Chapter 65

"Yes, we should definitely head to the Base Zone to greet Mr. Screwllum; he's a very nice guy."

Both agreed with this idea, so after a brief conversation, they stopped chatting and headed towards the Base Zone.

After overhearing their conversation, Bai Jun, who was standing in the passageway diagonally opposite, thought for a while and then walked alone against the flow of people towards the Railway Platform.

Bai Jun thought it would take some time to find Ruan Mei, but to his surprise, as soon as he stepped onto the platform, he noticed the slender figure standing alone by the platform eating pastries.

She was a beautiful woman who looked very gentle and elegant.

Cool, rational, gentle, elegant... these words perfectly describe her.

Her exceptional temperament, rising above the mud unsullied, was so outstanding that if one had to describe it in words, she would be like a plum blossom in the snow, creating a stark contrast between her and the other people on the platform.

She seemed oblivious to all the noise around her, her dark hair concealing her expression as she stood alone by the platform, eating pastries from her plate, her thin lips slightly moving.

"A gentle breeze, a thin sun, spring still early; a light jacket on, a pleasant mood. Waking, a slight chill; plum blossoms faded in my hair. Where is my hometown? I've forgotten unless I'm drunk..."

At the same time, a soft humming sound drifted on the distant breeze.

It seemed to be an ancient poem. Bai Jun had a strong impression of this poem and subconsciously recited her lines:

"The incense burned while the wine was still warm, though the fragrance has faded."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bai Jun regretted his actions. He felt that interrupting someone's attempt to strike up a conversation was incredibly lame... However, the other person had heard his voice and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you..."

Immediately afterward, as if he hadn't heard his explanation, the other person walked over on their own, then stretched out slender fingers, lifted Bai Jun's chin, and gently touched his neck, carefully examining him.

Her gaze was calm yet penetrating, as if she were thinking about something beyond Bai Jun's outward appearance. However, Bai Jun's attention was entirely focused on the pastry stains on the corner of her mouth, and he belatedly slapped away the hand that was on his neck.

"I'm sorry, I haven't had any contact with people in a long time, and I inadvertently got caught up in my daily work habits. By touching you to activate your senses and let the details of life flood my mind, it can help me understand your biological structure."

She seemed completely unconcerned about her hand being slapped away, and instead apologized to Bai Jun.

"This is the foundation for deconstruction and reconstruction. Don't be nervous, darling, you're healthy—a perfect experimental subject, and I love perfect experimental subjects."

The words that would make one blush and their heart race were calmly uttered, yet her attitude remained indifferent, even somewhat hypocritical. This made Bai Jun feel a little uncomfortable; it seemed that the rumors he had heard from the two clerks earlier were not fabricated out of thin air.

This woman was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Sorry, I seem to have said something difficult to understand. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ruan Mei, a member of the Genius Society, and I came here at the invitation of Herta. By the way, when you pronounce my name, please don't forget the pause in your breath."

Ruan Mei smiled slightly, a smile that showed neither joy nor sorrow, simply a perfect smile that no one could find fault with, as she raised the corners of her mouth to the right angle.

"Welcome, Ms. Ruan Mei. Please follow me. Ms. Herta is waiting for you in her office."

Although Bai Jun felt a little uncomfortable, he still dutifully carried out the tasks assigned to him by the Herta... Wait a minute, isn't being dutiful a bit strange? He's not even an employee of the space station!

Perhaps it's because I've been bossed around by Herta too much lately, and my body has developed an instinctive reaction to it.

"The space station remains the same as always. After the crowds disperse, it becomes incredibly peaceful, just like the 'no man's land' I once stayed in."

"... Can you imagine a world without life? There, you can see the stars on the horizon. Huge blue-green stars orbit along their paths, and under their dazzling light, there is only a vast expanse of white sky and earth."

