'Sparkle' watched as the pitch-black liquid mineral gradually turned ashen and began to solidify.
A faint smile touched the corners of her lips.
"Hmph~ As expected, the power of Enigmata works wonderfully."
'Sparkle' didn't need to fabricate the entire situation from thin air.
That would leave too many flaws and cost far too much energy.
But if she only used the power of Enigmata to realize certain key parts…
The cost would be much lower, and the authenticity far greater.
For example, scar crystals absorb Imaginary energy, converting it into the power of Preservation.
And originally precious minerals turn into useless waste rock.
Although these two things are actually completely unrelated.
The mineralization turning to waste is essentially the work of a certain microorganism, and the process is even reversible.
But by using the power of Enigmata to link these two events together…
It became: the crystal drains power, and the price is the precious mineral turning to waste.
And with the combined strength of those beings of light…
Even a typical History Fictionologist showing up wouldn't be able to shake this 'lie'.
Oswaldo Schneider should notice the anomaly down in the mines pretty soon.
'Sparkle' heard noises coming from outside the mine shaft.
A lot of people were approaching.
Not sure if they'd detected the change in resources or were searching for whatever was causing the Imaginary energy tides.
Wonder how Sparkle was doing over there.
For now, with these preparations done…
'Sparkle' gave a little shake and transformed into the standard attire of a company member.
A thoroughly ordinary appearance, borrowing just a tiny feature from every member here.
And the information of a brand-new company employee was smoothly implanted into everyone's minds—even the machines.
Just like that, 'Sparkle' quietly blended into the base.
She swaggered up and swiped open the access gate, only to find the people here all seemed to be in a state of tension.
Grabbing someone at random to ask, she discovered that Sparkle had already piqued Oswaldo's curiosity.
Without going to make contact with Oswaldo herself, 'Sparkle', disguised as a company employee, made her way straight to Sparkle's room.
She'd even brought along a staff meal as a takeout delivery.
"Come in~"
The door slid open at her voice.
Sparkle saw who entered, first smiled, but just as she was about to speak, her eyes swept up and down the newcomer a couple of times.
"Well~ You work fast~"
"Brought you food. The staff meals here are pretty decent."
'Sparkle' unceremoniously sat on the room's desk, laying out the lunch.
Sparkle took one look, then her eyes lit up as she gazed at her other self:
"Who's this?"
"An unremarkable company clerk. More importantly, are you really planning to stay here?"
"Mhm~ I think it'll be more fun here. You should've seen Oswaldo's expression when he verified my information—utterly hilarious~"
Sparkle's grin stretched wide, clearly unable to hold back her amusement.
"How did he buy it?"
"I'm the famous Director Sparkle of the StarNet. I told him it was a gift from the Aeon of Elation. Why wouldn't he believe me?"
Sparkle shamelessly borrowed the persona 'Sparkle' had previously crafted.
Had to admit, it worked like a charm.
Because no normal person would think an ordinary individual could produce that kind of video.
And given Aha's level of absurdity…
Giving a follower a Preservation crystal and letting them find their own way?
Totally something they'd pull.
"...Fair point."
"So, what about your end? What story have you prepared for him?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to keep it a suspense? Changed your mind already?"
'Sparkle' cheerfully deflected the question.
Sparkle clicked her tongue and finally chose to eat.
"I plan to stay at this base for the show. You? Doing the same?"
"Nope. I'm going to check out the natives here."
'Sparkle' hadn't forgotten this world was Boothill's home.
And that Boothill from the future probably didn't go by that name yet. After all, 'Boothill' in this world meant 'the gunslinger who got shot dead.'
But that wasn't important.
She wasn't heading there for Boothill anyway.
Though the cyborg cowboy was certainly interesting, and his modified synesthesia beacon made his speeches quite the entertainment.
But truthfully, she was having a bit of a 'bio-modification itch.'
Ever since gaining half of Ruan Mei's intellect, she'd gotten a taste of that genius sweetness.
Problems that stumped ordinary people, she could solve with a casual wave.
That microorganism that turned minerals to waste? 'Sparkle' had casually cooked it up on her way down the mine shaft.
So now, since the trap for Oswaldo was already set…
Her next appearance would have to wait until Oswaldo dug up the crystal. Then she'd show up to play the cryptic messenger.
In the meantime, she needed something to do.
Couldn't exactly spend half a month in this base playing corporate drone.
But hearing her other self's plan, Sparkle looked puzzled:
"Those cowboys? What's interesting about them?"
"I'm going to make them interesting. If Oswaldo finds the treasure that easily, by your own logic, where's the fun in that?"
A smile played on 'Sparkle's' lips.
Among Dr. Primitive's experimental data was a section called the 'Superhuman Species Creation Plan.'
If she remembered right, it had something to do with Rappa.
But she wasn't sure if the plan was already in motion or still just a blueprint.
After all, no one ever said how old Rappa was.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was the plan's contents were quite thorough.
The dozens of gene sequences Dr. Primitive had meticulously selected were clearly listed.
The 'Superhuman' Dr. Primitive sought was obviously not a physical superhuman, but a spiritual, philosophical 'Übermensch.'
'Sparkle' clearly didn't have such grand ambitions.
She was just thinking, since Boothill was going to get modified and enhanced anyway, and the others were headed for genocide…
Rather than turning into a fuel-guzzling hunk of metal, why not undergo her gentle human trials and become superhumans capable of rivaling the company's single-soldier armaments?
'Sparkle' couldn't be a savior, but she could give them a bit of power to fight back.
Of course, she could just contact Zero and One to send people over.
But 'Sparkle' also knew how stretched thin the Land of Light was.
This universe was vast, and the destructive power of Pathstriders was downright absurd.
The Ultramen were so busy they barely touched the ground—and that wasn't just a figure of speech.
Forget the fifty or sixty-meter-level complete forms, any Ultra over thirty meters basically had no free time.
If she specifically called an Ultra over, it might mean a world that needed one more desperately would miss its rescue.
This universe was just that much of a cesspool.
Anyway.
The Land of Light was powerful, but also incredibly busy.
As their 'mother,' this little matter wasn't worth disturbing them over.
Just a bit of enhancement and modification.
Enough for these cowboys to protect themselves.
Who knows, maybe they'd even bring some fresh blood to the Galaxy Rangers in the future.
--+--