The Stellaron baby had become more mature. She now knew how to find new materials for the family's factory. That was truly something worth celebrating.
But to some people, those words that sounded like riddles were not good news at all.
Of course, this wasn't referring to Duke Inferno's Fire Demon race.
It was referring to a certain warm-hearted yet proud professor.
Still, the professor quickly pushed down the strange feeling in his heart and said in a deep voice, "That video will spread very soon. It may not be long before the space station turns into a sea of fire."
"Destruction of trust," Screwllum commented briefly.
"I'm afraid it's not only trust that will be destroyed," Ratio said. "If you don't want to sit here and wait, then act now. You, come with me."
"Me?" Stelle blinked in surprise.
"Who else? Let those two run around the station and write 'Something happened at the space station' all over their faces?"
"That would be the worst approach," Asta said. "I'll stay here and do my best to keep the news from spreading. I'll leave the investigation to you."
However, Stelle shook her head.
"I think there's a better way. Wait a moment. Let me send a message first."
As she spoke, Stelle took out her phone and sent Nero a message, telling him everything about the space station's current situation and what needed to be investigated. At the same time, she placed special emphasis on how useful the Fire Demon race would be.
In Stelle's opinion, there was no need to hide anything in this place, which could practically be renamed Nero Space Station. Herta certainly didn't care.
The Nero Knights had to be useful someday.
Especially in a situation like this, they would probably be more than willing to help.
"All right, let's go," Stelle said to Ratio after sending the message.
"What were you doing just now?" Ratio asked.
"As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Different situations call for different choices, and I happen to know more about what's going on at the space station."
"An idol's influence can have a huge effect at times. Admiration for the strong may make people follow blindly, but it also strengthens unity."
"And when people's feelings toward an idol are based on sympathy and simple affection, it can create a completely different kind of overwhelming effect."
Ratio frowned as he listened to Stelle.
In fact, besides his personal wish to compete with the geniuses, another reason he had come to the space station was to enlighten the ignorant.
He had seen too many people drifting through life in confusion.
So he hoped that those struggling in the swamp of blind ignorance could stand up on their own.
He had observed the situation at the space station and concluded that most of its researchers were trapped in that very ignorance.
Idol worship created a herd effect. With a little encouragement and careful guidance, many people would blindly follow along, while also creating huge waves in the lives of others.
He did not want to see people do something simply because "everyone else is doing it" or because "so-and-so said or thought I should do it."
What he hoped for was that people would think for themselves first, then act because "I think this is what I should do," or "This is the choice and result I want."
At this moment, Stelle wanted to gather people by asking the white-haired boy's fans to come help.
As far as Stelle herself was concerned, he agreed with it.
But once those fans were included, he could not approve of it.
Rather than answering someone's call, Ratio hoped those people would notice the problem on their own and choose to help of their own free will.
He wanted them to think first, regardless of whether the person asking for help was someone they admired, and then either choose to refuse or choose to help.
Professor Ratio did not completely reject passionate idol worship.
But he also hoped those admirers would have their own personalities and the ability to think independently.
The Knights of Beauty had done quite well in that regard.
Even so, the line between the two was difficult to judge.
In the end, the professor opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He said nothing.
Stelle followed Ratio. They first got the list of missing researchers from Arlan.
Stelle immediately sent the list to the Nero fan group on the space station.
She asked everyone to see whether these people had anything in common, saying it would be very helpful for what Nero needed to do next.
The next moment, the group was flooded with replies of "Received."
Every one of those fans looked full of energy.
If it had been someone else, there might have been worries about a crisis of trust.
But not with them.
After all, this was "Nero's request."
The reason Stelle dared to make such a bold decision was naturally because of the researcher from the Ecology Department they had met while dealing with Ruan Mei's incident alongside Nero.
That researcher's determination to work hard so Nero could return to the space station in the future, along with his accidental slip of calling Herta Space Station "Nero Space Station," had given her confidence.
After that, Ratio asked Arlan if he could meet Little Adler, "the person who knows curios best on the space station."
However, he received bad news.
Little Adler had also disappeared.
But right after that, Arlan gave them some good news.
The last person to see Adler before he disappeared was Wen Shiling.
That meant they weren't completely out of leads.
The two then went to Wen Shiling to look for clues.
The little girl was heartbroken over her friend's disappearance, but she also gave them new information.
She mentioned that while Adler had been researching spontaneous human combustion, he had also talked about some kind of "fragrance."
At the same time, she handed them a small booklet, saying it was something Adler had been reading constantly before he disappeared.
Just then, the Master Control Zone suddenly became lively.
A large crowd was following behind a white-haired boy as they walked over together.
Nero had no idea what was going on with the people behind him.
They had suddenly gathered around him, saying strange things like they had already found the common point.
He had no idea what they were talking about.
But after thinking about the message Stelle had sent him, he knew all he had to do was find Stelle.
He had to admit that Stelle's description of the "useful Duke Inferno" had caught his interest.
As for this duke, Nero's impression of him was still that video where he and his group dramatically declared war and planned to cause trouble during the Charmony Festival.
But the Duke set scattered throughout the treasure chests in Penacony always made Nero wonder whether this guy had been beaten to death on the way there, and the fine clothes from his mansion had been taken out and hidden inside treasure chests as little surprises.
Very soon, Nero spotted Stelle.
He quickened his pace, almost moving with the wind. In just two or three steps, he drifted over to her.
"Although I really want to know where Duke Inferno is right now... could you deal with them first?" Nero completely ignored Professor Ratio standing beside Stelle and pointed at the huge crowd behind him. "You should know what's going on with them, right?"