Though Bai Ming hadn't gone in completely unprepared.
Actually feeling the system's guiding hand, though, still made her think—now this is reliability.
As for whether extracting the character card would affect the causal loop—
That really wasn't something to worry about.
Because the loop was already closed.
In other words, within the Simulated Universe, Fuli's existence had been solidified.
Even if the being currently serving as Fuli was extracted, this closed causality would spontaneously generate a replacement within the world, ensuring Fuli's presence remained.
As for why a Pure Child of Anāsrava from reality couldn't get out once put in—
It wasn't truly impossible to leave; it was just that no one had the capability to break free.
After all, no one could design a specialized extraction program from outside the world.
All in all.
Once the logical loop closed and the entire Simulated Universe began running smoothly, whether Bai Ming was still inside or not became irrelevant.
And this, precisely, was the outcome they had already deduced and calculated long ago.
Just as Bai Ming was still rather enjoying her stint as Fuli, experiencing the "Aeon trial card," Herta's voice rang in her ears:
"Hey, hey—can you hear me? Bai Ming? If you're fine, make a sound."
"Squeak."
"Seems you're alright."
Herta's tone clearly relaxed.
"Your plan was a success. I can log out anytime now. How's the Simulated Universe?"
"Need you ask? A major success, of course!"
After Bai Ming fully closed the Simulated Universe's logical loop, the entire world of the Simulated Universe was essentially stamped and sealed by Fuli, its stability boosted to an absurd degree by the Aeon's power.
And with a stable foundation established, any subsequent work would become much easier.
Heck…using the Simulated Universe as a mirror to reflect the rules of the real world might even be possible.
Though pulling that off definitely wouldn't be within the current space station's computing capacity.
It's just that, with the birth of this closed-off micro-world, the Simulated Universe gained a whole lot of potential.
Bai Ming didn't linger much longer.
After a brief experience, she chose to log out.
Simultaneously, she ended the character role-play.
And in the eyes of Herta and the others, the familiar figure of 'Cyrene' dissipated on the spot.
Then, accompanied by a radiant white light, a silver-white giant of light appeared before them.
Before Bai Ming could do anything else, she felt an incredibly powerful surge of memory-based energy welling up inside her.
A mere sliver by an Aeon's standards, but bestowed upon a mortal, it was at minimum the level of an Emanator.
Perhaps even higher.
To compare, in terms of quantity, it was no less than the original Cyrene character card, while in quality, it directly matched Fuli.
Bai Ming felt that, even if only comparing abilities related to memory, she could probably suppress even Evernight.
That was… genuinely a bit outrageous.
So, without pausing to speak to Herta and the others, Bai Ming, now transformed into Nexus, glanced at her own panel:
--+--
[Character Role-Play System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 1,200 years]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta (Usable), Acheron (Usable), Celenova (Usable), Jingliu (Usable), Ruan Mei (Charge: 78.2%), Sparkle (Charge: 67.5%), Hertatomb (Charge: 29.4%), Cyrene • Fuli (Charge: 0.3%)]
[Available Draws: 1 (48.5%)]
[Settlement Reward: Character card has been ascended, becoming the true Fuli of the Simulated Universe. New character card [Cyrene • Fuli] minor aptitude obtained.]
[Note: Emotional value required to charge Aeon character cards will be significantly increased.]
--+--
"..."
Holy crap. The character card that only leveled up on the final day, and the settlement reward is actually calculated based on the standards of the new card??
Is this for real?
Bai Ming truly hadn't anticipated this.
She'd thought getting all of Cyrene's aptitudes would be the best-case scenario, but they went and handed her a minor aptitude from Fuli directly?
Pulling wool from an Aeon??
The name change for the Cyrene character card seemed trivial in comparison.
Looks like character cards don't just auto-repair damage; upgrades are reflected on the card too.
Only…
Why is the charge only 0.3%?
Bai Ming had come over not long after the countdown entered its final day.
They hadn't chatted much either.
The whole process took less than one system hour.
It should've been around 3%, shouldn't it?
Other character card exchanges were calculated the same way, so why is it 0.3 this time?
Probably because the card was enhanced, right?
After all, being enhanced to the point of a name change was a first.
Still, even so, Bai Ming wasn't overly concerned about the difficulty of charging Aeon character cards.
Because with the influx of memory power, the most immediate feedback wasn't just the change in strength.
It was the massive boost to her lifespan.
The lifespan entry directly doubled from six hundred years to twelve hundred.
That was a pretty significant jump.
Seems the power of memory harmonized with her even better.
Bai Ming could sense that, with the aptitude boost in memory-related aspects, her own base form seemed to have changed somewhat.
But she couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly was different.
Probably a good thing, overall.
--+--
Snapping out of her reward review, Bai Ming looked at Herta and the others, who for some reason were staring at her with surprise.
"What's with you guys?"
Herta was still pondering, while Screwllum offered an explanation:
"Query: The instant your physical form vanished, a vast surge of memory-based power emerged. What is your current status?"
To which, Bai Ming explained with a smile:
"I feel pretty good. That power… probably some residual strength from actually having been Fuli."
"…That can happen? Well, I guess so. Throughout history, you're the only Pure Child of Anāsrava to ever break free from a closed loop."
The corner of Herta's mouth twitched slightly.
This phenomenon truly had only Bai Ming as a single case.
"So you're a real Pure Child of Anāsrava now?"
Bai Ming nodded:
"Yep. Not just real, but a Pure Child of Anāsrava who's been Fuli and successfully left."
"That really is…"
Herta was momentarily at a loss for words.
That alone basically put Bai Ming a cut above all other Pure Children of Anāsrava.
Well, exceptions like Noa aside.
More importantly, with Bai Ming as her poster child, she wouldn't have to worry about using the tech borrowed from the Garden of Recollection.
She could play around however she wanted, and getting caught wouldn't matter.
Got a problem?
Take it up with my Bai Ming.
Of course, that was all for later.
For now…
Naturally, it was time to tinker properly with the newly established Simulated Universe!
"Well, things being what they are, I should probably see what state the Simulated Universe is in now."
Herta, Screwllum, and Divine Herta exchanged glances.
Then they all looked toward the login platform.
Divine Herta was the most direct—she transformed into a data stream and flew right into the Simulated Universe.
Back when the Simulated Universe was unstable, she wouldn't have dared mess around like this.
But now that it was stable, they could really toss however they pleased.
She was going to check the Simulated Universe's other functions.
If suitable, this thing would become the most convenient training ground.
--+--