"Simulated Universe... that's right, this person is a being who carries a Stellaron."
"If I can define a Path for her and then let her enter the Simulated Universe."
"That should also allow me to understand some things about Aeons."
"Although it definitely won't let me understand as much as testing with you."
Herta looked at Takagi and said.
"Are you going to test that Simulated Universe with her?"
Stelle walked up to Takagi and asked curiously.
"After all, this is something I promised before."
"Herta has fulfilled her promise to me."
"Naturally, I must also fulfill my promise to her."
Takagi smiled and nodded.
"Can I go take a look together?"
Stelle asked.
Takagi heard this and looked at Herta beside him.
"Let's go together. After you've seen it, you can also consider helping me test the Simulated Universe."
"Takagi, if you want your passengers to follow, you can also let them come to my office with me."
Herta said.
Hearing this, Lisa, Cloud Retainer, and a few others cast expectant glances at Takagi.
Clearly, all the passengers present wanted to follow along and see.
"You guys, you don't actually want to enter the Simulated Universe with me and experience the Swarm Disaster that Herta researched, do you?"
Takagi looked at everyone's expressions, raised his eyebrows, and asked.
"Entering the Simulated Universe with you, Takagi, might allow us to personally see more Aeons."
"Since that's the case, why not?"
Lisa said with a light chuckle.
"That's true, but there's a high probability of seeing the Aeon of Propagation and the scene of the insect disaster caused by the Swarm."
"Even so, do you still want to go see it, Lisa?"
Takagi asked.
"Although bugs are a bit annoying, it's still an Aeon after all, so we should at least see it."
Lisa nodded.
"Since the Swarm Disaster is one of the three major disasters, it's best that we understand it."
Nahida said with extreme solemnity.
Teyvat is connecting with the Universe, and perhaps one day in the future, the Universe bug disaster will descend upon Teyvat.
Even if the probability is small, Nahida felt she needed to be prepared.
"Alright, since you all say so."
"There's nothing more I can say to persuade you."
"If Herta's Simulated Universe server is stable, I'd be willing to enter the Simulated Universe with you all."
Takagi shrugged and looked at Herta.
"Don't worry, the Swarm Disaster is a project that Screwllum and I focused on researching."
"It's precisely so that you, Takagi, can help us test the history of the Aeon of Propagation."
"Even you wouldn't easily overload the data of the Simulated Universe."
"Speaking of which, should I say it's just like you? Have you already determined that you will meet the Aeon of Propagation later?"
"That's right, after all, you met an Aeon as soon as you entered the Simulated Universe before."
"Now, by limiting the testing phase to the history of the Aeon of Propagation, you should also encounter the Aeon of Propagation."
"Let's go, come with me for the test now."
As she spoke, Herta eagerly pulled Takagi's hand and walked towards Herta's Office.
"Can it really hold up?"
"If, during the test later, too many Aeons accidentally appear..."
"Your Simulated Universe will still have data issues, and then crash due to too much data, right?"
Takagi said meaningfully.
Having played the game, he knew.
In the story fragments of the Simulated Universe Swarm Disaster, the Aeons that appear will not only be the Aeon of Propagation.
Besides her, the Aeon of Preservation, the Aeon of Order, the Aeon of Harmony, the Aeon of Elation, and even the Aeon of Trailblaze could appear.
Takagi was truly worried about accidentally overloading Herta's Simulated Universe again.
"Too many Aeons? If many Aeons really appear, I couldn't ask for more."
Herta said, quickening her pace once more.
Gradually, even Arlecchino, Lisa, and the others were left behind.
Fortunately, Takagi deliberately slowed down, which allowed Arlecchino and the others to catch up.
[Venti: Herta's appearance truly is timely. I really hope we can successfully meet an Aeon later... or perhaps, an Aeon in the Simulated Universe.]
[Kaeya: When Mr. Takagi entered the Simulated Universe before, he attracted an Aeon. This time should be no exception.]
[Diluc: Since Herta specifically set up a platform related to the Aeon of Propagation, perhaps we can at least encounter the Aeon of Propagation.]
[Yae Miko: Don't tell me we'll actually get to witness a war between Aeons?]
[Alhaitham: Since the Simulated Universe can simulate virtual Aeons, I think we should at least see a corner of an Aeon war.]
...Herta's Office.
At the entrance of the Simulated Universe.
"I've already debugged the scenario for the Simulated Universe."
"As for your identity, I still haven't fixed it."
"You will enter the Simulated Universe as yourself."
"However, I think if those Aeons appear, they will still treat you as the Aeon of Trailblaze."
