Celenova instinctively took half a step back.
Oh no, was Herta actually being serious about this?
"Heh, just a joke. I assu you've already prepared an escape route, of course—and I don't an the Phase Fla."
"You certainly didn't sound like you were joking."
Her wary, yet unflinching deanor drew a soft chuckle from Herta.
Sure enough, this woman had co prepared with an exit strategy.
Not that it was unexpected, really.
Had she shown up without any sort of plan, Herta would've been disappointed.
"Alright, don't forget to co by."
With that, the Herta puppet went still.
Clearly, she had severed the connection.
'Celenova' wasn't in any rush to head over just yet. Instead, she summoned AI Herta to get an update on the station's situation.
Ever since 'Celenova' had dismissed a number of staff and laid down new rules, the Herta Space Station had been operating with minimal personnel.
Most of the maintenance and managent tasks were handed over to AI Herta.
And lately, its most frequent task had been… unpacking parcels.
Lady Herta had been shipping over those bizarre and miscellaneous Curios from her ho in batches, one after another, tasking AI Herta with receiving, cataloging, and storing them.
By the looks of it, this was going to continue for a while.
It wouldn't stop until Lady Herta had sorted through everything stored in her personal warehouse.
As for the scholars arriving, drawn by the station's reputation, AI Herta was screening them according to the rules 'Celenova' had set.
Things were going fairly smoothly.
Even so, the station was far from full.
That, too, would be a long-term effort.
"Sounds like things are getting on track."
"Yes. Once I appoint a deputy acting station head in the future, things should beco less hectic."
So said AI Herta.
-- --
After getting a brief overview of the station's status, 'Celenova' still didn't hurry off to Herta City.
She was genuinely concerned that Herta might've set up so strange surprise for her at ho.
Since Ruan i hadn't responded yet anyway, 'Celenova' took the chance to browse through the large collection of odd Curios Herta had gathered.
At this point, it seed the Stellaron hadn't yet descended upon The Blue, but all sorts of other strange contained objects already filled several chambers.
'Celenova' amused herself by going through the containnt manifest one by one.
Many were bizarre items not ntioned in the ga—the kind that seed useless but were genuinely peculiar little trinkets.
Most Curios had unknown origins and creators.
The only one with thoroughly detailed records was Curio No. 1: the AllSpark.
Who knows if Herta did it on purpose, but she seed to have invested considerable ti into deciphering the technical secrets behind the AllSpark, compiling everything neatly and attaching it as an appendix to the Curio's docuntation.
It almost felt like she was saying: "Hah, so imitation's work—and I cracked it with one hand!"
"What a strange competitive streak."
'Celenova' skimd through the appendix. Though heavily abridged, it highlighted all the key technologies.
It really did feel like Lady Herta had left it there on purpose, just for her to see.
And just as 'Celenova' finished reviewing the docunts, Lady Herta's communication ca through, right on 'cue'.
A Herta puppet approached 'Celenova', who was still standing beside the AllSpark: "Stop dawdling. Ruan i's gone radio silent, so just co to Herta City."
"…That was quick. Already reached a conclusion?"
"Pretty much. If it were , I wouldn't waste ti on projects that interest ."
The Herta puppet planted her hands on her hips, fully self-assured.
"Fine. But do we really have to do this in Herta City?"
"My suggestion is to co here. Honestly, I've got a funny feeling about this—sothing tells the plan might not go smoothly."
The Herta puppet frowned slightly.
In the past, Herta had encountered quite a few unexpected incidents.
Several tis, they'd even plunged The Blue into crisis, which eventually led her to leave the planet and settle sowhere remote. And every ti, these surprises interrupted her at critical monts, breaking her focus.
It sounded mystical, but Herta suspected so force might be deliberately obstructing her.
This ti, ever since she decided to join the project, Herta had a vague sense that sothing would go wrong again.
So after so thought, she decided to hold the eting in Herta City.
That way, no matter what happened, she, as the absolute ruler of Herta City, could handle it in her best condition.
"I see. Understood."
Hearing Herta's words, 'Celenova' grew wary imdiately.
Would what she was about to do attract the gaze of the Lord of Silence?
Probably not… right? Could this research really break through a Knowledge Circle?
It didn't seem likely.
Maybe the hand of Hooh was at work behind the scenes?
That seed more plausible.
'Celenova' didn't know much about HooH—the ga hadn't spent much ink on the Aeon of Equilibrium.
But They were dedicated to maintaining a kind of dynamic balance in the universe. To 'Celenova', it felt a bit like endlessly adding flour to water, then water to flour.
Still, there was no denying it: Hooh was a Aeon who kept constant watch over the cosmos, and wouldn't hesitate to step in personally if They deed it necessary.
That was a factor she might need to consider going forward.
Since Ruan i was still out of reach, 'Celenova' really had no reason to stay at the space station any longer.
Though she felt a little uneasy, things had already co this far.
Best to set out now.
'Celenova' touched the silver ring.
Flas slowly spread, and the Phase Flas engulfed her form, blocking Herta's view.
Seizing the chance, Bai Ming canceled the role-card performance.
Her vision returned to its blurred, indistinct state.
Bai Ming then looked down at the dimd role card:
-- --
[Role-Playing System]
[Na: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 100 years]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Charge: 80.6%), Acheron (Charge: 47.5%), Celenova (Charge: 5.3%), Ruan i]
[Gacha Draws Available: 0 (38.2%)]
-- --
Her lifespan had begun its countdown.
But with a full hundred years, a few seconds—or even over ten seconds—were too negligible to register.
The remaining role-play ti, as usual, converted into a charging progress bar.
On the card's artwork, Celenova's right arm was intact—not replaced by a chanical prosthesis, and the card itself showed no extra changes.
It seed that when the charge was complete and she assud the role again, the status would simply reset.
That was a relief.
After canceling the role-play, the system's reward settlent arrived.
[Reward Settlent: By portraying Celenova and successfully gathering significant emotional value in the absence of the original, the host may acquire a portion of Celenova's talents.]
-- --
User Comments
0 comments from readers