Astral Express.
After finishing everything, Leon naturally had no reason to stay.
Everyone goes to their own homes and finds their own moms, meow.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Leon was currently swimming like a dragon in the comments section when a call from an unsigned number came through.
He took a glance. Hmm, didn't recognize it. Not answering.
It wasn't a number Leon liked, so he hung up immediately.
When he said hang up, he meant it; he pressed the button cleanly and decisively.
The caller seemingly hadn't expected to be rejected, as it took a good while before they called again.
Leon glanced at it and rejected it again.
Very quickly, that phone called for a third time.
"Could it really be an acquaintance?"
Leon thought this, then tapped reject with his little hand.
Incidentally, he pulled this number into the blacklist.
"If it were an acquaintance, there should be a contact name. Looks like I overthought it."
Leon didn't add many people; everyone in his address book was someone he knew.
Only acquaintances would know his number.
In other words, logically speaking, aside from some harassment calls, no stranger should know his number.
Just as Leon thought it was over and was preparing to put the Jade Abacus away...
Another call came in.
"So many calls today?"
Leon subconsciously prepared to press reject.
"Oh, this one I can't hang up on."
But when he saw the contact name [Roadside Herta] on the call this time, Leon suddenly stopped his descending finger and spoke with belated realization.
This time it was an acquaintance; this one couldn't be hung up on.
"What's up, brother?"
Still starting with 'brother,' demonstrating a Freljordian equality towards men and women alike.
"Nothing, Ruan Mei asked me to ask you why you put her on the blacklist."
Seeing that her call went through immediately, Herta's voice involuntarily carried a hint of winning.
As well as a show-off to the person not present.
"Ruan Mei?"
Leon let out an 'oh'. "I didn't know it was her."
"I never answer calls from strange numbers."
Two hundred credits entrance fee plus contact info.
Member plus V, those who know, know.
"But what is the meaning of her calling me?"
Leon pondered that there didn't seem to be much intersection between the two of them.
They had only met that one time, so they couldn't exactly be considered familiar.
Of course, if you added the number of times they fought side by side in the Pure Fiction or Memory of Chaos, then they were familiar.
"She said she has business with you."
Herta answered truthfully, "I don't know the specifics; ask her yourself in a bit."
"Okay."
Leon agreed, then thought of something and asked:
"Have you eaten?"
Seeing that he didn't immediately go find Ruan Mei, but instead didn't forget to greet her and chat for a bit...
On the other end of the line, Herta involuntarily raised the corners of her lips.
"You tell me?"
Her words held a smile that was hard to hide.
"The weather is nice today. How have you been recently?"
Leon didn't care if she had eaten or not; just throwing out the three-piece greeting set was the right move.
"Not as carefree as someone, that's for sure."
Herta let out a 'heh,' intentionally pointing at him.
"Watch your words."
Leon didn't care in the slightest. "I asked how you are doing, why talk about someone?"
"Am I familiar with that someone?"
"Life is just like that. To use your words, it should be somewhere between a Large Cup and a Medium Cup?"
Playing dumb as always.
But having not seen him for a long time, Herta surprisingly couldn't summon any annoyance in her heart.
"Then it looks like it's not going great."
Leon always spoke his mind directly. "And her?"
He asked about the other [Herta].
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Saying this, Herta handed the Jade Abacus in her hand to her other self.
[Herta] looked at her, then took it.
"How have you been recently?"
Leon asked again, asking the person herself.
"Not bad. Guiding my past self, watching myself grow and improve day by day... honestly speaking, this feeling is quite novel."
Being a teacher, especially when the student is oneself, is a truly marvelous feeling.
[Herta] looked at the glare coming from her other self and said with a smile.
Herta had many teachers in her childhood, but before long, these teachers would resign from the job themselves.
No one can teach a Genius.
The things those teachers taught were already at the level of '1+1=2' in the eyes of the young Herta.
Geniuses are never regarded as geniuses because they achieved something; they are called geniuses because they were born geniuses.
Herta originally thought she would never have another teacher in her life.
Especially under the circumstance that her existing achievements were already enough for ordinary people to spend a lifetime chasing.
Then, the 'self who would never have another teacher in her life' was plucked out by Leon.
Hehe, Herta had to admit, she indeed benefited greatly.
Compared to the vision and perspective of a [Perfect Scholar], she was indeed a bit lacking.
Herta was confident and proud, but never conceited.
Even as a genius, she would often misjudge and place her focus in the wrong place.
And [Herta] could pull her back to the correct direction with just a sentence or two.
And allow for major progress instantly.
Admitting deficiencies is nothing.
For Herta, only what cannot be overcome counts as a deficiency in the true sense.
What can be overcome is never a deficiency.
Science has no boundaries, and Herta certainly has none.
It is just a momentary obstacle, nothing more than a bit of wind and frost.
She learned many things from her other self.
This feeling of having stable progress every day... she really hadn't felt it for a long time.
After all, she had solved all the small questions before; what was left for her now were all major questions.
It was certainly difficult to solve, and correspondingly, the steps to improve were equally hard to take.
It was impossible to ask for it to be as easy as before.
But compared to a teacher...
Herta was more willing to call this existence a confidant!
Just like 'Bro understands my humor,' only Herta understands Herta best!
Mm, actually, sometimes, Herta quite liked her other self.
Of course, only sometimes.
"That's good, as long as you're happy."
Leon gave a hum of affirmation. "If you have issues, find me."
"Shouldn't I be saying these words to you?"
Herta was thinking about you coming to find her at all moments.
"If I encounter something I don't understand, I'll definitely find you."
Leon indicated it's a guaranteed deal; it's not that he won't ask, just that the time hasn't come yet.
"I hope you can still say those words after you have a second candidate."
Questions regarding knowledge?
[Herta] could only say that after he gets involved with Ruan Mei, she'd better really still be the first candidate in his mouth.
She didn't believe Ruan Mei wouldn't make a move next.
Whether it was her or herself, geniuses were all like this.
Able to pay any price to crack the subject they selected. Ruan Mei would be no exception.
The difference was just which one had more of a moral baseline and which one had less.
"What meaning?"
What does that mean? Why throw shade blindly? Didn't he already have a second candidate long ago?
It's just that both are Herta.
Since there are two, isn't looking for either of them technically the first candidate?
"Let's chat just up to here. Ruan Mei is still waiting for you."
With those words, [Herta] hung up the call for herself.
Leon didn't say anything either; he just released the number he had blacklisted earlier.
As soon as it was released, Ruan Mei called immediately.
Her urgency was visible.
Leon connected, starting as usual, "What's up, brother?"
"That movie you filmed, I am very curious about its true background story."
Ruan Mei cut straight to the point; she had never liked engaging in much pleasantry.
Can pure genetic soldiers fight against [The Propagation]?
She felt they couldn't. [The Propagation] were powerful Pathstriders from the moment of birth.
It is very hard to get the better of them with purely technological means.
"Not bad, you have a good eye."
Ruan Mei disliked pleasantries, and coincidentally, so did Leon.
"What do you want to ask?"
"The real Glamoth, and the origin of that Glamoth Iron Cavalry."
Seeing Leon was willing to answer, Ruan Mei spoke hurriedly.
"Forgot the beginning, forgot the middle."
Leon actually didn't remember the story of Glamoth either; what was there to remember about dead people?
"In short, Glamoth and [The Propagation] were a pair of star-crossed lovers."
However, he remembered [The Propagation], which should be what Ruan Mei wanted.
"That Glamoth Iron Cavalry is...?"
Glamoth was just incidental; Firefly was the ultimate goal of Ruan Mei's inquiry.
"Either be lenient by confessing, or I hang up right here."
Just as Leon wouldn't help Elio if he didn't reveal his full plan...
If Ruan Mei didn't speak with sincerity, she shouldn't dream of knowing the things she was curious about.
Replying with a few sentences was already out of respect for her intensity.
"If you have business with me, speak directly."
Leon indicated he'd hang up if she didn't speak. "My team slots don't wait for people. Too slow and it's gone."
Who else has a dream?
"Let me say this upfront: if I'm being designed against in secret through roundabout ways, I won't do it (pinches nose)."
Leon was a person with a mind of his own; he only did what he was willing to do.
Ruan Mei fell into a strategic silence, seemingly thinking.
To be honest, she hadn't thought from the beginning that she could pull Leon into her scheme without saying anything.
That was impossible.
Because she couldn't bring out a reward that corresponded to what she could give him.
Rather, no faction in the entire galaxy could bring it out.
For a person of his level and strength, any reward appeared quite insignificant.
Because he was a good person, and how could a good person ignore another good person?
And precisely because of this, asking Leon to do things focused less on the reward and more on one's own attitude. If asking for help, the attitude must be sincere.
This was already the most basic requirement; if even this couldn't be achieved, then let's just disperse.
"My subject is related to [The Propagation]."
If Firefly's condition was truly as Ruan Mei imagined...
"[The Essence of Life], this is my subject."
Then for the thing she wanted to ask Leon to do, it was indeed impossible without informing him of everything in detail.
"The research I usually do is all in this direction."
After a bout of weighing pros and cons, Ruan Mei made her choice.
"I explore the most primordial and also the most beautiful form of existence of life."
Ruan Mei spoke slowly.
"So, what is closest to [The Essence of Life]?"
Ruan Mei spoke her bold idea aloud. "The answer to this question..."
"I think it is [Aeons]."
"[Aeons]. I attempted to delve into the existential essence of such higher-dimensional creatures, but I found that making even a single step of progress in research was as hard as ascending to heaven."
Ruan Mei's words held a rare regret.
"I realized my steps were too big, so I began to settle for the next best thing."
"Aside from [Aeons], there is another life form sufficient for me to admit its elusiveness."
What is the creature closest to [Aeons] in this world? The answer needs no asking.
"That is [Emanators]."
The Genius Society is not entirely made up of [Emanators].
Otherwise, even if the [Emanators] of [The Erudition] were the easiest batch to kill, eighty-four [Emanators] would still be enough to bring the galaxy unexpected surprises.
"What exactly are [Emanators]? I do not understand deeply."
Herta is an [Emanator], but Ruan Mei is not.
"Everyone regards [Emanators] as proxies of the [Aeon's] power, but exactly from when, and on which point..."
"Did [Emanators] become closer to [Aeons] than other creatures?"
If Ruan Mei were an [Emanator], perhaps she would know.
Pity she wasn't. Perhaps this was also a test given to herself by [Nous].
Maybe once she figured it out, she would become one.
"As a Reignbow Heavenly General, what do you think?"
Before advancing the topic to the next stage, Ruan Mei was quite curious about this question.
Expecting that Leon, this proxy of [The Hunt], could give the answer she wanted.
Although Herta was also an [Emanator].
Ruan Mei did not feel that unique specialness from her.
Mm, [Emanators] of [The Erudition] might be the batch least worth expending effort to study.
"It should be so. Isn't it normal for this intensity to have stage stratification?"
How would Leon know? The editor just said so.
Besides, Leon's [Emanator] position wasn't acquired through formal marriage.
His fate with [Lan] wasn't begged for; he took it forcefully by ability!
"There are gaps even between [Emanators]."
To be honest, after becoming an [Emanator], aside from the 'I don't eat beef' level of unreasonable power...
He really didn't feel anything special.
"I researched multiple [Paths]."
Ruan Mei was not surprised by this answer; this was also one of the discoveries in her long research.
"I found that regarding [Paths] where rationality exists, whether Pathstriders or Emanators, they are not pure. They also cannot clearly explain their connection with the [Path]."
In Ruan Mei's discoveries...
"In the final analysis, humans are animals with thoughts. This is an unavoidable matter."
[Paths] that allow humans to become [Emanators] are often far from [The Essence of Life].
"Then, is there a most primitive and also most pure [Emanator] in the galaxy?"
Leon heard it; he took up her words:
"You want to speak of [The Propagation]?"
A [Path] that can only be trodden by a specific race is indeed purer.
After all, the ascension of the [Swarm Emperor] was due to the extinction of the race.
From the moment the Path of [The Propagation] appeared, it was destined to be exclusive.
"Yes, [The Propagation]."
Ruan Mei gave a hum of affirmation.
"Tayzzyronth. Through Herta's Simulated Universe, I was able to glimpse the sequence of events of the Swarm Disaster. Through the data of the Swarm Emperor and His offspring."
"Replication, cultivation. Through these, thereby opening up a brand new branch of research."
Ruan Mei revealed everything she was doing.
"The 'It' restored by me will bloom with a life form unprecedented in history."
The meaning she wanted to express was...
"This is my judgment of myself, and I also feel I can achieve success in this direction."
From beginning to end, she walked on the correct road.
Promotion:
Synopsis:
Bullying, attacks, slander.
Utsunomiya Hoshino felt he was already doing everything possible to anger this group of magical girls.
But why?
Why did they gradually all reveal an expression of wanting to lock him in the basement?
"..."
He suddenly knew the reason.
"If you become a Witch, please be sure to kill me first."
They took this sentence as a confession.
____
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