[Let me give you an accurate value for Herta's tsundere level. Current excessive tsundere value: 899%. A normal person's is only 10%.] ♪
[Remember, if Herta's excessive tsundere value exceeds 1000%, something very, very, very bad will happen.] ♪
[In Herta City, there is no sunlight. No breeze. No day or night. No one else. Only endless Hertas. A realm of Herta alone.] ♪
Ruan Mei's heart skipped a beat. Herta's current personality might be even more outrageous and terrifying than I imagined.
[Take back the sleeve pendant for now. Observe her reaction.]
Ruan Mei withdrew the Herta puppet sleeve pendant.
Herta, still waiting with her hand extended, felt nothing. Her eyes flew open and she glared at Ruan Mei.
[Herta's excessive tsundere value has reached 910%.]
"The pendant?!"
"Forgive me. There are still some details left to perfect. Madam Herta deserves the most flawless sleeve pendant."
Hearing this, Herta nodded slowly. Her excessive tsundere value returned to normal.
Ruan Mei breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Herta pressed on.
"Ruan Mei. You really don't want to return to the space station? You don't want to work on the new Simulated Universe with me?"
Ruan Mei sipped her tea. Time to change the subject. If she actually teleports me to Herta City, it'll be too late.
"I have new research to conduct. I won't be participating in your Simulated Universe for now."
Herta stepped forward, her amethyst eyes reflecting only Ruan Mei's image—trapped within them.
"Fine. Fellow genius. I respect your research."
"Thank you."
Herta's tone shifted. She grabbed Ruan Mei's hand and smirked.
"But... can you tell me about this new research?"
Ruan Mei's expression remained calm. With a thought, she summoned the spiral structures of millions of Abundance lifeforms.
"These are Borisin from the Abundance remnants. Zaolorians. And these are Heliobi..."
Herta studied them thoughtfully. Ruan Mei's research interests have expanded beyond Propagation's True Stings and the Starcrusher Swarm King.
One trip to the Xianzhou, and now she's focused on Abundance lifeforms? Interesting. Truly interesting. As expected of you, Ruan Mei.
"All Abundance-related abominations?! You want to create another Emanator of Abundance—like the Starcrusher Swarm King?"
Ruan Mei didn't answer. She looked up at the stars, then spoke after a brief silence.
"Do you remember Bailu?"
Herta blinked. She vaguely recalled that girl who'd called her "Great Sage" the moment they met.
"Hmm? Wait. Abundance and Propagation... are you trying to reconstruct the Path of Immortality?!"
Ruan Mei shook her head again. I was just making conversation. Trying to change the subject. Immortality? Far too distant.
But Herta grabbed her hand, almost manic with joy. A strange smile curved her lips. Her eyes held only Ruan Mei.
"Jingliu and Baiheng wove that phoenix crown together."
"Your research—it's still about fulfilling the promise we made on the Xianzhou?! The one we haven't completed?!"
[Not good. Very bad. Herta's excessive tsundere value has reached 999%. Quickly calm her down.]
Ruan Mei saw it clearly—that strange, manic light in Herta's eyes.
She remembered Herta's expression on the Xianzhou when she first saw the phoenix crown. The hope. The longing.
Baiheng. Jingliu. Phoenix crown. A vow for eternity.
Ruan Mei sensed it—the magic key behind Herta, ready to summon its [Mirrors]. The destination: Herta City.
Her brow serene, Ruan Mei stepped forward calmly. She removed Herta's magic hat and whispered softly in her ear.
"Herta. Jingliu is gone. And Bailu doesn't need to become Baiheng. You know she only wants to grow up without a care."
"I won't change Bailu's current situation."
Herta gave a soft "Oh." But behind her, the magic key began to stir.
She knew. If she brought Ruan Mei to Herta City, there would be no more uncertainties.
Ruan Mei might disagree. Might object. But given enough time in Herta City, she'd change.
One Amber Era wouldn't be enough? Then ten. Ten wouldn't be enough? Then a thousand. Ten thousand!!
(T/N: This sounds more like yandere than tsundere to me.)
The warning echoed in Ruan Mei's mind: Herta's excessive tsundere value was nearing its limit.
Faced with this, Ruan Mei smiled faintly. She whispered warmly in Herta's ear.
"Herta. Here's a freshly preserved plum cake."
Before Herta could react, Ruan Mei fed her the plum cake.
In an instant, the [Mirrors] summoned by her magic key—and the power of the Erudition Path—began to dissipate.
[Herta's excessive tsundere value has dropped to 899%. Ruan Mei, you actually did it. I was about to contact that woman.] ♪
Ruan Mei ignored the ethereal voice. She simply smiled at Herta, her gaze unwavering.
"Well? How is it, Herta?"
Herta instinctively pulled down her magic hat to hide her fluster. With characteristic pride, she answered.
"Passable. Same as always. Oh, got any more? And some tea would be nice."
"Yes."
Ruan Mei handed Herta the cup of tea she had been sipping.
Herta moved her hat aside for just a second, downed the tea in one gulp. Cold plum elegance. Not bad.
Then she quickly pulled the hat back down to cover her face.
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Power Stone Progress: 208/225 (5 Chapters)
Power Ranking: 52/10 (10 Chapters)
Chapters Owed: 5