The next day.
Sylvia opened her eyes, having slept until she woke up naturally.
There was Stelle, already fully dressed. For some reason, she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back turned to Sylvia.
"Stelle?"
"!"
At the mere mention of her name, Stelle shuddered all over.
Sylvia rubbed her eyes, sat up in bed, and squinted as she let out a wide yawn.
"Phew... up so early?"
"Yeah, we still have to keep fixing the Express today!"
Stelle always seemed intensely curious about everything. She had spent all of yesterday running around, yet today she was already eager to go out and play again.
With that, Stelle stood up and headed out.
Sylvia watched her leave the room. If her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, the tips of Stelle's ears had looked a little red just now.
"..."
The moment the door clicked shut, the blank, sleepy look vanished from Sylvia's face, replaced by a sudden seriousness.
She raised a hand and gently touched her lips, letting out a long sigh.
"That girl... teaching her some common sense is going to be a long, uphill battle."
Last night, Stelle had been all over her. No matter how unguarded Sylvia might be, it was impossible for her to feel absolutely nothing.
Besides, she hadn't even been asleep for very long at the time. All of Stelle's subsequent stealthy little movements had been witnessed clear as day by Sylvia.
It was a stroke of luck that Stelle hadn't done anything truly outrageous. Otherwise, Sylvia really couldn't guarantee she could have kept pretending to be asleep.
"Is the sleeping arrangement on the Express just that restless, or what? Why do both of them love getting so handsy?"
Helpless, Sylvia yawned again, put on her clothes, and left the room.
Stelle was a bit different from March 7th. Even though Stelle was sneakily kissing and touching her, in Sylvia's eyes, it still felt like dealing with a child.
After all, Stelle's common sense always had a subtle, bizarre disconnect in the strangest places. So, as long as she didn't cross a certain line, Sylvia wouldn't mind Stelle's little antics too much.
Sylvia went back to change into some clothes that were easier to move around in, then headed to the space station's cafeteria to grab a free meal.
As luck would have it, she bumped into March 7th, who was there doing the exact same thing.
The moment March 7th spotted Sylvia, she jogged over with a bright grin.
"Hi, Sylvia! How did you sleep last night?"
"Not bad," Sylvia replied, before asking out of curiosity, "By the way, when are you two heading back to the Express?"
"In a couple of days, probably. Didn't Stelle and I come here on a Xianzhou starskiff? It seems like they have some business to take care of here at the space station too."
March 7th tilted her head back in thought, not quite sure of the exact timing. She only knew because the Xianzhou team leader in charge had mentioned during a chat that they planned to negotiate something with the space station.
"I see."
Sylvia nodded. Right now, the Astral Express was still docked over at the Xianzhou.
"Oh, right, right! I heard from Asta that you've got a whole planet as your territory now, Sylvia?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do. Just got it not too long ago, but it's still a complete ruin."
Sylvia nodded and began to tell her about the planet and the situation with Topaz.
As they chatted, a text message from Ruan Mei interrupted her.
Sylvia lit up her phone screen and took a look. It was a work request from Ruan Mei:
[Ruan Mei: Due to the accelerated incubation of the specimen, some small bugs have also been born along with it.]
[Ruan Mei: Though they aren't the primary entity, I would like to see if there is anything distinct about these bugs.]
[Ruan Mei: I will be waiting for you in the laboratory below.]
"Hmm? Did something happen?"
March 7th's internal radar instantly went off. Even though she hadn't seen Sylvia's phone screen, her intuition told her that something was brewing.
[Sylvia: Understood. See you in a bit.]
After replying to the message, Sylvia finally looked up and smiled at March 7th.
"It's nothing, just an acquaintance looking for me."
"Oh..."
March 7th mumbled around her chopsticks. Since Sylvia didn't want to say, March 7th didn't plan to pry.
Sylvia didn't think much of it either. She picked up her pace, finished her breakfast in a few quick bites, and then stood up to leave.
March 7th narrowed her eyes, watching Sylvia's departing figure, and let out a soft hum.
"Aha~ Something's definitely up. This lady smells an incident."
So, she also wolfed down the rest of her food in a couple of bites and ran off straight to find Asta.
March 7th knew exactly where her own stalking skills stood. If she just tagged along like that, she would definitely be spotted by Sylvia. But looking for Asta was a different story.
With Asta's clearance, she could clearly track the movements within the space station. A quick question to Asta would naturally reveal where Sylvia was going.
It wasn't that she wanted to cause trouble; she was just genuinely bored today with no one to hang out with, so she wanted to find something to pass the time. Of course, if Sylvia was leaving the space station entirely, then March 7th would be out of options.
Stelle was still over there making a racket with her hammer and pickaxe, and Sylvia had walked off looking busy. Unable to find anyone to play with, March 7th just had to look for some fun on her own.
On the other side, Sylvia had no idea what March 7th was planning. Even if she did, she wouldn't really care. If March 7th could actually manage to track her all the way to Ruan Mei, then credit to her skills. What did that have to do with Sylvia anyway, right?
Sylvia walked all the way to the central elevator, swiped her card, and headed down toward the Seclusion Zone.
Yesterday, she had been using Ruan Mei's card, but after they settled on her becoming an assistant, Ruan Mei had tinkered with something in the lab and upgraded Sylvia's clearance level. Now, access to both the Seclusion Zone and that specific laboratory was unlocked for her.
As the elevator descended, the light grew increasingly dim.
Passing through the familiar, gloomy cabins, Sylvia smoothly found Ruan Mei, who was currently reviewing surveillance footage in the lab.
"You're here, Sylvia."
Ruan Mei smiled and nodded at her.
"The specimen is developing very rapidly. Perhaps the data inputted yesterday triggered a marvelous reaction. Maybe it really can exceed my expectations?"
When it came to data regarding the Swarm King, even Ruan Mei couldn't guarantee that the calculations for the specimen would be completely flawless. The only thing she could guarantee was that the specimen's lifespan would absolutely not exceed one minute.
"...Hopefully it won't be too ridiculous. I really don't want to face a genuine Emanator of Propagation, even if it's only for a single minute."
Sylvia sighed from the side. Ruan Mei didn't mind the comment, instead handing over a map.
"Starting from the cultivation bay, from here to here—this entire area already has bugs escaping outward."
"To be honest, I'm curious. Where did these smaller bugs come from? Didn't you only cultivate one Emanator?"
"That is precisely what makes Propagation so peculiar. A powerful insect will breed a swarm, even if this Path has now become shattered and broken."
Ruan Mei pointed toward the cocoon that was bursting with vitality.
Even with Propagation being fractured, whenever a powerful insect was born, the birth of a swarm would always be inevitable.
Sylvia blinked, looking at the corridors and cabins littered with red dots on the map. She couldn't help but complain:
"Herta probably already regrets agreeing to lend you this place."
"Haha~"
Ruan Mei let out a soft chuckle. She rose from her chair and took the lead toward the corridor.
"Alright, let us set out."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL