Ye Buyu returned once again to the sanctuary teeming with scholars. The moment she opened the door, someone bowed to her three times, leaving her utterly speechless.
"Praying to me won't help. Believe in science, okay?"
"Of course, Captain Ye. For the experiment in my research project, do you think I should choose the first plan or the second?"
"...The second."
"Captain Ye, the new idea you proposed really is interesting. What do you think could serve as a vessel for absorbing Calamity Power?"
"Perhaps...you could consider handicrafts, objects that embody someone's painstaking effort and carry a story, things like that..."
The scholars nodded repeatedly. They had still been considering rare metals and minerals; this direction had never occurred to them.
"Objects imbued with painstaking effort. What a unique approach. Just what you'd expect from Goddess Ye. Do you have any incense left? Let me secretly pray to her."
"Get lost. No, but I do have a photo of Captain Ye. A super cool one."
"Give me a copy. I desperately need it!"
Ye Buyu reached out. "Um..."
"I crocheted a doll in Captain Ye's likeness, and made ones of the other Navigators while I was at it. Praying to them all together seems to work better."
Ye Buyu broke into a sweat. "Believe in science..."
"Girl, I need one. Even if I don't pray to it, it'd be adorable just sitting there!"
Ye Buyu's pupils trembled. "Don't start a cult of personality..."
"Count me in. I have clay figurines!"
Ye Buyu took a deep breath, abruptly stood up, and looked solemnly at everyone.
"Listen to me!"
The scholars looked over eagerly, their eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge.
Ye Buyu helplessly covered her face. "You're scholars, the people at the very forefront of the pursuit of knowledge. If