Chapter 301: The Crown of Mediocrity and Divinity (9)

Xing held the baseball bat horizontally before her, her knuckles whitening from overexertion. She shut her eyes tightly, awaiting the imminent impact—

However, nothing happened.

There was no deafening explosion, no tearing pain, not even a hint of wind pressure. Only a strange, bone‑chilling silence.

Xing slowly opened her eyes.

The king insect hovered in midair, its massive body convulsing at an unnatural rhythm, the blue glow on its carapace flickering like a faulty bulb.

Xing stared dumbfounded at the scene. The king insect's body began collapsing at a visible speed, shrinking smaller and smaller until it turned into countless tiny specks of light that vanished into the air.

The true beetle that had differentiated from its body also perished, leaving nothing behind.

"After 56 seconds, it can no longer sustain its existence, it will be utterly annihilated, as if it never existed."

On the second‑floor platform, the plaster‑headed man stared coldly at everything below. After confirming the king insect's complete death, he let out a cold laugh and left without looking back.

——

Pirate King.

Holy Land Mary Joia.

"56 seconds? A creature of this caliber still gets called an Order‑Bearer? That girl Xing didn't even pull out her flame gun; she didn't even get a proper warm‑up."

Lv Niu casually placed the wine bowl on the table, the vines formed by his five fingers lazily retracting: "…still talking about 'a life unprecedented before blooming', I did see the 'bloom', but it withered far too quickly. Speaking of which… Ruan Mei that woman maybe exaggerated?"

Teng Hu gently rubbed the hilt of his staff‑blade, thoughtful: "Perhaps this Order‑Bearer is just her failure, not only in life but also its power is severely diminished."

Having watched the entire Order‑Bearer war on the Celestial Vessel, Teng Hu formed a preliminary judgment on their combat strength— a seriously fighting Order‑Bearer can absolutely destroy an entire civilization.

But this insect, let alone destroying a civilization, its battle with Xing didn't even draw the attention of Black Tower or Luosi Gumu; its vitality is heavily reduced, and its power seems almost entirely stripped away.

Nevertheless, that's also a good thing; whether out of concern for Xing's safety or the innocent technicians on the space station, Teng Hu doesn't want a 100%‑power "Breeding" Order‑Bearer to act—even if it means missing an exciting duel between Order‑Bearers.

Lv Niu squinted, looking back at the sky‑curtain: "Ruan Mei knows this insect's power is incomplete, so why didn't she tell Xing in advance? Is it because she doesn't trust her?"

"She once said she doesn't trust anyone besides herself," Teng Hu nodded. "This lady may be skilled in research, but she seems insensitive to human affairs."

"Tsk… no wonder those two 'dear' lines were so casually said," Lv Niu muttered discontentedly. "Compared to her, Luosi Gumu is actually the most human‑like of the three geniuses… even though that guy is still a robot."

——

Xing arrived at the platform and found Ruan Mei again.

The geniuses' meeting was over; the outcome didn't matter to her, what mattered was Xing's side.

Seeing Xing's serious expression, Ruan Mei paused, her eyelashes lowering as the platform's cold light cast a faint shadow on her face: "Looking at you… you're angry, aren't you? I'm sorry, I have no excuse. To this day, my experiments have failed countless times, and the outcomes have always been predictable."

"I created a clone, but its distance from that Order‑Bearer… remains forever unattainable."

"You don't have to hide it from me," Xing said irritably.

"How should I explain it to you? I'm not good at communicating with people…" Ruan Mei's tone remained flat, "Trapped by time and venue, its life pattern is only a half‑finished product. I recreated its moment of birth, but soon it will dissolve into particles."

"A trivial step— the answer exactly as expected."

"But it almost ate me." Xing grew even angrier.

"I said that if you encounter an insurmountable danger, I'll intervene and take it down," Ruan Mei shook her head lightly. "In fact, I don't like everything proceeding exactly as I plan; experiments without variables are dull."

"Nevertheless, in this story that Ruan Mei sees as arriving on schedule, there is still an unexpected joy—the little ones she once considered 'failures.'"

"They possess emotions, which is moving. Emotional expression can be positive or negative, but the love rooted deep in the heart is an unchanging constant."

"They are still far from the geniuses, so they cannot discern whether this love is friendship, kinship, or romance. But for Ruan Mei, she likewise cannot… does not understand what 'love' is, nor can she respond to their feelings."

——

Demon Slayer.

"Is this the flaw of geniuses..."

Butterfly Shinobu gently set down her teacup, gazing at Ruan Mei's slightly forlorn silhouette against the sky‑curtain, and sighed softly: "She possesses the most brilliant mind in the universe, yet cannot grasp the most basic human emotions. It's like a double‑edged sword, pushing her farther from the crowd while drawing her nearer to her own goal."

Mitsuri Kanroji blinked, her pink‑green hair swaying lightly as she tilted her head: "Eh… so is that a good thing or a bad thing? For a genius scholar like Miss Ruan Mei, it should be a good thing, right?"

"But for the little ones she cultivated, it isn't a good thing."

At that point, Butterfly Shinobu's expression turned a bit sorrowful; Ruan Mei's cultivated "cat cake" reminded her of the stray cats she fed with her sister in childhood. Her sister's personality was the complete opposite of Ruan Mei's; if a small animal brushed against her feet, she would absolutely be unable to move.

Unfortunately, after her sister was devoured by that ghost with a folding fan, she never saw the stray cats again. Now, watching the cat cake blink with big eyes, looking pitiful, she almost wishes she could dive into the sky‑curtain and snatch it out.

Combining a cat's cuteness, it doesn't shed, and it can understand human speech… it's literally the perfect pet!

——

"Xing, in your eyes, did I do something wrong?"

Seeing Xing about to speak and then stop, Ruan Mei gave a gentle smile: "You don't need to give me the answer; I'm just speaking from the heart. How should we care for them? Keeping them on the space station might be the best choice."

"Also, the effects of the anti‑vomit serum will wear off. In the future, if anyone mentions me, you may do as you wish, or we can simply have never met."

"Anyway, the memories between us will soon dissipate like smoke."