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Then again, the whole mess with the Arbitrator had complicated things.
Although from his own perspective, hardly any time had passed at all. But to the outside world, decades—perhaps even centuries—had likely slipped away.
But Aha had intervened as well; surely things hadn't jumped all the way past the main storyline in one go, right?
Baiming glanced at his system prompts:
[Target detected trapped in a special gravitational field. A massive time dilation has occurred between the target and the subjects of Emotional Value collection. Intention to collect large amounts of Emotional Value in a short period detected.]
[Therefore, all Emotional Value earned during the abnormal time-flow interval will be invested entirely into Lifespan Extension. No energy will be allocated to Character Card charging.]
[Reminder: The target is advised not to attempt to exploit loopholes. Please engage in serious roleplay.]
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Baiming]
[Lifespan: 450 Years]
[Transformable Characters: Madam Herta (Available), Acheron (Charge: 87.1%), Zephyro (Charge: 45.9%), Ruan Mei (Charge: 13.4%), Jingliu]
[Available Draws: 0 (50.1%)]
"..."
Baiming wasn't sure if this damn system was strict or lenient.
It was quite particular about the "roleplay" aspect, but outside of that, it was surprisingly easy to talk to. At the very least, his Emotional Value hadn't gone to waste; it had all been dumped into his lifespan.
Fortunately, lifespan was what he valued most anyway.
As for the roleplaying...
To be honest, acting was fine once in a while. But who would want to spend their entire life wearing someone else's face? At the very least, a man needs a face of his own.
Baiming grumbled inwardly, then pulled out his phone for a quick look.
His soul nearly left his body on the spot.
"What the hell?! How is it already Amber Era 2158? I'm screwed, I'm screwed... the main plot is gone! Equilibrium, you're absolutely useless!"
The moment his phone connected to the network, the automatically updated Amber Era count left Baiming completely stunned.
And it wasn't even the start of the 2158th era. All the main plot points he knew were effectively vaporized. Had the Trailblazer already visited countless planets and unlocked over a dozen Paths by now?
Baiming immediately performed a keyword search.
If the Iron Curtain had already been smashed, the Interastral Peace Corporation would definitely be broadcasting it. Perhaps Lingyi and the others would have even had a hand in it.
But the search results only caused more question marks to pop up over Baiming's head.
"...What do you mean 'The Astral Express has been missing for years, Stellarons are blocking the star-rails, and the universe is heading toward its end'?"
"The Express never set sail?? Can my butterfly effect really be this powerful?? Where's Elio?"
Baiming began to scratch his head in frustration. Hmm, this doesn't make sense...
So, he searched for the "Stellaron Hunters" instead.
An even more abstract result appeared.
"What do you mean 'Traitor of the Xianzhou, Stellaron Hunter Jingliu, sparked the Razby Civil War, and fled with a Stellaron after clashing with a Giant of Light'?? Whoa, buddy... where exactly did Aha drop me? Is this even the universe I know??"
When this news headline flashed across the screen, Baiming felt his vision go dark.
Seriously? Why was Jingliu a Stellaron Hunter?
Wasn't she supposed to have disappeared after her Mara-struck episode, only to later link up with Doctor Luo and Ruan Mei to return to the Xianzhou? How did Elio manage to kidnap her into the Stellaron Hunters??
Moreover, why were the Stellaron Hunters composed of only Elio and Jingliu?
Where was Kafka? Where was Firefly?? Silver Wolf???
Where did all these people go??
Even setting the others aside, even if Silver Wolf hadn't joined the Hunters, she should have still left a name for herself in the universe as a genius hacker. Why couldn't he find a single trace of her?
Is this actually a legitimate 2158th Amber Era? Or am I surrounded by Enigmata? Am I actually still lying in bed back in Herta City, being played for a fool by those History Fictionologists I created?
Baiming fell into a deep state of self-doubt.
I mean, really... what kind of unofficial history world is this? It's gone completely off the rails. Did some mysterious "Hand" decide to exert its influence?
Just then, a call from Herta came through.
