"Ew… this thing is so disgusting…"
Penglaiji Ryn pulled her greatsword out of the insect-type new species' body with a disgusted look. She then took out an extraction vial, inserted it into the Honkai insect's corpse, and extracted useful materials from its body.
"I think so too. We really should have had Yiselian collect the samples herself…"
Ryn also wiped his hands in disgust. Even though he had killed them by smashing them with rocks, just smelling the scent of the insect-type new species' fluid in the air made him feel sick.
New Species was the term used to refer to newly emerged types of Honkai Creatures. They were often stronger than common species in every aspect and possessed special racial abilities.
For example, the insect-type new species the two of them were currently dealing with were the same Honkai Creatures that had appeared in large numbers during the recent "Operation Homecoming."
Himeko and the others reported the situation near Nagazora City to Bronya, who then organized the information and relayed it to their family in Fire Moth.
As the Honkai rampaged more and more, New Species were being born at an ever-increasing rate. Gray Moth had discovered several types of New Species on this patrol alone, and the insect-type was one Gray Moth had never encountered before.
In other words, this batch of insect-type New Species was born in an area near the base.
This was because as soon as the insect-type New Species appeared, they demonstrated their terrifying racial ability—Heteromorphic Fission: devouring other Honkai Creatures and then splitting to reproduce.
Based on the corpses recovered at the time, Yiselian deduced that these New Species were distinctly different from other creatures. They had very obvious insect characteristics and were also capable of flight, with a wing structure that was very rare in previously seen types.
Judging by the way they gathered and attacked, they seemed to be a chaotic swarm drawn by the noise of the Hyperion's return, attacking indiscriminately.
Although Yiselian couldn't pinpoint the location of their stronghold, she was certain that they shared similarities with other social insects, meaning the number of them in their stronghold was at least several dozen times the size of the attacking force.
Furthermore, based on her anatomical studies of the corpses, Yiselian believed that these attacking units were more akin to "worker bees," and that there was a high probability of a powerful "Insect Queen" existing in their base.
It was said that after finishing her report, Yiselian was so frightened by her own conclusions that she hid under a cabinet, yelling, "We're doomed… we're doomed… we're dead for sure this time…"
If Bronya and Seele hadn't forcibly dragged her out from under the desk, Yiselian might have hidden there by herself for a whole day.
Well, although most people speculated that Yiselian might have just been trying to take the opportunity to slack off and rest, since her research on the insect-type New Species had kept her from sleeping for several days.
——————————————
Bang—
Ryn slammed his hand on the table in front of Yiselian, startling awake the woman who, despite being asleep, was still fiddling with reagents with both hands, conducting experiments.
"The experiment… the report is going to be late…!"
The awakened Yiselian shouted in a panic, and in her flustered state, she made a complete mess of the lab bench.
When Yiselian was fully awake and saw the disastrous state of her lab bench, her vision went black and she fainted.
"Yiselian!"
Penglaiji Ryn rushed over to support Yiselian in a panic, but after feeling Yiselian's steady breathing, she withdrew her hands and let Yiselian lie on the floor.
"You're just going to be that cold?"
"She's too tired. She fell asleep."
"No, what I mean is… even if she's asleep, you can't just leave her on the floor…"
"But she's this tired. I can't very well move her and disturb her sleep, can I…"
"That's true…"
Ryn thought for a moment, then took a blanket from Yiselian's bed and draped it over her. Although the floor was cold, this should prevent her from catching a cold, right?
However, looking at the blanket on Yiselian, Penglaiji Ryn scratched her head as if she had thought of something.
"Wait a minute, Big Brother, where did you get that blanket?"
"From Yiselian's room, of course. Isn't her bedroom right inside? The workbench is outside, the bedroom is inside, separated by a curtain. Yiselian, she's really... I could cry. Even with this setup, she never finds time to slack off and rest."
"Uh… then I think we should probably move her to the bed."
Ryn gave Penglaiji Ryn a look. *You were the one who said not to move her, and now you're the one who wants to.*
However, just as the two were about to move Yiselian, she woke up, sporting heavy dark circles under her eyes.
Yiselian's dazed, spiraling eyes, currently spinning just like her onion-shaped glasses, looked completely bewildered.
"Oh… you're back. Did you bring back the samples?"
"Here. We collected a lot. This slime is super disgusting. I'm definitely taking a good bath when I get back."
"Alright… I'll start working then."
Yiselian took the samples, stood up unsteadily, and leaned over the workbench to begin her analysis.
Seeing Yiselian in her half-dead state, Ryn hesitated, wondering if he should make her rest first.
But before Ryn could speak, Yiselian seemed to notice their concern and spoke up.
"It's fine. Before the Great Honkai Eruption, I was an Executor in Anti-Entropy, also in a research position. Back then, it was common to go days and nights without sleep for key projects.
Although the conditions now are nothing like before, and things often take more time and energy, this is for our big family… and it's also my way of atoning.
After all, no matter how you explain it, my organization, Anti-Entropy, bears at least eighty percent of the responsibility for causing that Great Honkai Eruption…"
Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn couldn't be of much help by staying, so after reminding Yiselian to rest no matter what, they left the Engineering Department.
On the way to the bathroom, Penglaiji Ryn skipped happily the entire time. Even without her memories, what girl wouldn't love a nice, long, hot bath?
And then there was no "and then". In the entire dilapidated Fire Moth, Ryn was the only male. Back then, Bronya had only used the all-purpose Project Bunny 19C to dig out a single hot spring.
On the other side of the wall was the large hot spring bathhouse, filled with the cheerful laughter of the Fire Moth girls.
On this side of the wall, Ryn stood in a simple, dilapidated single-room toilet, holding a bucket of water.
"Damn, what is this crappy differential treatment."