"So... what do you plan to do now, Lady Herta?" Daziel asked cautiously, his gaze fixed on Herta, trying to catch any hint from her now calm expression.
He knew very well that once this brilliant, albeit arrogant, member of the Genius Society got serious, it wouldn't just be empty threats.
Herta's initially furious eyes gradually cooled, like thousand-year-old ice finally melting beneath Belobog's frozen tundra, replaced by a profound calm. She tilted her head slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
After a moment, she spoke slowly, her voice low but carrying an undeniable authority.
"Daziel, listen closely. You are the center of the world."
"Huh? Lady Herta, why bring that up again all of a sudden?" Daziel was stunned, feeling completely unable to keep up with the genius girl's train of thought.
"Just proceed according to your original plan," Herta stated without further explanation, her eyes burning intensely as she looked at Daziel, her tone laced with expectation and affirmation. "Until... you claim the champion's title in this game."
She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully before continuing, "By then, the people behind this farce will have to show themselves, and all mysteries will be revealed. And I... will also be prepared to teach those masked clowns a painful lesson."
A cold smile touched the corners of her lips.
Daziel felt the weight behind Herta's words. He nodded, "Then I'll be counting on you, Lady Herta."
"Oh, right," Herta suddenly remembered something, pointing towards the Herta puppet standing silently in the corner of the room. "Take that puppet back with you. Don't leave it on the space station."
Daziel followed her gaze. The lifelike Herta puppet now filled him with a lingering sense of awkwardness. Especially after what had just happened, seeing this puppet again felt strange somehow.
Where am I supposed to put this thing if I take it back?
On the Express, March 7th's room was definitely out of the question. His own room already housed Jingliu, who required special 'tuning'. Adding this one... the whole room would feel like some kind of bizarre collection chamber.
"Instead of taking it back, can I just throw it in the trash? Or... destroy it?" Daziel asked tentatively, a hint of hesitant caution in his voice.
"I'm afraid you can't throw it away, nor destroy it," Herta shook her head, her tone slightly exasperated. "For some reason, my connection to this puppet can no longer be severed. If you trash it or melt it down, I'll feel... discomfort. So, just take it with you."
She paused, seemingly searching for a more delicate word to describe the sensation, but ultimately gave up.
"What the heck?" Daziel froze. What kind of development was this?
Isn't this basically like taking Herta herself back with me?
Could his own system be responsible for the unbreakable connection between Herta and the puppet? Or was that peculiar meme acting up again? Things were already chaotic enough, and now with the Masked Fools potentially involved, it was impossible to tell who was responsible...
Daziel felt like his brain was turning into mush. Impossible to figure out, truly impossible!
"Anyway, take her back with you. Contact me through this puppet in case of emergencies," Herta explained, her tone returning to its previous indifference. "I'm usually too busy, I might not have time to check my phone... Besides, contacting through the puppet is more convenient."
Hearing this, Daziel's expression grew even stranger.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, but couldn't stop himself from asking the most absurd question weighing on his mind. "So... does that mean... I can... do... that kind of thing... to your puppet? Aren't you afraid... it'll hurt?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Daziel instantly regretted them, wanting to bite his own tongue off. What kind of stupid question was that! Wasn't he just digging a pit for himself and jumping right in?!
As expected, Herta's face darkened instantly. The calm that had just returned to her eyes was shattered by new turbulence.
She ground out through gritted teeth, "Who told your 'bat' to be so damn big! So rough, no gentleness at all! It hurt like hell!"
Even the genius Herta displayed a girlish embarrassment when faced with such a question, her voice sharp enough to pierce eardrums.
Daziel flinched at her sudden outburst, groaning inwardly. It's not my fault the 'bat' is this big, right?
He instinctively wanted to defend himself, "Isn't this your design flaw? How could it be so narrow? I didn't even complain..." But halfway through, seeing Herta's icy glare, Daziel forcibly swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"Are you saying there's a problem with my design?" Herta narrowed her eyes dangerously, her tone filled with suffocating menace.
