※ The Mediocre Disturb Themselves
Inform Asta about Ruan Mei's departure
Stelle arrived at the Master Control Zone but couldn't find Asta.
At that moment, her phone notified her of a new message. The notification sound was the space station's exclusive one.
She tapped into the relevant group chat.
[Herta Inspection Squad]
Cha Li Cha Qi invited Tirelessly Ruining Lives into the group chat
[Cha Li Cha Qi: Welcome, new comrade!]
[Anonymously Famous: Serving tea to the big shot.]
[Bill Geva: Group status -1.]
[Martian Robot: Group status -1.]
Seeing a certain ID, Stelle's mouth twitched.
Asta wasn't at her workstation, yet she was secretly observing in the group?
[Face Tanking Big Move: Speaking of which… Cha Li Cha Qi's ID looks a bit familiar. Could it have something to do with the raccoon in the melon field?]
Face Tanking Big Move — Stelle's anonymous ID on the space station.
[Cha Li Cha Qi: …You actually know my old account from before reincarnation. Looks like you've been surfing the net quite a bit, kid.]
[Unlicensed Spaceship Pilot: Alright, alright, let's get to the point. How are we handling this situation now?]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: Pursue accountability! We must pursue accountability!]
[Face Tanking Big Move: Pursue what accountability?]
[Bill Geva: So you don't know?]
[Bill Geva: /Lady Herta Under Attack.mp4]
Seeing that the group chat video had a play button, Ah Xian instinctively tapped it. Unexpectedly, it actually started playing, and a familiar news broadcast voice came through.
"Herta Lady Solo-Push News Flash — Good evening, fellow anti-fans! We now interrupt with breaking news."
"Currently, the great Genius Society #83, Lady Herta, has gone missing after being attacked on the space station."
"As of now, no organization has claimed responsibility for this incident."
"A large number of anti-fans have therefore issued strong protests and severe condemnations regarding the management's negligence and inaction."
Seeing the pixelated interviewee in the video striking that classic pose, Ah Xian couldn't help but laugh out loud.
It was the classic "乆" character pose, which had now evolved into the meme "it must have been XXX who did it."
That was all the content in the news flash video. After the screen went black, there were replay and exit buttons. It was quite well-made.
Stelle exited the video and returned to the group chat.
[Cha Li Cha Qi: Look at this. They're even pulling the tiger's whiskers on the great one's head. They've already bullied their way to Lady Herta!]
[Martian Robot: Although, the management of these spaces really isn't up to standard either.]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: The Legion is one thing, but Lady Herta can still be attacked on her own turf?]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: What kind of situation is this!]
[Unlicensed Spaceship Pilot: Sigh, what I hate most are these parasites who occupy positions without doing any work.]
[Tirelessly Ruining Lives: But to be fair, after the Legion incident, the space station's revival and reconstruction were actually done pretty well.]
[Martian Robot: That's true.]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: One thing at a time. Does that mean they don't have any problems?]
[Face Tanking Big Move: That's the vibe. You're a bit too worked up. Isn't the main point Lady Herta's safety?]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: Worrying about things that don't concern you. Aren't these things Asta should be concerned about?]
[Cha Li Cha Qi: What we supervise is whether the results are good or bad. As for how to do it, that's something they need to figure out.]
[Tirelessly Ruining Lives: Crooked as it is, that's the logic.]
[Unlicensed Spaceship Pilot: So true, bro! Cha Li Cha Qi, my internet mouth substitute!]
This was getting unbearable.
Seeing this, Stelle forwarded the chat records to Leon.
Leon hadn't come with her. He said he was going to Herta's Curio Collection Room.
That said, Herta had quite a few dolls. The people in the group chat didn't seem to specify which doll had been attacked.
Also—
A doll being attacked wasn't the real Herta. What was all this fuss about?
They spoke nicely about caring for Lady Herta, but in reality they were just using the incident to make a fuss, wanting to see the management like Asta make a fool of themselves.
Meek and submissive in reality, throwing heavy punches online. What a mess.
Asta was secretly watching these people from the sidelines. She was probably enjoying the drama a little too much.
"I'll go to Herta's office first and see what's going on."
Having made up her mind, Stelle turned and left.
The player's perspective entered a cutscene.
Stelle had just arrived at Herta's office, the location where she tested the Simulated Universe, but she didn't find Herta.
Before she could make her next move, her vision suddenly went black.
Dr. Ratio's figure appeared behind Stelle, as if he was preparing to grab her.
At that moment, enormous wings wrapped around Stelle and carried her away.
A fierce wind surged forth with powerful force, slamming Dr. Ratio heavily against the wall and leaving a dent.
The camera shifted, revealing Leon's face, which carried a hint of coldness.
After confirming that Stelle inside the wing's embrace was unharmed, he coldly dropped a single sentence.
"You'd better give a reasonable explanation for attacking her. Otherwise, I'll throw you straight into outer space."
The chilling tone in his voice made quite a few players instinctively shiver.
[What the hell? Dr. Ratio actually tried to sneak attack grandpa?]
[There's still a gap between Fathers. He really needs to give a reasonable explanation.]
[Doing something like this to grandpa made my favorability toward Dr. Ratio drop.]
[They're both people everyone calls Father, yet the difference is still obvious.]
Dr. Ratio clutched his chest, his face somewhat pale. His entire body felt like it had been hit by a starship.
This person's strength was terrifying.
If the other party had intended to kill him in one strike, he would probably be dead already.
"The reason I attacked her is simple. Before the Herta doll disappeared, she was the last person to see it."
"Just because of that, you think you can do whatever you want?" A trace of killing intent flashed in Leon's eyes.
Even now, this guy still wasn't telling the truth.
The reason for attacking Stelle was definitely not just because she was a suspect in the attack on the Herta doll.
Feeling the oppressive killing intent, Dr. Ratio couldn't help but frown.
Just as the tense atmosphere was about to reach its breaking point, Asta arrived in time.
"Both of you, please calm down!"
The cutscene ended here and moved to the next scene.
...
When Stelle woke up, she vaguely heard familiar voices in her daze.
Asta: "This was a premeditated attack…"
Screwllum: "Conclusion: The enemy's target is the space station, but the method… is still unknown for now."
Dr. Ratio: "That's right. This is the reason we need her."
Leon said coldly: "The reason is far-fetched and doesn't convince me. Not to mention the relationship between Herta and the Astral Express, just talking about Stelle—"
"She has no motive whatsoever to attack Herta, and she doesn't have the ability to attack silently without being discovered."
"Herta's mass-produced dolls aren't easy to deal with either."
Stelle looked around at everyone with a confused expression and patted her head as she stood up.
"I just now… Never mind. What's the situation right now?"
Three familiar people, and one stranger.
However, his outfit looked somewhat familiar.
Asta introduced him: "You're awake. This is the company's academic representative, Mr. Veritas Ratio from the Genius Society."
Dr. Ratio put on his plaster headgear: "Remember me? It doesn't matter if you don't. I wasn't expecting you to."
Stelle looked speechless: "You said everything… Leon, what's going on?"
Screwllum: "Lady Stelle, you must have many questions right now. Please remain calm. Asta will explain everything to you one by one."