The most (un)mysterious office in the entire universe.
Light and shadow flowed across the surfaces of precision instruments, and the air was suffused with a faint scent that mingled coolant with an unknown floral fragrance.
"Darling, you've come."
Ruan Mei stood there gracefully in a dark blue-green qipao, the color like distant mountains blurred by the misty rain of Jiangnan. Her voice carried a hint of tender charm within its clear coolness, like the cold fragrance that drifts out when a winter plum silently blooms.
"Yes, I've come."
"You shouldn't have come."
Herta's voice rang out, flat and monotone, delivered with the utterly inflectionless cadence of a bad line-read.
"But I've already come."
Caelus's tone was calm. Then, all of a sudden, he let out a long sigh of indeterminate meaning:
"Why did I even come? And why did you come, too?"
"..."
This exchange of extreme abstraction and leaping logic left even the logic core of the Planet Screwllum gentleman uncharacteristically silent for two full seconds.
Countless analysis threads spun up in an instant and then just as quickly shut down. In the end, this Genius chose to abandon any attempt to comprehend this unique art form.
"Mr. Caelus, your arrival is 4 minutes and 13 seconds earlier than Herta predicted."
Screwllum cracked an elegant little joke, then naturally shifted his gaze to the graceful figure standing beside Caelus:
"This lady is Miss Stelle, and... who might this be?"
Cool-toned gray and warm-toned pink, as if gently blended together by cosmic stardust, had fused into a dreamlike pale wisteria-purple that cascaded down her jade-smooth back.
Lashes as thick as feather fans drooped low, veiling a pair of fresh, lively pupils beneath—as though scattered fragments of starlight had tumbled into a springtime meadow.
A backless white-and-purple dress clung tightly to her figure, the sleeveless shoulders baring slender arms and smooth, milky-white shoulders. A purple guard was wrapped around one arm, the vambrace adorned with metal buckles that lent her a touch of dashing flair.
A golden belt at her waist cinched in her pitifully delicate midriff, tempting the imagination with a single stocking and a pink-purple thigh ring that flickered in and out of view through the slit in her short skirt's hem, wrapping around those long, exquisitely beautiful legs.
The girl held up a cue card toward Herta with a charming little flourish. On it were written five words: 'You shouldn't have come.'
Without her stepping in, how could Herta have ever landed the setup for that bit?
Yet the three Geniuses present merely skimmed past this beautiful girl's looks with detached calm, their gazes locking onto the golden beads swaying from her delicate earlobes.
"The other one is... Asta?"
Herta was quite familiar with Stelle and with her own handy little station master, and was the first to recognize the other half fused with Stelle.
The girl pointed a thumb at herself with a whimsical, mischievous grin:
"Kono Stelle-Asta fusion da!"
"How did you two fuse together?"
Herta's eyes tilted up slightly at the corners.
"Does fusing need a reason? If you wanna fuse, you just fuse."
The Stelle-Asta fusion spread her hands adorably.
Ah!
I'm just messing around~
"..."
The three Geniuses fell into a knowing two-second silence.
It wasn't because of the Stelle-Asta fusion's attitude—rather, they were left speechless by the effects and mechanics of the Potara Earrings.
Though nobody knew where Caelus had gotten this Curio—had he picked it up, or bought it?
The former would be fine, but if he'd bought it, the seller had absolutely sold at a loss!
"The Stelle-Asta fusion, is it? Darling, could you let me draw a bit of blood?"
Ruan Mei's voice was warm and intimate, carrying a touch of enthusiasm that the Asta of old would absolutely never have gotten to enjoy.
"Uh..."
The Stelle-Asta fusion clearly sensed the 'mad scientist' aura practically overflowing from Ruan Mei, and instinctively felt a whisper of danger, subconsciously reluctant to offer up her own blood sample.
But...
She'd called her "darling"!
That voice was soft and beguiling, carrying an almost irresistible magic~
"O-okay~ here."
Whether it was Stelle's bewitched impulsiveness or Asta's inability to refuse, both were embodied in the Stelle-Asta fusion at this moment. With an air of resignation mixed with a bit of coquettish charm, she extended her delicate, snowy-white wrist:
"You have to be gentle, okay! Just a tiny little bit!"
"Actually... wouldn't it be better if, later on, once you've fused with Stelle or Caelus-cub, you draw 'your own' blood instead?"
The Stelle-Asta fusion blinked her big eyes:
"By then you can draw as much as you like~ take however much you want!"
Without the slightest hesitation, she sold out another synthetic being who hadn't even been born yet.
"Thank you, I will."
Ruan Mei nodded gently, her hands already unfolding into motion like flowing clouds and running water.
Her slender, scallion-white fingers pressed elegantly together, tips wreathed in a faint, barely-there dark blue-green glow, and like the most precise of scalpels, they brushed lightly across the skin of the Stelle-Asta fusion's wrist.
Her slender pale fingers pressed together, sweeping across the fusion's wrist and drawing up a trail of dark blue-green light.
No needle. No incision.
In Ruan Mei's other hand, a standard measuring cup appeared out of thin air. That dark blue-green glow seemed almost alive, drawing forth several droplets of vivid, glistening crimson blood—like rubies strung on invisible thread—that flowed with perfect precision out from beneath the Stelle-Asta fusion's skin and dropped into the cup.
"Whoa~ so this is a Genius of the life domain?"
The Stelle-Asta fusion withdrew her arm in astonishment, curiously examining her own wrist—it was as smooth and flawless as before.
"It didn't hurt at all, there's not even a wound."
Ruan Mei only smiled faintly, her gaze locked firmly on those few precious droplets of sample in the measuring cup.
"Wait! I want some too, let me draw a bit as well!"
Seeing Ruan Mei drawing blood, Herta instantly couldn't sit still. Like a spring-loaded doll, she went zip and bounced right over, dashing up to the Stelle-Asta fusion with quick little steps that rivaled Bolt's.
Bronita had left behind her own blood for research before her disintegration, but when it came to fusion-being blood samples, the more the merrier, obviously!
"Where's my reward?"
"Darling~"
Herta copied Ruan Mei's tone from a moment ago, trying to replicate the winning formula.
"No way."
The Stelle-Asta fusion shook her head decisively, crossing her arms in front of her chest to form a big X.
"Why nooot?"
Herta stamped her foot on the spot, her exquisite little face filled with indignation:
"Why is it that when she calls you 'darling' you let her draw, but when I call you 'darling' you won't? That's not fair!"
Facing Herta's accusation, the Stelle-Asta fusion propped her chin on one hand, looking as if deep in thought, and finally even gave a nod:
"Mm... though personally speaking, as far as my own tastes go, compared to a knowing, elegant, long-legged onee-san, I really do prefer a petite, adorable little washboard puppet like you."
The Stelle-Asta fusion's eyes flicked over to Ruan Mei, made a full circle, then returned to Herta.
Just as Herta thought she had a chance, the Stelle-Asta fusion's tone took a sharp turn. She extended one scallion-white finger and solemnly pointed at Caelus beside her:
"But, unfortunately, my big bro clearly has his own ideas, and on this matter, I have to listen to big bro!"
Since when did Stelle ever listen to Caelus?
A question mark popped up above Herta's head. She blinked her amethyst eyes in confusion, then looked at Caelus:
"Why do you like Ruan Mei so much? Just look at me—she's good and I'm not? Where am I worse than Ruan Mei?"
"You're not, though."
Caelus wore a sincere expression, looking at Herta with even a touch of innocence:
"Don't listen to her nonsense stalling, I like you a lot."
Herta immediately whipped her head around, casting her questioning gaze back onto the Stelle-Asta fusion.
The Stelle-Asta fusion blinked innocently. "I said I'd listen to big bro—what's the point of asking my second brother? Caelus-cub is my thrown-together little brother, his word doesn't count!"
"Huh?"
Herta was completely stunned.
Then who's your big bro?
The Stelle-Asta fusion easily read the question in Herta's eyes. She elegantly crouched down before Caelus, extended a slender finger, and lightly tapped the spot between Caelus's two legs.
"Allow me to grandly introduce—this, right here, is my big bro."
A perfectly solemn tone.
The air froze for an instant.
Ruan Mei's hand holding the measuring cup paused ever so slightly.
The brightness of Screwllum's electronic eyes seemed to dim by one subtle notch.
The corner of Herta's mouth twitched.
Fine, fine~!
No wonder, with Stelle being part of the fusion.
Ruan Mei suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Caelus, her tone light and gentle.
"Darling, could you give me some of your azure fluid?"
As natural as a couple in the ambiguous early stages of romance asking whether they could have a bite of your ice cream.
Not only was the blood-gene sample of the MANTIS needed, but so was the base body from before the fusion—only then would it be possible to research the connection that existed between the two.
The effective information contained in the azure fluid was far greater than in blood.
Caelus and the Stelle-Asta fusion exchanged a glance and blinked.
A normal person obviously could never say something like that without the slightest hesitation and with such righteous confidence.
But coming from a life-domain scientist like Ruan Mei or Mobius, Caelus wasn't the least bit surprised.
When Herta heard what Ruan Mei said, she too only faltered for a brief moment, and then showed no further reaction.
In her view, there was nothing off about Ruan Mei's words.
"Miss Ruan Mei, though Caelus isn't a professional researcher, I'd suggest you use a more formal way of phrasing it."
Screwllum fundamentally didn't think there was anything wrong with Ruan Mei's approach—it suited her personality perfectly—it was merely a suggestion he offered after applying universal values and making a logical judgment.
Ruan Mei looked thoughtful, then asked again in her flowing, song-like, soft Wu-dialect tones:
"Darling, please give me some of your gonadal secretion containing hereditary factors."
"I want some too!"
Herta bounced over again.
Why do you want everything?
Caelus shot Herta a glance.
Herta met Caelus's gaze without any reservation, proudly lifting her little head:
"Don't you have a puppet of me in your hands? Go find a room yourself, and hand the stuff over to us in thirty minutes."
"Your puppet doesn't even have the corresponding module."
Caelus remained unmoved.
"You can use your mouth."
Herta reminded him.
"Why do I feel like I've heard this conversation somewhere before?"
The Stelle-Asta fusion knitted her graceful brows.
Oh!
She remembered!
In Stelle's memory, when she first obtained the Herta puppet, this very topic had come up in their conversation—except back then the roles were the reverse of the current situation.
"No way, puppets are boring."
Having waged an all-out war with the Stelle-Seele fusion last night, Caelus now spoke with great bravado.
"Even if you say that, I still won't help you with my hand, out of the question!"
Though for the transcended-beyond-human Miss Herta, worldly notions of shame and morality were beneath her consideration, actively helping this guy out with her hand would still be going a bit too far.
And another thing: after the fusion is dissolved, the base body retains the MANTIS's memories.
And memory is a very complicated thing, containing a great deal within it. When Herta recalled Bronita's thoughts, projects, and ideas, she could clearly experience Bronita's feelings toward Caelus.
After enough times, it always started to feel a little strange.
"How about... Ruan Mei, you do it?"
Herta looked toward the graceful, willowy, gentle and serene woman.
"If the one in question is darling, then yes."
Compared to Herta, Ruan Mei's moral outlook was far more unadorned. She nodded in agreement quite bluntly.
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