Herta's reaction was even bigger than 'Ruan i' had expected.
But that was only natural.
Herta stared daggers at 'Ruan i', looking like she wanted to strip her down to the bone, flesh and all.
Even the real Ruan i, standing off to the side, tilted her head curiously, eavesdropping quietly.
"Genius Society #4, the Lord of Silence—she wants to kill anyone who might breach the Knowledge Singularity."
"Why? And how has she managed to stay so undetected?"
Herta furrowed her brow. She didn't dismiss 'Ruan i's' words, but she was questioning how it was even possible.
"I don't know all the details, but if I rember right, it's sothing about… if the universe becos omniscient, it might avoid its own end?"
'Ruan i' tilted her head, trying to recall.
Since it was side-story material, she'd mostly skimd through it back then—her mory wasn't that sharp.
"Tch."
Herta clicked her tongue, though her emotions were hard to read.
"As for how she does it… she has an ability called 'Knowable Domain'…"
"Got it."
She didn't need to hear the rest. The mont "Knowable Domain" was ntioned, Herta instantly realized where all those "unforeseen accidents" she'd encountered had co from.
Nearby, Ruan i nodded thoughtfully, as if sothing had just clicked for her.
Who knows what she was thinking.
anwhile, Herta ntally filed the Lord of Silence's na away in her little black book of grudges.
She was already brainstorming how to deal with this sneak attacker.
As for 'Ruan i'…
She took a glance at her interface:
-- --
[Role-Playing System]
[Na: Bai Ming (Ruan i)]
[Lifespan: 100 years (paused) 20 days (role-playing)]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Charge: 90.6%), Acheron (Charge: 58.8%), Celenova (Charge: 17.3%), Ruan i (Active)]
[Available Draws: 0 (80.2%)]
-- --
Big Herta's charge was getting closer.
The gacha progress bar below had also passed 80%.
But honestly, after days of burying herself in work, 'Ruan i' hadn't paid much attention to the Emotion Value collection.
The progress bar was more or less in line with earlier predictions—so minor fluctuations, but generally on track.
After that brief exchange, Herta erupted with an almost unbelievable enthusiasm.
That was just how she was—when faced with an obstacle, she'd just kick it aside with her super-intellect.
With Herta's help, 'Ruan i' and the real Ruan i worked together, attempting to construct a self-regulating logical frawork inside the Light Being's body.
Their goal was to achieve the Path balance they wanted, and through it, guide the desired Imaginary Energy transformation.
But if an individual possesses self-awareness, it will almost always lean toward a certain inclination—it's nearly impossible to hit the exact state 'Ruan i' was aiming for.
So…
Eventually, 'Ruan i' circled back, focusing again on that very first Light Being.
Every subsequent Light Being had split off from this one, which operated on pure instinct.
You could even call it the origin of all Light Beings.
And so, the experint began.
The three geniuses once again entered a state of all-consuming focus.
'Ruan i' continuously tested ratios, tweaked paraters, again and again, searching for that perfect balance.
And throughout this cycle of experintation, 'Ruan i' also probed her own heart:
What exactly did her "light of hope" look like?
If it was just retaliation, the Galaxy Rangers had that covered.
If it was pure protection, Preservation was already a thing.
No matter the trait, so Aeon had already claid it.
Yet sothing always felt missing—sothing essential to the concept of "hope."
A sliver of light tearing through the darkness—it couldn't just be about revenge.
Nor could it be only about protection.
It had to give those in despair the courage to stand up again.
It had to guide people, even after reaching the end of vengeance, to live on—hopefully.
The arrival of light doesn't guarantee problems will lt away.
It's not so convenient trouble-erasing tool, and it shouldn't be a god.
It should be what guides the desperate to rekindle hope, to find the courage to face their struggles.
And after this continuous soul-searching, 'Ruan i' gradually slipped into a kind of indescribable focus.
Soon enough, this state of hers caught the attention of both Herta and the real Ruan i.
"Is she… in the zone?"
Herta raised an eyebrow.
The 'Ruan i' right now gave off a very familiar vibe—it reminded her of that atmosphere she herself embodied whenever she seized an inspiration, as if crossing a threshold.
"Seems like it."
A flicker of envy passed through Ruan i's eyes.
In the field of biology, it wasn't her, but this mimic, who had entered that state first.
The real one's feelings were… complicated.
At the sa ti, on an interface Bai Ming wasn't paying attention to, the progress bar jumped up again:
-- --
[Role-Playing System]
[Na: Bai Ming (Ruan i)]
[Lifespan: 100 years (paused) 20 days (role-playing)]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Charge: 94.6%), Acheron (Charge: 63.2%), Celenova (Charge: 21.3%), Ruan i (Active)]
[Available Draws: 0 (91.2%)]
-- --
Of course, 'Ruan i', now fully imrsed, wasn't going to notice it for a while.
Herta studied 'Ruan i' for a mont, then turned and grinned at the real Ruan i, trying to read sothing from her expression.
"Ohhh? How are you feeling right now, Ruan i?"
She didn't believe Ruan i had no thoughts watching this unfold.
If Bai Ming were impersonating Herta right now and grasped that spark of inspiration right in front of her, Herta was confident she wouldn't take it calmly.
The real deal being outshone by a copycat?
That's just turning the natural order upside down!
Hearing this, Ruan i pursed her lips into a faint smile.
But she said nothing.
She withdrew her attention and returned to the experint.
"Tch, boring."
Herta scoffed.
Why was Ruan i's personality so dull?
At least Bai Ming could banter with her a little. But thoughts aside, the experint still needed doing.
Since Ruan i was in the zone, naturally, they'd support her fully.
At the sa ti, they had to stay guarded against the Lord of Silence possibly causing trouble.
Although… the real Ruan i had never faced an assassination attempt, which suggested biological research might not et the Lord of Silence's threshold for intervention.
But Herta didn't dare take that for granted.
She just quietly stayed alert.
This state continued for over ten more days.
Then, at a certain mont, the monitoring device beside them suddenly let out a series of beeps.
All three of them jolted, looking up at the readings at the sa ti.
Their eyes t, and each saw the sa excitent reflected back:
"A new property shift!"
-- --
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