"What a miraculous tool… I'm still so far away from here, yet…"
Ruan Mei looked at her own figure in amazement.
If one possessed the necessary permissions, could they really move freely throughout the universe like this?
Even she couldn't help but feel the urge to ask Su Ran for access.
Because with something like this, an enormous amount of time cost could be saved.
For geniuses, time was also an extremely precious resource.
"Isn't it amazing? Let me tell you—this thing doesn't even care about distance. As long as you can connect to the network, you can teleport directly! Anywhere, no matter where you are!"
Herta had tested it herself.
No matter how far the distance, even tens of thousands of light-years away—as long as there was a signal, she could return in the next instant.
"It truly is amazing. Then… Can you take me to meet its creator?"
"…I can, but don't forget—when the time comes, you'll need to share your research data with me."
After learning about Ruan Mei's intention to study Aeons, Herta's first reaction had been: This woman is insane.
Her second reaction was: She had such an idea and didn't even include me?
That was unforgivable.
Studying Aeons sounded absurd, but it just so happened to fall squarely within Herta's range of interests.
So she temporarily set aside her personal feelings and agreed to bring Ruan Mei along.
"I will. So… Can you take me to see Su Ran now?"
With the real, living Su Ran right here, even Ruan Mei—normally so emotionally flat—was starting to feel anxious.
"Why are you in such a hurry? He's on the space station. Is he going to grow wings and fly away or something?"
The more anxious Ruan Mei became, the more Herta wanted to drag things out.
After all, she was curious— what would this woman, who always looked so emotionless, look like when she panicked?
"Follow me."
Herta led her around the space station at a leisurely pace.
Ruan Mei had no choice but to follow.
She had been to this space station many times before, but finding someone in such a massive place wasn't easy.
Unless they pulled up the surveillance feeds.
But neither of them felt it was necessary… at least not yet.
After wandering around for nearly an hour, Ruan Mei finally sensed something was wrong.
"Are you sure you know where he is?"
The station was big, yes— but walking for an hour without seeing even a trace of him was a bit much.
Especially since Herta's route had absolutely no sense of direction.
It felt like random wandering.
"How would I know? His legs are on his body, not mine."
Could Herta admit she was doing this on purpose?
Of course she could.
As long as Ruan Mei asked.
But Ruan Mei clearly had no intention of pressing the issue.
"Can we check the surveillance?"
In the end, Ruan Mei still didn't lose her temper.
Instead, she chose the rational option.
"No need to bother. I'll just ask Asta."
Herta pulled out her phone and sent Asta a message.
And true to Asta's efficiency, she received a reply almost instantly.
"He's in the dining area. Let's go!"
"..."
Ruan Mei fell silent.
Just moments ago, she was fairly certain they had already passed through the dining area.
At the time, she hadn't thought much of it.
But now, hearing Herta say this, she felt nothing but helplessness—and speechlessness.
Why not just ask in the first place?
An entire hour had been wasted.
In the dining area, Asta put down her phone.
She glanced at the nearby Herta puppet.
"Strange… shouldn't Lady Herta be able to monitor the entire station at any time?"
"Open up."
Su Ran popped a piece of fruit into Raiden Makoto's mouth.
As honored guests of Herta Space Station, they were entitled to free meals here.
After all, Asta was footing the bill.
"Mr. Su Ran, Lady Herta might be coming to look for you again."
Asta was the first to give him a heads-up.
"Isn't there already a Herta puppet over there?"
Su Ran pointed at the unmoving puppet nearby.
"I… I'm not sure either."
That puppet hadn't moved at all.
Was Lady Herta not logging in?
Or had the puppet broken?
More than ten minutes later, Su Ran understood why.
A Herta puppet appeared— and beside it walked a woman wearing a cheongsam.
Ningguang, who was resting in the dining area, glanced at Ruan Mei.
She felt their styles overlapped quite a bit.
Especially the cheongsam.
Compared to her own gold-threaded, intricately embroidered attire, Ruan Mei's outfit looked rather plain.
Yet it was impossible to deny her refined, ethereal aura.
She looked like a fairy untouched by the mortal world.
Ningguang was surprised.
Asta was even more surprised.
Others didn't recognize her—but Asta did.
"Lady Ruan Mei? She's here too?"
There hadn't been any notice at all.
First Mr. Su Ran, and now Lady Ruan Mei.
Did all geniuses enjoy showing up unannounced?
"Ruan Mei?"
Hearing the name, Ningguang grew curious.
Anyone Asta treated with such respect was clearly no ordinary figure.
And this woman had been personally brought here by Herta.
Her identity was guaranteed to be extraordinary.
"It's Ruan · Mei," Asta corrected softly.
"You have to pause slightly in the middle. She really cares about that."
"Ruan Mei?"
Even Raiden Makoto was curious about her background.
Those eyes.
That temperament.
Even some gods didn't possess such an air—
It felt like she had already seen through the world itself.
"A member of the Genius Society, No. 81. An outstanding expert in life sciences, and one of the participants in the Simulated Universe."
Asta added the explanation.
At the mention of the Simulated Universe, Raiden Makoto understood.
This was likely the quiet one she had seen before.
After arriving in the dining area, Ruan Mei—who had already seen Su Ran's true appearance—spotted him immediately.
At that point, she no longer needed Herta to guide her.
She walked straight over.
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