The entire underground boxing arena seemed to get muted, as if someone had pressed a silent button. The only sound left was that tiny Herta projection's obsessive, addictive chant of:
"Test!"
Huo Linfei's mouth twitched. He finally understood what this so-called "urgent mail" really was.
This was one thousand percent Herta forcing something over to him with who-knows-what method. She'd even had the visor shipped straight to Belobog—cash on delivery—no, worse: special courier rush delivery.
He stared at the little hologram still spamming "Test!" and then at the ring of people around him wearing identical what is happening faces. A heavy wave of helplessness washed over him.
Herta… you're ruthless…
He tried poking the projection with a finger, aiming to shut it off. His finger passed right through it. The hologram didn't even flicker—it just kept screaming.
"Test!"
"Come test!"
With no other choice, Huo Linfei flipped the visor over, searching for a power switch. Eventually he found a tiny button hidden in an absurdly inconspicuous spot on the side. He pressed it hard.
"—Te… bzzzt…"
The projection vanished instantly. The visor's indicator lights went dark.
Silence at last.
Holding this hot potato, Huo Linfei looked at Luka and the kids—curious, probing eyes everywhere—and forced out a dry laugh.
"Uh… haha… it's… um… a very enthusiastic friend's… little gift…"
He pointed at the visor, smiling painfully. "Anyway, I've got something to do. I'm gonna… head out. Bye!"
He practically fled the underground arena, ducking the children's inquisitive stares, and—via the Realm Anchor—shot straight back to the Astral Express.
He didn't even notice that Himeko and Welt were gone.
Ignoring Pom-Pom's bewildered look, he charged into the bathroom and locked the door. He leaned against it, still gripping the visor in his hand like contraband.
"Herta… you'd better have a reasonable explanation!"
He inhaled, then—using the trick he'd just discovered—held down that hidden side button.
"Bzzzt…"
After a faint crackle of current, the visor's micro-projection lit up again. But this time it wasn't the mindless little gremlin looping "Test."
It was a slightly larger hologram—Herta again, but lazier, wearing a bathrobe, legs crossed, floating in midair. The expression on her face was the classic scientist look: I found a new toy and you're going to help me play with it.
"Oh? Finally connected?" Herta's puppet-voice had that synthesized, languid drawl. "Slower than I expected. So—how's the 'surprise' I prepared for you? Like it?"
"Like hell I do!" Huo Linfei hissed, keeping his voice down. "How did you even route this through the Interastral Peace Corporation?!"
"Don't underestimate my connections. A little thing like that isn't worth mentioning." Herta flicked a hand dismissively. "Now, business. The Simulated Universe has a new module. I think you'll find it very interesting."
"You want me as a free tester again? Aren't you afraid I'll break it like last time?"
"That was an accident." Herta smiled, not the least bit annoyed at him bringing it up. "This time is different. Besides Ruan Mei and Screwllum's new approaches, I also received an anonymous data package from the 'Silent Lord.'"
Her eyes gleamed.
"The concept inside is fascinating. It's about a… hm… a high-dimensional energy circulation model outside the Aeon system. Based on that, I built an independent Simulated Universe demo—portable. You're the first person I sent it to."
"Polka?" Huo Linfei's heart stirred. What is she up to now?
"Why me?"
"Because your anomalous energy signature matches the description in that package extremely well. You're the best test subject." Herta's answer was airtight. "Put it on. There's a surprise. I guarantee it's more interesting than every version you've tested before."
Huo Linfei stared at the visor.
Herta was a research maniac, sure, but her hardware usually worked. Still… anything tied to Polka never felt simple.
He hesitated. Then curiosity—and the desire to figure out the truth—won.
He took a deep breath and pulled the sleek visor over his eyes.
Darkness swallowed his vision in an instant.
Then came a violent sense of weightlessness—like being dropped—and the sensation of being scoured by torrents of data.
When his sight cleared again, he wasn't in the Express bathroom anymore.
Blazing sunlight baked the ground. Sand and dust roared through the air. He stood in a vast, endless desert. Dunes rolled into the distance, and beyond them rose gigantic, bizarre structures. Overhead, two bright suns hung in the sky.
This terrain… this feeling…
"Welcome to the Third Parallel Universe—the homeland of the Golden Elephant Tribe, a planet once ruled by the Whale Shark Tribe." A familiar tiny hologram appeared on his shoulder: Herta in narrator mode. "According to the data, the social structure here is a complete violence-based slave system, and the energy circulation method is—"
"Wait, what?" Huo Linfei twisted his head toward her, disbelief all over his face. "Golden Elephant Tribe? Whale Shark Tribe? Where are you even getting those words?"
"Don't worry about it." Herta waved him off. "The underlying rules of this simulated world are different. There are no Aeons, but there are still powerful individuals and a unique philosophical framework—"
Herta was still talking enthusiastically when another voice cut into the channel—deeper, steadier, carrying a metallic resonance:
"Mr. Huo Linfei, pleased to meet you. I am one of the creators of this Simulated Universe demo: Screwllum."
The voice was warm and refined, very unlike Herta's impatient edge.
"Herta's construction of this world based on new data is indeed astonishing. Although there are no Aeons here, my preliminary analysis suggests a certain indescribable presence—something akin to a 'collective will' or 'inertial fate'—is strongly interfering with the normal trajectory of this world's operations."
Screwllum paused, as if running complex calculations.
"To learn more, you must explore and perceive it yourself. Please be cautious. Even in simulation, certain 'rules' may still produce real shock. I wish you luck."
The channel fell quiet again. Only occasionally did Herta pop up with a stray comment or two about data.
Huo Linfei stood barefoot on the scorching sand, staring at the distant figures of Golden Elephant Tribe laborers being driven by overseers' whips. His expression slowly turned complicated.
"Whale Shark King…" he muttered. "If that guy comes out to recite a couple lines, yeah, that's definitely torture."
He remembered the pain of being crushed by a black hole during an eternal loop—those relentless questions aimed at "the weak."
He shook his head hard, then slapped his cheeks to wake himself up.
"Alright. First things first—let's see if that Golden Elephant 'big shot' is still here… hauling bricks."
The "big shot" he meant was the one who, because of a wager about "love can redeem everything," willingly abandoned all his power—trying to awaken the "love" in both the Golden Elephant and Whale Shark tribes through nonviolence.
A powerhouse who once possessed five White-Hole anomalous energies, enough to condense a nebula form.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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