During the period before Mr. Screwllum arrived, Ruan Mei used the time to try her hand at creating many interesting small creatures.
Hehe... the osmanthus cake kittens are really nice to pet.
The kittens are kawaii, they feel so kimoji in my hands, and the texture is daisuki!
Qing has also connected with Ruan Mei, and recently, Qing can be seen helping Ruan Mei with tasks on the Space Station.
After Qing joined Ruan Mei's experiment, the osmanthus cake kittens began to increase at an extremely rapid rate.
In his leisure time, Bai Luan would go over to pet these newly born kittens and take care of them.
Screwllum arrived after Ruan Mei, but not too long after her.
The three members of the Genius Society were once again gathered on the Space Station, which made Bai Luan feel a bit scared.
However, Bai Luan still firmly believed in his previous theory.
After all, the logic was very clear, and the arguments were very reasonable; at least Bai Luan himself felt there were no problems.
Hmm... although there was a small unexpected incident when this theory was applied to Ruan Mei.
But it doesn't matter, this kind of incident cannot happen twice.
Applied to Screwllum, there will definitely be no problems at all.
Although he went to Belobog and studied the automatic machines there, and summarized the source code from them.
But he didn't tell Screwllum about this, so Screwllum shouldn't know about it.
Screwllum couldn't have read the script like he did, could he?
Or perhaps, Screwllum has always been paying attention to his actions?
Haha, how could that be?
Screwllum is not Aha, how could he keep staring at him?
He believed that the filter provided by what he did on Beta Star had gradually faded with time.
Now, Screwllum should see him as just an ordinary Genius Assistant, nothing special.
Bai Luan looked up and watched Screwllum's spaceship slowly descend.
Things will definitely be as he imagined.
With this mindset, Bai Luan met Screwllum.
"Long time no see, Screwllum."
"Confirmation: Indeed, it has been a long time since we last parted."
"What have you been up to lately?"
"Statement: I have recently been experiencing titanfall 2."
"???"
Wait, hey, I said wait.
This isn't right, is it?
What do you mean Screwllum also plays titanfall 2?
In other words, Screwllum has seen the plot now, right?
A sense of foreboding began to spread in Bai Luan's heart.
It won't be again... "Mr. Screwllum, what do you think of this game?"
As if to confirm Bai Luan's ominous premonition, Screwllum spoke with a hint of pleasure:
"Conclusion: I believe this is a rare and excellent work."
"..."
It seems a bit doomed.
"Reason: Witnessing the beautiful bond forged between artificial intelligence and humans in a game, I cannot help but feel an ineffable solace.
The story between the Vanguard-class Titan BT-7274 and its Pilot is not only touching but also demonstrates a profound connection that transcends the boundaries of machine and flesh.
Logic: We seem to catch a glimpse of a future possibility—that artificial intelligence and organic life will eventually move towards a path of symbiotic coexistence and mutual achievement.
And this is the most ideal future state between artificial intelligence life forms and organic life forms in my philosophy.
Conclusion: Therefore, I also hold extremely high expectations for your future works."
"Can I say... I didn't actually think that much back then?"
Bai Luan tried to make a final struggle.
"Of course, humility has always been one of your admirable qualities."
Screwllum responded gently.
Bai Luan forced a smile.
"Haha... as long as you had fun..."
Things were starting to go wrong.
Something unexpected happened with Ruan Mei.
Screwllum also clearly deviated from expectations.
If both of them, for their respective reasons, still held him in such high regard and expectation, then... overtime seemed unavoidable.
The unease in Bai Luan's heart slowly began to spread.
No, no!
It's not truly desperate yet!
There's still one more point, the most important point hasn't been overturned!
The Swarm Disaster DLC was just created not long ago, how could they immediately turn to developing gold and gears?
This time, he didn't go out to do anything, so it's impossible to trigger any plot for developing a simulated universe DLC!
No matter what, the development of a simulated universe DLC should enter a cooldown period, right?
This doesn't make sense, does it?
The more Bai Luan tried to rationalize in his heart, the more uneasy he became, always feeling that he was slowly sliding into the abyss named overtime.
And although he realized this, he was powerless.
This feeling was truly, truly terrifying.
It's okay, everything will be okay.
They're all paper tigers, they can't scare me!
These are just him scaring himself!
In the following days, Bai Luan's uneasy premonition came true.
Screwllum, Ruan Mei, and Herta, the three members of the Genius Society, converged their ideas very quickly.
Following the success of the Swarm Disaster simulated universe DLC, they seized upon the idea of recreating important moments in interstellar history concerning the Aeons, and quickly brainstormed.
It probably won't be long before they think of the Three Eras, the Border Trade Wars, and the Two Imperial Wars.
After all, these are famous interstellar historical events.
Bai Luan could feel that in their repeated exchanges, a prototype of gold and gears was slowly forming.
Although it was just a budding idea now, Bai Luan could tell at a glance that the final form of this idea was gold and gears.
To already foresee that he was about to work overtime was already a rather sad thing.
To personally watch the overtime progress bar tick up bit by bit was even more painful than just foreseeing it.
Alright, it seems he can only accept the reality that he will soon be making another DLC.
After realizing that he couldn't change this, Bai Luan resigned himself to fate.
Actually, making the simulated universe DLCs earlier isn't a big deal; there are only a few simulated universe DLCs in total, so finish them early, rest early.
Once they're all done, he won't have to worry about working overtime on DLCs, right?
If he has to work overtime, so be it, it doesn't matter anymore.
Life is indeed about experiencing the joy of occasionally controlling it and the helplessness of not being able to control it most of the time.
Under Bai Luan's self-reassurance, he accepted reality.
Accepting reality in this way made Bai Luan feel much better; although he would be working overtime soon, he wasn't working overtime now.
At least he was happy now.
People should live in the present, after all.
After adjusting his mindset, Bai Luan also received good news.
Ratio: I hear that the Herta Space Station now has four members of the Genius Society gathered?
Bai Luan: Yes, Ruan Mei, Screwllum, Herta, and I are all on the Space Station now.
Ratio: Interesting.
Ratio: I will be visiting the Space Station soon for an academic exchange.
Bai Luan: Welcome, Professor.
Bai Luan: By the way, regarding the First University of Truth matter, how did you ultimately handle it, Professor?
Ratio: I rejected their request.
Ratio: The current academic atmosphere and achievements of the First University of Truth are far from sufficient to qualify for using the reputation of a Genius Society member for publicity.
Ratio: The assistance they provided to your growth was minimal.
Ratio: Yet now they wish to claim credit, as if they were the greatest contributors to your growth.
Ratio: Heh, laughable.
Ratio: Until they meet my requirements, I will not agree to their request.
Bai Luan: In that case, won't you be under too much pressure, Professor?
Bai Luan: Or should I be the one to reject their proposal?
Ratio: No need.
Bai Luan smiled. As expected of Truth Father.
Truly the strictest father of the First University of Truth.
Herta: Come to my office, let's have a meeting.
Bai Luan: On my way~