Ruan Mei disliked socializing.
Spending more time conducting experiments was far more meaningful to her than social interaction.
Her attitude toward Sylvia, including calling her "dear" and other affectionate gestures, was solely because Sylvia's unique nature made her worthy of study.
Yet, under the framework of universal rules, Ruan Mei could hardly just kidnap someone for research.
Therefore, a friendly—or at least seemingly friendly—attitude made it easier for Sylvia to accept the experiments.
It was much like the social interactions among the four creators of the Simulated Universe. It existed only so that the project could progress smoothly.
Only for that reason did Ruan Mei accept their gatherings.
But as for anyone else...
Although the ID used to head down to the Seclusion Zone belonged to Asta, Ruan Mei knew her well enough to judge that Asta wouldn't show up here in person.
The person coming down was likely a subordinate staff member or someone else entirely.
Since that was the case, Ruan Mei didn't think going over to meet them was a good choice.
Granted, Ruan Mei had accompanied Sylvia to clear out the swarm in the beginning.
But that, too, was only to understand the strength of these propagated bugs and see what kind of variations might occur.
Now that the samples were complete, and she had even acquired a Permanence bug and an Abundance bug, Ruan Mei planned to head back to the laboratory first.
After all, the clearing progress was over halfway through, and they were clearly on the verge of crossing paths with that stranger.
"There aren't many bugs left, and the sample collection is sufficient. Sylvia, I will return to the laboratory first to begin the research on the Permanence specimen. You may do as you please after this."
Ruan Mei stood where she was and said her goodbyes to Sylvia.
Her gaze slipped past Sylvia, landing on the two little bugs that were loyally guarding them both.
Sylvia froze for a moment, then quickly realized that Ruan Mei probably just didn't want to waste time socializing.
So, she pulled out an empty Pokéball she carried with her, recalled the two little bugs inside, and handed it over to Ruan Mei.
"Then I'll trouble you with that. And... don't push them too hard. They have enough intelligence now."
As always, any target captured by Sylvia received a boost to their sentience along with it.
Because of this, Sylvia, who initially had no particular feelings about the bugs' appearance, was gradually starting to find her two little bugs somewhat cute.
"...Rest assured. These are your guards, I know my boundaries."
Ruan Mei felt a bit helpless at Sylvia's reminder. She admitted she lacked reverence for life, but that didn't mean she was some kind of mad scientist who enjoyed torturing living things.
To be fair, even lifeforms that turned out to be failed creations were, at worst, abandoned by her.
Even if they were dangerous species, they were directly destroyed.
When had she ever mistreated a research subject?
Ruan Mei discovered that Sylvia might have a strange misunderstanding of her.
It was quite peculiar. Ruan Mei considered this to be her first time meeting Sylvia.
Her behavior after meeting her had never been out of line, yet Sylvia had maintained her guard against her from the very first moment they met.
It was understandable at the very beginning, considering Herta's abrasive personality was something Ruan Mei knew all too well.
It wasn't impossible to comprehend why someone would be wary of her, a fellow Genius, but this wasn't the first day they had met anymore, and Sylvia had even seen the failed creations like the Cake Cats.
How could she still brainwash herself into thinking Ruan Mei was some kind of strange mad scientist?
Ruan Mei believed her reputation in the universe wasn't that bad.
She truly couldn't comprehend where Sylvia's bizarre impression of her originated.
But forget it, Ruan Mei wasn't the type of person to overexplain such matters.
As long as Sylvia was still willing to cooperate with her research, nothing else mattered.
If the impression was strange, so be it. To be frank, compared to the truly extreme impressions people held of her, Sylvia's version was just child's play.
Ruan Mei took the Pokéball, which bore clear traces of Xianzhou technology, turned around, and walked away.
Sylvia naturally continued deeper into the zone.
Although she had been somewhat startled when she first encountered these bugs capable of turning invisible, once she grew familiar with them, she could react and notice something amiss even without activating the [Truth-Seeking Sigil].
At that moment, Sylvia looked down at the tracker, only to find that the green waypoint had suddenly accelerated and split into two.
"Huh? Why are there two people? What kind of metric does this tracking system even use to monitor things?"
She couldn't help but complain about the accuracy of the device.
However, looking at the separated light points, one of them was heading straight toward Sylvia for some reason.
Moreover, behind them, the red waypoints were also closing in on them for reasons unknown.
"...What did they do, provoke every bug in the vicinity?"
Sylvia's lips twitched. She had no idea what those two over there had done, but since she had to clear the swarm completely anyway, she figured she would head over to check out the situation first.
--+--
Meanwhile.
"Wahhh—!!! What did that box ever do to you? Why did you have to smash it?!"
March 7th, running in front with her bow and arrow, was practically on the verge of tears!
Originally, with one acting as the vanguard and the other as the rearguard, they could manage a fight even if they ran into those bugs.
But who would have guessed that while passing by a cabin, Stelle would just whack a box inside with her bat.
Then, the destroyed box leaked.
Whatever was inside turned into a strangely scented smoke that engulfed them both.
And then...
The nearby bugs rushed at them as if they had gone completely feral.
"Because the box was right there!"
Stelle shouted back as she ran, clutching her fiery lance, occasionally thrusting it backward to block the closing bugs.
March 7th, on the other hand, kept casting shields on the two of them and used her Six-Phased Ice to continuously freeze the bugs ahead to carve out a path.
"You're still talking nonsense at a time like this?!"
March 7th really wanted to pry Stelle's head open to see what exactly was packed inside.
Was this the time to be a clown!
Seeing March 7th in a panic behind her, Stelle comforted her, "Look on the bright side. At least with this much noise, maybe Sylvia will hear us."
"...I'd rather not have this kind of bright side!"
March 7th was so exhausted she could barely squeeze out a retort.
"Why are we still being hunted down when this is clearly a map we've already cleared?! That's not how it happens in the stories—"
Right at that moment, suddenly—
"Ever see a diamond this big? It's all yours~!!"
Herta's cute, crisp voice echoed from the other end of the corridor.
Immediately following it was a purple crystal, radiating an incredibly intense presence.
Like a launched cannonball, it whipped up a massive gale, brushing right over March 7th's head.
BOOM—!!!
The crystal landed right in the center of the swarm, erupting into a violent explosion.
The flames and hurricane-force winds even blasted Stelle and March 7th into midair together.
"Wahhh—!"
Stelle flipped her hand, pressing her lance against the wall to steady her stance, while March 7th, who lacked that kind of weapon, crashed headfirst into a warm embrace.
"Why is it you two?"
The sense of security brought by the familiar voice nearly made March 7th burst into tears.
Heaven knew how she had survived this entire trip; she was almost left with psychological trauma from these detestable bugs!!
"Waaah—Sylvia, you're finally here!! I missed you to death."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL