Chapter 18: Ruan Mei

Silence hung heavily in the infirmary.

Aleph watched Ruan Mei with a carefully neutral expression while she continued enjoying her dessert with an almost unsettling calm. In contrast, Stelle had her arms crossed, staring at the plate of sweets as if debating whether to take one or not.

The scientist didn't seem bothered by their distrust. On the contrary, her expression grew even more amused when she saw their reactions.

"Are you sure you don't want to try?" she insisted in a soft tone, pushing the plate toward them.

Aleph shot a quick glance at Stelle before sighing.

"I don't usually accept food from strangers," he repeated in the same tone as before.

Ruan Mei tilted her head, her smile never fading.

"Oh, but I'm not a stranger. Not entirely. In fact, you've probably heard about me before, haven't you, Aleph?"

He immediately tensed up.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I simply have a hunch. Besides, if you're someone knowledgeable about the world, then it's only logical that my name would sound familiar to you."

"Even though my knowledge technically isn't FROM this world."

Her smile widened slightly as she meticulously scooped a piece of her dessert with her spoon.

"But setting that aside… I have no intention of poisoning you or anything like that. That would be a waste of ingredients and time."

Stelle scoffed.

"Oh, sure, because that's what concerns us the most right now."

Aleph looked at her in slight surprise. Since when did she talk like that?

Ruan Mei chuckled softly.

"Don't underestimate the importance of a good dessert. Food has the power to calm both mind and body. Besides, I doubt you've eaten anything since waking up here, am I wrong?"

Neither Aleph nor Stelle responded.

Which, in itself, was already an answer.

Aleph rubbed his temples.

The truth was that, beyond his wariness toward Ruan Mei, his stomach was starting to remind him that he hadn't eaten in a long time. And while his body could endure quite a lot, it was hard to ignore the emptiness in his stomach when something sweet was placed in front of him.

Finally, he made a decision.

"Alright."

Stelle looked at him in surprise.

"Seriously?"

"I doubt there's any poison in this. And if there is, I'll know the moment I take a bite."

With that, Aleph took a small piece of the dessert with the spoon Ruan Mei offered. He observed the texture for a second before cautiously putting it in his mouth.

…And his tongue was met with an explosion of sweetness, perfectly balanced with a hint of softness that melted in his mouth.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"…Not bad."

"Ah! I knew you'd like it!" Ruan Mei exclaimed with a satisfied expression. Then, she looked at Stelle with a raised eyebrow. "And you?"

The young woman grumbled under her breath but eventually relented, taking a bite reluctantly. Her expression remained stoic for a moment… until, slowly, her gaze softened just a bit.

"It's good."

Ruan Mei smiled in amusement.

"Well, that's quite the compliment coming from you."

Finishing her food, Ruan Mei stood up elegantly and looked at them with a more serious expression, though her tone remained relaxed.

"Well, now that you've regained some energy, I have a small favor to ask. But first, I'd like to ask you a question."

Aleph frowned.

"Do you know what my research is about?"

Stelle seemed thoughtful for a few moments before opening her mouth.

"No. My research field is bathhouse stories."

Aleph gave her a rather peculiar look. Stelle glanced at him and started waving her hands desperately, trying to clarify the situation.

Ruan Mei smiled.

"I see, a lovely pastime." Seeing the look Stelle was giving her, the woman explained further. "I don't mean you any harm. I haven't tampered with your linguistic abilities; that would be very rude… I just made a minor adjustment. A few days ago, I informed Herta of my interest in you. My intention is for you to serve as an 'assistant.' Based on our interactions within the Simulated Universe, I believe you meet the requirements."

Aleph's frown deepened.

"I knew this wasn't free."

"I find it difficult to trust others besides myself. A single mistake in research can cause problems, and I hate losing control over matters. That's why I added a little 'silence elixir' to this dessert. It won't harm you, but it will prevent you from saying what you truly think when answering questions related to me."

"Burroughs?"

[Don't worry, Master. I could purge influences like these from your body with my eyes closed. Just don't let this woman notice.]

"Think of it as a safeguard. It preserves my research and ensures your personal safety. Once the issues are resolved, I'll give you the antidote."

"Alright, what do you want, oh great genius?" Aleph asked, sounding a bit more irritated than he intended.

"Don't say it like that. It's something simple," Ruan Mei waved a hand dismissively. "I just need your help retrieving the results of one of my experiments. When I first arrived at the Space Station, I borrowed Herta's Phase Flame, an invention by Member No. 29, Sserkal. I hoped the results from other members would enlighten me."

Stelle looked at her with curiosity.

"Define 'results.'"

"That's what I was getting to. A surge of creativity led me to explore life cultivation on the Space Station. Nothing dangerous. These are artificial life forms created within Herta's space station." She explained calmly. "In my imagination, these life forms would be a new class and would be born as geniuses. I planned to name them after Lambda, Member No. 8 of the Genius Society… I don't know what went wrong. They have their own sentience, but they are far from geniuses. The point is that at some point, they scattered across the station, and now I need to gather them in the containment zone."

