The door swung open as a rushed Jade hurried inside.
She pretended not to notice the three figures soaking in the tub:
"Vice Director, what did you need?"
Compared to Sparkle and the others, though Jade's clothes carried a hint of dampness, she was still dressed in her full IPC uniform. It was just her makeup that was gone, making her appear much softer.
"Got a business deal for you. Herta wants to run some project on Amphoreus. You're close with the Director, you handle this one."
"...?"
A question mark practically floated above Jade's head.
Her first instinct was that Sparkle was messing with her. After all, on a normal day, Sparkle was rather unreliable and had a sharp tongue to boot.
But a new project from Herta was, without a doubt, a premium opportunity. The kind of performance metric that would look like solid gold on any resume.
To put it bluntly, the IPC would trip over itself throwing money at anything even remotely associated with a genius. Just the scraps and leftovers from such projects were enough to fill the company's coffers to bursting.
And Jade understood Sparkle's awkward position better than anyone.
A high-ranking executive parachuted in from nowhere, holding a lofty title but lacking both trusted personnel and any real achievements to her name.
Diamond held the real power above, while Jade and others below controlled the resources.
As the Vice Director, Sparkle was practically a mascot. She couldn't even compare to Oswaldo, who at least had a track record of real accomplishments for the company and a band of die-hard loyalists.
In Jade's eyes, this trip to Amphoreus was Sparkle's play to grab some glory. If she could outmaneuver Oswaldo here, her influence within the company would skyrocket.
But now, with the Amphoreus situation looking increasingly thorny, this Herta project just fell into her lap? And Sparkle was handing it over?
Jade didn't get it.
If it was a joke, it didn't seem like Sparkle's style. She wouldn't make such a dull prank.
"Don't look at me, look at her. She's the one with the project. Talk to her directly."
Sparkle, lounging to the side, pointed a thumb towards 'Cyrene' and then tuned out completely.
Jade turned her gaze to 'Cyrene'.
That face was deeply etched in her memory—after all, this was the person who had sculpted Amphoreus with her bare hands. It was hard to forget.
"Herta wants to build a research station here for a project. What are your thoughts?"
"..."
Jade felt all her familiar business negotiation skills evaporate on the spot.
What could she possibly think? A gift-wrapped performance metric had just landed in her lap. Just wire the funds and be done with it.
--+--
Say what you will, the IPC's efficiency was impressively high.
Right after Jade finished discussing the matter, even before a contract could be drafted, a transport fleet was already in position just outside Amphoreus.
When it came to efficiency and resource mobilization, the Interastral Peace Corporation was truly in a league of its own.
And Herta and the others had long since finalized the entire design for the new station. Once the materials and equipment hauled in by the IPC were in place, construction of the station began at an unbelievable pace.
Screwllum thoughtfully lent a contingent of Intellitrons to help shape the station.
Built upon a foundation of data materialization and energy solidification technologies, augmented by the processing and reshaping capabilities of the AllSpark, a massive space station materialized before everyone's eyes right outside Amphoreus.
It took its place alongside the Irontomb Colossus and the moon, orbiting the world.
It was only at this point that Jade 'realized with horror'—this wasn't just Madam Herta's personal project!
It was a radical research initiative on Aeons, jointly developed by four Geniuses plus the mysterious 'Lady Bai Ming'!
Could a mere P46 like herself really be the investment lead for such a project??
Jade even began to suspect that Sparkle had handed her this investor role just to see the look on her face right now.
Because Sparkle had been cackling non-stop the whole time, right beside her!
As for Oswaldo...
His expression was considerably less cheerful.
He hadn't caught wind of this huge affair until the station's construction was already underway. Out of nowhere, without a single whisper, the Strategic Investment Department had snatched up such a massive contract.
And over on Amphoreus, thanks to Sparkle's inexplicable maneuvering, things were starting to progress smoothly as well.
If it weren't for the fact he couldn't just start a fight, Oswaldo would have already made a move on Sparkle.
And Sparkle herself?
Jade's reaction was hilarious, and Oswaldo's utterly defeated look was truly something to revel in.
This was exactly what she wanted! This exact feeling!
--+--
For now, 'Cyrene' was unaware of Sparkle's mischievous scheming.
She had already headed to the new station to prepare for the Simulated Universe experiment.
Within the slightly cavernous station, only Herta puppets and transforming machines came and went. Occasionally, a Giant of Light or a Digimon would flit by.
Divine Herta was already waiting there. Seeing 'Cyrene' appear, she raised a hand and pointed to a massive chamber behind her.
"Come on, we've been waiting for you."
'Cyrene' hadn't been involved in the station's design work. Only as she followed Divine Herta inside did it dawn on her.
Good grief, over half this station was the main body of the Simulated Universe!
"This entire huge section is the Simulated Universe's core?!"
"Yep. This station exists for the Simulated Universe, so of course," Divine Herta hummed lightly as she floated ahead, leading the way.
"The original Simulated Universe was too small. The old Herta Space Station was basically just a storage warehouse, making upgrades a pain later on."
"Now's the perfect chance for a fresh start. I originally wanted to build something on the scale of a planetary computer, but alas, no time for that now."
Building a planetary computer from scratch would take a significant amount of time, and 'Cyrene's' schedule was somewhat limited.
While Cyrene and Demiurge could handle the work, neither was as clever as Bai Ming, and they struggled somewhat to keep up with the geniuses' thought processes.
"Fortunately, Screwllum has ready-made data materialization tech. We've left plenty of expansion ports. If we need to upgrade later, we can just expand outward."
"I chatted with that pink-haired girl, Evernight, earlier. She shared some Memokeepers' tech with me. Quite useful for reference."
"According to her, the Memokeepers might take an interest in this Simulated Universe, so we should be cautious."
Divine Herta chattered on about her experiences over the past few days. It was clear... she was quite invested in this new Simulated Universe as well.
After winding through a maze of corridors for what felt like half the station's circumference, they finally arrived at a circular chamber where Herta and Screwllum were already hard at work.
As for Ruan Mei...
She opted to work remotely this time, as her test subjects had reached a stage requiring meticulous care. She had to go check on them. If 'Cyrene' hadn't been tied up here, Ruan Mei would have even tried to take her along.
"Took you long enough. Does getting the IPC to wire funds really take that long?"
Herta, watching 'Cyrene' approach, couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her cheek.
"...There were other things to handle too. It's not like I could just say hello and leave."
'Cyrene' swatted Herta's hand away and looked towards Screwllum.
"Can we start directly? Or do we need to wait?"
"Lady Bai Ming may begin constructing the Mnemonic Realm at any time and hold it at the precipice of becoming real. Subsequently, Madam Herta and I will intervene to stabilize and lock this unstable world, solidifying its state."
Screwllum gestured politely.
All preparations were complete. A new experiment was about to begin.
--+--