"My mother and I sailed on a tranquil glacier, searching for traces of life in the world and encountering all sorts of strange phenomena. It was like searching for the one and only correct piece among a mountain of jigsaw puzzles—a process full of wonders and hardships, yet also moving and captivating."

Bai Jun walked silently ahead, leading the way, while Ruan Mei followed behind him in a calm tone. Rather than chatting, she was venting her boredom.

"Lotus leaves, plum blossoms, glutinous rice, and the delicate fragrance of icing sugar—this pastry is delicious! Can I share half with you? Would you like to try some?"

She suddenly walked up to Bai Jun and handed him the remaining half of the pastry.

"No need, I don't like sweets."

Bai Jun shook his head and decisively rejected her kindness with a clumsy lie.

"Don't you like it? I put a lot of effort into it. You should try it. Sweet pastries always remind me of flowers in bloom. Take a bite, and the aroma will linger on your lips and teeth..."

"It's really not necessary."

Ruan Mei continued to introduce the newly made pastry to him, especially describing its deliciousness. Bai Jun swallowed hard, his eyes shifting away guiltily, but he still stubbornly refused her.

Bai Jun wasn't wary of her food, but he felt that if she found out about his love for desserts, something terrible would happen.

Fortunately, Ruan Mei did not insist or notice anything unusual; she simply ate the rest of the pastries silently.

As she passed the Base Zone, she caught a glimpse of the Herta Puppet standing under the long sign out of the corner of her eye, and immediately asked with interest, "What's your opinion of the Herta?"

"... She's so beautiful."

Bai Jun thought for a moment and answered her with a very famous meme from the space station.

This was the common assessment of Herta by all the staff on the space station, and Bai Jun felt it was quite accurate. He felt the same way about her. Putting aside her arrogance and lack of empathy, she truly deserved the title of genius.

And to be honest, after spending a lot of time with her, Bai Jun found her personality to be quite adorable, especially since she clearly doesn't know how to swear, but even when she blushes, she'll still try to pick out the most vicious-sounding words from the vocabulary... In short, she's really cute.

"Is that so? Her beauty is indeed beyond question, but it seems you have a very high opinion of her. Some people may find Herta's personality unbearable, and I agree, but I don't care—of course, Herta knows this too, so I accepted her invitation."

"I've never thought there was anything wrong with my personality. But you, the first thing you do when you come to someone else's turf is to criticize them?"

The little Herta figure blinked, her previously blurred pupils instantly clearing. She snorted, put her hands on her hips, and looked up at the somewhat surprised Ruan Mei. Then, ignoring Ruan Mei's response, she looked at Bai Jun instead.

"Please go and greet her. Leave her to me now, you can go about your business. Oh, and thank you for today."

"Then I'll take my leave. You two can continue your conversation."

Bai Jun nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice, then turned and left without a trace of lingering affection. Firstly, staying with Ruan Mei made him feel quite uncomfortable, and secondly, he had something more urgent to do—he hadn't had enough Sun yet.

He didn't want to miss even a second of the opportunity to become stronger, so he cherished every moment he could spend in the space station basking in the Sun.

After he left, the two geniuses, who both belonged to the Genius Society, began their conversation.

"How come you have time to pick me up? Shouldn't you be with Screwllum?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. Come with me first, I'll show you something. Screwllum is already there."

Herta didn't offer much explanation for Ruan Mei's doubts, but instead led her towards the Seclusion Zone, where all the answers lay.

"You met him too, what did you think? What's your opinion of him?"

"He's so handsome."

Ruan Mei pondered for a moment, then borrowed Bai Jun's answer from earlier, finding it amusing, and that was all.

"Huh? Who asked you that... Although he is indeed very good-looking and has a kind personality, no matter how much I scold or make things difficult for him, he never shows any dissatisfaction and is still willing to continue doing experiments with me, he can only be considered a good experimental subject at best... Wait, but then again... this feeling is... an irreplaceable assistant?"

