Herta Space Station.
After receiving the message, Leon rushed to the scene. Herta was waiting for him there. But this time, he didn't see Screwllum. Instead, he met another member of the Genius Society.
"My name is Ruan Mei."
She was a woman dressed in a qipao, and also the longest river and highest mountain in the world of supports.
"When you say my name, don't forget the pause in the middle."
Her features were gentle, but her face held a cold beauty. This was not matched by a gentle demeanor; her expression was mostly indifferent, and she exuded a subtle sense of detachment.
"Leon." Leon stated his name.
Before he quit the game, the woman before him had always held a firm place at the top tier. So his memory of her was particularly sharp.
If he had to describe the feeling, he could only say.
—Not bad!
"You have a very interesting girl with you."
Ruan Mei's gaze fell on March 7th, who stood to the side. This must be the Aeon's commission Herta mentioned, right?
Her field of expertise is biology, and her research topic is "Paths" and "Aeons." Having achieved some success in this area, she could naturally sense something was off about March 7th.
"Remembrance."
Not a meme, yet possessing such pure "Remembrance." A "Memokeeper" with a physical body... that's a situation rarely seen in the universe. A mysterious and dangerous girl indeed.
"I've heard you've been gazed upon by 'Aeons' multiple times."
Ruan Mei withdrew her gaze and looked back at him.
"Yes, I'm very curious about what secrets you hold. Perhaps my research can also help you. I hope we'll have a chance to collaborate in the future."
Ruan Mei's words were pointed.
She had already learned of March 7th's identity from Herta. An item entrusted by the Aeon of "Remembrance."
Honestly, she never imagined someone in this world could be entrusted with a task by an "Aeon." Whatever March 7th was, her existence undoubtedly aligned with Ruan Mei's own research direction.
As the old saying goes, every trade has its master.
A problem Herta can't solve doesn't mean she can't solve it either. If Leon wanted to understand the issue with March 7th and find a way to break the deadlock, then she was certainly his best choice for a partner.
"Definitely next time."
Leon raised his hand not in refusal, but to signal that no more needed to be said. What was the point of looking for a partner? It was useless.
To put it bluntly, no one could solve March 7th's situation. For any problem related to an "Aeon," the best solution was to overwhelm it with sheer numbers. Everything else was a waste of effort.
Fuli, I have brought destruction for you!
"Where's Herta? Didn't she want to see me about something?"
Leon looked around but didn't see her.
"I'm here. You got here pretty fast."
The moment he finished speaking, an exquisitely crafted puppet slowly approached from a distance.
"Hilarious, there's even a mini-Herta here."
Leon said, instinctively pointing at the puppet.
"What, you don't like it?"
The Herta puppet flicked its hair and looked at him with a hand on its hip.
"Although it only bears a seventy percent resemblance to me as a child."
"But it shouldn't be too bad, after all, my natural looks set a high bar."
Herta was basically asking if he had a problem with it.
"But where are you really?"
He was confused why it wasn't her real body, but a substitute player logging into the account. As for having any objections, he definitely had none.
She was a free-to-play god of war in Pure Fiction, cheap and effective. How could he possibly have any objections? Although her DPS wasn't exactly high.
"Do you think I'm... idle?"
Herta huffed, her tone implying he didn't understand geniuses.
"My time is very precious. I don't have time to stay at the space station forever."
"Then why did you call me here? Who's asking me for help this time?"
Leon asked what the deal was with the earlier message.
"Someone is indeed asking you for help, but I can't say for sure who it is."
Herta said, looking at Ruan Mei.
"Most likely a partisan of Dr. Primitive."
Ruan Mei replied calmly.
She had originally been drawn to the space station by Herta's universe-famous broadcast, wanting to see the longbow from the picture book with her own eyes. That's why she came for Leon.
But in the end, she came up empty. She was about to leave since she hadn't met him, but Herta suddenly stopped her to analyze the authenticity of a sudden, unexpected message together.
"Who?"
Leon indicated he'd never heard of him, just some random person.
"Genius Society #64, Dr. Primitive."
Herta explained:
"Like me, he's an Emanator of 'Erudition'."
"What?"
Leon exclaimed, but his surprise was misplaced.
"You're an 'Emanator'?"
I couldn't tell at all. You don't have that powerful aura, you know?
"Regrettably, I am indeed an Emanator of 'Erudition.' After all, Nous glanced at me back then, a step ahead of Idrila."
Herta assumed he was just indignant on behalf of her beauty.
"No, I mean you don't look like an 'Emanator' at all."
Leon was blunt, indicating she was overthinking it.
"Do you really want to hear me say, 'I'm just a researcher, I don't have the same kind of immense power as you'?"
Herta crossed her arms and looked at him.
Emanators of "Erudition" and Emanators of "Nihility" among the eighteen Paths are the most similar to each other, and slightly different from the other sixteen Paths.
On other Paths, one becomes an "Emanator" only after receiving an Aeon's blessing. But these two "Paths" are different.
You don't gain the ability to become an "Emanator" after being gazed upon; rather, you are gazed upon by the god because you already possess the ability of an "Emanator." Of course, this is certainly true for the other Paths as well.
You become an "Emanator" because you are qualified, not the other way around. It's just that for the other sixteen Paths, this "ability" is replaced by one's "philosophy."
"Nihility" and "Erudition."
The only difference between the two is that the Faceless Sleeper (IX) gazes upon no one, whereas that machine head Nous does.
To put it plainly.
Nous is just going through the motions.
This results in Emanators of "Erudition" often not receiving any physical enhancements like those of other Paths. All they get is Emanator-level control over Imaginary energy.
This is also why Emanators of "Erudition" are easier to kill than other Emanators. Meanwhile, Emanators of "Nihility" have literally fought their way out from IX, so they are generally very powerful.
Leon: mocking.jpg
"Hmm... Dr. Primitive..."
He suddenly recalled hearing that name from Boothill before.
"Oh right, I remember now. Isn't this that son of a bitch who has a grudge against the Galaxy Rangers? That piece of filth?"
I heard most of the Galaxy Rangers died at his hands. He's got some nerve sending a message to me.
"The man himself."
Herta nodded, confirming it.
"So provocative?"
Leon felt like he was really being underestimated.
"This stray dog came looking for me on his own. Isn't he afraid I'll kick him to death?"
He had no idea where Dr. Primitive got his confidence.
Two "Preservation" Emanators, one "Harmony" Emanator. A total of three Emanators died at his hands today. What's one more "Erudition" Emanator?
Some stray dog off the street. I'll kick him to death!
"Who said it was Dr. Primitive looking for you?"
Herta told him not to get it wrong. "It's an organization formed by his partisans that's looking for you."
"Isn't that the same thing? A bunch of conspiring scumbags dare to ask me for help?"
Leon had to laugh.
Did that even need to be pointed out? What's the difference between the two?
"I'd say it's more like asking for death."
And they're asking for help? Don't these people have any self-awareness about what kind of trash they are?
So openly provocative. So much guts, that's all he could say.
Haha, just wait. Wait to be one-shotted by my arrow!
"It really is asking for death."
Herta confirmed he wasn't wrong.
"Someone learned from the previous broadcast that a Galaxy Ranger was still alive—that is, you—and they reverse-traced the source of my message."
Although she and Screwllum hadn't put much effort into counter-tracking measures. After all, their names are known throughout the universe, and the places where they are active or likely to appear are also well-known.
It's no different from being public knowledge. That being the case, why bother with counter-tracking? If you have a problem, just come find us directly, if you really have the guts.
But even without putting in much effort, it still requires a little bit of technical skill to trace her account. Although it's nothing in the eyes of a genius, at least the people from the Intelligentsia Guild couldn't do it. If it were partisans of Dr. Primitive, then it would make sense.
"They sent a confession to my account."
Herta laid out the whole story.
"With a few screenshots of a laboratory attached."
"Yes, according to my investigation, this is indeed the work of those people from the 'Genesis Forest'."
Ruan Mei chimed in at the right moment, clarifying that it was done by partisans under Dr. Primitive.
"Experiments? What kind of experiments?"
Leon hummed, quite interested.
Experiments?
Is this someone walking into a trap, or have their experiments evolved to a point where even they can't control them and need outside help?
"Human experimentation."
Ruan Mei said calmly.
"Atavism" is the philosophy pursued by Dr. Primitive.
"Whether organic or inorganic, in its eyes, all living beings must revert to their original forms and begin their evolution anew. This is its ultimate goal."
"Dr. Primitive believes the current world is wrong, that it has deviated from the correct evolutionary path. If this continues, humanity will have no future."
Ruan Mei explained everything related to it in an unhurried manner.
"To have a future."
"They must use atavism to completely reshuffle the deck."
"Let the world redevelop, create a new civilization, and break through the bottleneck of knowledge. Only then can the path to the end be pulled back onto the correct evolutionary course."
After speaking, Ruan Mei observed the reaction of the Galaxy Ranger before her.
Dr. Primitive could be called the nemesis of the Galaxy Rangers. Not only did he kill several of their comrades, but the atavism experiments he conducted were also inhumane.
Without a doubt, this person had long been on the Galaxy Rangers' kill list. If the Galaxy Rangers let this beast live until now, they'd be complete morons!
"A direct confrontation? A little interesting, huh."
Leon just smiled, feeling they were asking for a beating.
It's fine. If they're asking for it, it's his job to use numbers to teach people what "love" is.
His hands were itching for a fight anyway. Say no more, send it over!
"In a sense."
Herta took the lead in the conversation.
"This is indeed no different from a direct confrontation."
"However, this request for help isn't a provocation, but genuine repentance."
"It's someone who knows they were wrong and wants to make amends at the end of their life, not someone who only says they were wrong because they know they're about to die."
Herta corrected his earlier assumption.
"I'm listening, go on."
Leon wanted to see what kind of big event was waiting for him.
"There's not much else to say. Everything important has already been said."
Herta continued.
"To summarize."
"In the 'Genesis Forest,' which was built out of worship for Dr. Primitive, a researcher suddenly had a crisis of conscience and realized their actions were wrong."
"So they wanted to make amends."
"Just then, they learned from the previous broadcast that a Galaxy Ranger was still alive—your existence."
"They knew a lot about the Rangers' principles and that your faction held a grudge against Dr. Primitive."
"Convinced you would absolutely come after hearing about this, they then sent me this message, treating you as their last hope for atonement."
Herta summarized it directly to make it easier for him to understand.
"They hope you will destroy the laboratory and rescue the test subjects they've been persecuting."
Impressive, and even turning against their own for the sake of justice.
An inside job, a whistleblower. This was something Leon never expected.
A prodigal son returns.
To put the whole thing in simpler terms.
A gambler who lost everything decided to wake up and quit, only to discover his own father was also gambling, so he personally reported him to the authorities.
"What do you say?"
No matter what, the final decision to go or not was still up to Leon.
"Of course I'm going. Why wouldn't I?"
Leon was definitely going. Was there any reason not to?
First of all, he had to go and deliver the finishing blow. To ensure this returning prodigal son truly achieved meaningful atonement—which is to say, their own death.
Just suddenly have a change of heart and do a good deed. Do they think they can just cut ties with their past, write off all their sins, and avoid "Vengeance" just like that?
That's just wishful thinking. To this, Leon could only say.
Once a researcher of the Genesis Forest, always a researcher of the Genesis Forest!
So, does the Genesis Forest deserve to die? Of course! Who conducted those immoral atavism experiments? Was it me? Speak up!
After doing so many beastly things, I don't know where they get the nerve to say something like that. If you don't deserve to die, then do I?
"Send me the address. I hadn't decided on my next destination anyway."
Leon's mind was made up.
The test subjects dragged into this are innocent. They definitely need to be saved.
Not to mention, the people of the Genesis Forest have seriously crossed the Galaxy Rangers' bottom line. A heavy blow must be struck!
"If you can, remember to bring back their research data for me."
Herta wasn't worried about his safety.
Based on his accomplishments today, forget about mere partisans. Even if Dr. Primitive himself showed up, what advantage could he possibly gain against him?
"Atavism shouldn't be irreversible. Barring any accidents, there should be a way to change them back."
Herta's 'beautiful person, kind heart' side was showing.
If one has knowledge but no humanity, no reason, then one is a madman. Dr. Primitive is the former.
Only those who possess all three are true geniuses. And Herta was clearly the latter.
"I like you."
Leon expressed that although she was impersonating his main, she was still a good person.
It doesn't matter, no matter how much of a side-show it is. With his help, the Erudition team might just become the strongest system!
How is it the strongest? By bringing three supports and having him as the sole DPS. Anyone else have a dream? I'm here to make it come true.
"Be grateful, and burn it into your memory."
Herta huffed lightly and paid him no mind.
____
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