Herta folded her arms, looking at Takagi with interest.
Herta had already seen the data records of Takagi attracting the attention of Aeons like Erudition and the Hunt in the Simulated Universe when he entered it previously.
Because of this, she was very confident in Takagi's Trailblaze identity within the Simulated Universe.
"Perhaps." Takagi smiled and said:
"Speaking of which, are Ruan Mei and Screwllum not coming this time?"
Herta said while operating a panel:
"They are different from me; I can just go online with my puppet here."
"But they need to come in person, which takes time."
"If you are willing to stay here for two more days, you should be able to see them."
"Rather than that, are you all ready? If you are, I'm going to let you enter the Simulated Universe."
When she spoke those last words, Herta cast her gaze upon Lisa and the other 5 passengers standing beside Takagi.
"We are ready, esteemed Ms. Herta."
Dottore said with a smile.
"Your smile makes me a little uncomfortable."
"It's as if you're somewhat unconvinced by me."
"Never mind, they're all people Takagi brought, so it doesn't matter."
Herta said indifferently.
[Tartaglia: Is that guy Dottore seen through by Herta?]
[Yae Miko: What a sharp Herta. Dottore always looks harmless, at least on the surface.]
[Arlecchino: Should I say it's just like him? Even when facing a true genius, he's still unconvinced inside.]
[Alice: It's a pity, no matter how unconvinced he is, he probably will never catch up to Herta's achievements.]
[Zhongli: After all, she is the genius who developed the Simulated Universe.]
Upon hearing Herta's words, Dottore's heart sank.
He hadn't expected his inner thoughts to be so easily seen through by Herta.
However, he didn't dare to express any opinions about it.
Herta didn't pay much attention to Dottore's thoughts, and seeing Takagi nod, she decisively activated the Simulated Universe.
As streams of data flashed before Takagi and the others, their consciousness immediately entered the Simulated Universe Swarm Disaster... within the Simulated Universe.
Under a gloomy sky, the surroundings were filled with cries of lament.
The land and roads all around were covered with vast numbers of giant insects breeding and emerging from cocoons.
Countless creatures were engulfed by the swarms of insects, and endless food was devoured by them, until even inanimate objects like roads, houses, and trees were consumed.
"W-what is this?!"
Arlecchino's body tensed, looking at the surrounding scene with disgust.
The countless squirming insect swarms gave Arlecchino an extremely unpleasant visual impact.
"Is this the insect disaster brought by the Aeon of Propagation?"
Nahida frowned, muttering.
"It's truly terrifying, actually using living beings as nutrients to cultivate new insects!"
Lisa took a deep breath, trying to alleviate the nausea in her heart.
However, the air filled with the smell of blood and insects only made her feel worse.
"How is it even possible?"
"Can they reproduce without mating?"
"They just need to acquire enough energy to give birth to more insects!"
Dottore's eyes widened, looking at the scene before him with both shock and delight.
Hearing this, Cloud Retainer, who was beside him, couldn't help but glance at Dottore with disdain.
[Lyney: It's simply the end of the world!]
[Neuvillette: This situation is even more tragic than the end of the world.
The local people turn into nutrients for the insects, which will then go on to destroy other worlds, right?]
[Tartaglia: Even the Antimatter Legion only destroys worlds; they don't do such disgusting things.]
[Dehya: Compared to these insects, I suddenly find the Voidrangers of the Antimatter Legion adorable.]
[Jean: Even Abominations of Abundance aren't this disgusting, are they?]
[Rosaria: Indeed, all insects should be burned to death.]
[Paimon: Eh! Are these insects targeting Takagi and the others? Oh no, they're all rushing towards Takagi and them!]
[Dehya: Oh my god, they're everywhere, it's too terrifying!]
[Barbara: Ms. Lisa, be careful!]
"It truly is a grand spectacle."
Takagi shook his head, raising his hand to summon a powerful energy shield around them, isolating himself and the others from the insects.
"I say, is it necessary to simulate such a realistic world all at once?"
Takagi raised his head and spoke.
[Herta: With you here, of course, a sufficiently realistic world needs to be simulated. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of your talent? Soon, I feel an Aeon is about to appear.]
Herta's excited voice rang in the ears of Takagi, Signora, Lisa, and the others.
Takagi shook his head and looked at Signora, Lisa, Nahida, and the others hiding behind him.
"I say, you don't need to be this scared."
"Even if you die in here."
"You'll just be teleported outside."
Takagi said.
"Well, well, that's true."
"But I also don't want to experience being eaten by bugs."
Signora said, trembling slightly.
When the bugs rushed over earlier, she really thought she was going to be eaten by them.
"Indeed, if you see your body turn into nutrients to cultivate new bugs."
"It would also leave an indelible psychological shadow on us."
Lisa twitched her mouth and said.
Even she couldn't help but smile a little at this moment.
Nahida and Cloud Retainer's expressions were also not good.
Only Dottore was still looking at the bugs isolated by Takagi's energy shield with an interested expression, looking like he wanted to study them thoroughly.
"Don't worry, this shield is enough to deal with these bugs."
"You don't need to worry... Hm?!"
As Takagi was speaking, a strange sound suddenly appeared in mid-air.
Takagi followed the sound and looked up, only to see a huge figure already appearing in the air.
The upper body was human, but it had no human head,
The lower body was a huge bug body, and it seemed to be holding a substance like an insect egg in its hand.
"Aeon of Propagation, Tayzzyronth!"
Takagi muttered to himself.
"This is the Aeon of Propagation?!"
Dottore said with wide eyes.
As Takagi and Dottore's voices fell,
Lisa and the others all raised their heads in great surprise, looking at the Aeon of Propagation that seemed to be crying.
They saw the Aeon of Propagation wave its huge wings, scattering wing dust all over the sky,
And then countless butterflies, ants, and other various insects were born.
Numerous insects surrounded the Aeon of Propagation, as if celebrating its birth.
Immediately after, the Aeon of Propagation waved its wings again, and countless new insects were born again.
These born swarms of insects gathered together, constantly exchanging their pheromones, and then gave birth to completely different species again.
[Herta: I knew I could learn about this history through you! The birth of the Aeon of Propagation!]
[Herta: Great, I must record this data properly.]
[Herta: It's not enough, the reason for the Aeon of Propagation's birth has not been analyzed yet, further research is needed.]
Herta's voice rang in the ears of Takagi and the others at the right time.
It also made Lisa and the others, who had been watching, slightly recover.
"The birth of the Aeon of Propagation! Can the Simulated Universe really take us back to the past of an Aeon?"
Dottore muttered to himself, feeling unspeakable surprise in his heart.
And looking at the scene of the insect swarm self-replicating, Dottore's heart couldn't help but feel a surge of yearning.
If cultivating segments could also be this easy, that would be great.
Dottore thought in his heart.
"To be able to do this much, it should be quite related to Lord Takagi."
Nahida looked at Takagi beside her and said.
She didn't think that without relying on Takagi, they could enter this Simulated Universe and let Herta find the process of the Aeon of Propagation's birth.
"No matter what, the Simulated Universe is a great invention."
"So real, and able to trace the birth of gods."
"Such astonishing research, we mortals probably wouldn't even dare to think about it."
"But Herta and the others actually thought of it and implemented it."
Lisa took a deep breath and said with emotion.
Hearing this, everyone present fell into silence.
[Venti: That was really an amazing scene.]
[Alhaitham: To actually be able to see the process of an Aeon's birth, although it's just a simple fragment, it's already enough to be shocking.]
[Kaveh: I originally thought the Simulated Universe being able to simulate some past events was already impressive enough, but it can even simulate the past of an Aeon! This can already be described as outrageous.]
[Faruzan: It's just that the process of this Aeon of Propagation's birth is truly disgusting.]
[Candace: The way it was born is actually like this, no wonder it later became one of the culprits of the three disasters of the Universe.]
...
Simulated Universe.
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed abruptly.
The original ground suddenly disappeared, replaced by a void starry sky.
What remained unchanged was Takagi and the others who were still present, as well as the Aeon of Propagation surrounded by the swarm of insects.
Just as Lisa, Signora, and the others were confused.
Some of the insect swarm surrounding the Aeon of Propagation suddenly flew out, rushing towards Takagi at high speed.
Fortunately, the energy shield Takagi had previously deployed was still intact, and these insect swarms were completely isolated outside the energy shield.
Although that was the case, Takagi's brows were tightly furrowed.
He could feel that the Aeon of Propagation above his head was currently fixing its gaze on him.
As expected, after seeing that the insect swarm was ineffective against Takagi.
The Aeon of Propagation actually rushed over personally.
[Aeon of Propagation: Trailblaze...]
In just an instant, the energy shield Takagi had deployed cracked open.
Takagi's eyes narrowed, and his body was suddenly surrounded by dazzling white light.
The next moment, the Astral Express automatically appeared, enveloping Takagi, Signora, and the others, and collided fiercely with the rapidly approaching Aeon of Propagation.
In an instant, the starry sky composed of data instantly collapsed.
And as the data space collapsed, Takagi and the others' consciousness also returned to their original bodies.