By the time Herta returned to the lab, Ruan Mei's gaze had already performed a slow lap around the two-head tall, pint-sized Herta.
She then peered curiously behind her, looking for anyone else.
"Where's Bai Ming? Did you seal her away?"
"As if. That girl slipped through my fingers. She's likely headed for Amphoreus."
"Heh~"
Ruan Mei let out a stifled giggle. It was truly a rare sight to see Herta not immediately give chase.
She figured Herta probably felt the need to draft a counter-strategy first; otherwise, chasing her now would just be a fool's errand—she wouldn't be able to catch her anyway.
After all, the current 'Cipher' had already far surpassed the standards of an ordinary Emanator.
Herta knew exactly what Ruan Mei was thinking just by looking at her expression.
And yet, she couldn't really argue, because a part of the reason she hadn't pursued Bai Ming was indeed exactly what Ruan Mei suspected.
Screwllum, who had remained silent nearby via remote link, used the local equipment to perform a quick scan before speaking up.
"Question: Madam Herta, you appear to be entwined with a rather conspicuous power. I presume these are traces deliberately left behind by Madam Bai Ming."
In Screwllum's estimation, even before Aha had designated her as the second Aeon, Bai Ming's use of the Elation's power had been incredibly subtle.
Now, however, she was being blatant about it, leaving behind traces that were as meticulous as they were detailed.
It looked much more like a deliberate trail.
Hearing this, Herta curled her lip and shot a glare toward the direction where the runaway had disappeared.
"Probably. Always beating around the bush, dragging things out... I have no idea where that girl gets such a competitive streak."
Screwllum let out a soft chuckle but offered no further comment.
Walking further into the room, Herta looked at the precision instruments and then down at her own oversized head and stubby little limbs.
She clicked her tongue loudly. "Ugh, this form is such a hassle. It's all Bai Ming's fault. I'll make her pay for this sooner or later."
On the other side of things, 'Cipher' had successfully escaped back to the space station outside Amphoreus. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Ruan Mei.
[Ruan Mei: Herta says she's going to crack the Elation Equation before coming to find you again, so you should be safe for the time being.]
[Nameless: That's a relief.]
[Ruan Mei: Are you coming back?]
[Nameless: Not for now. Herta will just get angry again the moment she sees me.]
[Ruan Mei: Well, didn't you bring that on yourself?]
[Ruan Mei: By the way, I'm planning to experiment with man-made Emanators soon. If you're free, care to join me?]
Seeing this, 'Cipher' instinctively thought of the Starcrusher Swarm King from the original game.
[Nameless: What kind of Emanator? Propagation?]
[RuanMei: ?]
[RuanMei: Why Propagation?]
[Nameless: ?]
[RuanMei: I intend to create a Scion of Long. Using materials from the Death Dragon Typhon and the Great Dragon, I'll try to combine them with Propagation to create an individual where Paths intersect.]
It was only then that 'Cipher' realized the scale of the plan. Ruan Mei was planning to directly challenge the issue of Draconic Propagation.
However, while Propagation was a Path torn away from Permanence, considering some of its manifestations, she suspected that after the concept was ripped away, Tayzzyronth had probably mixed in some other chaotic concepts to form the Path of Propagation.
Simply mashing the two together might not result in a perfect fit.
Still, if she could think of that, Ruan Mei certainly had as well.
[Nameless: Send me a message when you're ready to start.]
[Ruan Mei: Will do.]
With the small talk over, 'Cipher' decided to find a quiet spot to continue delving into the Elation Equation.
Turning Herta into a chibi version of herself—aside from being a prank and giving Herta something to reference—had partly been a test of her own mastery over the Equation. And based on the results, it was going quite well.
When she had unleashed that power just now, she had relied purely on the Elation Equation as the driver. The result was clear: it was flawless. This thing truly allowed one to master a Path.
No wonder Aha gave her power for self-preservation. To be honest, even 'Cipher' found this stuff a bit terrifying.
This worked out because the Equation was Elation and Aha was still around.
If she had pulled Aglaea back then—an Equation for a masterless Path—she figured the moment she told anyone, Equilibrium would have descended to punch her lights out.
Bypassing the screening mechanism of the Paths... All it took was enough knowledge to master the power of an Aeon.
The kicker was that once the group of them fully decoded an Equation, they could simplify it into a systematic textbook or even build technological devices that anyone could use.
And there were Twelve Titans on Amphoreus, which meant that, theoretically, their upper limit was mastering twelve different Paths.
If they actually saw this through, saying it would completely overturn the cosmic order wouldn't even be an exaggeration. Getting "elbowed" by the universe later would be a well-earned punishment.
Aha giving her power was likely because THEY were genuinely afraid she'd get swatted like a fly by another Aeon one day.
'Cipher' reckoned that if she were an Aeon and saw someone pulling this stunt, she'd definitely step in.
Therefore, if she obtained any other Equations in the future, she didn't plan on sharing them.
She was mostly afraid of Herta and the others getting caught in the crossfire and being targeted by an Aeon. She had Aha's protection and could tank it; Herta and the rest couldn't survive an Aeon actually taking the field.
As for the Elation Equation... leaks were probably inevitable. But since it was Aha, the Aeon might actually be delighted to see it happen.
After spending two days researching on the space station, 'Cipher's' character card duration expired.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: ∞]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria (Charge: 97.4%), Cyrene · Fuli (Charge: 13.3%), Cipher (Charge: 0.0%)]
[Available Draws: 7 (14.1%)]
--+--
[Reward Settlement: Played the role of Cipher; gained the attention of the Aeon of Elation and was even bestowed power equal to an Aeon. You can now fully acquire Cipher's Authority: 'Trickery'.]
--+--
In just two days, the draw count had increased by one. With only three draws left, Bai Ming didn't plan on pulling yet.
She decided to wait until she had ten to exchange directly for an Earth Titan character card.
As for the settlement reward, it was pretty good in Bai Ming's book.
The ability of 'Trickery' itself wasn't the main point; the crucial part was that the reward gave her the method to manipulate the Elation Equation.
The knowledge of how to operate the Equation was funneled into her mind by the system panel like a direct data dump. The result was that this reward caused Bai Ming's understanding of the Equation to leap forward by a massive margin, saving her an untold amount of time and effort.
"This reward is actually quite reliable. I thought it would be a black-box type of operational ability, but it actually gave me the raw knowledge."
Bai Ming was very satisfied with this outcome.
As for the fact that her Saint Graph, which had fused with a Divine Body, was still back in Herta City? Bai Ming wasn't particularly bothered. By now, she wasn't exactly hurting for a body to use.
Due to recent events, the entire universe now believed Bai Ming was a beautiful woman with white hair. No one would suspect she was a soul without a physical form.
So, without needing any preparations, Bai Ming simply activated the power of Trickery. A body identical to the previous one grew right over her soul.
The only issue was that the composition of this body was neither carbon-based nor silicon-based, nor was it even condensed energy. Because the world's perception of Bai Ming was anchored to her being an Aeon... and how could an Aeon have a flesh-and-blood body like a mere mortal?
At a glance, Bai Ming clearly wasn't like Nous, so a mechanical structure was out. An energy lifeform? Don't be ridiculous—look at what Aha is, or IX. How could Bai Ming be that simple?
She had to be at least as abstract as Aha.
The result was a body established by public perception and filled with Imaginary Energy, but which ultimately became pure "Incognizable" because of the world's eyes.
Unknown, immeasurable, and even more abstract and nonsensical than Imaginary Energy itself.
This was the body Bai Ming had just manifested.
"What even is this? A pure product of existence?" Bai Ming scratched her head.
This body could be touched and seen. It had five senses, thoughts, and could be perceived by others. But it didn't contain any detectable matter or energy.
"There was really no need for my body to be this abstract..."
Originally, Bai Ming thought that a body condensed from public perception would be something she could just use permanently without worry. But this level of abstraction was a bit much for her to accept.
Flesh is fine, machines are fine, even energy is okay—but turning into something akin to pure, indeterminate chaos?
That's fine for research, but for personal use, it felt... too unreliable. She preferred a body where she actually knew what was under the hood.
Bai Ming felt she should just wait patiently for Nexus to fully merge with her. A lifeform of Light was much better—stable, useful, and not at all abstract.
"Come to think of it, is this current body of mine close to Aha's?"
According to the world's perception, it felt like she should be close to Aha's state of existence. Thinking of that made Bai Ming even more annoyed.
If Aha came running over calling her "daughter," she'd truly blow a fuse.
Still, it wasn't as if this body had no benefits. An incognizable body paired with the powers Bai Ming mastered meant that—
Click, clack.
Her soft body gradually became hard. A metallic luster and mechanical joints replaced the feel of flesh. Even her hair turned into strands of soft, white metallic wire.
"Hmm... so this is what it feels like to be an Intellitron?"
Having turned into a machine girl, Bai Ming felt the thought processes of a mechanical logic; it was indeed far removed from humanity.
Fortunately, Bai Ming was no ordinary person, so there was zero struggle to adapt.
After trying to dismantle and reassemble her own body, Bai Ming turned herself into a Wubbaboo. The ghost-like body had subtle differences from a pure soul form.
With this body, while her appearance was fixed, her internal structure could be anything she wanted. It was actually quite fun.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL