Celenova instinctively took half a step back.
Oh no, was Herta actually being serious about this?
"Heh, just a joke. I assume you've already prepared an escape route, of course—and I don't mean the Phase Flame."
"You certainly didn't sound like you were joking."
Her wary, yet unflinching demeanor drew a soft chuckle from Herta.
Sure enough, this woman had come prepared with an exit strategy.
Not that it was unexpected, really.
Had she shown up without any sort of plan, Herta would've been disappointed.
"Alright, don't forget to come by."
With that, the Herta puppet went still.
Clearly, she had severed the connection.
'Celenova' wasn't in any rush to head over just yet. Instead, she summoned AI Herta to get an update on the station's situation.
Ever since 'Celenova' had dismissed a number of staff and laid down new rules, the Herta Space Station had been operating with minimal personnel.
Most of the maintenance and management tasks were handed over to AI Herta.
And lately, its most frequent task had been… unpacking parcels.
Lady Herta had been shipping over those bizarre and miscellaneous Curios from her home in batches, one after another, tasking AI Herta with receiving, cataloging, and storing them.
By the looks of it, this was going to continue for a while.
It wouldn't stop until Lady Herta had sorted through everything stored in her personal warehouse.
As for the scholars arriving, drawn by the station's reputation, AI Herta was screening them according to the rules 'Celenova' had set.
Things were going fairly smoothly.
Even so, the station was far from full.
That, too, would be a long-term effort.
"Sounds like things are getting on track."
"Yes. Once I appoint a deputy acting station head in the future, things should become less hectic."
So said AI Herta.
--+--
After getting a brief overview of the station's status, 'Celenova' still didn't hurry off to Herta City.
She was genuinely concerned that Herta might've set up some strange surprise for her at home.
Since Ruan Mei hadn't responded yet anyway, 'Celenova' took the chance to browse through the large collection of odd Curios Herta had gathered.
At this point, it seemed the Stellaron hadn't yet descended upon The Blue, but all sorts of other strange contained objects already filled several chambers.
'Celenova' amused herself by going through the containment manifest one by one.
Many were bizarre items not mentioned in the game—the kind that seemed useless but were genuinely peculiar little trinkets.
Most Curios had unknown origins and creators.
The only one with thoroughly detailed records was Curio No. 1: the AllSpark.
Who knows if Herta did it on purpose, but she seemed to have invested considerable time into deciphering the technical secrets behind the AllSpark, compiling everything neatly and attaching it as an appendix to the Curio's documentation.
It almost felt like she was saying: "Hah, some imitation's work—and I cracked it with one hand!"
"What a strange competitive streak."
'Celenova' skimmed through the appendix. Though heavily abridged, it highlighted all the key technologies.
It really did feel like Lady Herta had left it there on purpose, just for her to see.
And just as 'Celenova' finished reviewing the documents, Lady Herta's communication came through, right on 'cue'.
A Herta puppet approached 'Celenova', who was still standing beside the AllSpark: "Stop dawdling. Ruan Mei's gone radio silent, so just come to Herta City."
"…That was quick. Already reached a conclusion?"
"Pretty much. If it were me, I wouldn't waste time on projects that interest me."
The Herta puppet planted her hands on her hips, fully self-assured.
"Fine. But do we really have to do this in Herta City?"
"My suggestion is to come here. Honestly, I've got a funny feeling about this—something tells me the plan might not go smoothly."
The Herta puppet frowned slightly.
In the past, Herta had encountered quite a few unexpected incidents.
Several times, they'd even plunged The Blue into crisis, which eventually led her to leave the planet and settle somewhere remote. And every time, these surprises interrupted her at critical moments, breaking her focus.
It sounded mystical, but Herta suspected some force might be deliberately obstructing her.
This time, ever since she decided to join the project, Herta had a vague sense that something would go wrong again.
So after some thought, she decided to hold the meeting in Herta City.
That way, no matter what happened, she, as the absolute ruler of Herta City, could handle it in her best condition.
"I see. Understood."
Hearing Herta's words, 'Celenova' grew wary immediately.
Would what she was about to do attract the gaze of the Lord of Silence?
Probably not… right? Could this research really break through a Knowledge Circle?
It didn't seem likely.
Maybe the hand of Hooh was at work behind the scenes?
That seemed more plausible.
'Celenova' didn't know much about HooH—the game hadn't spent much ink on the Aeon of Equilibrium.
But They were dedicated to maintaining a kind of dynamic balance in the universe. To 'Celenova', it felt a bit like endlessly adding flour to water, then water to flour.
Still, there was no denying it: Hooh was a Aeon who kept constant watch over the cosmos, and wouldn't hesitate to step in personally if They deemed it necessary.
That was a factor she might need to consider going forward.
Since Ruan Mei was still out of reach, 'Celenova' really had no reason to stay at the space station any longer.
Though she felt a little uneasy, things had already come this far.
Best to set out now.
'Celenova' touched the silver ring.
Flames slowly spread, and the Phase Flames engulfed her form, blocking Herta's view.
Seizing the chance, Bai Ming canceled the role-card performance.
Her vision returned to its blurred, indistinct state.
Bai Ming then looked down at the dimmed role card:
--+--
[Role-Playing System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 100 years]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Charge: 80.6%), Acheron (Charge: 47.5%), Celenova (Charge: 5.3%), Ruan Mei]
[Gacha Draws Available: 0 (38.2%)]
--+--
Her lifespan had begun its countdown.
But with a full hundred years, a few seconds—or even over ten seconds—were too negligible to register.
The remaining role-play time, as usual, converted into a charging progress bar.
On the card's artwork, Celenova's right arm was intact—not replaced by a mechanical prosthesis, and the card itself showed no extra changes.
It seemed that when the charge was complete and she assumed the role again, the status would simply reset.
That was a relief.
After canceling the role-play, the system's reward settlement arrived.
[Reward Settlement: By portraying Celenova and successfully gathering significant emotional value in the absence of the original, the host may acquire a portion of Celenova's talents.]
--+--