Seeing that these puppets showed absolutely no signs of stopping.
In fact, they looked like they were about to call over even more friends to join in.
'Little Herta' quickly stopped them, then cleared her throat and said:
"Ahem, so it sounds like you, and the other puppets, really like, even admire Herta, right."
"Of course! The universe's greatest Madam Herta, who wouldn't admire her?"
The Herta puppet nodded matter-of-factly.
Hearing this answer, a mischievous grin crept onto 'Little Herta's' face.
"So, puppets, have you ever wanted to be the real Madam Herta for once?"
The Herta puppet, who had just been attending to guests, was clearly stunned by the question.
Probably her logic core was repeatedly verifying the meaning of those words, causing a delay.
Soon enough, an expression of 'I'm interested' appeared on the puppet's face:
"Tell me more!"
"You guys should have already shared the full story of the War of Amphoreus, right?"
"Yeah, we also know that the great Madam Herta completed her self-coronation!"
"That's exactly it! Since Herta could crown herself and become Nous, then you all, the Herta puppets who are already closest to Herta, why can't you crown yourselves and be the real Herta for once!!"
"...?!!!"
A possibility they had never considered.
The moment 'Little Herta' mentioned it, it almost immediately seized the puppets' logic cores.
Puppets big and small exchanged glances.
Right.
Why couldn't they?
Absolutely could, no, they absolutely must!!!
Right now, let me be Herta!
The way these puppets looked at 'Little Herta' gradually shifted from a respected guest to 'Are you some kind of genius?!'.
"You... wouldn't happen to know a way to do this, would you?"
The puppet carefully posed the most crucial question.
And 'Little Herta' did not disappoint.
With a flick of her wrist, she produced a purple, glowing ring, cradling it in her palm:
"Ta-da——The Herta Personality Supplement System, co-developed by me and two other geniuses! Right here!"
"We can actually do it?!!"
"Theoretically, yes, but it hasn't been practically verified yet. And just relying on a few of you definitely isn't enough, you have to understand, it's Herta we're talking about."
"Only if all of you puppets unite is there even a sliver of a chance for success."
Saying this, 'Little Herta' paused, then looked around.
They were surrounded by Herta puppets of all sizes and forms, who had been passing by, overheard their conversation, and gathered around.
"So, Herta puppets, are you willing to take a gamble for your dream!!"
"..."
The puppets looked at each other, then, in perfect unison, raised their hands and shouted:
"Yes!! We want to be crowned, become Madam Herta!!"
The enthusiasm of the Herta puppets was even higher than 'Little Herta' had anticipated.
They were practically champing at the bit.
Though some puppets cautiously asked if they could turn into Screwllum, or Ruan Mei instead.
It showed that there were indeed many different preferences among the puppets.
And after the puppets confirmed the details, they unanimously chose to stand with 'Little Herta'.
Helping her keep secret what they were doing from Madam Herta, who was still out.
They decided that when Madam Herta returned to Herta City, they would give her a 'big surprise'.
Of course, this was also thanks to the high permission level Madam Herta had granted her.
High enough that 'Little Herta' could come and go in Herta City as if it were her own home.
And precisely because she was someone acknowledged by Madam Herta herself, the puppets dared to keep this secret, not informing her.
The Halos were distributed by 'Little Herta'.
The materials Screwllum had given her before only made one batch of samples, but it wasn't a big problem.
This thing could self-replicate.
The system would expand to the default number set in the complete Halo System.
And for 'Little Herta', that number was naturally the number of puppets in Herta City.
As for the material issue, Herta City had a terrifyingly abundant supply.
All sorts of processed materials that were astronomically expensive outside were piled up in Herta City's storage rooms like common cabbages.
The Herta puppets' enthusiasm soared.
Especially after wearing the Halos, the visible changes were tangible proof.
Auxiliary computing power was just a side effect.
It was far from matching the computing power of a Scepter, of course.
After all, there was an order of magnitude difference in physical volume and energy consumption.
The geniuses whose data was being collected included Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and 'Little Herta' herself.
Yes, even as just a young girl, Madam Herta's talent remained something ordinary people could never hope to match, and despite having data input from geniuses different from Herta.
'Little Herta' wasn't worried that the final result wouldn't be Herta.
Because, ultimately, the 'Genius' manifested through the Halo System was like Fuli waiting to log into an account.
What kind of personality and existence it would become was determined by those joining the system.
So here's the question.
The individuals joining this system were all Herta puppets.
Who else could the final result be, if not Herta?
Obviously impossible.
--+--
The Halo System gradually spread throughout Herta City.
As it continued to replicate and more puppets joined the system.
The 'Genius' simulated by the system gradually gained substance.
And visibly, all the joined individuals themselves were also receiving feedback from this substance, beginning to become increasingly 'smart'.
It wasn't just a simple increase in computing power, but along with it, 'inspiration' also began to sprout.
When 'Little Herta' noticed this, it wasn't just her, even Ruan Mei was startled.
Although these weren't earth-shattering inspirations, mostly just related to some ordinary research, or Herta City maintenance matters, the point wasn't how impressive they were, but the fact that they existed at all.
Especially for the puppets.
They couldn't even be considered true Intellitrons.
Just highly intelligent AI.
And yet, this group of puppets, after connecting to the Halo System, produced 'inspiration'.
The power of the collective, before even a 'self' had sprouted, had actually managed to build such a surprising fruit.
And to rule out the possibility that the Halo System was directly elevating the puppets to true Intellitrons, triggering a chain reaction.
'Little Herta' tried having a puppet uninstall the Halo System for a test.
The test results showed.
Equipping the Halo System did indeed change the puppets' thinking logic to a certain extent, but it undoubtedly did not make them life in the truest sense.
'Little Herta' blinked.
Was this right?
According to her expectations, they were still just at the stage of constructing a slice.
Theoretically... at this stage, this phenomenon shouldn't occur.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL