"So… before we take on the assignment, I wanted to ask…"
Stelle licked a bit of cake frosting off the corner of her mouth and obediently raised her hand.
"Will this job be dangerous? After all, Ruan Mei, didn't you just mention it's a biological experiment?"
"For confidentiality reasons, I'll explain the experiment details gradually. As for the assignment… yes, you'll need to help deal with the creatures produced from these two experiments."
Ruan Mei didn't deny it, stating plainly, "I admit, this commission carries some risk—I won't hide that from you."
"So, if your situation turns precarious, or something unexpected happens, I'll step in myself, deal with the experimental creations, and get you out… at worst, Herta will just complain at me afterward."
"Uh…"
Recalling the final boss of this assignment—the Starcrusher Swarm King: Skaracabaz, which had the power of an Emanator but a lifespan of less than a minute—Lynelle suddenly felt that… if Ruan Mei could raise something like that inside her own space station, Herta's tolerance for Ruan Mei was truly sky-high.
"It seems you two aren't opposed to accepting this assignment." Seeing that neither showed any sign of rejection, Ruan Mei nodded, her tone relaxing slightly.
"Then, let's start with the first experiment."
"When I first arrived on the space station, I borrowed the Phase Flame from Herta—it's an invention of member #29 Sserkal. I hoped to be enlightened by other Society members' results."
"A surge of creativity led me to explore the cultivation of life on the space station."
"In my imagination, these lifeforms would be a new variety that are born as geniuses. I planned to name them after Lambda, member #8 of the Genius Society…"
"I don't know where it went wrong. They possess their own sentience, but are nowhere near geniuses. Moreover, my "free-range" approach seems to have backfired."
"In a lab leak incident a few days ago, some of these "little lifeforms" ran away and scattered all over the space station."
"They've already leaked out? Then… hasn't that caused panic among the researchers?"
Stelle, who had been quietly snacking on metaphorical popcorn, was startled.
Ruan Mei, biological research, danger, leaked… these terms swirled in Stelle's mind and immediately pieced together a vivid scene—inspired by a zombie movie she'd watched with Lynelle just a few days before.
"The researchers are still treating these entities as visitors... I want to steer clear of making my presence known, so as not to cause undue disturbances."
"So, I'd like you to help me find those little runaways and settle them somewhere suitable. As for where, you could ask the researchers in the Department of Ecology, or…"
Ruan Mei glanced at Lynelle beside her.
"I believe, given Lynelle's familiarity with the space station, finding such a place should be no trouble at all."
"As for the second experiment… it's closely related to the first."
"While you're retrieving those little creatures, you might uncover quite a few clues. By then, you might even understand what needs to be done next without me having to explain."
After going over a few more experimental details, Ruan Mei left quite at ease, seemingly not worried at all about whether Lynelle and Stelle might cause extra chaos…
When Herta trusted someone, Ruan Mei was equally generous with her own trust.
Having digested the assignment, Stelle immediately and without hesitation clung to Lynelle's arm.
"Help me, Lynelle-chan!"
"Please don't mimic Clara's cutesy, reduplicated coquettish tone…" Lynelle shook her head helplessly, but she didn't refuse Stelle's request.
Instead, she casually found a computer terminal on the platform and gave it a light touch.
In less than a minute, Lynelle withdrew her hand, then waved over to Stelle, who had somehow started fiddling with a passing small robot.
"Alright, come over. Also, remember to restart that little robot—it still has a whole evening's schedule of meetings stored inside."
"Hehehe…" Stelle grinned awkwardly, caught red-handed, then quickly trotted over to Lynelle.
To her surprise, before she could even ask about the search results, the girl's lips were suddenly sealed by a familiar, soft sensation.
Not quite sure what was happening, but considering their usual dynamic, Stelle immediately responded on instinct.
Just kidding—if Lynelle dared to suddenly kiss her like this today, tomorrow she'd dare to pin her down underneath.
This wasn't just ordinary provocation anymore; she had to strike back hard!
Of course, while it looked like a sudden burst of affection between the two, enjoying the sweet sensation was really just a side dish.
Along with their movements, a flood of information was already streaming directly into Stelle's mind through Lynelle's ability—real-time surveillance images from various sections of the space station, with quite a few marked by Lynelle as "cute."
"O-okay, that's enough…"
A few seconds later, Lynelle—her face now flushed bright red—hurriedly pulled away, a silvery strand briefly connecting them before breaking.
Even though she had initiated the sneak attack this time, because she had to split her focus on transmitting information, she couldn't keep Stelle suppressed for long.
If they had gone on for just a few more seconds, it probably would've flipped right back into that familiar scenario of her being pinned down and kissed relentlessly.
"I've sent you all the surveillance images from the space station. Later, you can search for Ruan Mei's creations based on what you see in the pictures…"
"Oh…" Unlike Lynelle, who was already spent after just a few seconds, Stelle looked rather reluctant to stop.
After all, the feeling of "exchanging fluids" while having a massive amount of information flood her brain was actually quite intriguing.
At the very least, Stelle wouldn't have minded continuing a little longer.
"But, so this is what these little guys look like, huh? No wonder Ruan Mei said they don't look aggressive…"
After carefully studying the surveillance images Lynelle had transmitted, Stelle quickly locked onto the creatures suspected to be Ruan Mei's creations.
They looked like some kind of dessert-like beings, and most of them could be described as a fusion of pastries and… cats?
"Yeah. They're so cute that quite a few researchers from the Department of Ecology have already fallen for these creatures—they've even named them 'Cake Cats' and formed a protection society on their own… Goes to show, sex appeal really can't compete with cuteness."
"Uh…" Stelle turned her head slightly, glancing at Lynelle's face—still glowing with lingering warmth, utterly adorable and tempting enough to make one want to take a nibble—then at the impressive curves straining against the girl's clothes, and promptly came to a conclusion.
Sexy and cute can definitely coexist.
"R-right… if I go collect these critters, where should I take them?"
Feeling that if this went on, she might start having some inappropriate thoughts again, Stelle decided she'd better redirect her focus quickly.
"My suggestion is to take them to the new courtyard. You can ask the staff for its location."
Lynelle thought for a moment, then added, "While you're gathering the little critters, I'll go to the new courtyard to prepare a place for them."
"After all, if my senses are right, the new courtyard might not be entirely safe as it is…"
"Anyway… off you go!"
Before Stelle could react, Lynelle leaned in suddenly, planting a swift "sneak attack" kiss on the girl's cheek, then quickly converted herself into data form and vanished right in front of the terminal interface.
"That girl…" Stelle puffed out her cheeks, then jabbed a finger at the terminal Lynelle had used to escape. "I'll deal with you tonight!"
--+--
Meanwhile, having succeeded in her sneak attack, Lynelle swiftly made her way to the Seclusion Zone on the lowest level of the space station.
Originally designed to accommodate "non-human visitors," this area had remained closed off ever since the space station was attacked by the Antimatter Legion.
Aside from a few small robots and one of Herta's puppets, the place was completely deserted.
Of course, this place should have become quite lively by now, full of vibrant life—except… along with the Cake Cats, there are also bugs.
"Herta—Herta, are you there?"
Having just arrived in the Seclusion Zone, Lynelle quickly spotted a dormant Herta puppet.
However, it seemed this particular puppet had been deliberately disconnected by Herta herself.
No matter how Lynelle poked or even pinched its cheeks, the little Herta remained completely unresponsive.
"Hmm… looks like she's not in. Well, of course—Ruan Mei said Herta wouldn't like this experiment of hers, which is exactly why she chose to avoid Herta in the first place."
"Naturally, she wouldn't leave a Herta puppet lingering around here. Still, from what I recall in the storyline, Herta seemed to know what Ruan Mei was up to… sigh, that stubborn woman."
