Xingtetsu: You are not included in Elio's script!

Lin Yu accompanied Ruan Mei as they walked along the quiet corridor of the space station. There was a tacit understanding between the two that did not require words.

The energy storm and ideological clash in the laboratory just now seemed to be isolated behind us.

Ruan Mei's steps remained steady, and her eyes habitually swept across the data streams on the corridor wall and the sea of ​​stars in the distance with scrutiny.

But Lin Yu could feel that the cold and isolated aura around her was slightly softer than usual.

"The reaction of the 'Starry Sky Seed' to the 'End' omen... far exceeds the upper limit predicted by the model." Ruan Mei suddenly spoke, her voice steady, as if stating an objective fact, but with a faint hint of discussion.

"Its internal structure has an intriguing paradox: its simultaneous affinity and repulsion for concepts like 'end' and 'fate'."

Lin Yu nodded. He could understand the complex emotions in Ruan Mei's words. "Indeed, it seems to be longing for that kind of power, but instinctively resisting being assimilated by it, just like..."

“Life itself has a primal fear of extinction and a secret yearning to return to nothingness.”

Ruan Mei glanced at him sideways and said, "What an apt metaphor. It seems that you, with so many destinies, are more sensitive to this kind of contradictory energy than any instrument." This was almost the highest praise she could give.

Lin Yu smiled and said, "It's just... some personal feelings."

He has experienced the pull of destruction and the interweaving of joy, and he does have an intuition about the emotions and philosophical conflicts contained in energy that cannot be captured by instruments.

"Subsequent data analysis, especially the microscopic structural changes in the extremely short time window before the energy collapse, requires extremely high computing power and an understanding of the essence of destiny."

Ruan Mei continued, her tone still flat, but Lin Yu heard the unfinished invitation in it.

"If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know." Lin Yu responded without hesitation, "My strength may help you capture those fleeting realities more clearly."

"Yeah." Ruan Mei responded softly, accepting the kindness.

She stopped and looked at the boundless sea of ​​stars outside the viewing window. She was silent for a moment and suddenly asked a question that was not quite in line with her usual style.

"What do you think 'the end' is?"

Lin Yu was slightly startled, and then fell into deep thought.

He recalled how he felt when he simulated that power, and what Liuying and Elio had said about "established facts" and "possibility of change."

"Perhaps... it's not simply an end or extinction." Lin Yu said slowly, trying to sort out his feelings, "It's more like... the only inevitability after all possibilities have converged, the absolute 'result' that countless cause and effect chains ultimately point to."

"The Last King did not 'predict' the future, but rather 'witnessed' the only certain finish line that had already occurred."

"So, perhaps Elio's story is about trying to find the path with the least cost among the countless possible paths leading to that 'end'?"

Ruan Mei listened quietly, the light in her eyes flowing slowly like a data stream, as if incorporating his words into a huge computing model.

"The path of least cost..." she repeated, thoughtfully. "So, trying to change the 'end' itself means going against the laws of causality throughout the universe?"

"Maybe." Lin Yu sighed, "But isn't this the most incredible thing about life and wisdom? Knowing that it is impossible to do it, but still doing it, trying to carve out a glimmer of possibility in absolute inevitability."

He looked at Ruan Mei with a firm gaze. "Perhaps your seed is just such an experiment. By absorbing all destinies, is it also for the purpose of... eventually gaining the power to resist and even reshape that inevitability?"

Ruan Mei did not answer directly, but Lin Yu saw that the corners of her lips rose slightly, which was the expression she would show when she heard a very challenging and attractive hypothesis.

"Verifying this hypothesis requires long experiments and a lot of... nutrients." She said softly, looking at Lin Yu again with a hint of meaning.

Lin Yu understood, "I understand, I will try my best to provide it with the nutrients it needs to grow." What he promised was not only energy, but also a support to explore the unknown together.

The two fell into silence again, but the atmosphere became more harmonious.

They stood side by side, gazing at the eternal stars outside the window, as if they were two fellow travelers standing on the frontier of knowledge, who could understand each other's pursuit of the distant future without saying much.

After a long time, Ruan Mei spoke again, "Let's go back. Lin Ruan must be waiting anxiously." There seemed to be a subtle motherly warmth in her tone.

"Okay." Lin Yu nodded, turned around naturally with her, and walked towards the residence.

Ruan Mei's door closed silently behind her, completely isolating the dim light and noise from the public area of ​​the space station.

Almost at the same moment when the sensor lock made a slight "click", the cold and aloof posture she had been maintaining, as if it were an impeccable piece of precision equipment, suddenly relaxed as if the supporting string had been pulled out.

She didn't even walk to the sofa or chair, but took a few steps forward, almost exhausted and with a hint of imperceptible fatigue, and gently threw herself onto the soft big bed.

The expensive silk skirt spread out slightly due to this movement, outlining her slightly slender waistline after she relaxed.

She turned her face to the side, buried half of her cheek in the slightly cool pillow, and let out a soft breath, with a subtle tremor in her breath that finally relaxed after a long period of tension.

Lin Yu followed her and closed the door gently. When he turned around, he saw her looking completely different from usual, lazy and even a little fragile.

He was slightly startled, then walked lightly to the bedside, knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, leaned over, and gently brushed away a few strands of messy hair on her forehead with his fingertips, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

His voice was very low, with unmistakable concern.

There was a sound of dripping water coming from the bathroom. Lin Ruan was taking a shower and would not come out for the time being.

Ruan Mei didn't answer immediately. She just closed her eyes and rubbed her body against his palm again, like a cat that had finally found a safe place.

After a few seconds, she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes, which usually contained an endless galaxy of data, now removed all disguises of calmness, revealing a clear fatigue with a hint of boredom and vigilance.

"Just now...someone was spying on us." Her voice was softer and lighter than usual, as if she was complaining.

"From the moment I leave the lab and walk into the hallway, or even earlier... that feeling follows me everywhere, like a shadow, scrutinizing and probing me. It's very uncomfortable."

She frowned slightly. "I can't show any strangeness in front of outsiders, and I can't let them realize the...special nature of our relationship."

“After all, apart from Liuying and Xueying, the only people who know our true relationship are Heita, Ester and a few others…” She paused, raised her eyes and looked at Lin Yu with a hint of apology in her eyes.

"So just now... my tone towards you might have been a little colder than usual. I'm sorry."

It turned out to be the case.

Lin Yu instantly understood the origin of her almost alienated attitude in the corridor and outside the laboratory.

It's not that her nature is like this, but under an invisible pressure, she has to use the most familiar and least suspicious mask of "researcher" to protect the intimacy between them that she doesn't want to show to others easily.

Her keen perception allowed her to catch the secret spying, while her reason and caution made her choose the safest way to deal with it.

Keep distance and downplay contact.

...