Inside the space station, Herta had gone off to the Interastral Peace Corporation to pull in another round of sponsorship for the Simulated Universe.
The IPC had countless flaws, but in the current galactic environnt, it was the only one that could afford to bankroll Herta's extravagance.
After Herta left, Ruan i also departed. This ti, she was heading for an uninhabited planet.
On one hand, she had a previously scheduled project to work on. On the other, her ti spent with Pei Guang and her observations in the Simulated Universe had sparked a number of new ideas.
So players had tried implenting the cultivation model Pei Guang proposed in the Simulated Universe.
The results were astonishing: ordinary people, based on all the data, were able to exceed the limits of their own life through ample emotional nurturing, achieving several stages of advancent.
With this data as support, and the fact that Pei Guang had actually managed to create an Emanator, Ruan i was ready to try this thod herself. However...
She looked at her phone: on it was a ssage from one of the creations she had made at the space station.
These were the creations that had been taken away by Below One Bucket. They had now arrived on another planet.
During their self-directed learning process, they had learned to use electronic devices like smartphones. As they followed Bucket on its trials and training to grow into creations that Ruan i could approve of, they also sent her updates about what they saw and experienced.
At that mont, Ruan i received ssages describing what they had encountered on a primitive planet. Afraid of annoying her and getting blocked, the creations had only sent a few photos.
Looking at those pictures, Ruan i was silent for a mont before a faint smile appeared on her face.
Perhaps it was the thought of experintation—she still couldn't quite understand the idea of "love" involved—but even if it was just for the sake of experintation, she was ready to give it a try.
She replied with two words: "Very beautiful."
After sending that brief response, she received even more photos, including a large group photo of Bucket and all the little ones.
It felt strange.
Clearly, she had only made a comnt within her understanding, purely from an experintal mindset.
But upon seeing these things, her brain's neurotransmitters began producing the chemicals typically associated with happiness between living beings.
At the sa ti, Ruan i began to wonder: should she give her previous creations… a little more love?
She left, heading to the uninhabited planet to begin her new experint. Based on the Simulated Universe and Pei Guang's words, she devised a new hypothesis.
She was curious: if she truly created the kind of life Pei Guang spoke of, and then offered herself as a sacrifice, could she create a true Emanator? Beco a ■■?
While Ruan i now had a new goal, Pei Guang had just stepped out of Herta's office when he noticed a strange expression on Asta's face on the bridge.
"Asta? What's wrong? You look pale."
Hearing Pei Guang's question, Asta reflexively turned around. The mont she saw him, she opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.
"Hmm? Sothing's up?"
Pei Guang sensed a quest incoming and moved closer to her. At her feet, Peppy barked excitedly when he saw Pei Guang approaching.
Seeing him co closer, Asta seed unsure how to start.
Pei Guang then said, "Do you need my help with sothing? Just say it! If it's sothing caused by or my companions, then you really need to tell . Don't hold back! My fondness for you is already at a level where nothing could shake it. My trust in you is absolute."
Asta had initially intended to speak, but hearing Pei Guang say this made her swallow her words again. She didn't want to betray his trust, and the current issue in the space station did have sothing to do with him...
Pei Guang noticed her expression shift again. "So it is related to ? Wait… Don't tell you found so other player and gave them all the quests and rewards? Co on! Station Manager! Asta! My adorable, beloved, most respected—"
Before he could finish, Asta interrupted, "Stop, stop! Don't say another word. All those adjectives are too embarrassing."
Looking at Pei Guang's smug expression, Asta took a deep breath and hesitantly said, "I'll tell you, but promise you won't get mad…"
Pei Guang: "Why would I be mad? Even if you took a mission from so shady figure to kill , as long as you told your reasons, I'd believe you."
When a player develops affection for an important character, as long as that character doesn't utterly betray them, players will always empathize with their motives.
Hearing that, Asta looked even more uncomfortable. "After spending all this ti with you, I knew you'd say that… and that's exactly why… Sigh, fine. I'll tell you. But seriously, don't get mad…"
Pei Guang: "Mad?"
He figured it'd be pretty hard to make him mad.
Those who had been personally killed or captured by him would readily agree with that sentint!
Asta: "Here's what happened…"
Rewind to the day before: due to the sudden appearance of a Propagation Emanator, the entire space station personnel had to evacuate in a short ti.
Before evacuation, Asta had done a headcount. After returning, she checked again and confird: not one person was missing, and no one extra had appeared either.
However, the event had left many staff mbers disgruntled. When they returned and found out that nothing had actually happened, the dissatisfaction only worsened.
So staff even believed that the whole thing was a loyalty test from managent, that there was no danger at all. That it was all fake.
Just illusions. Staged. Photoshopped.
As word spread overnight, even Pei Guang got dragged into the drama.
So people believed everything Pei Guang had done back then had been a performance, a calculated act to mislead everyone.
In the end, the private group chat exploded. Pei Guang's fans argued, "Bla the managent if you must: what's Pei Guang got to do with it?"
Spectators who just ca to watch the chaos said the space station's danger was all caused by Pei Guang. Maybe he'd even caused the Antimatter Legion incident too.
How could soone be considered a savior when all they did was clean up their own ss?
So the group chat descended into a full-blown fla war.
In reality, people still acted polite and friendly face-to-face, but the anonymous brawling in the group chat even alard the security departnt.
If it had just been a war of words, that would've been the end of it, but this morning, soone had gone missing.
At first, it seed like an ordinary disappearance, but when Asta investigated their profile and circumstances, she discovered that the person missing… was the one who had cursed the most in the group chat the previous day.
How to put it… the anonymous group chat was just a place for everyone to vent: if no one had gone missing, it would've just been two groups arguing, but once soone disappears, it's a different story.
What's worse, today things got even ssier.
On top of that, the space station's danger alarm had just gone off, making the situation feel increasingly unstable.
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