[Inorin's Note:
Hey everyone, so sorry for the lack of updates these past few days! Four days ago, I randomly got the idea to build my own novel website, and I immediately hyperfocused on it. I got so caught up in the process that I completely forgot to queue up the scheduled chapters on Webnovel and only just realized it now. The good news is, my 78-hour coding binge wasn't for nothing—the website is already 50-75% done!]
Chapter 53: My Cat Cake, Naturally, Shall Be Called Child of Pure White
Ruan Mei buried her flushed face deeper into the solid warmth of Leon's chest, her slender fingertips trailing downward to unconsciously trace light, lingering circles over her own lower abdomen.
The residual heat of their intimacy still hung heavy in the air. This experience was far more marvelous than her clinical mind had ever anticipated.
"This feeling is more enlightening than expected," she murmured. Her usually crisp, academic voice now carried a rare, honeyed laziness. She shifted slightly, her breath tickling his collarbone. "It is no wonder many primitive civilizations inextricably link the act of procreation with their creation myths."
Leon looked down at the Genius Society member nestled against him. A deeply satisfied smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, curving into a handsome, unapologetic arc.
Were those words a scientific observation, or a compliment to his stamina?
Whether they were meant as praise or not, Leon's thick skin gladly accepted them as the highest form of flattery. With his vanity thoroughly stroked, he felt a fresh surge of vitality wash over his tired muscles.
Down on the floor, a few Cat Cakes let out soft, rumbling purrs as they clumsily rolled onto their little paws.
Ruan Mei reached down with graceful ease, casually scooping up a particularly round little fellow that closely resembled a squishy glutinous rice ball. She placed it gently onto her lap, her fingers stroking its soft, doughy surface.
"Look at them," she observed, a hint of genuine wonder in her eyes. "Their life programs are incredibly simple, yet they instinctively know how to seek out warmth."
Leon chuckled, reaching over to cover Ruan Mei's hand with his own. Together, they stroked the soft, squishy exterior of the Cat Cake. As their fingers intertwined, Leon quietly tapped into his own overpowered abilities. A subtle, unseen energy pulsed from his palm.
In the blink of an eye, the generic creature shifted. Its colors swirled and settled into an elegant palette of teal and plum, a color scheme that perfectly mirrored Ruan Mei's own aesthetic.
"Meow..."
The little fellow let out a long, satisfied trill. Its beady eyes sparkled with exceptional brightness as it blinked, seemingly thrilled with its brand-new, customized appearance.
"How is it? Does it look like you?" Leon asked softly, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
Ruan Mei stared at the transformed creature in her arms. "Is this your ability? It truly is miraculous, transforming a Cat Cake into such a specific form without the use of a single reagent or genetic modification machine."
Her emotions fluctuated, a rare ripple of astonishment breaking through her usual detached calm. Had she encountered this uniquely colored Cat Cake under any other circumstances, she would have dismissed it as a bizarre, statistically improbable mutation. But this creation was born directly from Leon's will, right before her very eyes.
Then, her mind flashed back to the extensive, mind-bending tests she had previously run on his cellular structure. The astonishment faded into a quiet, accepting warmth.
It was him. With him, nothing was truly surprising.
"It does look like me," Ruan Mei admitted, poking the creature's cheek. "So, can it make snacks?"
Leon threw his head back and laughed. "No, I am pretty sure it only likes to eat snacks. But hey, even if it cannot bake, maybe it can produce bait? At the next Space Station tea party, let us try feeding it Herta's portion of the desserts and see what happens."
Ruan Mei continued to stroke the Cat Cake, her eyes distant in thought. "Since you are the one who initiated this transformation, it requires a proper designation. What do you think would be a fitting name?"
"It looks exactly like you," Leon countered, leaning back against the pillows. "You should be the one to name it."
Ruan Mei pondered for a moment. "Then let us designate it Lambda's Friend. How does that sound?"
"You are the boss. Whatever you decide." Leon's hand continued its gentle, rhythmic strokes over the Cat Cake's back.
Ruan Mei carefully lifted Lambda's Friend and set it down on the mattress, then reached out to scoop up another plain Cat Cake. "Since there is a specimen modeled after me, biological symmetry dictates there should also be one modeled after you."
"Sure thing," Leon agreed without hesitation.
He channeled his energy once more, and within seconds, the second Cat Cake morphed. Its new coat bore a striking, unmistakable resemblance to Leon's own distinct style.
"And what shall this one be named?" Ruan Mei asked, turning her gaze toward him. Since she had named the one reflecting her, it was only logical that he name his own counterpart.
Leon stroked his chin, feigning deep, philosophical thought. "How about calling it Child of Pure White?"
Somewhere out in the cosmos, a certain barefoot girl named Clara was surely protesting: Are you stealing my lines now?
Ruan Mei stared blankly at Leon. She did not say a single word, but her deadpan silence spoke volumes.
"What is with that look?" Leon puffed out his chest, glaring back with mock ferocity. "Am I not a Child of Pure White? I am the picture of innocence! Do not blame me if I have to take action to defend my pure reputation!"
Ruan Mei pursed her lips, refusing to dignify his shamelessness with a verbal response, but a faint, beautiful smile rippled in the depths of her eyes.
Down by their feet, Lambda's Friend suddenly raised its little tail and let out a soft, milky meow.
Ruan Mei glanced down. She watched as the Cat Cake bearing her likeness mimicked her own earlier behavior, curling up right beside the Leon-like Child of Pure White, affectionately rubbing its soft fur against the other's cheek.
Hmph, it has learned bad habits.
Ruan Mei gently nudged the two overly affectionate Cat Cakes with her bare foot, shooing them toward the door. If they stayed here any longer, they really would learn bad habits from watching their creators.
"I originally wanted to prepare something for you," Ruan Mei spoke softly, her gaze remaining fixed on the floor.
The two uniquely colored Cat Cakes had settled near the doorway, sleeping head-to-head, the tips of their tails unconsciously intertwined.
"But on second thought, you do not seem to need it."
"Cannot bear to let me go?" Leon teased, the corners of his mouth curling into that signature, handsome arc.
"I just do not want to lose a precious specimen," she replied, turning her head away to hide her face. However, the tips of her ears were quietly tinged with a faint, betraying crimson.
Right on cue, the two Cat Cakes by the door let out soft, synchronized meows, as if deliberately exposing her tsundere insincerity.
Leon smiled knowingly. He did not push her. He knew better than anyone that for this peerless genius, a woman accustomed to filtering all human emotion through the cold, precise language of science, the shared body heat and quiet stardust of this intimate moment were her most sincere lyric poem.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could escape, Ruan Mei reached out. She gently pressed a cool, slender fingertip against his lips, silencing him.
A soft, tender light, one he had never seen before, rippled in the depths of her eyes, as stunning as melting snow in early spring.
The quiet moment lingered before Leon gently took her hand, pulling away slightly. "Alright. Let me help you deal with the follow-up matters first."
"What matters?" Doubt flickered in Ruan Mei's eyes.
Leon rose from the bed, dressing quickly before walking across the expansive laboratory toward a massive, reinforced Nutrition Pod he had spotted earlier.
Inside the thick glass cylinder, Tingyun floated quietly in a translucent, glowing green liquid. The Foxian girl's eyes were tightly closed, her breathing imperceptible, her state hovering precariously between life and death.
Ruan Mei walked up beside him, her scientific detachment returning. "You want to save her?"
"Yes," Leon nodded. "But I won't do it all for you. I will just help her eliminate some of the lingering aftereffects. The rest is up to you."
Leon raised his hand, his fingertip lightly tapping against the cold glass wall of the pod. The nutrient solution inside rippled outward in concentric circles, responding to the subtle infusion of his power.
"I do not understand..." Ruan Mei murmured, picking up a delicate pastry from a nearby tray and taking a small, thoughtful bite. "Even I do not have full confidence in this procedure. The variables are astronomical. Why are you so certain she can wake up?"
Leon turned to her, his gaze unwavering. "Have a little more confidence in yourself. You can do it."
His tone was absolute, carrying the weight of an established fact. He knew the original timeline. He knew that Ruan Mei would ultimately succeed. And even if the butterfly effect caused some unforeseen accident, he was here now.
In his mind, the logic was simple: If anything goes wrong, I will just step in.
"Mm..." Ruan Mei swallowed her bite of pastry, nodding gently. The vague, lingering suspicions in her heart cleared up just a bit more, anchored by his unshakable faith in her abilities.
"Additionally," Leon continued, his expression turning slightly more serious as he looked away from the pod and back to her. "There is a hidden danger lurking in the Herta Space Station that needs to be addressed."
"A hidden danger in the Space Station?" Ruan Mei was slightly startled, her brows knitting together.
"The Starcrusher Swarm King," Leon said, his gaze remaining gentle despite the gravity of the name. "We cannot just keep a monster like that locked up in the Space Station forever."
Ruan Mei's shoulders dropped a fraction. A rare flash of guilt crossed her features. "I am sorry. So far, this experiment has failed too many times, and the outcomes have all been exactly as expected."
She looked down at her hands. "I created a duplicate of the Swarm King, yes. But there is still an unreachable, impossible distance between my creation and a true Emanator."
She paused, struggling to find the right words. "I do not know how to explain it to you... I have never been good at communicating with people."
As the words left her mouth, Ruan Mei herself felt a jolt of surprise. Normally, she would not bother explaining her actions to anyone. If an experiment failed, it failed. But now, standing in front of Leon, she found herself inexplicably anxious, deeply worried about causing a misunderstanding between them.
Leon closed the distance between them, his smile as warm and comforting as a spring breeze. "There is no need to explain. I believe you."
Ruan Mei exhaled softly, the tension leaving her frame. "Limited by time and environmental conditions, its life code can only be considered a semi-finished product," she confessed, her voice returning to its usual analytical cadence, though softer now.
"Although I successfully reproduced the exact moment of its birth, its structural integrity is flawed. It will soon dissipate into cosmic particles."
She looked back toward the depths of the space station, where her monstrous creation was currently contained. "Just like all life forms, as it moves toward its end, it gradually reaches its inevitable conclusion. It is not that I cannot accept this result. Failure is a part of the scientific process."
She turned her eyes back to Leon, a deep curiosity burning within them. "But even a short life should have its meaning. I want to know to what extent it can achieve its biological imperatives, as this represents exactly how far I have ventured into unknown territory..."
Leon listened quietly, letting her speak her truth.
"Unfortunately," Ruan Mei finished softly, completing the thought she had carried alone for so long, "it is just a negligible step. And the answer is as mundane as expected."
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