"If this actually works..."
"...then does that mean you could bring the Path of Eternity from the Simulated Universe into reality?"
A brand-new Path...
was right before Herta's eyes.
How could she not be excited?
The birth of a Path inevitably meant the birth of a new Aeon.
If the Path of Eternity truly came into existence...
wouldn't that also mean the Aeon of Eternity had been born?
How could Herta not look forward to something like that?
To personally witness the birth of an Aeon—wouldn't that be the most direct way to understand how Aeons came into existence?
Herta immediately froze in place.
Her consciousness returned to her real body as she carefully sorted through everything she had just learned.
Just as Su Ran reached out to move the puppet off his lap, Herta instantly logged back in.
"I've already ordered all the equipment needed to rebuild the Simulated Universe."
"When do we start the research?"
The information they'd obtained this time was simply too incredible.
It left Herta unable to contain her excitement.
Every Path was born together with an Aeon.
After all, the one who stood at the very forefront of every Path was the Aeon itself.
If she could personally witness the birth of an Aeon...
That "Raiden Whatever"...
was the prototype for the Aeon of Eternity, wasn't she?
At this moment, Herta had become interested in Raiden Makoto as well.
Of course...
Chiyo, who had just completed the Simulated Universe test, was no exception.
She deserved thorough study too.
"No rush."
Although it all sounded fascinating,
there were simply some things that couldn't be hurried.
Just like Herta's dream of projecting a fictional Path into reality—even Su Ran, the one who had personally accomplished the feat, only had a rough idea of the process.
He knew perfectly well how much work still remained.
It was much like Ruan Mei's experiment.
She had only managed to create an Emanator of Propagation that lasted less than a minute.
Su Ran's own research was in a similar state.
In fact, his result had only lasted for a fleeting instant.
To truly achieve what he envisioned...he felt it would be even harder than inventing the Equivalent Exchange Machine.
Which was why Herta's eagerness to begin experimenting again was just a bit too impatient.
He simply wasn't ready yet.
"Hurry? How can I not hurry?!"
"Do you even realize what you've just accomplished?"
"You can't seriously expect me to act like nothing happened!"
Before, she hadn't had a choice.
But now...an opportunity was sitting right in front of her.
An opportunity that might actually succeed.
How could Herta possibly ignore it?
This was a genuine chance to witness the birth of an Aeon firsthand.
If she knowingly let an opportunity like this slip away...
she felt she might as well dig her own grave.
"Right now!"
"Immediately!"
"Whatever you need, I'll provide it!"
Herta swept her gaze across Su Ran's space station.
"Give me this station's coordinates too."
"When we purchase research materials, we'll have them delivered directly here."
"And if you think one brain isn't enough..."
"I'll bring Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen along too."
She knew Su Ran wasn't keen on exposing his space station to the major powers of the universe just yet.
So, rather thoughtfully, she proposed moving all future Simulated Universe experiments here instead.
Truthfully, when it came to scientific research, Herta could be astonishingly meticulous.
Far more considerate than she ever was in daily life.
It wasn't that she couldn't take care of people—she simply couldn't be bothered most of the time.
"You really want to gather an entire group of Geniuses at my space station."
"I have to admit... that's very like you."
Su Ran wasn't particularly bothered by her request.
He didn't want Teyvat revealed to the major factions of the universe too early.
But if it was only Herta and the other Geniuses...that wasn't much of a problem.
"Here's the location."
"...So remote?"
"No wonder the IPC has never found it."
Looking at the coordinates,
Herta finally understood why this planet had remained unnoticed for so long.
According to current galactic records, whether intelligent civilization even existed in this region remained uncertain.
Naturally, the IPC conducted surveys before expanding into new markets.
And their expansion routes still largely followed the trails once traveled by Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze.
If Akivili had never visited this region...then chances were, no one had ever bothered searching here either.
The hatch suddenly opened.
Ningguang hurried inside.
The first thing she saw...
was Herta sitting on Su Ran's lap.
"...Um..."
"Did I come at a bad time?"
She had only come to ask about the station's sudden system failure.
Instead, she found Herta sitting comfortably in Su Ran's lap.
For a moment, she wondered if she'd interrupted something.
Fortunately, she also spotted Chiyo nearby.
Only then did she breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
"If you already know that..."
"Then why are you still standing here?"
Herta showed absolutely no courtesy.
It didn't matter that Ningguang was Su Ran's chosen rich benefactor.
She still wasn't as wealthy as Herta.
The richest woman hadn't retired yet.
So the not-quite-as-rich rich woman could wait her turn.
She wasn't about to let anyone interrupt her.
"Did something happen?"
Su Ran looked toward Ningguang.
Although Herta had tried to chase her away, this wasn't Herta's station.
Ningguang knew Herta held immense status.
But that didn't mean she had to obey her.
After all, her boss was Su Ran, not Herta.
And she wasn't Asta.
"The station suddenly shut down just now."
"But it seems to have recovered."
The unexplained system failure worried Ningguang.
She couldn't help wondering whether this magnificent structure might someday simply fall out of orbit.
She'd always had a recurring nightmare.
In it, the Jade Chamber crashed.
Fortunately, the real Jade Chamber had never fallen— it simply no longer belonged to her.
Still, the image of its destruction remained deeply etched into her memory.
The sudden failure of the space station had brought that nightmare back.
"It was just a minor side effect from a small experiment."
"Don't worry."
"The station has automatic repair systems."
"...A small experiment?"
Ningguang was startled.
If a small experiment could produce consequences like this...
"Then what would happen during a big experiment?"
Herta glanced at her dismissively.
"At worst?"
"A planet gets destroyed."
"So what?"
"Do you know who your boss is?"
"If that ever happens, you'll just move to Planet Blue."
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