Base cabin section.
Zeig walked with his hands in his pockets through the bustling crowd, slowly arriving at Arlan's side.
This was the reception center—the liveliest place in Herta Space Station right now.
Arlan didn't seem to notice Zeig's arrival and continued speaking to a staff member on his own.
"Mm, all the cabins the guest might pass through have already been checked. No issues. Remember to report to Station Manager Asta…" Arlan instructed the staff member.
Zeig couldn't help but examine Arlan's profile.
When referring to Asta in front of other staff, he no longer called her "Miss" but very properly addressed her as "Station Manager Asta."
His speech also flowed much more smoothly—and became sharper.
He truly had the demeanor of a Security Division Chief.
"Ah, Mr. Zeig, you're already here?"
Noticing Zeig standing beside him, Arlan immediately became awkward.
"Yeah. I even finished the arc about the traditionalists vs. reformers war. Now I'm into the new Heroic Spirits battle arc. Saw the time was about right, so I came over to take a look." Zeig said casually.
Right now he looked extremely sophisticated—as long as he didn't speak, he had an air of elegance.
But the moment he opened his mouth, a thick loser vibe poured out, completely breaking the illusion.
"Is that so? Thank you very much, Mr. Zeig, for taking this reception so seriously." Arlan said gratefully.
"Everyone in the space station is really concerned about this event. We're all afraid of any hospitality mishap that might tarnish Lady Herta's image."
Zeig raised an eyebrow:
"So who exactly is coming? It wouldn't be an Emanator of Erudition, would it?"
Hearing Zeig's question, Arlan explained:
"I only heard from Miss—this guest is one of Lady Herta's academic partners. Anyone who can correspond with her must be a big name across the galaxy…"
"Herta's academic partner, huh…" Zeig's gaze drifted slightly as the image of Herta's puppet gradually surfaced in his mind.
Last time Herta had even left a puppet on the Express, but unfortunately it was under strict supervision by Teacher Himeko, who never let Zeig touch it freely.
In Zeig's view, the things Herta cared about in the space station were nothing more than her own dignity, the Stellaron, and the Simulated Universe.
The Stellaron was now with him—no need to worry about that. As for dignity, Zeig didn't believe anyone in the space station would be foolish enough to provoke the esteemed Lady Herta.
The only possibility was the Simulated Universe.
He had heard that the Simulated Universe was a project developed jointly by Herta and other members of the Genius Society.
In other words, the person coming today was very likely one of the Simulated Universe's developers.
"He must be very rich, right?" Zeig narrowed his eyes slightly.
Arlan: "…"
"In terms of credits, I imagine such a great figure wouldn't be lacking… Calculating the time, the guest should be arriving soon. Mr. Zeig, why don't you join the main group and take a look first? I'll go call Miss and join you shortly."
"Oh."
Seeing Arlan rush off in a hurry, Zeig silently walked to the side of the reception center's elevator entrance and picked a prime spot in advance.
Then.
He plopped down with a smack.
"…" "?" "!!!"
The surrounding staff members all turned to look, curiously sizing up this distinguished gentleman.
He clearly looked extremely refined, yet to everyone's surprise, he performed such an utterly undignified action.
One sharp-eyed staff member noticed him very skillfully holding his phone horizontally. A light "ding" from TiMi sounded, and they suddenly realized:
"Brother Zeig, you're here too!"
Zeig nodded: "Yeah. You all keep busy—I'll grab a good spot and wait first."
With that, he focused intently on his phone.
At that moment, a small figure dashed over and slid to a stop right in front of Zeig with a perfect slide tackle!
"Huh?" Zeig glanced sideways.
The little girl wore a serious expression. After sliding to his side, she raised her camera and started snapping away—click click click!
"Click—!!" "Click click—!!"
This sudden action left Zeig completely dumbfounded.
He even forgot to press the confirm button on his phone screen after the match had loaded.
"Click—!!"
