An invitation arrived—Herta's Simulated Universe test. And because Huo Linfei had been unconscious last time, he was being dragged in to "make up" the run.
1) "Simulated Universe?" — and Herta's reward scam
"Simulated Universe?" Huo Linfei shot upright from the sofa—then nearly toppled off thanks to his shrunken body. March 7th snagged him by the back of the collar like a kitten.
Herta's hologram crossed her arms, impatient. "I said it's a Simulated Universe test! Stelle already did it. You missed it while you were out cold. Now you're making it up!"
Stelle squinted at the tiny print on the invitation. "This time the reward is three signed photos… personally autographed by Herta…"
Huo Linfei: "Can I swap that for Credits?"
Herta: "No."
2) What it actually is: "ultimate sandbox," not "VR"
Dan Heng looked up from his资料. "So this 'Simulated Universe' is the Space Station's new virtual test ground?"
"Wrong!" Herta's projection teleported to his face. "It's an ultimate sandbox that simulates the rules of the entire universe. The Doomsday Beast you fought before wouldn't even count as an ant in there! This is a great research project to uncover the secrets of the Aeons!"
"Aeons…" Huo Linfei murmured, then leaned toward Stelle and whispered, "Was she always this… hyped?"
Stelle: "She's calm today."
3) Uninvited guests: Kafka and Silver Wolf drop a warning
The carriage lights dimmed. Pale violet fog seeped out, forming a new hologram.
"Long time no see, everyone aboard the Astral Express."
Huo Linfei narrowed his eyes—familiar silhouette.
"I'm Kafka." The fog cleared. She held a black umbrella, dressed exactly as she had been at the Space Station.
Huo Linfei immediately bristled. "You! You and that kid who looks like 'Bronya' dumped me into a mob of monsters and made me look stupid!"
Kafka's gaze lowered to his current height, mildly surprised. "Oh my… why are you smaller?"
"None of your business!" Huo Linfei ground out. "Where's Silver Wolf? I'm settling accounts sooner or later."
A projection popped in even more abruptly than Kafka's.
"Settling accounts?" Silver Wolf chewed bubblegum, glanced at him, and blew a bubble. "Yo. The frozen food finally thawed?"
Huo Linfei: "..."
Welt cut in, frowning. "A sudden visit from Stellaron Hunters—what do you want?"
Kafka smiled. "Just a reminder: the Xianzhou Luofu is about to face a massive disaster."
At the words Luofu, Dan Heng visibly jolted and unconsciously stepped back half a pace.
Stelle nudged him with her elbow. "What's 'Luofu'? And what's a 'Xianzhou'?"
Dan Heng pinched the bridge of his nose. "Luofu is one of the Alliance's world-ships. And… in a sense, it's my hometown."
Stelle wisely stopped digging.
Silver Wolf continued, ticking items off casually: "The Ambrosial Arbor is reviving, Abominations of Abundance are running wild, and also…" Her eyes slid toward Huo Linfei. "Certain people are being watched by someone from the Genius Society."
Huo Linfei looked left and right, then pointed at himself once he confirmed nobody else was beside him. "Me?"
"Elio says Dr. Primitive's monkey is already on the Xianzhou," Silver Wolf shrugged.
Stelle asked the obvious question. "Why are you helping us?"
Kafka's expression softened for a heartbeat, then she chuckled. "Because the script requires it. And once you know this, I trust the Express crew will make the correct decision."
Welt's lenses flashed. "A straightforward scheme… You're confident we'll go to the Luofu."
They didn't answer. Their images began to dissolve. Before Kafka vanished completely, she gave Huo Linfei a long, meaningful look.
"We only met briefly on the Space Station… but I'll offer one piece of advice: be careful of that monkey."
The fog dispersed. The carriage returned to normal.
4) March asks the routing question; Herta vetoes it instantly
March poked Huo Linfei's stunned face. "So what now? Detour to the Space Station, or go straight to the Xianzhou?"
Herta's projection abruptly reappeared like a jump-scare. "Test first! I already calibrated everything!"
Huo Linfei and Stelle spoke in perfect sync: "Can we split into groups?"
"No."
5) Into the Simulated Universe: time compression, and Huo Linfei's "abnormal reading"
"So this thing is just a huge VR game?" the tiny Huo Linfei asked, tiptoeing to poke a floating orb.
"It's a research project!" Herta's puppet slapped his hand away. "Don't touch the terminal core—your current condition can't handle a data-stream shock."
Stelle, completely experienced now, lay straight into the pod. "Relax. You won't die. Worst case, your brain turns strawberry-flavored."