Herta initially refuted this, but then felt that his answer was too arbitrary, and then went off to indulge in his own daydreams.

Her strange and sensitive reaction made Ruan Mei's eyes widen slightly, or more accurately, she felt very surprised. She hadn't expected that her casual remark would have such a result, after all, no one had ever seen Herta react like this before.

"You care about him a lot?"

"Of course, um... what I mean is that we should cherish such talent, otherwise I'd regret it for a long time if the experiment had to be stopped because of him... Hey, don't change the subject! I asked what your opinion of Bai Jun is!"

Herta stammered as he spoke, then threw the question back at her.

"Interestingly, the Yaoshi's aura could only leave a faint trace on him. For Short-lived species, that's nothing short of a miracle. His life form is worth exploring, but that's all."

This time, Ruan Mei did not give a perfunctory answer and truthfully expressed her true thoughts. Admittedly, Bai Jun's situation was worth exploring and researching, but in the end, it was just one link in her countless research projects. Perhaps it would soon be lost in some corner of the files, covered in fine dust.

"As for the Simulated Universe you mentioned, Herta... the description in your letter was far too cursory; I couldn't understand your meaning."

"It's alright, the answer to everything is right there."

The Herta stopped in its tracks. After the Fragmentum disappeared, the Seclusion Zone was quickly cleaned and repaired by the space station's crew, leaving no trace of the horrific damage it had suffered at the hands of the Fragmentum creatures.

Only in the central circular hall of the Seclusion Zone, a corner was deliberately fenced off and preserved. Screwllum was already standing there, staring blankly at the wall in front of him, as if admiring a treasure—the very spot where the Fragmentum Calyx had grown.

Ruan Mei followed his gaze, but upon seeing the situation, she gasped in surprise.

"Huh?"

On the pristine, solid wall was a striking and menacing crater, with traces of melting flames still visible at its edges. The Fragmentum Calyx, buried deep within the crater, was suppressed by an unknown, scorching light. Even the Stellaron energy, known as the Cancer of All Worlds, cowered and trembled under the illumination of this light, as if it had encountered its natural enemy and was powerless to resist.

That ray of light captivated Ruan Mei's gaze. She felt it was incredibly holy and dazzling, and the form of energy it represented was unlike anything she had ever heard of or seen before.

She has been pushing her own understanding of "life." She believes she has witnessed countless forms of "life," but this particular fluctuation of life feels both incredibly strange and incredibly familiar to her... All the clues, all the answers, seem to be pointing in the same direction.

--Star Aeon.

"What if I said that this is his masterpiece?"

Her reaction was exactly what Herta had anticipated, and her current expression confirmed her judgment. So Herta looked up and extended an invitation to Ruan Mei.

"Okay, I admit, this offer is extremely tempting."

Ruan Mei hesitated for less than half a second before extending her hand to the Herta.

"Ugh, I'm so tired, so exhausted."

After finishing his day's work, Bai Jun returned to his room.

Although I only got some Sun today and spent the afternoon strolling around with Samuel, without expending much energy, I still couldn't help but sigh.

"Huh? I didn't close the front door when I left this morning... and the lights were on too..."

He took out his room identification card, only to find that the door was unlocked. Just as he was wondering if he had forgotten to lock it when he left this morning, a gentle figure wearing an apron opened the door for him and slowly appeared before him in the manner of a virtuous wife and loving mother.

"Honey, you're back? The hot water's ready. Shall we eat first, or take a bath together?"

A gentle yet aloof beauty wore a tender smile.

"?"

Bai Jun pinched his thigh hard, wondering if the mushrooms for dinner at the cafeteria weren't cooked properly.

Chapter 91 Miss Ruan Mei Wants Me to Tell the Truth (5k5)

Rewind a little bit...

"Ha?"

A puzzled voice suddenly rang out from the empty, Seclusion Zone circular hall, breaking the silence like ripples on a calm lake.

"Stop, stop, stop! What did you say? You want me to hand over Bai Jun to you? No way, no way, no way..."

Upon hearing that the price for Ruan Mei making time to participate in the research was handing Bai Jun over to her, Herta's delicate face showed a rare moment of discomposure, and her little head shook incessantly like a rattle-drum.

"To be more precise, I am very interested in his qualities, so I need him to serve as my assistant for a period of time to assist my research."

Compared to Herta's panic and loss of composure, Ruan Mei's tone was remarkably calm, almost as if she were stating an established fact, leaving no room for refusal.

"I invited you and Screwllum to the space station simply because the maintenance and reconstruction of the Simulated Universe requires manpower. I will disclose Bai Jun's data, including the situation of the Simulated Universe, without reservation. However, as for him, or rather, this project, I have never intended to hand it over to anyone. And don't think I don't know what you're really planning. I have no objection to you haphazardly cultivating life, but I will absolutely not allow you to hurt that person. He, he, uh... he is my precious experimental sample, the only one of its kind in the entire universe. I don't want my project to fall through."

A so-called "Genius Society" is naturally not an ordinary gathering of enthusiasts.

As one of the few geniuses in the vast universe who could catch the eye of the Nous, they devoted themselves to their research with a frenzied and indifferent attitude, breaking free from the shackles of worldly thirst for knowledge. Their only thought was to follow in the footsteps of the Nous, trying to understand the universe and unravel the mysteries of all things.

The woman in front of me, Ruan Mei, is a member of the Genius Society. Her life's work is dedicated to studying the essence of "life." She is an absolute master in the field of creation. On a whim, she can revive a barren planet from the perspective of ecological structure. Similarly, she can easily destroy the ecosystem of a planet.

No one knew what she was thinking, and no one could understand why she was pursuing life so desperately.

But Herta, also a genius, could see through her cold and uninteresting expression and perceive a hint of her true nature...

That is why Herta, who understands Ruan Mei's terrifying nature better than anyone else, would never hand Bai Jun over to her.

"What I want to understand is the essence of life, something that every individual possesses but is unaware of—whether it's the materiality of existence or the unknowability that transcends the material. And what Bai Jun embodies is precisely that unknowable thing that I've been searching for."

Ruan Mei shook her head and calmly continued.

"I have never harmed any living being I created, and you know that very well, but you still insist on doing so, and I have nothing to argue with. I'm just curious... has the Herta already come to be your personal property? Or... have you developed some kind of affection for it?"

Ruan Mei seemed to see right through her panicked heart. Her casual question made Herta stiffen, and all the words she wanted to stammer out were stuck in her throat.

Emotions are something that every member of the Genius Society must have already abandoned. Only by recognizing that "the answers of the universe transcend the limits of human wisdom" and abandoning worldly constraints can one be qualified to become a true member of the "Genius Society".

So Herta hesitated. She didn't know what this anxiety lingering in her heart was, and in the end, she could only shut her mouth in embarrassment. But no matter what she did, she couldn't hide the fact that she, as a member of the Genius Society, had developed strong feelings and interest in a human.

Despite this, she still showed no inclination to hand over Bai Jun to someone else.

"Since you two have such strong opinions about who he belongs to, why not hand him over to me? Hehe, I happen to be quite interested in this kind of talent, and perhaps I'll have a very pleasant time with him."

Just then, Screwllum, who had been standing silently to the side, appropriately expressed his curiosity about Bai Jun.

"Please allow me to refuse."

"Dream on, even if I were to give it to you, absolutely not!"

The two turned to look at Screwllum almost simultaneously, with Herta reacting particularly strongly. Its adorable, baring-toothed expression easily reminded one of a young, hungry animal in the wilderness.

"Oh, that's really sad. I thought I'd have a wonderful and harmonious memory with Bai Jun."

Screwllum deeply regretted this, and, for his own safety, adjusted his glasses with one hand, deciding not to get involved in the women's fights again.