Bai Luan's little schemes were as transparent as if he'd planned them right in front of Herta.
However, Bai Luan's actions also made Herta realize that she had been playing too much lately, to the point where Bai Luan was starting to think about how to avoid her.
So, after noticing Bai Luan's abnormality, Herta didn't immediately expose him. Instead, she enjoyed Bai Luan's clumsy acting for a while.
She would occasionally go up to him, startle him, and watch his reaction, finding amusement in it.
Regarding her having overdone it, in all fairness—was Bai Luan himself completely blameless?
Although when expressing his feelings, he was quite resolute and decisive, stating them very directly.
But when faced with little teases, like a kitten's claws scratching his palm, his resistance was pitifully low, and he would easily enter a Super Broken state.
Of course, Herta had also wondered if Bai Luan was this vulnerable to everyone.
But after a rigorous (and completely unashamed) investigation using a small trick left in Bai Luan's phone, she was satisfied to confirm:
Bai Luan's unique Condition was indeed an exclusive, limited edition just for her.
After knowing this, she couldn't resist even more; she simply couldn't.
Watching him in that state was just too amusing.
However, the genius's rationality ultimately gained a slight upper hand.
Given Bai Luan's recent tendency towards overload, Herta believed that strategic adjustment was necessary.
After all, she was the one who initially decided to give him a complete romantic experience.
If she broke the pace she set for herself just because she couldn't resist the fun for a moment, then Ms. Herta would be too pathetic.
As a genius, Herta quickly came up with a countermeasure. Since Bai Luan felt overwhelmed by the constant offense, she would change her approach.
She would give him a few days to recover, and once he was almost back to normal, she would hit him with something big.
See how well the recovery has been these past few days?
Of course, Bai Luan was not entirely unaware of Herta's strategic adjustments.
He also clearly felt that the frequency of high-intensity interactions with Herta had significantly decreased recently.
Bai Luan didn't feel the slightest bit relieved about this; instead, he felt a chill in his heart, and a persistent ominous premonition lingered.
He always felt that something big was waiting for him at some point in the future.
However, he still chose to selectively ignore this premonition, comforting himself that it should be his own illusion.
This ignorance continued until he stepped into Herta's office and found only Herta inside.
Then, he was Dazed for an entire day.
Alright, it seems Herta considers this a daily necessity; he can't escape this hurdle.
But Bai Luan felt that he could accept this mode more than before, as he used to endure this intensity every day.
Now, compared to before, he had more chances to breathe and catch his breath, which was good.
Since that was the case, he no longer needed to hold back on his progress in conquering the simulated universe.
Nihility Freeze, Preservation Turtle Shell, Erudition Youth, IPC Financial... Bai Luan shared all the strategies with Stelle without reservation.
Stelle was greatly shocked after listening. After digesting the enormous amount of information, she stared at Bai Luan and asked pointedly:
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
Bai Luan remained expressionless, speaking earnestly, like a guiding mentor:
"Stelle, you must understand, the hardship and pain of exploring and testing the simulated universe through countless failures are an indispensable part of the Trailblaze journey. This tempering is priceless."
Stelle scrutinized Bai Luan with a suspicious gaze for a full ten seconds. She strongly suspected that Bai Luan had simply wanted more entertainment before.
Ultimately, she reluctantly accepted this seemingly high-sounding explanation.
Soon, Stelle's thoughts quickly jumped to another question:
"Does the developer personally writing a guide count as an official cheat?"
Bai Luan shook his head firmly:
"It does not."
"Why not?"
Stelle pressed.
Facing Stelle's questioning, Bai Luan spread his hands, righteous, exercising his ultimate right of interpretation to the fullest:
"Because I don't think it counts."
"..."
Stelle was silent for a moment, then nodded sharply in agreement:
"Uncle, you are right! That's how a developer's identity should be used!"
Armed with the official secret manual generously sponsored by Bai Luan, Stelle plunged into the gold and gears simulated universe.
With the various strat guides, she advanced like a hot knife through butter, quickly completing her first clear.
A feeling of exhilaration and triumph naturally arose.
Recalling her arduous days of stumbling and repeatedly failing without a guide, Stelle couldn't help but be filled with emotion.
The fresh taste of victory ignited her immense desire for exploration. She immediately enthusiastically started another round, beginning to test the strength and fun of other strat.
The following period of time was fulfilling and happy for Stelle.
But as the number of clears continuously increased, the familiar sense of emptiness quietly resurfaced.
After mechanically filling in "very easy" in the feedback section, she exited the simulated universe, a hint of boredom on her face.
Bai Luan watched from the side, always feeling that this scene seemed familiar—wasn't Stelle like this after clearing the Swarm Disaster last time?
Hey, seeing this, Bai Luan got excited. He knew exactly how to cure this "post-clear emptiness syndrome."
Stelle, in her current state, desperately needed a hearty, mind-blowing "creative, entertaining act" to kick that little bit of emptiness in her heart down into Belobog's sewers!
Moreover, the official testing of the simulated universe had concluded, making it the perfect time to fully dedicate themselves to creative video production.
Bai Luan found Stelle, who was staring blankly at the ceiling.
Stelle looked up, their gazes met in the air, and without needing words, they shared a knowing smile.
Bai Luan: "Hey! I have an idea!"
Stelle: "Just go for it!"
The next day, Yi Mu's account updated with a new video on time.
Every viewer who clicked on the video was thoroughly brainwashed by a powerful and addictive piece of music right from the start:
"Leaving me, my heart will ache, my heart will ache, pain after pain..."
Regarding this, netizens who knew Stelle were already used to it.
"Hmm, that's something she would do."
"She seems a bit reserved, oh no, she has an idol burden."
"This time, the period of not doing the absurd act has been extended; she's been normal for so long."
"If I don't @ my friends to watch this video, my friends might @ me to watch it."
"My social skills, what an eye for people."
"The movements are grand and expansive, possessing a masculine beauty. [Rose] [Rose] [Rose]"
"Knights of Beauty? When did they arrive?"
Clearly, under the deep cultivation of Bai Luan's videos, the mental state of the Honkai: Star Rail World netizens also became increasingly "beautiful."
At least their acceptance of "creative" videos increased significantly.
And the most interesting thing was that many memes from his previous life could already be seen in the comment section.
Some of these memes were emoji packs initiated by Bai Luan, which netizens then followed and used.
But more often, they were memes spontaneously created by netizens.
Watching these familiar emoji packs being spontaneously produced by them, Bai Luan felt a joy akin to his little hidden Easter eggs being discovered.
Indeed, no one can question the strength of the Internet Mass Producers ...