Chapter 292: Crown of the Mundane and Divine 『 Part Six 』
「 The Critter Pick appeared utterly despondent; amidst a series of mournful "meows," tears poured forth like a deluge.
After activating the special Synesthesia Beacon, Stelle learned that it was Bean Paste flavored, and it was heartbroken because it had not received Ruan Mei's approval. It curled up in the corner, drowning in self-negation, yet still obstinately waiting for Ruan Mei to come and take it.
Even Stelle couldn't help but feel her heart soften.
Just as she was planning to find a place to settle the little creature, a strange noise suddenly came from the hatch downstairs. Stelle decided to investigate on the way and let the little fellow tag along.
But as she passed through a narrow corridor, Stelle suddenly heard a faint movement behind her.
—It was the subtle buzzing of insect wings.
In the next second, her body reacted faster than her thoughts, her bat spinning violently to block—
"CLANG—!!"
The instant the bat collided with the mandibles, sparks splattered through the dim corridor!
Stelle's arm went numb from the shock. The monster's body trembled like gelatin; although it resembled a True Sting, its appearance was starkly different from those seen previously on the Express—this one was entirely translucent. If one didn't look with extreme care, its body almost blended perfectly into the environment. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid World〜
"WAH—!!"
Kobayashi clamped her hands tightly over her ears. That sudden "clang" from the Light Screen was like a steel wire buzzing as it tried to drill into her eardrums.
"Kobayashi, are you alright?!"
Tohru immediately cast a concerned look her way.
"I-I'm fine. It's just that bug… it feels so disgusting."
She looked up at the bug in the Light Screen, which was spewing green blood after being pummeled by Stelle, and goosebumps rose all over her body.
"Madam Herta actually condoned her researching this? Isn't she being a bit too carefree?"
"And this kind of bug is obviously stronger than the ones we encountered on the Express back then. It can even turn invisible. Could it be because Ruan Mei enhanced their bodies?"
Although Tohru couldn't quite grasp the principles of Ruan Mei's life sciences research, she associated it with the kind of grand mages who could enchant monsters and items, bestowing effects like invisibility or skin hardening… She assumed Ruan Mei had done something similar to the bugs.
Kobayashi cupped her chin in thought.
"However, what is Miss Ruan Mei's purpose in making the bugs stronger? Does she want to create another Swarm Disaster?"
"That would be even more evil than a Demon King… but she looks quite upright, not like the type of person who would do such a thing."
Tohru suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Oh, oh! I get it! This bug must be the big trouble Miss Ruan Mei mentioned! She probably wanted to control this type of bug, but it accidentally escaped because of its invisibility!"
"…Is that so? An invisible bug certainly counts as trouble, but I feel like it's not that simple…"
Kobayashi looked at the bug in the Light Screen, which had already been blown apart by Stelle, and then at the deep, endless corridor.
She couldn't shake the feeling that some other monster might crawl out of that gloomy place.
—
「 After dealing with that treacherous camper of a bug, Stelle took the Bean Paste-flavored Critter Pick and pressed on, arriving at a laboratory at the end of the corridor.
Here, she saw even more colorful Critter Picks gathered around, their sheer numbers astonishing her.
She approached the nearest computer, which contained Ruan Mei's previous experiment logs.
"The final days that Genius Society member #23, Acha, spent in the Mechanical City showed me that even the longest of lives, such as hers, have a limit. I'm now certain that the outcome of this cultivation is: Failure."
"Life can exist in thousands of different forms, which means the form itself has no purpose. These lifeforms are very advanced in their own concepts, and can even trigger chain reactions such as synesthesia... but that is not what I desire."
"I am starting to feel lost. Perhaps the question "What is the essence of life?" has never had an answer. Member #1, Zandar, have you ever felt this lost... or resigned?"
"I want to understand the essence of life, something every individual possesses yet remains unaware of—whether it is the physical attributes of existence or the unknowable things beyond matter. To avoid blind obedience to science, I cautiously propose a query—can Ruan Mei, like a coordinate axis, strip away the external chaos and ascertain the most primordial, and most beautiful, form of life's existence?"
"I thought of a life form sufficient to make me acknowledge its unfathomable nature. That is…"
Unfortunately, before she could finish, the experiment log cut off. 」
「 ..... 」
〜DC Extended Universe, Earth-1〜
"So, is this the reason she's researching Star Gods?"
Inside the Daily Planet building, Clark Kent pushed up the glasses that were sliding down the bridge of his nose. He attempted to use his Kryptonian super-vision to decipher the formulas and text in the background of Ruan Mei's experiment recording on the Light Screen, but unfortunately, he found nothing.
"Maybe it's not a Star God?"
Lois Lane twirled her fountain pen.
"Star Gods are highly condensed philosophical incarnations, emphasizing the concept of the 『 Path 』. You know, the Star God of 『 Erudition 』 isn't exactly an organic life form, which is at odds with Ruan Mei's type of life research."
"Then you mean…"
"An Emanator."
Lois picked up the steaming coffee on her desk.
"The Emanators we have records of now are all organic life forms, right? And the closest Emanator to Ruan Mei is Herta, which makes it convenient for her to understand and research."
"Research Herta?"
Clark felt the idea sounded unreliable. Leaving aside Madam Herta's eccentric personality, would she really cooperate nicely with Ruan Mei and become her research subject?
"Of course not, you've misunderstood me. Herta isn't the only Emanator in the universe. Perhaps there are fallen Emanators from other Paths, like Shuhu of 『 Abundance 』… Didn't Blade and Dan Feng want to use the flesh and blood of an Emanator for experiments back then?"
"Since the birth of the Star Gods, I imagine the number of fallen Emanators is not small. There might be a subject worthy of Ruan Mei's research among them."
Clark furrowed his brows, the glass window beside him reflecting his tightened jawline.
"But researching an Emanator on the Space Station? That's too risky, isn't it? Is Ruan Mei planning to resurrect an Emanator? Phantylia nearly destroyed the stars with a single strike back then. Even with an Emanator and two Geniuses stationed there, if a battle were to break out, the safety of the researchers couldn't be guaranteed."
"That remains unknown."
Lois sighed.
"But Ruan Mei also said to contact her immediately if there was trouble. If this Genius has the means to resurrect an Emanator, then I believe she certainly has the methods to kill one."
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