Ruan Mei's Advanced Trial[Second Update] / 20. Ruan Mei: Herta, Ji Yuan Is a Genius on Our Level[First Update]

Ruan Mei planned to thoroughly verify Ji Yuan's talent once more.

She looked at Ji Yuan and took his hand again.

"Come, Ji Yuan. Follow me. I'll show you something and give you a reward. If you can still satisfy me, I'll definitely teach you my knowledge."

With that, she led Ji Yuan outside.

Feeling Ruan Mei's movements, Ji Yuan had no idea what she was thinking and could only let her lead him out.

But from her words, Ji Yuan felt that he had probably passed the first stage of the test.

After all, the one who had taught him was Ruan Mei from a hundred years later—the enhanced version of the current Ruan Mei.

Led by Ruan Mei into the corridor, Ji Yuan hurriedly glanced back and happened to see Yanqing staring at him in surprise.

Yanqing hurried over and asked Ji Yuan,

"Big Brother, what's going on?"

"Ms. Ruan Mei wants to take me to see something."

Ji Yuan explained to Yanqing.

Ruan Mei stopped, smiled gently, and said to Yanqing, "I'm taking him to my ship to see some interesting things. Don't worry. On your Celestial Ark, I wouldn't dare harm any Celestial Ark Natives."

Hmm...

A thoughtful expression appeared on Yanqing's face.

Taking advantage of that moment, Ruan Mei had already pulled Ji Yuan toward the elevator.

She had always lacked interest in people without scientific talent or any value to exploit.

She should first take a good look at the talent of the person in her hands.

Ruan Mei's Advanced Test

"So, Big Brother was taken away?"

Watching Ji Yuan and Ruan Mei leave, Yanqing blinked, unsure how to react.

Was there anything wrong with what Ruan Mei had said?

No.

But seeing his big brother taken away by a woman like that just felt wrong to Yanqing.

I should go ask Sister Tingyun and Sister Sushang. If that doesn't work, I'll have Sister Tingyun bring Big Brother back.

He thought to himself.

Yanqing hurriedly finished his patrol and returned to their resting area.

When he arrived, Yanqing saw Huohuo serving Sushang juice while the corners of her mouth curled up in uncontrollable laughter. Sushang had both hands slapped against the table, looking as though she had suffered such a blow that all color had drained from her. "Tingyun" held a stack of accounts and diligently calculated them.

Yanqing said to "Tingyun" and the others, "This is bad! Big Brother Ji Yuan was taken to Ruan Mei's ship by that Ruan Mei."

"What!?"

Sushang instantly jumped up, her little face filled with shock and suspicion.

Phantylia also set the accounts aside, her fingers tightening slightly.

Ji Yuan... he hadn't run away, had he?

If he really left with Ruan Mei, how would she find him?

He had taken advantage of her so much and still gotten away safely. That was absolutely unacceptable.

I must make him completely devoted to me, then destroy him at the very end. If he escapes, there'll be someone in the universe who can take advantage of me without paying a price.

Phantylia thought to herself.

"Someone as talented as Teacher being valued by Ms. Ruan Mei is... is perfectly normal, isn't it?"

Huohuo quietly said to Yanqing.

"Valued by Ms. Ruan Mei? Does she want Big Brother to be her bodyguard?"

Yanqing asked doubtfully.

Big Brother was talented, but that had not yet turned into combat power. It was still too early for him to become a bodyguard.

Sushang answered Yanqing, "No. Bro's talent in life sciences is also incredibly strong. Last night, he only studied for one night—oh, no, probably not even a whole night—and he learned a lot of life science knowledge. He even made a flying plant this morning."

Yanqing felt as though he were hearing some absurd fantasy.

A flying plant? What kind of thing was that?

"Anyway, Bro really is a top student. If things go badly, Ms. Ruan Mei might directly take him in as a student to research life sciences with her."

"No way, right?"

An image appeared in Yanqing's mind.

His swordsmanship-genius big brother dressed in a white lab coat, wearing glasses, holding a test tube, and conducting scientific research...

No! Anything but that!

Yanqing almost wanted to scream.

He stood up, intending to stop his big brother from "falling."

But before he could act, someone else moved even faster.

Phantylia had already headed outside first.

"This little woman doesn't want anyone taking Ji Yuan away."

She said to Yanqing and the others.

You toured the entire ship hand in hand with life cultivation master Ms. Ruan Mei. You have been specially rewarded with one ordinary life cultivation formula from Ms. Ruan Mei.

Still thinking about the reward, Ji Yuan found that Ruan Mei had already led him to the edge of the ship.

"Come, go up and take a look. My ship has plenty of good things."

Ruan Mei warmly invited Ji Yuan aboard, her expression patiently coaxing, as though she were telling him that her ship had cats that could do backflips.

No matter what, Ji Yuan wanted to study under Ruan Mei. After discreetly activating his defensive measures, he followed behind her.

Seeing his cautious movements, Ruan Mei smiled gently and said nothing.

She climbed the ladder toward her hatch first.

"I'm not an expert in mechanical fields, so the ship's structure is rather crude," Ruan Mei said as she climbed. Ji Yuan stood below the ladder, waiting for Ruan Mei to enter before following her inside.

This elegant Eastern noblewoman was now climbing the ladder with both hands and feet. Ji Yuan could vaguely make out the outline of her legs beneath her qipao.

Halfway up, Ruan Mei slipped slightly and fell. Ji Yuan happened to be below her and reached out to catch her.

