"Meow…"
With a cat-like sound, the camera pans down to reveal a creature that's a fusion of a cat and a pastry.
[So cute! Even cuter than the shaomai spirit!]
[So… such an adorable trouble!]
[Hahaha, I see now. I thought it was some kind of alien or big trouble, but it's just this. miHoYo's playing with contrasts again, huh!]
[So squishy! I wanna take a bite.]
[Hurry up and release merch! Release it! I'll pay anything! It's too cute!]
[A-Wei's dead again!]
Stelle stared for a few seconds before asking, "Were you hiding inside a pastry?"
"Meow…" The "Ruan Mei" creation indicated it was one with its outer shell.
The next moment,
it looked deeply sorrowful, tears streaming down.
Caught off guard, Stelle hurriedly activated the special synesthesia beacon.
Her own voice translated in her ears,
"Waa… waa…
I'm not… a creation Ruan Mei acknowledges… waa…
Too much negative energy… I don't like negative energy, waa…"
Stelle crouched down, looking gently at the "Ruan Mei" creation. "Everyone has moments of negative energy."
"Waa… Ruan Mei… waa…" It seemed deeply remorseful, its eyes flickering with reluctance, as if yearning for Ruan Mei's approval.
"Why… am I… a failure?"
Stelle examined the Ruan Mei creation. It seemed to still be waiting sadly for Ruan Mei to come for it.
At that moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy.
Just then, a loud noise came from the distance.
Stelle immediately stood up. "What's that sound?"
She glanced at the Ruan Mei creation, scooped it into her arms, and decided to check what was happening while looking for a suitable place to settle the little guy.
Stelle gently held the Ruan Mei creation as she moved forward, and it began humming a tune for her.
Soon after,
Stelle arrived at a creepy, dark corridor that clearly spelled trouble.
The journey had been quiet, with the audience still immersed in the warm atmosphere,
when the camera suddenly switched, and a Sting silently appeared, lunging at Stelle's back.
The audience was startled by the sudden scene, though they recognized what it was.
[Scared me! Where's the High-Energy Alert?]
[I got spooked the first time I saw this. I knew it—this creepy, terrifying environment would be a waste without some American-style horror.]
[What a thrilling ambush.]
[WTF, isn't that a Sting? They're in the space station too?]
[Aren't those from the Simulated Universe's Swarm Disaster? How are they here in this space?]
[Could it have been attacked?]
[No way. Those bugs are terrifying—wherever they go, it's chaos. If the space station was attacked, it'd probably be gone.]
Fortunately, though Stelle hadn't been born long, her skills were still exceptional.
She did a forward roll while drawing her bat.
It was just one Sting, and Stelle handled it effortlessly with one hand. After dealing with it, she continued forward with the Ruan Mei creation, arriving at a new area.
"Huh?" Stelle rubbed her eyes and shook her head, making sure she wasn't seeing things.
"There's so many of them…"
The camera followed her perspective, revealing a new laboratory filled with Ruan Mei creations.
After setting down the creation in her arms, she approached a control panel, where another of Ruan Mei's experiment logs was recorded.
In the video, Ruan Mei seemed dissatisfied with her creations, lost in confusion,
but she quickly thought of something.
"I've thought of a 'lifeform' significant enough for me to acknowledge its unpredictability. That is…"
The video cut off abruptly.
Stelle sighed, already used to this, and chose to move forward with the Ruan Mei creation.
However, the journey became peaceful. The deeper she went, the more Stings she encountered.
The corridor was now covered in sticky slime, making her feel nauseous.
Stelle arrived at a room filled with green incubation pods. She read the label,
"The duration of sunlight exposure is a key factor in affecting mood. More starlight has been proven to effectively alleviate negative emotions. Sounds perfect for it…"
She looked down at the Ruan Mei creation in her arms. "Bean Paste Gray-Gray doesn't sound great. Since you look like a pastry, I'll call you Kitty Cake."
"Meow…"
Whether it was the starlight or the new name, Kitty Cake seemed delighted.
At the same time, a door on the second floor automatically opened. Stelle, unsure of the mechanism, prepared to investigate.
Then, in a hidden room, Stelle found a new robot. After gaining access, she checked the historical nurturing records. "What's this?"
The scene shifted,
Ruan Mei's figure occupied half the screen, with a massive incubation pod behind her. Due to the lighting, its contents were unclear, though the faint outline of an arthropod's carapace was visible.
The video continued from the previous, unfinished experiment log.
"I've thought of a 'lifeform' significant enough for me to acknowledge its unpredictability.
That is… an 'Emanator.' What an Emanator is, I don't fully understand.
Scholars see them as agents of an Aeon's power. So, when did it start, and at what point did they become closer to an 'Aeon' than other lifeforms?
Initially, I tried to nurture a genius. I failed. This question remains unsolved, with a long road of exploration ahead.
But the universe's Paths aren't limited to 'Erudition.' If I abandon reason, are there more primal, purer 'Emanators' on other Paths?
—Of course there are.
Tayzzyronth. Through the Simulated Universe, I glimpsed the beginning and end of the Swarm Disaster, seizing data on the Insect Emperor and its offspring, replicating and nurturing them to open a new branch of research."
[Huh???]
[What!!!]
[Isn't Tayzzyronth the Aeon of Propagation?]
[Damn, as expected of the Genius Society—casually trying to nurture an Emanator?]
[Emanator? What's that?]
[For now, Emanators are basically the strongest forces under the Aeons. For example, Jing Yuan is an Emanator of the Hunt.]
[Right, and Phantylia is an Emanator too! No wonder Ruan Mei's aiming for something like this!]
[So, when she said she wanted to nurture a genius, she actually meant an Emanator of Erudition, but failed and created the Ruan Mei creations instead. Now she's trying to nurture a Propagation Emanator?]
[Simulated Universe data… I feel like Ruan Mei's got a bit of a crazy streak.]
[Honestly, the Genius Society is all unhinged. Screwllum and Herta, who we've seen, are actually the nicer ones in terms of temperament and personality. Ruan Mei doesn't seem simple.]
"A reasonable judgment. I will definitely succeed. The 'it' I recreate will bloom with unprecedented life.
Will Herta and Screwllum like this experiment? Probably not. So, before they notice…
I need to speed up and find a suitable 'assistant.'"
As Ruan Mei finished speaking, the video ended.
Stelle tapped her forehead lightly. "As expected, I'm really curious about that giant incubation pod behind Ruan Mei!"
"Please select a service: 1. Visitor log query. 2. Incubation pod entrance activation." The reheated-rice robot interrupted Stelle's thoughts.
Stelle first selected the visitor log query.
Reheated-rice robot:
"Ms. Ruan Mei, sss.
Extraterrestrial species, sss.
Plaster head man, sss."
"Plaster head?"
At that moment, the video was suddenly flooded with barrages.
All saying just two words: [Godfather!]
Then, Stelle selected "Incubation pod entrance activation," wanting to see what Ruan Mei's big trouble really was.
"Access granted."
A ding-dong sounded from upstairs. Stelle looked up. "Looks like it's open."
The scene shifted, and Stelle was back at the elevator entrance.
"Hm? There's someone in the distance… who is it?" Stelle approached slowly, finding the sight before her unbelievable, even wondering if she was hallucinating.
In the camera, a man with a plaster head appeared, playing chess against himself.
Of course!
The barrage went wild at this point. If you didn't turn it off, you could barely see the screen. His popularity rivaled that of Jing Yuan and Kafka, the two mega-popular characters.
[Godfather!]
[Godfather!]
[Rewatched just to leave a barrage for Godfather!]
[He's here, he's here, Godfather's finally here.]
[Hello, Godfather!]
[Godfather's greatness needs no words!]
[ … ]
The plaster head man made a move. "Look, a genius's move! How will you counter?"
