Bai Luan had been crafting curios in the lab as usual when the door burst open and a Herta Puppet rushed in.
She dove straight into his arms and started ranting about Herta's latest antics.
The Herta Puppet felt a mountain of grievance, she was clearly the one making the slowest progress!
Yet now she was suspected of being the first to get a taste!
Had it actually happened, she would have accepted it!
But she hadn't gotten a single bite!
Who could understand this pain!
Bai Luan listened carefully to the whole story, then fought with every fiber of his being to keep his mouth from twitching.
『It's like an emperor suspecting a fully-castrated eunuch of fooling around with the empress』
Hearing the system's snark, Bai Luan's lips shook violently again.
He barely managed to suppress the impending grin a second time.
'System! Shut up!'
'Don't make me laugh right now.'
『...』
『To the marrow』
Bai Luan's mouth twitched yet again—can you act like a decent being?
'Stop tormenting the Herta Puppet.'
『(ㆆ_ㆆ)』
Bai Luan coaxed the Herta Puppet for a while until her mood improved slightly.
Then the Herta Puppet used that as an excuse to cling to him for a bit longer.
Soon, though, Bai Luan realized she had long since cooled off and didn't care about the incident nearly as much as he'd thought.
The Herta Puppet was simply using it as a pretext to act spoiled around him.
Well… as long as she's accepted it.
Because Herta knew her earlier behavior had been a bit overboard, she turned a blind eye to the puppet's antics and let it slide.
After what Herta called her "void-lock targeting" incident, she sought Bai Luan out again.
She seemed convinced that pastries had ruined her performance last time; this time, with no pastries, she should—no, pastries weren't the issue.
Facts were facts, and there was no arguing with them.
Herta accepted reality and reframed it as a new challenge.
Now she was the challenger.
Having actually tasted the prize, Herta's mindset shifted; at the very least, she no longer worried about Bai Luan being lured away by another genius.
If he still tried to run after all this, she'd just drag him back, lock him in a tiny room, and never let him out again.
As for the Herta Puppet, she resolved not to remain the slowest Herta—this stage wouldn't block her for long.
One day, she would catch up.
She already had a few ideas on how to pull it off.
She had no intention of converting her Automaton body into organic flesh.
An organic body was nowhere near as practical as her Automaton frame.
She planned to consult Screwllum for a method of "self-upgrade" and then enhance herself accordingly.
Until the upgrade was complete, she would milk her current image—"just a puppet, can't do anything"—to cuddle with Bai Luan as often as possible.
Under her present identity, Herta wouldn't say much anyway.
After all, from Herta's current viewpoint, the puppet who'd gotten nothing had fallen so far behind there was no need to guard against her.
Next, the Herta Puppet prepared to execute a three-step combo strategy:
Step One: Surface camouflage.
Pretend she's content with the status quo, using her puppet identity for shallow interactions with Bai Luan and acting as if she has "no great ambitions and will stop here," lulling Herta into lowering her guard.
Step Two: Secret upgrade.
While Herta remains off-guard, actively communicate with Screwllum, obtain key technology, and quietly complete her ultimate upgrade.
Step Three: Lightning overtake.
Once the upgrade is done, exploit the brief information gap, seize the moment, and catch up—well, first catch up in progress!
I refuse to stay the slowest Herta forever!
Following her plan, the Herta Puppet worked in secret.
Under her covert efforts… Screwllum came looking for Bai Luan.
"Lately, I've been intrigued by one of Ms. Herta's puppets."
Bai Luan: ?
Plenty of puppets existed—maybe it wasn't the one he knew?
Bai Luan glanced at Screwllum and ventured:
"The one holding the camera?"
Screwllum nodded. "Exactly."
(ᵕ—ᴗ—)
How had she suddenly ended up liaising with Screwllum again?
Screwllum explained to Bai Luan:
"She's recently been discussing some… odd questions with me."
"What kind of odd questions?"
"She wants to keep it secret from you,
and she also asked me to keep quiet about it."
Hearing this, Bai Luan understood why Screwllum had come to him.
Everyone knows Herta Puppets normally serve as mouthpieces for Herta, yet this one was clearly different—she actually wanted Screwllum to keep Herta in the dark.
Any ordinary person would sense something off; how could Screwllum miss it?
Still… if the puppet planned to sneak off and do something, approaching Screwllum while asking him to stay silent seemed an easy way to expose herself.
Bai Luan pondered a moment, then saw the logic.
The Herta Puppet had done it on purpose.
She knew Screwllum's keen interest in the subject of mechanical awakening into Automatons.
A Herta Puppet visibly pushing its limits and seeking autonomous upgrades was itself a highly valuable research specimen.
Revealing a hint of clandestine activity only sharpened the curiosity of this genius.
To Screwllum, this might be a rare chance to observe a Herta creation evolving on its own.
He naturally didn't mind offering some help within reason—and keeping the secret for now.
With that, Bai Luan looked at Screwllum.
"Since she asked you to keep quiet, why are you here discussing it with me?"
"Logic: my agreement with her covers 'not revealing specific technical details or requirements.'
I made no promise not to tell you that 'she is contacting me and seeking certain changes'."
"Conclusion: my actions do not violate the agreement."
"Sounds like whatever she's planning involves me as well?"
"Affirmative - hence my warning: pay close attention."
"What exactly does she want to do?"
Screwllum looked at him and said nothing more.
Seeing that, Bai Luan dropped the question and said,
"All right, I get it—I'll keep an eye on her."
『It feels like Screwllum said nothing,
yet somehow said everything』
Screwllum nodded, then moved to the topic that truly interested him:
"More importantly, I'm curious how you turned her into what she is now."
I knew you'd ask that.
Bai Luan thought for a moment, then replied,
"Love. I used love. I love her—I love every Herta."
"Logic: do you believe love is therefore a key variable in the shift from machine to Automaton?"
"In my view, any intense emotion can propel a machine toward becoming an Automaton."
"But the rigid, fixed programming of a machine's body makes comprehending emotion extremely difficult."
"A single tragic tale may evoke empathy in a human after one telling, yet a machine might need to witness hundreds of different tragedies before it grasps sorrow."
"My experimental data align precisely with what you describe."
Screwllum acknowledged the point, then shifted tack.
"However, you—and the mechanical creations you directly influence—constitute a striking exception."
"Query: how do you achieve this?"
"…I seem able to make any machine I touch considerably smarter, drastically shortening its evolution from machine to Automaton. I suppose that counts as my talent."
Screwllum fell silent for a while, then said,
"As sovereign of Screwllum's Planet, I must inform you:
Your existence is of immense importance to me - and to our entire inorganic species. I implore you: stay safe."
"And if some villain kills me—what then?"
"…"
Screwllum paused before stating,
"Statement: whoever it is will stand against every inorganic life-form, and I will find a way to terminate their life functions as swiftly as possible."
Bai Luan shrugged and said,
"Fine—let's drop this gloomy topic. How about a joke to lighten things up?"
Screwllum considered, then looked at Bai Luan and solemnly asked,
"Logic: I now need to transport an object your height and width to Screwllum's Planet, for which I require a sack."
"Query: what color sack would you prefer?"
Bai Luan blinked at Screwllum.
The more he thought, the harder it was to keep a straight face; finally he burst out laughing.
To finish the joke properly, he answered with mock solemnity,
"Purple."
…