“An unknown Incubation Pod, and a…
dying girl.”
The gentle woman with an indifferent expression, dressed in a distinctly Xianzhou style, silently observed the burning Incubation Pod before her.
However, as a Genius specializing in biology, Ruan Mei could tell at a glance that neither the damage on the pod’s exterior nor the girl’s wounds had been caused by atmospheric entry.
The damage across the pod’s surface seemed to have resulted from a Warp across an excessive distance.
It was apparent that this pod had not originally been designed with the capability for such long-range transportation.
As for the wounds on this girl’s body…
their origin was far more significant.
This was also why Ruan Mei had merely watched the girl’s vitality slowly drain away thus far instead of rashly intervening.
To complete the preliminary stage of a certain project, one of Ruan Mei’s close friends, Genius Society Member #83 Herta, had once gathered information regarding a certain individual.
As a participant in the project known as the Simulated Universe, Ruan Mei had naturally shared access to that information.
Therefore, she understood one thing very clearly: this girl’s injuries had most likely been inflicted by a certain unspeakable existence.
The problem was that whenever that lady made a move, she ordinarily left no survivors.
Yet no matter how Ruan Mei examined this white-haired girl, she could only conclude that she was an ordinary person—one with an exceptionally frail body, at that.
Rather than believe Polka had failed to kill her, it might be more practical to believe that Nous was actually a joke created by Aha.
“If I remember correctly, her ability should involve some form of causality manipulation—or perhaps some form of interference with probability.”
After hesitating for a moment, the kindness Ruan Mei had picked up from Herta ultimately prevailed.
A vial of milky-white liquid appeared in her hand.
She gently removed the stopper, then began adding all manner of strange and unusual substances to it.
“Without permission, members of the Genius Society must not interfere with another member’s research.
It’s something of an unwritten rule.
Therefore…
since I don’t know whether you’re one of Polka’s research subjects, using probability as a means of verification could be considered a courteous approach.”
“Under normal circumstances, given your physical constitution, after assimilating this vial of medicine, the probability of retaining your consciousness and recovering physically would be infinitely close to one hundred percent.
But if you truly are one of Polka’s unfinished research subjects, then even if your probability of survival is infinitely close to one hundred percent, it will inevitably converge upon the outcome of your ‘death.'”
“So…
should you survive, there’s no need to thank me.
Thank the unseen workings of probability instead.”
As she spoke, Ruan Mei slowly approached the girl and reached out to tear open Xian Ling’s bloodstained white clothes.
Then, she gently poured the milky-white medicinal liquid in her hand over the girl’s fair, delicate skin.
However…
“Hmm?”
Watching the liquid nearly drip onto the ground, Ruan Mei blinked softly.
“It seems I misjudged you…
Calling this child an ordinary person doesn’t appear entirely accurate.”
“To avoid danger, you instinctively hid yourself within the gaps of memory?
“So…
no more playing hide-and-seek, all right?”
Ruan Mei placed her hand over the girl’s delicate body.
Although she made no physical contact, streams of information rapidly transmitted stimuli toward Xian Ling within memory.
Before long, a soft and tender sensation appeared beneath Ruan Mei’s palm—meaning that the unfamiliar girl before her had returned her true body to reality.
“It seems you still possess self-awareness.
Very good.
Theoretically speaking, your probability of surviving has increased by a few more points.”
This time, the milky-white medicinal liquid successfully landed on Xian Ling’s wounds.
…
Meanwhile, within the system space inside Xian Ling’s consciousness…
“Hehe, looks like you failed to seize your opportunity.”
Xian Ling, who was manipulating a virtual controller, let out a cheerful laugh.
An extremely old-fashioned pixel game was currently displayed on the pixelated panel before her—Battle City.
However, a closer examination of the situation would reveal that even though Xian Ling had just taken some time to pull her body back into reality, she still held the upper hand.
[Opportunities are something people create for themselves, little one…
I’m not the sort who enjoys taking advantage of others while they’re vulnerable.]
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be someone who actually respects the rules of the game…
Pfft—”
Xian Ling nearly spat her drink onto the floor.
Staring at the pixel platform that had instantly risen by one and a half meters, completely denying her any chance to operate it, the corner of Xian Ling’s mouth couldn’t help twitching.
“No, I only just praised you!
Are you even human?!
So this is what you meant by creating your own opportunities?!”
[Hehe…
It’s merely a matter of practice making perfect.
After all, I have considerable experience dealing with petite girls of your size.]
The pixel screen descended once more, except the words [game over] had already appeared on it.
“You bastard…
Let me make one thing clear: that whole i刻TV thing won’t work on me, all right?
I’m perfectly satisfied with my current height.
I’m not going to split you into five separate pieces like a certain little candle would.”
[A little one who can frankly accept her own loli figure?
How rare.
I thought you’d be the type who would start screaming about cutting off someone’s arms and legs the moment they called you short.]
“No thanks, my voice actress isn’t named Hanser.
By the way, from the sound of that, have you met the Wolf Lord before?” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
[No.
I only saw her in your memories.
Besides, don’t you think that meeting that child in my current state would be no different from a sheep walking into a wolf’s mouth?]
“That’s true…
Hmm?”
Xian Ling suddenly raised her head.
“Did you hear something?”
[Don’t be nervous.
Your body has simply recovered from shock, so you can now receive sounds coming from the outside world.]
The System Sprite sounded completely unsurprised.
[Hold on.
The audio reception here isn’t very good, so I’ll convert it for you directly…]
The next second, a clear voice sounded directly beside Xian Ling’s ears.
“Compared to the other samples previously tested, this child clearly possesses a greater affinity for the power of the Paths…
However, it’s currently impossible to determine whether this is an isolated case of her body possessing an affinity specifically for [Propagation], or whether she has a high affinity for every Path.”
“If it’s the latter, then she might be highly suited to the Arbitrator faction of the Path of Equilibrium…
But if it’s the former, then that may be one of the reasons Polka was hunting her.”
“…”
[…]
Seemingly having picked up on certain crucial words in Ruan Mei’s statement, Xian Ling and the System Sprite both fell silent at once.
“No way, sis!
Is Ruan Mei seriously turning me into a True Sting?!
So that liquid she used on me just now was some kind of extract related to Propagation?!”
[Don’t worry, little one.
The situation isn’t quite that bad.]
The System Sprite spoke ominously.
“Oh?
Could it be…” Xian Ling’s eyes lit up.
[I mean that what Ruan Mei used on you was probably some kind of King Bug extract.
Even if you really do become a True Sting, you’ll probably be one at the level of a King Bug.]
“How is that good news in any way?!”
[Ahem, I was only joking…]
[At least for now, there’s no risk of your body mutating in the direction of a True Sting.
It’s merely borrowing the power of Propagation to repair itself.]
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
★ ★ ★
Shilling time!