The next moment, he flashed to the other side of the board, tilting his neck.
"Oh, only an idiot would ask that. You play here…"
Suddenly, he looked up and saw Stelle staring blankly, scratching her head.
He packed up the chessboard, pulled out a book, and approached Stelle elegantly. "You look troubled. Got a problem? If so—figure it out yourself."
[Hahaha, Godfather! Well said!]
[My Godfather, so damn cool!]
[Godfather's just too fun.]
"What are you standing there for? Got a lot of time? I don't think so. Take the elevator down. What you're looking for is there." The plaster head man, despite his expressionless mask, gave the audience the impression he was impatient.
"Who are you? Why are you here? Do you know what I'm looking for?"
Stelle unleashed her soul-triple-question.
The plaster head shook his head. "Before asking, consider whether the answer will help solve your problem.
If not, don't ask. Clearly, both our time is valuable.
Fine, I'll give you an example: I know who you are and that you're working for Ruan Mei. I'm a visitor to the space station who wandered here and witnessed her experiment.
My goal is roughly the same as yours. Since you're here, I won't interfere. But if you fail, I'll step in forcefully to prevent unnecessary trouble.
That's all you need to know—two sentences, highly efficient communication."
"You're actually kind of nice."
"Because I despise rude, abrasive people—myself included."
Stelle couldn't hold back her biggest curiosity. "Why do you wear a plaster head?"
"Because I can't stand fools, and they don't want to see me either." The plaster head put away his book and pointed toward the elevator.
"The real 'Ruan Mei creation' is hidden in the giant incubation pod below. Go. Take this elevator and witness—'a genius's masterpiece.'"
Knowing her true purpose here, Stelle didn't ask further and followed the direction of his pointing finger.
…
After the scene transition, Stelle was inside a massive elevator, which had been running for a long time. Shadows from the passing floors flickered across her face.
Finally, a red light appeared—she was nearing her destination.
The first thing she saw was a shattered incubation pod, oddly familiar.
"Such a huge room… the space station has a place this vast?"
"Tap, tap, tap…"
Stelle stepped forward in her high heels,
the camera taking a high-angle shot, making her look tiny in the enormous room.
Then, the camera zoomed in for a close-up of Stelle's face as she scanned her surroundings.
"Hm?" Stelle noticed a large amount of yellow liquid at her feet. She crouched down to touch it.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her, and her eyes widened.
A massive blue insect appeared behind her.
Stelle didn't retreat. Turning around, she summoned her bat, ready to strike.
"A replica of a Propagation Emanator?! How is that possible…"
The giant insect hovered in the air with flapping wings. Red subtitles at the bottom of the screen labeled it:
"Star-Shattering Insect King: Skaracabaz (Synthetic)"
The camera returned to a high-angle shot. With the Insect King's presence, the vast room seemed small.
With a slight tremble, countless smaller Stings appeared around it.
"Hiss…" Stelle sucked in a breath. "It'll destroy the space station…!"
Dodging the Insect King's attacks while fending off the smaller Stings, Stelle's agile movements kept her just out of danger several times, nearly swallowed.
The Insect King, seemingly tired of the cat-and-mouse game, flew high and gathered a massive energy orb.
Stelle sensed trouble. She knew she had to interrupt it, but the swarm of smaller Stings held her back.
The next moment, the giant energy orb hurtled toward her, its powerful gusts making it hard for her to keep her eyes open.
However,
at that moment,
the energy orb vanished. The Insect King let out two mournful cries before its body disintegrated, fading into the air.
The scene shifted to the plaster head man, who had clearly witnessed everything.
He touched his chin. "Fifty-six seconds later, it could no longer sustain its existence, completely annihilated, as if it never existed. Threat neutralized. No need to stay."
Then he left.
The perspective returned to Stelle, who finally exhaled in relief. With the Insect King gone, the smaller Stings vanished too.
"Is it over… I need to go back and get answers from Ruan Mei!"