confusion.
The mere mention of it lit up Karula's eyes instantly, her pent-up fervor bursting forth like a dam breaking.
"You don't understand! This world! This world is utterly miraculous!"
She waved her arms wildly, her passion radiating in waves.
"There's an invisible force—a higher-dimensional law—amplifying the desires of all sentient beings! Do you realize what this means?!"
"It means I can reverse-engineer the source of this law! This is... a monumental undertaking that touches the very realm of the gods!"
Lin Qingyue nodded with a feigned expression of awe, then posed the crucial question.
"But Lady Iris said you stayed here to pursue a Ranger?"
"Pursue?"
Karula froze for a moment, then her eyes widened in sudden realization.
Without hesitation, she seized the arm of the male Elf beside her and held it aloft like a rare treasure, her eyes gleaming with the thrill of discovering a new continent. She declared loudly to Lin Qingyue:
"That's right! It's him! Lilas!"
"I've found a partner whose soul resonates with mine! My magic power surges to 200% efficiency when he's near!"
"He's my Inspirational Muse! My personal Magic Power battery! My perfect humanoid coupler!"
The male Elf, Lilas, wore a bitter smile—a mixture of helplessness, exhaustion, and a sense of relief.
He gently freed himself from Karula's grasp and bowed politely to Lin Qingyue.
"Greetings, Ms. Lin Qingyue. Please don't misunderstand."
His voice was clear and melodious, his posture elegant, but a palpable aura of corporate servitude, pushed to its absolute limit, emanated from his brow.
"Ms. Karula's so-called 'pursuit' consists of dragging me into sixteen-hour-long, high-intensity magical experiments every day."
Lin Qingyue blinked.
Sixteen hours?
Even the infamous "996" work schedule would hear this and rush over with a banner of honor overnight.
Lilas's face twitched slightly, as if recalling some unspeakable past trauma.
"What she calls 'Soul Resonance' refers to the compatibility between my Magic Power Circuit structure and her envisioned Rule Reverse-Engineering Magic Circle—a compatibility rate of ninety-seven percent."
He paused, then perfectly mimicked Karula's fanatical tone.
"Her so-called 'confession' went like this: 'Lilas, your Magic Power Circuit structure is absolutely perfect! It's practically tailor-made for my Rule Reverse-Engineering Magic Circle! Sign a contract with me, and I'll grant you the supreme honor of witnessing truth alongside me!'"
"And: 'Oh, Lilas! Your very existence is a miracle! You're the priceless treasure bestowed upon me by the Goddess of Magic! Quick! Let's immediately begin the 3,721st iteration of our simulations!'"
Lin Qingyue didn't know what expression to make. Her inner self could only offer a massive "I'm impressed."
Soul Resonance? Inspirational Muse?
Her inner roasting spirit burned fiercely.
Big Sister, just look at your expression! That's not how you look at a partner! That's how a programmer looks at the latest alien supercomputer, or an alchemist feels when they finally touch a genuine Philosopher's Stone!
Lin Qingyue silently shed a tear of sympathy for the handsome Elf.
Tragic. Utterly tragic.
This isn't someone being pursued—this is clearly some poor sap who's been kidnapped by a mad scientist witch and turned into a human CPU!