Whether it was because they had started talking shop or simply because she was with Herta, Bai Ming felt the lingering, subtle awkwardness finally begin to dissipate.
Herta, too, returned to her usual self—a smile playing on her lips, her words sharp and merciless, yet never stingy with praise.
"So, you found inspiration from your last identity... Lean in a bit, let me get a closer look?"
As Herta spoke, she leaned her body toward Bai Ming, her eyes shimmering with a mix of amusement and clinical curiosity.
Her fingertips reached out, pinching Bai Ming's cheek as she tried to get a physical sense of this new form.
Herta hadn't paid much attention to it before, but after hearing Bai Ming's explanation, her interest was piqued.
If things were truly as Bai Ming described, then the design of this 'Saint Graph' was actually quite ingenious.
It allowed a soul and consciousness to be anchored into a new body without the typical complications—like the identity crises that usually occur when a human consciousness is transferred into an inorganic machine.
In a broad sense, this could essentially be classified as a method for longevity.
Lost in thought, Herta's hands weren't being polite at all, roaming over Bai Ming's body.
Her perception traveled through her fingertips, piercing the surface of the form before her to reach for its core essence.
"Hmm? This body is actually composed entirely of pure energy... The physical component... doesn't exist?"
Herta shifted from her initial casualness to a focused attempt to delve deeper into Bai Ming's body and unravel its mysteries.
She was indulging her own curiosity. To be fair, the logical structure wasn't overly complex; in fact, to her, it was rather simple.
Yet, it was this very simplicity that allowed Imaginary Energy to decay into a stabilized force, giving it form.
Moreover, for some reason, as Herta attempted to observe the Saint Graph as a whole, she felt that the logic of the system could be pushed even further.
After all, energy is intangible, and so is the soul.
If energy can be condensed into a shell to house a soul, then logically, it would be even more convenient to skip the energy-solidification step and simply materialize the soul itself—turning the soul into a physical entity capable of interacting with the world.
For Bai Ming, the soul represented the boundary of the self and the individual.
If that concept of existence could be completely solidified, it would be a far superior form of immortality.
Of course, in this world, soul-based lifeforms like Bai Ming simply didn't exist.
Even entities like the Heliobi or Wubbaboo were, strictly speaking, an entirely different species.
If one were to optimize the Saint Graph for something like a Heliobus, they could achieve full materialization of their life force.
So that idea, in Herta's mind, remained just that—an idea.
After all, a technique that looked this troublesome at a glance, even if successfully developed, would only ever be usable by Bai Ming.
The cost-performance ratio was honestly abysmal.
And besides… why should she, the great Herta herself, waste brainpower developing technology that would benefit only Bai Ming?
Did she look like someone who worked for free?
Unless Bai Ming threw her arms around her leg right now, pleaded sincerely—earnestly, humbly begged—maybe, just maybe, Herta would be in a good enough mood to agree.
While Herta was lost in this whirl of thoughts, curiosity drove her hands to move on their own.
She ran them up and down Bai Ming without restraint, without the slightest sign of stopping.
At first, Bai Ming assumed Herta was simply curious about how the Saint Graph interfaced with her soul.
But as Herta's perception sank deeper and deeper—at one point even passing through the Saint Graph itself and reaching the very place where Bai Ming's soul resided—
Bai Ming's face slowly began to flush.
There was even a faint sense of being shaken to her core.
It wasn't the first time she'd been pinned down and studied like this.
But the problem was… what state had she been in before, and what state was she in now?
Back when she'd been in a pure soul form, her perception of the outside world had been hazy. Even when her soul was touched, that blur dulled much of the awkward intimacy.
Now, though, it was completely different.
Now Bai Ming's senses were sharp—crystal clear, without the slightest barrier.
Not even getting to the point of her soul being directly touched—just Herta standing this close—
The faint fragrance drifting from Herta's body, the brush of her hair against Bai Ming's skin, the feeling of fingers kneading lightly at her neck and cheek—
All of it made Bai Ming vividly, painfully aware that Madam Herta, even setting aside all her achievements, was an undeniably captivating presence in her own right.
