"I'd also like to know whether you can actually tear Destruction apart."
"I told you, I'm not tearing Destruction apart," Herta replied. "I'm simply giving its other aspect the opportunity to make its own choice."
Herta was in an excellent mood now that Lin Yi had agreed.
"Good. Since we've settled that, can I take the Origin Cells with me right now?"
"Go ahead."
This time, the voice came from Lin Yi's original body.
Vines, leaves, and flowers intertwined to form his clothing. One of his eyes had been dyed a brilliant gold by the power of Destruction, while the other had turned an emerald green, brimming with the power of Abundance.
Of course, this was only how he looked when he fully unleashed the powers of his Paths without attempting to restrain them. Much like Acheron's hair turning white when she drew her blade, Lin Yi could return to his usual black hair and black eyes simply by suppressing his aura and power.
After all this time, he could finally move around in his original body again.
Lin Yi stretched lazily, a series of satisfying cracks and pops coming from all over his body. Just hearing those sounds made him feel wonderful.
When his original body awakened, the golden half of a little finger resting on the right side of the apparatus at the center of the laboratory had automatically fused with him.
Lin Yi examined the little finger on his right hand. The severed portion had become part of his finger bone, and his hand was now filled with the power of Destruction.
He casually poked at the space beside him.
A hole appeared.
The space hadn't been compressed or punctured, nor had the matter within it been annihilated. It had simply been destroyed. The matter that had occupied that spot was gone.
For now, he could only release this power through his little finger. Fortunately, the power of Destruction didn't conflict with the power he possessed as an Emanator of Abundance.
He could wield both freely, and the sensation was marvelous. At the very least, it made Lin Yi feel that all those years spent lying around like a corpse hadn't been for nothing.
And Destruction wasn't the only power that had returned to him. There was also the long-familiar power of Erudition—the Path energy Lin Yi had accumulated while walking the Path of Erudition.
It had remained silent, yet it had never truly left his side.
"It's been a long time~"
Lin Yi fiddled with the apparatus for a moment. He wasn't quite sure what he'd touched, but the enormous machine suddenly folded in on itself, transforming into a cube.
Since he'd already made his decision, there was no point in being reluctant to part with it. He handed the cube to Herta.
"Here. The Origin Cells you wanted."
Herta studied his appearance. "You look exactly the same, but for some reason, your original body is much more pleasing to the eye."
"Maybe it's because of the Paths?"
This wasn't the first time Lin Yi had marveled at the extraordinary nature of Path energy. Something so dependent on abstract concepts and belief really was strange, not to mention completely at odds with common sense.
Herta carefully accepted the cube, handling it as though she were afraid of dropping and breaking the thing.
Never mind that it could withstand a planet-destroying cannon.
"Well, that takes care of all three reasons I came here. It's time for me to leave. Oh, right! The Simulated Universe upgrade is almost finished. It should be ready in another ten days or so. Remember to come by when the time comes."
Having delivered her reminder, Herta turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Or rather, she was probably desperate to get the Origin Cells back to her laboratory so she could advance her experiment as soon as possible.
Out of respect for Lin Yi, Herta waited until she'd stepped outside the laboratory before summoning the Fourth Mirror. She lightly tapped her magic wand and passed through its surface, disappearing to who knew where.
Lin Yi stared in the direction she'd vanished.
"Everyone's working on something ridiculously ambitious. You're making me look bad here."
Now it was his turn to clean up the mess. After all, Zhuxing wasn't around anymore.
Of course, cleaning up wasn't the only thing he had to look forward to. It was also time to happily sort through everything he'd gained.
...
Several days passed as Lin Yi gradually adjusted to his original body.
Here's a joke: he'd spent so long lying around like a corpse, and his physical and spiritual strength had increased so dramatically during that time, that he initially couldn't get used to his own body.
Fortunately, after a few days of adjustment, he began experiencing an indescribable sense of comfort and harmony.
The invisible crown of thorns above his head shone brilliantly when viewed from a special perspective. The power of Abundance had completed its adaptive adjustments to his body.
From now on, Lin Yi no longer had to claim that he wasn't particularly good at fighting.
Meanwhile, after learning from Yue Liuli that her destination was the Xianzhou Luofu, Zhuxing had taken Lancelot along when she departed.
Lancelot hadn't visited his family once in all the years since he'd arrived at Shenxiao Space City. He and his sister had only exchanged the occasional letter.
Why did those two insist on communicating that way? Didn't it feel a little awkward in an age like this?
For years, Lancelot had devoted himself entirely to training, strengthening his physique and mastering all kinds of skills.
By now, he was proficient in practically every form of martial combat. And his accomplishments weren't limited to physical training. After spending so many years immersed in the academic environment of Shenxiao Space City, he had also become highly educated by the standards of the outside world.
He could comfortably handle all sorts of technical work, from piloting and repairing warships to calibrating weapons systems.
Igor, however, believed that someone who remained in one place could never develop genuine ability.
Having once traveled across the universe seeking assistance for Belobog, Igor understood that staying in a comfortable environment came at a cost. Compared to truly exceptional individuals who had experienced the wider universe, the difference in mental fortitude alone could be difficult to overcome.
He'd also noticed that Lancelot had something weighing on his mind.
That was why Igor had specifically asked Zhuxing to take Lancelot to the Luofu while she was heading there, giving him an opportunity to properly reunite with his younger sister, Guinaifen.
When Lin Yi learned about this, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Igor hadn't even resolved his own emotional baggage, yet here he was trying to counsel someone else!
Ever since his rebirth, Igor hadn't visited Belobog even once. Yet whenever news of the city arrived, he was always the first to ask about it.
And whenever Belobog encountered difficulties, Igor would secretly offer assistance from behind the scenes, taking great care to ensure that nobody discovered his involvement.
If they were talking about people who couldn't be straightforward with their feelings, Igor was far worse than Lancelot!
Where did he find the confidence to help Lancelot work through his problems? Or was this a classic case of a physician being unable to heal himself?
During this period, Dongfang Qiqing had brought Shenxiao Space City under orderly management, putting an end to much of the chaos that had previously plagued it.
If nothing else, this thoroughly demonstrated that neither Lin Yi nor Zhuxing was particularly suited to administrative work.
After spending her first few days carefully observing the situation, Dongfang Qiqing had developed a general understanding of the city's operations.
And she'd reached a simple conclusion.
An illness this severe required strong medicine.
She immediately began rectifying the disorder and tightening discipline, cracking down on anyone who fraudulently obtained research funding or exploited their position to profit under Shenxiao Space City's name.
Of course, she wasn't going to punish everyone indiscriminately. As long as someone hadn't gone too far, Dongfang Qiqing generally couldn't be bothered with them.
Even those who spent every day slacking off while shamelessly enjoying Shenxiao Space City's generous benefits received no criticism from her.
For now, she was concentrating on the most outrageous offenders.
One particularly egregious example was a certain individual who had been deliberately withholding the positions allocated to talented recruits arriving from outside.
This wasn't merely a matter of personal profiteering. The bastard had been obstructing Shenxiao Space City's recruitment pipeline!
An enormous institution like Shenxiao Space City needed a constant influx of fresh talent if it wanted to maintain its stability.
The culprit had since been hauled before the Interastral Peace Court, sentenced to life imprisonment, and shipped off to a remote planet to work in the mines.
(Exiled to Lingnan~)
And he was hardly the only offender.
There were also people who had stolen Shenxiao Space City's research成果, repackaged the findings, and published them under different names...