"Click click—!!"
The little girl kept searching for the perfect angle, rapidly pressing the shutter.
This scene made the surrounding staff members unable to bear watching.
"Wen Shiling's at it again. She wastes time researching useless stuff, and now she can't even do her job properly during a guest reception."
"Tch, don't act like the space station isn't full of people named Wen. If you could monopolize the workplace like her family does, you'd be even more arrogant than her."
"Hmph!"
Zeig was nearly blinded by the flashes. After carefully examining the loli's face, he suddenly realized:
"General Wen, you're here too!"
Hearing Zeig call her, Wen Shiling quickly lowered the camera and said excitedly:
"Young Master Zeig, you look amazing today! I guarantee—if I post these photos, they'll blow up!"
"Forget it." Zeig glanced at his phone screen—because he hadn't confirmed, he'd been hit with a 30-second ban.
Then he said to Wen Shiling:
"Look at this loser vibe—sitting on the ground, phone held sideways. If you post these, people will laugh me to death."
"What's so hard about that?" Wen Shiling smiled brightly: "Please trust my Photoshop skills, Young Master Zeig. I can turn someone sitting into someone flying! Someone lying down—I can even turn into someone running!"
"Fine, do whatever."
After dismissing General Wen, accompanied by the renewed sound of the shutter, Zeig's game finally entered the match this time.
At that moment, Asta arrived together with Arlan. Both were dressed very properly.
A white figure also quietly followed behind them.
Asta spotted Zeig and exclaimed in surprise:
"Huh? You're wearing that outfit but instead of showing off, you're sitting on the ground playing ranked? This doesn't match your style at all."
Zeig's figure was very conspicuous—after all, he was the only one sitting on the floor here.
Even when Asta stood right in front of him, he didn't budge, just staring at the screen and saying calmly:
"I've seen the light. Everyone in this space station already knows I'm a loser. There's no point pretending anymore, is there?"
Asta frowned:
"But the guest we're receiving later hasn't met you yet. Can't you hold out just a little longer?"
"Then I'll start performing when he arrives. This Zhong Kui on the enemy side is so annoying—keeps hooking my blue." Zeig also frowned.
Asta: "…"
Seeing persuasion was useless, Asta gave up and said: "I hope you'll still have time then. By the way, you haven't forgotten what I told you earlier, right?"
"Isn't it just licking? Who can't do that?" Zeig said impatiently.
"Fine. I'll see just how good your bootlicking skills are later."
…
After some time, there was movement at the elevator entrance.
At that moment, all the staff members straightened their postures and stared ahead very seriously.
Meanwhile, Zeig remained seated on the ground, frantically swiping the screen, sweating profusely with a fierce expression!
"Hey, hey—!!" Asta whispered a reminder, but clearly it was too late.
The elevator doors slowly opened.
A gentleman who looked very refined and cultured appeared before the staff.
Under the bows of Asta and the others, he slowly stepped out of the elevator and spoke gently to Asta at the front:
"If thought always precedes language, then no words can define this joy."
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Asta."
Then he turned his gaze aside and smiled:
"And… this noble gentleman must be the one Lady Herta has been mentioning so frequently lately."
At this moment.
Zeig had somehow stood up beside Asta at some point, standing there with refined elegance and speaking in a calm, measured tone:
"I'm very honored by your esteemed visit to Herta Space Station. Just call me Zeig."
This display greatly surprised Asta.
When did this guy stand up?
Never mind—as long as he didn't embarrass them, it was fine.
But the next moment, Zeig smiled and slowly stepped forward, making Asta's heart sink with a bad premonition.
With a loud "slurp."
The gentleman's glove instantly became damp.
"…"
The entire reception center fell into absolute silence.
Immediately after, a white beastly figure dashed past.
Another "slurp."
A corner of the gentleman's leather shoe also became damp.
Screwllum: "…"
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Asta's eyes widened in shock, her entire body as if struck by lightning!
…