When Oliver and Asta entered the laboratory with a Herta Puppet numbered 89757,
Herta herself was lazily reclining in a streamlined command chair, smiling gleefully at a screen. (As pictured)
"Hmph, I'll block 42 of your accounts, that'll infuriate you. Such a small-time hacker, how laughable, how laughable."
Clearly, Silver Wolf had already suffered.
She didn't have any mysterious helpers to begin with, so she naturally couldn't resist Herta's counter-intrusion.
Out of 76 accounts, saving 34 was already quite good.
Oliver's mind involuntarily conjured the image of Silver Wolf about to cry in the storyline.
Everything was Oliver's doing, yet Silver Wolf took the blame for him.
No wonder Elio didn't let Silver Wolf play with him. The words of the older generation always hold some truth.
"Oh, you're here."
The Herta saw the two enter, immediately stood up, and then pointed to the Herta Puppet Asta had brought.
"Here, The Herta you wanted. She'll work for you for free for a hundred years."
It had a physique similar to Ms. Herta's childhood self, and its face was fixed in an eternally unchanging, slightly stiff, polite smile.
Oliver couldn't smile now.
Just as he expected, this woman, Ms. Herta, was going to play word games with him.
"I want you, not a puppet."
Ms. Herta smiled, "How vulgar. Aren't both the former and the latter me?"
"Look at the video: 'The Herta works for you for a hundred years.' See? Literally speaking, it perfectly meets the requirement."
She tilted her head slightly, and her purple eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through the secrets of the star ocean, shone with a cunning light almost like a mischievous child. "I never said it absolutely had to be my true self doing the work, right?"
She spread her hands, as if displaying a piece of impeccable logical artwork.
When Asta heard Ms. Herta say she would work for someone for free, her mind couldn't quite process it.
Was this something that narcissistic and unempathetic great scientist would say?
"Unless Mr. Oliver possesses equivalent value," she guessed.
Oliver didn't look at the delicate puppet; his gaze swept past it and landed on Ms. Herta's face, which was practically screaming, "I've won this round."
A faint smile, like a tiny ripple caused by a stone dropped into a deep pool, spread across the corner of his mouth and then disappeared.
He thought: *This woman really holds grudges. She won't accept even the slightest loss.*
"Interesting."
Oliver's voice was low. He leaned toward Asta and whispered something.
Asta immediately went to retrieve a projector.
"Then I should also fulfill my promise and let you see the aeon of erudition."
Oliver raised his eyes, calmly meeting the purple gaze of Ms. Herta, which had suddenly sharpened. He lightly pressed an almost invisible sensor area on the side of the cylindrical device. "Here, the Nous you wanted to see."
*Buzz.* An extremely faint hum sounded.
A slowly rotating holographic projection appeared on top of the cylinder. It was the three-dimensional image of the machine head.
Seeing this scene, Ms. Herta's mouth gradually turned downwards, and her smile vanished.
"You—you actually tricked me?" she demanded.
Oliver smiled calmly and patted the Herta Puppet on the head: "The feeling is mutual."
Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, Asta immediately panicked.
One was Ms. Herta, and the other was clearly no pushover. If the two clashed, it would likely lead to huge trouble!
"Please, both of you, calm down and let's talk this out properly."
Asta tugged on Oliver's arm, trying to mediate.
Oliver handed the projector to Asta, then turned around and said, "We're even now. Goodbye."
He gently pushed Asta's hand away and walked toward the door.
Seeing that Oliver seemed genuinely ready to leave, completely unconcerned about their relationship, Ms. Herta's mood became very complicated.
Even though she had only known this person for a few days, and their relationship was merely cooperative...
...she had the urge to stop him. This was the first time she had ever wanted to keep someone from leaving.
Her intuition told her she would regret it if she didn't keep Oliver. Ms. Herta always trusted her instincts.
Looking back at Oliver, his expression was indifferent, and he acted completely unconcerned.
He softly murmured, "Three... two... one."
"Wait!!" Suddenly, Ms. Herta shouted.
She immediately ran over and grabbed Oliver's arm: "It was just a joke, don't be like that."
Seeing this, Asta froze in place, slightly stunned.
This was the first time she had ever seen Ms. Herta actively run to keep someone from leaving—and even touch them?
"I can't believe Ms. Herta would do something like this."
Shouldn't she haughtily give orders for him to be escorted out?
What kind of leverage could make Ms. Herta restrain her temper?
Oliver's gaze returned to Ms. Herta's face, watching her cheeks puff up slightly with shame and anger, her eyes showing a mixture of unwillingness and helplessness.
His smile deepened slightly, carrying the composure of someone who had finally broken a deadlock.
"Oh, a joke, huh? I thought you were trying to renege on our deal. Turns out I was too hasty. I knew it! How could the genius Ms. Herta be an untrustworthy rogue who nitpicks words?"
Every word was mocking Ms. Herta, making her burn with unvented frustration.
"That's enough."
"My true self, The Herta, will personally work for you for ten years. In exchange, you must let me meet the true aeon of erudition at least five times. Do you agree?"
Ms. Herta tugged Oliver's arm toward herself.
It was clear that this was a compromise made because she truly wanted to keep him.
"Fine, that's fair enough. To convince you, you can see the Aeon tomorrow, and then we'll sign the contract."
Oliver had accurately grasped Ms. Herta's desires.
She wanted to study the Aeon, perhaps even have the Aeon pose questions to her, to break through the singularity of knowledge.
Everything Ms. Herta wanted required meeting the Aeon, and Oliver happened to be able to summon the Aeon.
That's why Ms. Herta was completely cornered.
If it were anyone else, they would have been blacklisted immediately.
The two reached a cooperation agreement again.
Oliver still gave Ms. Herta face by reducing the work period from a hundred years to ten years.
For the next ten years, The Herta would be Oliver's most powerful employee. Asta was completely stunned, standing dumbfounded on the side.
She had been trying her best to mediate and prevent a conflict between the two.
But now, what did she hear?
"Ms. Herta working for Mr. Oliver for ten years in exchange for meeting Nous?"
How did those words manage to form a single sentence? That was absolutely absurd!
If the Company, the Doctor's Society, the Genius Society, Blue Star, or the Space Station researchers found out about this, they would probably be shocked speechless.
Asta felt deep admiration: Oliver was the first person to truly corner Ms. Herta—that was incredible!
Looking back at Ms. Herta, she quickly adjusted her emotions and returned to her usual state.
"Since we've patched things up, let's continue seeking revenge against the Stellaron Hunters."
She initiated a video call with Screwllum.
Oliver stood beside her.
In the video, an Automaton appeared—a machine head wearing a suit, looking like an elegant gentleman.
Screwllum: "Ms. Herta..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ms. Herta interrupted directly: "Screwllum, come to the Space Station. The Stellaron Hunters have a powerful expert, and we need your help dealing with him."
Screwllum: "Logic: I am currently conducting experiments in a distant galaxy and cannot reach the Space Station in a short period of time."
Ms. Herta realized that Oliver's spatial technology was also very formidable, and maybe he had a solution.
Just as she was about to turn her head to ask Oliver beside her...
...Oliver's face appeared behind Screwllum in the video feed.
Herta: ?