Looking at Herta's faintly teasing expression—as though she were toying with an especially amusing plaything—Jiang Ling fell into a brief silence.
So it was just as he had expected.
The reason Herta had come to "arrest" him was entirely because the Strategic Investment Department's intentions had been exposed.
For a genius like Herta, noticing that much was hardly difficult. And with Asta as a ready source of information...
it would have been harder not to notice.
Beyond that, Jiang Ling truly could not think of any other reason Herta would bring up a phrase like "those few superiors of yours."
But what exactly was the point of threatening him with this?
Did she simply want to test his loyalty to the company—to see what kind of expression a so-called corporate spy would make when exposed to his face?
Or was it...
that she simply wanted a test subject for the Simulated Universe's beta testing?
But he was just an ordinary person. He had no Stellaron in his body, and he had not even set foot on a Path.
If she used him as a reference point...
what exactly could the Simulated Universe calculate?
What he ought to eat for his next meal?
At that thought, Jiang Ling's brows knitted tightly together. An indescribable sense of wrongness instantly coiled itself around his heart, leaving him uneasy.
Herta, of course, caught the subtle shift in his expression at once. She released her wand, letting it float in midair on its own, folded her arms, and said with visible amusement,
"Hm? Looking at that face of yours... it seems you already know about the Simulated Universe project? Efficient, aren't you? The Strategic Investment Department's little moves were faster than I expected."
"I know what you're worried about, little one. This test isn't some life-threatening affair. I'm not so deranged that I'd use the life of some company researcher to patch bugs in the Simulated Universe."
"I just want to use you to verify the effective subject range of the Simulated Universe. Why are you overthinking it?"
At this point, Herta paused, then quite naturally perched herself on the conference table. A trace of impatience appeared on her exquisite face.
"All right. I've explained everything that needed explaining. Now it's your turn to choose."
"Will you gratefully accept my generosity and benevolence, or will you reject me outright and return to Pier Point to face punishment that was never supposed to be yours in the first place?"
"My patience is limited. Decide quickly. Once the offer expires, it expires."
"..."
Looking at the beautiful woman before him, now openly impatient, Jiang Ling could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth. Then he let out a resigned sigh and said softly,
"Between participating in a test under an Emanator's protection and being held accountable and punished by the company's higher-ups... I'm still capable of telling which is the lighter burden."
"And besides... once I finish this project and the Strategic Investment Department's assignment, I'll have repaid the 'debt of gratitude' I owe the company. After that, I can leave Pier Point with a clear conscience."
He paused briefly, then raised his eyes to meet Herta's, which had shifted from impatience to surprise.
"Lady Herta, regarding what you just said... may I take it as an invitation to join Herta Space Station?"
"You..."
This time, it was Herta's turn to be stunned.
She stared at Jiang Ling's earnest expression, which did not look false in the slightest, and for a moment she could not tell whether he was pretending or speaking from the heart.
Still...
whether she could tell or not did not really matter to Herta.
What mattered was that he had agreed to participate in the Simulated Universe test.
At that thought, Herta let out a light snort and gave a casual wave of her hand. The wand floating in midair instantly flew back into her grasp.
"Hmph... interpret it however you like. I don't care what your attitude toward the company is. One more person at the space station makes no difference, and one less makes no difference either."
"If you've really decided to cooperate with me, then..."
She paused, then idly flicked her wand through the air. A spatial rift opened silently in the middle of the conference room.
"...follow me."
After tossing out those words, Herta did not bother checking Jiang Ling's reaction. She turned and stepped directly into the spatial rift.
Almost the moment she disappeared into it, a familiar screen appeared before Jiang Ling's eyes.
[Detected: subject has reached the landmark "Herta Space Station." The negative effect "Distortion" on Persona Extraction #1 has been removed. Continue extraction?]
[Yes / No]
Jiang Ling blinked at the prompt in front of him. After a moment's thought, he decided to put it aside for now and turned to step into the spatial rift as well.
Even though reality had unfolded nothing like what he experienced in Persona Extraction, the outcome was good.
He had reached cooperation with Herta. That was enough.
As for how exactly that cooperation had been achieved...
best not to dwell on the details.
As for switching jobs...
he would just have to take it one step at a time.
...
Perhaps because the spatial rift had been opened by Herta herself, Jiang Ling was not harmed in the slightest by any spatial turbulence as he passed through it. He arrived safely inside Herta's office.
More precisely...
he arrived atop a faintly glowing raised platform at the very back of the office.
Come to think of it... if I enter the Simulated Universe, will it also display the process of my Persona Extraction?
Looking at the platform beneath his feet and the Herta puppet standing nearby, Jiang Ling tilted his head and could not help wondering inwardly.
Herta, however, had long since assumed he would follow, so she gave no reaction to his arrival. She simply kept her head lowered, adjusting the parameters of the Simulated Universe and preparing for this special test.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling did not say anything unnecessary. He merely stood quietly by the entrance, dutifully playing the role of a lab rat.
Before long, Herta finished fine-tuning every parameter. Only then did she look up at Jiang Ling standing by the entrance, a flash of eager anticipation flickering through her eyes.
"Ready? You might feel a little dizzy in a moment. That's normal."
"Don't worry. If anything unexpected happens... I'll pull you out immediately."
Before Jiang Ling could even respond, Herta decisively pressed the red button on the control console.
Bzzzz—
A strange humming sound filled the air. At the entrance to the Simulated Universe, the halo of light grew rapidly more intense until it became an all-devouring white brilliance, swallowing Jiang Ling whole.
Ordinarily, seeing such a scene should have made Herta even more excited—after all, she was just about to touch the continuation of those memories.
And yet...
at this very moment, Herta was frowning at the increasingly violent white light. Her wand had begun to glow with a faint violet radiance, and her entire posture had turned wary.
Before Jiang Ling, the Simulated Universe had already been tested multiple times by her, Screwllum, and Stephen, and nothing like this had ever happened.
So... this little one really does have a secret on him, and that's why the Simulated Universe is entering some kind of... overload state?
Clack—!
Before Herta could reach any firm conclusion, a series of sharp mechanical sounds—like gears meshing together—rang out one after another within the office.
Almost in the next instant, the white light pouring from the entrance transformed into a noble, elegant black-and-gold glow.
Then, from the center of that black-gold radiance, a massive quartz clock emerged.
Along with it appeared an hourglass, tightly clasped in a pair of black-gold hands.
Click—!
Another crisp sound echoed out.
Without warning, the hour hand on the quartz clock dropped down by a single mark, releasing an even more dazzling black-and-gold brilliance.
"This is..."
Herta's eyes widened abruptly as she stared at the phenomenon before her. A familiar yet unfamiliar Path-aura flooded her senses, and she could not help murmuring,
"...the Path of Finality?"
-------
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