"…Is that supposed to reassure me?" Huo Linfei deadpanned.
Herta waved impatiently. "Lie down. I set time flow to 60×. In reality, you'll be out in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
The hatch closed. Streams of light flashed.
[Simulated Universe loading]
[New user detected: Huo Linfei]
[Abnormal energy fluctuation detected… WARNING!]
"Wooo!" Huo Linfei whooped.
He found himself in a starry void: data-paths extending beneath his feet, countless galaxy models floating in the distance. Stelle hovered beside him with hands in her pockets, totally calm. "First time's always like this. You get used to it."
A cute chibi figure bounced in—clearly Herta's in-SU avatar.
"Listen up! This test added new 'Equilibrium' parameters. I want to observe how you react when you encounter—"
Huo Linfei leaned in, face almost touching the projection. "Say it like a human."
Mini-Herta slid backward in visible disgust. "Fine. Enemies you've fought before will spawn randomly. Beat them, get rewards."
Stelle nodded. "Same as last time."
Huo Linfei rolled his shoulders, pleasantly surprised. "Nice, my status got fully restored!" He felt his internal power brim like he'd just fused into a Super Beast God again—ice and fire swirling in his hands. "So why am I still in a kid body?"
Mini-Herta drifted even farther away. "Simulation copies your entry state. Body model matches what you looked like going in—wait. What is that energy reading?!"
The ice-fire vortex in Huo Linfei's palm suddenly warped. Space itself shuddered. Far away, a gray statue—something that shouldn't exist here—flickered into view for a split second.
Stelle's pupils snapped tight. "Did you see that? What was that thing?"
"Uh… looks like something from my mental space…"
[WARNING! Unknown variable intrusion!]
[Simulated Universe abnormal operation!]
The whole "universe" started snowing and flickering like an old TV. Through the static came Herta's furious shout:
"What did you two do this time?!"
"What do you mean 'this time'?" Huo Linfei whipped toward Stelle. "What did you do earlier that made her default to blaming us instead of her machine?!"
Stelle sighed. "I just made the simulated Aeons start a group brawl. It's not a big deal…"
6) The statue's "worshippers," Herta's panic, and Dr. Primitive hacking in
Before the sentence even landed, a swarm of data-formed Voidrangers poured out of starry rifts—yet instead of attacking, they collectively knelt toward the direction where the statue had flashed.
"I think we should run," Stelle said, already pulling out her bat like she was ready to fight while sprinting.
Outside, Herta stared at wildly spiking numbers and typed rapidly. "What the hell… where did that statue model come from?!"
A comms window popped up on one corner of the screen.
A monkey wearing goggles leaned into the camera. "Oh my, oh my—something strange has slipped into Lady Herta's toy box~"
Herta's eyes went cold. "Dr. Primitive? Was this your doing?!"
The monkey grinned. "Of course not. Relax—I'm just here to observe that interesting little guy… and to give you a piece of advice."
It tapped Huo Linfei's figure on-screen. "Don't let him touch the 'Equilibrium' simulation data—unless you want the whole Simulated Universe to…"
It made an exaggerated explosion gesture.
Herta tried to press for more, but the monitor detonated into a blinding white—
7) Forced termination: rewards settle anyway… and Huo Linfei picks the wrong card
Huo Linfei and Stelle were teleported into an ashen-white space. Three golden cards floated before them.
[Abnormal termination]
[Rewards forced settlement]
[Please choose]
"Oho, we did nothing and still get rewards. Unreal~" Stelle said in full sarcasm, reaching for the middle card.
Flip: a Preservation seal.
Huo Linfei side-eyed her. "Can you talk normally for once? Why do you seem… energized?"
He casually took the left card.
Flip: a simple sketch of the gray statue, labeled—
"Fragment of Equilibrium."
And that's where the chapter cuts: Huo Linfei just unknowingly grabbed the exact thing Dr. Primitive warned Herta about.
What this chapter sets up (clean takeaways)
Plot railroading to Luofu: Kafka/Silver Wolf give an "open scheme" warning that basically forces the Express to weigh detour vs. direct intervention.
Equilibrium becomes a mechanical hazard inside SU, not just a theme—Herta explicitly added parameters, and Huo Linfei's anomaly contaminates the sim.
Dr. Primitive is already inside the system boundary (or can pierce it), and the gray statue/"Equilibrium fragment" is now in Huo Linfei's hands—an escalation from "being watched" to "active contamination."
Paste Chapter 16 whenever you're ready.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 50)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 70)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 50)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 54)
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