The activity area of the Space Station was not small; even if Qi Zhimu could move faster, attempting to cover every corner in a single day was enough to leave him exhausted.
After completing the survey of the Storage Zone, he returned to the Astral Express, utterly spent, to rest.
After sleeping for six system hours, he rushed back to the Space Station once more under Himeko's surprised gaze.
Only after asking March 7th did she learn that he intended to upgrade and improve the Space Station's security system.
On this new day, Qi Zhimu shuttled between core areas like the Base Zone and the Supply Zone, tirelessly recording various data.
Stelle wasn't idling either; she was either soaking in Ms. Herta's office testing the simulated universe or traveling back and forth between the cafeteria and the dorms.
Occasionally, she would board the Astral Express to hang out with March 7th and discuss the matter of joining the crew with Himeko.
By the third day, Qi Zhimu had traversed the vast majority of the Space Station's zones.
Glancing at the Space Station's structural map, only one last zone remained unchecked.
As long as he finished the survey there, he wouldn't have to run around everywhere anymore.
"Seclusion Zone... Any staff member is forbidden from unauthorized entry; those in the know must not disclose its existence. Passage requires a corresponding level of clearance, hmmm..."
Qi Zhimu felt a sudden sense of surprise.
This place had no introduction other than its name; even most staff members were unaware of its existence.
So mysterious—could it be hiding something that couldn't see the light of day?
To avoid causing trouble and upholding his professional ethics, Qi Zhimu immediately contacted Asta to inquire.
Asta's answer was concise: try the clearance card Ms. Herta gave him; if he couldn't get in, then he didn't need to worry about it.
Qi Zhimu took out the clearance card and held it close to the sensor.
With a beep, the signal light turned green.
The elevator leading to that zone opened; clearly, his clearance was sufficient.
"Sigh, I got my hopes up for nothing."
He had thought that if his clearance wasn't enough, he could slack off with a clear conscience, but it turned out he still had to work.
Stepping into the elevator and heading all the way down, the silhouette of more than half of the Azure Star came into view through the porthole.
Corresponding memories surfaced in his mind, and Qi Zhimu couldn't help but let out a weary sigh of experience.
In his past life, he had died in the No-Mans Land, failing to witness the day the Azure Star was saved with his own eyes.
Now that he had come here by a twist of fate, perhaps he should find time to go back and see what his former home had become.
Amidst his reminiscence, the elevator reached its destination.
Qi Zhimu reined in his thoughts and stepped out to see a small floating machine.
Having walked for so many hours in the Space Station, he had seen countless similar machines and stepped forward to ask directly.
"What is this zone used for?"
[Storage of Ms. Herta's dangerous curios, and life cultivation by Ms. Ruan Mei. What would you like to inquire about?]
Ruan Mei?
Qi Zhimu became thoughtful.
He had heard Yelena mention her; she seemed to be #81 of the Genius Society, a scientist in the field of life sciences, and very mysterious.
The number of people who had seen her in person might be even fewer than those who had seen #64, Dr. Primitive.
He hadn't expected her to be collaborating with Herta; it seemed their friendship was quite good.
"Give me a detailed map."
[Basement level one: Transit Hub. Basement level two: Shuttle, Incubation Trays, Dangerous curio Storage... Integration complete, please receive.]
Qi Zhimu scanned the data.
He was currently on the third floor, which was the topmost level, so he would start working from the top down.
Walking through a corridor, he noticed that the facilities here were exceptionally well-preserved, with absolutely no traces of destruction by the Antimatter Legion.
This was inevitably a bit strange...
Unless some kind of powerful barrier had been set up here to block the Legion from using Imaginary power to open wormholes.
Did the entire zone have an independent defense system?
Qi Zhimu's expression grew a bit more solemn.
The Seclusion Zone was used for storing dangerous curios, and there were Incubation Trays...
Exactly what kind of terrifying things were contained here, or had that life-science genius cooked up some unknown monster?
He didn't see any dangerous facilities on the third floor; he didn't even see a shadow of a curio.
After walking for a while, a wide circular platform connecting the laboratory and the transit passage appeared in his field of vision.
Qi Zhimu's gaze swept across the surroundings and landed on a terminal on a distant table.
The design was somewhat unique, but he recognized the thing—it was a type of valuable product from the Corporation, equipped with Long-range remote sensing communication technology.
Opening the contact list, there was only one contact inside.
—Ruan Mei.
"Does Herta usually use this to contact her?"
Thinking about what he was going to do soon, Qi Zhimu felt it was necessary to confirm whether any absolute taboos were hidden here that must not be touched, to avoid accidentally triggering a disaster.
That way, he could stay far away from them when the time came.
With this in mind, Qi Zhimu pressed the communication request.
After waiting for a moment, a projection materialized before his eyes.
"..."
Seeing the slightly blurred features of the projection, Qi Zhimu was slightly stunned.
For some reason, an inexplicable feeling flickered in his heart—a sensation that was faint yet real, difficult to put into words.
"Hello, visitor, my name is Ruan Mei. As for myself... there isn't much to introduce. I am glad to meet you."
Ruan Mei spoke in a flat tone, her gaze never shifting; it was clearly just a recorded projection.
"I am often in obscure regions of the universe where communication is inconvenient. Contacting me depends on fate."
"The research continues. If there is anything you wish to say to me, please leave a message. Goodbye."
[Transferred to automatic response system. Please press the communication key to make a selection.]
"Nothing. Goodbye," Qi Zhimu left only these words.
Disconnecting the communication, his attention turned to the notebook beside it.
The cover was blank, but upon opening it, rows of elegant small characters were written inside.
The handwriting reflected the person; judging solely by the charm of the script, the owner of the notebook was surely a refined and elegant beauty.
However, after reading for only a few seconds, Qi Zhimu's expression became increasingly strange.
No. 92
Experimental Objective: Create a life form of pure rationality.
Experimental Result: It remained there in a daze and died due to mental derangement.
Reason for Failure: Life and pure rationality seem to be incompatible.
...
No. 524
Experimental Objective: Cultivate #8 Lamb.
Experimental Result: After #8 Lamb smiled, it disappeared.
Reason for Failure: #8 Lamb seems unwilling to return.
...
No. 1024
Experimental Objective: Create a distributed-existence life form.
Experimental Environment: Accelerator and special Incubation Trays.
Experimental Method: Use high-energy particles to bombard Rift creations, causing them to split into multiple life forms existing in quantum states.
Experimental Process: Accelerate high-energy particles to bombard the confined subject until it splits; feed it fruit with the blessing of abundance to maintain its life form until the splitting is complete.
Experimental Expectation: The subject becomes a distributed life form capable of existing in multiple locations simultaneously; any information obtained by one life form can be transmitted to all other life forms.
Experimental Result: Annihilated after 123 seconds.
Reason for Failure: The emotional detector transmitted immense sorrow. Because the subject received too much information, it seemed to have seen some kind of... truth. Unable to bear the sorrow of knowing the truth, it actively chose to perish.
Follow-up Treatment: Too similar to A'Mu's end... The experimental process and related memories must be destroyed.
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