Chapter 8: Above the Dome

Mi Li looked at the delicious food on the table, and her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.

She circled the table once, but instead of eating right away, she ran to the bathroom to wash her hands. Then she cupped some clean water, wiping away the dust and dirt from her little face.

After drying herself with a towel, she returned to the dining table and sat down.

She didn’t touch the oily steak but tore off a piece of leafy green vegetable, broke the stem, rolled it up, and nibbled on it bit by bit.

Seeming to remember something, Mi Li tried to tear off a piece of bread. She hesitated, holding it in her hand, dipping it into the thick soup…

That’s how you eat it, right?

She raised the soaked piece of bread carefully, lifting the strands of hair that drooped into the soup, awkwardly lowering her head to bring the bread to her mouth.

“Cough…”

The hot soup absorbed into the bread burned her.

“Eat slower,” a guard suddenly said from the doorway, her voice mechanical and cold.

“The Queen said you can’t get sick.”

Mi Li was startled by the voice and almost choked.

She clenched her little fists and patted her throat to swallow, then looked up at the female guard, trying to find a trace of kindness in her expression.

“Um… have you guys eaten too?” the girl asked softly, trying to appear friendly.

The guards remained expressionless, treating her question as if it were air.

Mi Li sighed, giving up on trying to communicate.

These people were just like Seraphina’s shadows…

Cold and silent, making her shiver.

She kept her head down to eat, occasionally glancing at the pile of books in the study, feeling more and more anxious.

She wasn’t a genius in the slightest — to be honest, she was hopelessly stupid.

Mi Li was just a socially anxious shut-in with no clue about any of this stuff…

How could she learn so much from that terrifying woman in just one night?

That’s just unreasonable.

Halfway through the meal, feeling restless, she went to the study and brought the books over, spreading them on the dining table.

“Basics of Old Era Botany”

“Cultivation Techniques for Crops in Arid Regions”

“Seed and Soil Science”…

Oh.

She couldn’t handle it.

It was terrifying.

Just looking at the covers made her dizzy.

Mi Li pushed all the books aside and sulkily ate her dinner at the table.

After finishing, she paced around the room out of boredom, feeling increasingly disgusted by the faint sour smell and stickiness on her body.

Days of running and wandering had made her almost forget what cleanliness was.

Now that she had the conditions, she naturally wanted to wash herself clean inside and out.

She walked into the spacious, almost luxurious bathroom.

The adult-sized white porcelain bathtub was so clean it reflected light.

Snow-white tiles covered the entire bathroom.

On the tiled shelves, soft towels and fresh clothes were neatly stacked—a loose cotton pajama set, smooth to the touch.

Mi Li took off her old, filthy, unrecognizable clothes, revealing her true body…

Looking up, the girl in the mirror met her gaze.

Her body was so thin it seemed a gust of wind could blow her down.

Her skin was a sickly grayish white from long-term malnutrition.

Her delicate collarbones were visible, ribs protruding sharply as if they could pierce the skin with the slightest touch…

Her limbs were thin like fresh branches, wrists and ankles slender, veins faintly visible, her dull little face with slightly sunken cheeks only held up by the delicate bone structure, like a deflated doll…

Her tangled black hair was messy on her shoulders, knotted like a bird’s nest, making her look even more fragile and lonely.

Only her blue eyes, fogged slightly from the steam, looked especially clear and innocent…

But also carried a weariness and confusion beyond her years.

Is this… really what I look like now?

Mi Li turned away, afraid to look at the girl in the mirror again.

She sighed and, after the water was ready, immersed herself in the warm bath.

Curled up in the tub, the water washed away the dust accumulated on her skin from days of hardship.

The warm water flowed over her shoulders and knees, chasing away much of the cold. Her small face flushed with an unhealthy red from the steam, looking even weaker and more helpless.

Some time passed.

After the bath, Mi Li wrapped herself in a towel that was bigger than her whole body and stepped barefoot on the cold tiles.

When she opened the bathroom door, she saw that the leftover food on the dining table, along with the dishes, had all disappeared.

The two female guards who had been standing by the door had also vanished as if evaporated into thin air.

The room was silent except for the soft sound of her bare feet on the floor, eerily quiet.

She reluctantly used another dry towel to wipe her wet hair — managing such long hair was quite a hassle.

Walking to the bed, Mi Li picked up the thinnest book, Basics of Old Era Botany, stepped onto the soft mattress, and wobbled her way to the farthest corner of the big bed.

No choice.

Short girl goes high.

The rest she didn’t understand.

Just act like she did.

She piled all the pillows and blankets close, building a little fortress around herself, then wrapped herself into a cocoon, only leaving her small head and the open book’s spine exposed.

The girl tried hard to concentrate on reading, but exhaustion surged like a tide. Coupled with the bath’s soothing warmth, her eyelids grew heavy.

The words on the page blurred, turning into twisted symbols that danced before her eyes…

Before she knew it, the book slipped from her loose fingers and softly fell onto the quilt without a sound.

Her head sank onto the fluffy pillow, her breathing gradually deepened and evened out, and she fell into a deep sleep.

…

Directly above Mi Li’s room, in a secret observation chamber—

Seraphina stood quietly, gazing through the completely transparent reinforced glass floor at everything below.

Every movement of the girl in the room was clear and sharp in her vision.

From Mi Li cautiously eating, to her awkwardly flipping through the agricultural books, to her helpless appearance in the bathroom…

And finally, curling up in the corner and falling asleep.

To Mi Li, the ceiling above was no different than an ordinary metal dome—she couldn’t detect any unusual light or sound.

But for Seraphina, it was a perfect one-way observation window—

Soundproof and offering a full view of everything below.

“Evelyn, how much have you uncovered about her movements before entering the Oasis?” Seraphina asked flatly, not turning her head, speaking to the silver-armored adjutant standing beside her.

Evelyn bowed slightly and replied respectfully:

“Reporting to the Queen, regarding Miss Mi Li’s past… The earliest record we can trace is the day Lin Lan found her in the ruins outside the city and brought her to the Oasis.”

“Before that, she seemed to appear out of nowhere, with no identity or movement records.”

“Interesting…” A faint ripple passed in Seraphina’s eyes before she returned to her usual impassive expression.

She sometimes handled the complicated files displayed on the portable screen on her arm, sometimes silently watching Mi Li sleeping in her small makeshift nest below.

“Why didn’t she eat the steak at dinner?”

The adjutant hesitated, sweat forming on her temple.

“I… do not know, Your Majesty. She only ate the vegetables and bread… perhaps it was… unappetizing?”

Seraphina tapped lightly on the screen, issuing a command:

“Seal and send all leftover and untouched food samples from today for testing.”

“I want to personally review the results.”

“Yes… Your Majesty.”

Seraphina’s gaze returned downward.

She saw Mi Li’s fragile, almost windblown body reflected in the bathroom mirror;

Saw the pale girl curled up in the bathtub, her face flushed from the hot water;

Saw the way she piled pillows and blankets into a little fort…

“Arrange for nutritionists and the medical department to draft a new diet plan by tomorrow. We must restore her body to a condition suitable for surgery as soon as possible.”

“Expedite the approval process for those undead meal cultivators to deliver miniature trackers and life activity monitors to our team.”

“Adjust the original pressure plan. When she’s not in the room, send someone to rearrange the layout and observe her reactions and behavioral changes.”

“Yes.” The adjutant bowed and left.

“Also,” the silver-haired woman raised her voice, “if they continue to shirk responsibility and delay my plans…”

“I won’t hesitate to take matters into my own hands.”