Sylvia couldn't step foot outside her room the entire day.
Fortunately, even after the Express was repaired, a multitude of minor inspections still needed to be carried out. Although these extra checks weren't strictly necessary, the researchers working on the train requested an additional day to be thorough.
Sylvia, of course, readily agreed. After all, she needed some time to rest herself.
As for Stelle, she had actually sent Sylvia a message after putting on the undergarments Sylvia had gifted her.
However, Sylvia had been tied up tightly by Acheron at the time and hadn't noticed the notification at all. It wasn't until very late that she finally found the time to type out a reply.
After getting a good night's rest, Sylvia received a message from Ruan Mei.
The cocoon in the Seclusion Zone was about to hatch. She told Sylvia to get ready and head over. Furthermore, the two True Stings Sylvia had left with Ruan Mei had yielded some rather impressive experimental results.
Following this, Ruan Mei would likely head over to Sylvia's territory to begin her experiments on the Dragonkin.
Upon receiving the message, Sylvia didn't bother asking Ruan Mei for her exact location. Instead, she looked up at Acheron.
Without needing a single word of explanation, Acheron nodded and stood up. "Let's go."
Sylvia opened her mouth, initially wanting to say she could go down by herself. But looking at Acheron's unyielding posture, she had a distinct feeling that if she uttered those words, she probably wouldn't be able to leave her room tomorrow either.
Left with no choice, she simply nodded and swallowed her words back down.
--+--
The Seclusion Zone.
This wasn't Sylvia's first time here. Guiding Acheron, she headed straight toward their target chamber.
Except...
Swoosh—
A snowy-white flash of a blade cut through the air, moving faster than Sylvia's eyes could track.
While a juvenile sting was still completely cloaked in its invisible state, a single slash from the blade utterly obliterated it.
If it hadn't been for the creature's dying shriek and the sudden manifestation of its disintegrating remains, Sylvia wouldn't have even realized a bug had been lurking there.
"The strength of these monsters... Madam Herta is surprisingly relaxed about leaving them here," Acheron remarked impassively, sheathing her blade as she kept pace beside Sylvia.
She could sense the baseline strength of these juvenile stings. She could also feel the massive swarm of them blanketing the area, all guarding a central cocoon that thrummed with a colossal, volatile energy reaction.
Even though she had already heard from Sylvia beforehand that this artificially created Emanator only possessed a lifespan of less than a minute, and that its true strength couldn't hold a candle to a genuine Emanator, Acheron could still feel the sheer madness of the Geniuses.
Separated by a mere few layers of deck plating, a massive crowd of researchers went about their daily routines on the upper levels, entirely oblivious to the danger below.
Yet down here, a perilous, man-made Emanator was continuously spawning a growing horde of juvenile monsters to roam the dark.
As for those seemingly sturdy metal decks, Acheron could guarantee that with just a casual swing of her blade, she could cleanly slice open a path connecting this zone directly to the Master Control Zone.
She still didn't know exactly how weak this artificial Emanator truly was. But if it was even remotely worthy of the title 'Emanator', Acheron doubted the entire space station could withstand a single blow from it.
As they walked forward, Sylvia explained to her, "It's more accurate to say that Herta places her trust in Ruan Mei. As for that artificial Emanator... I don't think its strength is going to be anything truly absurd."
In the events Sylvia remembered, Stelle had been able to hold off that artificial Emanator by herself for over fifty seconds.
From that alone, it was clear that the creature's strength was incredibly hollow. The title of 'Emanator' was likely nothing more than a label. It probably barely held any true power of the Path.
It wasn't that Sylvia looked down on Stelle's strength. Rather, the gap between an Emanator and a Pathstrider was simply an insurmountable chasm.
Even if Stelle had drawn the glance of two Aeons, making her far more powerful than an ordinary Pathstrider, it should still have been impossible for her to casually match a real Emanator.
"Ruan Mei shouldn't have the capacity to wield the power of an entire Path just yet. Or to put it more conservatively, a newborn life cannot control the true power of an Emanator."
What Ruan Mei had attempted was to clone an Emanator. However, Sylvia highly doubted whether Ruan Mei could actively infuse the power of the Propagation Path into that cocoon.
In fact...
It was highly probable that the artificial Emanator's power stemmed entirely from that physical shell belonging to the Swarm. It likely had very little to do with Ruan Mei herself.
This creation might be similar to the Dragonkin; it required no individual understanding of the Path because, by virtue of its species, it was born with the Path's traits inherently woven into its being.
Yet, even if it possessed those traits, it didn't necessarily mean it could fully utilize them as an individual creature.
Otherwise, Sylvia wouldn't be able to make sense of how things had played out. After all, the feat of Stelle single-handedly containing an Emanator for a whole minute was something Sylvia found completely unbelievable, especially after witnessing Acheron's terrifying strength firsthand.
Hearing Sylvia's explanation, Acheron nodded in agreement. "She is a Genius, after all... The latter scenario is much more likely."
The sheer weight of the title 'Genius' usually caused Acheron to subconsciously brace for the worst-case scenario. Conversely, Sylvia appeared much more optimistic.
"In any case, there's no need to be overly pessimistic. I'd imagine that even for a Genius, it's highly unlikely they could successfully manufacture a fully qualified Emanator on their very first experiment."
"Is that your assessment after interacting with that Genius?" Acheron asked, turning her eyes toward Sylvia with an air of curiosity, all while continuing to clear their path by striking down incoming bugs with her scabbard.
Although Sylvia was perfectly willing to share the specific details of her arrangement with Ruan Mei, Acheron had no intention of prying too deeply.
Since Sylvia had managed to strike up a rare connection with a member of the Genius Society, Acheron wasn't about to disrupt it for her own selfish curiosity.
Sylvia nodded. "Geniuses are indeed formidable, but their experiments don't just succeed instantly on the first try, especially a massive project of this scale."
The Simulated Universe required a significant amount of time for every single update, and there was no telling how many bugs Screwllum and Herta had to patch out during development. Geniuses were practically gods, but they weren't wish-granting machines that could reshape reality with a mere word.
"That's exactly why I dared to think of this. If the opportunity presents itself, I want to try and capture it to see what happens."
If she could successfully enable that artificial bug to break through its inherent lifespan limitations, Ruan Mei would undoubtedly find it fascinating.
"...Just act within your baseline capabilities."
"I will."
After giving her warning, Acheron fell silent.
It wasn't that she truly desired to bind Sylvia under her strict control. She simply disliked the thought of Sylvia sneaking off to take dangerous risks alone, or drawing the attention of other girls.
With Acheron carving a path through the swarm, Sylvia advanced rapidly. It didn't take long for them to locate the massive, cavernous incubation chamber.
On the other side of the glass partition stood a colossal, dark red flesh cocoon that pulsed rhythmically. Inside it, Sylvia could already make out the silhouette of the massive, hideous monstrosity hidden within.
"Its size doesn't seem all that grand..." Acheron noted, visually measuring the entity. Although it easily spanned a few hundred meters, it was still significantly smaller than she had anticipated.
"See? I told you it wouldn't be as exaggerated as you thought. This size can't even begin to compare to its true original form," Sylvia said with a chuckle, giving Acheron a reassuring wave.
She then stepped through the hatch, walking into the massive incubation chamber completely on her own. Acheron remained stationed just outside the door, waiting on standby as Sylvia's ultimate trump card.
Because of Sylvia's intervention, the birth of this Swarm King had been pushed forward considerably. As a result, the forces of the Ever-Flame Mansion hadn't even arrived to wreak havoc on the space station yet.
And looking at the way things were going, they probably wouldn't get the chance to step foot here at all.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL