From the results, this was undoubtedly another iconic, major victory for Herta.
However, from the perspectives of Bai Luan and the strategist Herta in the Little Black Room, their respective goals had actually been quietly achieved.
Bai Luan's relationship with Herta had indeed taken a significant step forward—whether it was the one in reality or the one in the Little Black Room, their connection had become closer and… deeper.
There's no need to say more about Herta in reality; through the mechanism of exchanging leave slips for rewards, their relationship was steadily and incrementally climbing.
It was just that he often had to think about what rewards to exchange, which was a bit troublesome.
Perhaps he should discuss with Herta about extending the validity of the leave slips; seven days was still too short.
The frequency was too high; he couldn't quite handle it.
And Herta in the Little Black Room also quickly received the news and included this reward in the Herta Resistance training list.
Whenever she felt she needed to personally push the progress again, she would conduct another special training session.
Haha, just kidding.
Even without special training, she would still come by from time to time.
Ever since this option was unlocked, whenever she was in the mood, she would pull Bai Luan over without warning.
In contrast, Herta in reality would at least follow a procedure, using the consumption of leave slips as a plausible excuse.
But the one in the Little Black Room… she was much more direct, frank, and 'naughty' than the one in reality.
She often started at zero frames, launching a direct sneak attack, giving Bai Luan no time for mental preparation whatsoever.
These days, Bai Luan would often be pulled over by Herta while he was engrossed in studying a certain topic in the Little Black Room.
Then, under *a very fierce offensive*, he would quickly be reduced to a Break state.
Bai Luan spent a considerable amount of effort to barely adapt to this new normal.
Although he was still far from being completely immune, at least it wouldn't be as unbearable as the very first time.
However, considering Bai Luan's current acceptance threshold, Herta in the Little Black Room decided to temporarily stop actively pushing the progress bar aggressively.
She planned to maintain the status quo for a period of time.
On one hand, her idea coincided with the one in reality:
Assuming Bai Luan's feelings would not waver, she would return more of the pace and initiative of the conquest to him, letting him decide when to take the next step.
On the other hand, she was indeed not in a hurry.
In the Little Black Room, time was never an issue; she could stay with Bai Luan for as long as she wanted.
The reason she chose to push the progress slightly and accelerate the pace earlier was more out of a 'hate to see iron turn into steel' mentality, intending to spur her slow-progressing self in reality to get to work.
She could accept working collaboratively with Herta in reality to jointly conquer Bai Luan.
After all, they were essentially of the same origin, their lives did not interfere with each other, and most importantly—affection was shared.
Any bit of heart-fluttering, dependence, and affection Bai Luan felt for her would unconditionally and perfectly radiate to Herta in reality.
Similarly, Bai Luan's deepening feelings for Herta in reality would also be perceived and received by her without any loss.
Bai Luan always treated all Hertas equally.
This was already evident from the words he spoke when he first met her.
However, being able to accept did not mean being willing to take care of everything.
Looking back, how much has this genius done along the way?
Formulating plans, conducting special training, increasing resistance, and even actively creating opportunities… And what about that 'me' in reality?
After all this time, she only pushed this tiny, pathetic bit of the progress bar?!
Are you still a genius?
Her series of actions were largely meant to serve as a reminder to her clearly negligent self in reality.
Now, seeing her real-world self finally starting to act and no longer relying solely on her unilateral efforts, she was quite satisfied with this outcome.
Very good, just maintain this momentum and the status quo for a while.
Bai Luan secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart regarding the decision to maintain the status quo.
Heaven knew what he had been through in the past few days—the number of times he was Super Broken had increased exponentially, and the frequency was even much higher than before the Herta Resistance special training!
Was this special training done for nothing?
Why did it feel like the more he trained, the more frequently he was 'struck'?
Bai Luan once fell into deep self-doubt.
Although he was slowly starting to adapt now, he couldn't help but feel… like his future was already visible to its end?
From the very beginning, it didn't feel like he was conquering Herta; instead, it felt more like he was being jointly conquered by the two Hertas.
And now, he seemed to clearly see the progress bar above his head, representing being conquered, steadily approaching its end.
To put it simply—he felt that the day he would be 'pushed' was not far off.
This should have been a welcome outcome when a conquest was successful.
But now, because he had become the object of conquest, and could foresee this outcome so clearly, Bai Luan's heart was filled with mixed feelings, a complex emotion that was hard to describe.
There was anticipation, shyness, helplessness, and even a hint of… resigned acceptance.
However, regarding his slight dilemma, Herta in the Little Black Room seemed very open-minded, telling him to relax.
"It hasn't reached that point yet."
Her tone was relaxed.
"When you enter the Little Black Room, and there's clearly no bed around, but suddenly a 'bed' appears in the Little Black Room… that's the signal."
Then, she changed the subject, with an undeniable declaration:
"By the way, the first person to taste it will definitely be this genius.
this genius won't yield this priority to anyone."
Bai Luan looked helplessly at the genius beside him, who wouldn't rest until she said something shocking.
Are you really on the path of Erudition or the path of Propagation?
So, you built your own body back then for this?
"Can we… be a little more subtle?"
Bai Luan rubbed his forehead, his ears slightly red.
"At least… don't say it directly to my face…"
"Oh? Are you shy now?"
Herta raised an eyebrow, looking as if it were the most natural thing.
"It's going to happen sooner or later, so what's wrong with giving a heads-up?"
She shrugged indifferently, her posture lazy and confident.
"Don't you think about how much time we've spent together in this Little Black Room?
this genius has no interest in playing those inefficient, drawn-out games of push and pull like ordinary young couples; it's too much of a waste of time and doesn't fit this genius's usual efficient and direct style."
Hearing this, Bai Luan couldn't help but grumble in a low voice:
"I feel like… I'm not getting any respect at all. You're exuding an aura of 'I've already won, you can't escape'."
"Oh?"
Herta narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at him with a hint of dangerous amusement.
"Are you implying… that I can't secure you?"
She folded her arms leisurely, her tone full of absolute control:
"Come on, this genius will give you a chance. You say it yourself."
"..."
Under her intense gaze, Bai Luan finally gave in, silently averting his eyes and nodding.
Damn it… completely cornered, with no room for resistance at all.
Herta nodded in satisfaction, as if merely confirming a simple fact.
Then, she said in a tone that suggested, "I've already been very restrained":
"The fact that I haven't made a move now is already the greatest respect I can show you.
If I didn't want to leave you with a relatively complete, less abrupt romantic experience, do you really think I would wait until now?"
"..."
Bai Luan looked up at the genius beside him, who always spoke the most astonishing words in the calmest tone.
His voice carried a sincere, almost pleading tone:
"I'm truly begging you… can you please stop saying these things in front of me?"
Since just now, your direct attacks haven't stopped; every move is a Super Break, every word a critical hit.
I'm really about to collapse under this lethal dose of direct attacks… If this continues, I'm afraid I'll truly be smashed to death by the direct hits. (Sad)