---o---
...Huh?
For a split second, Ron's entire mind went blank. He had considered countless possible scenarios, but this was not one of them.
Where in the world did Herta pop out from?
Was the Xianzhou [Luofu]'s defense system any different from a sieve?
Just what kind of unidentified terrorist could infiltrate the Luofu like this? The ship's security forces were far too weak.
One must understand, Herta was a great scientist renowned throughout the sea of stars, a super-genius worthy of entering the Genius Society. Any civilization in the entire cosmos that had achieved spaceflight and connected with the Interastral Peace Corporation to join the galactic community would absolutely treat Herta's arrival with the utmost ceremony.
This was not just out of respect for the boundless knowledge within the great scientist's mind, but more so out of reverence for Herta as an Emanator of [Erudition].
As an Emanator of [Erudition], Herta might not excel in combat, but she could absolutely overturn almost any civilization in this sea of stars that did not possess its own Emanator.
Even the Xianzhou Alliance, with the boundless grace of [The Hunt] Lan and the protection of the Reignbow Arbiter, wouldn't go so far as to completely disregard Herta or show no reaction to her arrival—even if it was just a puppet.
So... did the Cloud Knights of the Luofu completely fail to notice Herta infiltrating the ship?
Wait... infiltration? Given Herta's status, if she wanted to come to the Xianzhou [Luofu], she would never need to stoop to infiltrating the place. With her personality, she would be too lazy to bother with such troublesome matters.
Was there some reason that made her feel the Xianzhou [Luofu] was already an enemy, requiring her to use infiltration to avoid trouble?
---o---
Countless thoughts raced through Ron's mind, while Fu Xuan, standing to the side, felt her scalp tingle as a myriad of ideas flashed through her own head.
Ron's sudden questioning had already been difficult for her to handle, and Herta's arrival left her at a complete loss.
Although Herta's words had thoroughly exposed her status as a player—or rather, Herta herself had no intention of hiding it—and Fu Xuan was certain her arrival was related to Ron, she still felt a bit dazed.
She didn't appear in this simulation, so why would Herta suddenly show up here?
Even if she had discovered from the last simulation that the Luofu had arrived at Jarilo-VI, she couldn't have rushed over to the Luofu this quickly...
In an instant, Fu Xuan's mind was in turmoil. Countless thoughts tangled together, ultimately dissolving into a helpless sigh as an utterly resigned idea formed in her mind:
She needed to find some time… to go to the Seat of Divine Foresight and submit a proposal to Jing Yuan about strengthening the Luofu's defenses.
---o---
Meanwhile, Herta couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she watched the two individuals who, upon her arrival, seemed to have had their pause buttons slammed, standing frozen on the spot without saying a single word.
She crossed her arms, her tone impatient.
"Is a staring contest fun? Are you two not past the age of playing 'Red Light, Green Light'?"
"Don't just stand there so perfectly like an equilateral triangle. Anyone who didn't know better would think we're in some kind of love triangle."
Herta glanced at the somewhat stiff Fu Xuan beside them.
"Don't tell me you were loved and abandoned by Ron? I was wondering why his expression was so off when he looked at my puppet before. Eww, what a terrifying lolicon."
Herta's tone held a hint of teasing; she was clearly just making a harmless joke.
Ron, naturally, wasn't going to let his reputation be slandered. He had to temporarily halt the storm of questions and thoughts in his mind and said with a touch of exasperation:
"Alright… Herta, stop joking around."
He turned his head, his gaze falling upon Fu Xuan, who had clearly snapped back to her senses and was now frowning slightly. His tone became serious.
"Master Diviner… surely you can't continue to be silent and pretend you know nothing, as you were just now?"
"Let's find a quiet room… a secure one, a secret chamber that no one else will know about."
"I think… perhaps we all need to have a good, long chat."
After a moment of silence, Fu Xuan finally spoke, breaking her silence. Though she looked troubled, her voice was calm.
"Then follow me. There is a place within the Divination Commission that can accommodate us."
---o---
"...This is the place you said could accommodate us?"
Herta frowned slightly, looking at the dazzling, iridescent jade abacus structures around her with some displeasure.
"The jade abacus data hub for the Matrix of Prescience… You Xianzhou people are really something else, aren't you?"
She lightly tapped on a nearby crystal structure. These jade abaci, inscribed with dense crystalline circuits, were in an extremely stable material state. They were almost unaffected by any physical impact, and temperature fluctuations had little effect on them. Only overwhelming physical destruction or the corrupting influence of Imaginary energy could cause them to malfunction or break.
"Nous is not some Aeon who's content to be a background prop… The Matrix of Prescience uses His technology, doesn't it? This place is His eye. He will know what we say here."
"The Matrix of Prescience was indeed created with the help of the Lord of Erudition, but the Xianzhou people have their own foundations…" Fu Xuan said, walking ahead to lead the way, neither haughty nor humble. "Take a jade abacus away from the Xianzhou, and it is merely an exquisite jeweled ornament. Once back on the Xianzhou, only a Xianzhou native can control it—not even an Aeon can manipulate the property of the Xianzhou people. The Lord of Erudition will not know what happens here."
Hearing this, Herta seemed lost in thought.
"Oh… The blessing of [The Hunt] Lan? It's said that he patrols the sea of stars year-round, his eyes seeing nothing but the plumes of [The Abundance]. He has little energy to spare for other matters. In that case, this place should be safe enough."
Fu Xuan led Ron and Herta through the massive jade abacus data hub of the Matrix of Prescience. It wasn't long before they reached a heavy, imposing door deep within the hub.
Fu Xuan's fingertip tapped lightly on the door. The encrypted jade abacus lock immediately opened under the command of the highest authority.
After opening a continuous succession of eighteen jade abacus locks, the extremely thick door slowly swung open, revealing a small room within.
Inside the room was a long table with some star charts on it, and on the wall was a giant, illuminated screen.
It displayed the real-time monitoring of all the components of the Matrix of Prescience. The main interface could also switch to the Matrix's divination screen, which showed several divination videos. Judging by the names, they were the routine divinations performed by the Divination Commission over the past few days. There were also some divination data related to the "Disciples of Sanctus Medicus" and "Lord Ravager," which were clearly the results of Fu Xuan's recent efforts.
"This is the internal observation room of the Matrix of Prescience. I only come here to perform calculations when a divination result requires multiple deductions. No one else comes here unless it's a matter that threatens the entire Luofu. This is a good place for our talk."
Fu Xuan made a welcoming gesture, motioning for Ron and Herta to take a seat, before closing the heavy door to the room.
As the light clicking of the jade abacus locks sounded multiple times, and after all eighteen locks were securely fastened, Fu Xuan finally turned around. She sat in the master seat at the table, her gaze complicated as she looked at Herta and Ron.
"You… are all players?"
As someone who had been trapped on the Xianzhou [Luofu] throughout the simulations, Fu Xuan had almost never interacted with Ron in any of them. She was, in fact, somewhat lacking in information.
She had never truly encountered any other player in the simulations. Even the fact that Ron was a player was a faint clue she had discovered based on his strange behavior in the last simulation. In truth, she was not prepared to truly face another player.
Therefore, Ron's sudden questioning and Herta's arrival had thrown Fu Xuan into a state of considerable confusion. However, on the way to the secret room in the Matrix of Prescience's data hub, she had a rare moment to think. After a simple reflection, Fu Xuan managed to sort through her chaotic thoughts and regain her composure.
She had originally intended to confirm Ron's identity as a player and his true intentions before laying her cards on the table to negotiate the future of the simulations, attempting to use this method to stop Ron from performing those abstract operations. But now, it seemed the advantageous position in this negotiation had completely slipped away from her.
Right now, Ron and Herta clearly knew far more than she did. She didn't even have a clue what their objective was.
No matter what she did next, it seemed she had already been placed in a disadvantageous negotiating position from the very beginning.
Therefore, she could only try to open the topic herself, attempt to seize control of the conversation, and bit by bit, figure out Herta and Ron's intentions, obtain the information she lacked, and then try to negotiate…
But… the actual progress of events did not go according to her plan at all.
Ron and Herta were completely oblivious to the intellectual battle raging in Fu Xuan's mind. One was desperate to find a reliable helper to solve a super-disaster that could destroy the sea of stars, and the other was still stewing over Ron's sudden personality shift in the previous simulation.
So, no one treated this as a formal negotiation table. The moment they confirmed their conversation wouldn't be leaked, a fierce exchange of information began.
This manifested as Herta on one side, questioning Ron with a look of annoyance as to why he would repay her kindness with enmity. She had worked so hard to save him, only for Ron to have a sudden change of heart. What was all that about?
On the other side, Ron, who was on the verge of being crushed by the pressure of Salvation, helplessly poured out his grievances, revealing everything about Terminus, the Finality, piece by piece. He explained again and again that he truly had no way to solve these problems, which was why the simulation was forced down a path of failure. None of it was what he wanted.
And Fu Xuan could only sit there, somewhat awkwardly, trying to interject to regain control of the topic, but she couldn't find a way into the intense "exchange" between Ron and Herta.
She could only sit quietly to the side, listening, rapidly capturing the useful information in Herta and Ron's words, gradually piecing together the full picture of the events, and understanding what had actually happened in those last few simulations.
Finally, Ron and Herta completed their intense "exchange." Herta, having understood that Ron hadn't intentionally backstabbed her in the simulation, lost her slight annoyance. Ron, having finally been able to vent all the troubles he had experienced, felt a sense of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
At that moment, Fu Xuan, watching them finally calm down, interjected thoughtfully:
"So… the reason the Luofu has fallen into crisis so many times is because that Aeon of [The Finality] is manipulating fate from behind the scenes?"
Ron took a sip of the Scalegorge Waterspring he had bought from the vending machine outside the Divination Commission. The sweet, sugary water soothed his throat, which had become dry from the heated exchange. He let out a long breath and replied with certainty:
"Not just the Luofu. All the crises in this sea of stars can ultimately be traced back to the Aeon of [The Finality]."
Herta mused beside him, "The King of the End who moves against time needs that destined 'future' to ensure its own existence…"
"Exactly. So, only by dealing with this guy can we ensure that this sea of stars can continue to exist, and not head toward the terrifying ending from the simulation where the entire observable universe was completely annihilated."
Ron nodded, his tone extremely solemn.
"So… I need your help."
"The predetermined end will destroy this sea of stars… but I don't like it."
Ron stood up and extended a hand toward the two people before him.
"I want… to change this world's ending to the one we desire."
Fu Xuan was clearly moved. She had done all this for the sake of saving the Luofu, and now, cooperating with Ron was clearly the best choice. She had no reason to refuse.
Just as Fu Xuan was about to stand and place her hand on Ron's, signaling the beginning of their eternal alliance, a somewhat cool voice came from the side.
"A handshake? Or a high-five? Why is this playing out like one of those cliché Interastral Peace movies? Nobody likes these cheesy, hot-blooded scenes anymore… Are you really planning to solve the problem of Terminus with just faith and dreams?"
Herta yawned. Her words were cutting, but her gaze toward Ron was slightly complicated.
Seeing Ron's earnest and sincere eyes, she finally sighed helplessly and muttered under her breath:
"...But I guess that's what makes you [Salvation], Ron."
Muttering this, she perfunctorily gave Ron and Fu Xuan a high-five, as if completing a task, accompanying them in this somewhat childish gesture. Then, she casually took out the golden lantern and gently tossed it to Ron.
"Alright, let's get this boring, hot-blooded part over with… Here, your thing. I'm giving it back to you."
"This thing… might be of some help in dealing with Terminus."