Yan Huan stopped dwelling on it and pressed on.
He reached the elevator at the other end and rode it down underground.
It was still rather dim. Yan Huan wandered through the empty space until he finally found what looked like a cultivation facility.
"This must be where Ruan Mei used to work, right?"
Yan Huan went in and searched the terminal.
A recording played on the terminal.
Ruan Mei appeared on-screen, staring at a terminal as she mused:
"The Phase Fire's Core Flame was fascinating. Unfortunately, it vanished before I could finish studying it. I've begun a new experiment."
"The two specimens are growing well. I added my personal tastes to their [concept]. I'm not sure what the result will be."
"They display two sets of emotional traits: adorable, timid, sensitive, prone to tears; fierce, manipulative, domineering, confident."
"Interestingly, they also share one inclination: they miss their creator and feel a strange [emotion] toward her, something as innate as an infant's bond with its mother, a living being's need for food, or the bonds between people."
After watching the recording, Yan Huan thought:
"So Ruan Mei knew that shumai had feelings."
"Hm? What's that outside?"
Hearing a noise beyond the door, Yan Huan went out.
Around the corner, a pastry-like creature lay on the floor.
"Meow~~"
"????" Yan Huan narrowed his eyes.
"This is the big problem Ruan Mei was talking about?"
The creature looked like a cat tucked inside a plum blossom cake.
"Meow..."
Yan Huan activated the Synesthesia Beacon the Seed Division staffer had given him earlier and understood what the Cat Cake was saying.
He said... his flavor was Bean Paste Grey Grey.
"?" Yan Huan narrowed his eyes.
"So you're Bean Paste Grey Grey."
"Meow... Waaaah~~ (I'm not one of Ruan Mei's approved creations... Waaaaah...