The construction of Sylvia's estate proceeded smoothly.
Modular construction materials were fully automated—once their placement was set within the system, they deployed, expanded, and took shape entirely on their own.
Even the furniture came with a distinct, stylish flair; it was quite eye-catching.
Ruan Mei's laboratory had also undergone a massive expansion. However, most of the new modules were built underground, so the structure above ground remained relatively compact.
To celebrate moving into the new home, Sylvia decided to cook for the first time in ages, intending to whip up something delicious. She sent a message to Firefly as well, though she didn't receive a reply.
She figured she wouldn't show up, but right in the middle of the meal, a familiar pixel-art portal flickered into existence.
Silver Wolf stomped through the portal, looking grumpy. After glancing around the room, she plopped herself right into Sylvia's lap and immediately grabbed a bowl and chopsticks, diving straight into the food.
"..."
Sylvia couldn't see Silver Wolf's face, but she could see those strands of silver hair and the hairband bobbing in front of her. She couldn't help but feel that Silver Wolf was in a foul mood.
Sylvia reached out and wrapped an arm around Silver Wolf's waist.
Her midriff-baring outfit was as pleasant to touch as ever; her waist felt even softer and more delicate than her own or Mei's. A slight squeeze revealed just a hint of softness.
Beside them, Mei set down her utensils and looked at Sylvia with curious eyes, silently asking for an explanation. Sylvia just shrugged, signaling that she had no idea what Silver Wolf had gotten up to.
Just then, Firefly's voice drifted in from behind them:
"...Apologies. Silver Wolf lost a match to someone from the IPC today. She was in a bit of a bad mood."
Seeing everyone turn, Firefly clasped her hands together and gave a slight, polite bow.
"Long time no see, Miss Acheron, Sylvia. And a pleasure to meet you for the first time, train conductor of the Astral Express."
"Hey... how could you all just walk onto the Express without even saying hello!" The conductor raised her small paws, looking indignant. What kind of people were they? Couldn't they knock?
"Apologies, Conductor. We'll be sure to knock properly next time." Firefly walked over to Sylvia's side and offered an embarrassed, sincere smile, which quickly melted away most of the conductor's frustration.
Sylvia gestured for Firefly to sit. She kept one arm around Silver Wolf, asking curiously, "What happened? Didn't Silver Wolf get Bella's data? How could she still lose?"
"Well, about that..."
Firefly offered a rueful, indescribable smile. In Sylvia's arms, Silver Wolf suddenly jerked her head up, brandished her chopsticks, and grumbled loudly:
"Hmph! That wretched Masked Fool—munch, munch—they must have colluded with the IPC! Munch, munch... another bowl, please!"
"..."
Sylvia tilted her head, glancing at Silver Wolf's profile. Her cute lips were glistening with oil, and a single grain of rice was stuck to her puffed-out cheek.
Sylvia nonchalantly raised a hand, brushed her finger across Silver Wolf's chubby cheek, pinched off the grain of rice, and flicked it onto the table.
As for eating it herself? Sorry, Sylvia didn't have that habit. Besides, Mei was still staring at them from across the table; she didn't dare pull such a suggestive stunt.
Even so, Silver Wolf's face flushed red. She shot a strange, sideways glare at Sylvia, pouting with a look of aggrieved resentment that somehow made her look even more adorable.
Sylvia stifled a laugh and took the opportunity to pat her head. Nearby, a Herta puppet in an apron wandered over to refill Silver Wolf's bowl, while also handing new sets of utensils to Firefly and Sylvia.
"So, what really happened?"
"Munch, munch..."
Silver Wolf just kept her head down, focused on her meal. Sylvia, helpless, had to turn her gaze to Firefly.
Compared to the slightly childish Silver Wolf, Firefly ate with far more grace.
Noticing Sylvia's gaze, Firefly's face turned slightly pink. She offered a sweet smile before explaining:
"It's just... Silver Wolf obtained Bella's data. After she turned it into an Aether Spirit, Bella was ridiculously powerful. Because of that, once she reached the finals, the authenticity of Bella's stats was questioned by the online audience."
"…Are you saying Silver Wolf was accused of modifying the Aether Spirit's data?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow. Something like that actually happened?
Firefly nodded, took a bite of her food, and then covered her mouth to swallow before continuing.
"Mm-hmm. Although the event organizers released a statement confirming the data was fine, it was too game-breaking for a competitive setting. So, they released a specific patch to nerf Bella's stats."