Baiming hadn't even snapped out of his daze yet. He just listened to the ringtone chime twice before Herta's chat window popped up:
[Herta: ?]
[Herta: Pick up the phone!]
"..."
Baiming pressed the accept button. A holographic projection of Herta appeared before him.
"Oh, look who it is. If it isn't Baiming~ You actually bothered to come back, huh? What, was the scenery inside the black hole not unique enough for you? Why didn't you stay a bit longer..."
The moment the call connected, he was met with Madam Herta's sharp, needle-like sarcasm. She didn't even give Baiming a chance to speak.
He waited until she paused to catch her breath.
"Ugh... actually, I ran into an Arbitrator."
Herta, who had just finished venting everything she wanted to say in one breath, froze. Her expression shifted. "What happened?"
"The Arbitrator said I was overdoing it, so they dragged me into a black hole for a 'heart-to-heart' talk."
"And you didn't run?"
Hearing Herta's matter-of-fact tone, Baiming gave a wry, helpless smile. "Sister... the Arbitrators work directly under HooH the Equilibrium. Do you really think I can outrun the Aeon of Equilibrium?"
"Tch, that is indeed a bit troublesome," Herta clicked her tongue.
"But Aha stepped in and fished me out."
"Aha, I should have known... anyway, where are you now? What do you plan to do next?" Herta's face immediately contorted into an expression of pure disgust.
"Outside the Luofu. As for what's next... I'm a bit confused. Hundreds of years passed in the blink of an eye. I haven't quite processed it yet."
"..."
Herta shot Baiming an exasperated look.
"You're still too young. It's just a few hundred years. Besides, nothing major has happened, so what is there to 'process'?"
"It's because nothing major happened that I can't process it!" Baiming couldn't help but complain loudly.
Herta raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. By the way, how is the Space Station? Does it have a Lead Curator now?"
"There were a few over the years, but currently, AI Herta is still running the show. Why do you ask?"
"..."
Dammit, is Asta gone too?? That shouldn't be possible, right?
Baiming's expression became exceptionally subtle. "Then... have you ever thought about building a supercomputer to simulate the universe's operations, using it to research the Aeons?"
"Hmm? What's that? That sounds quite interesting."
Herta, who had been puzzled by Baiming's attitude, suddenly had a spark in her eyes. That idea sounded rather intriguing.
"..."
Baiming vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
No matter how strong the butterfly effect was, it shouldn't have fluttered the Simulated Universe out of existence... And seeing Herta's reaction to the idea, it clearly wasn't that she lacked interest.
Furthermore, Ruan Mei and Screwllum had already linked up with Herta centuries ago. Theoretically, the Simulated Universe should have appeared even earlier. Why was it happening later?
"Herta."
"What?"
"Has a new Genius #84 been born yet?"
"Ha? Why? Are you upset because the mechanical head didn't give you a certificate?" Herta looked at Baiming with great interest. She had assumed Baiming didn't care about such things.
"What? No, I'm just using a borrowed brain; why would I care about a title? I'm just asking if there are any new Geniuses."
"Heh, no new Geniuses. Yours truly is still the newest one from the last few centuries," Herta replied with a light chuckle, her voice dripping with self-confidence.
"..."
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
It was true that Stephen Lloyd was young, but it was impossible for him not to have become a Genius by the year 2158. In the original timeline, when Qliphot glanced at the Trailblazer and the hammer fell, marking the start of Era 2158, Stephen had been a Genius for a long time.
Wait... Qliphot's hammer!!
If the Astral Express never set sail, and the Trailblazer never got hit by the Amber Lord's hammer on Jarilo-VI... then the Amber Era in the original plot wouldn't have jumped straight to 2158.
According to Herta, only a few hundred years had passed since his disappearance. If he really had erased the Astral Express from the timeline, then counting forward from the Shuhu upheaval, it should currently be Era 2157, or even 2156.
This extra hammer strike...
Hiss.
Wait!
Didn't the Amber Lord strike the hammer when Noah was born?
Holy crap, so that's where the extra strike came from!!
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