"Asta,"
The system puppet selected the most appropriate statement based on the optimal solution: "Managing the Space Station is tedious and complex. You've worked hard."
This sentence was like flipping a switch; the strong facade Asta had been maintaining instantly cracked.
Her nose stung, and her eyes quickly reddened.
She hadn't expected "Ms. Herta" to notice her hard work, to... affirm her dedication.
"I... this is what I should be doing..."
Asta's voice was choked with sobs. She didn't dare hug back, afraid it was just a fragile dream.
The system puppet followed the emotional soothing protocol, maintaining the embrace, and continued speaking in its steady voice: "You've done very well. Having you at the Space Station makes me... worry-free."
The word "worry-free," coming from Herta's mouth, was practically the highest level of praise.
A few seconds later, the system puppet released its arms, stepped back, and resumed its slightly aloof posture, as if the embrace had merely been a programmed reward mechanism.
Asta, still submerged in immense emotion and shock, finally let her tears fall, quickly wiping them away with the back of her hand.
Just then, the system puppet, as if performing a magic trick, pulled something out from nowhere—it was that exquisite Herta doll wearing a witchs hat, almost identical to the one that had exploded before, but the details seemed even more perfect.
"This,"
the system puppet handed the doll to Asta, its tone still flat but seemingly with a hint of "gentleness." "It's for you. The previous one was an accident. This one is... specifically for you."
Asta looked at the doll, then at "Ms. Herta's" face, which seemed no different than usual but appeared incredibly "tender" at this moment. The emotion in her heart was like a bursting dam.
She received the doll almost reverently, holding it tightly to her chest as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
"Th-thank you! Ms. Herta!"
Asta's voice was heavily tearful, yet her face broke into the brightest smile she had shown in days. "I promise... I will take very good care of it! I guarantee it!"
The system puppet nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
Asta, clutching the doll like a little girl who had received a cherished gift, bowed deeply to "Ms. Herta" before leaving reluctantly, looking back every few steps. Her pace was so light she was practically skipping, and the previous gloom was completely swept away.
Not until Asta's figure completely vanished at the end of the corridor did the simulated trace of "gentleness" on the system puppet's face disappear instantly and without a trace, like erased code.
Its purple eyes returned to an inorganic calm, containing only the steady flow of data light streams.
[Target emotional state: Stabilized. Sense of loss eliminated, sense of belonging and loyalty significantly increased. Task: Maintain emotional stability of Space Station Manager, complete.]
[Execution plan: Non-standard emotional interaction (embrace) + material reward (customized doll). Effect evaluation: Excellent.]
[Record: This interaction model has been saved and can be used as a reference template for handling similar emotional needs in the future.]
[System Space]
In the center of the oval field surrounded by the Faint-Glow Forest, the atmosphere was stagnant.
Madam Herta sat elegantly on the spectator stand that had appeared out of thin air, her purplish-black eyes calm and waveless.
Long Night Moon stood quietly beside her, while Cyrene nervously clutched the corner of her clothes, her azure eyes wide open. She was both anticipating her companion's success and inevitably feeling a pang of worry for Teacher Anaxa's current predicament.
Below the stand, Baiheng and Jack stood side by side.
Baiheng held an Energy Longbow. Her snowy white long hair and black robes fluttered slightly in the invisible air currents, and her fox ears were raised alertly, sensing every subtle change in the wind.
Jack, meanwhile, gripped the burning Flame Lance in one hand, its tip angled toward the ground. The intense heat slightly warped the air around the shaft, and her golden eyes locked onto the target without emotion.
Opposite them, Anaxa was still wearing the incongruous blue and white striped patient gown, squatting in the distance, head bowed, his fingers unconsciously digging into the soil, seemingly unaware of the approaching storm.
"Are you ready?" Black Herta's cold voice echoed through the arena.
"Ready anytime, Madam."
Baiheng took a deep breath, and a gleaming white light was already circulating on her bowstring.
Jack did not reply, only gripping the Flame Lance tighter. The flames on the shaft whooshed and leaped a few inches higher as a response.
"Commence."
The moment the command was given, Jack moved!
Instead of a quick charge, she pushed off the ground violently. Her entire body, as if dragged by the Flame Lance itself, transformed into a crimson meteor streaking low across the ground!
Where she passed, the soil was scorched black, the air was ripped apart by the high temperature, emitting a piercing boom, and scattered sparks trailed behind her, forming a brilliant yet deadly light tail!
This sudden assault finally startled Anaxa, who was immersed in his own world.
He abruptly lifted his head, and his hollow eyes reflected the rapidly enlarging Flaming Spear Tip!
Almost instinctively, Anaxa's body shot out diagonally backward with an unnatural flexibility and speed, narrowly avoiding the Flame Lance's direct thrust.
However, the terrifying kinetic energy contained within the Flame Lance did not dissipate. The moment the spear tip struck the ground—
"BOOM!!!"
Like a volcanic eruption, scorching magma mixed with a violent shockwave exploded outwards in a ring!
Although Anaxa avoided the direct hit, he was violently flung away by the close-range explosion, tumbling several times in the air before barely managing to adjust his posture and land, looking quite disheveled.
Before he could stabilize, Jack flicked her wrist. The Flame Lance scooped up a large spray of uncooled magma, resembling liquid fire, and whipped it toward Anaxa like a long lash!
Anaxa's pupils constricted. Just as he was about to dodge again, a sharp sound of air being torn came from another direction!
It was Baiheng!
She had jumped into the air at some unknown point, and the Energy Longbow in her hand shone brightly. In an instant, dozens of arrows rained down like a squall, precisely covering all of Anaxa's possible evasion routes, sealing off all his retreats!
Faced with a wave of molten fire ahead and Light Arrows blocking the path behind!
Anaxa had nowhere to run. He let out a low growl, crossed his arms to shield himself, and forcibly withstood the wave of double attacks!
"Bang! Sizzle—!"
The magma and the light arrows struck almost simultaneously!
The scorching heat instantly ignited his thin patient gown, and the light arrows impacted his blocking arms, bursting into ripples.
The red health bar above his head, symbolizing his stability of existence, visibly plummeted, instantly clearing out the first half!
The flames danced and burned on him, bringing continuous pain, yet they also seemed to ignite something deeper.
The murky darkness began to gather in his originally hollow eyes, and his numb expression was replaced by a beast-like ferocity.
"Hoh..."
He let out a hoarse growl, no longer squatting, but adopting a combat stance full of explosive power—it was that set of King of Fighters Style Martial Arts!
His figure flickered, closing the distance with Baiheng like a phantom, delivering a swift side kick aimed straight at Baiheng's waist and abdomen!
The speed was so fast that it only left an afterimage in the air!
But Baiheng's reaction was equally astonishing!
Having merged with Seele's characteristics, the moment the attack was about to land, her figure suddenly blurred as if merging into the shadows, and the next instant she appeared in Anaxa's blind spot—to his rear right!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
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