At the beginning, the touching was manageable. The sensations were novel, yes, but they'd known each other for a long time.
It wasn't enough to make her lose her composure.
But as Herta grew bolder, her movements larger—until she even reached through the Saint Graph to directly contact Bai Ming's soul—
That was when Bai Ming, whose heightened senses were still something she hadn't adjusted to, nearly snapped.
This kind of contact was just too much.
Wait—so when Herta and Ruan Mei had conducted those in-depth studies on her before, this was what it felt like? Wasn't that… a little too subtle? Too strange?
Bai Ming felt as though she'd been struck by a thunderclap.
It was like some clueless, pure-hearted rookie realizing far too late—after being sweet-talked inside and out by two smooth operators—exactly what had been done to her all along.
Right now, Bai Ming felt as though she'd been examined so thoroughly that even her last layer of privacy had been stripped away—and she still had to thank Herta for it.
"Herta…"
As Herta continued probing the changes in Bai Ming's soul more and more frequently, a deeper flush bloomed across Bai Ming's face.
Herta, however, had done this countless times before—if anything, even more directly than now—so she couldn't empathize with Bai Ming's current feelings at all.
She was still considering how Bai Ming should cooperate to facilitate more detailed experimental data.
So when she heard that soft, almost shy call, Herta was momentarily baffled.
"What is it…? Why are you suddenly saying my name like that? You're making it sound like I'm doing something to you—…what's with that expression?!"
Pulled abruptly out of her thoughts, Herta even gave a slight start.
Bai Ming wasn't the type to call her name in such a soft, syrupy tone.
For a split second, Herta thought she was up to something again.
Her mind even raced through possible countermeasures.
But when she looked up—
She saw Bai Ming genuinely blushing, staring at her with unmistakable embarrassment.
Especially in her current white-haired appearance, which made her look younger—cute, almost delicate.
Paired with that expression, it nearly scared Herta into jumping out of her chair.
Wait. Who swapped out her Bai Ming?!
Where was the troublemaking Bai Ming who caused her headaches every day?
Who was this red-faced, shy girl calling her name like that?
Of course, that expression also made Herta realize just how… ambiguous their current proximity was.
She was practically pressing Bai Ming down, one hand braced at her waist, the other resting against her shoulder and collarbone, pinning her into the chair.
And Bai Ming's outfit happened to bare her shoulders.
Which meant Herta's hand placement looked… rather suggestive.
And Bai Ming's embarrassment steadily gained ground.
By the time Herta registered it, she also realized their posture was, admittedly, a bit intimate.
But that was just because she needed to study the Saint Graph.
Besides, it was only getting a little close. They were both women. They'd faced hardship together, accomplished major feats side by side.
They'd been closer than this before, and Bai Ming had never reacted like this. So what was with her now?
Herta fell silent for a moment, looking at Bai Ming's bright red face—equal parts speechless and amused.
They held that awkward stalemate for a few seconds before Herta finally asked:
"…What are you doing?"
"?"
A question mark practically popped over Bai Ming's head at being counter-accused.
Herta's hand was still resting on her chest. She hadn't even made a move to withdraw it.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that…?"
As she spoke, Bai Ming lowered her gaze meaningfully to the hand on her chest.
The implication was obvious.
Herta followed her line of sight. Though she didn't quite understand why Bai Ming was suddenly so flustered, she did shift her palm downward—settling it against her lower abdomen instead.
"Seriously…? And wasn't it you who allowed me to examine your Saint Graph? Why are you acting shy now? You've had plenty of physical exams before."
"...That's different."
"How is it different?"
Herta shot back instinctively—then paused.
A knowing smile curved her lips.
"Oh… I get it. You must've been dazzled by my beauty again."
"That's part of it, but it's not what you think!"
Bai Ming panicked.
She admitted that Herta's good looks had played a role in her embarrassment just now, but it absolutely wasn't just because she'd been bewitched by Herta's face!
It was this new body's fault! Not her intention at all!
"Heh~ Why are you getting tongue-tied? So flustered because I hit the mark?"
As she spoke, Herta even lifted a finger and tipped Bai Ming's chin up.
She'd been startled at first—but seeing the usually unruly Bai Ming become this docile because of her?
Unexpectedly satisfying.
"If you say that's not it, then explain. What is it, exactly?"
"..."
Bai Ming was suddenly at a loss for words.
One look at Herta's expression told her everything.
That self-absorbed woman had gotten carried away again.
Damn it.
Why did this woman have to be so narcissistic—and why did she have the looks to back it up?
Bai Ming was roasting her internally, but her expression remained unchanged as she tried to play dumb and breeze through the moment.
Herta, however, had no intention of letting her off the hook.
After all, this girl was a constant whirlwind of trouble; when it came to giving Herta headaches, no one topped Bai Ming.
It was a rare day when she didn't have to lift a finger to catch her, and Herta wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to bully her back.
Even if Herta had momentarily let go of her desire for revenge earlier, that didn't mean she'd turn down a gift like this when it was served on a silver platter.
And so...
The narcissistic and prideful Herta let a wicked smile spread across her face. She pressed closer to Bai Ming, her voice dripping with confident initiative.
"Playing dumb won't work with me. If you don't talk, then I'm just going to keep going."
As she spoke, the palm that had been pressing against Bai Ming's abdomen suddenly began to migrate.
This sudden sneak attack, fueled by Herta's deliberate mischief, sent a reflex shiver through Bai Ming's entire body.
She went stiff as a board. Looking at Herta's expression, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
If I keep keeping my mouth shut, is Herta going to get annoyed and just... do me right here?!
It seemed unlikely, but knowing Herta's legendary persistence, it wasn't exactly impossible either.
Gah! With the atmosphere like this, if I actually get taken down on the spot, won't I be the 'bottom' forever?!
She was already having a crisis of self-doubt because her body had turned into... whatever this was. If she added 'being the passive one' to the list, she'd never see the light of day again!
No, no, no! That absolutely cannot happen!
Bai Ming's competitive streak flared up. She made a silent vow that she wouldn't fall here!
Even if coming clean felt like admitting Herta had her cornered... compared to letting Herta ride roughshod over her forever, a true hero had to know when to yield.
After a moment of internal struggle, Bai Ming reached up, bracing her hands against Herta's shoulders to push her back slightly, finally deciding to explain.
"Get back a bit! I'll tell you, okay? It's like this..."
Herta didn't actually have any extreme intentions. Seeing that Bai Ming was willing to talk, she allowed herself to be pushed back a fraction. However, she didn't let go.
If Bai Ming was just trying to pull a fast one or stall for time, Herta was prepared to get even more ruthless.
Fortunately, Bai Ming's explanation wasn't perfunctory. Though her phrasing was bizarre, it seemed to align with the conclusions Herta had drawn from her own research.
The most vital piece of evidence was the time they established the Simulated Universe. Under the laws of the Aeons, Bai Ming had managed to escape a closed causal loop while inhabiting the identity of the "Pure Child of Anasrava."
She had relied on the fact that the connections between her various bodies weren't a seamless whole, but rather had distinct, defined boundaries.
"I see... so that matches my hypothesis."
"Great. Now that you know, hurry up and get off me."
"No can do."
"Hey—! Didn't we agree you'd let me go if I told you?"
Herta looked down at Bai Ming, her eyes crinkling as she blinked innocently. "When exactly did I promise that telling the truth would earn you a pardon?"
While Bai Ming's explanation was perfectly logical, Herta realized an opportunity like this might only come once.
Once Bai Ming adapted to her new body, Herta likely wouldn't be able to just pin her down and "refine" her like this for revenge.
So, Herta made a delightfully wicked decision.
She was absolutely not letting Bai Ming go today!
She was going to hold onto this girl until she'd vented all her frustration, savoring every expression Bai Ming made while being teased.
And then, she was going to use the holographic recording to mock her for the rest of her life.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL