Collapse Iron: I just transmigrated! You want me to save the Black Tower?!

There was a few seconds of silence on the communication line before Diamond spoke.

"If we don't nip it in the bud, what if...?"

"will not."

Jiang Jiu interrupted Diamond directly: "I'm not someone who wants to kill everyone. As for the Immortal Ship... it's just the patrol cleaning up its own mess. Forget it, you can go check it out. If there are no problems, then you don't need to worry about it."

"Yes, Lord Shi Jin, I will do as you say."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Jiang Jiu temporarily set aside matters concerning the Immortal Boat. Since he already had the item in his hands, the next step was quite simple.

If you don't want to directly contact the Void Star God, just find a dead star, stuff the remains of the Procreation into it, and then use a planet as a burial offering, so that the Procreation can be swallowed up by the Void along with the Procreation.

As for why it's necessary to find a Death Star.

...Could this be considered some kind of regional isolation?

Then... it should be a problem with the train crew.

According to the system, the train's trajectory cannot be directly changed, meaning there's no way to stop them from heading to that asteroid belt where the mourners were.

Although we don't know what we'll encounter on this journey, we absolutely must prevent them from running into the Foehn winds...

Tsk... So what the end of this storyline is, we still don't know.

Is a mere messenger truly capable of leading to the end of the world?

However, he immediately dismissed his own idea after thinking about it.

Because he suddenly realized that, in a sense, all three of these points were indeed being guided by the envoy...

Zandal in the Iron Tomb line, Mirror Stream in the Breeding line, and Foehn Wind.

Okay, fine, they're awesome.

Jiang Jiu tossed the communicator aside, leaned back on the sofa, and rubbed his temples.

Black Tower walked over and sat down next to him.

"tired?"

"It's alright," Jiang Jiu said, "it's just noisy."

Black Tower chuckled lightly: "That's how communications are for the coalition forces. Everyone has their own agenda and plans. You'll get used to it."

Jiang Jiu turned his head to look at her and suddenly asked, "What about you? What were you doing just now?"

Black Tower raised an eyebrow: "Me? I'm researching something."

"What are you researching?"

"Don't tell you."

Since Heita didn't say anything, Jiang Jiu didn't ask any more questions. He rested his chin on his hand, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

"Are you thinking about the train? Or about the foehn wind?"

Jiang Jiu nodded, then shook his head.

"I have a feeling... something's missing this time."

After thinking for a long time, he suddenly paused.

"...Where is Ruan Mei?"

Chapter 198 One, a slice?

“Ruan Mei?” Hei Ta stroked Jiang Jiu’s hair and said softly, “I’ve taken care of it. Screw Gum and I locked her in her lab, thinking we’d leave her there for you to deal with.”

"Don't worry, it's okay. I'll take you to see a doctor."

Jiang Jiu thought for a moment and nodded.

"Okay, my main concern is..."

After all, in the previous storyline... Nguyen Mai almost created a completely new destiny...

Star God...

The Star Gods are troublesome enough on their own.

But Nguyen Mai, this seemingly indifferent genius, happens to have that kind of ability, how could she not be a cause for concern?

Are these cosmic gods so easy to create? First there was Zandal, then Sunday...

Black Tower nodded.

"Then I'll take you there."

"it is good."

Hei Ta didn't ask any questions or say much. After making some preparations, he led Jiang Jiu to Ruan Mei's laboratory.

Nguyen Mai's residence is more like a large biological petri dish than a traditional laboratory.

In every sense of the word.

...It seems there are a lot of random experimental subjects.

Nguyen Mai was imprisoned in a small laboratory, simply furnished with neatly arranged instruments, but it was sealed off from the outside.

With both Screw and Black Tower involved, Ruan Mei will not and cannot leave without being alerted, or at least cannot leave without alerting her and Screw Gum. Black Tower can guarantee that.

Pushing open the door, Jiang Jiu saw Ruan Mei leaning against the sofa, fiddling with something in her hands.

Hearing a noise, she looked up, her gaze falling on Jiang Jiu, then shifting to Hei Ta.

"I'm here," she said, her voice perfectly calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Hei Ta walked in, leaned against the lab bench, casually glanced around at the surroundings to make sure it was pretty much as he remembered, then nodded to Ruan Mei: "The person is here, um... you two talk?"

Ruan Mei nodded, then looked at Jiang Jiu.

Those eyes were very pale, as pale as a stagnant pool, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Lord Shi Jin," she said, glancing at him. "Sit?"

Jiang Jiu did not move.

He simply stood at the doorway, watched her for a while, but didn't approach.

Ruan Mei waited for two seconds, and seeing that he showed no intention of sitting down, she didn't mind.

"What do you want to do with me?"

She asked directly.

Jiang Jiu paused for a second, then asked in return, "How do you think you should be treated?"

Ruan Mei thought for a moment and then seriously analyzed for him: "Theoretically, I am interested in breeding and was almost dragged to help by the Immortal Boat, so I should be considered to be on the opposite side of you. Logically speaking, you should kill me."

Jiang Jiu remained silent.

Nguyen Mai continued, "But you didn't kill me. The Black Tower just locked me up here instead of taking direct action, which means you're still hesitating."

"so?"

“So I’m waiting for your decision,” Nguyen Mai said, seemingly unconcerned about Jiang Jiu’s thoughts. Her calm tone made Jiang Jiu wonder who was really the one who was going to commit suicide. “When you’ve thought it through, will you kill me, release me, or keep me locked up?”

She paused, then added, "By the way, the conditions here are alright. The Black Tower gave me some basic materials, enough for me to do some small experiments. I wouldn't mind if I were kept locked up longer."

"..."

Jiang Jiu looked at her and couldn't help but frown slightly.

It's too peaceful.

They were so calm that they didn't seem like people who were locked up or whose lives were controlled by others; they seemed more like they were on vacation.

Can geniuses really be indifferent to their own lives? Can someone who studies life all their life be indifferent to their own life?

Jiang Jiu thought it was impossible.

He took two steps forward, stopped opposite Nguyen Mai, and asked, "Nguyen Mai, to what extent are you interested in breeding?"

Ruan Mei thought for a moment.

"Most of it comes from academic interest. I want to know how life came about, how it evolved, and how it is possible. Reproduction is one path, but not the only one."

She looked up at Jiang Jiu.

"You're worried I'll use breeding to cause trouble, right?"

Jiang Jiu did not deny it.

Nguyen Mai nodded.

“I understand, so I can promise not to touch any research related to breeding, at least not until you give me permission.”

Jiang Jiu looked at her.

Those eyes remained so indifferent, showing no emotion whatsoever.

That's perfectly normal.

Something seems a little off about it.

“I don’t believe it.” Jiang Jiu shook his head. “Your words are not credible. As far as I know, you once briefly resurrected a breeding queen insect, but that was without obtaining the breeding remains.”

“I find it hard to imagine that you would give up this opportunity.”

Nguyen Mai paused briefly, then smiled—a very faint smile.

“Lord Shi Jin,” she looked into Jiang Jiu’s eyes and asked curiously, “I am at least a member of the Genius Club. A genius’s promise is at least a little more credible than an ordinary person’s, isn’t it?”

Jiang Jiu did not laugh.

He looked at her for a while, his gaze sweeping back and forth across her face.

Nguyen Mai didn't mind and let him look.

After a long while, Jiang Jiu spoke up: "How long have you known Black Tower?"

Nguyen Mai paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting him to ask that.

“It’s been a long time,” she said. “Exactly how long… I can’t remember, Black Tower, do you remember?”