"Well, I suppose I did add a little something extra."
Ruan Mei let out a soft sigh.
"But honestly, I have no idea what consequences adding those things might bring…"
"To put it simply, the Starcrusher Swarm King has managed to hold on for this long mostly due to its own evolutionary results."
"So, what exactly did you add?"
Ruan Mei extended her hand, making a gesture as if holding something tiny between her fingertips.
"Just a tiny bit of power—blessings of Abundance extracted from Lynelle, directly bestowed by the Aeon of Abundance."
"I knew it..." Herta's face showed an expression of unsurprised realization.
"But even if it's a blessing of Abundance straight from Yaoshi, it shouldn't last this long, right? Even if you created a pseudo-Emanator, the sheer magnitude of the Starcrusher Swarm King's own power should've been enough to dilute that energy."
Though she'd gotten an explanation from Ruan Mei, Herta still felt puzzled.
It wasn't that she found Ruan Mei's methods strange—after all, that was just how she was.
What truly baffled her was... could a tiny bit of Abundance power really allow the Starcrusher Swarm King to endure for so long?
"The reason is simple. I didn't intervene in the Starcrusher Swarm King's growth at all."
"Or rather, I had already concluded what would happen to it under normal circumstances—56 seconds. That's the maximum time it could have lasted."
"So, after infusing Lynelle's power, I chose to activate the True Sting's own evolutionary genes, allowing it to evolve freely toward the path most conducive to survival."
"To that end, I greatly strengthened its instincts and weakened its self-awareness. Before fully emerging from the cultivation chamber, it would charge headlong toward that simple goal: survival."
"Of course, this buff would deactivate once it left the chamber. Otherwise, the first thing it'd probably do after escaping would be to smash through the viewport and flee the station."
"So... you had no idea where this experiment would lead, and instead chose to trust the most primal survival instinct within the True Sting's life?"
The corner of Herta's mouth twitched involuntarily. "Honestly, such a... divinely absurd experimental plan... only you could come up with it."
"Because, I truly was curious—when the power of Propagation, the primal impulse for survival, and a near-limitless source of energy from an Abundance blessing are combined... what kind of life would emerge? It would provide the most direct evidence for another plan of mine."
"You don't have to make 'opening a mystery box' sound so elegant..." Herta said helplessly.
"Let me make this clear upfront: if Lynelle comes looking for you afterward, don't expect me to take your side. Also, if anything goes wrong on her end, you'll be responsible for the cleanup."
"Don't worry. I've been continuously monitoring Lynelle and Stelle's vital signs."
"If any issues arise, I'll immediately activate the countermeasures left on the Starcrusher Swarm King. Besides, Professor Ratio from the Intelligentsia Guild is nearby and can buy us enough time."
"However... just a moment ago, I already sensed something unusual. Lynelle and Stelle seem to have experienced a tremendous shock in a very short period, likely related to the Starcrusher Swarm King's final evolved form."
"Well then, let's take a look. Before, you needed me to pretend I didn't know, but since we're laying all the cards on the table now, just pull up the station's surveillance feed."
Herta waved a hand, then leaned in curiously beside Ruan Mei. "Let me see what kind of mystery box you've opened..."
A moment later, with a soft beep, the hidden surveillance feed from the Seclusion Sector was activated, and the entire Herta's office fell into utter silence.
Ruan Mei: "O.o?"
Herta: "o.O?"
"What in the—?"
Now Herta understood why Lynelle and Stelle had been so profoundly shocked in such a short time. Who wouldn't have their eyes pop out seeing this?
"Ruan Mei, what have you created? A... blue-and-purple-themed Lynelle?"
"It's the Starcrusher Swarm King."
"I know it's the Starcrusher Swarm King! But, but..."
For a moment, Herta was at a loss for words.
"How did the Starcrusher Swarm King evolve into something like this?!"
"I don't know," Ruan Mei answered honestly.
"But I think I understand why they didn't end up fighting."
"Why... why?"
Seeing the usually aloof expression on Ruan Mei's face begin to crack slightly, Herta had a feeling this woman was about to say something earth-shattering again.
"Because... that Starcrusher Swarm King most likely sees Lynelle as its queen."
"...Huh?"
--+--
Meanwhile, over in the Seclusion Zone, the atmosphere was equally awkward to the extreme.
At that moment, the Starcrusher Swarm King—now transformed into a blue-and-purple version of Lynelle—was nestled quite obediently in Lynelle's arms, allowing her to stroke its head.
As for Stelle and Lynelle's expressions...
...they were each stranger than the other.
Let's rewind a few minutes.
As everyone knows, after Ruan Mei's... adjustments (ahem), the Destruction and Abundance powers within Lynelle's body had reached a near equilibrium.
Her occasional returns to the Xianzhou were merely to repair her overburdened physique.
Simply put, what posed a safety risk to Lynelle was no longer the two opposing powers themselves, but rather the lingering side effects—similar to metal fatigue—caused by hosting such energies within her body.
Thus, to maintain a dynamic balance within her system, Lynelle had to follow a simple rule during combat:
Whenever she expended a large amount of one type of energy, she had to use up a portion of the other as well.
When the Starcrusher Swarm King had just completed its second stage—being nearly on par with Lynelle in strength—Lynelle didn't hold back at all.
She immediately launched three bursts of Black Abyss White Flowers infused with massive amounts of Destruction.
Yet, the only apparent result of these attacks was making the Starcrusher Swarm King's outfit even more... exposed.
Unlike Lynelle, who was akin to a glass cannon, the Starcrusher Swarm King in its current state had allocated the majority of its power into enhancing physical durability, ensuring it wouldn't be overwhelmed by its own core.
While its offensive strength wasn't high, its resilience was certainly superior to Lynelle's at the moment.
So, after depleting a significant amount of Destruction energy, Lynelle logically began to expend the Abundance power within her—and this was where things started to go awry.
The moment Lynelle released her Abundance energy, the Starcrusher Swarm King—resembling a small Corruption Phantom—slammed on the brakes.
Even the smaller swarm of insects under its control halted their advance toward Lynelle. And then...
It let out a joyful cry... "Mama"?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.