"Silver Wolf's team was built entirely around Bella. Once those stats were nerfed, she had to scramble to reorganize her team, and she ended up losing the knockout stage after bumping into an IPC executive."
"..."
Ah... so that was the reason.
Sylvia understood. To maintain the competitive integrity of the game, nerfing an overpowered new character was standard behavior for a developer and event organizer.
But for Silver Wolf, it really was unfair. After all, she had genuinely earned that Aether Spirit through her own skill.
However—
"Haha! Silver Wolf, you're such a scrub! You got shut down—Pfft!"
Sylvia grinned, just about to tease her further, when Silver Wolf unleashed a fierce rocket-headbutt that nearly sent Sylvia flying backward.
Beside them, Mei shook her head helplessly, continuing to eat in silence. She had no objections to Sylvia getting headbutted. It was a classic case of playing with fire and getting burned.
"Ugh..."
Sylvia mumbled, clutching her mouth. Silver Wolf's voice followed, teeth gritted in anger:
"Hmph! That damn Masked Fool! Spouting nonsense about how Bella would be a limited-edition, exclusive Aether Spirit only I could hold, acting like nobody else could get their hands on that data!"
"Aha ha... Ouch."
Sylvia couldn't help but chuckle again, continuing to soothe Silver Wolf. Honestly, when it came to gaming, she really could act like a child.
Silver Wolf, who had been contemplating another headbutt, heard Sylvia's sharp intake of breath and decided to let it slide.
"Don't laugh! Dammit! The more I think about it, the angrier I get. And that person named Topaz... she had the audacity to show off after winning! I'm going to hack their servers tonight!"
Since she couldn't use her eyes to glare, Silver Wolf braced her hands on the table and rotated her hips against Sylvia's stomach.
After a half-turn, she ended up sitting sideways on Sylvia's lap, staring at her with dead fish eyes.
She seemed to be using her gaze to condemn the laughter. She even wanted to lift her fist to land a couple more blows, but since they were in public, she held back.
Still, that cute, soft rear of hers was rubbing against Sylvia's lap. To Sylvia, it was legitimately distracting.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she and Silver Wolf had sat this intimately. Before, it was, at most, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder; this time, she had burrowed straight into her arms.
It seemed that losing the tournament due to outside factors had really hit Silver Wolf hard.
"Alright, alright, stop staring at me like that~"
Sylvia held back her laughter and grabbed a tissue to wipe Silver Wolf's mouth. This girl... how did she forget how to wipe her own mouth whenever gaming was involved?
"How about I help you get another one-of-a-kind Aether Spirit?"
"Really?!" Silver Wolf perked up instantly. "What new pet did you catch?"
"Not quite, but you could look forward to it. You'll see in a couple of days."
"Mmm-hmm, you promise!"
"Yeah, yeah, a promise is a promise."
Seeing Sylvia's guarantee, Silver Wolf was visibly delighted, and her pace of eating grew even more enthusiastic. Anything that came out of Sylvia's hands was always some rare, one-of-a-kind treasure.
To her, what was some silly tournament compared to the satisfaction of taking a rare Aether Spirit to the forums and showing off?
During the meal, Sylvia had intended to probe Firefly for information about the Penacony script. But Firefly's voice remained soft, and her lips were remarkably tight.
She seemed so terrified of leaking intelligence that, other than nodding or shaking her head, she wouldn't answer any of Sylvia's questions.
It left Sylvia quite helpless. She didn't know why Firefly felt the need to hide things from her.
Watching Firefly struggle with the internal pressure, Sylvia eventually gave up and shifted the conversation to other topics.
"By the way, why didn't Kafka come?"
Even though Sylvia had only messaged Firefly, she had invited all the Stellaron Hunters.
Seeing that Sylvia was finally willing to drop the previous topic, Firefly covered her mouth and exhaled in relief. She gave Sylvia a slightly reproachful look before answering:
"Kafka happened to be on vacation and wasn't at the base. She just told us to have fun."
"Hah..."
Silver Wolf and Firefly didn't stay long. After finishing their meal and resting for a bit, they left.
The next day, just as Sylvia thought she would have nothing to do for a few days, she received a notice from Ruan Mei. She asked both Sylvia and Mei to head to the laboratory, though she didn't specify exactly what it was for—only that there was an experiment to conduct.
When the two stepped into the transformed lab, Ruan Mei handed a vial to Sylvia.
"Here. I heard about your method of enhancing the Path of Permanence yesterday, so I concocted this reagent..."
Before Ruan Mei could finish, Sylvia's eyes lit up: "If I drank this, would it directly boost the power of Permanence?"
"..."
Ruan Mei paused, then replied with a smile: "I'm sorry, dear, it wouldn't. Even a Genius does not have the ability to toy with Paths at will."
Creating a potion that could boost Path power overnight without side effects—Ruan Mei wondered if Sylvia took Geniuses for wish-granting machines. Even a Genius couldn't make something so illogical.
Sylvia pursed her lips, offering an awkward but polite smile.
"So...?"
"Strictly speaking, it was a stimulant designed to help you maintain mental clarity and alertness."
"Huh?"
Sylvia didn't understand why Ruan Mei would use this, but Ruan Mei gestured to Mei beside her and said:
"According to your account yesterday, every training session involving the Path of Permanence was interrupted because your consciousness couldn't keep up, even though your body, shielded by the Path, never suffered any damage."
"..."
Ruan Mei didn't need to finish; Sylvia understood perfectly. Since they were lacking in willpower, she was just going to force it to strengthen.
But, big sister, I have to endure the Nihility every single time. It feels terrible, and you want me to stay hyper-alert to resist it? Are you trying to torture me?
Sylvia's expression was indescribable. Beside her, Mei spoke up: "Was this medicine safe?"
"Of course. It was a drug I often used myself; I had simply increased the dosage. The only side effect was that you would need a long rest afterward."
Ruan Mei was known for working until she forgot to eat or sleep. While physical fatigue could be managed with nutrient solutions or direct injections, mental exhaustion was trickier.
Ruan Mei usually used this concoction to maintain mental stability until her experiment reached a milestone.
In truth, Ruan Mei had never personally experienced Nihility erosion, so she wasn't entirely certain what effects it would have on Sylvia. This was just the first attempt.
Ruan Mei wanted to observe and record the process of Sylvia's "Permanence resisting Nihility and growing stronger" as closely as possible.
An active Path of Permanence would provide more—and clearer—data, and it also offered a chance to observe the rarely seen Path of Nihility.
"I asked you here today because I hoped you, my dear, would conduct your daily practice right here. I intended to collect the data."
Ruan Mei operated a holographic display, and a white bed appeared in the center of the lab, surrounded by dense arrays of equipment. Neither Sylvia nor Mei refused.
However...
Sylvia sat on the bed, feeling uncertain about the vial in her hand. "Ruan Mei, this enhanced version... are you sure there were no side effects?"
"Would it have made you feel more at ease if I staked my reputation as the 81st member of the Genius Society on it?" Ruan Mei joked for once.
It had to be said that the unique nature of Sylvia had elevated her in Ruan Mei's eyes from a "special test subject" to a "one-of-a-kind experimental subject."
"Alright then..."
Since Ruan Mei was betting her status as a Genius on it, what else could Sylvia say?
When she thought about the sheer absurdity of the Genius Society members, perhaps a little booster potion really was nothing to them.
Sylvia tilted her head back and drank the reagent. It tasted like plum blossoms.
Without a word from Ruan Mei, Sylvia laid down, while Mei sat on the edge of the bed, removed her gloves, and pressed her palms firmly against Sylvia's chest.
Hum—
In an instant, without any extra visual effects, the equipment in front of Ruan Mei reacted.
First came the Nihility emanating from Acheron's influence, followed by the frenzied, defensive surge of Permanence from within Sylvia.
The intense confrontation and mutual annihilation were depicted indirectly through Ruan Mei's various measuring instruments.
"The resistance was this intense? Interesting. It's surprising that these two Paths could be so incompatible."
The Nihility flowed endlessly—it wasn't strong, but it lacked any signs of consciousness. And while the defensive force of Permanence was explosive, its strength was ultimately limited, and it quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
The result was that Sylvia's body began to be corroded by Nihility; her aura dipped rapidly, showing clear traits of an "Emanator of Nihility" on the verge of Self-Annihilation.
Yet, even as that power of Permanence was suppressed and weakened, it was never truly broken. And whenever it reached a limit extremely close to being consumed by Nihility, Ruan Mei could "observe" a fierce feedback loop from the Path of Permanence.
The strengthened power of Permanence would then counterattack rapidly, violently washing away the remaining Nihility, dragging Sylvia back from the brink of death in a manner that defied all logic.
"..."
Even as experienced as Ruan Mei was, she couldn't help but sigh. These two really didn't treat human life as something worth protecting.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL