After Acheron finished speaking, she followed through on her word and didn't press the matter any further.
This tactical retreat actually left Bai Ming feeling a twinge of guilt.
It made her feel like so sort of heartbreaker, toying with soone's emotions. But in truth, Bai Ming just wasn't ready yet.
Acheron had only just escaped the clutches of IX; she needed ti to adjust to this brand-new life.
Even if it sounded like a flimsy excuse to keep her at arm's length, Bai Ming genuinely believed Acheron needed to purge the lingering influence of her "anchor" before she could make an inford decision.
Bai Ming didn't want herself to be the only thing in Acheron's world.
It might have seed like a self-assured, perhaps even arrogant thought, but as far as Bai Ming was concerned, since she had gone to such lengths to solve the problem of Nihility and pull Acheron out from its shadow, then the reborn Acheron deserved a brilliant, multifaceted future.
She couldn't just stand by and watch Acheron's entire life revolve solely around her.
That kind of dynamic was unhealthy. Before, the influence of Nihility had left them powerless, but now, Bai Ming refused to let Acheron fall into that trap again.
In any case, once she had conveyed her thoughts, Bai Ming took her leave, heading toward Herta City to fulfill another promise. It would also give Acheron so space to think things through.
-- --
On the other side of the universe, within Herta City.
It had been a while since Bai Ming last visited, and while she noticed the facilities had been tweaked here and there, nothing major had changed.
As for Madam Herta herself, Bai Ming found her in the central courtyard where Noa resided.
The courtyard was currently cluttered with all sorts of instrunts, and Herta was huffing and puffing over so gadget or another.
She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't even notice Bai Ming standing right beside her.
It wasn't until Bai Ming chid into Herta's muttered grumbling that the genius realized she had a guest in her ho.
"...What are you doing here?"
"Coming to see you, of course. Why are you upgrading the firewall again?"
"Because Aha just swung by and snatched Noa away!" Herta's tone was sharp with indignation.
That prankster had popped in with a grin, hauled Noa off to who-knows-where, and then unceremoniously dumped THEM back a while later.
To top it off, THEY left behind so nonsense about "The doors to my house are always open~"
Herta was beyond livid. However, she quickly seed to connect the dots. She turned a piercing gaze toward Bai Ming.
"You showing up now... Don't tell Aha grabbed Noa because you actually succeeded in seizing the Path of Nihility?!"
"Strictly speaking, I stirred up the Path enough to put every Aeon on high alert. Aha grabbed Noa just in case things went south—THEY were probably planning to have Noa take down like so final boss." Bai Ming tilted her head back and gave a confident thumbs-up.
Herta, however, saw absolutely nothing to be proud of. She understood perfectly well why Bai Ming's stunt would draw the gaze of the Aeons.
"So what did you do? To draw on the power of Nihility like that... how are you not dead yet?"
"Nothing much. I just added a layer of rules to Nihility's erosion of life. To put it simply, I fixed the issue regarding the Self-Annihilators."
"...No way. The power of Nihility can do that? Is it even still 'Nihility' at that point?"
"It was done through my Equations. It doesn't have much to do with the Path itself."
"Sss..." Herta couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
She had always known those Path Equations were absurd, but she hadn't expected them to be able to manipulate Nihility to such an extent. This was even more ridiculous than she'd imagined.
And yet, here was Bai Ming, soone who possessed and mastered such a thing, and the other Aeons hadn't tead up to erase her from existence? Weren't they afraid she'd stage a coup?
"Now I'm even more curious as to why they haven't killed you."
"Hey now, I'm one of the good guys. Why would they attack for no reason?" Bai Ming paused for a mont before continuing.
"Speaking of which, are you sure you want to keep sniping at ? If you want to settle the score with Polka Kakamond safely, you're going to need my help. Surely, Madam Herta, you don't want to actually be stained by the shadow of Nihility."
"..."
Herta opened her mouth to retort, but ultimately just pulled a face of pure disdain.
Then, shifting gears instantly, she switched to a deadpan, chanical tone: "I was wrong. My apologies. I shouldn't have been sarcastic toward our great Aeon, Bai Ming. I, Herta, offer you my purest respect."
"...You really are willing to throw away your pride just to hunt down Kakamond, aren't you?" Bai Ming's lips twitched.
Since their relationship had deepened, Herta hadn't been this ruthlessly pragmatic in a long ti.
To think Kakamond would be the one to make her break character. It was clear Herta couldn't wait to string that woman up and give her a piece of her mind.
"Quit the chatter and give the buff already!" Herta held out her hand, gesturing for Bai Ming to get a move on.
"Give the mask."
Taking the mask from Herta, Bai Ming left a faint trace of Nihility upon it. It was essentially a rule carved into the Path, ensuring the wearer would be immune to the erosion of the shadow.
Of course, if she decided to headbutt the Aeon of Nihility THEMSELF, the mask wouldn't be able to save her.
"Just keep this mask on you. It doesn't have to be physically touching you; it's bound to you now, so the effects are automatic. Plus, it has a built-in return function."
Herta accepted the mask with great satisfaction. Then, with a brilliant smile, she hooked a finger under Bai Ming's chin and pulled her into a deep kiss.
When they finally parted, she stayed close enough that their breaths mingled, speaking with total confidence.
"Good job. Once I finish upgrading this damn firewall, I'm heading out to find that old hag Kakamond. You might not see for a while, so try not to miss too much."
"You too. If you're exploring so godforsaken place and find yourself at your limit, rember to call my na. I'll hear you." Bai Ming reached up and gently scratched the palm of the hand Herta was using to tilt her chin. The protective power she'd left there was also a bridge for communication.
"Heh~" Herta let out a soft chuckle and withdrew her hand, though the crimson flush on the tips of her ears betrayed her composure.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot—what do you plan on doing next?" Whether to change the subject or out of genuine curiosity, Herta tossed the question back.
"I'm going to take a break and look for so fun. I've been grinding away at this for years; I'm pretty spent."
Herta shrugged and smiled. "You've earned it. Just wait for my good news."
With Bai Ming's help, Herta finished the firewall upgrade in record ti, though whether it could actually stop Aha was anyone's guess. It was likely more for peace of mind than anything else.
Regardless, it was the best Herta could do for now, so she left it at that, deciding to deal with it properly after handling Kakamond.
Herta's departure was crisp and efficient. Bai Ming saw her off for a short distance but didn't interfere further.
While Herta City continued to run itself, Bai Ming had no desire to linger without Herta there. She returned to the Simulated Universe office on the Space Station.
There, she looked at the character card she had pulled but hadn't used yet.
Calypso, the penultimate Titan of Reason. If things went as expected, this card would carry the Equation of Erudition.
But honestly, while Bai Ming had a bit of a collector's itch when it ca to Path Equations, the recent ordeal with Nihility had left her ntally exhausted.
If she had to start parsing another Equation right this second, it would be the death of her.
So, the card could be used, and the Equation could be collected, but as for the analysis... that could wait. She didn't want to risk getting into a scrap with Nous just yet.
With that thought, Bai Ming selected the Calypso card and began the transformation once more.
-- --
[Roleplay System]
[Na: Bai Ming (Calypso)]
[Lifespan: ∞ 30 Days (Roleplay)]
[Available Characters: Big Herta, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan i, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher, Georios, General of the Yuque · Qingque, Huohuo, Silver Wolf, Hysilens, Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 46.1%), Acheron (Charge: 10.8%), Calypso (Active)]
[Draw Attempts: 21 (13.1%)]
-- --
Her clothes and hair color shifted, the white tones bleeding into gold.
Her modern dress transford into the traditional style of Amphorius. Bai Ming reached up to touch her long hair, which looked a bit ssy due to the intertwining branches, though the texture was actually quite smooth.
After a quick check of her appearance, she focused her attention on the Erudition Equation carried by the card.
She had briefly considered going to find the real Calypso for so fun, but the Titan had recently left the station.
Word was they had gone on a pilgrimage to various prestigious higher education institutions across the cosmos and wouldn't be back anyti soon. So, a eting was off the table.
Not that it mattered much. 'Calypso' carefully read the contents of the Erudition Equation.
Thanks to the key Nous had given her, which contained the power of Erudition, she already had a fundantal grasp of the concepts.
Furthermore, the ti she'd spent using the Acheron and Hysilens cards to understand Nihility had raised her comprehension of Paths to an entirely new level.
Even without a deep-dive analysis, 'Calypso' found herself naturally grasping the basics of the Erudition Equation. She began to understand the underlying logic of its operation.
As she unraveled these details, her gaze drifted toward the massive structure of the Simulated Universe nearby.
The Erudition Equation... if she simplified it and integrated it into the Simulated Universe as an optimization program, would it evolve the simulation into a "Little Nous"?
-- --
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL
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