Although he really wanted to go straight back to his Little Room and collapse onto his bed for a good rest, he couldn't do that now.
First, it wasn't yet 4 PM, so his Little Room hadn't been fully expanded. Second, his clothes were dirty.
He had roughly cleaned them when exiting the Botanical Garden's disinfection area; the obvious mud was gone, but there were still many mud stains clinging to his clothes.
Throwing himself onto the bed in such clothes was not a good idea; he needed to find a place to wash them.
Bai Luan took off his swallowtail coat, folded it, and hung it over his arm. He thought about the closest place where he could wash clothes, using the map in his mind.
A route was immediately planned in his mind, but it was a bit far.
Bai Luan subconsciously glanced at the carpet.
Even if he could use it, he probably wouldn't choose to.
He'd just walk there...
Bai Luan swung the coat in his hand, shaking off the water droplets.
He didn't know what material this clothing was made of; it was very easy to clean. The stains were washed away with just a rinse of water, not even requiring laundry detergent.
High-tech products really are great.
Bai Luan sighed with emotion, refolding the coat and hanging it over his arm.
"I remember there was a laboratory nearby..."
Bai Luan, still thinking about building his own vehicle, naturally wanted to check out such a place.
After all, one of the two major cheats the system gave him was the ability to turn manufactured items into Curios. It would be a waste not to create some miraculous little gadgets with such an ability.
Moreover, he had already obtained permission from the Herta Puppet to go and observe, then copy the environment into his Little Black Room for research.
Having made up his mind, Bai Luan walked towards the laboratory. Before long, Bai Luan arrived at the laboratory's valve.
"It's closed..."
Bai Luan looked at the authentication interface that popped up on the touchscreen.
Had Herta entered his data into the entire Space Station's database?
Would a crimson warning pop up the moment he put his hand on it, activating automatic guards and spawning a bunch of robots to chase him?
...He really had too much imagination.
What good was imagination? Just do it!
Bai Luan shook his head and slapped his palm directly onto the authentication interface.
The authentication interface immediately scanned Bai Luan's hand the moment he placed it on.
[Name: Bai Luan]
[Position: None]
[Authority Level: Level 4 Authority]
[Access Granted]
Level 4, huh?
That probably corresponded to a handyman or a visitor.
Perhaps one day, he could obtain Level 1 authority?
A series of mechanical twisting sounds came, and the valve opened, revealing the facilities inside.
Hmm...
It was a shame this wasn't an anime; there wouldn't be scene cuts to various instruments with narration explaining them.
So Bai Luan could only walk into this laboratory with the clear eyes of a university student, mixed with the demeanor of Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
It proved that when one precise instrument after another entered his vision, and his mind racked itself without being able to tell him what it was for, he would directly perceive the inadequacy of his knowledge.
In his previous life, he was accustomed to this feeling and didn't care at all.
For him at the time, the pursuit of knowledge came after making money.
Of course, Bai Luan wouldn't say that his choice in his previous life was wrong; dying of cancer in the end was just due to his bad luck.
It was just...
Bai Luan's golden eyes looked at an unknown instrument on the experimental bench, and he curiously reached out to touch it.
Reborn, I want to try a different path.
What is your name?
And what is your purpose?
In this life,
Let me study it thoroughly.
"Little Black Room, activate!"
Light and shadow flowed, space shifted, and Bai Luan entered the Little Black Room.
Herta closed the thick notebook in her hand and looked up at the suddenly appearing Bai Luan.
In fact, from her perspective, Bai Luan had appeared the very next instant after he disappeared.
It seemed that due to the difference in time flow, she wouldn't have much time alone.
This kind of life was quite good; every time Bai Luan returned, the surrounding environment would change, giving it a feeling of opening a blind box.
Where had he gone this time?
Herta held the notebook, her gaze sweeping around, and her eyebrow slightly raised:
"A laboratory?"
"Yes, I was thinking of making something."
"Let me think, with your current skill level..."
Herta rested a hand on her chin, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"You'll probably encounter many, many difficulties."
"It can't be that bad, can it...?"
Bai Luan pulled at the corner of his mouth helplessly.
"I should... be stronger than I was initially, right?"
"I'm not denying your progress; you are indeed much stronger than you were at first."
Herta's tone was flat, and equally cold words came from her icy mouth:
"My point is that even if you've made a lot of progress since the beginning, you're still not very good."
Bai Luan shrugged helplessly, a wry smile playing on his lips:
"You're still the same, sharp and hurtful, accurate and blunt."
Herta wouldn't accommodate him; she always spoke her mind. Honest advice was inherently unpalatable, and Herta was not someone easy to get along with to begin with.
How should he put it...
This was probably the price one had to pay for sharing a room with a genius.
Although he had to endure Herta's sharp tongue, he could also make rapid progress under her guidance.
Overall, it was a painful yet happy experience.
"I want to build a flying backpack. Its forward propulsion will rely on four thrusters. To achieve this, what do I need to learn, can it be made in this laboratory, and can the technology from the flying carpet be used?"
"A flying backpack? It feels inferior to a magic flying carpet in terms of operation and maneuverability.
You might as well just use the flying carpet's technology to make two shoe soles, attach them to your shoes, and then modify your clothes to add a gliding device. Although the principle is simple, it can also meet your needs."
Hmm...
Isn't that just Xianyun + Wind Glider?
Bai Luan remembered there actually was a Wind Glider on Herta Space Station.
Although Herta's suggestion was good, Bai Luan shook his head and said:
"No, I still want to follow my original idea."
"Tell me why,"
Herta put her hand on her hip, her small frame exuding an undeniable aura:
"My suggestion is simpler and less difficult."
Bai Luan wore a serious expression, his eyes firm as if he could join the party, and said:
"Because I think a flying backpack is cooler."
If it weren't for technological limitations, Bai Luan would have loved to launch immediately in the stance of a Gundam.
If he could pilot a mech and roam the universe for a while, this life would be worth dying for!
Herta smiled upon hearing this, one hand on her hip, and said:
"You have personality... but having the illness of a genius without the talent of a genius can be very tough, you know."
"Conversely, perhaps this is the first step to becoming a genius?"
"I have to say, your perspective is quite genius-like..."
"Uh... don't say that, I'll get conceited."
For once, Herta also expressed agreement with Bai Luan.
"Being optimistic is fine, I don't object."
"...Honestly, I thought you'd mock my foolishness."
"For me, success is commonplace. I once thought it was boring for mortals to repeatedly hit walls over small problems.
But now, watching you repeatedly hit walls, break down, go crazy, and then, like an unkillable cockroach, painstakingly dig out that insignificant 'success' from the rubble..."
She tilted her head slightly, as if discovering a new cosmic phenomenon.
"Tsk... it's actually... quite interesting."
She paused, her gaze, always carrying a sense of scrutiny, now seemed to pierce through time, landing on Bai Luan's every clumsy fall and rise, thoughtfully:
"I'm starting to understand that God of Fun a little."
Bai Luan looked at the genius beside him.
"It seems that, in the eyes of a genius, the clumsy attitude of a mortal slowly crawling..."
Bai Luan said softly:
"Can also become a kind of scenery."
Although, in reality, a genius wouldn't spend time to stoop down and look closely at such a sight.