Holding Ruan Mei, with such a delicate and beautiful woman in his arms, Ji Yuan instantly felt awkward all over. Ruan Mei calmly left his embrace and said unconcernedly, "There's no need to be embarrassed. This is merely normal physical contact."

As she spoke, she continued climbing. Ji Yuan followed behind her, and the two entered Ruan Mei's ship together. The moment they stepped inside, several figures came bouncing toward them.

Ruan Mei turned on the lights, revealing the appearances of those figures.

Ji Yuan could not help but be startled.

A metallic body dancing around, and cats made of gummy candy constantly doing backflips.

She really did have cats that could do backflips!

Ji Yuan complained inwardly.

But there were even more cylindrical creatures of all kinds, and they gave off the fragrance of pastries.

"These..."

"Yes, creatures I made using pastries and several other materials."

Ruan Mei said it casually.

Ji Yuan stared at them wide-eyed. The Fernlings he had made were still, at their core, within the realm of living organisms. Ruan Mei's domain had already reached the level of inorganic matter.

"This is your next assignment. If you complete it, I'll teach you my knowledge." Ruan Mei picked up a stack of papers.

"These are data and reports from my research in this area. Now it depends on whether you can devise and create a powerful new life-form."

This time, she did not even give Ji Yuan books. Instead, she directly gave him information, asking him to determine how to proceed and provide his own formula.

When she had given him books before, she had wanted to see whether he could get started, whether he could learn some of her knowledge in the future, and become a qualified assistant. Naturally, the requirements had been much looser. But now, by directly handing Ji Yuan experimental reports, Ruan Mei intended to cultivate him as her helper and see whether he truly possessed talent equal to her own.

Seeing Ji Yuan's gaze settle on the data reports, his brow furrowing slightly, she softly said, "I'll take a nap first. When I wake up, I'll see your answer."

After saying that, Ruan Mei walked toward the single bed on the ship.

Sitting on the bed, Ruan Mei slipped her feet out of her high heels, revealing soft bare feet. She lay on her side in the small bed, looking as delicate and beautiful as a begonia asleep in spring.

Ruan Mei: Herta, Ji Yuan Is a Genius Equal to Us

Those pair of alluring feet became still as Ruan Mei rested, like an artwork woven from silk. Ji Yuan glanced in that direction several times before turning his attention to the experimental reports in his hands.

Ji Yuan had the foundational knowledge personally taught to him by Simulated Ruan Mei in his mind, so he did not completely fail to understand the reports before him. But if Ruan Mei expected him to understand all her thought processes after only one glance, he could not do that.

Ji Yuan picked up the reports and began reading them one by one.

They recorded Ruan Mei's experiments and imaginative ideas—how to extract the properties of inorganic matter, how to turn it into life, and how to make it continue displaying those properties.

Creating life from scratch, Ji Yuan felt that the processes in Ruan Mei's data were already enough to allow a barren planet to develop, from nothing, an ecosystem completely unlike any other life in the cosmic sea of stars.

It could even completely abandon conventional foundational materials of life, such as carbon-based, silicon-based, or energy-based compositions.

Ji Yuan read through every page of data and experiments. He had thought his doubts would ease, but after finishing them, he had even more questions. Many things left him feeling lost in a fog. It was as though an outline stood before him, yet no matter how he reached forward, he could not touch it.

It looked close, yet there was still an enormous distance between Ji Yuan and mastering it—perhaps a distance he could never cross. And the current Ruan Mei wanted him to give her an answer during the time she slept.

You read the experimental list gifted by life sciences master Ruan Mei. You have been specially rewarded with one one-on-one lesson from Ms. Ruan Mei.

Ji Yuan clenched his fist excitedly at the prospect of receiving guidance from Ruan Mei from a hundred years later again.

When facing a difficult challenge, people always had to overcome it through their own hard work and study.

System, let me begin studying!

Ji Yuan thought to himself.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and entered his consciousness space.

The laboratory from last night appeared before Ji Yuan again. Simulated Ruan Mei sat in a chair, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"We meet again, Ji Yuan."

"Mm. I'll have to trouble you again this time."

Ji Yuan moved closer and spoke with a flattering smile.

"A flattering smile is meaningless. I am a virtual life-form. Even if you ordered me around with punches and kicks, I would still carry out the same actions."

Ji Yuan looked at her awkwardly.

Simulated Ruan Mei calmly said to Ji Yuan, "My personality is identical to the real Ruan Mei's. I do not care about other people's bodies, nor my own. Perhaps the only thing that intrigues me is my current form of existence. A virtual body can perfectly replicate the real Ruan Mei's emotions, memories, skills, and so on."

"To make me feel emotions, you would have to do something that even I found shocking. But in this sea of stars, even the things Aeons do might not necessarily make me curious."

Simulated Ruan Mei grabbed Ji Yuan's arm and placed it on the experiment table. As she had him conduct experiments, she spoke to him.

Casually picking up the experimental data that had been copied into the consciousness space along with Ji Yuan's awareness, she looked it over and said, "This is already something I experimented with a hundred years ago. But since the time I can appear is limited this time, I'll explain the useful parts to you."

Outside Ruan Mei's ship, Phantylia had already arrived. She knocked on the hatch several times, but both people inside were asleep, and neither answered her.

"What exactly are those two doing in there? This little woman is truly curious!"

The tail behind her swayed back and forth, and Phantylia's expression twisted slightly.

Ruan Mei was weaker than her, but the level of matters she dealt with was no lower. Phantylia could investigate Ji Yuan without restraint, but she did not dare act carelessly before Ruan Mei's ship, lest she expose her identity.

She could only wait quietly outside.