Aleph narrowed his eyes.

"And why us?"

"Because you're available and have the strength to do it. Besides, if I leave you here any longer, you'll just get bored, don't you think?"

Stelle glanced at Aleph.

"What do you think?"

He didn't respond immediately. He looked at Ruan Mei, trying to read her expression. He knew he shouldn't trust her blindly, but he also had no strong reason to reject the request.

…Though he wouldn't deny he was still a bit annoyed about the dessert, even if it was delicious. And to some extent, he understood her reasons for doing it.

Besides, if he was honest, staying in the infirmary doing nothing was starting to become unbearable.

He was a man of action, for heaven's sake!

Finally, he shrugged.

"I suppose we can take a look."

Ruan Mei seemed pleased.

"Wonderful."

As the scientist began explaining the details of the mission, Aleph couldn't shake off a thought lingering in the back of his mind.

"This definitely won't be as simple as she says."

And his instincts were rarely wrong.

...

The Herta Space Station had something special at night.

Or at least, what passed for "night" in this place. The artificial lights dimmed to a soft glow, like a sunset, and shadows stretched along the metallic corridors, subtly changing the atmosphere.

Aleph and Stelle moved in silence, guided only by the coordinates Ruan Mei had transferred to their devices.

According to her, the "results" of her experiments weren't too far away, but neither of them trusted—or rather, expected—it to be a simple stroll.

"Tell me something, Aleph." Stelle murmured, glancing around with a frown. "Why do I feel like we're in the opening scene of a horror movie?"

Aleph exhaled through his nose.

"Because, technically, we are. Relax, if a monster shows up, we'll find Dan Heng or March 7th and use them as shields."

"Great."

They kept moving until they reached a darker section, where the lights flickered occasionally and the silence felt even heavier.

In front of them stood a large door marked with warning signs and an access terminal that looked like it had been used recently.

Aleph checked his device.

"We should be close."

Before he could do anything else, a soft, almost liquid sound reached his ears.

He turned quickly, instinctively on guard.

And then he saw it.

A few meters away, on the floor, sat a peculiar creature. It had a feline shape—a small black body with pointed ears—but what made it strange was the grayish-green gelatin mold surrounding it, giving it an almost too adorable appearance... at least for Aleph.

The small being lifted its head, and even though it had no mouth, its large eyes carried an unmistakable sadness.

Then, somehow—something Aleph couldn't quite understand—his own voice echoed inside his mind.

"Did you come for me...?"

An involuntary shiver ran down Aleph's spine. It wasn't that the voice itself was frightening, but hearing his own voice used inside his head without warning by someone else was always unsettling.

Stelle blinked, then tilted her head.

"Did I just have a mental conversation with a jelly cat?"

Aleph crossed his arms.

"Yeah."

The creature hesitated for a moment before cautiously approaching.

"Ruan Mei made us... but she hasn't come to see us in a long time."

There was a deep sorrow in its "voice," and Aleph couldn't ignore the slight weight settling in his chest. He glanced at Stelle, who sighed.

"I'm guessing you're one of the creatures we're looking for, huh?"

"I'm Cheesecake..."

Aleph raised an eyebrow.

"Cheesecake?"

"That's what they called me. Though I never knew if it was really a name or just a joke."

Before Aleph could respond, another sound caught his attention. This time, it was more playful, more lively.

From the ceiling, a small round figure leaped in front of them, landing with effortless agility.

It was another creature, but this one had a more solid appearance. Its body was a mix between a small rodent and a fluffy sponge cake, speckled with cream-colored spots. Its eyes gleamed with curiosity and excitement.

"New people! Finally, someone came to see us!"

Aleph and Stelle exchanged glances.

"Let me guess," Stelle said. "You can talk in our minds too?"

"Yep! And I'm Pudding!"

The little creature rolled in circles on the floor with excitement before suddenly stopping and looking directly at Aleph.

"Did Ruan Mei send you? Did she come to see me?"

Aleph took a moment before answering.

"She asked us to gather you all in the containment zone."

Pudding's "voice" lost some of its enthusiasm.

"Oh... I see."

The way it said that, with such disappointment, didn't go unnoticed.

Aleph felt a twinge of discomfort.

One by one, more creatures began emerging from the darkness, each with odd shapes but all sharing the same trait—the ability to communicate telepathically and a complicated relationship with Ruan Mei.

Cheesecake was the first to break the silence.

"We're not alone here."

Aleph tensed.

"What do you mean?"

"There's something else... something big... and it's not one of us."

That's when he heard the sound.

A sharp, dry snap.

Stelle immediately pulled out her bat.

"What the hell was that?"

Before Aleph could respond, a flash of movement crossed their path, and the dim light of the space station revealed something they shouldn't have encountered.

From the shadows, a pair of glowing eyes and multiple limbs slithered into view.

"Tch."

And judging by the way it moved, it wasn't happy to see them.

