Sylvia didn't yet know that Topaz was busy contemplating how to seduce her with her own bare legs.
At this moment, Sylvia had already successfully arrived at her destination.
The planet Separius—a star-ring port suspended outside the atmosphere, encircling the entire planet.
Although this planet, and indeed this entire star system, had become Sylvia's territory, as the heir, she still had the right to rename it during the official registration.
However, Sylvia knew her own situation well.
This planet really didn't have much to do with her, so, at the very least, she kept its original name.
Looking at the planet's surface, which was once desolate, the continents were now covered in green vegetation, and the oceans had returned to their natural color.
While the traces of Stellaron erosion had not completely faded, the Stellaron itself was gone.
With the IPC's proper handling, it would dissipate entirely in a few years, and the ecological balance of the planet would gradually stabilize within that same timeframe.
"...The above covers the reconstruction progress of Separius. At present, the most reliable method is to conduct regular surveys and introduce species based on the planet's orbital cycle to gradually restore the ecosystem. It might just take a rather long time."
The IPC project manager held a report, explaining the current progress to Sylvia. Having worked on this for quite a while, this was Sylvia's first time visiting the site in person.
Naturally, the manager wanted to secure a good review from Sylvia—their bonuses depended on it.
"For this follow-up work, is it done manually or by automated machinery?"
"The surveying is all handled by autonomous machinery, but manual oversight is still required. However, please rest assured, our team can guarantee after-sales service for the next one hundred orbital cycles of the planet. If there are any issues, you can contact us at any time."
"One hundred? That long?"
Hearing the number, Sylvia couldn't help but look up. No matter how powerful the IPC was, their employees' life-extension benefits would max out at around one hundred years or so.
How could they guarantee service for that long? Truly, the power of Preservation was formidable.
"It's fine, it's fine. Basically, after the first twenty years, there shouldn't be any problems. In fact, many clients decline this service altogether." The manager smiled warmly.
While he said one hundred years, a planet's self-recovery ability was quite strong. Once stabilized, it was unlikely to run into issues for the vast majority of that century.
Of course, that assumed the planet's owner didn't mess things up—in that case, the company certainly wouldn't provide a guarantee.
"Hmm... so you're planning to head back now?"
"You arrived at the perfect time. If you had come a few days later, I would have personally reached out to have you come for the final inspection."
"Alright, you all can take a break now." Sylvia waved her hand, signed the inspection form, and didn't bother going down to check anything else.
Ruan Mei would be arriving soon; she couldn't have these engineering crews sticking around.
"Ah? So fast? You don't need to go down and take a look?" The manager rarely encountered such an easygoing client.
Usually, the projects obtained from Topaz involved indigenous people whose planets had been severely devastated, and the inspection process could take months or even years.
Sometimes there were even absurd requests to inspect down to the planetary core. Sylvia was the first client he'd ever met who signed off just by glancing at it from outside the atmosphere.
"No need. I trust Topaz, and there's no need for further follow-up visits or probes."
"Oh? Ah... alright, alright. I understand."
The manager took back the electronic document, and after the checkout process concluded smoothly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Having been in this business for so many years, he knew that Sylvia probably intended to hide some secrets on the planet. He had seen enough to be unperturbed.
After sending off the engineering team, Sylvia brought the Herta puppet and led Acheron toward the star-ring's control center.
This device was a standard model provided by the IPC; a normal person wouldn't just keep the company's original programs installed.
Sylvia didn't understand the tech, but she knew people who did—Silver Wolf or Herta.
She chose Silver Wolf. Mainly because Herta was likely hard to invite, and when it came to this kind of technical expertise, Silver Wolf was even more formidable.
She sent a message to Silver Wolf on her phone. Soon, Silver Wolf's figure appeared before her.
"Long time no see. I thought you were going to participate in the Jarilo-VI gaming tournament."
"It has been a while. I've been busy at Penacony; I haven't had time for games."
Acheron stood quietly to the side, acting as a backdrop.
"Is this your planet? Are you really that comfortable with me leaving my programs behind?" Silver Wolf looked at the planet outside; the massive structure beneath their feet was clearly IPC-made—riddled with backdoors.
