Divine Herta took one look at her expression and imdiately guessed what the girl was thinking.
It was enough to make her laugh out of sheer exasperation.
The fact that her other self was actually enjoying this ant that if she ever fell in love, she might end up the exact sa way.
That realization was the final straw for her composure.
Just imagining herself bickering with soone until she was red in the face every single day made Divine Herta shake her head frantically.
"I swear, for my other self to end up with soone like you... she's really done for in this lifeti."
Or rather, she had never considered, even in her wildest dreams, that she would see such a day.
To Divine Herta, no matter how her other self acted in an intimate relationship, it would always remain utterly incomprehensible behavior.
As for Screwllum? Well, he didn't join the conversation; he was deep in thought.
Just then, a communication request with a very strange IP address broke into their exchange. Screwllum and Divine Herta looked over, and 'Calypso' gave a relaxed smile.
"It's Zandar. This guy has peeked into the Simulated Universe more than once or twice."
'Calypso' had, of course, discovered Zandar's little tricks long ago. It would have been easy to block him, but she hadn't.
The main reason was that the most extre slice of him had already been dealt with; the other slices were at least less insane. And as long as he wasn't crazy, Zandar—as the creator of Nous—was a rather excellent partner for dialogue.
'Calypso' might not have much use for him personally, but she was sure the others wouldn't mind an academic exchange with him.
Herta, in particular, viewed Zandar with a mix of loathing and respect. Besides, even if one of Zandar's other slices turned out to be a total nutcase, she had the power to stabilize the situation before things spiraled out of control.
That was why 'Calypso' had only chased Aha away and left Zandar alone.
Screwllum could naturally guess that 'Calypso' had likely left this loophole open on purpose. However, since this involved the analytical equation of a Path, he was sowhat concerned.
"Shall we let Zandar join?"
"Hmm... let's hear what he has to say, but the core components must remain off-limits to him."
'Calypso' would never reveal the Path Equation to anyone outside of Herta's circle.
Zandar had a track record, making him even less trustworthy. But considering he created Nous, she was willing to listen if he had so insights to offer.
Divine Herta huffed but offered no objection. Although she had died in her previous life because of Zandar, her current resurrection utilized the Irontomb body he had created.
To be fair, this Irontomb body was actually quite impressive; its base stats were essentially maxed out. One could only say Zandar had cultivated it well, only for her to swoop in and pluck the fruit.
And so, the communication request was accepted. A holographic image of Zandar appeared before the three of them.
"I offer greetings to the three of you on behalf of Zandar One Kuwabara."
Divine Herta crossed her arms, speaking quite bluntly. "Cut the pleasantries. Speak up—did you call because you have an idea?"
"Well, it seems you all aren't particularly keen on joining this project." Zandar smiled slightly, his tone devoid of disappointnt. It was only natural for him to be excluded.
However, that didn't matter; it wasn't his primary goal anyway. "But since you accepted this call, it ans there's room for negotiation, right? In that case, why not hear my proposal?"
Zandar's gaze swept over the three of them, finally landing on 'Calypso'.
"I will provide you with the original source code of Nous, along with all my knowledge and understanding of Him. In return, I wish to experience the Simulated Universe once your experint concludes."
"..."
The three present exchanged glances, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Zandar's request wasn't over the line, and his motive was clear: he likely wanted to use the upgraded Simulated Universe to further understand Nous.
After all, the next iteration of the Simulated Universe would be upgraded using Erudition as the seed. This shared so similarities with Nous's own path to godhood.
Zandar hoped to obtain this data—even superficial observation data would suffice. For 'Calypso', this trade was worth considering.
The data Zandar offered held high reference value and would help her understand the Erudition Equation more easily.
As for the price... as long as Zandar didn't try to touch the actual Equation, she could accept it. She could easily leave a clone behind to keep an eye on him.
However, this project wasn't 'Calypso's' alone, so the opinions of Screwllum and Divine Herta were important.
"What do you two choose?"
"Inference: We have an Aeon as an ally; should Zandar harbor a conspiracy, it would be in vain. anwhile, the original data from Nous is highly valuable. I believe we should agree."
"You're basing that decision entirely on your trust in ," 'Calypso' said, giving Screwllum a helpless look.
This supre ruler of chanical life and mber of the Genius Society was actually using an Aeon as his primary tric for judgnt.
"Conclusion: I trust Miss Bai Ming implicitly. From the past to the present, that has never wavered."
Divine Herta nodded as well. "I'm with Screwllum. I might have a lot of thoughts on the matter, but you gave this new life, so I trust you to handle this right."
"You two really... choosing this mont to get lazy on ."
Faced with 'Calypso's' exasperation, Divine Herta put her hands on her hips and laughed triumphantly. "When an Aeon is standing right here, wouldn't it be a massive waste not to use her power?"
"Fine, fine..."
With both of them saying such things, what else could 'Calypso' say? The mood was set; she couldn't exactly tell them not to trust her. So, 'Calypso' looked at Zandar.
"Since Screwllum and Divine Herta have both voted in favor, I wish us a pleasant cooperation."
"A pleasure, Miss Bai Ming, Screwllum, and Divine Herta." Zandar bowed once more. "In that case, I will send the data as soon as possible. I look forward to your research results. Farewell."
With that, the transmission cut out. Screwllum remained silent, staring at where Zandar had vanished.
That Zandar was willing to trade this data for a single chance didn't just an he valued it—it ant he was placing a bet.
He was gambling on his one chance in this lifeti to trade with an Aeon for knowledge.
After all, the failure at Amphoreus had made Zandar realize that even if the Irontomb had truly been born, this world and Nous would remain unshaken.
His previous efforts were almost entirely in vain. To oppose an Aeon, he had to use the power of an Aeon.
By sending over this perfectly tid, precious data, Zandar was buying an opportunity.
A Simulated Universe upgraded through the perspective of an Aeon would undoubtedly retain strong Aeonic characteristics. That was what Zandar wanted.
'Calypso' guessed as much—truthfully, Zandar hadn't even tried to hide his intent. But she didn't care.
Could Zandar, whose thoughts were already confined by his own creation, truly escape the fate mapped out by Nous? Perhaps. Who could say? After all, this galaxy had room for every possibility.
"It's about ti to start. Screwllum, I'll give you so data first. I think you'll like it."
Hearing this, Divine Herta frowned slightly. "What about ?"
"Isn't that body of yours right outside? I'll send it directly into that."
"...That works."
Divine Herta, who usually ran around as a Digimon, often caused people to forget that her true body was actually that gargantuan, light-fallen Irontomb outside Amphoreus. Even she herself didn't seem to have any plans to actually do anything with that body.
"Alright, Screwllum, you first."
Screwllum extended his hand, a data connection port unfolding at his fingertip.
Then, a ribbon of light appeared out of thin air, carrying a massive amount of data into the port.
The vast and extrely complex code turned into a data stream that exceeded his processing limits, causing Screwllum to lag for a mont.
Fortunately, after the storage equipnt was completed, Screwllum had given himself a major upgrade.
So, while the receiving process was a bit grueling, he managed to carry it. This "gift" gave the chanical head of Screwllum a genuine taste of what it felt like to be "dizzy."
While he wasn't yet clear on what all the data represented, a rough scan confird one thing: this code was no simple matter.
Considering today's events, it was highly likely these were fragnts of the Erudition Equation itself.
For a chanical being like Screwllum, such a thing would almost certainly allow for a staggering self-evolution. No one refuses the chance to beco smarter—not even a genius.
Thus, Screwllum expressed his gratitude with the utmost solemnity.
"What data did you give him? To make him lag like that... good grief, you didn't give him the Equation, did you?"
"Just the foundational parts. You have a share too, though I don't know if your instincts can handle the processing while your consciousness is detached."
'Calypso's' casual remark made Divine Herta's face pale.
Not out of excitent, but because her body hadn't been upgraded like Screwllum's.
It was already filled with a ss of cluttered data she had been too lazy to clean up. If all this was suddenly shoved in while her main consciousness was still drifting out here, she really would crash.
"Wait, you're serious?! Hold on! Wait until I get back!"
-- --
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL
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