Following the sound of the meowing, Stelle and Nero found another one of Ruan Mei's creations.
It was a small cat curled up inside a pastry shell. To put it nicely, it was a Cat Cake. To put it less nicely, it was a Cat Pancake.
The one before them now had a green shell, while its body was dark reddish-brown, somewhat like finely made red bean paste.
Nero liked red bean buns very much, but he did not like red bean buns without filling.
"Wahaha! This guy looks delicious."
"Uh... this is the big trouble Ruan Mei was talking about?" Stelle looked confused. "Isn't it just a different flavor and appearance?"
The little thing shrank back in fear after hearing Nero's words. But after realizing he had no intention of eating it, it became a bit bolder again.
It introduced itself as Red Bean Gray Gray Flavor.
The little thing looked very worried, tears pouring out endlessly. To understand what it was saying, Stelle activated the translation function that had been added to the Synesthesia Beacon earlier.
This guy was the complete opposite of the Cheese Lava one they had met before. That one had been as arrogant as could be, while this one was as insecure as possible.
Although it looked very cute, listening to all its self-pitying complaints for too long gave even Stelle a headache.
After a brief conversation, a noise coming from somewhere nearby pulled Stelle out of Red Bean Gray Gray's negative energy. She exchanged a look with Nero, and the two decided to go check it out together.
Oh, and they had to bring this little guy along too, if it really was the big trouble Ruan Mei had mentioned.
Following the sound, they moved forward.
In the dark, narrow passage, Red Bean Gray Gray suddenly started humming for some reason. But the broken, uneven tune sounded somewhat creepy in this setting.
As they continued forward, the sound of wings suddenly came from ahead. Two ferocious figures instantly appeared beside Stelle and Nero.
Both of them recognized the creatures.
They were Sting Bugs. They had killed plenty of them during the Swarm Disaster.
These bugs had apparently been using some natural camouflage to hide themselves while waiting here to ambush living creatures. The danger in the corridor that the Cold Fried Rice Robot mentioned was probably referring to them.
As two dark shadows flashed by, the buzzing of wings gradually faded.
When the black baseball bat and Heavy Edge moved away, the Sting Bugs had already turned into piles of meat paste.
Other people might have been startled.
But these two...
The latter would obviously just smack the bugs to death.
And the former had developed a habit because of some of the latter's ideas, when something scares you, don't be afraid. Hit it. If it can affect you, then you can affect it too. Strike first!
It did not take long for them to pass through the corridor, leaving many insect corpses behind.
At some point, Red Bean Gray Gray stopped singing.
It was probably frightened by the pair's brutal behavior.
As for the bugs in this corridor, they were probably extinct now.
Passing through the hatch at the end of the corridor, the two entered another office.
Here they discovered a large number of Cat Cakes.
Besides the Cat Cakes, they also found Rice Dumplings. Cheese Lava and Milk Five-Nut, whom the two had previously flushed down a toilet, were here as well.
They also found another recording related to Ruan Mei.
"#23 Acha's final years in Mechanical City gave me inspiration. Even a creature as long-lived as her would eventually reach its end."
"I can now confirm that the result of this training attempt is: unqualified."
"There are countless forms of life, which also proves that form itself holds no meaning."
"These lifeforms have gone very far in developing their own concepts. They can even trigger chains of empathic resonance... but this is not what I want."
"I've begun to feel lost. Does the question of 'the essence of life' simply have no answer?"
"#1 Zandar, did you also once feel this lost... and despairing?"
Besides this recording, Red Bean Gray Gray told them to continue farther ahead. There were more messages left behind by Ruan Mei.
"Life comes in countless colors and forms. I firmly believe this. Its brilliance is as dazzling as a field of blooming flowers, and I wish to pick the one branch that will never wither."
"The laws of things always appear complicated and beautiful on the surface, yet simple and plain underneath. Reduce everything to its cause, and a single formula can solve the confusion of all living beings."
"Ever since I became aware of the world, I have enjoyed observing traces of life in living creatures. For example, the speed at which slime molds consume objects."
"I have also taken in the macroscopic world and studied the course of the universe's development up to the present day. They are all very simple."
"What I want to understand is 'the essence of life', something every individual possesses yet does not realize. Whether it is the material nature 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, strip away external distractions and uncover the most fundamental and most beautiful form of life?"
"I can think of one form of life that is enough to make me admit it is beyond comprehension."
"That is..."
"Why doesn't this recording finish the sentence?" After watching it, Nero muttered, "But since she's researching Aeons together with Herta, she probably means Aeons."
"Speaking of which, no wonder so many movies like making mad scientists the final villains. The things she says are really hard to understand."
Looking at Nero's clear and innocent eyes, Stelle nodded in agreement.
"So, do you have any thoughts about Ruan Mei's question?" Stelle suddenly asked curiously.
"Me? What thoughts could I have? I spend every day eating and having fun." Nero leaned against Black Cut and sighed. "And I'm not a genius. Isn't this making things difficult for me?"
"But if I have to say something... I think it's consciousness, cognition, and information. Consciousness confirms information, information fills cognition, and cognition anchors consciousness. Those are the most basic things of an individual lifeform."
"Doesn't that mean you understand quite a lot?"
"Anyone can talk big. It's a basic Xianzhou skill. Hehe."
After chatting for a while, the two continued exploring deeper inside.
As they descended farther down, more and more Sting Bugs appeared.
However, these bugs could not stop them. They were quickly wiped out, making it seem as if the two were more of a swarm than the swarm itself.
Afterward, they arrived at a relatively spacious room.
Many machines were placed here. Below them were complex and precise steel structures, while above them were transparent shells filled with a green substance that constantly bubbled upward, looking like nutrient fluid.
Pipes and growth chambers could also be seen nearby, with various plants growing inside them.
One growth platform had a notice saying that more exposure to starlight helped relieve negative emotions.
Without a second thought, Stelle and Nero stuffed Red Bean Gray Gray into it.
Looking closely, there were actually other Cat Cakes and Rice Dumplings inside these growth devices as well.
Suddenly, another sound rang out.
A hatch on the second floor, or perhaps even higher up, seemed to have opened on its own.
That could only mean one thing.
Besides them, another visitor had arrived in the Seclusion Zone.
This made Nero think of a handsome man with a plaster head who wished to help the whole world.
In any case, after hearing the noise, neither he nor Stelle hesitated. They immediately set off to investigate the source of the disturbance.