Ryan stared dumbfounded at the seed in his hand, question marks practically floating over his head.
“Cell biology? Wait, this doesn’t fit! Aren’t I the electromagnetics guy? Why am I suddenly unlocking a biology questline?”
The only person he knew who connected electricity and biology was that internet addiction camp guy.
[Expand your horizons. Who says someone who works with electricity can’t understand life?]
[Electromagnetic fields are interactions between matter. Life activities also depend on fundamental physical processes. This is called interdisciplinary development. And don’t you want to reverse aging?]
“…Reverse aging?”
He instinctively touched his face, remembering Herta’s published paper on the subject.
He looked at the seemingly ordinary seed that had triggered this new module, feeling a spark of excitement.
[Exactly! Knowledge is power—and the knowledge of life is… longer-lasting power.]
At the words “reverse aging,” Ryan couldn’t help but grin.
The mysteries of biology, huh?
He liked that.
He eagerly focused, magnifying his vision like an electron microscope as he stared at the seed.
But the expected cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus didn’t appear.
Something stranger happened.
Under his focused gaze, the seed’s outline became increasingly blurry, then transparent, until it finally seemed to dissolve into the air and vanish from his sight completely.
“Huh? Where’s my seed? Where’s that big magical seed I just got?!”
He jumped, quickly feeling with his hand.
The warm, smooth texture remained clear—the seed was still sitting right there in his palm.
But he couldn’t see it.
He blinked and switched back to normal vision—the seed reappeared, intact.
When he tried that microscopic perception again, the seed vanished once more.
And in the dim light of the room, he could faintly see starlight patterns flowing across its surface.
“Where’s the cytoplasm? The cell membrane? The nucleus?”
“What kind of bizarre plant is this?”
He poked at the empty air where the seed should be, the solid resistance confirming this wasn’t a hallucination.
[Don’t force your basic understanding onto everything. You think she’d give you some ordinary seed?]
Ryan’s confused poking at seemingly empty air naturally caught the attention of both Ruan Mei and Herta.
A flicker of surprise crossed Ruan Mei’s eyes, replaced by deeper interest.
She murmured to Herta: “He seems to… perceive something special. Herta, this research subject you’ve found may have greater potential than expected.”
Herta crossed her arms and glanced at Ryan.
“Aren’t you the electromagnetics guy? Since when do you have opinions on biology?”
Ryan, overhearing, didn’t hold back.
He raised the seed—which kept flickering between visible and invisible—and said honestly: “I wouldn’t call it research. I’m just curious. Madam Herta, Madam Ruan Mei—this seed is… unusual.”
“When I observe it with my ability, it disappears. But I can clearly feel it in my hand. It doesn’t match any biological structure I know.”
Ruan Mei nodded gently.
“Your ability to perceive its properties proves you are indeed exceptional. It is not a conventional plant seed. It’s more of an… information carrier.”
Then Ruan Mei seemed to think of something.
She produced a small collection device from somewhere and said to Ryan: “Would you allow me to collect a small sample of your blood and surface cells? I’d like to examine whether an individual capable of perceiving such life-information carriers has any unique biological characteristics. Of course, you may refuse.”
Ryan looked at the small device, then at Ruan Mei’s gentle but firm expression, feeling a bit nervous.
He recalled this genius’s “accomplishments” in life sciences—including that Emanator-level being that had lived for only one minute but could reproduce.
She wouldn’t try to clone another “Ryan #2” with the same electromagnetic perception, would she?
On the other hand, on Herta’s turf, Ruan Mei probably wouldn’t do anything crazy…
right?
And this seemed like an opportunity to build connections.
Good relations now meant having someone to cover him later.
“But Madam Ruan Mei, you’re not going to use it to… make a copy of me, are you?”
Ruan Mei blinked, then covered her mouth with a soft laugh.
Even Herta snorted.
“Rest assured,” Ruan Mei said as she performed the painless collection with practiced ease, her voice gentle.
“The uniqueness of life lies in its unrepeatable experiences and consciousness. I have no interest in creating another you. This is purely for research—analyzing life’s fundamental matrix.”
The collection was quick and nearly painless.
Ruan Mei stored the sample carefully, thanked Herta once more, and departed gracefully.
The hall was left to the two of them again.
Herta studied Ryan and gave a rare nod.
“It seems today’s ’emergency training’ in the kitchen and your performance just now have already provided plenty of behavioral patterns and adaptability data. Systematic ability testing can be postponed.”
She changed tack: “Your current primary task is to become familiar with and develop your abilities as quickly as possible. Electromagnetic perception, vector manipulation, and your unusual reaction to that seed—all of it suggests your potential needs more systematic exploration, not rushed limit-testing.”
She pointed in a direction: “The east wing has a botanical research area with various rare species. Ruan Mei used to use it. I rarely go there—it’s maintained by dolls. I’m granting you access.”
“Your first official assignment,” Herta looked at Ryan, “is to go there, find a quiet spot, and study that seed in your hand. Record all your observations and perceptions. Submit regular reports to me.”
“I want to see how you apply your abilities—especially that unique perception—to analyze an unknown life form.”
She emphasized: “This is both a task and part of your ability training. Show me your ‘interdisciplinary’ potential.”
Ryan gripped the seed tightly, feeling both anticipation for the unknown and some pressure.
Independent research in the botanical area.
His first official project after joining.
“Understood, Madam Herta. I’ll take it seriously.”
Herta closed her eyes and nodded, dismissing him.
Ryan turned and left the main laboratory, heading toward the east wing botanical area according to the map in his mind.
He felt the seed in his pocket and recalled Ruan Mei’s expression when collecting his blood, silently noting: “Studying the seed is fine… but in the future, I should maintain some distance around Madam Ruan Mei. Getting a duplicate of myself made would be the absolute worst.”
Meanwhile, Herta walked while watching a holographic projection screen, the corner of her lips slightly raised.
“Excellent reaction speed. Control precision improves notably under pressure. And now she’s even caught Ruan Mei’s attention… Seems this research topic will take some time to unravel.”