"Phase Flame?"
Upon hearing Lynelle's question, Ruan Mei tilted her head, a puzzled expression crossing her face.
"Yeah, I remember Herta mentioning before that your experiment inspiration came from Phase Flame, right?" Lynelle nodded. "So, where is the Phase Flame now?"
Since she'd decided to help Asta handle this crisis, Lynelle was all about efficiency.
According to the original story, the Phase Flame was something Ruan Mei had lost, so going straight to Ruan Mei for clues seemed the quickest way to track down Duke Inferno.
However, Ruan Mei's next reply left Lynelle completely baffled.
"Phase Flame… didn't I return it to Herta a while ago?"
"...Huh?"
"After all, the experiment was exposed. Though I originally mainly wanted to keep it from Screwllum, at this point, hiding it doesn't really matter anymore."
"So, I put the Phase Flame back in the Curio Collection Room a long time ago."
"It's really like that…? So, Duke Inferno infiltrated and stole the Phase Flame himself?"
"Duke Inferno… who's that?"
Ruan Mei looked curious.
"He's a member of the Annihilation Gang. To be precise, he's the leader of the Ever-Flame Mansion. He likes causing destruction across the universe in his spare time, practicing Destruction along the way."
"Is he an Emanator?"
"He's probably not weak, but definitely not an Emanator."
"Oh."
Ruan Mei let out a brief syllable and then fell silent.
"Tsk tsk tsk…" Seeing Ruan Mei's reaction, Lynelle couldn't help but click her tongue. "Looks like poor Duke Inferno has once again been treated like a stray by the roadside."
"Isn't that exactly what he is, dear?" Ruan Mei replied without looking up.
"Though I haven't heard of this Ever-Flame Mansion, I have heard jokes about the Annihilation Gang—the value Nanook sees in them is even less than that of an infant smashing a vase."
"From a purely rational standpoint, the fastest way for the Annihilation Gang to get Nanook's attention would be to swarm out, capture you, and maybe then Nanook would glance their way."
"Of course, they'd probably be blasted to pieces by Herta and Screwllum before they even got you, since those two aren't as… combat-inept as I am."
"Uh…" Thinking of the scene in the Seclusion Zone, swarming with True Sting, and the Starcrusher Swarm King that Ruan Mei had experimented on who-knows-how-many times, Lynelle felt that someone who could navigate freely through swarms of insects she herself struggled with probably shouldn't be labeled "combat-inept."
"Still, you needn't worry too much." Ruan Mei set down the instrument in her hand.
"That wisp of Phase Flame is just a tiny flame—more symbolic than practical. Its phase-shifting ability is now limited to simple leaps within the same dimension, and even that has strict distance constraints."
"I remember Herta mentioning you have quite a few peculiar special abilities, including spatial ones, right?"
"As long as your spatial positioning is precise enough, even if that so-called 'Duke' gets the Phase Flame, its authority level is too low to cause any real waves."
"But since you say his strength is decent, just to be safe… take this." Ruan Mei thought for a moment, stood up, and pressed a button.
Instantly, the water level in the cultivation pod began to rapidly drop. The pod door opened, and a drenched Corruption-chan blinked groggily, opening her eyes.
"Wait, you're just releasing her like that?!" Suddenly noticing Corruption-chan seemed to have been fully submerged, Lynelle quickly wrapped her own coat around her, completely missing how Corruption-chan, now snapping to awareness, was already sniffing her coat with a somewhat… lecherous expression.
"Hehe, Mama's scent, Lynelle Mama…"
"You little dummy, be serious!" Lynelle's cheeks flushed slightly as she lightly knocked Corruption-chan's head.
"Is that really an issue? Though Corruption-chan, as a True Sting, might have some gender ambiguity, at least her current self-identity and body are female…"
Ruan Mei looked at Lynelle with confusion, as if unsure why her reaction was so strong.
"Or does this trigger some other reaction in you? That would be quite a peculiar phenomenon. Would you like to assist me in an experiment…"
Lynelle suddenly sensed that Ruan Mei wasn't just a bit indifferent when it came to human nature.
Remove the "human" part—she was pretty indifferent overall!
Couldn't she see Corruption-chan's flushed face? No, she probably had no concept of it at all!
From her perspective, such things were likely just a simple process, like eating or drinking—coupled with her lack of knowledge about emotions…
Lynelle had a sudden realization.
"Stop, stop, stop! Let's drop this topic right now!"
Feeling that explaining the difference between reproductive behavior and, well, lewdness to Ruan Mei here might make things incredibly awkward, Lynelle hastily shut down the dangerous conversation.
"So, you mean for Corruption-chan to be my bodyguard? But her body…"
"Corruption-chan's body stabilized yesterday. Just treat this mission as collecting samples for her, to help with future adjustments."
Ruan Mei didn't press further, simply stating, "Of course, fighting isn't strictly necessary."
"Even just running and jumping around outside for some activity is fine. But don't remove that leg ring accessory on her leg—it's a detector I'm using to record data."
"That's all I need to mention… You can set off now."
Watching Lynelle flusteredly help Corruption-chan into her clothes, a slight smile touched Ruan Mei's lips.
"Yay, it's a two-person world with Big Sister Lynelle!"
"Two-person world my foot!" Lynelle delivered another chop to Corruption-chan's head. "You better behave once we're out there!"
"!"
Corruption-chan's eyes instantly lit up.
"Does that mean when it's just the two of us, I don't have to behave? Ehehe…"
"Hah?"
"Ahem… Lynelle, no need to look at me like that. This has nothing to do with me."
Noticing Lynelle's strange gaze, Ruan Mei quickly cleared her throat.
"Don't forget, though her body is currently sustained by Abundance, what constitutes Corruption-chan's essence is still Propagation…"
"But rest assured, even so, she shouldn't disobey your commands."
"The control of superiors over subordinates in insectoid species is almost unbreakably strong, let alone you being her mother and Swarm Sovereign."
--+--
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.