αWolf's frenzied voice made Firefly feel a little embarrassed. She scratched her cheek and said, "Why don't we go eat first?"
"Eat? Eat what? Again... Next round I'll definitely win!" αWolf shouted. "You don't get to win and run!"
"Alright."
The two of them started another match. However, the result did not change in the slightest. The winner was still Firefly.
That only made αWolf even more frantic. She roared at Silver Wolf, "Can you stop sealing my cheats?!"
"I'm sealing them. And if you want me to stop, then hand over the Invincible Player cartridge and let me play with it."
"No way. I promised Kafka I wouldn't give you the cartridge unless it was absolutely critical."
"Then I'll keep sealing your cheats."
Silver Wolf and αWolf fell into another heated quarrel.
At that moment, Blade walked over wearing a chef's outfit. "Are you two going to eat or not? The food's getting cold."
"We're coming, we're coming..." Firefly immediately set down her game console.
She wasn't addicted to games. In fact, she found them rather simple—at least far easier than piloting Sam.
...
At opposite ends of the dining table, Kafka and Herta sat facing one another. After exchanging a glance, Kafka spoke first.
"Miss Herta, thank you for honoring us with your presence."
"It's nothing. I just happened to be hungry," Herta replied with a wave of her hand.
I can't cook.
And more importantly, Punklorde is a world of high technology but low quality of life. Proper food is scarce... It's not a bad idea to have a meal with the Stellaron Hunters.
Herta looked at Kafka. "Miss Kafka, since the Stellaron Hunters specialize in hunting Stellarons, would I have the opportunity to observe the Stellarons you've collected?"
Kafka raised an eyebrow. "You want to research Stellarons?"
Herta nodded slightly. "Precisely. After all, Stellarons are known throughout the cosmos as the cancer of all worlds—entities that bring disaster wherever they go. Naturally, I want to study their principles, perhaps even eliminate this 'cancer' at its root."
"Miss Herta truly is a kind genius," Kafka said with a faint sigh. She took out her phone and gestured with it. "However, if you wish to apply to research a Stellaron, I'll need to consult Elio first."
Almost the instant her words fell, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Elio:
Kafka, take out the Stellarons and let Herta choose. Allow her to research them.
If it is Herta—this variable of the cosmos—perhaps she truly can produce something different.
If she can determine, among the Stellarons we have hunted, which one will bring the cosmos its most perfect future... that would be even better.
After reading the message, Kafka looked at Herta.
"Miss Herta, you may study the Stellarons. But let's finish dinner first."
"Very well."
...
Soon, Firefly, Blade, Stelle, Silver Wolf, and the others enjoyed a lively meal together with their guest, Herta.
Afterward, Kafka led Herta into a small room. From the void, Kafka produced a special box.
"Inside this box are Stellarons," she said. "They come from different worlds. Each once brought disaster—droughts, freezing calamities, light catastrophes... countless forms of ruin."
Herta stepped forward and opened the box.
She immediately saw the Stellarons—and heard the malicious whispers emanating from them.
"Take me with you. Leave this place. I can grant you power—the power to annihilate a planet."
Herta responded inwardly, utterly unimpressed. Annihilate a planet? I don't need your power to do that. I can accomplish it myself.
The Stellaron fell silent.
Moments later, another Stellaron attempted to tempt The Herta.
"Take me away. I can grant you boundless wealth—hundreds of billions of Credits."
"Hundreds of billions? That little? My assets are already in the trillions. Once other projects pay out, they'll skyrocket into the tens of trillions."
That Stellaron was completely crushed.
Whether it was the previous Stellaron or this one, none of them had expected to encounter someone who lacked nothing.
Neither power nor wealth was scarce to her.
How was one supposed to tempt such a being?
Then another Stellaron suddenly had an idea.
"Take me with you. I can grant you supreme wisdom—on par with members of the Genius Society."
Herta tilted her head slightly. "How did you know I am Herta, the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society?"
"..."
The Stellaron froze.
What was going on?
The human before it not only possessed planet-destroying power and wealth sufficient to purchase entire star systems—she was also a member of the Genius Society.
All the Stellarons fell silent. None could think of a new way to tempt her.
At that very moment, Herman, residing within Herta's mind, quietly activated Attribute Appraisal.
One Stellaron.
Origin: the Alpha Star System. It once brought a light calamity, plunging that world into unprecedented drought. All water evaporated. The world descended into lifeless silence.
Eventually, it was hunted by the Stellaron Hunters.
Another Stellaron.
Origin: the Atlantis Star System. It brought a water calamity—rain fell for thousands of years. What had once been a world with three continents became a complete ocean world.
Those three continents sank, becoming the submerged ruins of Atlantis...
Land life went extinct. The sea devoured everything.
Countless years later, the Stellaron Hunters arrived and removed the Stellaron.
Yet another Stellaron.
It triggered a gravitational inversion catastrophe. As the name implied, it reversed the gravitational magnetic field of a certain star system.
Planetary orbits fell into chaos. The loss of gravity tore continents apart and caused planetary disintegration.
In the end, the Stellaron Hunters stepped onto that now-desolate system and removed the Stellaron, ending the turmoil.
...
Herman used Attribute Appraisal on many Stellarons. At last, his gaze settled on a special one.
According to its description, this Stellaron had been contained by the Stellaron Hunters before it could cause disaster.
More importantly, based on the appraisal information, this particular Stellaron was the most special among countless meteors that had streaked across the skies and across worlds.
At once, Herman understood.
This was most likely the special Stellaron that had fused with Stelle aboard the Herta Space Station at the beginning of the game.
Only this Stellaron could bring about the most correct change to the cosmos—preventing the entire cosmos from sliding toward destruction.
And now, that Stellaron had fallen into Herta's hands.
After reaching this conclusion, Herman immediately contacted Herta in her mind, informing her that within the box lay a special Stellaron—one intertwined with the causal thread of saving the cosmos. It was absolutely worth studying.
Herta's spirit trembled. Without hesitation, she pointed to the most special Stellaron in the box.
"I would like to study this one. May I bring it back to The Blue for research?"
Upon hearing this, Kafka instinctively glanced at her phone. A new message from Elio had already arrived.
Hand that Stellaron to Miss Herta.
Kafka blinked, then looked up at Herta.
"Miss Herta, Elio has approved your request. You may take it at any time."
"Good."
Herta nodded in satisfaction. Then she turned to Firefly.
"Next time we meet, Ruan Mei will surely have developed a cure for you. So don't give up, little girl."
Firefly nodded earnestly. "I won't give up on living. Thank you, Miss Herta."
Herta gave a slight nod before shifting her gaze to Silver Wolf—or more precisely, to αWolf's Soul Gem.
"The pinnacle of Elation. Level 999... Is that the limit of an Emanator?"
"Yes," αWolf replied seriously. "That is my limit—and the limit of all Emanators in this cosmos. Beyond that boundary lies the domain of Aeons. But the gap between an Emanator and an Aeon is far too vast. It is almost impossible to cross."
A glint flashed in Herta's eyes.
Level 999 was the limit of an Emanator.
Level 1000 was the domain of Aeons...
Yet the difference between those two tiers was like heaven and earth. αWolf had struggled for an entire lifetime and still failed to cross it.
But just because she couldn't didn't mean Herta couldn't.
After all, she was Herta—and she had Herman with her.
With that thought, Herta waved at αWolf.
"Thank you for answering my question. Goodbye."
"Goodbye," αWolf replied.
Seeing that Herta had only bid farewell to αWolf and not to her, Silver Wolf immediately grew indignant.
"Hey, Herta! Once I reclaim the power of the Invincible Player, let's have a match. I'll definitely win next time!"
Herta paused mid-step, a faint smile curving her lips.
"That's not so certain. By the time you retrieve the Invincible Player cartridge, I may already have reached the pinnacle myself—and created a Herta 999 Genius Cartridge."
"Perhaps I might even break the upper limit and craft a Herta—Aeon card."
"Hmph. Big talk," Silver Wolf snorted. "An Aeon-level cartridge isn't something you can just make."
After spending half a day with αWolf, Silver Wolf clearly understood how difficult it was to step into the realm of Aeons.
To ascend to that level, one had to open a Path—a brand-new concept capable of resonating across the universe itself. Such a thing was far beyond her reach, something she could never accomplish in her lifetime.
If αWolf couldn't do it, then even a genius like Herta wouldn't manage it easily.
At that moment, Stelle spoke up.
"Herta, once you get back, make more interesting inventions. If they go on sale, I'll definitely buy them. I hope your inspiration never runs dry."
"Of course it won't. I'm Herta—the smartest genius in this cosmos. My wisdom is infinite. My inspiration is infinite. My talent is infinite."
Her final words before departure were brimming with confidence.
As her voice faded, Herta mounted her magic wand and swiftly vanished from Punklorde. She appeared upon the star rail and, via the stellar track constructed by the Aeon of Trailblaze, quickly returned to The Blue star system.
Originally, Herta intended to immediately begin researching the Stellaron—to uncover what made it so special that Herman had judged it closely tied to whether the universe could be saved.
But just as she was about to begin, she received a call from Ruan Mei.
"Herta, the swarm planet you asked me to prepare is ready. We're just waiting for you."
"Of course, I hope you arrive quickly. You know how fast insects propagate. If you're late, I'll have no choice but to activate Ruanruan's combat mode and have it tear the swarm planet apart."
"I'll be there immediately."
After responding, Herta hurried back into The Blue star system to retrieve several extremely special materials.
Treant seeds. Woodfolk seeds. And... a large quantity of plant-insects.
Herta began manually modifying the genes of these plant seeds, performing super-synthesis on them to create an extraordinarily special seed.
The God Tree Seed.
Once planted and supplied with sufficient life force, it would grow rapidly and bear fruit.
The reason Herta had asked Ruan Mei to prepare a swarm planet was precisely to extract the swarm's life force to accelerate the growth of the God Tree Seed.
One system hour later, the God Tree Seed was born in Herta's hands—a lush green seed brimming with vitality.
"Success."
A smile curled at her lips.
The Simulated Laboratory is truly powerful.
If I hadn't undergone hundreds—no, thousands—of simulated failures within it, I wouldn't have succeeded in synthesizing the God Tree Seed in one attempt.
Since the God Tree Seed was complete, she might as well synthesize the Devil Fruit Tree Seed as well.
Although that one required the opening of Warp to draw nourishment from the ocean of human consciousness—specifically the portion belonging to fantasy—to grow to maturity, creating the seed in advance would still be beneficial.
With that thought, Herta plunged back into intense and meticulous work.
After another system hour of labor, she set out once more, carrying two fantasy-type technological plant seeds. Her new destination was Ruan Mei's place of seclusion.
Her destination was the Yongmei Star System, renowned for its sea of blooming plum blossoms and located in a distant galaxy on the fringe of the universe.
Fortunately, the universe possessed the stellar track constructed by Akivili.
With those star rails, the cosmos remained interconnected. One could vacation in one galaxy in the morning and appear in another for work by afternoon.
Before long, Herta arrived within the Yongmei Star System.
There, she saw something astonishing.
The sun itself swayed from side to side, continuously shaking. Upon its surface was an eerie human face.
The sight was profoundly unsettling. Even Herta's pupils contracted sharply.
Herman, residing within her consciousness, saw the face upon the sun and momentarily hallucinated a resemblance to a children's show sun mascot. He could not help but marvel inwardly.
So this is a star awakened and enlightened by Ruan Mei's hand—truly alive?
Incredible.