Ruan Mei's entrance wasn't grand but sufficiently stunning, with a charm that made her stand out among the crowd at first glance.
[She's so beautiful.]
[Another classical beauty, truly in the style of the Xianzhou.]
[I know I've said this a lot, but as per tradition, I'll go first: Ruan Mei is my new wife.]
[This year, it's all about eating Ruan Mei's rice!]
[Another breathtaking face. She's still attacking me with her beauty.]
[Now that I think about it, Stelle is kind of tall—she's a whole head taller.]
[I heard Stelle's actor is about 173 cm.]
"This is my work habit. By touching, I open my perception, letting details about life flood into my mind. This helps me understand your biological structure."
Ruan Mei's words were filled with intellect. "This is the foundation of deconstruction and reconstruction. Don't be nervous—you're very healthy, a perfect experimental subject. I like perfect experimental subjects."
Stelle pointed to the lower right corner of her lips. "You've got some pastry crumbs on your mouth…"
"Oh, really?" Ruan Mei instinctively glanced downward to the right. "I was admiring the scenery and got a bit distracted."
Ruan Mei looked beyond the platform at the azure planet. "I don't often come to the space station. I only discovered this spot today—such an open view, so calming. It pairs well with the fragrance of lotus leaves, plum blossoms, sticky rice, and a touch of frosting.
Come here, look—the azure planet is right beneath our feet, so full of life. This pastry is delicious too. I'll share half with you."
Stelle didn't refuse. From the uneaten portion of the pastry, she took a small bite and put it in her mouth.
"Is it good? Next time, I can make more for you. It's a pity the space station is a bit crowded—the noise doesn't quite match the pastry. So…"
Ruan Mei deliberately paused. "Do you remember my 'research'?"
Stelle thought for a moment. It seemed to be about nurturing life.
Then she blurted out, "I don't remember. I only like researching little stories about toilets."
"???"
Stelle's heart skipped a beat.
What was going on? Why did she say that?
Ruan Mei's lips curled slightly. "Is that so? That's a cute hobby.
But remember, in the future, when something like this happens, hide your expression until you figure out what's going on. Otherwise… you'll be full of openings. Let's try again. Now, what do you want to ask?"
Stelle, who had meant to say, "What did you do to me?" instead blurted out something entirely different: "The pastry is delicious. I want to eat more."
???
Why couldn't she say what she wanted to?
Ruan Mei smiled faintly, seemingly very pleased with Stelle's reaction. "What a greedy child. Alright, I'll share the recipe with you. Come, take a walk with me. After eating delicious pastries, a stroll is the perfect way to unwind."
With that, she walked off into the station's interior, leaving Stelle with a head full of questions, following behind her.
Along the way, Ruan Mei talked to herself, sharing bits of her experiences with Stelle.
Noticing Stelle's silence, she apologized and explained her intentions.
When she arrived at the space station, Ruan Mei had borrowed Herta's creation, the "Phase Flame," from Screwllum, hoping to gain inspiration from other members' research.
And indeed, she found it. She began nurturing life in the space, intending to create a new lifeform born as a "genius."
But something went wrong. They developed their own consciousness, yet had nothing to do with genius.
So, she wanted Stelle to retrieve the "little lifeforms" running amok in the space station… To ensure Stelle wouldn't spill the secret, Ruan Mei even fed her an "anti-truth serum."
"As a reward for helping me, I can give you anything you want. Anything."
[Really? Anything? (drooling)]
[Can you help me clear the Simulated Universe? I can't beat it!]
[After some thought, I want Ruan Mei to be my girlfriend.]
[You're done for. One slip, and she'll dose you with truth serum, and you'll be in for it.]
[What exactly are these rewards?]
[Just reward me directly!]
After understanding the situation, Stelle had no choice but to agree. Who told her to eat a stranger's pastry?
Soon after,
Stelle approached a species research staff member to gather some information.
The staff member reacted dramatically upon seeing Stelle.
"What? The place where the space station holds 'dangerous experimental items'?
