"Here, little fellow, you wait here for a moment, and then we'll set off immediately." Ruan Mei said to Derick's Number Two Avatar and then left.
Someone like her, if she wanted to do something, she would definitely do it. She would absolutely not waste time in a place with no value.
Leaving Derick's Number Two Avatar waiting there, she went to Herta's office.
There was a small puppet in Herta's office. Upon seeing Ruan Mei, it asked: "Ruan Mei, have you come here to say goodbye?"
"Yes." Ruan Mei nodded: "All the valuable life forms here have already been fed by me to that little fellow. Continuing to stay here is a waste of time."
"Alright, then you may leave. I've already finished charging your small spaceship; you can depart anytime." Herta nodded.
"Regarding the reconstruction of the Simulated Universe, I've been contacting Screwllum and the others recently. While you're over there researching that creature, pay attention to the Simulated Universe as well."
"Mm, I understand," Ruan Mei said casually.
Herta didn't know if Ruan Mei had actually heard her words; anyway, she was leaving the Herta Space Station. Watching Ruan Mei leave, Herta curiously glanced at the stored creatures she had left behind in the space station.
Except for the Star-Crushing King Worm pupa, everything else had been eaten.
If it ate any more, it would start eating people!
"Little fellow, let's go." Ruan Mei picked up her documents and gently patted the Number Two Avatar's body.
Derick controlled the Number Two Avatar to follow behind Ruan Mei.
"No nervous system, no digestive system, no reproductive system, not even muscle and bone tissue. I've truly never seen a creature like you before. Perhaps, as you devour, I can gradually uncover your secrets," Ruan Mei murmured softly as she walked.
Hearing this, Derick's heart skipped a beat.
Normally, Ruan Mei wouldn't say such a long passage for no reason. Why was she saying this? Could she be suspecting that there was someone controlling this avatar from behind?
His next actions had to be careful, to avoid being seen through as much as possible.
Derick controlled the Number Two Avatar to follow Ruan Mei into the small spaceship. The spaceship's interior wasn't large, and after Ruan Mei placed a large pile of experimental supplies inside, the living space became even more cramped. Derick's Number Two Avatar, a sturdy fellow of two meters, was pointed by Ruan Mei to sit in a small open space.
"You just sit there. Remember not to move recklessly. If moving the surrounding things around causes the spaceship to explode, you'll be drifting in space forever."
Derick: "…"
There were even boxes hanging overhead; the Number Two Avatar couldn't even straighten its back. Now, hearing Ruan Mei say this, it was even more cautious, not daring to let these things move. The key was that he was genuinely pretending it was unintentional, not that he had clearly heard Ruan Mei's words and acted accordingly.
"Truly aggrieved." Looking at the cramped environment, Derick also felt sorry for his Number Two Avatar in his heart. Incidentally, he also felt mentally exhausted by his own acting.
Staying by Ruan Mei's side undoubtedly had great benefits, but the price to pay was also considerable.
Ruan Mei glanced at where the Number Two Avatar was, then simply lay sideways on a small bed to one side. The Number Two Avatar had no reproductive system, so she didn't need to worry about covering anything, just lying there and exposing her beautiful body curves.
Her shoulders were rounded, her deeply indented waist and perky hips formed a perfect 'V'-shaped curve. Dark hair cascaded down, revealing a snow-white neck. Her legs were bent, her jade-like feet curved into the shape of a crescent moon. Ruan Mei's appearance was that of the most standard Jiangnan-style beauty. Derick looked at her; if one ignored her mad scientist essence, she was truly like a person who had stepped out of a painting.
Ruan Mei knew Derick's Number Two Avatar had no reproductive system, so she slept soundly without worry.
The problem was, Derick, watching through the Number Two Avatar, did have one! And it was quite excellent.
Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but have a slight reaction.
Castorice, beside him, naturally noticed it immediately. Her face, under the steam, looked a little uncomfortable.
Derick's body was just too healthy.
"With Derick like this, it's not good for him to sleep in the pool. I'll take him home to rest," Castorice said to Aglaea and the others.
"Mm. Castorice, you can take Derick and leave. Or there's a lounge next to the hot spring; you can rest there too." Aglaea naturally wouldn't refuse.
"No need, Lady Aglaea, we'll just go home." Castorice shook her head, planning to take Derick back. Otherwise… Castorice glanced at Cipher, always feeling she was up to no good. She had to be on guard.
"Alright."
Castorice wanted to carry Derick and leave, but Derick quickly pretended to 'wake up' at this moment, rubbing his sleepy eyes and saying: "Hmm? Sister Castorice, what are you doing?"
Seeing him wake up, Castorice's eyes showed a hint of disappointment. She finally had another chance to princess-carry Derick, and now it was gone.
"I saw you were asleep just now, so I wanted to carry you home to rest," Castorice said to Derick.
"I am indeed a bit sleepy; the hot spring Lady Aglaea prepared is very comfortable. Castorice, why don't we go back and rest?"
"Alright."
Derick, Castorice, and Polyxia left the Heroes' Bathhouse.
"This Castorice, she watches him so closely," Cipher muttered under her breath, rubbing her hands.
"Cici, why haven't you given up yet?" Tribbie asked Cipher from the side.
"Give up? How could I possibly give up? Have you ever seen me, a thief, fail?" Cipher naturally wouldn't admit defeat.
"Alright." Tribbie made no comment.
She then left with Tianne and Trinnon, the three of them planning to find a separate place to continue communicating with the other family members.
Derick, Castorice, and Polyxia left the Marmoreal Palace and arrived at the Marmoreal Market.
Before heading back, Derick said thoughtfully: "I'll go see Auntie Bona first. Her daughter is doing very well in the Underworld now; I need to tell her."
"Mm, I'll go with you."
The three of them went to Auntie Bona's place. These past few days, she was still at her stall selling goods. Because her daughter had just passed away a couple of days ago, her condition was very poor, and she was somewhat absent-minded.
Derick approached her.
"Auntie Bona, I've returned from the Underworld."
Castorice naturally hadn't told the citizens of Okhema the details of Derick entering the Underworld. But others were still aware that Derick had inherited the Titan of Death's Coreflame.
Hearing Derick say this, a mixture of surprise, expectation, and apprehension appeared in Bona's eyes.
Derick said softly: "I saw Annie; she's doing very well in the Underworld. At the end of the Underworld, there's a sea of flowers, and she's running freely there right now."
"Really? That's truly wonderful." Auntie Bona let out a long sigh, her expression clearly much improved.
"Thank you for telling me, Little Derry." As she said this, Bona looked at Derick and asked in confusion: "Huh? Little Derry, how did you get taller again?"
"This way, I match Sister Castorice's height better," Derick said to Auntie Bona, holding Castorice's hand.
Auntie Bona nodded: "So that's how it is. Then you must invite us to your wedding."
"Definitely, definitely…" Hearing talk of marriage, Derick instantly felt embarrassed. Holding Castorice's hand and pushing Polyxia's wheelchair handle, he ran towards home.
However, upon returning home, Derick discovered another problem.
The house was really too small. When Iason gave it to him, he never expected several people would end up living in his house. The entire place was basically a small studio apartment: one room, no living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. When Castorice moved in, it was manageable for two people. Now, with three people, the space was a bit insufficient.
The most, most, most crucial thing was that Derick and Castorice had no private space. They couldn't possibly ask Polyxia to go strolling in her wheelchair whenever they wanted to do intimate things, could they? That would be too beastly!
Castorice and Polyxia also thought of this problem. Castorice then said to Derick and Polyxia: "Don't overthink it for now; let's just sleep. When we wake up, we'll figure out a way to find a different house."
"In terms of money, I still have some." Derick and Polyxia were so poor they couldn't rub two coins together, but Castorice had plenty of savings.
"Alright." Castorice's 'soft rice' was still very delicious.
Derick happily lay back down on his small bed. At the same time, he picked up his message slate and contacted the merchants of the Marmoreal Market. Some things, even in different worlds, were the same. The vendors of the Marmoreal Market also had a small group chat. Derick had joined it too; from there, he could buy the freshest and cheapest things.
"I've bought another small bed for Polyxia to use. Sister Castorice, I'll trouble you to pay for it later."
"Okay, you sleep first. I'll go wait for the delivery." Castorice nodded gently, preparing to go outside to get the small bed so as not to disturb Derick's rest.
