Held by the scruff of his neck, Elio let out a couple of mewling sounds:
"Like I said, if you're willing to join the Stellaron Hunters, I'll tell you everything."
"You really are impossible to reason with."
Elio licked his paw.
"Anyway, I can assure you, I mean you no harm. We both want Jingliu to recover, don't we?"
--+--
'Jingliu' neither agreed nor disagreed.
Seeing Jingliu remain silent, Elio didn't seem to mind.
"There are some instruments I prepared inside the house, probably things you can use. I'll entrust Jingliu to your care for a few days, and I'll take care of this Stellaron for you."
Elio's tail tapped the Stellaron tucked in 'Jingliu's' pocket.
"The Stellaron itself hasn't stopped erupting; it's just that the energy from its eruption has been safely managed using power from the same spectrum."
"Speaking of which..."
"It seems the only ones who can safely handle Stellarons are the Astral Express and the Stellaron Hunters."
"Who knows how those two groups manage it."
"Even Lady Herta had to build such a massive device just to contain one."
"Not only does Jingliu have to keep the Stellaron on her person like this, she also has to endure its constant harassment, but these two groups keep taking Stellaron away and sealing them."
"Doesn't seem to take up much space for them."
"Some secret method, perhaps?"
"Elio, can the power of a Stellaron be used safely and effectively?"
Handing the Stellaron over to Elio, 'Jingliu' asked this question curiously.
"Strictly speaking… shouldn't that question be for you? The name 'Celenova' is something you brought to us. Right now, she's the most enthusiastic about tossing Stellarons all across the universe."
Elio either didn't want to say, or there truly was no safe way to utilize them beyond destruction.
"Alright then. Speaking of Celenova, I wonder what she thinks of a senior like me~"
Mentioning Celenova made Jingliu realize the other should have already been forged by Nanook.
She's probably out there working hard to spread Stellarons far and wide across the universe. If she got the chance, she'd like to see what Celenova's true personality was like.
One thing was for sure—she definitely wouldn't be as easy to talk to as herself.
With that, Elio's tail curled around the Stellaron and he left.
As for 'Jingliu', she naturally took that little cube and ducked into the house to start her research. She also started a video conference, inviting Herta, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum to join.
She figured they, being fellow geniuses, would all be interested in Dr. Primitive's research data.
The first to join the call was Ruan Mei.
"Long time no see, Bai Ming. May I ask, where did you obtain Dr. Primitive's research data?"
"Long time no see, Ruan Mei. Well, that's a long story."
But just after greetings were exchanged, another voice, clearly annoyed, chimed in:
"Well, well~ Bai Ming. Fancy meeting you here. Instead of honestly coming to Herta Space Station, you're out here playing intergalactic thief?"
--+--
Hah, she's mad again.
'Jingliu' sometimes wondered if Herta just enjoyed snarking at people. And if this person was still holding a grudge about that time she'd initially impersonated her.
She said it was 'in the past, in the past.'
But secretly, she was probably keeping a tally in her little black book.
Given Herta's vindictive nature, she'd totally do something like that.
"Stop scolding, stop scolding! Any more and you'll scold this child stupid." 'Jingliu' laughed good-naturedly and chose to surrender.
"Hmph. Your attitude lacks sincerity."
Herta crossed her arms and gave a light 'hmph' from her end of the call, though a hint of a smile did appear on her face.
Seeing this, Jingliu stopped wasting words. She took out the cube, began trying to analyze it, and started explaining.
She briefly recounted her experiences over the last couple of days and why she had encountered Dr. Primitive.
"That script from Elio? But why guide you to acquire Dr. Primitive's materials here?"
"Deduction: The actions of the Stellaron Hunters are always inscrutable. Perhaps the answers we seek lie within Dr. Primitive's remnants."
Hearing this, Jingliu nodded:
"That's precisely why I notified you all. You all know my background; I'm somewhat lacking when it comes to deciphering the creations of geniuses. I managed to snag a few things from Dr. Primitive. Although most are damaged, they should still hold research value."
"I am somewhat interested in Dr. Primitive's data on genetic atavism experiments."
Ruan Mei stated her objective outright.
Ruan Mei was capable of inducing atavism herself.
Though she typically wouldn't, as it didn't align with her aesthetics. However, if the data came from another genius, then these ordinary atavism experiments might contain something unique.
"I'm more curious about what happens with Dr. Primitive. Aren't you afraid he might escape again?"
Lady Herta examined the assortment of Dr. Primitive's little inventions through the camera feed.
What was going through her mind was anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, with Screwllum's assistance, 'Jingliu' was rapidly deciphering the little cube's firewall.
She also took a moment to answer Herta's question: "I can't say for sure. At this stage, I can't defend against such methods. Though I don't know why the Lord of Silence is helping him... perhaps she has her own agenda?"
"The Lord of Silence, oh, that one is a complete and utter madwoman."
Just mentioning the Lord of Silence caused Herta's entire demeanor to shift noticeably.
"Did she interrupt your inspiration again?"
"Yeah. Ever since her 'Knowable Domain' failed to deploy over Herta City, she hasn't even bothered hiding her intent to target me."
Hearing Herta say this, 'Jingliu' glanced at Ruan Mei, then at Screwllum.
Both of them gave slight shakes of their heads in response.
Whatever happened specifically, Herta hadn't told anyone the details.
"Very well, it is unlocked, Ms. Bai Ming. The protection on this information storage unit is not particularly strong. It appears to be a device Dr. Primitive used frequently."
Just then, Screwllum's voice pulled everyone's thoughts back to the matter at hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Screwllum. I'll share the data now."
Jingliu smiled and thanked Screwllum for his remote assistance.
"Wait a moment. Let me add an extra layer of encryption to the call. Bai Ming, you're really using such ordinary equipment to contact us, aren't you?"
Herta called for a pause, her fingers flying as she worked, while simultaneously pointing an accusatory finger Jingliu's way.
"..."
What could Jingliu even say?
She'd said more than once that she wasn't a genius.
But it seemed Herta simply didn't take that seriously.
Probably in her eyes, being able to mimic a genius's intellect made her half a genius anyway.
"Alright, send it."
Herta lifted a hand and flicked the brim of her hat.
'Jingliu' then shared all the data from the storage unit.
Ruan Mei was probably the most proactive, their fields being relatively closer:
"Speaking of which, Bai Ming, is your current goal to cure that Stellaron Hunter's Mara-struck state?"
"Yes. No matter what... I can't just ignore her after she's ended up like this."
The thought of the original version being a yandere for her was all she could think about lately...
It really wasn't appropriate.
If it can be treated, it should be treated.
--+--