"Ruan Mei's attitude seems a bit off."
Herta rubbed her chin meaningfully.
Screwllum pondered for a moment, then looked in the direction Ruan Mei had left and said, "Ruan Mei's excuse was clearly rushed and inconsistent with her usual attention to detail. Conclusion: The upcoming plot will reveal a secret she doesn't want others to know."
"If that's the case, I'm even more eager to see what happens next."
Herta's expression turned excited.
"Then let's not wait for her. Let's keep watching."
On the projection screen, the in-game Ruan Mei explained:
"When I arrived at the space station, I borrowed the 'Phase Spirit Flame,' a creation of #29 Sserkal, from Herta, hoping to gain some inspiration from the research of other members."
"I did have a spark of inspiration, so I attempted to cultivate life here at the space station."
"In my imagination, this would be a new form of life... born as 'geniuses.' I planned to name them after Genius Society #8, Lambda."
"But somewhere along the line, something went wrong. They developed their own consciousness, yet it had nothing to do with genius."
"Moreover, my hands-off approach seems to have backfired. A few days ago, during a leak, several of the newly cultivated 'little lives' escaped and are now roaming the space station."
"I didn't want Herta or Asta to get involved in this matter, so... I hope you can help me retrieve these 'little lives.'"
Soon, in the following mission:
Perform a mysterious summoning ritual—paste 'hearts' all over the places Ruan Mei has visited.
After spraying enough 'hearts,' a mysterious creature appeared.
Upon seeing this small, milky-white creature, Herta's lips twitched.
"This... is the 'trouble' Ruan Mei was talking about?"
"A self-aware shumai?"
"Tch... I thought it'd be something big."
Screwllum was momentarily speechless as well.
The light in his eyes flickered faintly, indicating that he was engaged in deep thought and computation.
"No."
"Hypothesis: If these are just small creatures roaming the space station, it wouldn't warrant Ruan Mei leaving in such a hurry."
"She must have another reason."
"Or rather, another [trouble]."
Herta, who had already stood up, now seemed bored and sat back on the sofa.
At the same time, she pulled up the surveillance feed of the sealed sector.
"What other trouble could there be? Right now, the sealed sector is full of these living pastries."
"Hm?"
"Why is the surveillance here malfunctioning...?"
---
Main Control Sector
The researchers who saw the creatures Ruan Mei had cultivated were instantly delighted.
"So these are the 'little lives' Ruan Mei created?"
"They're so adorable! Ruan Mei's creations!"
"Shumai!"
"They really do look like shumai..."
"Melted cheese-filled shumai—I hope it's savory."
"This is just insane! As expected of Ruan Mei—she can actually give pastries life! They've even developed their own 'emotions,' 'thoughts,' and 'will'!"
"In the field of life sciences, this is already god-tier technology!"
"So this is what Ruan Mei was researching at our space station."
"Isn't this a pretty significant achievement?"
---
Following Ruan Mei's instructions, the [Melted Cheese] shumai was flushed away through a toilet-like interdimensional transfer device and sent to the containment sector.
Then, Ruan Mei sent another message, inviting Stelle to join a gathering with Herta and Screwllum.
This plot development was incredibly enticing to the space station researchers.
They watched with rapt attention, practically wishing they could jump into the game and take Stelle's place at the gathering.
The meeting took place inside the Simulated Universe.
Herta and Screwllum were discussing the possibility of bringing in a fifth genius to collaborate on developing the Simulated Universe.
Herta suggested a candidate:
"What about Yu Qingtu? Ruan Mei, do you still have contact with her—is she even alive?"
"If we're going to discuss this, perhaps she should leave first. The process will be long... and tedious. No need to waste someone else's time."
"Oh, of course. She's only here because you brought her in. It's your call."
Outside the game, the researchers weren't happy.
"No way! I want to hear more!"
"This is about the future collaborators for the Simulated Universe! How could it be tedious?!"
"Genius Society #55, Yu Qingtu? Another legendary figure!"
At that moment, Ruan Mei, who was seeing Stelle off, added:
"My lifeform retrieval... isn't complete yet. There's more than one. Some are stored in a sealed sector."
"Herta used to receive guests from across the galaxy there, or members of the Genius Society. But after the Legion's invasion, it was closed off."
"Now, it holds my 'big trouble.'"
"Stelle, be careful. If you encounter danger you can't handle, give a signal. I'll intervene personally, no matter the consequences."
"Remember, at the center of the sector, there's a massive... cultivation pod. That's where my 'big trouble' is stored."
---
The space station actually has a hidden secret sector?
Through Ruan Mei's words, the plot had exposed another related secret!
For other players, this might just mean a new map being added to the space station.
But for the researchers here, this was a massive scoop!
Right now, in the livestream footage, Stelle had already boarded the descending elevator.
At first, the elevator shaft was still well-lit.
But soon, the only light left was from the elevator itself.
As it continued descending, the depth far exceeded the usual limits.
Finally, the destination was reached.
When Stelle stepped out of the elevator, the outside was pitch-black, like spilled ink.
Walking through this part of the space station, the only sounds were her heels and metal accessories clinking.
Suddenly—
A broken robot appeared out of nowhere in front of her.
The moment it turned around, its body jerked violently as if short-circuiting.
Its scanner eyes glowed with an eerie red light.
Behind her, the elevator suddenly began ascending on its own.
When Stelle turned back, the broken robot had already vanished.
Stelle bit her lip.
Now, in this vast sealed sector, she was completely alone.
She couldn't help but look nervous.
Fortunately, emergency lights flickered on along the path ahead.
Though they didn't fully illuminate the dark space, at least it wasn't complete darkness anymore.
...
Not just the watching researchers—even players in the livestream were startled!
"The space station has such a creepy place too?"
"What was up with that broken robot just now? Scared the hell out of me."
"If this were Sushang, she'd have fainted already."
"The space station's secrets are way deeper than I thought."
"This atmosphere is just begging for a ghost to show up."
"Any space station buddies watching? Is this place really this terrifying in reality?"
...
At this moment, the researchers had no time to chat in the livestream.
The sealed sector revealed in the plot had left them all stunned.
"So there really is a hidden secret sector?!"
"I think this was mentioned in one of the space station's urban legends!"
"Adler wasn't lying to me!"
"Any brave souls wanna go check out the elevator with me? See if the real sealed sector is as creepy as in the game?"
"You've got a death wish. Even Yu Ling hinted this place is dangerous, and Ruan Mei only trusted Stelle to handle it..."
Nearby, Asta cleared her throat.
"Ahem... Everyone, did you forget about me?"
"I can't just let you wander into a restricted sector like this."
"That's... the station director's responsibility."
To be continued….
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