The relaunch of the Astral Express drew attention from various forces across the universe.
Floating in the cosmic orbit around a certain planet was a massive, sprawling facility.
This was the Herta Space Station.
It was named after Herta, the 83rd member of the Genius Society. The station had been built at great expense by the Interastral Peace Corporation to facilitate collaboration with this particular genius. The construction hadn't cost Herta a single credit—it was essentially a lavish gift.
And Herta? She gladly accepted it.
As a genius, Herta was renowned throughout the universe. Countless scientists idolized her. So when word got out that the Herta Space Station was recruiting researchers, fans flocked to apply. Some even volunteered to work for free.
For these scientists, simply following in Herta's footsteps—maybe even getting ahold of some of her scattered notes—was enough to benefit them for a lifetime.
At this moment, inside Herta's private office aboard the space station...
A petite girl with long brown hair, a beret perched on her head, and dressed in a frilly black, white, and blue dress was scrolling through messages on a holographic screen.
Her violet eyes flickered with a faint, artificial light. She was dressed beautifully, with delicate, porcelain features. But if you looked closely, you'd notice the spherical joints at her wrists and knees.
Clearly, this wasn't a living body—it was a puppet.
In fact, this was just one of Herta's many puppets, the preferred form the genius used to interact with the outside world. Dozens of these dolls were scattered throughout the space station, all controlled remotely by Herta from... somewhere. Her true location remained a closely guarded mystery.
"Interesting! The Astral Express launched much earlier than calculated!"
"What do you think? Screwllum, Ruan Mei, Stephen?"
Herta's puppet smirked playfully, speaking into the seemingly empty room.
A refined, mechanical voice soon echoed from the communications channel.
"The answer likely lies in the transmission Nous broadcasted earlier. There may be something in this universe that exists entirely outside the realm of calculation."
As Screwllum's voice faded, another voice—this time male, and distinctly anxious—chimed in.
"I agree with Screwllum. But if even the combined computational power of the Genius Society can't calculate it... just how terrifying must that existence be? I can't even imagine."
"Tch. Sounds like someone's scared, Stephen!" Herta's puppet shot back with a teasing sneer.
"I'm not scared, Herta. But we're talking about something that caught the attention of Nous the Erudition! Something even the Aeon couldn't find an answer to. If we get tangled up with that... the consequences could be unthinkable!"
The man Herta called Stephen—Member #84 of the Genius Society—spoke with a voice that wavered with obvious unease.
Herta's puppet let out an even more dismissive snort.
"Encountering the unknown is just part of the journey on the Path of Erudition. If you don't even have the courage to seek answers, what kind of genius are you? The Genius Society has no room for cowards."
Stephen shot back, his voice dripping with exasperation. "I never wanted to join the Genius Society in the first place! You guys practically dragged me in!"
"Um... what Stephen says... is actually true," Screwllum's polite voice chimed in, confirming the reluctant genius's point.
Herta's puppet froze for a second. Stephen wasn't wrong. Back then, they really did have to drag him in kicking and screaming.
"Ahem! Look, I don't care what you all do—I'm getting to the bottom of this." The puppet cleared its throat awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"Well, good luck with that, Herta. Just don't end up getting yourself caught up in it too," Stephen's voice rang out again, dripping with barely concealed relief that he wasn't being forced to participate.
"Shut up, Stephen! If you've got nothing useful to say, say nothing at all!" Herta's puppet huffed, annoyed that he was already jinxing her.
Stephen wisely chose silence.
Then, a new voice emerged in the room—soft, gentle, yet carrying a distinct, clinical coolness.
"Do you have a lead, Herta?"
"Of course I do, Ruan Mei!" Herta answered with absolute confidence, addressing the 81st seat of the Genius Society, a master of the life sciences and an expert in the field of creation.
"The Astral Express is the perfect starting point." With a flick of her fingers, the holographic display shifted, projecting a virtual model of the train.
"Hmm... an interesting theory. But what makes you think this uncalculable variable is connected to the Express?" Screwllum asked.
"If I recall correctly, the mystery of Akivili's death remains unsolved. Could it be related to that?" Ruan Mei chimed in, her interest suddenly piqued.
"I'm not ruling it out." Herta's puppet nodded slowly. "After all, no one's ever solved the riddle of Akivili's fall. My gut tells me the Express is deeply tied to all of this. Maybe, while investigating this, we'll even uncover the truth behind the Trailblaze's demise."
She rested her chin on her hand, thinking out loud.
"Well then, good luck, Herta. If you need any assistance, just let me know." Screwllum's offer was sincere, fitting for the gentlemanly ruler of Planet Screwllum.
"Of course! I won't hesitate to ask!" Herta nodded, accepting the goodwill. "And you, Ruan Mei? Want to lend a hand?"
"At first, I wasn't particularly interested. But... you mentioned Akivili. That does pique my curiosity." The gentle, cool voice replied, drawing a small smile from Herta's puppet.
"Perfect! Then come by the station sometime?"
"I can do that," Ruan Mei agreed without hesitation. "Now... how exactly do we make contact with the Astral Express?"
And right at that moment, Stephen's voice piped up again. "Hey! You still haven't answered my question!"
"Oh! Stephen, you're still here? I thought you'd logged off by now!"
"Can't I just listen?! We haven't even gotten to the Simulated Universe discussion yet! No way I'm dropping out now!"
"Alright, alright! You mentioning it just reminded me—we do still have that to talk about." Herta turned around, glancing at the massive, glowing device behind her.
It was a piece of equipment she had developed jointly with the other three geniuses on this call. A project designed to simulate the current universe, with the ultimate goal of unraveling the mysteries of the Aeons. By demonstrating Path tendencies through combat in a virtual world, they hoped to attract the attention of simulated Aeons and even converse with them.
"That was literally the main point of today's meeting, you know!" Stephen's voice rang out, thick with exasperation.
"Okay, okay, let's set the previous topic aside for now and focus on the Simulated Universe."
"Hey! You still haven't answered my question!" Stephen interrupted again.
"Oh, that? How to get in touch with the Astral Express? Don't worry about it. I actually know its current Navigator. All I have to do is send her an invitation, and we'll be connected." Herta's puppet replied with absolute confidence.
With that settled, the four geniuses set aside the cosmic anomaly for now and returned to their original agenda: the Simulated Universe.