"Lie down."

"Oh..."

Navia obediently lay down on Su Ran’s operating platform.

Looking at the strange and advanced equipment surrounding her, she couldn’t help but feel curious.

As the president of the Spina di Rosula, and a noble by birth—even if the organization had declined after her father’s incident—Navia had seen the facilities of Fontaine’s Research Institute.

But those machines were nothing compared to what stood here.

At the very least, Fontaine certainly didn’t have floating, glowing holographic screens like these.

She had only ever seen such things here.

"Don’t be nervous... everyone has their first time."

Hearing Su Ran’s voice beside her, Navia forced a bright smile.

"Don’t worry! I’m not that nervous. Just a tiny bit."

Even though the one conducting the experiment was a Fatui Harbinger—

For some reason, she trusted that it would succeed.

Even if, by public opinion, this was the kind of human experimentation people condemned.

"Who are you talking to?"

Su Ran snapped back to attention and looked at Navia on the platform.

"Uh... weren’t you just talking to me?"

Navia suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Had the Genius... never conducted human experiments before?

Now she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified.

Should she be happy that Mr. Genius wasn’t a butcher who routinely performed such "evil" experiments?

Or be horrified that she was his very first human test subject?

"Mr. Genius... maybe you should double-check your preparations? Just in case there are... flaws?"

Navia was officially panicking.

"You’re calling me a genius and still doubting me? No need for that."

A glass dome suddenly descended over her.

No chance of escape.

White mist quickly filled the chamber, enveloping her completely.

From the outside, her hands could briefly be seen pounding against the glass—

Then everything went still.

Arlecchino slightly raised her hand, ready to shatter the barrier in a single strike.

Before she could act, however, the mist was already being withdrawn.

The glass dome lifted.

Navia sat up abruptly, looking like someone who had narrowly survived death.

"You’re sure this experiment won’t cause problems?"

She was genuinely shaken.

That white mist had made her feel cold all over.

"Didn’t it succeed? You look perfectly fine to me."

The small robot floated over and performed another full-body scan.

Watching the updated data stream across the screen, Su Ran nodded in satisfaction.

With a minor addition to her genetic structure—

Navia could now safely come into contact with Primordial Seawater.

She would no longer dissolve.

Genes were notoriously difficult to modify.

One wrong change could result in mutation—

Or even the birth of monsters.

In most cases, it simply led to death.

Navia was fortunate.

Because the one conducting the experiment was Su Ran—

A being far more conscientious than Dottore.

If it had been Dottore, he might have first observed several Fontainians dissolving.

Perhaps after countless failed subjects—

He would finally produce a treatment with severe side effects that only saved a few.

Navia, on the other hand, remained physically and mentally intact.

No mutation.

No pain.

She had passed through the experiment safely.

Most others wouldn’t have been so lucky.

"It succeeded? But I don’t feel any different..."

Navia spun in place.

All she had done was inhale some white mist.

And that was it?

She didn’t even understand what had happened.

Just moments ago she’d been pounding the glass in despair—

Now she was told it was over?

"You want horns to grow out of your head? Or maybe a tail?"

Su Ran lightly patted her slightly dazed face.

He almost worried that the tiny genetic tweak had accidentally reduced her IQ.

She had been quite sharp before.

"But it was too fast!"

Navia still couldn’t believe it.

That was the experiment?

Some white smoke—

And done?

She had braced herself for death!

"And standing before you is a Genius, not Dottore. You just need to understand that in a genius’s eyes, nothing is impossible."

Compared to cultivating a Propagation Emanator—

Perfecting Navia’s genes was trivial.

If he failed at something this simple, he might as well withdraw from the Genius Society.

Even without Ruan Mei mocking him—

Herta would laugh first.

"So... I really won’t dissolve anymore?"

Navia still hesitated.

"Why not test it?"

Su Ran produced a vial.

Uncorked it—

And splashed its contents straight onto Navia’s face.

Highly concentrated Primordial Seawater.

Navia reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.

Cool liquid ran down her skin.

But—

Nothing happened.

"Well, the results are clear. Navia, you’re now the first Fontainian who won’t dissolve in Primordial Seawater." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Su Ran folded his arms, satisfied.

"As expected of me. I’m just that amazing."

Arlecchino, who had watched the entire process, was baffled.

She had observed everything—

Yet understood nothing.

This "experiment" was nothing like she had imagined.

It was...

That casual?

—------------------------------

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