Daziel waved his hands frantically, shaking his head like a rattle drum, vehemently denying it, "No, no... Absolutely not! Your design is flawless! It's me, it's my problem!"
Seeing him look like he wished the ground would swallow him whole, Herta sighed helplessly, her tone finally softening somewhat. "Forget it. Wait here."
With that, she turned and slammed the door shut with a "bang".
Daziel stood aside, exchanging glances with March 7th, who had witnessed everything from start to finish but had been suppressing her laughter the whole time. An awkward and strange atmosphere filled the air.
Then, a series of clanging disassembly sounds came from the room, accompanied by the crisp, dense tapping of tools, making Daziel's heart pound nervously. He could almost imagine what kind of modifications Herta was performing on the puppet inside...
A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Herta walked out with the puppet tucked under her arm.
Her expression was normal, as if the earlier embarrassment and awkwardness had never happened. She casually tossed a pair of specialized gloves, covered in white fluid, accurately into the nearby trash bin, her movements natural and smooth.
"How can you produce such a large volume?" Herta glanced at Daziel, a hint of surprise and curiosity in her tone, but mostly a kind of academic seriousness. "Based on this performance, you're more terrifying than those bugs from the Aeon of Propagation. Perhaps I should study you when I get the chance."
Daziel scratched his head awkwardly, his facial expression stiff as a mask. Ever since Topaz's corruption value reached 100% and he received that so-called "anime-level amount" reward, he had been in this embarrassing state. Of course, the reason was too ridiculous to explain, so he could only offer a helpless smile, trying to bluff his way through.
Herta looked at his flustered state, sighed again, and thrust the puppet from under her arm into Daziel's embrace.
"Here. I've modified it slightly. It's... your shape now," Herta's tone was a bit awkward, her gaze shifting slightly, seemingly too embarrassed to look Daziel directly in the eye. "Use it if you want. At least... it won't hurt me so much when you do."
As she said this, a trace of inscrutable shyness flickered in Herta's eyes. Her cheeks flushed slightly, like ripe apples glowing invitingly under the light, making one want to take a bite.
Daziel held the puppet, looking down at the exquisite figure identical to Herta, feeling the faint lingering fragrance and a hint of warmth from it, momentarily at a loss.
He looked up at the slightly uncomfortable Herta, then down at the puppet in his arms, his mind a chaotic mess, thoughts racing like wild horses.
Seeing Daziel's dazed look, March 7th finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing with a "Pfft," her clear laughter echoing in the hallway, breaking the delicate, awkward tension.
"You're still laughing!" Daziel shot March 7th a helpless glance. "Aren't you jealous?! I'm bringing this... thing back."
"Doesn't matter. You already do so many things with the real her right in front of me, what's one more puppet?" March 7th waved her hand, suppressing her laughter. "Fine, I won't laugh, okay?"
Daziel sighed, "I guess that's how it has to be. Got to accept it whether I like it or not."
He carried the puppet and followed Herta out of the room.
In the hallway, Herta suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Daziel, her tone serious. "Remember, Daziel, the road ahead might be more difficult than you imagine. So, no matter what excessive things you do, it doesn't matter. Trust your original judgment. Nothing is more important than the continuation of the universe."
Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions – worry, encouragement, and a faint, almost imperceptible expectation.
Herta's words echoed Kafka's sentiment.
Daziel nodded solemnly, "I understand, Lady Herta." He could feel the profound weight behind her words.
"Mm," Herta nodded. "I believe in you. Good luck with what comes next. I'll head back first."
With that, she turned and left, leaving Daziel and March 7th with a view of her retreating back.
Daziel carefully held the Herta puppet under his arm while taking March 7th's hand. "Let's head back too," he said.
"Okay, nothing interesting here anyway," March 7th nodded lightly.
However, just then, Daziel's phone chimed with a message notification.
Daziel pulled out his phone and saw it was from Wilder. He read the message Wilder sent and then typed a reply—
[Wilder: Mr. Daziel, I heard you've already obtained the Herta Space Station qualification badge, correct?]
[Daziel: How are you guys so well-informed? Did the IPC sell all my information?]
[Wilder: Ahem, this is the era of Big Data. As long as you're online, your information has already been sold.]
[Wilder: So it's not our Corporation's fault, it's the fault of the general environment.]
[Daziel: I get the principle, I'm just annoyed. Anyway, what do you want?]
[Wilder: It's like this, Mr. Daziel. Someone is very interested in your Aether Spirits and would like to chat with you...]
[Daziel: Tell them, they're not for sale!]
Seriously? My Aether Spirits are absolutely not for sale! So, regarding such requests, all negotiations were off.
[Wilder: No, it's not like that. Speaking of this person, you know her... It's the Lead Researcher of Herta Space Station.]
[Daziel: Asta?]
[Wilder: Correct. She doesn't want to buy your Aether Spirits, but has other matters she wishes to discuss with you privately.]
[Wilder: Originally, she wanted to message you directly, but the sum of money involved in this matter is rather large. If you two discussed it privately, it would violate the game's disclaimer agreement. Therefore, she asked me to act as a third-party liaison.]
Daziel pondered for a moment before making a decision. He decided, for Asta's sake, to go and see what this was about. Since she wasn't actually trying to buy his Aether Spirits, if it was about something else, it shouldn't be a problem.
With this thought, Daziel replied—
[Daziel: Alright then. Since it's an invitation from Miss Asta, I'll make the trip.]
[Wilder: Thank you very much. We'll meet shortly in the Master Control Zone of Herta Space Station.]
[Daziel: Got it.]
Daziel rubbed his fingertips over the phone screen, relaying the content of Wilder's messages word for word to March 7th beside him, asking for her opinion.
What opinion could his girlfriend possibly have? She always sided with Daziel unconditionally.
"I don't know. Anyway, wherever you go, I'll go," March 7th nodded slightly, obediently taking Daziel's hand.
Then, Daziel lowered his head, his gaze falling back onto the exquisite Herta puppet in his arms with a scrutinizing look. The existence of this thing was subtly awkward.
"What's wrong? Standing here stock-still, what are you thinking about?" March 7th tilted her head inquisitively when Daziel suddenly stopped walking.
Daziel showed a hint of difficulty, pointed at the puppet in his arms, then gestured ahead, his tone laced with hesitation. "This is still Herta Space Station territory, after all. Me walking around openly carrying a Herta puppet to negotiate with the station master... feels a bit weird."
"Will people think I'm some kind of pervert? Mistake me for someone who snuck onto the station to steal a puppet?" Although ordinary people probably couldn't steal one of Herta's puppets, this behaviour was indeed rather conspicuous. Even if he could explain, it would require extra effort, and without authorization, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.
Maybe I should find another Herta puppet now and get some kind of authorization proof?
Just as Daziel's thoughts were racing, the Herta puppet, which had been quietly tucked under his arm, seemed to hear his words. Its previously vacant eyes suddenly regained their luster.
The Herta puppet shook its head slightly, and its delicate little legs moved as well.
She tilted her head slightly, an annoyed look on her exquisite face as she glared at Daziel. "If you think carrying the puppet is troublesome, then hurry up and put me down! Puppets aren't legless, you know. I can walk perfectly fine on my own!"
Before her words faded, she jabbed Daziel's ribs with her elbow.
Daziel let out a pained grunt and instinctively put the Herta puppet down. Clutching his side, he felt an inexplicable sense of frustration.
Why did I get elbowed out of nowhere?!
Man, what can I say?!
Once her feet touched the ground, the Herta puppet stretched her wrists and ankles, patting off non-existent dust.
She looked up at Daziel and said, "Let's go. I'll go with you to see what's going on. I did the IPC a favor by promoting their game amidst my busy schedule, and yet this kind of incident happens."
"It's not just about the Masked Fools; I also need a reasonable explanation from the Corporation."
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