Watching himself return to the small bed, Derick immediately opened the perspective of his Number Two Avatar.
How were things on Ruan Mei's side?
When Derick switched to his Number Two Avatar's side, he found the spaceship had stopped.
Hmm? What happened?
Derick was puzzled. Then, looking outside the spaceship through its perspective, he saw a frozen planet and the train hovering above it.
Understood, we've arrived at the Astral Express.
They were now at Jarilo-VI. Dan Heng, Stellie, and March 7th—these three little ones—were heading up to resolve the Stellaron crisis.
Ruan Mei woke up, sat up, and slipped her fair, tender feet into high heels. Walking to the window, she looked at the train and asked in a puzzled tone: "What happened here?"
She turned her head and glanced at Derick's Number Two Avatar. "Let's go, let's head over to the Astral Express and see."
Derick said nothing, just controlled the Number Two Avatar to follow silently.
The small spaceship easily docked with the Astral Express. And during the docking process, Ruan Mei revealed her identity to the Astral Express.
Ruan Mei led the Number Two Avatar into the Astral Express. Inside the Astral Express, Himeko and Welt Yang were both present. Oh, and that conductor Pom-Pom, who could scold two Aeons until they couldn't talk back, was also there.
At this moment, they were watching the train's built-in detection equipment with great interest. On the display, Stellie, Dan Heng, and the others were battling the giant robot controlled by Cocolia.
Seeing Stellie at a disadvantage, Himeko immediately operated her satellite cannon and fired it at the giant robot.
After firing, she turned her head and saw Ruan Mei approaching with Derick's Number Two Avatar.
"Ms. Ruan Mei, hello." Himeko greeted her.
Welt Yang glanced at Derick's Number Two Avatar behind them, which was beginning to develop in a bizarre, indescribable way, and his expression tensed.
No, was this the pitch-black creature they had encountered? He remembered that when they left, apart from being entirely pitch-black, there was nothing else remarkable about it. How come, seeing it again now, its appearance had changed so much?
What had Ruan Mei molded it into?
Welt Yang looked at Ruan Mei, who appeared gentle and harmless, yet he felt a sense of pressure belonging to the strong. He couldn't help but push up his glasses.
"Hello." Ruan Mei also walked over to the monitoring equipment: "Did you encounter obstacles on the planet ahead?"
"Yes, the planet before us is experiencing a Stellaron crisis. If we want to leave here, we must resolve those Stellarons," Himeko nodded.
"Perfect timing. Stellie, the young girl whose body was formed from a Stellaron in the Herta Space Station, has just joined the Astral Express. It's a good opportunity for her to adapt to our Astral Express's activities on this planet."
"So that's how it is." Ruan Mei nodded gently, then watched the surveillance scene with Himeko and Welt Yang.
If the Stellaron situation couldn't be resolved, it wouldn't be easy for Ruan Mei to pass through either.
On the surveillance screen, Stellie, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Bronya defeated the robot, and Stellie rushed in front of Cocolia.
Then, before Stellie's eyes, and in the sight of Himeko, Ruan Mei, and the others on the train, Belobog's Supreme Guardian Cocolia transformed.
Seeing her transform, Himeko and Welt Yang frowned slightly.
"Should we go and support Stellie and the others? At this intensity, it'll be a bit difficult for them to handle," Himeko asked Welt Yang.
Ruan Mei spoke up at this moment. Looking at Cocolia's scene, Ruan Mei said: "You don't need to go; I'll go and provide support."
Any method that could enhance that little fellow's physical strength, Ruan Mei would definitely try. Besides devouring Emanators, devouring Stellarons could also greatly enhance its power. However, at this stage, its physical strength was still insufficient to devour a Stellaron.
But at this moment, a monster created using a Stellaron appeared. Her appearance was perfectly timed. This intensity was most suitable for the little fellow to devour. At the same time, it also possessed Stellaron energy; after devouring this monster, it could also improve its adaptability to Stellarons. In the future, it would be even better at swallowing Stellarons.
Derick, watching Ruan Mei's reaction from the side, immediately guessed her thoughts?
'Let me devour Cocolia?'
This… this is a living person!
_____
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