This round of Simulated Universe testing brought with it quite a few surprises.
Especially the appearances of Fuli and Aha.
Compared to Herta's previous self-testing, this progress was far more meaningful.
After a lengthy exploration—and firsthand exposure to the overwhelming might of Aeons—
Raiden Makoto finally completed the first round of testing.
All in all, aside from being thoroughly disgusted by Aha once, Makoto felt that she had gained a tremendous amount.
At the very least, after experiencing this chain of events, she believed she had come to understand quite a lot about interstellar civilization.
The vastness of the universe.
The terror of Aeons.
And the countless large and small forces that existed among the stars.
The more she learned, the more she felt that Celestia's existence was suppressing the development of the Seven Nations.
A false sky— one that forever prevented people from reaching a real future.
At this moment, she finally understood how correct Tsaritsa's choice had been.
If one chose isolation out of fear of outsiders, then civilization would never find a way forward.
When she returned, she would definitely give Ei a good scolding.
She already had Su Ran— yet instead of accelerating Inazuma's development at full speed, Ei had stubbornly clung to that ridiculous idea of "Eternity."
That man was on par with the inventor named Sisskal in the Simulated Universe.
With someone like him, Inazuma could advance thousands of years in a single leap.
And yet Ei had insisted on that dead-end path.
She deserved a beating.
"What did Aha mean at the end? What was all that 'Morax-without-mora' stuff?"
Fuli being a voyeur who recorded everything made sense.
But why did Aha show up?
And especially those strange, seemingly nonsensical words.
Herta was completely baffled.
When she looked at Su Ran for answers, he shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
But inside, Su Ran's mind was in turmoil.
Morax.
Barbatos.
Beelzebul without Baal.
Those things only existed on Teyvat.
As an Aeon, Aha shouldn't have known about anything except "Baal without Zebul."
Because none of the others had been programmed in.
So how could the Aha inside the Simulated Universe possibly know?
Even if it was "just code," could it really know things that had never been written into the system?
"Did the Simulated Universe receive any new external connections just now?"
"No…"
Herta quickly pulled up the console and ran a scan.
There were no abnormal access records.
"Did you notice something wrong?"
Had she missed something during the simulation?
"I'm just worried about information leakage."
Su Ran had no intention of telling her the truth.
"If you don't want to say it, just admit it. At least come up with a reasonable excuse."
Herta saw through him instantly.
Did he really think she was a child?
She was over a hundred years old already— old enough to be his grandmother.
"Did a bug appear?"
Su Ran shook his head.
"Then… was there a problem with the test?"
Herta pressed on.
Otherwise, with his personality, there was no way he'd be this quiet.
"Something more serious."
More serious?
Everything had gone smoothly.
Sure, two Aeons had appeared—but still.
Yet Su Ran's solemn expression made her take it seriously.
"How serious?"
"More serious than coding until you go bald."
"Seriously?! That's bad?!"
Herta was horrified.
There was nothing more terrifying than baldness!
After all, she was the greatest genius in the universe— she could even research rejuvenation.
How could she ever fail to solve hair loss?!
"Tell me. Now!"
"No."
Now Su Ran was really afraid of her finding out.
If Herta knew, she'd definitely try to contact Aha by any means necessary.
And if Elation took an even greater interest…
Teyvat's peace might end far sooner than expected.
For the first time, Su Ran actually hoped his own abilities weren't that terrifying.
That this was just a bug.
Or at worst, a simple AI anomaly.
Anything but Aha personally taking an interest.
But the more he refused, the more excited Herta became.
After all, arguing with Su Ran had always been one of her favorite pastimes.
And this time, it even involved the Simulated Universe.
"Please~ just tell me"
She decisively hugged Su Ran's arm, shaking it while using a voice sweet enough to rot teeth.
A moment later—
Raiden Makoto watched as Su Ran simply started walking out of the room, dragging Herta along as she clung tightly to his leg.
The space station housed many strange artifacts.
But spectacles were rare.
And yet today, a brand-new spectacle appeared in the Herta Space Station.
Drawn by the commotion, Asta, Ningguang, and the others came over to see what was happening.
What they saw left them stunned.
Herta— was hugging Su Ran's leg.
Letting him walk freely through the space station.
She showed absolutely no concern for her dignity or reputation.
She was even muttering things like "Please, tell me" over and over.
Such a dramatic contrast completely shattered Ningguang's worldview.
Just moments ago, Asta had been praising Herta as—
The savior of planets.
The solver of countless unsolvable problems.
The one who proposed rejuvenation technology that could grant longevity to ordinary people.
The genius who even captured the so-called "cancer of civilization."
And yet now
This same Herta was behaving like this.
Ningguang was deeply shaken.
Even if Su Ran really was five times more brilliant than Herta
Wasn't this behavior a bit… undignified?
She subconsciously turned to Asta, expecting her to feel heartbroken upon seeing her idol like this.
Instead
Asta pulled out her phone.
Opened the camera.
And happily started recording.
As if documenting a priceless piece of black history.
Ningguang was baffled.
Wasn't Asta supposed to be Herta's biggest fan?
Then why was she smiling so brightly while her idol's image collapsed in real time?
Could it be—
That Asta was actually a Herta anti-fan?
Of course, Ningguang simply lacked experience.
She didn't know that there existed something called CP fans.
And Asta just happened to ship these two with her whole heart.
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