"Boss Nicole, do you think something's wrong with Penacony?" Billy said, hunched over as he spoke to the pink-haired girl beside him.
"Aren't you the same?" Nicole said with a look of disdain, rolling her eyes for good measure. "Yesterday you climbed onto the Creation Engine without permission, and no amount of shouting could get you down. Feixiao had to drag you off in the end. Have you forgotten already? You really made me proud."
"I just couldn't help it, Boss Nicole. You have to understand—mechs are forever a man's romance. This is officially endorsed by Mr. Welt!"
"Enough, if you keep talking, I swear…"
Suddenly, a visitor to Penacony approached Nicole holding a poster of Dr. Ratio. "Passing traveler, do you acknowledge that Professor Veritas Ratio's wisdom is unparalleled in the world?"
"Uh… I…"
"Don't worry, we won't do anything to you. Just acknowledge it, and you'll receive a free physical Light Cone of Dr. Ratio—'Always Scrubbing.' What do you say?"
"Of course, the Professor's wisdom is absolutely unparalleled in the world!" Billy suddenly interjected, leaning in front of the visitor.
The visitor nodded in satisfaction and then left.
"Whew," Nicole let out a long sigh of relief. "This is insane. I thought Su Chen's decision was crazy enough, but I never expected public opinion to blow up like this in just one day?"
"Absolutely. Throughout history, no one has had the audacity to make a decision like this. Dr. Ratio is trending on countless platforms. Although there's been quite a bit of backlash online against miHoYo for this move—after all, it disrupts market ecology—but hey, free is free, right? Professor is awesome! Even the late-night screenings at the theaters are still packed!"
"Yeah, Su Chen truly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as me, ahahaha!" Nicole placed her hands on her hips and laughed heartily.
"Boss, Su Chen paid off our debts, specially renovated a building for us to live in, and isn't even charging rent. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where I'd be sleeping tonight. And yet you say he's on your level? That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
"You!" Nicole retracted her fist. "Forget it, I'll let it slide since you don't know any better. This is what I call being frugal and managing the household! Since we're moving to a new place, well, I called a housekeeping service to clean up. I've got some things to take care of, so I'm heading out. You go supervise them."
"Housekeeping service?" Billy took the keys Nicole handed him. "Hey, Boss, where are you going?"
When he looked again, Nicole had already disappeared into the crowd.
"Sigh, time to head home! But first, I'll swing by to see the Creation Engine and the SAM armor! Hehe."
—
Late at night, a young man returned to his apartment after working overtime.
He was quite satisfied with his arrangements for the weekend; even though he had to work overtime, he didn't mind.
After finishing washing up, he turned on his computer and naturally selected the currently most popular movie.
It could be said to be a movie that created a miracle—achieving the highest theater attendance rate in history,
the highest number of online bullet comments for a film, the highest single-day view count,
and simultaneously making Ratio the most clicked person online.
Truly worthy of the Professor!
It almost crashed the servers again.
"All I can say is, it's just too awesome! Even though I've already watched it five times, I'm going for another round."
The young man clicked on the movie "The Crown of Mediocrity and Gods."
Everything was about to begin.
—
While Stelle was teasing Pom-Pom on the Express, her phone rang. A message came through, and it was from Ms. Herta.
She informed Stelle that someone named Ruan Mei would be coming to the space station.
On the principle of having nothing better to do anyway, Stelle headed to the space station.
Her first objective upon arriving was to find Asta, since seeking her out was always a safe bet.
At that moment, Asta and Herta were in the middle of discussing something.
"I thought #4 Polka Kakamond had pretty much wiped out the club members, so I didn't have much hope… Oh, look who's here?" Herta turned to look at Stelle, who had just arrived.
Asta offered a polite smile. "Stelle, you're back?"
Stelle glanced around. "So many people here."
Herta snorted coldly. "Of course. This is a gathering of three geniuses."
Asta then explained that everything was in preparation for welcoming Ruan Mei, and that the current arrangements still followed the principle of keeping things simple.
Stelle asked, somewhat puzzled, "Is Ruan Mei that great?"
Herta folded her arms across her chest. "That question is like asking, 'Is Herta great?'—the answer is obvious."
After Asta praised Ruan Mei's achievements a bit more, Stelle became even more eager to meet her in person. Herta said Stelle could try to find her herself.
At the same time, Asta added Stelle to a chat group.
After casually chatting for a bit, Stelle decided to try her luck at the dock first.
There, she spotted someone dressed very differently from the usual space station attire.
"There's someone at the dock. Could she be…"
Stelle followed the flow of people toward the lady eating pastries alone by the dock.
Suddenly, the lady cupped Stelle's chin and touched her neck, examining her closely.
On closer look, the lady's fingers emitted a soft white light.
After everything was over, Stelle pointed to the pastry crumbs at the corner of the lady's mouth.
The lady simply smiled.
"Hello, I hope I didn't startle you. My name is Ruan Mei."