C7 The Little Loli Was Named

The little loli glared at Situ Yu, her annoyance palpable after witnessing his dismissive actions. "What's the meaning of this?! To ignore the presence of the Queen Mother, it's infuriating!" she fumed inwardly, feeling utterly slighted. Freshly awakened, she was already being tormented by some lowly creature.

"I was better off by my mother's side; no one dared to bully me there," she reminisced, tears welling up once more.

Situ Yu had only been feigning sleep, curious about the little loli's intentions. Cracking open an eye, he caught sight of her crying again and was at a loss for words. A crybaby, no less. Her forlorn look tugged at his heartstrings, prompting him to sit up and inquire, "So, what's your name? And what exactly are you?"

Her sobs subsided as she looked at Situ Yu, drifting down to meet his gaze. The thought of spending an eternity with this 'worm' softened her, and she confided, "I am the Queen Mother, birthed by the Biological Warship. My own mother was the previous Queen Mother. Together, we journeyed across universes, engaging in 'trade' and 'learning' with indigenous peoples, braving dangers and beholding wondrous sights. But in the last universe, we encountered a vile race. As my mother traversed the cosmic planes, they rallied the locals against us. Facing the onslaught of universal forces and their attacks, my mother cast me into this primitive universe to preserve her lineage, sacrificing herself to seal the breach."

Overcome with emotion, the little loli broke down once again.

Situ Yu, moved by her plight, offered words of solace, "It's alright. You're still here, aren't you? Your mother's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You must carry on with strength." He then gave her an odd look and reached out to stroke her head, only for his hand to pass right through.

Staring at his hand in bewilderment, he tried again, to no avail.

Still enveloped in sorrow, the little loli bristled at his gesture, "Stop touching me!" she exclaimed indignantly. "You're a creep! They'll cast you into a black hole for this!"

Startled by the little girl's cry, Situ Yu was taken aback. It wasn't fear that gripped him, though—it was more like he was charmed by her cuteness.

Then, a thought struck him, and he continued to inquire, "So why are you just a phantom? Aren't you supposed to be a warship? Do all high-tech warships look like this? It seems quite sophisticated."

The little girl gave him a look as if he were a complete fool and explained, "I was just born not long ago, so of course, I'm not yet a warship. When I grow up, I'll be as magnificent as my Queen Mother, traveling to different universes to, uh, engage in trade—not to rob! And to, um, acquire knowledge—not to steal!"

Situ Yu's expression turned sour. Initially, he had been impressed by the concept of a mighty warship, but it turned out to be nothing more than a glorified pirate ship.

Despite that, the idea of a ship capable of traversing universes was still undeniably impressive.

The little girl went on, "When I first arrived in this nascent universe, it was still in its infancy, with only two orbs orbiting each other. My mother was in such a rush when she sent me here that she didn't adjust the coordinates properly. She ended up dropping me onto one of the orbs, and the immense energy disrupted their balance. They drew closer and closer until they finally collided.

As you've seen, the collision of the two orbs caused an explosion that led to the creation of this universe. Moreover, my mother sent me here with a mix of genetic information and materials. This event was supposed to take much longer, but I believe many of the lifeforms in this universe came into existence because of that genetic material.

Thanks to my mother's intervention, this process was accelerated by many cosmic epochs. You see, isn't my mother truly remarkable?"

She finished with a smug little pose.

Situ Yu nodded dumbly, his mind racing. Truly remarkable, indeed. The whole thing was quite a profound concept to grasp. The little girl's mother had tossed her into the cosmos, and out came a universe—an event of unimaginable scale.

Upon seeing Situ Yu nod, the little girl went on, "After the explosion, I cast this power elsewhere. For ages, I couldn't replenish my energy.

Eventually, I ended up in this godforsaken place. On the brink of death, you, a lowly worm, somehow became my master. Talk about bad luck turning into good fortune. At least now, death isn't knocking at my door.

But how am I supposed to grow when I'm stuck with a low-level worm like you?" She sank into gloom once more.

Situ Yu bristled at being called a worm, especially a low-level one. He had been a miner for two years, after all. But he let it slide. She was, after all, an adorable little girl.

"Um, I have a question," Situ Yu ventured timidly. "Back in the mine, there was a voice that spoke to me. Was that you? It sounded nothing like you."

"Oh, that? That's the main brain. Consider it my little brother, in charge of certain programs. Think of it as a minor feature of mine. When energy is low, I go into hibernation and leave the menial tasks to the main brain. Once it has absorbed enough energy, it rouses me from my slumber so I can issue commands to the program. Simple, isn't it? Even a worm could understand that, right? I'm such a genius! Hahaha!"

Situ Yu was slightly dazed but managed to nod and respond, "So, in essence, you're equipped with a computer—a pretty sophisticated one at that."

"Yep, yep, yep, exactly. Thankfully, we don't have a communication issue," the little girl beamed.

With a scowl, he thought to himself, "She really does treat me like a worm."

He pressed on, "So, what's your purpose?"

The little girl froze, feigning a crash. Situ Yu got the message instantly. This little one was all show, relying on some fancy computer to play the big shot.

With a mischievous grin, Situ Yu teased, "Little miss, no need to fake it. You're drooling."

At that, the little girl quickly produced a handkerchief from nowhere and dabbed at her mouth, adopting a demure facade.

With a casual flick of his wrist, she mysteriously stashed the handkerchief out of sight. Then, with a nonchalant air, she haughtily declared,

“Don’t call me little beauty. I have a name, you know.”

“What is it, then? You haven’t told me,” Situ Yu responded.

“Didn’t I just tell you?” she retorted, giving him a look reserved for the hopelessly out of touch.

Situ Yu was at a loss. The meaning of that bizarre sequence of tones eluded him. Was that even human speech?

He chuckled and suggested, “You see, our names here are short and practical. Since you’re with me now, why not adopt a local name for easier communication, right?”

The young girl pondered, her delicate finger propping up her chin as she tilted her head. After a moment, she agreed, “Makes sense.”

Delighted, Situ Yu racked his brain for a suitable name for the adorable girl. “Little Cute is too cliché. Little Meng Meng? Sounds like a pet’s name. Asuka Hano? Absolutely not. How could I give her a Uneralith name? The whole of Umonnor would be up in arms for sullying such a super cute little girl.”

Finally, at a loss, Situ Yu watched the girl’s forlorn expression as she fixed her gaze on him. His mind went blank for a moment, but then he had an idea, “How about Ke Lianna?”

Upon hearing the name, the girl mulled it over and inquired, “Does this name mean anything?”

Situ Yu replied offhandedly, “Given your pitiful look, Ke Lianna fits—it means ‘pitiful,’ right?”

At that, the girl bristled. Out of nowhere, she conjured a heap of assorted items and hurled them at Situ Yu.

Sensing trouble, he quickly ducked under the covers, hoping to mitigate any impending damage.

After a short wait with no impact, he peeked out and saw nothing amiss.

That’s when it hit him—the girl was still a mere apparition. His boldness returning, he sat up properly and stated,

“Since you’ve acknowledged me as your master, you ought to listen to what I say. Besides, it’s just a name, and it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Upon hearing his words, the little loli's spirits deflated. He was right; why did she have to be so unlucky? Tears started to well up in her eyes once more.

Situ Yu ceased his teasing and asked with a note of seriousness, "Why are you just a phantom? If you're destined to be a battleship, shouldn't you be tangible?"

Ke Lianna, the little loli, replied in a disheartened tone, "It's all because of the energy shortage caused by that explosion. I couldn't absorb any energy or matter, so I've been depleting my own energy. Now that it's run out, I've turned into a phantom."

Seeing the forlorn look on the little girl's face, Situ Yu couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. "So, the star core that merged with me, that's your true form?"

She gave a slight nod in affirmation.

"How can we give you a physical form again?" he inquired, his voice softening with concern.

"It's quite straightforward. I just need to consume more energy, gather various genes, and minerals. Once I advance from the Star Core Grade to the Starry Sky Grade, I'll have a physical body," the little loli explained with a burst of enthusiasm.

"It sounds pretty simple. But when you first mentioned it, it seemed like you were in despair," he observed.

Feeling a sudden squeeze in her heart, Ke Lianna awkwardly feigned ignorance, "You're overthinking it. Hahaha!"

"Is that so?" Situ Yu looked at the little loli, his face etched with skepticism.