After gently moving the little Herta to a safer spot, Lynelle began scanning the area, searching for her real objective.
Soon enough, a strange device caught her eye.
"A Lifeform Oven… Yes, this is it!" Her eyes lit up as she darted over to the apparatus.
With Lynelle's Corruption abilities, tidying up a little habitat for Cake Cats was a trivial matter—just delegate it to some robots.
The main reasons she'd come down here were to clear out the bugs in the Seclusion Zone ahead of time, and to locate this Lifeform Oven.
After all, this thing was perfect for breeding Cake Cats.
If she couldn't manage to raise a little cat-eared Cake Cat, wouldn't all those Cake Cat fan creations she'd devoured in her past life have been for nothing?
"Hehe, let me scan the structure of this machine first. Once I'm back, maybe Welt can help reconstruct it from the data…"
With a hint of secret delight, Lynelle began tinkering with the device. But within minutes, her enthusiasm deflated, and she slumped in defeat.
The reason… it was just too complicated.
Although Ruan Mei's experiment hadn't succeeded, this machine was originally designed for mass-producing "geniuses."
Its structural complexity was far beyond Lynelle's level of understanding.
Even if she fully scanned the mechanical layout, reverse-engineering the principles was impossible.
To achieve the effect she hoped for, she'd probably need the post-Awakening Herrscher of Truth—after all, her abilities didn't require comprehension before replication.
"Alright, looks like I'll just have to play around with it here… But maybe I'll wait until Stelle arrives before starting the Cake Cat fun."
After placing the Lifefrom Oven back in its original spot, Lynelle clapped her hands clean and stood up, ready to tackle her other objective—dealing with the bugs in the Seclusion Zone, aside from that Emanator of Propagation.
Those bugs with optical camouflage were seriously annoying.
If she didn't clean them up thoroughly, what if they slipped into the greenhouse zone someday, or if a Caka Cat wandered out into the docking area? That would spell real trouble.
"Whoa, there really are a lot of bugs here…"
After accessing the Seclusion Zone's built-in detection system, the dense clusters of red dots made Lynelle's mouth corner twitch involuntarily.
"Ruan Mei really has nerves of steel, conducting experiments right in the middle of a bug infestation without a hint of pressure… Good thing I came down early to clean up."
Taking another glance at the Swarm locations on the detection system, a ceremonial sword materialized in Lynelle's hand.
"Using a character card against these things would be overkill. As I recall, compared to ordinary Stings, this bunch just has extra optical camouflage. Adding a bit of Destruction to my Corruption abilities should do the trick, right?"
Lynelle reached out and lightly brushed her hand over her exquisitely crafted little scythe.
Instantly, black flames from the Path of Destruction attached themselves to her ceremonial sword.
"Well then…"
Mimicking the tone of a certain Pathstrider of Preservation, Lynelle appeared instantly behind a Sting.
Strangely, though, the bug seemed completely unaware of the impending danger, still ambling about leisurely.
"With your soul's breath… feed the flames!"
Schlick— As smoothly as a hot knife through butter, Lynelle's ceremonial blade cleaved through the Sting's exoskeleton.
Then, her expression changed abruptly.
"Wait, that's not right!"
She yanked her little sickle back. On its blade, the black flames of Destruction were sizzling and burning—even growing fiercer.
But that wasn't supposed to happen.
Without an external source to replenish the Destruction energy, this enchantment-style usage should only cause the energy to dwindle.
Moreover, the Destruction power within Lynelle's body was fundamentally different from normal—even attempting to replenish it from outside was difficult.
Under these conditions, there was only one explanation for why the energy was burning brighter: the same phenomenon that constantly occurred within Lynelle's body.
Due to the catfish effect, the Destruction power enchanted onto the scythe was being stimulated by an overflow of Abundance energy, causing it to intensify.
"This bug… doesn't just carry [Propagation]?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.