Herta temporarily left the bar.
Although her main purpose in coming to Penacony was to find Bai Luan, since she was already here, she naturally had to look around—since she'd come this far.
Penacony, the City of Dreams, was full of bizarre sights everywhere. For a genius like her, it was indeed a good observation sample.
The way the Herta Puppet super-broke Bai Luan gave her a lot of inspiration.
So, changing clothes could achieve such an effect. She would have a lot of fun next time.
As she strolled along the dazzling streets, she conceived several interesting experimental plans in her mind.
Bai Luan chose to stay at the bar.
Anyway, Herta said that she would return to the bar to find him after she had explored enough, and then they would use the Anywhere Door to return to the Space Station together.
Since Herta didn't ask him to follow, she probably wanted to do something he shouldn't be present for. Bai Luan was tactful enough not to insist on accompanying her.
He leisurely wiped the wine glasses, enjoying the rare quiet time.
The Herta Puppet wanted to stay, but Herta forcibly took her away.
It proved that even the most individual Herta Puppet was still under Ms. Herta's control.
Even the Herta Puppet herself acknowledged this, unless the puppet had won against the underlying code.
Soon, the bar welcomed its second customer.
Dr. Ratio, Veritas Ratio, walked in with steady steps.
His iconic laurel wreath headpiece shimmered under the bar lights.
"Professor, long time no see."
Bai Luan put down the wine glass in his hand and greeted him with a smile.
Ratio looked at Bai Luan, who was wiping wine glasses, and seeing his professional bartender posture, he couldn't help but comment:
"Assistant, helper, genius, video blogger, and now a bartender. It seems you know quite a lot."
"The longer you live, the more identities you accumulate."
Bai Luan shrugged:
"After all, an apprentice can be an apprentice in any profession."
Stelle also greeted him warmly:
"Long time no see, Professor Ratio, I never expected to meet you here."
Ratio looked at Stelle:
"Oh, it's you? Working part-time here?"
Before Stelle could ask, he explained first:
"Lest you keep asking questions, I'll explain beforehand. I received an invitation from a student who wishes for my guidance.
I've always disliked fools, but this fellow is persistent and eager to learn... filling my inbox with all sorts of absurd questions."
At this point, Ratio's tone carried a hint of helplessness, clearly indicating he had been troubled quite a bit by this student.
Not everyone can understand the feeling of opening an inbox full of bizarre questions.
"Is the power in the Dragon Lord's horn angular momentum? Can Heliobus photosynthesize if it's green? Is it a hammer or a stone broken on the chest?"
"Doesn't sound like a local..."
Stelle muttered softly.
Ratio sighed:
"I don't expect a single meeting to enlighten this fellow, but if they could leave my inbox alone, I'd be eternally grateful."
At this moment, Bai Luan became interested and interjected:
"Hey, since the Professor is willing to answer questions, can I also ask a few?"
He showed a sly smile:
"Can I get full by eating digestive tablets? If I stand on my head, is that anti-human? What were cobras called before glasses were invented?"
Ratio gave him a helpless look and sighed, "I think you should add 'actor' to your identities—you play a fool too well."
Stelle looked at Ratio apologetically:
"Um, Professor, I'm actually quite curious too... I really want to know what cobras were called before glasses were invented..."
Ratio looked at Bai Luan, then at Stelle, and suddenly felt surrounded by fools.
He rubbed his forehead, headache-inducing. He thought encountering one such 'genius' was enough, but unexpectedly, there were two here.
The most vexing thing was that he knew Stelle and Bai Luan were most likely deliberately being absurd.
It seemed this meeting wouldn't go as smoothly as expected.
"Anyway, that's how it is." Ratio decided to end the topic. "Don't just stand there, mixed me a drink."
He looked at Stelle:
"Did your education teach you that when the bar counter in front of a guest is empty, a bartender should just stand by and do nothing?"
『Details are only for Stelle, because he taught you』
No, the Professor isn't like that. Logically, he should include me too... Sure enough, Ratio turned to Bai Luan:
"And the same goes for you. You're too busy making jokes here and forgetting your main job."
Bai Luan showed a triumphant smile to the system, as if saying:
See?
『6』
Ratio gave Bai Luan, who had inexplicably laughed, a strange look. Now he couldn't tell if Bai Luan was faking it or genuinely like that.
Upon hearing Professor Ratio's words, Stelle immediately rushed to prepare a special concoction to boost emotional intelligence for him.
She skillfully shook the cocktail shaker, the ice clinking crisply against the liquid, her movements as fluid as a seasoned professional.
Just as Stelle was mixing the special drink, a figure burst into the bar, looked around, locked onto Ratio's location, and quickly walked over.
Sushang approached Professor Ratio and nervously spoke:
"Excuse me, are you... are you 'Reed of Thought' teacher?"
"I am."
Ratio nodded, examining Sushang.
"You are... the student whose avatar is a white bird?"
Hmm... the Professor's description is really precise.
『The Professor probably meant a chicken...』
Stop, stop, stop. Don't say 'chicken' without context; let's be civilized.
After confirming she hadn't found the wrong person, Sushang breathed a sigh of relief:
"It really is you! This disciple is late."
She muttered softly:
"Why aren't the clocks here moving? I thought it was still early..."
Stelle realized it was Sushang and wanted to greet her, but felt it wasn't the right time, so she held back.
Sushang gratefully winked at Stelle, seemingly trying to convey some information with her eyes.
But there was too much to express, and just winking made it difficult for Stelle to understand.
Her eyes rapidly opened and closed, like a startled butterfly flapping its wings.
Since she didn't understand what Sushang wanted to say, Stelle had to speak:
"Before the lesson, have a special drink to moisten your throat."
She pushed the prepared special drink in front of Ratio.
The special concoction was a soft, pale gray overall, with a fresh lemon slice still garnishing the rim.
Then Stelle added a cold joke:
"Question: Why do outworlders new to Luofu always get lost?
Answer: Because the traffic rules there are too complex (fú zá)."
"Do you understand? 'Fú' (floating) and 'fù' (complex) are homophones, which is quite amusing."
Bai Luan complained from the side:
"Luofu's road planning department loses major points."
"…"
Ratio was silent for a moment.
"...Heh heh."
He drank the special concoction.
While Sushang was asking Ratio questions, Stelle slipped next to Bai Luan and whispered:
"Uncle, do you know what Sushang meant just now?"
Bai Luan didn't answer directly but took out his phone and started typing.
Soon, a line of text appeared on the screen:
[She said: We meet again! Everyone else is still wandering around, I just made up an excuse to sneak over. Don't tell Huo Huo and Little Guizi, or they'll laugh at me!]
Stelle finished reading, dumbfounded, and looked at Bai Luan in disbelief.
Can so much information be read from eyes?
Stelle: Uncle is practically a superman.
Bai Luan looked at Stelle's shocked expression, just smiled mysteriously, and continued wiping the wine glass in his hand, as if what he had just done was nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the bar, Ratio had already begun to earnestly instruct Sushang—under the influence of the special drink, he started praising Sushang from peculiar angles.
Hmm... Is it the Professor attacking in the form of a Knight of Beauty?