Chapter 184: Do Androids Sweat Electric?
After cheerfully pleading with Caelus and Stelle a few times and receiving their affirmative replies, Herta cleanly disconnected from the puppet.
Caelus was very satisfied, not only because he heard Herta's coaxing voice plead "Please, come and test it~" multiple times, but also because a quest was triggered when Herta begged him.
[Commission Quest: Herta is ravenous, eager to begin testing.]
[Quest Reward: 160 Stellar Jades]
Caelus currently had 942 Stellar Jades, nearing the one-thousand mark, already seeing the potential for his next ten-pull!
"Caelus-kiddo, ready up!"
Stelle stepped forward, stomping hard on the ground, striking a JOJO pose, and eagerly clenched her fists:
"Ready to test!"
The last time she destroyed the vehicle in the Simulated Universe was an unforgettable thrill, and she had always wanted to go back and play, but unfortunately, she couldn't spare the time during their trailblazing on Jarilo-VI.
Now she could finally play again!
"Let's go!" Caelus waved.
With 160 Stellar Jades waiting, renovating rooms became a minor concern.
Caelus immediately purchased the most luxurious interastral decoration package, boasting ultimate personalized service, even allowing customization of carpet pile length.
Everyday items like toothpaste and toothbrushes were included in the package; after renovation, one wouldn't even need to carry a bag, moving in directly.
First, a hundred or eighty pre-design plans would be drafted for selection, and if anything was unsatisfactory later, the company would be on call, ready to make changes at any time, covering minor modifications within a hundred years.
The package contents amazed Caelus, until he saw the price… then instantly thought, 'Isn't this just as it should be?'
Buy!
Caelus waved his hand grandly, buying it without hesitation, just buying it!
All expenses paid by the little haters!
Squeeze! Squeeze the wool fiercely!
Uh, though in the end, it would probably still be Asta-jie footing the bill.
After ordering the [Astral Wanderer Flagship Cabin] package, the company's liaison specialist called within three seconds of the successful order, and Caelus transferred the call to Bronya.
Bronya, Seele, and renovation consultant little March 7th would handle the liaison, while Caelus and Stelle gleefully ran to the teleportation carriage, using the Dimensional Anchor to transfer to Herta Space Station.
The entity was located in another dimension, and the Dimensional Anchor with its external interface was in a teleportation room at the Space Station specifically prepared for Trailblazers.
The room was between a guest room and a service hall, with equipment routinely maintained and no staff stationed.
"Simulated Universe, here I come!"
Stelle bounced to open the door, Caelus following closely, marveling at the Stellaron-infused prankster's damnable cute stupidity.
Despite her cool and elegant older sister-like appearance, she could unpredictably shift between wild, dashing, cool, silly, cute, and charming.
"Stelle, keep an eye on the trash cans."
Caelus and Stelle walked side by side towards Herta's office.
"Don't worry, this baby won't miss any golden glows." Stelle declared confidently, chest puffed out.
When they last left the Space Station, they had ransacked everything from the Base Zone to the uppermost level, leaving almost no treasure chests. What if they had refreshed?
However, soon, their attention shifted from potential treasure chest corners to the hurried, coming and going staff members.
"Huh, why are there so many people at the Space Station today? Doesn't everyone have to work?"
The atmosphere in the Base Zone was much livelier than she had imagined.
"It looks like they're preparing for some event."
Caelus spotted Arlan in the crowd. The two walked over and greeted him.
"Caelus, Stelle, you're here." Arlan seemed surprised to see them, not expecting Caelus and Stelle to return to the Space Station at this time.
"Arlan, what happened?" Caelus blinked his big eyes, and Stelle asked curiously.
"A very important person is visiting the Space Station today, and everyone is preparing for the guest reception and welcoming ceremony…"
"Important person?"
"Mhm, I heard Miss Asta-jie say that this guest seems to be Ms. Herta's academic partner."
Caelus and Stelle exchanged glances, likely guessing the guest's identity.
Another creator of the Simulated Universe, Genius Society #76, Screwllum.
"Ah, judging by the time, the guest should be arriving soon. If you're interested, you can follow the main group to watch. I'm going to find Miss."
Arlan checked the time, bid farewell to the two, gave some instructions to the staff behind him, and then hurried away.
"Caelus-kiddo, should we go join the fun?" Stelle tugged on Caelus's arm.
"Boring," Caelus waved dismissively, "If you're interested, go by yourself."
What's so exciting about a welcoming ceremony?
Unless there was some fun to be had. Caelus stroked his chin, then decided against it. He didn't care about Herta or Screwllum, but he definitely had to give Asta-jie her due respect, for the sake of better freeloading in the future!
Just then, Caelus suddenly noticed a staff member standing in front of Herta's portrait, pulling at their hair with a worried expression.
"What are you doing?"
The highly curious Stellaron-infused prankster went over.
"Oh, it's you two."
Stelle and Caelus were practically household names in Herta Space Station, whether for their heroic rescue during the Antimatter Legion invasion or their glorious achievements of rummaging through every trash can to create trash bombs.
"Sigh," the staff member in the blue and white uniform sighed, explaining, "It's like this…"
"…"
Leonard, the Space Station's cybersecurity engineer, discovered a third party behind the Legion invasion during network maintenance.
The cybersecurity team suspected the Stellaron Hunters.
The Stellaron Hunters were renowned throughout the universe; after all, each possessed extraordinary skills and was on the IPC's wanted list. Everyone knew there was a super hacker among them from Punklorde.
Leonard's technical expertise was top-notch in the cybersecurity team, and he was in charge of investigating this matter.
He was reconstructing the invader's movement path at the time, to see if he could find any clues.
"I see."
Caelus nodded. They were looking for Silver Wolf.
They might as well just ask him.
"So, did you find any clues?" Stelle stroked her chin.
She hadn't forgotten that Caelus-kiddo had first tricked her into calling him Caelus-kiddo. She would definitely make Caelus-kiddo call her back when she got the chance, but that wasn't important right now.
What was important was Kafka. Neither she nor Caelus-kiddo had memories from before, and their past should be related to the Stellaron Hunters. Maybe Kafka really was her mom.
After Stelle saw Kafka's wanted poster and recalled Kafka's appearance, she was sure!
Kafka must be her mom!
Little Stelle-baby wants her mom!
Finding clues about the Stellaron Hunters would definitely lead her to Kafka!
Caelus eyed the bright-eyed Stelle with caution.
"You're completely taking the long way around."
Little Stelle-baby didn't know that a certain cheating player, who occasionally joined their five-person premade team at night, was the renowned cosmic hacker.
"Found it, yes, I did,"
Leonard picked up the device in his hand. "I designed a decryption program. This thing looks like a camera, but it's actually a detector. Through it, you can see some hidden traces."
"Like this!"
Leonard pointed the detector at the wall, and a huge blue teardrop appeared on it, precisely on Herta's portrait's forehead, like a sweating emoji of Herta.
"Space Station staff would never scribble on walls, much less next to Ms. Herta's portrait. This must be the Stellaron Hunters' doing!"
Leonard pointed his right index finger skyward and declared loudly.
"This is the clue you found?" Stelle's little face crumpled, her eyes turning into dead fish eyes.
"Mhm, the Stellaron Hunters definitely wouldn't do something like this for no reason. I'm thinking about the meaning behind her actions," Leonard said, deep in thought.
"With this graffiti plus the portrait, isn't the meaning she wants to convey quite simple?"
Caelus's casual tone made Stelle and Leonard immediately turn their heads to look at him.
"Please enlighten us!"
Leonard was greatly surprised; he had racked his brains for ages with no clue, yet Caelus saw it at a glance!
"The portrait shows Herta in her youth, the appearance her puppets currently use. Puppets can barely be considered half-androids, so I guess she wants to ask, 'Do androids sweat electric?'"
"Huh?" Leonard was utterly bewildered.
Stelle, as if suddenly enlightened, widened her eyes and slapped her palm: "I get it!"
"Huh?"
Leonard looked over suspiciously. What did you get now?
"Silver Wolf gave Herta an unpleasant nickname," Stelle confidently declared, "She calls Herta 'Madam Corporal.'"
"This…" Leonard became even more confused.
How did you figure that out?
"Because, sweat stains and corporal." (Editor's note: This is a pun based on the similar Chinese pronunciations of '汗渍' (hànzì, sweat stain) and '下士' (xiàshì, corporal).)
…
Leonard suddenly felt an icy gust of wind blow past him.
"Oh, not bad, you actually thought of that layer. You've acquired a bit of my skill."
Caelus draped his elbow over Stelle's shoulder, looking at her with slight admiration.
…
Leonard slapped his forehead. Had Silver Wolf hacked his brain?
How could he seriously listen to these two lunatics who had driven the Space Station's psychologists insane?
"Or maybe the Stellaron Hunters are short on money lately and want to use this for a crowdfunding campaign? Hey, Leonard, don't leave! I think there's another possibility…"
After a brief self-reflection, Leonard, holding his equipment, continued to search for clues left by Silver Wolf.
Stelle followed him, offering many highly valuable conjectures, astounding Leonard and making him marvel at the wondrous construction of the biological brain.
Caelus did not follow.
After Leonard and Stelle left the area, Caelus pulled out his phone from his coat pocket, looking somewhat surprised at the message that popped up on the screen.
"Yo~!"
A familiar voice, with a carefree tone, reached Caelus's ears. He looked in its direction.
Neon colors, accompanied by a blue light, flashed for an instant, and a slender figure appeared.
Under the vibrant blue light, a few strands of hair falling beside the girl's cheeks had a silver-grey hue. Her delicate face was slightly youthful, and paired with her strange single-shoulder crop top and fishnet hotpants, her overall outfit was cool and trendy.
Silver Wolf, her single spiral ponytail adding a touch of cuteness, waved in greeting.
"Why are you here?"
"I think that's a question I should be asking you. Jarilo-VI is over. Why aren't you chatting with Bronya and Seele, and instead you've run off to the Space Station?"
Caelus looked at the 'adopted son' and 'Sister Silver Wolf' before him, a relaxed smile on his face.
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