Note: New story! Don't worry about the chapter release; I'm still releasing at the same pace as before. Please support it, though it's just for fun and not really well-written...
Title: Mihoyo Inventory [ Starting with the protagonist arc ]
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Chapter 186: We asked you to nurture life; you nurtured an Emanator of Propagation?!
In the Livestream.
Little Gui was currently at the controls, guiding the protagonist through the corridors of the Seclusion Zone.
The hallway was shrouded in dimness, illuminated only by the flicker of emergency floor lights. Overhead, exposed conduits occasionally hissed, spitting showers of electric sparks into the gloom.
Guinaifen licked her lips, her eyes wide. She felt a genuine thrill of excitement.
"I always thought every inch of the Herta Space Station was peak efficiency and high-tech… I never imagined a place this derelict actually existed here."
"Huh?"
"Why is there smoke in the air?"
Assuming the mist was an interactive prompt, Guinaifen steered the character forward.
The moment she drew near, a massive, obsidian shadow lunged from the vapor.
Leathery wings beat the air as it let out a guttural screech and launched its assault!
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
Guinaifen shrieked, nearly jumping out of her skin!
She hadn't expected an ambush at all. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and the controller nearly slipped from her trembling hands.
[ BATTLE START ]
Guinaifen wiped the cold sweat from her brow, exhaling sharply.
"I really didn't expect it to be a True Sting!"
"Talk about a heart-pounding jump scare…"
"I remember a play where the protagonists were on a space station just like this, and they ran into these parasitic monsters…"
She chatted nervously as she managed the combat. While these small fry weren't a lethal threat, the sheer suddenness of the attack had left her on edge.
Once the battle concluded, Guinaifen immediately swapped to Fu Xuan.
"Please, Master Diviner, protect me!"
She activated the Skill. Enveloped by the shimmering matrix of Fu Xuan's ward, Guinaifen finally felt her racing heart settle.
"Family, if you're exploring this map, you've got to be careful…" she warned her viewers with genuine concern.
There were True Stings lurking around every corner, even behind the sliding doors. Without a moment's notice, they'd leap out and give you a proper fright.
"But why are there so many bugs in a place like this?"
"Something is definitely wrong!"
She pushed deeper into the facility. Beyond encountering more of those small, "Cheese-filled" lifeforms, she began to find holographic logs left behind by Ruan Mei.
Through these records, Ruan Mei's experimental journey began to unfold before Little Gui and the rest of the players.
On the screen, Ruan Mei's gaze was chillingly detached.
She was recording experimental data in her notebook, bathed in an ominous red glow. In the incubation vats behind her, one could vaguely discern twisted, grotesque limbs floating in the fluid.
Before Little Gui could get a closer look, the audio from the log sent a chill down her spine.
Ruan Mei's Voice: "I have created a lifeform… one sufficient for me to admit its 'unfathomable' nature."
"That is… an Emanator."
"What defines an Emanator? I do not fully comprehend it. Scholars view them as executors of an Aeon's power. So, at what point—and from where—does a lifeform become closer to an Aeon than any other?"
"Initially, I attempted to cultivate a Genius. I failed. That problem remains unsolved; there is still a long road to travel."
"But the Paths of the universe are not limited to Erudition. If one discards rationality, do more primitive, purer Emanators exist upon other Paths?"
"—Of course they do."
"Tayzzyronth. Through the Simulated Universe, I was able to glimpse the beginning and end of the Swarm Disaster. I harvested data from the Sand King and its progeny—replicating, cultivating, and thus opening an entirely new branch of research."
"A logical conclusion. I will succeed. The version I restore will bloom with unprecedented life."
"Will Herta and Screwllum appreciate this experiment? Likely not. Therefore, before they take notice…"
"I must accelerate my pace. And find a suitable assistant."
Guinaifen was utterly speechless.
When she heard that the Emanator Ruan Mei was cultivating belonged to the Path of [ Propagation ]—the Path of Tayzzyronth—she sucked in a sharp breath.
"So… that's it…"
"Those things in the vats behind Ruan Mei… those were insectoid limbs and carapaces!"
