The days of researching the simulated universe dlc were not easy.
The gold and gears simulated universe dlc, which he had secretly used to buy himself some time to slack off, was exposed.
This meant Bai Luan still had to find a way to keep up with the Geniuses' development speed, just like before.
But it didn't matter, after all, his previous efforts hadn't been in vain; a significant portion of the development for gold and gears was already complete.
It only took a few days to complete the gold and gears dlc.
Bai Luan was very proactive during this process.
This was certainly not because he enjoyed developing the simulated universe dlc; the reason he was so actively pushing the simulated universe's progress was simply because... with the simulated universe project pressing him, he couldn't free up his hands to investigate how this curio ended up in Herta's possession!
His meticulously planned scheme, under normal circumstances, should never have gone wrong!
For it to turn out this way, some scoundrel must have set him up!
Are you going to tell me that all of this was just a series of coincidences, naturally leading to this outcome!?
What a joke!
Who would believe that!
You just wait! Once I find you, I will...
The flames of revenge burned in Bai Luan's eyes; driven by this powerful motivation, Bai Luan displayed astonishing efficiency, quickly completing the gold and gears dlc.
After its completion, Bai Luan immediately began investigating why that curio had appeared in Herta's hands.
Soon, Bai Luan had investigated everything, finding the instigator of it all, Lars.
Then Bai Luan despaired.
Because he discovered that it really seemed to be the result of coincidence stacked upon coincidence.
Lars had not been instructed by anyone; the only reason he discovered that curio was simply because... this kid was uncommonly stubborn.
No... I'm truly speechless!
Discovering this curio required so many prerequisites!
It was so meticulously guarded, like a medieval knight in full, heavy armor, with only a tiny slit left for the eyes!
And yet! And yet the Space Station just happened to have someone who perfectly fit those conditions!
Like a sharp arrow, he shot straight through the slit and gave himself a headshot!
What frustrated Bai Luan the most was that Lars's ability to uncover the secret of his curio was largely due to Bai Luan constantly giving him assessment opportunities, allowing him to continuously grow.
The biggest culprit for his overtime was himself!
I... I really am...
Bai Luan seemed to lose his strength for a moment.
He felt as if all his efforts during this recent period had been in vain.
And this wasn't the most painful part; the most painful part was that among all the coincidences that led to his intense overtime, not a single person acted with the intention of making him work overtime.
He kept giving Lars opportunities to take assessments because the kid had exposed his disguise earlier.
And Lars kept taking assessments to improve himself.
Asta reported this matter to Herta simply because no Staff Member on the entire Space Station could unlock that seal.
No one intended to make him work overtime, but everyone's actions ultimately led to this result.
He didn't even have an object for revenge!
This made Bai Luan feel very depressed.
Before, he approached it with the mindset of "a wicked commoner wants to harm me," intending to catch the wicked commoner, but in the end, there were no wicked commoners, only good citizens.
So whose fault was it, then?
Could it be that I'm forever trapped in the vicious cycle of working overtime to develop simulated universe dlc?
Oh no, this fate is too tragic.
But his many previous attempts had only yielded counterproductive results.
Does fate truly exist in this world?
I don't believe it!
I just won't believe it!
Now, Bai Luan still had one path he hadn't tried to take, and that was — to give up.
Reviewing his past actions, this path had always been selectively ignored by him.
Initially, it was because he wanted to stay by Herta's side, to gain a safe environment to grow, so he didn't dare to give up, fearing that Herta would drive him away, forcing him to face the perilous world of honkai: star rail.
Later, as he grew, he accidentally overdid his act as a genius, and Herta placed too high expectations on him.
At that time, he no longer really wanted to leave the Space Station, so in order to play the role of a perfect genius assistant well, he couldn't give up.
And now, to avoid working overtime, Bai Luan felt it was time for him to give up.
Anyway, he didn't have to worry about Herta telling him to get lost anymore; now, even if he wanted to run, he couldn't.
The three Geniuses' evaluations of him really couldn't get any higher; if this continued, what if they one day thought his genius level surpassed theirs?
Although this sounded narcissistic, Bai Luan couldn't help but start worrying about this.
Screwllum could even come up with the conjecture that he chose to develop the dlc alone because he thought collaborating with them on the simulated universe dlc was too slow.
If they were already thinking this way today, Bai Luan didn't dare to imagine what Screwllum would think in the future.
He was already under a lot of pressure; please don't pressure him anymore!
Of course, Bai Luan ultimately chose to give up because he truly had no other options.
No matter what he did or how he did it, it always ended up as a boomerang, thrown by his past self, hitting his future self in the head.
Perhaps this path, which he had always ignored, was the correct solution?
Although the possibility was small, it was worth a try.
After deciding on his next strategy, Bai Luan began to ponder how to deal with Lars.
As the saying goes, one can escape capital punishment, but not deserved punishment.
Even if Lars didn't intend to make him work overtime, he did indeed contribute to his overtime, so no matter what, he had to pay some price for his actions.
Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to sleep.
Actually, Bai Luan quite admired Lars.
He had a spirit of diligent research, and the perseverance to continuously participate in assessments, and most importantly, he basically passed all the assessments he took.
This showed that his abilities were also not an issue.
If one disregarded the fact that he caused Bai Luan to work overtime, one would find Lars to be an extremely excellent Staff Member.
How should such a talent be dealt with?
Too lenient, and he couldn't swallow his anger.
Too harsh, and Lars didn't deserve such a fate.
Bai Luan pondered for a moment, then came up with a perfect plan.
He decided to occasionally throw Lars an extremely difficult research topic (for Lars), and then periodically check his progress on the topic.
He had to make this kid taste the flavor of overloaded learning too!
This way, Lars could empathize with him, experiencing his pain and difficulties, which served as a punishment.
But if Lars truly managed to understand it, then for him, it would also be a reward.
It cultivated an excellent Staff Member for the Space Station and also vented his frustration over Lars causing him to work overtime; killing two birds with one stone, there was no better plan than this!
As for what to teach Lars each time, how difficult the knowledge points should be, and how to keep him in a state of extreme challenge, maintaining high-intensity learning and growth... Hey! He really found the right person!
Bai Luan was very experienced in pushing people to their limits and promoting their growth!
No one,
could be more authoritative than him in this regard!
Hehehe... Lars, just you wait!
I will make you experience my pain while also cultivating you into the most excellent Staff Member!
Lars, who was trying to persuade Olivia to join the slacking army, suddenly shivered.
Olivia noticed Lars's abnormality and asked:
"What's wrong with you?"
Lars scratched his head and said:
"I don't know why, but I always have an ominous feeling, as if I'm being watched by countless eyes..."