"Enough talk, let's get started already!" As a previous-generation tester who had already experienced the Simulated Universe, Stelle's eyes were shining right now as she spoke with some excitement, "I like playing games!"
"Sure. I don't," Herta said, which counted as responding to both parts of Stelle's statement: agreeing to begin the Simulated Universe, while holding the opposite opinion about liking games.
For a certain girl among the Stellaron Hunters, Herta's "I don't" might very well rank among the most annoying things to hear in the next fifty years.
"Anyway, let's go in and take a look first!"
Nero also spoke. He was just as expectant about the Simulated Universe.
Back when he played Star Rail in his previous life, it was a roguelike type of gameplay. But for testers within the Star Rail universe, the experience inside the Simulated Universe might feel truly immersive.
Though during the process, they might run into some not-so-normal things, like encountering some very familiar friends...
Stelle and Nero quickly established a connection with the Simulated Universe. After a brief stretch of darkness and flickering light, Nero's field of vision began to show some scenes that could be properly observed.
At this stage, it couldn't quite be called fully immersive. Nero knew and could clearly feel and recognize that he was lying inside the Simulated Universe device, playing a "game project" called Swarm Disaster.
The main interface in front of him showed the massive back of Tayzzyronth.
The next moment, light flickered. A Herta puppet appeared in his view. Along with Herta's voice, some text belonging to the azure planet appeared in the dialogue box beside the puppet's image, and through the synesthesia beacon, it was translated into information he could read and understand.
"The main interface isn't bad. Screwllum's design," Herta said.
"This time, the two of you won't be exploring the same run. Although I'm very confident in the Simulated Universe's same-zone load capacity, Stephen Lloyd thinks we should do another round of checks and theoretical calculations."
"He also complained that I didn't inform him in advance that there would be two testers this time."
"In short, for this first Swarm Disaster test, we'll split the zones and shorten the explorable routes. You'll each conduct a short-thread test within two non-intersecting historical slices of the same time period."
"Stephen Lloyd says this is to reduce server pressure, to avoid errors when you encounter events in that segment of history, which could cause unnecessary trouble and danger. I agreed. Testers as suitable as you are quite valuable."
As Herta finished speaking, a large "Start Exploration" icon appeared in both Nero and Stelle's vision.
With a slight movement of their thoughts, the neural link at the level of consciousness responded to their intentions.
As the icon trembled lightly, Stelle and Nero each entered their own Swarm Disaster exploration.
As the light and darkness shifted across his vision, the scene in front of him sank into darkness. A few seconds later, something like a map appeared before Nero.
Those hexagonal tiles marked with different icons made him feel an urge to place some kind of piece on them.
In the next second, another virtual icon appeared in his field of vision. It was a character icon of the same type as the Herta puppet.
The first thing Nero noticed was a mechanical head, with blue light glowing where the eyes should be, giving off a dark metallic sheen.
Nero quickly took in the entire figure.
It was a robot, dressed in white trousers, leather shoes, and a brown leather jacket. The jacket's design seemed to blend elements of a vest.
On the chest, there were white lace decorations and a red necktie. The overall outfit gave the impression of a gentleman or noble who held himself to strict standards in both behavior and speech.
And the robot's appearance seemed to embody that very sense of gentlemanly elegance and aristocratic bearing.
The mechanical head didn't have overly complex decorations or patterns, but the faintly glowing gaze passing through a light-gold monocle gave off an intellectual feeling. Still, what Nero liked the most was the black bowler hat on the robot's head.
The simple gear decorations and trim were something the kid really liked. He hoped he could get one just like it. Maybe later he could ask Aventurine if the company could custom-make one.
Just as Nero was thinking about how to take that hat away, like with the Herta puppet earlier, a voice accompanied by unfamiliar text, converted by the synesthesia beacon into understandable information, entered his mind.
The voice sounded very calm, neither warm nor cold, and carried a gentle politeness that made people feel at ease. It was like cool water flowing through the heart.
The moment one heard it, the word "gentleman" naturally came to mind. At the same time, the subtle vibration of reeds mixed into the voice gave it a more magnetic and attractive quality.
"Hello. A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Mr. Nero. I am the seventy-sixth member of the Genius Society, Screwllum."
"I look forward to this meeting, and I am delighted by it. The information you have provided is extremely important for our research and exploration of the Aeons."
"Logic: Welcome as a tester participating in the Swarm Disaster. I will guide you through your first exploration of the Simulated Universe."
As Screwllum's voice fell, some cursors appeared on the map, marking the starting point and the endpoint.
Then this elegant mechanical gentleman gave Nero a more detailed explanation of the map, including but not limited to route selection and the meanings of the different icons on the map.
After that, as Nero selected the "Enter Plane" button with a thought, a burst of light lit up his vision. Immediately after, a massive stream of data flowed past his eyes.
He could feel himself moving forward, as if being drawn into a tunnel. The streams of data gradually formed different geometric models, stacking together and rapidly flying backward.
In the next instant, a sense of weightlessness struck. Nero fell from the sky. With a dull thud as he landed, the white-haired boy steadied himself firmly on the ground.
The scene before him was extremely dim. Only a lit handheld lamp and a quietly burning campfire cast faint light into the darkness.
The environment felt incredibly familiar to Nero, like the mines in the Underworld of Belobog. Especially after seeing a few robots wandering nearby, that strange sense of familiarity grew even stronger.
After that, Nero moved his body slightly, adjusting to the state inside the Simulated Universe.
He didn't know whether Herta had assigned him any kind of identity, but probably not. Having experienced something like "soul leaving the body" once before, Nero quickly adapted to the lightness and dizziness coming from his body.
After stretching his limbs a bit, Nero revealed a smile.
It felt pretty good.
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