Inside the forest…
After successfully eliminating the gorilla, the mantis shrimp gathered several large leaves and piled them over itself once more, disappearing back into ambush.
Seele: "Hey… don't you all think Ruan Mei's mantis shrimp is way smarter than everyone else's creatures?"
Bronya: "Yeah… it definitely seems more intelligent."
Himeko: "Could it have inherited the genes of some exceptionally intelligent animal?"
Herta: "The octopus, obviously."
Diluc: "That doesn't seem right."
"Sucrose also fused octopus genes."
"So why did her creature act like an idiot?"
Diluc wasn't convinced.
Ruan Mei had to have fused something else.
If it were only octopus intelligence, Sucrose's creature shouldn't have been so… brainless.
Ruan Mei: "I really did only use the octopus's intelligence."
Kaeya: "Then how do you explain your mantis shrimp being this smart?"
Lucy: "Maybe geniuses raise genius pets?"
Caesar: "I know!"
"That's called becoming bad by association!"
Belle: "It's 'becoming good by associating with good people!'"
"You still haven't learned how to use idioms!"
Valerius: "Octopuses are animals capable of learning."
"You understand what I mean, right?"
Watching everyone's discussion, Valerius couldn't help laughing.
"You all fused octopus intelligence."
"But you only fused the potential."
"If nobody teaches it anything…"
"Where exactly is it supposed to learn from?"
Ellen: "Learning… what do you mean?"
Valerius: "Sigh…"
"Let me show you something interesting."
Seeing that nobody understood, Valerius decided to demonstrate.
With a snap of his fingers…
Everyone's screen split into two smaller windows.
Each contained an octopus.
In the first window…
A researcher placed a sealed jar containing food in front of the octopus before walking away.
The octopus struggled endlessly…
But couldn't open the lid.
In the second window…
Another octopus watched as the researcher unscrewed the lid, showed it how it worked, screwed it back on, and then placed the jar in front of it.
This time…
The octopus immediately twisted the lid open with its tentacles and retrieved the food.
At the same time…
The octopus in the first enclosure watched the second one.
After observing the method…
It quickly learned how to open the jar as well.
Valerius: "Understand now?"
Belle: "Whoa…"
"That's incredibly smart!"
Guinaifen: "I think it's smarter than Sushang."
Jing Yuan: "So the reason the mantis shrimp is so intelligent…"
"…is entirely because Ruan Mei trained it."
Valerius: "Exactly."
Tighnari: "…I've learned something today."
Tighnari knew he was doomed.
He'd always known octopuses were intelligent.
But just like Sucrose…
He'd completely forgotten to actually teach his creature anything.
His octopus genes had basically been wasted.
Jane: "I have a question."
"If Ruan Mei had an army of octopuses…"
"Could she train them to become smarter than humans?"
Zhu Yuan: "Gasp… Don't scare me like that."
Ruan Mei: "She couldn't."
Candace: "You're being modest."
Ruan Mei: "I'm stating a fact."
"An octopus's lifespan is limited."
"What it learns cannot be engraved into its genes."
"Every new octopus must start learning from the beginning."
Dr. Ratio: "Perhaps…"
"That is the curse written into the octopus genome."
March 7th: "Thank goodness…"
"I was worried we'd someday land on a planet ruled entirely by octopuses."
"Just imagining that gives me chills."
Zhongli: "Agreed."
March's comment earned Zhongli's wholehearted agreement.
He had never liked marine creatures.
Just imagining that slippery texture made him uncomfortable.
Herta: "Ruan Mei…"
"…you know what reward to pick later."
Ruan Mei: "We'll see."
Valerius: "Wow."
"You're already acting like you've won."
Herta: "Haven't I?"
Valerius: "…Fine."
"What else can I say?"
Ruan Mei was simply that capable.
From the moment this game appeared, Valerius had suspected nobody else would be able to beat her.
Still…
He'd hoped for a miracle.
Unfortunately…
No miracle came.
At this point, only Tighnari's creature still had any chance of putting up a fight.
But if it were ambushed…
Everything would be over.
…
Deep inside the forest…
The Rathian returned.
Earlier, it had only retreated after being stunned.
It had simply gone to recover.
Now…
It felt ready to avenge itself.
Hook: "Ah!"
"Mimi, run!"
Hook was frantic.
That mantis shrimp was obviously a villain.
It was definitely planning to ambush Mimi.
Sure enough…
After landing, Rathian immediately discovered the gorilla's corpse.
Its enormous head tilted in confusion.
What happened to this guy?
It cautiously stepped forward…
Approaching the mantis shrimp's hiding place.
Smack!
A sharp crack echoed through the forest.
Rathian was sent flying.
It crashed heavily onto the ground.
The point of impact had caved inward, leaving a huge crater in its body.
Hook: "Mimi…"
"Bad…"
"Big Sister Ruan Mei is a bad person!"
Klee: "Big Sister Ruan Mei is bad!"
"She bullied Mimi!"
Diona: "Um…"
"Bad."
Instantly…
All the children began condemning Ruan Mei.
Ruan Mei: "…"
What was that supposed to mean?
Was everyone else allowed to win…
But she wasn't?
Natasha: "Hook."
"Stop making a fuss."
Hook: "B-But…"
"My Mimi…"
Hook looked ready to cry.
She had really liked Rathian.
Now it had been knocked flat by the mantis shrimp.
Her heart ached.
Valerius: "That's right."
"Ruan Mei's bad."
After all…
Her… generous figure practically screamed trouble.
Shenhe: "Mm."
"Bad."
Bronya: "You two aren't helping."
Bronya wanted to cry.
How could two grown adults join the children in making trouble?
Valerius: "Don't cry, Hook."
"Come to my house."
"I'll treat you to an entire mantis shrimp feast."
Hook: "Really?!"
Valerius: "Of course."
Hook: "Yay~~~"
"We're eating mantis shrimp!"
Hook instantly cheered up.
So what if it bullied her Mimi?
She'd just eat the entire mantis shrimp family instead.
[Attention: Player Hook has been eliminated.]
Being eliminated didn't matter anymore.
Hook was completely focused on getting revenge through seafood.
With Hook's elimination…
Only three creatures remained on the battlefield.
Ruan Mei's mantis shrimp.
Tighnari's arthropod tiger.
And Qiqi's oversized dragon.
The final battle had truly arrived.
Ningguang: "I never expected Qiqi to survive until now."
Yanfei: "Do you think…"
"Qiqi still has a chance?"
Her dragon's defense was incredibly high.
If it could bite down on the mantis shrimp like it had done before…
There might still be hope.
Tighnari: "Give up."
"It's impossible."
Beidou: "Why?"
"You think your tiger can break that defense?"
Tighnari: "Ruan Mei also fused mosquito and Cerbera manghas genes."
Keqing: "Meaning?"
Tighnari: "Meaning…"
"The mantis shrimp doesn't just smash things."
"It can also pierce with a mosquito's proboscis…"
"And…"
"Cerbera manghas is poisonous."
Hu Tao: "Now I get it."
"It's covered from every angle."
Everyone had wondered why Ruan Mei bothered adding mosquito genes.
The mantis shrimp's punches were already terrifying enough.
Now they understood.
Those additions…
Had been prepared specifically for heavily armored creatures like Qiqi's dragon.
All they could do now…
Was sigh in admiration.
In a game like this…
If your opponent was Ruan Mei…
Winning simply wasn't realistic.
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146