Chapter 70

Bai Jun looked up and saw that the room had some new equipment compared to when Ruan Mei first came here, such as a pastry-making machine, embroidery needles and thread, calligraphy brushes and inkstones, which reflected her refined hobbies.

--Silk, music and pastries, embroidery and tea, everything must be of the highest quality.

"The freshly pickled pastries taste wonderful. Ten grams of sugar cubes, a dried salted plum blossom, a touch of lotus leaf, plum blossom, glutinous rice, and the delicate fragrance of icing sugar."

Ruan Mei sat on the soft bed, casually tossing her research notes containing data from the Simulated Universe aside. She glanced boredly at Bai Jun, who was busy at work. He had gathered up all the manuscripts and notes from the floor and piled them in a corner of the room, the stacks of papers forming a crooked mountain in one corner of the room.

Ultimately, she didn't choose to tell Bai Jun her suspicions. Based on reason and the principles of a researcher, she felt this should be verified...

Could you help me comb my hair?

Ruan Mei suddenly turned her body to the side, gathered up her messy black hair, and revealed her fair and flawless neck.

"No need... I don't know how to comb other people's hair, and weren't you going to take a shower?"

Bai Jun recalled what had happened that morning, and a shadow of unease settled over him, so he refused.

"Is that so... Okay, I'll listen to you, Mama Bai."

Ruan Mei jumped out of bed and went to take a shower, humming an unknown tune.

Bai Jun: o_0?

Has this woman really gone mad?

Chapter 96 "Liuying"

System time: 23:47:15.

In the Supply Zone, the spare parts warehouse is filled with stacks of spare parts, seemingly chaotic yet never making a mistake, demonstrating the meticulousness of the managers.

Another quiet night. The warehouse was empty; any sound was unwelcome there.

She sat quietly high up as always, flames dancing on her body as the armor of the Molten Knight took shape.

Through certain Curio, she can greatly reduce her presence in the eyes of others and gain temporary legitimacy for her actions. However, due to entropy loss, she can only rely on the medical pod to sustain her life, which prevents her from leaving the "Sam" armor for too long.

Therefore, for most of the time she spent infiltrating the space station, she would remain hidden in the shadows and use "Sam" to maintain her body's metabolic rate.

This warehouse happens to have a window that offers a direct view of the Railway Platform.

Glamoth's genetically modified warriors did not have the right to dream, so she would always watch alone at night as the lights of the platform lit up and went out, and as ships entered and left the airport, until the dawn of the system arrived.

"System time is 23:47:15, which means this time tomorrow...?"

A deep, mechanical sound rang out, then quickly faded into the silent space.

Dreams were still too distant for her. She stared into the boundless darkness, as if the faint light emanating from afar were distant eyes, indifferently glancing at her.

Why go to your death?

Even as she realized her consciousness was fading away, the remaining Remembrance kept replaying in her mind—the sky-covering Swarm breaking through the front lines, her enveloped in flames as she flew towards the Swarm, the ashes of the Swarm falling like snow, leaving behind only the blackened remains of the knights.

She didn't even have time to hold a bouquet of flowers to offer a final tribute to the fallen cavalrymen.

Their lives blossomed in an instant and then vanished, like a string of genetic code, containing only numbers and never possessing their own names.

She stared blankly into the endless darkness, still unable to find an answer.

Why live?

In the deathly silence, she was like a flame melting into the sea, only a faint spark relentlessly moving towards the light, ever onward...

After an unknown amount of time, she opened her eyes and slowly uttered a new answer.

--If life truly has meaning... then the only meaning of life is to live until tomorrow.

This was the answer she got from Bai Jun, whom she had only known for less than half a month but who had left a deep impression on her.

When faced with the choice between life and death, she realized for the first time that everyone should have the right to choose, and that one can resolutely and loudly refuse an irreversible fate or a predetermined ending.

She really liked the answer.

She longed to gain new things from Bai Jun; she wanted to continue chatting with him, to sit and eat with him, to stroll side-by-side in the corridor, and to have him continue to comb her hair...

However, in order to obtain the rebirth prophesied by Elio, she must fulfill the mission of "Sam".

As the molten metal dissipated, the girl's figure reappeared in the cold warehouse. The emerald green lines connecting "Sam" to her cheeks quickly disappeared from her skin, and the heat on her body surface subsided.

But why does her heart ache?

Does someone as hypocritical as me really deserve to stand beside him and be his friend?

Water droplets frequently welled up from the bangs that covered her eyes, trickling down her cheeks.

As if trying to silence all other sounds, as if trying to immerse oneself in grief, large tears fell one after another.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I lied to you."

The girl's fragile cries melted away inside the cold window.

Feeling himself awaken from a deep sleep, Bai Jun opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling and metal walls.

Smelling the delicate, orchid-like fragrance in the air, Bai Jun's expression froze as he gradually Remembrance where he had spent the night.

It's unclear what kind of inspiration Ruan Mei suddenly had last night, but as if to verify some kind of theory, she dragged him all night long. The countless manuscripts scattered on the floor again were proof of this. Bai Jun lowered his head slightly and found that Ruan Mei, who should have been sleeping in bed, had inexplicably pressed herself against him again.

Her alluring body was wrapped in only a thin sheet, her soft cheek gently pressed against Bai Jun's chest, and the fragrance of her hair constantly stirred his senses.

"It's already 3 PM. I definitely can't stay up all night again next time..."

Turning to look at the wall clock, Bai Jun suppressed his helplessness and gently pushed away Ruan Mei, who was pressed against him.

Casually tying his silver hair into a high ponytail, Bai Jun picked up his coat and silently left the room.

In stark contrast to the previous days, the atmosphere on the space station was gloomy, with an inexplicable sense of oppression permeating the air, and everyone's face seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud.

He first went to the Railway Platform, intending to go out and bask in the Sun again, but was told by the person in charge that personnel were prohibited from leaving the space station for the next few days. Bai Jun felt somewhat confused. Had something happened during the entire morning he had slept in?

With this question in mind, Bai Jun decided to go to Herta's office to ask about the specifics.

He went up to the deck of the Master Control Zone and found several staff members from the Security Department gathered around Arlan, who looked worried, talking about something.

"Arlan?"

"Huh? Bai Jun, where did you run off to last night?"

When Arlan turned around and saw Bai Jun, she pushed aside the surrounding staff and ran quickly towards him.

"I was busy testing things last night and didn't have time to go back. More importantly, did something happen at the space station? Why do people seem to be reacting so strangely?"

Bai Jun interrupted Arlan, who was about to ask a lot of questions, and voiced his confusion.

Arlan blinked first, and seeing the puzzled look on his face, he put on a serious expression.

"Ah, well... how should I put it? Anyway, please come with me for a moment."

Arlan led Bai Jun to a secluded corner, then looked around carefully, worried that their conversation might cause a disturbance.

"Simply put, a swarm of True Sting has appeared near the space station. If it were just Swarm, that would be fine, but the problem is that observation equipment has revealed an extremely rare, super-large individual among them, the 'Giant True Sting.'"

"Giant True Sting?" Bai Jun leaned against the wall, listening silently.

"Yes, the Giant True Sting is large enough to destroy half a space station. To guard against the Swarm's attack, Miss Asta activated the space station's highest alert level, but she didn't tell everyone the reason directly, which is why everyone on the space station is in a state of panic."

Seemingly realizing he had gone a bit too far, Arlan dropped his serious expression and gave a reassuring smile.

"However, according to Ms. Herta, the Giant True Sting lazy and generally not aggressive. As long as they don't provoke the Swarm's overlord, they won't attack. So, we just need to get through these two days, and nothing will happen. That's probably why Miss didn't tell the other staff members."

After explaining, Arlan hurriedly left, citing the need to attend a meeting at the Security Department to arrange related plans.

Having understood the whole cause of the incident, Bai Jun had no choice but to abandon his plan to go out Sun, and instead began to idly ponder what he should do to pass the time.

"Bai Jun, are you free?"

"Samuel?"

A familiar girl's voice suddenly rang out from behind him. Bai Jun subconsciously turned around and saw the girl's figure.

It's strange... With Bai Jun's current strength, even if Guinaifen used its power of Harmony to eliminate sound and came up behind him, he would be able to detect it instantly. Yet he was completely unaware of Samuel's footsteps. Even if he was being careless, he shouldn't have been like this.

Are you free now? I'd like to take you to my favorite place.

The girl looked somewhat haggard, and a nameless sadness lingered in her gentle, clear eyes. If you listened carefully, you could also hear a slight hoarseness in her voice.

"I'm free, but Samuel... are you alright?"

Bai Jun pondered for a second, then asked with concern.

"I... I'm fine, I just got scolded by the section chief this morning, but it's okay! I finished my work a long time ago, so... so..."

"Samuel's favorite place must be wonderful, I'm really looking forward to it!"

The girl forced a smile, unsure how to continue speaking, when Bai Jun, who was watching her, smiled and nodded.

Whether it was Bai Jun's imagination or not, the girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing his agreement.

The girl led Bai Jun through the bustling Master Control Zone and took the elevator to the Supply Zone where she worked.

The crowd around them suddenly quieted down considerably. The two walked through the area where only repairmen and clerks came and went, turned at complicated intersections, followed a long corridor, and finally arrived at a secluded spare parts warehouse.

Then, the girl found a box large enough for two people to sit in from the messy spare parts.

"This is probably the quietest place in the Supply Zone. Not many people come and go. I really like quiet places, so I mostly come here to slack off when I'm not busy... You won't laugh at me, will you?"

The girl's words were a mixture of truth and lies, but her emotions were undeniably genuine.

"Why would I laugh at you? As my friend said, work isn't about gaining value, it's about exchanging labor for pay; taking a break at work is what truly gains value. I was even lazier than you when I worked at Xianzhou."

"Bai Jun, you always comfort people like that."

The girl pursed her thin lips and chuckled softly, then took a small bottle out of her pocket.

I'd like to ask you to look at something.

The bottle contained several tiny insects emitting a faint glow. Then, she unscrewed the cap and released all the fireflies inside. In the dim and cold warehouse, the fireflies seemed to adorn the sky with starlight.

"These beautiful little creatures are called fireflies. Although they are very beautiful, their lifespan is very short. Once they leave the greenhouse, most of them won't live more than three days..."

Bai Jun was unaware of her intentions and simply listened silently from the side.

"But fireflies are also amazing creatures. They may fly towards candles, or they may suddenly age, but every night before that, their light shines brighter than the stars."

The girl stared at the firefly, which was gradually emitting light, and murmured her thoughts.

"Tell me, if the fireflies already knew their fate, would they still be able to shine brighter than the stars?"

The gaze fixed on the firefly seemed to be questioning the firefly, which couldn't understand human speech at all.

A faint yet tender light filtered into the room from the ceiling, falling on the girl's face.

Faced with this question that seemed to be directed at him to himself, Bai Jun held his breath, completely unable to give an answer. He was even deeply attracted by her profile and couldn't bring himself to call out to her for a long time.

"Bai Jun, if I deceived you, or even became strange, what would you do?"

"... What?"

"If I were to become sad, angry, or even hurt someone for some reason... what would you do?"

This was a truly baffling statement. Bai Jun had no idea what it meant and was speechless for a moment, but he didn't dwell on it and simply gave the answer.

"I will stop you."

"To stop me from hurting others?"

"No."

Bai Jun spoke his heart to that profile that still gazed upwards, never once looking at him.

"It's to stop you from hurting yourself."

The answer echoed quietly in the secluded spare parts warehouse, and Bai Jun felt no insincerity whatsoever.

Is that all?

After hearing his answer, the girl slowly opened her lips.

"Don't you hate me? Don't you blame me? Don't you feel sad because I deceived you and hurt you?!"

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she were yearning for some kind of answer.

Bai Jun seemed to have sensed the "truth," his eyes trembled slightly, and finally turned into a sigh.

"Perhaps the fireflies already knew their fate, which is why they strive to shine even brighter than the stars."