["The cat pastry looks extremely sorrowful. Accompanied by wave after wave of "meow meow" cries, tears pour down its face."]
["After activating the special synesthesia beacon, Stelle learns that it is the red bean ash flavor. It feels heartbroken precisely because it has not received Ruan Mei's approval. It curls up in the corner, constantly denying itself while still stubbornly waiting for Ruan Mei to come pick it up."]
["Even Stelle can't help but feel her heart soften."]
["She is just about to find a place to settle this little one when suddenly there is a strange noise from the cabin door downstairs. Stelle decides to go check it out and has the little one follow her."]
["But while passing through a narrow corridor, Stelle suddenly hears a faint sound behind her."]
["—It is the subtle wing-flapping sound of some kind of insect."]
["The next second, her body reacts before her mind does. She spins around fiercely with her bat to block—"]
[""Clang—!!""]
["The instant the bat collides with the proboscis, sparks explode in the dim corridor!"]
["Stelle's arm goes numb from the impact. The monster insect's body trembles like gelatin. Although it resembles the true sting bugs, its appearance is completely different from the ones she saw on the train earlier—this one is semi-transparent throughout. If one doesn't look carefully, its body has almost completely blended into the surroundings."]
—
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.
"Wah—!!"
Kobayashi quickly covers her ears. That sudden "clang" from the Celestial Screen feels like a steel wire buzzing straight into her eardrums.
"Kobayashi-san, are you okay?!" Tohru immediately looks over with concern.
"I-I'm fine. It's just… this bug feels so disgusting." She stares at the bug on the Celestial Screen being beaten until green blood sprays everywhere, goosebumps rising all over her body. "Ms. Herta actually allows her to research something like this? Isn't her heart way too big?"
"Moreover, this bug is obviously much stronger than the ones we encountered on the train before. It can even turn invisible. Could it be because Ruan Mei reinforced their bodies?"
Although Tohru doesn't quite understand the principles behind Ruan Mei's life research, she thinks of great mages who can enchant monsters and objects, granting effects like invisibility or hardened skin… and assumes Ruan Mei did something similar to these bugs.
Kobayashi rests her chin in thought: "But what is the purpose of Ms. Ruan Mei making the bugs stronger? Don't tell me she wants to create another Swarm Disaster?"
"That would be even more evil than a Demon Lord… But she looks quite upright. She doesn't seem like the type who would do something like that." Tohru suddenly has a flash of insight. "Oh! I get it! This bug must be the [big trouble] Ms. Ruan Mei mentioned! She probably wanted to control this kind of bug but accidentally let it escape because of its invisibility!"
"…Is that so? An invisible bug does count as trouble, but I feel like it's not that simple…"
Kobayashi looks at the bug already smashed by Stelle on the Celestial Screen, then at the deep, seemingly endless corridor. She has a vague feeling that more monsters might crawl out of this creepy place.
—
["After dealing with this sneaky old bug, Stelle continues forward with the red bean flavor cat pastry and arrives at a laboratory at the end of the corridor."]
["Here, she sees even more colorful cat pastries gathered together. The sheer number surprises her."]
["She approaches the nearest computer, which contains previous experimental records from Ruan Mei."]
[""#23 A-Cha's final years in the Machine City gave me inspiration. Even a long-lived being like her eventually reaches an end. Now I can confirm: this cultivation attempt—failure.""]
[""Life takes countless forms, which only proves that form itself is meaningless. These lives have traveled extremely far along their respective concepts, even capable of triggering synesthetic chain reactions… but this is not what I desire.""]
[""I have begun to feel lost. Does the question of [the essence of life] truly have no answer to begin with? #1 Zandar, have you ever felt this lost… and this despairing?""]
[""I want to understand the essence of life—the thing every individual possesses yet remains unaware of—whether it is a physical attribute of existence or something unknowable beyond matter. To avoid blind faith in science, I cautiously raise a question: can Ruan Mei, like a coordinate axis stripped of external interference, uncover the most fundamental and most beautiful form of life's existence?""]
[""I have thought of a form of life that is enough to make me acknowledge its elusiveness. That is…""]
["Unfortunately, before she could finish, the experimental record cuts off."]
—
DC Universe.
"So this is why she's researching Aeons?"
Inside the Daily Planet editorial office, Clark Kent pushes up the glasses that are about to slide off his nose. He tries using his Kryptonian super-vision to make out the formulas and text in the background of Ruan Mei's experimental footage on the Celestial Screen, but unfortunately sees nothing.
"Maybe it's not Aeons?" Lois Lane spins her pen. "Aeons are highly condensed philosophical embodiments, more focused on the concept of [Path]. Remember, the Aeon of [Nous] isn't even an organic lifeform—completely incompatible with Ruan Mei's life research."
"Then what do you mean…"
"Emanators." Lois picks up the steaming coffee on her desk. "As far as we know, all documented Emanators are organic lifeforms, right? And the Emanator closest to Ruan Mei is Herta, which makes it even more convenient for her to study."
"Study Herta?" Clark finds the idea utterly implausible. Forget Herta's eccentric personality—would she really cooperate nicely and let Ruan Mei use her as a research subject?
"Of course not—you misunderstood me. There aren't only Emanators like Herta in the universe. Other Paths may have fallen Emanators. Take [Abundance]'s fleeting ones… Didn't Blade and Dan Feng once want to experiment with Emanator flesh?"
"Since the birth of Aeons, I'm sure plenty of Emanators have fallen. There might be some worth Ruan Mei's research."
Clark furrows his brow. The glass window beside him reflects his tense jawline: "But researching Emanators inside the space station? That's far too dangerous. Don't tell me Ruan Mei plans to resurrect an Emanator? Back when Phantylia struck, she could destroy entire stars. Even with one Emanator plus two geniuses stationed there, if a battle broke out, the safety of the staff couldn't be guaranteed."
"That remains to be seen." Lois sighs. "But Ruan Mei did say that if there's trouble, contact her immediately. If this genius has a way to resurrect an Emanator, then I believe she must also have a way to kill one."