Ruan Mei's research on the Herta Space Station had always been a secret. Even the laboratory was hidden very, very deep. Only a few senior researchers who had followed her on her interstellar travels for a long time were qualified to enter. As for why Veritas Ratio, the Doctor of Truth, was also here, it was because this scholar from the Intelligentsia Guild was simply too perceptive. He had sensed Ruan Mei's secret research and, unable to contain his curiosity, had broken in.
And Ruan Mei, facing his trespass, had shown her usual cold attitude—neither welcoming nor rejecting. Thus, Ratio became a regular visitor to the secret lab, tirelessly observing and recording Ruan Mei's research.
The "creations of Ruan Mei" he spoke of were some interesting artificial lifeforms. Their appearances were based on various traditional pastries and cats and dogs from Planet Blue. The cat-type creations looked like cats curled up inside pastries; the pastry was actually their shell, similar to a mooncake or a mung bean cake. The dog-type creations looked like shumai with a pair of dog ears and a perpetually arrogant expression.
Originally, after Ruan Mei created them, she had... "abandoned" them.
Yes, abandoned.
The word was harsh, but Ratio liked precision and direct hits, and that included his descriptions. He would not change his judgment until Ruan Mei's behavior changed.
But now, it seemed that judgment could be slightly retracted. Because Ruan Mei had proactively gone to visit them. This busy creator of life had, very rarely, spent her time after finishing her research on these simple creations that held little real value. What Ruan Mei specifically did, and what interactions she had with them, Ratio did not know. What surprised and intrigued him was simply Ruan Mei's motive.
That was why the blue-haired man had asked.
"It was merely to record experimental data."
"Really?"
Ruan Mei had no interest in answering this second, equally foolish question. She walked away with graceful steps, but Ratio revealed a mysterious smile and muttered to himself.
"Actually, you shouldn't have answered the first foolish question either."
Because answering it meant that Ruan Mei was wavering. The lie in her words thus fell apart on its own.
How curious.
Even that astonishing child couldn't make Ruan Mei stop and stay. Yet these pastry-like cats and dogs could earn her favor?
That was why Ratio always believed that geniuses were harder to understand than the universe.
He held the elbow of one arm with his other hand while stroking his chin, and walked in the opposite direction from Ruan Mei. But just then, the elevator suddenly started moving again, causing Ratio to pause.
At a time like this, who would come here?
Who could it be?
Herta?
The image of a brown-haired, purple-eyed girl constantly "spinning" on a stage like a music box doll flashed through the man's mind. Ratio believed the probability of this was not just extremely low, but nonexistent. Because Herta, as the person with the highest IQ on Planet Blue, also had the unique eccentricities of a genius. She only did what interested her, and the moment she lost interest, she would leave immediately. This space station, which she had built but now completely left for others to manage, was the best example. Ruan Mei's research was a million miles away from her fields of interest.
So if it wasn't Herta, who could it be?
Intrigued, Ratio stepped back to the exact spot where he had been talking with Ruan Mei, not off by a single millimeter. He silently counted down the time it would take for the elevator to descend.
Three... two... one.
The elevator doors opened, and the mystery was revealed.
But what stunned Ratio for a moment was that the elevator was completely empty.
No, that wasn't right. Something was there.
But it was also right, because it couldn't really be considered a person.
Quickly realizing what was happening, Ratio chose to look down, just in time to meet the eyes of a ball of white cat-pastry.
"..."
"Meow..."
One man, one creation, stared at each other, eye to eye. The small, ignorant creature let out a timid sound at Ratio. Even when Ratio used the Synesthesia Beacon's translation function, all it translated to was an identical "meow."
The white cat-pastry had a pair of light, clear green eyes, just like Ruan Mei's. Other than that, there was nothing particularly surprising... wait, maybe there was.
For example.
Just like that white-haired, green-eyed child from before, it had struggled with all its might to sneak out of the warm little nest of experimental creations, all to follow behind the Ruan Mei who had created it.
It wanted to—go to its "Mother's" side.
Looking closely, this cat-pastry really did resemble that child. Of course, it wasn't the inheritor of anyone's emotions. It was simply a newly born life that had chosen the same path as that boy.
Could it be that the reason Ruan Mei went to visit those creations was because of this little one, born by accident?
Ratio felt a sense of absurdity for a moment, but he had to admit, it was the most likely answer from an emotional analysis. But "emotional" was not a word that suited Ruan Mei. At least, not the her of today.
Taking advantage of the tall, book-holding man's moment of thought, the white, green-eyed cat-pastry waddled, carefully trying not to make a sound, to sneak past Ratio. Just as it had done before in the deep, dark corridors, when it passed by those terrifying True Swarmstings.
But how could a foolish Swarmsting possibly compare to the Doctor of Truth?
Before the cat-pastry had even escaped half a step, Ratio bent down, snatched it up, and held it level with his face.
"Meow, meow!!"
No matter how much the cat-pastry struggled, he did not let go.
"I cannot let you repeat the same mistake."
"Trust me, you will not find the answer you seek."
"Not before that person has fully awakened and felt remorse."
The empathetic function of the Synesthesia Beacon allowed the cat-pastry to understand Ratio's words. So, in the cat-pastry's eyes at this moment, this tall human, Ratio, was right in front of it, "meowing" away in a cat language it could understand!
Hiss, why is that suddenly kind of cute?
But such a thought must absolutely not be revealed in front of the Doctor of Truth. Otherwise, you could forget about ever passing his pop quizzes! Zeroes, all zeroes!
And so, for the time being, Ratio took in the runaway white cat-pastry. He carefully considered the relationship between them. First, they were not peers. Second, he was not its teacher. Ratio didn't see the cat-pastry as a pet either, so it wasn't a master-pet relationship. So, the only thing left was...
Ratio pressed a hand to his forehead and muttered helplessly to himself.
—"Why have I become the foster father of a ball of cat-pastry!?"
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