Why would a normal person ask about that… Wait, did someone send you to trick me?
I'm not running any side business in the space station! I know nothing about special storage locations, nor have I ever sold scrap metal, rare treasures, or discarded oddities!"
At that moment, Stelle tried to say, "Ruan Mei sent me,"
but what came out was, "You're so cute! Can you give me your autograph?"
The staff member flinched. "Autograph? What are you up to, acting all sneaky and scary? If you don't explain, I'm not answering."
"I heard there's some unrest in the space station."
"Oh!!" The staff member suddenly understood. "If you're dealing with that, check out the containment segment. You'll understand once you get there."
[This staff member is kind of funny. Is this a case of 'no silver buried here'?]
[This is called P-flat-A-for-ult.]
[Stelle's lines are hilarious, but honestly, whether she took the anti-truth serum or not, it doesn't seem to make much difference.]
The scene shifted.
Stelle arrived at the containment segment, where, for some reason, a crowd had already gathered.
Their conversations all revolved around Ruan Mei.
After some inquiries, Stelle learned about the summoning method for "Cheese Lava Heart."
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Stelle performed the mysterious summoning ritual—spraying a ton of "hearts."
Sure enough, a mysterious creature appeared…
It looked like a shaomai, smelled like a shaomai, but its taste was still unknown.
It hopped onto a high platform.
Stelle rubbed her eyes. "A pastry spirit?"
[Wow, so cute!!!]
[I really want one of these! Make merch for it!]
[A shaomai spirit? I love that cheeky expression!]
[If they make a shaomai spirit pillow, I'm buying it all up, okay?]
[Nice, nice! What's miHoYo waiting for? Hurry up and release it! Are you afraid we can't afford it?]
[This thing looks oddly cute.]
"Uh… this guy… is this the 'little lifeform' Ruan Mei created?" Stelle looked at the creature with suspicion.
"…Woof woof woof…"
Stelle scratched her head. "I should've brought March 7th. She'd definitely translate this."
At that moment, a staff member appeared out of nowhere beside Stelle.
"Behold Cheese Lava Heart!"
The staff member looked at the stunned Stelle. "You! Why are you just standing there? Oh, you don't understand its language? No problem—we've specially tuned a synesthesia beacon for this!"
With that, they scanned Stelle's beacon.
"Beep." Stelle blinked, and the "Ruan Mei" creation in front of her started speaking human words—in Stelle's own voice, no less.
"Wakaka—I'm a genius, the genius of geniuses!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Stelle immediately disabled the special synesthesia beacon.
The familiar "woof woof" returned, and she sighed in relief.
Seeing Stelle disable the beacon, the staff member took on the role of soul translator.
After some conversation, Stelle roughly understood:
The "Ruan Mei" creation only wanted Ruan Mei's love, which was why it ran away.
Stelle didn't care anymore. She packed up Cheese Lava Heart and took it away.
At that moment, she received a text from the species research staff,
instructing her to toss the "Ruan Mei" creation into a rice cooker-like device that functioned as a toilet—it was their designated containment space.
So,
without hesitation, Stelle stuffed the "Ruan Mei" creation into the rice cooker and pressed the flush button.
The "Ruan Mei" little lifeform was mercilessly flushed away, safely sent to the containment segment.
At the same time, Stelle's phone pinged again with a message from Ruan Mei, who seemed to have new requests.
The screen went black, and the scene shifted.
Ruan Mei was waiting in Herta's office, giving Stelle a satisfied smile upon seeing her.
Through the following conversation, it was revealed that
Ruan Mei, Herta, and Screwllum—three geniuses—were about to hold a meeting.
Ruan Mei didn't want Herta to worry about the lifeform issue, though Herta likely wouldn't care much anyway.
Still, bringing Stelle along added an extra layer of assurance.
After all, Stelle was involved and could explain things better.
Curious about the interesting dynamics that might unfold, Stelle nodded in agreement.
Finally, Stelle accompanied Ruan Mei to the meeting location. Fortunately, Herta only wanted to recruit a fifth genius for the Simulated Universe to speed up the exploration of the Aeons' mysteries.
Since there was no need to drag Stelle into the discussion, Ruan Mei called her aside. "Come, dear, I'll see you out."
Before leaving, Stelle politely asked Screwllum, "How much longer will you stay at the space station?"
"I shall remain for a while longer. Miss Asta has recently expressed concerns about disturbances in the space station. Conclusion: I will observe for a time."
The line itself was ordinary, but the subtitles were deliberately highlighted with strong contrast, signaling to the audience that something was amiss.
Stelle followed Ruan Mei to the meeting room's entrance.
"Is there something I can't hear?" Stelle asked first.
"No, you've misunderstood. I just thought that while Herta's meeting is going on, it'd be easier for you to move around the space station.
There's something I need to tell you early. By the time the meeting ends… it might be too late.
The lifeform retrieval… isn't finished. There's more than one. Some are stored in a sealed segment.
Herta uses that area to host galactic visitors or Genius Society members, but due to the Legion's invasion, it's no longer open to the public.
Now, my 'big trouble' is stored there."
"There's another segment in the space station?"
"Yes, the space station holds far more secrets than you think. So does Herta." Ruan Mei took out her command card and grabbed Stelle's hand. "I'll input your fingerprint into it."
Once it was done, she looked at Stelle gently. "Dear, stay safe. If you encounter danger you can't handle, send a signal. I'll step in personally, no matter the consequences.
Remember, in the center of the segment, there's a giant… incubation pod. That's where my 'big trouble' is.
When you return, come find me at the platform. Then you'll understand everything."
The soft, electrifying "dear" hit harder than a "Benefactor~."
[She called me dear!]
[Even Kafka never called me that. I'm in love!]
[That's the second 'dear' already!]
[Don't worry, dear! I'll complete the mission!]
[Haha, 'big trouble'—honestly, it does sound like a bit of trouble.]
[March 7th: Don't get fooled by the mature big sister!]
Stelle nodded solemnly and, following the coordinates, arrived at an elevator tainted by the Rift.
She took a deep breath and rode it down to the sealed segment.
As the elevator doors opened, the area was pitch black and eerily empty.
Even Stelle, who feared nothing, felt a slight tension in her chest.
She scanned her surroundings, confirming it was safe before stepping forward.
But after a few steps, a small robot appeared out of nowhere.
At that moment, the screen was flooded with "High-Energy Alert."
[High-Energy Alert!]
[High-Energy Alert!]
[High-Energy Alert!]
The small robot, heavily damaged, suddenly turned and performed a Tingyun-style head tilt.
Startled, Stelle took a step back.
Then, with a "ding," the elevator automatically ascended, cutting off her retreat.
The once-dark scene was now bathed in ominous red warning lights.
Stelle pursed her lips in frustration, then shook her head, her gaze firming.
She took a few steps forward and found a malfunctioning robot. After syncing some map data, she pressed deeper into the segment.
The environment—flickering lights, sparking wires, scratched walls—sent chills down the audience's spines.
It wouldn't have felt out of place if an "Alien" popped out.
Thankfully, the journey was uneventful, with no fighting. Stelle safely reached a laboratory.
The screen began playing Ruan Mei's experiment log:
"The spark of the Phase Flame is fascinating, but sadly, before the research was complete, it vanished. I've started a new experiment."
"These two samples are growing well. I've added personal taste preferences to the 'concept.' I'm unsure of the outcome."
"They exhibit two emotional traits simultaneously: cute, fragile, sensitive, tearful; fierce, instigating, domineering, confident."
"Interestingly, they also have a tendency: longing for their creator, developing a natural, almost instinctual 'emotion'—like an infant for its mother, life for sustenance, or the strange bond between people."
Stelle turned off the log recording and focused her attention on her ears. "Huh, there's movement outside?"
She alertly drew her bat and jogged to the door, where she saw a bizarre creature.
"This is Ruan Mei's 'big trouble'?"