That was the end.
"Well? Surprised?" Herta called out confidently to the silent Screwllum.
"Herta, if that's what you wanted to show me, then I still want to shut down the Simulated Universe."
"Hey! Can't you understand the significance of what you just saw? You saw that big thing too, didn't you? Do you know how much effort I put in—how valuable this discovery is?!"
Herta glared at the iron hunk, Screwllum, itching to grab her hammer and dismantle all his parts.
Especially Screwllum's voice module!
--------------------------------------
"Hahaha."
Without any warning, the previously tense and confrontational atmosphere was broken by Screwllum's laughter.
Seeing the slightly confused Herta in front of him, Screwllum withdrew his laughter and spoke in a slightly amused tone.
"I really liked the footage you showed me. Looks like you've had quite a few interesting experiences lately."
"… So, when you said you were shutting down the Simulated Universe, you were actually messing with me~?!"
The hammer was raised—Herta was pissed.
Now she fully understood that Screwllum had just been toying with her.
Facing Herta's threatening glare, Screwllum chuckled and said, "Think of it as me expressing dissatisfaction with the extra work—and a quick way to get to the point. Turns out this method is simple and effective. Like just now—I saw exactly why you called me. Very impressive."
"Impressive my ass!" Herta immediately lost her composure at Screwllum's completely sincere compliment.
"Do you know how much effort it took me to get that little bit of data? And then you just come in and land a critical hit? Right now I want to take you apart and wash every one of your components with the cheapest oil I can find!"
"That won't be necessary," Screwllum said with a smile. "This was also to avoid you making me go through pointless trials just to show how valuable the knowledge is."
Whenever she came across some knowledge worth sharing, Herta would always put on a show, making others guess how precious it was and how she got it.
Such roundabout ways were inefficient.
Screwllum had guessed this would happen when he received Herta's message—which is why he pulled that stunt that drove her mad.
"Hmph, whatever. I forgive you."
With a snort, Herta crossed her arms and gave Screwllum a sideways glance.
"So, Herta, about that entity in the Simulated Universe… do you have any liver-region medical results?"
Screwllum recalled the images he had just seen in the Simulated Universe and began calculating if there were any similar beings in the cosmos. He actually did find some records in his database of gigantic creatures somewhat resembling the one from the footage—but the similarity was purely coincidental.
Like how both geckos and chameleons have tails, but they're completely different creatures.
"Nothing more—I wasn't allowed to get hands-on with it."
"Oh?" Now Screwllum was genuinely intrigued. Herta not taking aggressive action? That was rare.
When something caught her interest, even he was shocked by her charge-first attitude.
"That big guy is a sentient being."
That explained it. The treatment of intelligent life is completely different from that of non-intelligent life. Even Herta probably wouldn't act recklessly without permission.
But he still had a question: why did Herta call him over so urgently instead of just pestering the creature until it agreed?
Just as he was about to ask, Herta's eyes flashed. Knowing both herself and Screwllum well, she instantly guessed what he was about to say.
"Don't even think about it. That big guy can absorb energy. My puppet body couldn't handle it. I originally tried to go the friendly route, but that thing just wouldn't cooperate. Honestly, even later… ugh, it's just too much!"
As she spoke, Herta gripped her hammer tighter.
No one had ever made her suffer such a loss—she hadn't expected to take her first major loss on Jarilo.
Hearing this, Screwllum nodded in understanding.
"I see. A being that can absorb energy—no wonder you couldn't gather more data."
Screwllum gave a slight nod. He understood Herta's point, though he still felt some unease.
Beings capable of absorbing energy weren't uncommon in the universe—many were even energy-based lifeforms that grew stronger by doing so. But Herta's puppets held a lot of energy, and combined with her intellect, to still be drained…
Hmm. Even though she didn't say it outright, Screwllum could tell Herta had taken a serious hit from that being. If she'd been the one on top, her smugness would've been unbearable right now.
"But if it's just a single giant beast, it shouldn't have been enough to make you call me over so urgently. Could it be… it has the bloodline of a Leviathan?"
Leviathans—the very entities that once spread terror across the universe.
They were at the heart of the Dusk War.
The Aeon of Voracity, Oroboros, was among their most powerful—an ancient existence rivaling the Preservation's Aeon, Qlipoth. Nowadays, even followers of the Path of Voracity were rare.
If it were one of those, then Herta calling him over would be reasonable.
After all, the Aeons were already hard enough to track, let alone the long-absent Aeon of Voracity.
If they could glean any clues about it from that beast, it would be a huge boon to the Simulated Universe project.
While he was thinking, Herta shook her head.
"No, that guy didn't have any bloodline traits—not from any known entity. Not even Imaginary energy. No—wait, just before I left, I did detect a lot of Imaginary energy gathering around him. So he might've undergone some kind of transformation. He adapts to his environment really well. Can you believe it? According to Jarilo's records, he was just over a hundred meters tall when he first appeared—now he's over three hundred. Grows fast."
"This isn't even the most crucial part. Can you believe it? That guy has a nuclear furnace in his body. A rough estimate: three trillion units."
"A nuclear furnace?! And has no imaginary energy?!" Even Screwllum was shocked now.
No imaginary energy — that means this growth was achieved entirely by himself. A nuclear furnace, relying purely on the physical body?
There is no shortage of colossal and powerful creatures in the universe. Take Ruan Mei, for example — she frequently creates new species, some indeed massive. But those are all influenced by external factors, growing naturally into intelligent beings hundreds of meters tall.
Even Screwllum's database couldn't find a match.
Seeing Screwllum's expression, Herta chuckled thunderously.
"Trying to fool me? Now you know how impressive I am."
After the shock wore off, Screwllum began to think.
"Herta, do you have more intel on this giant beast?"
"Of course. Let me tell you..."
...
Soon, Herta summarized the intel she had dug up from Welt.
While this was happening, Screwllum was simultaneously running calculations.
"A god, a high-dimensional lifeform, an environmental reformer, a guardian of nature — having multiple identities like these is nothing more than a flick of the hand for him. No — even just standing or sitting there, the influence he exerts is enough to shake the entire environment."
Screwllum sighed and then asked,
"Herta, you said the IPC found out about Godzilla. So what action did the IPC take?"
Herta shook her head and smirked in contempt — this was directed at the IPC:
"Those guys went over there just to collect debts, but ended up entangled with Jarilo and the Xianzhou Luofu. Of course, I think they were trying to cozy up to Godzilla. As for what to do? If they're not afraid of the Luofu sobbing and signaling the Cloud Knights, they'll know exactly what not to do."
Screwllum nodded slightly. As the monarch of Planet Screwllum and the leader of all intelligent mechanical life in the universe, he had the confidence to speak to the IPC on equal footing — even to hold the upper hand in negotiations.
"Deduction: Entering data-deficient Godzilla into the simulated universe would yield results with extreme deviation from reality. So what's the point of doing it?"
"What's the point? Ha! Screwllum, don't you find this fascinating? Think about it — such a creature has never existed in the universe before. Clearly a giant beast, yet with extraordinary intellect, mastering immense power while still growing. No influence from any path, yet evolving to such a terrifying degree — isn't that enough?"
Herta would never admit it was because she hadn't been able to collect more data on Godzilla.
Scientific research is rigorous, but to a genius, not everything is strictly necessary.
Still, even a genius has trouble computing anything without the most basic biological data.
"By the way, what's Ruan Mei up to lately?"
Curious about their peer who had gone furthest in life sciences, Herta asked.
"Ruan Mei? I heard she's been working on something... hmm, rather special. But I can't say exactly what — you know how unstable things are in the overlapping dimensions of the Original Sector."
"Yeah, yeah, that one always comes up with jaw-dropping antics."
Scratching her head, Herta stomped her foot.
"Forget it, we won't bring her in just yet. If something truly unsolvable comes up, then we'll pull her in."
As Screwllum said, Ruan Mei's work in life sciences always astonished people — astonished as in fear, and as in someone's dying breath.
Thinking of Welt's reminder, Herta decided she could begin the research on her own and only call Ruan Mei in if she truly hit a wall.
...
"This is too shocking — utterly unbelievable. I've never encountered a problem like this!"