In the real world, inside Little Bear's livestream...
"This ship is so good! A black-and-white pairing like this should be locked together forever!"
After grinding through the entire Unknowable Domain storyline and reaching the final quest, Little Bear watched Lumina and Herta interact, a doting, almost maternal smile spreading across his face.
So shippable! Way too shippable!
[Would the world even keep spinning without the Black-White Duo? It's just barely holding on!]
[The Black-White Duo is unparalleled! The Black-White Duo is brilliant! The Black-White Duo is drop-dead gorgeous!]
[Feed me! This is exactly what I love to eat! It's so delicious! I'm eating, eating, eating! I'm devouring it with a hundred mouths!]
[Where are the doujinshi? Why isn't anyone selling them anymore? Hurry up and hand them over! I can't hold back any longer!]
[That Doujinshi Bro who's always selling them in various livestreams? He got beaten up and hospitalized again last week. The other party paid him 100,000 in compensation...]
[How much? 100,000? Isn't that way faster than selling doujinshi?]
[Faster my ass! Have you seen how much he charges for a single doujinshi?]
"Alright, time to test the Simulated Universe again. I've finally figured out the trick to the Scepter."
"Once I finish this quest, I'm going to crush the highest difficulty."
Little Bear glanced at the comment section but didn't pay it much mind. After finishing his conversation with Herta, Lumina, and the others, he approached the Simulated Universe Device and entered the Simulated Universe: Unknowable Domain.
[Bet you won't do it without Lumina. Anyone can survive with her on the team. (scoffs)]
[Can you believe my healer's basic attack deals several times more damage than my main DPS?]
[You're right. That's the one true god of our power-crept Star Rail. She shatters every main DPS's dream of being the strongest with a single slap.]
[The highest mountain in damage history, the longest river in value retention. Pulling a full-Eidolon Lumina in Version 1.7 was a stroke of genius.]
[Not selling a single pull from Lumina's banner for 320 is so generous. I've got a E4S1 Lumina now and I'm all set to pull a E6S5 at the end of the version. (laughs)]
"Not use Lumina? No way. When you need her, you need her." Little Bear frowned when he saw that comment.
If I don't use Lumina, what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and get pummeled by the boss?
[Then what's the point of bragging? Even if you ignore her damage, just looking at her survivability, two Hoolays attacking at once wouldn't be able to do anything.]
[You're right, but I'm a Lumina player. (trying not to laugh)]
[I can't even imagine what kind of miserable lives people who didn't pull for Lumina in Version 1.7 must lead.]
Little Bear glanced at the comment section and saw that everyone was just bragging about having Lumina, so he didn't pay them much mind.
He focused on the game.
Soon, he reached an Event node and began reading the text.
"Proposal: Initiate a full regression of the Simulated Universe's records, reverting to the Event where the Scepter was most complete, and interface with its core."
This was Screwllum's proposed plan.
Seeing the options appear on the screen, Little Bear followed the instructions.
"Heh heh, why the rush, my friends?"
But just as Little Bear clicked "Regress" for the third time, a voice suddenly echoed.
It was a woman, her gaze fixed upon the group.
"Holy shit, Genius Society #4, Polka Kakamond?!" Little Bear was initially confused by the figure with the obscured face on the screen.
But when he saw the name in the bottom-left corner, he gasped in shock.
This woman is a real menace!
Little Bear knew a little about her. She was a fellow Genius Society member who had killed several other Geniuses...
"Herta, this little game you and your friends have organized to peek at past secrets should end now. Before my scalpel severs everything, care for a dance with me?"
Polka Kakamond paid the group no mind, as if she had already foreseen their fate.
"I sensed someone prying into my footsteps. So I prepared a little gift for them..."
"The gift is a small game of cat and mouse..."
"Seriously? This woman is way too arrogant," Little Bear muttered, reading the Simulated Universe text. He found Polka Kakamond's confidence utterly insane.
Never mind the four Geniuses present—Lumina is right there watching!
This is the woman who single-handedly thrashed the Antimatter Legion and kicked Sunday's ass! Little Bear refused to believe Polka Kakamond could possibly defeat her.
[Lumina: Polka Kakamond? You might want to check who's standing behind you.]
[Herta: Lumina? You might want to check who's standing behind you.]
[Ruan Mei: Herta? You might want to check who's standing behind you.]
[Me: Well, if you insist... hehehe]
[Perv!]
-
Meanwhile, at Herta Space Station, inside Herta's Office, in front of the Simulated Universe Device.
Lumina stared at Polka Kakamond inside the simulation, her brow furrowed.
A dance? I've never even danced with Herta, and you dare to invite her?
Have you never been beaten to a pulp? Do you really not understand your place?
Lumina felt a surge of irritation. As she assessed Polka Kakamond's power within the Simulated Universe, her eyes began to gleam.
A moment later, an idea seemed to strike her, and the corners of her lips curled into a slight smile.
Polka Kakamond, is it? Your real body had better be a beautiful girl...
Silently, Lumina extended her power into the simulation, beginning to trace the "network cable" back to Polka Kakamond's current location.
While Polka Kakamond's concealment techniques were formidable, that was only true for others.
To Lumina's eyes, Polka Kakamond's technique was riddled with flaws.
Just give me a little time, and I'll tear away her mysterious veil~
As she probed deeper with her power, Lumina spoke softly to Herta inside the simulation.
"Herta, if you want my help, just give me a little 'meow,' okay?"
Herta: "?"
"What the hell?"
"A 'meow.' You know, like a cat," Lumina explained, sensing Herta's confusion.
"Heh, you can go meow yourself." Herta scoffed, ignoring Lumina completely. She focused all her attention on Polka Kakamond, her expression growing increasingly grave.
"Stelle, don't just stand there—run!"
For now, Lumina's intervention wasn't needed.
But just because her help wasn't required didn't mean Polka Kakamond would be easy to defeat.
-
"I received an invitation, sealed with the promise of Rubert's resurrection." Polka Kakamond's voice echoed again.
Though her voice lingered, it carried a threat that could snuff out everyone's lives in an instant.
"It was bait to lure a sixth genius into your ridiculous project," Polka Kakamond continued, her tone laced with indolence. "I came, but not to join you."
She paused briefly before adding, "I came to extinguish the chaotic possibilities you represent..."
"Heh, so that's it." Herta listened intently as she managed the simulation, analyzing Polka Kakamond's words until she reached a conclusion.
"We've speculated on thousands of reasons why the Lord of Silence relentlessly hunts geniuses, but we never once considered this..."
"To extinguish the possibility of Chaos? Just for that reason? Your criminal motive is truly unique." Even in this situation, Herta showed no urgency, instead turning to analyze Polka Kakamond.
"You kill geniuses to limit the growth of cosmic knowledge, aiming to turn the entire cosmos into your own Knowable Domain, right?"
Upon hearing this, Polka Kakamond remained silent.
But the next moment, she spoke—not to answer or ask, but as if speaking to herself: "If one were to confine the cosmos within a circle through a thought experiment, they would become a sinner."
"Then how should we judge THEM—the one who anchored the cosmos in a single moment, imprisoning all intelligent life within Erudition?"
"..." Herta froze, then quickly recovered, her face filled with disbelief. "You... Are you carrying out THEIR command?"
"But that's impossible! It contradicts THEIR divine nature of seeking knowledge!"
"Heh, have you ever considered that perfect calculation is also a form of knowledge-seeking? You know very well that no one can defy THEIR calculations..."
-
Real World, Live Stream
"Hiss... That's a huge info dump. I don't think I can process it all right now..." Little Bear stared at the text from the Simulated Universe, feeling like his brain was about to overheat.
"Ahem..." He quickly snapped back to reality and cleared his throat. "Let's leave the heavy analysis to the pros."
"We'll just do a quick run-through for now. We can watch other analysis videos later."
After a moment's thought, Little Bear decided to slack off.
He figured it was better to be honest about his mental limits than to fry his brain and embarrass himself on stream.
Acknowledging his own limitations was a good way to avoid making a fool of himself.
So, Little Bear just skimmed the text, getting the gist of it before clicking to the next entry without delving any deeper.
"I will not permit it. I will pin you down, one by one, within the Knowable Domain..." Polka Kakamond sighed, as if lamenting the lives about to be extinguished.
"Heh, what arrogance. You're practically inviting us to come get you, aren't you?" Hearing this, Herta scoffed, unimpressed—even though this was Polka Kakamond, the woman who had slain several geniuses.
Polka Kakamond, Kakamond Polka... whatever her name is, if she thinks she can kill me, she's dreaming.
Let's see if Lumina doesn't blast you into dust with a single slap.
Herta snorted inwardly.
In her mind, Lumina was far more powerful than this Lord of Silence, Polka Kakamond, even with her reputation for killing geniuses.
This held true even if Herta stripped away her own biased admiration for Lumina.
When Herta first met her, she could still see through Lumina to some extent.
But ever since Penacony, Lumina had become completely inscrutable...
Herta didn't know what had happened to Lumina, but she was certain of one thing: with Lumina's current strength, defeating Polka Kakamond would be a simple matter.
The next moment, Polka Kakamond's words confirmed Herta's suspicion.
"I saw... I saw THEIR calculation for this event." Polka Kakamond's voice grew icy.
"I saw a Moment..."
"A Moment of the Genius Society's struggle is fast approaching."
"Herta, Stephen Lloyd, Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and... you."
Polka Kakamond's gaze finally settled on Stelle, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Struggle all you want, little bug caught in the web!"
"Heh..." Hearing Polka Kakamond's words, a barely perceptible smile touched Herta's lips before she quickly suppressed it.
Lumina is standing right out in the open, yet this Polka Kakamond hasn't noticed a thing. Doesn't that say it all?
Lumina's power far surpasses Polka Kakamond's...
If it weren't for the fact that exposing Polka Kakamond's true nature was more important, Herta would have already asked Lumina to take this woman down, snap a picture, and broadcast her "photo" across the cosmos...
"Want me to step in?" Lumina's voice echoed in Herta's ear once more, still undetected by Polka Kakamond.
"No, it's not necessary. We can handle this." Herta shook her head, declining Lumina's offer.
Herta had the pride of a genius, and so did the others.
If the four of them combined were to be single-handedly defeated by Polka Kakamond, then... well, then they'd have no choice but to ask Lumina for help.
(Herta helplessly shrugs.jpg)
After accepting help from Stephen and Ruan Mei, and with Screwllum rewriting the System's bias to reveal the truth to the inhabitants of the Simulated Universe, the entire simulation had descended into utter chaos.
"A trap prepared for me?" Yet Polka Kakamond showed no emotional reaction. She merely brandished the scalpel in her hand, and in the blink of an eye, all the code shattered into fragments...
"Now, if you have any more tricks, feel free to use them." Polka Kakamond chuckled softly, as if she had already foreseen the geniuses' end.
"Before me, there is no such thing as randomness. Everything unfolds exactly as I command."
"Hmph... Hahahaha..." As Polka Kakamond spoke, she suddenly burst into laughter.
Everyone except Lumina was utterly bewildered by her sudden outburst.
"Hahahahaha..."
The next moment, everyone within the Simulated Universe began to laugh uncontrollably. Only Lumina, outside the simulation, watched the farce unfold, cupping her cheeks in boredom...
An Aeon who loved laughter, joy, and chaos had appeared within the Simulated Universe...