One of the characters slowly lit up with a soft white glow!
However... only the character [same] (Tóng, Same) lit up.
The adjacent character [recognize] (Rèn, Recognize) remained stubbornly dim, like a light bulb with insufficient power.
Madam Herta: "..."
She looked at the half-lit panel, feeling as if she was seeing an old appliance with a loose connection.
She contacted the System again: "System, it's lit."
[Please click confirm.]
"It's lit, alright,"
Madam Herta emphasized with some exasperation, "but only one character is lit. The 'recognize' character isn't. What's going on? Is it malfunctioning?"
The System was silent for a few seconds, seemingly rapidly searching its database and conducting logical analysis.
[Search complete. It is detected that the target individual Cyrene's 'identification' with the main body has been initially established, manifested as a willingness to follow and attempt to understand the main body's path. However, deep within her heart, there are still significant doubts and reservations regarding the main body's 'identity,' 'essence,' and 'ultimate purpose.' Therefore, the 'identification' protocol has not been fully activated.]
It was a bit complex, but Madam Herta understood.
Cyrene was willing to 'accompany' her, but had not yet truly 'recognized' and fully 'trusted' her from the bottom of her heart.
This was not resistance, but a natural defense stemming from past trauma and fear of the unknown.
"Understood."
Madam Herta responded to the System, then turned her gaze back to Cyrene, who seemed a little uneasy because only half of the panel was lit.
[Based on the current 'partial identification' status, primary authority is now unlocked: Target 'Cyrene' can move freely within a 50-meter radius around you; this area is considered a'safe zone.' However, the confinement has not been fully lifted; she cannot use any Golden Descendants abilities, nor can her form project into a physical entity outside this data space. Her essence remains a restricted existence.]
"So, she can follow me now, but only within the System Space and any extended'safe zones,' and she has no power, like a... common ghost?"
Madam Herta confirmed.
[That can be understood as such.]
Madam Herta nodded; this was a good start.
She closed the System panel and looked at Cyrene, trying to make her tone sound calm: "It's done. From now on, you can follow me, but don't leave my side beyond fifty meters."
Upon hearing this, a sparkle instantly lit up in Cyrene's azure eyes—the joy of her innate desire for freedom and companionship being satisfied.
She cautiously stood up and took a few tentative steps forward, leaving the blanket area where she had stayed for so long. After confirming there was no discomfort or obstruction, a faint smile appeared on her face.
But soon, the smile receded a little, and she looked at Madam Herta, asking softly, "Then... where are we going now?"
Madam Herta looked at her, both expectant and nervous, like a fledgling just allowed to leave its nest. A softness, which even she hadn't noticed, flickered in her purplish-black eyes.
"Let's go out first."
Madam Herta turned and walked towards the stairs leading to the upper platform, her skirt swirling in an elegant arc. "Outside... there are still many things waiting."
Cyrene quickly followed with small steps, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, afraid of exceeding the invisible fifty-meter boundary.
She looked at Madam Herta's tall and mysterious back, her heart filled with curiosity about the unknown outside world, and a faint warmth from finally not being alone.
Although the road ahead was still hazy, at least at this moment, she was no longer alone and locked in the darkness.
[Belobog, Lower District, Outskirts of the Mechanical Settlement]
March 7th groggily opened her eyes, and the biting cold instantly made her shiver, waking her up completely.
What met her eyes was a vast expanse of white snow, covering rusted metal structures and abandoned mine shafts, while she herself was sitting on the ground without any grace.
"Where... where am I?"
She rubbed her eyes, looking around blankly, and then was stunned by the scene before her.
Not far away, two groups of people were confronting each other on the snowy open ground, the atmosphere tense.
On one side was Bronya, and beside her stood a grim-faced girl with long dark blue hair, holding a large scythe.
They faced a robot emitting a cold metallic luster. Beside the robot, a small girl with pure white long hair and red eyes, dressed in thin clothes, stood nervously.
The two sides seemed to be arguing fiercely, full of animosity, as if a fight could break out any second.
"You're awake?"
A calm voice sounded beside her.
March 7th turned her head and saw Jack had walked over at some point, extending a hand to her.
March 7th used Jack's strength to stand up, patting the snow off her clothes, her mind still in a jumble: "Jack? W-what exactly happened? I remember I seemed to... smell a super terrifying scent, and then I didn't know anything... Where is this? And who are those people?"
Jack helped her to a relatively sheltered spot behind some abandoned machinery and explained concisely: "You were knocked out by the fumes. I carried you out of the clinic. Met Danheng. Bronya woke up and was surrounded by Wanderers when she went out to investigate."
She pointed to the blue-haired girl, "Her, Seele, from the Underworld. She helped. Natasha's clinic is short on supplies, we're helping to find them. Met Clara," she then pointed to the white-haired girl, "the big robot Svarog knows about the Stellaron. So, we came to ask. And, help the Underworld negotiate."
She paused, then added, "Thought it was unsafe to leave you alone at the clinic. So, carried you here."
March 7th: "..."
The amount of information was overwhelming; she felt her small brain was about to overload.
Had she only been unconscious for a short while? Why did it feel like the world had turned upside down?!
Underworld and Wanderers, and a big robot that knew about the Stellaron?
And she was even carried around like luggage?
"S-so now... this is a negotiation?"
March 7th looked at the tense atmosphere in the distance and swallowed.
Jack nodded: "Mm."
[High Ground, Concealed Metal Platform]
Just above the confrontation site, on a platform obscured by abandoned pipes and structural supports, two figures stood quietly.
Madam Herta was still wearing her purplish-black elegant dress, as if the surrounding severe cold and decay had nothing to do with her.
Beside her stood Cyrene.
Cyrene wore Baiheng's slightly oversized white fur cloak, which made her small face appear even more delicate.
Her azure eyes were wide open, curiously yet somewhat timidly looking down at the scene below.
This was her first time truly leaving that data space and seeing such a "lively" and conflict-filled "outside."
"Is this... the Lower District of Jarilo-VI?"
Cyrene asked softly, her breath forming white mist in the cold.
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