My Players Are So Fierce

Today’s research base under the Scholar Faction is still the same as usual, peaceful and boring.

As a secluded area far from worldly affairs, it’s rare for anyone to endure the solitude here for months without going out, but those Twilight Servants sent here all have the “researcher” trait of being shut-ins. For them, as long as you give them a laboratory, enough experimental materials, and enough new knowledge, they can hide away entertaining themselves until the end of the world.

Hmm, this is also the most prominent feature of the Scholar Faction.

Although an important member of the Twilight Organization, members of the Scholar Faction are different from those of other factions, the active members who feel uncomfortable without engaging in some enterprise for a day. They don’t really want any contact with the outside world unless they’re assigned mandatory tasks.

They only want to work in their laboratories, to painstakingly recreate the precious creation knowledge from the Golden Era bit by bit.

The shaping of the Ratman is just one topic for the Scholar Faction.

In terms of importance, it doesn’t even rank among the top five current topics. Hence, don’t expect this biological base dedicated to the Ratman evolution project to have the fortune of migrating to the main base. They have strict evaluation and promotion standards internally.

Considering the current contribution and proportion of the Ratman project in the Twilight cause, the Twilight researchers at the base need to work harder for any promotion.

“But that’s okay!

As long as our Ratman Army makes a decisive contribution while attacking the Brass Fortress, then all colleagues at our R-9 base will receive praise from ‘Mr. Scholar’!

We will gain more creation knowledge, we will have more experimental equipment, and we might even be allowed to head to the main base and participate in grander projects.

Yes!

Our efforts are very important to the organization’s cause, researchers, you are very important!

Come, let’s applaud our accomplishments today.”

In the base cafeteria, the “Explorer” is routinely stirring enthusiasm among his researchers.

Regrettably, this guy’s oratory skills are really quite average, repeating the same few sentences over and over, making the researchers holding trays and waiting hungrily for meals absolutely uninterested.

Damn it!

Everyone is already mentally exhausted from daily intellectual labor; can we drop this bureaucracy, please?

After dinner, there are still experiments to return to, damn it!

Instruments are still running data, can we stop wasting time?

Amidst the complaints of the researchers, the Explorer, knowing his speech was uninteresting, snorted and waved for everyone to go grab their meals.

Those who get to eat in this “Golden Era” dining room are formal researchers; the servants and apprentices are not qualified to come in. They can only pick up some nutritional paste in the upper biological zone to fill their stomachs.

That stuff tastes ordinary, but the nutrients are sufficient, sourced from harmlessly treated “specimens” in the laboratory. Considering this base mainly researches Ratmen, apprentices and servants are better off not caring too much about the raw materials of the nutritional paste; as long as it’s not deadly, it’s fine.

The Explorer grabbed a meal for himself, carrying the tray to the edge of the dining room, then received today’s portion of juice from the self-operating cafeteria robot, and sat in front of a weary, white-bearded old man.

He pulled back his hood, revealing a young elven face that did not belong to him.

The Explorer’s previous body was shattered by Duke Pablo the Bloodfear during an excursion collecting Ratman combat data. He transferred his soul at the last moment, and this body has long been prepared as a backup.

He is very satisfied with the new body, energetic and well-adapted, without any rejection reactions after the soul transfer. The only regret is that since it’s not his “original,” the aging speed is very fast; he’ll probably need to replace the body again in no more than two years.

Of course, there’s a better option; if he can gain favor from ‘Mr. Scholar,’ being allowed into the main base’s “Life Greenhouse,” he could depend on the mysterious creation knowledge to reshape a body.

That process is called “cloning,” not a fresh concept for these heretic researchers. They can complete a simple cloning process in this base themselves, but regrettably, the equipment needed for perfect cloning is only available at the main base.

There are also classes among researchers.

This hierarchy is reflected in the value of the instruments they use daily, and in the number of times their research applications are rejected.

“I say, why are you still looking so gloomy?”

The Explorer spooned some fried rice into his mouth, chewing as he spoke to the white-bearded old man opposite him:

“Hasn’t your experimental project already passed validation? Mr. Scholar’s evaluation, while not perfect, is quite decent for a newcomer like you.”

“I’m not worried about my project, Kant…”

The old man with white whiskers sighed, but before finishing, he was quietly admonished by the Explorer:

“Call me ‘Explorer’! Damn it, Flynn, you’ve been here this long and still don’t know the rules? Those past names represent shame and impurity. We have joined the Twilight for the purification effort and should abandon the past and embrace rebirth!