"What did you discuss with Ruan Mei?"
After returning to the Master Control Zone with Ruan Mei and parting ways, Lumina was immediately intercepted by Herta Puppets stationed throughout the Space Station.
Observing Lumina's radiant smile after her conversation with Ruan Mei, Herta crossed her arms and posed the question.
Instead of answering Herta's question, Lumina looked the Herta Puppet up and down and asked, "Herta, you have so many puppets. Could you give me one?"
Since Herta has so many puppets, giving me one wouldn't be a problem, right? Lumina thought to herself.
"Answer my question first." Herta frowned slightly, mirroring Lumina's earlier evasion. Just as Lumina had refused to answer her, Herta declined to answer Lumina's request.
"Just give me one first! I'll tell you what Ruan Mei and I did as soon as you do."
Lumina could barely suppress the gleam in her eyes as she stared boldly at the Herta Puppet, her motives for wanting one... remained unclear.
Herta: ...
Feeling Lumina's unabashed, naked gaze, Herta felt a slight unease.
However, given Lumina's previous behavior, even under such intense scrutiny, Herta didn't suspect she wanted a puppet for any ahem... nefarious purposes.
As Herta suspected, Lumina indeed had no such intentions. Her primary reason for wanting a puppet was simply to pull a harmless prank on Herta...
"I said, answer my question first. What did you and Ruan Mei discuss?"
A mere puppet? Herta wouldn't mind giving it away. What truly concerned her was what Lumina and Ruan Mei had been up to earlier.
"As the master of this Space Station, I clearly sensed a sudden surge of dangerous energy emanating from the Containment Zone."
"Though the energy only lasted a moment, I still detected it."
"The only two who entered the Containment Zone just now were you two... Tell me, what experiments were you conducting inside?"
Herta crossed her arms, her voice calm but tinged with suppressed anger.
For Herta to sense such a dangerous aura, it must have originated from an Emanator-level entity...
How could Herta not be furious? In her own Space Station, where she was the master, someone had dared to create the aura of an Emanator without her permission.
If it weren't for the fact that the intruder was Ruan Mei and Lumina, Herta would have smashed them into pieces with a single swing of her hammer.
"Relax, don't you trust me?" Lumina didn't directly answer Herta's question. Instead, she gently placed her palm on Herta's small head and began to softly stroke it.
"It's just a little simulated Emanator. If any trouble arises, I'll squash it with a single palm strike."
"So, don't be angry anymore, okay?"
Herta: ...
At that moment, Lumina resembled a doting mother comforting her mischievous daughter—gentle, tender, and warm. Herta found herself momentarily entranced by this maternal warmth.
Even the anger that had just flared in her heart gradually began to dissipate...
"Wait a minute!"
But soon, Herta, as an Emanator of Erudition and a member of the Genius Society, snapped out of Lumina's soothing embrace. She slapped away Lumina's hand from her head, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared directly at Lumina.
"Trust me, would I ever lie to you?" Sensing Herta's furious gaze, Lumina showed no sign of panic. Instead, she spread her hands with a smile, her face radiating innocent charm.
"Hmph, do as you please, just don't wreck my Space Station."
Hearing Lumina's words, seeing her playful smile, and recalling the gentle caress Lumina had just given her, the fire in Herta's eyes gradually died down.
With a cold snort, she turned to leave, ignoring Lumina entirely.
"Wait!"
But just as Herta turned to leave, Lumina grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop.
"What now?" Feeling the warmth of Lumina's touch, Herta turned to face her, anger rising in her chest as she gazed at Lumina's flawless, breathtakingly beautiful face. Suppressing the urge to smash her to pieces with her hammer, she demanded coldly, "What do you want?"
"Your Herta Puppet..." Lumina murmured, delivering the words like a suggestive hint.
"Take any one you want."
Herta scoffed, jerked her wrist free from Lumina's grasp, and stalked away with a final, frosty remark.
"Alrighty then~"