"We go way back, don't we? If I give you the data on Bella and the insects I recently modified, could you help me rebuild the system?"
"Hmm~ Sure. I have some ready-made ones. Wait a moment—"
In a way that was hard for Sylvia to comprehend, Silver Wolf used a pixelated style to "pinch" a massive clump of mysterious data symbols in front of her, and then shoved them directly into the wall.
Immediately, the mysterious AI that had been residing in Sylvia's phone jumped out on its own and dove straight into the floor.
It took less than a few minutes. Silver Wolf's avatar bounced back, looking stuffed, and made a funny face: "AI Little Wolf, at your service."
"Alright, done. Now your AI has taken over the entire facility, and it even comes with a full set of planetary monitoring equipment. Just ask it whatever you want to do."
Silver Wolf clapped her hands, as if she had just finished a primary school handicraft project.
Sylvia looked at the AI projection in front of her and couldn't help but ask: "What exactly were you planning to do with this thing back then? I almost forgot about it."
Silver Wolf glanced up at Sylvia and said indifferently, "I originally intended to use it to collect your data and build you a combat-support AI, but your growth rate is so staggering that it's completely unnecessary. Now it's just recycling waste."
"Oh..." Sylvia nodded, though she didn't fully understand. She just needed the result.
She handed a Poké Ball to Silver Wolf: "This is Bella. There are others on the Astral Express; you can go see them yourself. Remember to say hello to the conductor."
"Mm-hm, got it, got it. You should remember to invite Firefly, otherwise, that girl will be sulking." Silver Wolf took the Poké Ball with enthusiasm and turned to leave.
This uniquely evolved breed was something only Sylvia possessed.
Regardless of strength, they were definitely the rarest Aether Spirits. Mm-hmm, only this kind of Aether Spirit was worthy of a top-tier gamer like her.
Just because of that comment, Acheron, who had been silent, turned to look at Sylvia.
"That young girl who pilots Sam? You haven't paid attention to her for a long time?"
"Er... I really haven't been in contact lately." Sylvia scratched her head.
"She's a fine young lady. I remember you saying she's going to Penacony, too. Why not have her come by for a meeting soon?" Acheron's impression of Firefly came primarily from Sylvia.
She only knew she was a poor girl born in Glamoth who looked tough but was actually living a precarious existence, possibly fading away at any moment.
She was a good girl, and since there might be opportunities for cooperation later, it was better to meet up in advance. That was what Acheron thought.
Although Sylvia was surprised that Acheron would proactively want to meet Firefly, she nodded and agreed.
It was indeed time to see Firefly before she went to Penacony. Sylvia was actually still wondering how Firefly planned to handle things.
Based on the intelligence from Robin, the Stellaron was well-hidden; even with the intel, it took Robin time to decipher it.
Firefly was pure combat-oriented—Sylvia was curious about her approach. Surely she couldn't just charge in and take down the Family by brute force?
Sylvia curled her lips into a smile, shook her head, and cast that thought aside. She began to follow the AI to take over the entire platform's equipment.
--+--
Three system days passed in a flash.
Ruan Mei didn't encounter any accidents along the way and successfully arrived at the planet Separius.
Per her own request, her ship didn't park at the port; instead, it sought out a reserved plain to land.
Then, to Sylvia's surprise, it automatically expanded, transforming into a laboratory that looked quite sci-fi. A large number of small aircraft were released from the lab, disappearing to perform unknown tasks.
The laboratory doors opened. Ruan Mei was dressed in the same beautiful, high-slit qipao as last time, walking in high heels. Her expression was, as always, a gentle smile.
"Long time no see, dear."
"...It hasn't been that long. It's only been a few days since we parted at Herta Space Station." Sylvia scratched her head.
Acheron, standing beside her, frowned slightly. Why did anyone who popped up just call her "dear"? These Genius Society members were strange enough.
Since their parting at the Herta Space Station, Sylvia had taken the Express along the path of Trailblaze, then went to Penacony.
But after only a few days, Sparkle blew up the Grand Theater, and they had to take the Express back. Less than a month had passed in total.
"Hehe~ For me, it's already been after several experiments." Once Ruan Mei threw herself into research, she lost all sense of time.
In her perception, it had been a long time since she last saw Sylvia, during which she conducted several small-scale experiments targeting the path of Permanence.
Boom—
In the sky, Bella flew by, flapping its wings. This place had become its private backyard, and it had been idle for the past few days.
Every day it would fly up into the clouds or dive down, find a place to curl up and sleep, and then go for a flight again when it woke up.
Ruan Mei looked up at the giant dragon, smiling slightly: "Still quite spirited. It's a pity you didn't use it to experiment with the power of Permanence."
"I hadn't walked the path of Permanence back then." Sylvia shrugged. "But the dual paths of Destruction and Abundance are pretty powerful, too. Phantylia has already proven her worth."
A heavily wounded Destruction Emanator, who wasn't particularly good at fighting, could be strengthened to such a degree just by attaching the Arbor.
Sylvia, who couldn't even reach the tail of an Emanator yet, could achieve the strength of a legitimate Emanator by combining these two paths. When used well, the power boost was quite high.
"Average."
But in Ruan Mei's eyes, such pure violence lacked class.
So, even though she could see the source of Sylvia's power, she still offered an "average" assessment.
Compared to that, she was more interested in how Sylvia's power of Permanence was growing. Last time, she was too focused on her own experiments to ask.
While she could recently use the innate draconic phase to generate the power of Permanence within her test subjects, it was difficult to promote growth through external means.
Even if Ruan Mei tried to increase the draconic phase in the subjects, the improvement was entirely random, and there were even individuals who regressed.
It was completely different from cloning a Swarm King, where the power of Propagation grew naturally with maturity.
She was very curious. Ruan Mei hadn't studied Permanence much before, but now, her competitive spirit was ignited. In the field of sub-Emanator biology, Ruan Mei was confident there was no life form she couldn't master.
Even if it were an Emanator, Ruan Mei could still figure out one or two things about it.
If the Vidyadhara were so powerful, there was no reason she couldn't figure out the principles behind it. Bringing her lab along this time was done with the intention of solving this problem.
It was just a pity she couldn't find a natural-born draconic being to study. It wasn't a moral issue, but they were genuinely hard to find.
The number of draconic beings had been dwindling since their inception—the Vidyadhara were actually doing relatively well, but they were still harder to find than those insects.
Ruan Mei couldn't find a subject for the time being, and she couldn't exactly run to the Xianzhou to grab one.
"Dear, come with me." Ruan Mei beckoned to Sylvia, signaling her to come in. Acheron followed without a second thought.
At first, Ruan Mei didn't pay attention, but as Acheron approached, Ruan Mei seemed to discover something, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at Acheron changed completely.
"And this is..."
"My best partner, Trailblazer Acheron."
Sylvia hadn't been using the name of the Galaxy Ranger to introduce Acheron lately.
After all, Acheron wasn't truly a Galaxy Ranger; it was fine to use it during special periods, but there was no need to keep it up.
Since Acheron had boarded Sylvia's Express, she was now truly a Trailblazer. Using this title was perfectly fine.
"A Trailblazer... Heh…" Ruan Mei extended a hand, trying to touch Acheron through her gloves just as she had with Sylvia—perhaps she had sensed the anomaly within Acheron.
But Acheron agilely retreated a step, avoiding Ruan Mei's fingers.
"It's best not to touch my body casually."
In all honesty, Acheron's suppression of Nihility was quite good now. Under normal circumstances, a simple touch wouldn't lead to Nihility erosion. But Ruan Mei's actions were clearly not typical physical contact.
Although Acheron didn't know what Ruan Mei would do, the best choice was to refuse contact. Even a genius might not be able to withstand the erosion of Nihility.
"Hmm... it is I who was discourteous." Ruan Mei's fingers paused in mid-air, but she didn't persist. Her gaze lingered on Acheron for a moment before she turned to leave without hesitation.
"Follow me, dear. You're quite fond of collecting unique little pets, aren't you? I think you'll like the gift I have for you."
"...Ah."
Hearing this, Sylvia's heart sank. She knew immediately that Ruan Mei had cooked up some new experimental creations. She only hoped it wasn't anything too weird.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL