Herta nodded thoughtfully.
Seven days... The flow of time in that world seems similar to this one.
This is valuable information.
Her sharp gaze swept over every detail of the puppet.
It looks... like there's nothing wrong.
It was the one she had personally created.
"Has there been anything unusual happening at the Space Station recently?"
Herta continued her probe, her gaze like a scalpel, attempting to peel away any trace of disharmony from the system puppet's reaction.
The system puppet shook its head expressionlessly, its movements as precise as if measured by a ruler: "No. Everything is running normally. Research project progress meets expectations, the security system has no intrusion records, and energy consumption is within the standard range."
"Really?"
Herta narrowed her eyes slightly and leaned forward, creating an invisible sense of pressure.
She always felt that something was strange, an intuition, the keen perception of a Genius.
"Yes."
The puppet's reply remained steady and calm, even carrying an air of self-evident certainty.
"All logs are available for review. No anomalies worth reporting have been detected."
Herta straightened up, crossed her arms, and lightly tapped her elbow with her fingertips.
She found no obvious flaws.
The puppet's reaction adhered to basic logic, and the data appeared clean.
But... it was this excessive "normalcy" that made her suspicious.
Would the entity capable of banishing her send her back so easily, only to do nothing?
She took one last deep look at the puppet, ultimately deciding not to waste any more time.
Rather than interrogating a puppet that might have been tampered with or was inherently flawed, she should personally go to the Main Control Room to retrieve the full station logs, or ask Asta.
"It had better be."
She dropped this sentence, turned, her skirt cutting a sharp arc, and headed straight for the office door.
The heavy metal door silently slid open behind her and quickly closed again, leaving the quietly standing puppet alone in the office.
Almost the instant the door fully closed.
The pupils of the "Herta Puppet's" originally vacant eyes suddenly lit up with a faint glow, rapidly restructuring into an eerie purple-red inverted cross pattern!
Its petite body rippled like water; the color of its clothing deepened into a dark palette, adorned with skull decorations; its hair turned deep purple, and faint purple markings appeared on its cheeks—it reverted to the system puppet's true appearance.
It tilted its head, looked at the closed door, and whispered to itself: "Logic verification passed. Emotional Simulation Module running stably. Cold joke reserve... sufficient."
Behind it, an elliptical Teleportation Gate, its edges flickering with purple electric arcs, silently opened.
The system puppet stepped backward without hesitation, its figure sinking into the Teleportation Gate and vanishing.
Silence, devoid of people, returned to the office.
Meanwhile, Herta, already walking down the Corridor, paused slightly, her small nose twitching gently.
"Was it an illusion?"
She muttered to herself, a trace of doubt flashing in her violet eyes.
System Space
The collapse of Anaxa's first phase did not bring a moment of peace; instead, it seemed to have broken the seal on an even more terrifying existence.
"ROAR—!!!"
A furious roar, utterly unlike a human voice, erupted from the dust cloud that had not yet fully dispersed in the center of the arena!
The sound wave carried a tangible impact, shaking the entire Luminous Forest, and Cyrene, in the audience stands, instinctively covered her ears, her azure eyes filled with horror.
The dust cloud was ripped apart by a savage force!
The first thing that came into view was a pair of eyes burning with madness, even more scarlet than before.
Next was the rapidly swelling body—the originally fitted blue and white striped hospital gown had been completely ripped apart by the bulging muscles, turning into mere rags hanging on him.
His height increased by nearly half; his previously seemingly frail body was now covered in chiseled, granite-like muscles that shimmered with a bronze luster, with veins coiling over them like vigorous dragons, radiating a heart-stopping sense of pure power.
"Ma...gic... Tech...nique!"
Anaxa roared, his voice hoarse and broken, as if every word was laced with blood foam.
He stomped the ground fiercely, and the earth layer exploded with a roar, creating a deep pit as if struck by a meteor!
His massive body then transformed into a black afterimage difficult to catch with the naked eye, charging straight toward Jack, who had just stabilized her stance, carrying a terrifying momentum capable of crushing everything!
"Jack, watch out!"
Baiheng cried out in alarm, instantly drawing her Energy Bow to its maximum.
Facing this mountain-crushing impact, thoughts flickered across Jack's golden eyes, which lacked highlights.
She chose not to meet the attack head-on. Instead, with a flick of her wrist, the familiar Baseball Bat appeared in her hand—this was her most instinctive weapon.
She held the Baseball Bat horizontally in front of her, sinking her body slightly, adopting a seemingly simple blocking posture.
"BANG—!!!"
It sounded like a high-speed starship colliding with the Space Station's protective shield!
A dull, heart-stopping crash exploded!
The ground beneath Jack's feet cracked inch by inch, and she was sent flying backward like a projectile hurled by a catapult!
But she did not lose her balance. Instead, she spun her body deftly in mid-air, utilizing a Force Dissipation Technique seemingly borrowed from Gepard's defensive skills, and finally landed steadily on one knee dozens of meters away, light as a feather.
She shook her slightly trembling and numb arm, glanced at the still-intact Baseball Bat in her hand, then looked up calmly at the terrifying muscle monster.
"Oh my god..."
Cyrene covered her mouth, her fingers turning slightly white from the force.
Although she had seen this second form before via the system's monitoring screen, when this oppressive, massive body truly appeared before her, and she felt the savage aura that almost froze the air, the dual impact on her vision and mind was thousands of times stronger than viewing it through a screen.
"Is this... is this really a Scholar?"
She whispered, her voice trembling.
Madam Herta, who had been leaning lazily against the chair back, unconsciously straightened up slightly.
A hint of solemnity and... intense interest flashed in her purple-black, lightless eyes.
"Here comes the main event."
She said softly, as if enjoying a drama about to reach its climax.
Her gaze was fixed on the furious figure in the arena. At the same time, she gently raised her right hand, where a miniature yet detailed model of the Creation Engine was quietly suspended above her palm, slowly rotating and emitting a faint earthy-yellow glow.
"System,"
Madam Herta's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the System who was rushing over, "Are you sure this 'One-Time Experience Card' can handle this 'Muscle Scholar'?"
The System immediately responded with a hint of professional certainty: "Reporting to Master, the model has fully analyzed and recorded the energy operation mode of Belobog's Creation Engine. Although it is only a strength replication projection, the energy level of its full-power strike is theoretically sufficient to severely wound the target. Based on calculations, the success rate is above 87.5%. Note: The visual effect of this process may be exaggerated, similar to the 'Ultimate Skill Release Animation' in certain civilization's role-playing games. Please prepare yourself, Master."
Madam Herta's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
Directly using absolute power.
The situation is simple now—use absolute power to crush him!
She was just curious whether Anaxa's terrifying physique could withstand a punch from the Ancient Robot capable of shaking mountains.
On the battlefield, the fight did not cease due to the brief lull.
Just as Anaxa focused his attention on Jack, whom he had sent flying, Baiheng sprang into action!
She let out a soft cry, her figure moving like a phantom, leaving several afterimages in the arena.
The Energy Bow in her hand required no physical arrows; with a thought, countless arrows, seemingly alive, wove into a dense net of firepower in the air, shooting toward Anaxa's massive body from all directions!
The arrows were not aimed for a single fatal blow, but acted like a nimble swarm of bees, constantly harassing him and restricting his movement.
Anaxa roared repeatedly, waving his large hands, raising gales of foul wind, easily swatting away many of the arrows.
He tried to charge at Baiheng, but his seemingly massive body repeatedly missed in the face of Baiheng's extreme agility.
Baiheng was like a dancer on a knife's edge, every flash of movement perfectly evading the fist wind capable of splitting mountains and rocks, her azure eyes cool as ice, searching for the next opening.
Jack was not in a hurry to advance.
She knelt in place, raising her right hand and remotely aiming at the Flame Lance, which Anaxa's punch had previously sent flying and was now diagonally embedded in the distant earth.
The dark red Flame Lance hummed and vibrated, extracting itself from the earth, hovering in mid-air, its tip adjusting to lock onto Anaxa once more!
This time, the Flame Lance emitted not just heat, but an aura of ultimate destruction; the air around the spear shaft twisted and collapsed due to the extreme temperature.
Anaxa keenly sensed this deadly threat. He snapped his head around, his scarlet eyes fixed on the hovering Flame Lance.
He did not dodge. Instead, he let out a savage battle cry, clenched his massive fists, his bronze muscles swelling further, and, with the intent to crush everything, actively punched toward the rapidly incoming Flame Lance!
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