"No wonder this sector is crawling with larvae!"
"Everything makes sense now!"
…
"Holy crap! Did I hear that right? An Emanator!?"
"She was supposed to be making cute pets, and she chose to grow an Emanator!?"
"And not just any Emanator, but the most dangerous, uncontrollable one from the Swarm!?"
"Ruan Mei is absolutely mad!"
"This isn't a gift to the space station; it's a death sentence!"
"Friends on the space station, are you guys okay?!"
…
On the Herta Space Station.
The staff members watching the stream had been quite excited moments ago. Some had even been eager to form an exploration team to head down to the Seclusion Zone to see if they could find any of Ruan Mei's "creations" in the flesh.
They had been laughing and joking, with many researchers expressing a desire to adopt one of the little creatures.
However.
As soon as that recording played, the room fell into a deafening silence.
Asta stood with her arms crossed, her expression grim.
She looked at the gathered researchers and asked coolly, "Now… who still wants to go down to that sector for an 'adventure'?"
"You?"
The researcher who had been the most vocal moments ago turned as pale as a sheet.
"Lady Asta, please, have mercy!"
"It's bad enough there are True Stings down there, but Ruan Mei is literally growing an Emanator of Propagation! I wouldn't even be a snack for a thing like that."
Another researcher added worriedly, "If she actually succeeds, that thing will rip the station apart like a tin can. It'll turn every organic being on board into a nest or a meal."
Asta sighed heavily.
"Yes, we have a massive problem on our hands."
"Let's hope Ruan Mei hasn't actually produced a true Emanator yet. Otherwise, this station could be destroyed at any moment…"
As she spoke, the sound of several researchers gulping in fear echoed through the hall.
They were just watching a story… and suddenly, their lives were in mortal peril!
Some of the staff began to pray silently, hoping the upcoming plot wouldn't reveal that the cultivation of the Emanator had been a success.
Back in the game.
Following the navigation, Stelle took the elevator back to the third floor of the Seclusion Zone.
As she stepped out, she saw someone sitting on the bridge.
A very strange person.
A man with a plaster bust for a head was playing a game of chess against himself. He seemed to be locked in a fierce, intellectual struggle with his own shadow.
"—"
"A stroke of genius!"
"How will you counter this?"
His figure suddenly shifted to the opposite seat.
He answered himself: "Hmph. Only an idiot would ask such a question."
"The move is obviously here…"
The plaster-headed man's momentum was interrupted as he noticed Stelle standing before him.
He folded the chessboard away, and a book appeared in his hand. He flipped through the pages as he approached her.
"You look troubled."
"Encountered a problem?"
"In that case—"
"Figure it out yourself."
Guinaifen scratched her head, staring curiously at the plaster-headed man on the screen.
"Weird things happen every day, but today is really taking the cake!"
"This guy appeared in the Version Preview, but we still don't know what his deal is…"
"He seems like a real heavy hitter, though. Probably someone important."
"Does anyone in the family know who he is?"
Guinaifen glanced at the chat.
To her surprise, a drama was already unfolding in the comments!
…
"Whoa! That's our Teaching Assistant!!"
"I'm a philosophy student at the University of Veritas, and I can tell you for a fact—that look, that attitude? That's definitely Dr. Ratio!"
"A scholar from the Intelligentsia Guild—Veritas Ratio? It's really him!"
"The moment you said 'Dr. Ratio,' I knew. I heard his name at a research symposium not long ago."
"Wait, wasn't there a user who tipped Little Gui with that exact ID earlier?"
"Holy… is the man himself in the chat?"
"Professor [ Dr. Ratio ], is that you?"
"[ Dr. Ratio ]! Teacher! I'm the student you made cry in class last week!"
[ Dr. Ratio ]: "Silence. Do not clutter the feed with your mindless chatter."
"Continue. Watch the story."
The moment that message appeared, the students in the stream rejoiced!
That tone… that sheer arrogance!
There was no mistake!
It was [ Dr. Ratio ] himself!
He wasn't even hiding it; he was using his own title. And apparently, he was following the story just as closely as they were.