...

The hallway shook with a dry, unpleasant sound, like bones cracking inside a shell. Something moved in the darkness, shifting with incredible fluidity.

Aleph clicked his tongue.

With a use of Bufula, a bat of ice was already in his hand, ready to react to anything that emerged from the shadows.

Stelle, with hers prepared, stared intently at the glowing eyes blinking in the distance.

"Tell me that's just one really ugly maintenance robot," Stelle whispered.

Pudding and Cheesecake clung closer to Aleph.

"No… it's not a robot."

A new clicking sound echoed, and then the creature moved completely out of its hiding place.

It was an insect. Or at least something similar to one.

Its body was large and elongated, covered in a dark exoskeleton with metallic-looking reflections. It had multiple sharp legs ending in claws that clicked against the floor with each step. But the worst part was its head—a nearly humanoid face, with a mouth covered in serrated mandibles that opened and closed slowly, as if tasting the air.

Aleph frowned as he noticed the resemblance between this thing and the "Children of Ruan Mei" he had seen Supreme Herta try to release.

"I have no idea what the hell that is," he muttered. "But I definitely don't want it getting any closer."

The insect remained still for a moment, tilting its head slightly as if analyzing them. Then, without warning, it leaped toward them at high speed.

"It's not as fast as I thought."

Aleph reacted instantly, lunging at it while Stelle seemed somewhat disappointed.

"...Just for show."

The creature landed, turning its head toward Stelle in jerky movements. It crouched, ready to attack again.

But Aleph dispatched it with a single blow. Indeed, those insects only looked menacing but had disappointing strength.

"You need to leave!" Cheesecake's voice echoed in their minds. "That's not the only one!"

Aleph and Stelle didn't have time to ask what he meant because, at that moment, a second insect emerged from the ceiling, dropping right behind them.

Now they were surrounded.

Aleph frowned.

"Are you also getting the feeling that this is boring?"

"Yeah, but not as much as posing for pictures with March 7th." Stelle replied calmly.

Aleph suppressed a shiver. That fool was really intense when it came to photos.

The insects didn't wait any longer. One charged straight ahead while the other lunged from the side.

Aleph made a split-second decision.

"Mabufu!"

He didn't want to waste time and effort hitting a bunch of weaklings.

With a single command, ice engulfed the insects instantly, leaving the cute creatures staring in surprise. Stelle took the opportunity and destroyed what they feared with a single blow.

....

Cheesecake stared in shock at the shattered ice fragments on the ground.

His thoughts stalled until he finally arrived at a question—was the insect weak, or were Aleph and Stelle much stronger than him?

Regardless of his doubts, Cheesecake was scooped up into Aleph's arms and petted.

While realizing that it didn't feel too bad, he focused on guiding the two toward the Containment Zone.

They kept walking until they reached a wider corridor. However, what they found there made them feel like they should be much more on guard.

The walls were destroyed.

Fragments of machinery and broken glass covered the floor, and the air had a faint burnt smell. But the worst part was the dozens of shadows moving in the distance.

Dozens of those insects infested the hallway, some crawling along the floor, others clinging to the ceiling.

Cheesecake trembled in Aleph's arms.

And Pudding hid behind Stelle.

"This isn't right… There shouldn't be this many."

Aleph swallowed hard.

So much… EXP in one place, right within his grasp.

He could feel it—these were much stronger than the ones they had encountered before.

"This has stopped being a simple retrieval mission," he murmured as a grin spread across his face.

Stelle raised her bat. There was no expression on her face, but the slight twitch of her lips and the glint in her eyes said it all.

Even if her reason was different from Aleph's, she wasn't going to turn down a free stress-relief punching bag either.

With smiles on their faces (subtle, in Stelle's case), they launched into battle.

...

The battle lasted much longer than the previous one. While the insects weren't overly powerful, they put up a decent fight.

Once they finished off the last one, they decided to examine their surroundings.

It didn't take long for them to find the basement of the containment area.

But now… where were they?

Aleph turned to observe the room's interior.

Flickering monitors, shattered containment capsules, and a dense atmosphere.

A red light dimly illuminated the place.

In the center, floating near a massive broken crystal tube, was something that felt like it shouldn't exist.

A grotesque creature, its multiple limbs in the process of splitting apart, more insects emerging from its body and scattering across the floor.

The colors of its exoskeleton shifted between black and a luminous blue.

A low growl escaped its massive mouth.

And its eyes… were fixed on Aleph.

[Master, you have a new challenge.]

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Don't hang me for this—I just couldn't remember the names of those cute little things. I only remember that I really want a plushie of one and not much else.

If anyone knows their names, could you send them to me so I can correct that part with the proper names?

By the way, what do you guys think? Should I upload the prologue of the HI3 fic or not?

Although, heads up—I'd only be uploading the prologue, and I wouldn't start posting chapters until I finish this fic since the other one would make a lot of references to this one.

Why? Well, no spoilers for you.

You decide.

- Upload

- Don't upload