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Herta didn't care at all; in fact, she was delighted to see 'Ruan Mei's' shifting expressions. A happy smile spread across her face:
"All in all, the original Ruan Mei should arrive at the Space Station within a day. A Herta puppet will bring her over. I'll leave the receiving of the guest to you."
Ms. Herta patted 'Ruan Mei's' shoulder, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Ugh. She wanted so badly to refuse, but 'Ruan Mei' also genuinely wanted to meet the original to earn more Emotion Value.
'Ruan Mei's' conflicted expression only made Ms. Herta burst out laughing with joy.
"This is fascinating. Two Ruan Meis meeting here—I'm really curious what that will look like."
Herta giggled, bringing the subject to a close.
Half a day later, 'Ruan Mei' waited for the original Ruan Mei, who was escorted by a Herta puppet.
"Welcome, Miss Ruan Mei."
"It's nice to finally meet you. You are, indeed, quite astonishing."
From the moment Ruan Mei stepped off the ship and saw her other self, her gaze never left 'Ruan Mei's' body.
"Hmm?"
'Ruan Mei' looked at Ruan Mei, who had walked right up to her, practically face-to-face, and met her eyes.
"Is something the matter, Miss Ruan Mei?"
"Just call me Ruan Mei. I'm very curious how you managed this. Herta said your mimicry is not only flawless but can also copy the talent and abilities completely."
Ruan Mei stated directly what had attracted her here.
Herta had mentioned that Baiming's imitation was no less skilled than the original when sparring with her, and that when he imitated the Lord of Extinction (Absolute War Lord), he even drew the attention of an Aeon. Now, he was impersonating her.
This ability, without a doubt, piqued Ruan Mei's interest. Another me in the world, she mused.
Ruan Mei looked at the other version of herself before her and showed a profoundly intrigued smile. If he could simulate the talents as well, that would be a great feat that even Ruan Mei herself had never achieved.
At least Ruan Mei couldn't clone another genius.
"Ugh..." 'Ruan Mei' couldn't help but curse silently. That Herta! She really did use him as bait.
"It's due to my special ability, I guess. I don't really understand it myself, and it's not very controllable. Who I can impersonate is somewhat random," 'Ruan Mei' replied with a casual, cheerful smile.
"Hmm, I've also reviewed the data on the Giants of Light you created. It's a very interesting design. And quite an... ambitious undertaking."
Ruan Mei nodded but had no intention of stepping back. She even raised her hand and placed it right on 'Ruan Mei's' chest. A faint light blossomed at her fingertips.
But this only brought Ruan Mei more confusion: "As expected, you look completely identical to me in every way. But what's even stranger is your consciousness..."
After a brief touch, Ruan Mei found that she couldn't quite grasp the other's fundamental nature. In every observable way, she was entirely another Ruan Mei. From the inside out, she was in Ruan Mei's shape. It was only when she touched the realms of Meme and Memory that she barely detected an anomaly.
Reaching this level of understanding also surprised Ruan Mei.
In this universe, the concept of a soul is categorized under the domain of Memory and is inextricably linked to Memetic Energy and the Path of The Remembrance. Of course, there are also categories like Soul Essences, which are rather unique, non-corporeal lifeforms. However, these are essentially energy beings, their consciousness still relying on some aggregation of energy.
But the individual before her...
She felt like he was neither a variant like a Remembrance Agent nor a subspecies of a Soul Essence. Yet, there wasn't a complete lack of similarity either.
A very strange and unique individual. That was Ruan Mei's current conclusion. She now felt a strong urge to study this peculiar lifeform before her.
But Ruan Mei also knew that her visit today was for other matters. So, Ruan Mei reluctantly suppressed the curiosity bubbling up inside her.
She slowly stepped back, returning their social distance to normal. "I apologize; that was a momentary lapse. I was just excited to realize, yet again, that this universe accommodates all possibilities."
Ruan Mei lowered her hand and extended it toward 'Ruan Mei'.
'Ruan Mei' smiled and shook her hand. "Yes, there are so many wondrous things in this universe."
Ruan Mei's curiosity about him could be a good thing, or a bad thing. The good part was that he'd likely have a better chance of getting Ruan Mei's help in the future. The bad part was he was slightly worried about what Ruan Mei might "reconfigure" him into.
It looked like another task needed to be added to the agenda for this cycle: diligently studying the field of Life Sciences. At least he needed to be able to understand what she was doing when he asked Ruan Mei for help.
"Shall we? Herta must be growing impatient. Does your ship need to come with us?" 'Ruan Mei' withdrew his hand and gestured toward the spacecraft docked behind Ruan Mei.
Ruan Mei shook her head and smiled: "No need. I assume since you are here and have already conducted experiments, we won't be lacking in equipment."
"Very well."
'Ruan Mei' turned, briefly checking his status screen:
Character Roleplay System Name: Baiming (Ruan Mei) Lifespan: 100 Years (Paused) + 20 Days (Roleplay) Transformable Characters: Big Herta (Charge: 87.6%), Acheron (Charge: 54.8%), Star-Wailer (Charge: 13.3%), Ruan Mei (Roleplaying) Pull Attempts Remaining: 0 (67.2%)
Excellent, the values are growing nicely.
They arrived at the experimental area. Outside the huge, floor-to-ceiling glass panel adjacent to the main lab was an empty training ground, folded in space.
Inside, six Giants of Light were constantly unleashing their power. Herta puppets were nearby, measuring data and adjusting tactics.
"You're here~"
Herta turned around, sizing up the two Ruan Meis with interest. She stroked her chin, meticulously observing them, even wrinkling her nose to sniff the air. Only then did she distinguish between the two.
"You must be Baiming. You carry my scent; it seems you picked it up over the past few days." Herta raised her hand and pointed confidently at 'Ruan Mei'.
If they simply stood there smiling at her, Herta truly couldn't tell the difference. If she hadn't caught a different fragrance, she might have needed to resort to other means to distinguish them.
'Ruan Mei' smiled and nodded: "It is me, but your choice of words is quite peculiar. I really worry you're going to turn into a woman with heavy emotions."
"Hah! What nonsense! My emotions, Herta's emotions, are naturally the most precious in the universe. Shouldn't they be 'heavy'?" Herta crossed her arms, just as self-absorbed as ever.
Ruan Mei watched the dynamic between her other self and Herta. She felt a bizarre and subtle sense of unreality, as if she were watching her own intimate conversation with Herta from a third-person perspective.
Unlike Herta's crude method of distinguishing them, Ruan Mei, after her physical contact, genuinely struggled to discern the difference between herself and the other Ruan Mei. It was exactly like facing a version of herself from a parallel world, one with a slightly different personality.
She immediately grabbed a nearby monitor and brought up the data for the Giants of Light exercising outside. The initial, identical starting data had begun to show completely different growth directions and characteristics after just one day.
A smile touched Ruan Mei's lips. It was this uncertainty in life that made the essence of life so captivating.
But what truly captivated Ruan Mei was the other self standing before her.
Just as Herta had anticipated, the minds of two geniuses resonated at that moment. Ruan Mei also developed the idea of wanting to bind Baiming to her side.
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