For reasons she couldn't quite place.
Though Madam Herta's words were serious enough in meaning, to 'Little Herta's' ears, they carried an undeniable, flamboyant flair.
Mainly because Herta's current expression was just too perfect—that particular look that screamed, 'I'm about to take something precious from you, and all you can do is watch.'
And then 'Little Herta' suddenly realized.
The Halo Herta had clamped onto her head?
It carried its own inherent power of confinement, rooting her small body to the spot.
She could move, could walk, but her speed was utterly crippled.
"Heh, noticed, have you? You didn't think I'd actually leave things unprepared after the space station launched back then, did you?"
Seeing 'Little Herta' completely ensnared in her clutches.
Madam Herta chuckled with immediate satisfaction.
She raised a hand and, without ceremony, ruffled 'Little Herta's' head a couple of times.
Sure, it was a bit of a cheap shot, but a catch is a catch.
And 'Little Herta,' hearing Herta's words, was momentarily speechless.
"..."
Still holding a grudge, still holding a grudge!!
With all that time and energy, couldn't you have done anything else? You just had to cobble together a capture device, specifically to nab her?
Herta ignored the profoundly aggrieved look in 'Little Herta's' eyes.
Having finally gotten her wish, Herta even slid her hands under 'Little Herta's' armpits, hoisting her up to eye level.
"Ah~ In the end, you've only got yourself to blame. Daring to provoke a genius on a genius's own turf."
In Herta's eyes, sure, this one had astonishing creativity and unique abilities.
But because she lacked a permanent residence and was always running off to raise hell, wasting massive amounts of time on frivolous pursuits.
The only things of genuine value this one carried on her person, besides that silver ring that could turn into a little snake, were just the boots on her feet—the ones that could automatically change styles and were pretty fast.
With a setup like that, the only reason she'd been startled by Herta's earlier proclamation was that her expression was too good to cover up.
Otherwise, did she really think she could outrun Herta all the way through Herta City?
She'd have been cornered and strung up by Herta ages ago.
And that Halo?
It was a sample Herta had gotten from Ruan Mei after a preliminary analysis of the Halo System, then rigged with a capture program she'd had ready for a while.
Guaranteeing that today, 'Little Herta' would be good and caught, ripe for some experimental fiddling!
Just then.
A comm channel opened automatically.
A moment later.
Ruan Mei's projection materialized before them.
The moment the line connected, Ruan Mei, about to offer a greeting, took one look at 'Little Herta'—face flushed, expression utterly tragic, being manhandled by Herta.
The words she'd been about to speak died on her lips.
After a single beat of silence, they melted into a helpless smile:
"Herta, don't bully her too much."
"Not a chance. After the 'surprise' this one cooked up for me, Herta always pays back in kind!"
Ignoring the ongoing attempt to stamp a 'Herta Seal' on her cheek.
'Little Herta' looked pleadingly toward Ruan Mei:
"Quick, save me!"
But alas.
Herta raised a finger, pressing it under 'Little Herta's' chin, gently closing her little mouth.
Then let out a thoroughly villainous cackle:
"Hee hee hee~ You think Ruan Mei's just here by chance?"
"Huh?"
"She's here, of course, to witness me unveiling your true self. Between the two of us, Ruan Mei and I know you best, so naturally, we're the ones most curious about you."
The image the Halo System helped refine, would most likely be Bai Ming's genuine aspiration. Couldn't be too far off.
Since this one had gone and fiddled with the Halo System herself, delivering it right to them.
Herta felt it'd be a downright waste not to take this chance to dig deep into this Bai Ming character.
And Ruan Mei?
As someone just as keen to unravel Bai Ming's secrets, she wouldn't miss this opportunity either.
'Little Herta' felt the world go dark. She hadn't expected Ruan Mei not only to supply Herta with equipment.
But to actually join Herta in apprehending her.
Ugh.
Weren't they teammates just recently? She'd defected to Herta's side this fast?!
Was that even remotely fair?!
But alas.
The reproach in 'Little Herta's' gaze failed to rekindle any sense of camaraderie in Ruan Mei.
Past experiences, so familiar, welled up.
Back in the old Herta City, she'd been pinned down by these two women just like this, unable to escape, then forcibly strapped to an experiment table.
And now.
For all her accumulated achievements, she never imagined she'd end up in the same predicament.
'Little Herta's' spirit crumbled.
She endured Herta and Ruan Mei tinkering with the system while casually teasing her on the side.
Maybe Little Herta's childlike form was just too cute, poking something awake in those two.
'Little Herta' felt genuinely treated like a toddler by them.
It was just too much to bear.
--+--
It didn't take long. Herta and Ruan Mei finished the final monitoring and modifications.
The Halo System, glowing with a faint blue light, hovered above 'Little Herta's' head.
Madam Herta tapped the halo lightly with a finger and explained:
"I tweaked the Halo System's logic a bit, tried building a virtual logic framework inside it."
Since the only thing needed to manifest was 'Little Herta's' own desired form.
Herta, without altering the foundational logic, redirected the required 'massive data slices' to point solely at 'Little Herta' herself.
Essentially, using algorithms to replicate 'Little Herta's' ideal self-image countless times, then stacking those copies to build a complete individual.
"But since my processing power is a bit lacking, I remotely hooked into the Simulated Universe. Borrowing its computing oomph. There might be a slight delay during the experiment."
The Halo System's base processing power wasn't high.
A full system relies on numbers for success. But relying on linked copies would dilute 'Little Herta's' own self-concept.
So, to ensure accurate results, Herta borrowed the Simulated Universe.
She directly input the Halo System into the Simulated Universe, then linked the interface to this specific halo unit.
The Simulated Universe would then help simulate enough virtual halos to form a complete system.
The upside was convenience and speed. No more wasting time.
The downside was, this setup was strictly lab-use only.
If she wanted something for everyday wear, that data lag was obviously impractical.
She'd need to make a new halo with enough built-in processing power.
"So, you ready? I'm about to initiate the Simulated Universe's computational link."
As Herta's voice rang out, 'Little Herta' nodded nervously.
Things had progressed this far, so 'Little Herta' had given up resisting.
Fooling around was one thing, Herta, for all her rough handling, was clearly doing this out of concern for her.
'Little Herta' wasn't so ungrateful as to miss that.
What made her nervous now was simply that she couldn't imagine what form she'd manifest.
It'd probably be male, right? Wonder if that'd freak these two out.
She'd lived over twenty years in her past life, and felt her self-perception was pretty clear.
But then, deep within the silver ring's storage space, the Fool's Mask, long consigned to the very bottom of a trunk, suddenly curled its lips into a smile.
A laugh, unheard by anyone, echoed in that stagnant space:
"Aha~"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL