In the vast, boundless depths of the universe, a beam of light suddenly tore open space. A "door" stretched open above the azure planet, connecting two distant points.
The imposing, solemn front of the Astral Express pushed out from within, completing another warp jump.
The Astral Express often helped Herta collect certain items, and would also obtain supplies for daily life and maintenance from the Herta Space Station. This time, the train had returned from the Xianzhou to the station.
The train that once carried the Trailblaze Aeon Akivili arced along the star rail. As it gradually slowed down, it skillfully arrived at the station bridge track of the Herta Space Station and came to a steady stop.
With the mechanical motion, the doors opened. Nero, who had reboarded the Astral Express, was the first to jump down. Right after him, March, Dan Heng, and Stelle also stepped off.
The elders were handling some items needed for the handover with the space station, such as certain curios. The younger ones, having nothing to do, came down first.
The Herta Space Station was a massive facility, containing a vast amount of data. Every time he came here, Dan Heng would transfer and record some useful information and materials into the databank.
Although he wasn't in a hurry to do that right now, he still threw himself into it at the first opportunity.
After returning to the Xianzhou Luofu this time, quite a lot had happened. After resolving the crisis on the Luofu, there were still other events that followed.
He had more contact with Bailu, the current High Elder. The way the Dragon Masters fumed with anger because of Nero, yet were completely kept in check, made him find it rather amusing.
Even though he was not Dan Feng, he couldn't deny that when he accepted the power of the High Elder, he also accepted those memories.
That made the boundary between his current self and his original self somewhat blurred. Later, when he met several "old friends," there was a moment where he didn't know what kind of mindset he should use to face them.
Watching the figures of Nero, March, and Stelle gradually walk farther away, Dan Heng let out a soft sigh. He envied Nero's optimism and mindset.
That kid always seemed to look at the world from the perspective and attitude of the "superego."
He himself was always wavering between "what kind of person I am" and "what kind of person I should be," while Nero had already started walking the path of "what kind of person I want to become."
However, although all of the above were things that stirred Dan Heng's thoughts during this return journey, even someone as steady as him, and carrying the title of "former High Elder," only cared most about one thing, one matter that was still giving Jing Yuan a splitting headache and making his hair fall out.
What exactly happened that day on the Luofu? Why did it suddenly start moving for no reason?
Even the Yaoqing Xianzhou, which fought across countless battlefields, didn't seem to have such an ability.
He remembered that the new recruit Sushang, who had boarded the Xianzhou with him, quickly became friends with Nero afterward.
That girl's hometown was Yaoqing. After arriving at the Luofu, she liked to compare similar things between the two Xianzhou.
Most of the time, her personality leaned more toward Yaoqing's style. For example, compared to the closed-eye general Jing Yuan, she seemed to admire the personality of General Feixiao more.
Only on that day, when comparing the Xianzhou themselves, her eyes lit up as she declared that Yaoqing was inferior to the Luofu.
After all, Yaoqing couldn't, while happily going on a hunt, actually shout at enemies with pure joy, "I'm f*cking here!"
Speaking of this, the people of the Zhumei Xianzhou would probably be even more interested, right?
So… why did the Luofu move on its own?
Dan Heng couldn't find an answer, but instinctively, he suspected that it had something to do with Nero. However, he had no solid evidence.
Compared to Dan Heng, the remaining trio, Stelle, March, and Nero, weren't thinking about nearly as much.
They were completely the opposite of Dan Heng's "prepare for a rainy day" type. They belonged to the "enjoy life" camp.
As soon as March arrived at the space station, she went to meet old friends like Asta and Arlan.
———
Meanwhile, Nero and Stelle headed straight for Herta's office.
Before leaving the Xianzhou, the two of them had received a message from Herta.
The general idea was that there was something new in the Simulated Universe, and they should come test it.
As expected, when Stelle and Nero arrived at Herta's office, they didn't see Herta herself. Instead, they saw a Herta puppet standing by the Simulated Universe device in standby mode.
When the two approached, the puppet suddenly blinked. The expression in its eyes became lively, as if Herta had noticed the movement and connected to the puppet.
The next second, the puppet spoke, "Yo, you two. How have you been lately? Stop, no need to answer. I don't care. Just using it as an opening line."
That was Herta's usual style, ignoring others, talking to herself. In some ways, Nero's personality was quite similar to hers.
But unlike a scholar who devoted both body and mind entirely to research, Nero clearly had more of what people would call "human warmth."
Even though he looked harder to approach than those distant geniuses, he was actually much easier to get along with than them.
Herta didn't seem to intend to listen to anything they had to say, nor did she give Stelle or Nero a chance to speak, and continued, "Recently, we added something new to the Simulated Universe. A brand new 'expansion device.'
"But Stephen Lloyd thinks this is a big project and insisted on opening a separate project branch. He called it 'Simulated Universe, Swarm Disaster.'
"He thinks he's playing a game."
Hearing this, Nero blinked. "So this really isn't a game?"
The Herta puppet turned to look at him. "You're calling this great research a game? Fine, for you, there's no difference anyway."
Stelle smiled as she listened to their conversation, then asked Herta what exactly had been updated.
"Long story short, a die. Don't understand? Run it once and you will," Herta replied.
"Even games have introductions. Companies pitching products need product descriptions. You brought the two of us here to play a game, and you're not even going to sell it a bit?" Nero muttered from the side.
"I don't have the time to study that," Herta said. After a brief pause, she continued to Nero, "See the one next to you? The tester of the Simulated Universe all this time.
"There's too much redundant data in the Simulated Universe. She's run so far and only encountered Aeons a few times. It's pitiful, she barely even gets the chance to talk to them!"
"So I plan to fix the universe's time to a certain historical segment, narrow the scope. It'll help with researching a specific Aeon. But I'm not sure which Amber Era to throw you into..."
"Ruan Mei, however, has her own ideas. She's decided to anchor it to the period before the fall of the 'Insect Emperor,' Tayzzyronth."
"Tayzzyronth… the progenitor of the Swarm Calamity," Nero said.
"Right, that's the one." The Herta puppet nodded. "The one Aha mentioned when he said he wanted to brew you into wine, but ended up going to a spa instead."