Looking at the letter, Lin Yi couldn't help laughing.
Master Pointed Hat~
He wondered how Herta would react if she ever found out about that nickname.
Rappa's memetic virus infection had been cured long ago, yet her everyday behavior and manner of speaking remained exactly the same. Was it simply a habit she'd developed, or was she suffering from an incurable case of chuunibyou?
Deep down, however, Lin Yi knew there was a more likely explanation. Those bastards at the Primordial Forest had thoroughly messed her up during the formative period when her intelligence and worldview were still developing. Correcting that kind of damage later in life was incredibly difficult.
Once the optimal learning period had passed, even the most intelligent animals would struggle to learn certain things.
Knock, knock, knock~
Dongfang Qiqing knocked on the door.
When she entered, she was dressed in an elegant, well-fitted outfit. The only thing that looked slightly out of place was the little snow bear clinging stubbornly to her leg.
When had she started raising a snow bear, anyway? Hopefully, she hadn't found herself a new favorite and forgotten all about her old one.
Oh, never mind. There was the Cake Cat, happily bouncing along behind her.
Whenever Dongfang Qiqing switched into work mode, she became remarkably formal. She was practically a different person from the woman Lin Yi had first met.
"Mr. Lin Yi, I've discovered that numerous factions have presented gifts to Shenxiao Space City over the years, but we have never reciprocated. Should we consider preparing gifts of equivalent value in return, as a matter of courtesy?"
Lin Yi fell silent.
...We're supposed to return gifts?
Come to think of it, that was certainly how personal relationships worked. But when it came to exchanges between major organizations and factions, he had absolutely no experience.
Who would've thought he'd have to worry about something like this?
"Sure. Let's return the favor."
Dongfang Qiqing nodded and immediately produced a document. She had already completed all the necessary preparations before coming to see him, so regardless of his decision, she could put the appropriate plan into action.
"Mr. Lin Yi, I've already filtered out the less important recipients. The remaining names belong to major factions throughout the universe, along with special guests you frequently associate with, including Madam Herta and Mr. Screwllum."
"I've prepared a list of recipients and proposed gifts. Would you mind reviewing it?"
Lin Yi waved his hand dismissively. He had absolutely no desire to read through another document.
"You can handle trivial matters like this yourself from now on."
But then his curiosity got the better of him.
How exactly did a professional deal with these administrative headaches? Every time he'd tried handling them himself, even the smallest problem had given him a headache.
"Actually, since you've already brought it here, let me take a look."
He accepted the list.
Xianzhou Luofu — Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan
Gift: Two genetically optimized white lions with snow-white coats and black hooves, specially bred in the Garden of Life.
Reason: Investigations revealed that General Jing Yuan had previously raised two white lions. Two genetically enhanced, long-lived white lions would therefore make an appropriate gift.
Xianzhou Zhuming
Gift: 300 tons of specialized forging materials.
Reason: The Zhuming had previously presented Shenxiao Space City with a ceremonial sword. Forging materials of equivalent value would be an appropriate return gift.
Xianzhou Yaoqing
Gift: 300,000 units of diluted Primordial Life Essence and 3,000 doses of Heterologous Pheromone Immunity Agent.
Reason: The original Shenxiao ship, which later became Shenxiao Space City, came from the Yaoqing. A generous return gift was therefore warranted. Given the Yaoqing's constant involvement in warfare, supplies capable of significantly reducing casualties would be the most suitable choice.
Interastral Peace Corporation
Gift: 300 replicated Light Cones depicting various aspects of Qlipoth, the Amber Lord.
...
"Looks good. Very good, actually. You've tailored the gifts to each recipient perfectly. But don't send anything to Herta. She just walked off with my Origin Cells. Not a chance she's getting another gift out of me."
Dongfang Qiqing: "?"
"Just kidding. All right, go ahead and use the list you've prepared. And feel free to be a little bolder from now on. As long as it doesn't interfere with my research, you can make your own decisions about these minor administrative matters. Understood?"
After sending Dongfang Qiqing on her way, Lin Yi turned his attention to repairing the Phase Walker.
First things first. He needed to get his trusty equipment working again. Without it, he genuinely felt a little uncomfortable. There were so many things that had become much less convenient.
And that was only one item on an ever-growing list of unfinished business.
Sigh...
Welt Yang had already appeared.
Long before Welt arrived in this universe, Lin Yi had planned to stake out the Astral Express around this point in the timeline. He'd wanted to investigate how Old Yang had traveled to the world of Honkai: Star Rail as soon as possible.
Yet he'd delayed his departure until now. At this rate, he had no idea when he'd finally get to meet the man.
Then there was Herta's Simulated Universe. Lin Yi had practically abandoned the project and had no idea how the upgrade was progressing.
Herta had told him to visit in another ten days or so, but the Simulated Universe was hardly a simple piece of technology. He would definitely need to arrive a little earlier to familiarize himself with the changes introduced by the upgrade. Otherwise, he'd end up scrambling to figure everything out at the last minute.
The problems in the Garden of Life had also remained unresolved for ages. And then Yaoshi had casually planted some mysterious tree there.
It was obviously something with tremendous research potential, yet Lin Yi hadn't even found the time to take a proper look at it.
Fortunately, Ruan Mei had mentioned that she would visit Shenxiao Space City later. She'd also promised to help him deal with the problems in the Garden of Life, so perhaps she'd be willing to investigate the tree while she was at it.
Then there was Lin Yi himself.
Having become an Emanator of Abundance, he was now an exceptionally valuable research specimen. Who could possibly understand the changes occurring inside his body better than he could?
Conducting experiments on himself would be incredibly convenient!
Under normal circumstances, he could have spent ages studying the subject. But right now, he didn't even have time to touch it.
Even the changes in his original body's physiological data after withdrawing from the Godhood Ascension Experiment had only been hastily recorded. He hadn't had an opportunity to analyze the results in detail.
And there were still the samples collected when Robin transformed into Dominicus, the Stellaron, and all sorts of other miscellaneous discoveries.
Those were merely the things he'd accumulated during this latest expedition. If he included all the research he'd left unfinished before that...
Lin Yi genuinely felt as though the work would never end.
So many fascinating questions, each with enormous research value. For a genius, perhaps this was what people called a happy problem?
Even so, Lin Yi was beginning to understand that human capabilities had their limits.
There simply weren't enough hours in the day!
He finally understood why Herta squeezed every possible second out of her schedule and stationed her puppets everywhere to act as her substitutes.
Not only could those puppets travel around in her place, but they could also assist with research.
And frankly, Lin Yi was starting to want some of his own.
There were countless urgent problems demanding his attention and an equally ridiculous number of subjects waiting to be researched. But as the saying went, a craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he wishes to do his work well.
He'd better contact Stephen first.
...
Meanwhile, Dongfang Qiqing was handling Shenxiao Space City's administrative affairs while listening to the latest episode of the Interastral Peace Broadcast.
"This is the Interastral Peace Broadcast. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to all our listeners!"
"Welcome to today's broadcast. First, let's take a look at the major headlines."
"Following more than three months of coordinated distribution, the Universal Panacea is now available throughout the galaxy. The severe shortages and overwhelming demand that previously made the medicine nearly impossible to obtain have finally been eliminated."
Dongfang Qiqing continued working as the broadcast played in the background.
"Uncle Igor has submitted a request to replace his entire set of training equipment? Let's see... The approved budget is thirty-seven million credits."
She paused.
"What's he supposed to do with such a tiny amount? Let's make it three hundred million instead."