Hearing this, Herta never once looked away from the Simulated Universe test screen.
"Didn't you feed the Trailblazer pastries containing a Truth-Suppressing Agent so she would forget you?"
Onscreen, the Trailblazer cleared two events in the event stage. Hugging an armful of blessings, she grinned from ear to ear and called for Screwllum beside her to help stuff the treasures into her backpack.
"What, has the medicine not kicked in yet? Are you really so sure the Trailblazer still remembers you?"
Herta was really poking where it hurt, driving the knife straight into Ruan Mei's heart.
Ruan Mei was not annoyed. She casually set the pastries on the table, stood beside Herta, and watched the Trailblazer's run together with her.
"I regret it."
Her voice was quiet, and her gaze fell upon the Plum Blossom Cake nearby.
This time, she had slipped up.
She had spent too long in the laboratory and had not made pastries in a very long time.
The pastries she made this time did not look very appealing, and she had used too much frosting.
Under the fluorescent lights, they looked as though they had been dusted with a thick layer of medicinal powder.
"So I will feed the Trailblazer pastries once more. This time, she will remember me forever."
"Cough, cough..."
Herta suddenly began coughing violently. "Y-You drugged the pastries again? Why didn't you tell me before I ate one?"
Ruan Mei expressionlessly increased the probability of obtaining Cosmic Fragments in this Simulated Universe run. The crystalline glow of the screen reflected in her aquamarine eyes.
"It makes no difference if you ate one. This medicine only works in conjunction with the aftereffect of the Truth-Suppressing Agent. Ultimately, it is a remedy tailored solely for the Trailblazer."
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
Herta focused intently on observing the Simulated Universe.
She truly could not understand why Ruan Mei kept using every underhanded trick she had on the Trailblazer.
As expected, all geniuses were crazy.
Yet Herta had forgotten that she herself was also a genius.
Ruan Mei watched the Trailblazer on the screen while her fingers skillfully recorded one erroneous data point after another.
This was her second public visit to Herta Space Station.
Her first visit had been a long time ago.
That was when Ruan Mei had first met the Trailblazer.
Every genius had been deeply interested in the sentient Stellaron. Herta was, Screwllum was, too.
And naturally, Ruan Mei was no exception.
But Ruan Mei's field of research focused primarily on life sciences, which put her on a different path from the Trailblazer.
So although she had been interested in the Trailblazer, it had only been a little.
In the blink of an eye, she had put Stelle out of her mind.
In the Seclusion Zone of the space station, dozens of lively little creations still awaited a glance from their creator.
Yet Ruan Mei, their creator, turned a blind eye to them.
Ruan Mei could be so indifferent even toward the lives she had cultivated with her own hands, let alone the Trailblazer, whom she had met only once.
So at the time, without a second thought, Ruan Mei fed the Trailblazer pastries containing a Truth-Suppressing Agent.
She trusted no one. She trusted only the Plum Blossom Cake she had made with her own hands.
Eat this delicious pastry obediently, then wait for the medicine's lingering effect to take hold.
Trailblazer, forget me.
At the time, Ruan Mei held such naive thoughts.
She was a life sciences expert exploring unknown fields alone, and the long, lonely journey of inquiry stretched endlessly ahead.
She did not need anyone to care about her, much less understand her.
But long afterward, even now, Ruan Mei finally regretted it.
What kind of person the Trailblazer was, she actually knew better than anyone, did she not?
The methods she had used on the Trailblazer had been entirely unnecessary.
She should have trusted the Trailblazer sooner.
Whenever her partners held meetings about Simulated Universe updates, Herta and Screwllum never stopped praising the Trailblazer.
Even Stephen had openly expressed a keen interest in Stelle.
Only Ruan Mei had gone in the opposite direction.
She wondered, was making the Trailblazer forget her truly what she wanted?
She had shared an intersection with such an adorable child, yet in the end, she wanted to erase every overlapping path between them with her own hands.
Thinking of this, Ruan Mei finally regretted it.
Ruan Mei had not actually needed to participate in this Simulated Universe version update.
For routine maintenance, Herta and Screwllum alone were usually enough.
But upon hearing that she could catch the Trailblazer's live broadcast, she inexplicably hurried to hand off the experiment she had been working on.
Holding a plate of pastries the Trailblazer had once praised as "very delicious," she pushed open the door to Herta's office.
Just as she had once been able to feed Stelle pastries containing a Truth-Suppressing Agent, why could she not feed Stelle pastries that had the opposite effect this time?
Gradually forget?
She wanted the Trailblazer to...
Remember her forever.
Never be able to forget her!
With that thought in mind, Ruan Mei made an exception and joined this version update.
She finished recording all the data at hand and watched as the Trailblazer and Screwllum reached the final boss stage.
"Soon, we will meet again, Trailblazer."
Ruan Mei's gaze remained fixed on the gray-haired figure onscreen.
"I'm sorry, but this really is the last time..."
"Ah... ah... achoo!"
Inside the Simulated Universe, the Trailblazer suddenly sneezed violently.
"This isn't right. Is someone secretly thinking about me? Who is it? March 7th, Dan Heng, or Sunday?"
Stelle touched her face. The next warp was imminent, and she needed to spend some quality time with the Express Crew before heading to Amphoreus.
So she had better finish the Simulated Universe early and call it a day!
Hearing the Trailblazer quietly murmur several names, Ruan Mei's eyelashes lowered slightly.
Before you continue