The Fourth Mirror: "Madam Herta, during the time you were away, Herta City has already been established. It even climbed The Blue's trending searches, hailed by countless netizens as a miracle of architecture—a city-state that rose upon the earth in mere days."
"In addition, construction of the Soul Gem factory has also been completed!"
"At present, the Blue Federation and the Architects have both invited you to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Soul Gem factory and Herta City's completion, and to take commemorative photos."
"Also, one more piece of information. In half a day, it will be the scheduled time for your cooperation with the three superpowers of the cosmos. Their envoys will arrive at The Blue's First University."
"At that same moment, the Blue Federation also intends to award you the Medal of The Blue's First Genius Academician!"
Herman gave a slight nod to indicate understanding, then closed his eyes and asked The Herta whether she wished to accept the invitation from the Architects and the Blue Federation to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"There is no need. Compared to attending some meaningless ribbon-cutting ceremony, I would rather focus on my research."
Herta's voice was filled with seriousness and excitement. "And I am currently in excellent condition—my inspiration is erupting. In this state, I should be able to research the Herta Series · Herta Puppet technology much faster."
Herman continued persuading her. "No matter what, Herta City bears your name. And during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, we can formally connect the Fourth Mirror's computational power to the Soul Gem factory."
Herta gave a soft snort. "If you want to go, then go. Leave these trivial matters of daily life to you... I will continue my research. Oh, and next you need to contact the IPC. When they dispatch their envoys in half a day, have them bring the following materials."
"Netherite, Super Shape-Memory Alloy, Celestial Cognition Stone... I am going to begin preparing to forge the Herta Puppets!"
After saying this, Herta plunged once more into the Simulated Laboratory, launching her final assault on the last critical technical hurdle of the Herta Puppet.
Hearing this, Herman immediately took out his phone and contacted the Interastral Peace Corporation, messaging P46 Jade's account to inform her of the required materials.
"Netherite, Super Shape-Memory Alloy, Celestial Cognition Stone, correct? I'll use my P46 executive authority to retrieve them from the warehouse and have them delivered to you immediately."
After sending that message, Jade quickly typed another: "I hope our cooperation proceeds smoothly."
"Mm."
Herta replied, then turned to glance at Pearl, who had followed them to this planet, and thought inwardly.
'Pearl, as an Intellitron, would in the future secure the position of chairwoman of Pearluxe Corp and become one of the Ten Stonehearts, a senior executive of the Strategic Investment Department with IPC rank P45... Her professional capability must be exceptional.'
'And she is an Intellitron. Her learning capacity is fundamentally different from that of humans. First, let her study the commercial laws of the universe. Then have her represent me—or rather, represent Herta—in commercial negotiations with the Interastral Peace Corporation, the Xianzhou Alliance, and the Family. That would certainly be appropriate.'
After reaching this conclusion, Herman spoke slowly to Pearl. "You have an important task next. In a short period of time, memorize the commercial laws of the universe. Soon, you will represent Herta, in the name of the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society, to negotiate with the Interastral Peace Corporation, the Xianzhou Alliance, and the Family. Any problem with that?"
Pearl, who had only just arrived at the dormitory, heard this and her CPU glitched. As her processor ran at extreme speed, faint wisps of white smoke even began rising from her head.
Several seconds later, after her CPU had overloaded and her computation mode nearly frozen, Pearl placed her hands before her abdomen, bowed to Herta, and spoke slowly:
"Miss Herta, I have only just joined your service and become an Intellitron under your command, and you are already sending me to negotiate with three superpowers of the cosmos. Is this truly appropriate... reasonable?!"
"It is entirely reasonable." Herman gazed at Pearl, who had been born less than a day ago. "Do not doubt those you employ, and do not employ those you doubt. Besides, you have always possessed this potential. You simply have not discovered it yourself."
"And I believe in you. You can learn the commercial laws of the universe in a short time, can you not?"
"Learning legal statutes is not difficult for any Intellitron. It merely requires downloading the information from the interastral network."
Pearl took a deep breath and bowed once more. "Since Miss Herta trusts me, I will give it my all."
As her words fell, Pearl closed her eyes and began downloading the legal codes jointly promulgated and maintained by the various superpowers of the universe to preserve cosmos stability, attempting to comprehend them in full.
Bzzzz—
A mechanical hum filled the air. It was the sound of Pearl's computational power running at maximum capacity. Droplets of cooling liquid—resembling beads of sweat—began forming upon her head, which was adorned with a pale blue shell.
Herman nodded slightly at the sight, then walked into the living room and stood before the true body of the Fourth Mirror.
"We're leaving now. Let's head to Herta City for the ribbon-cutting ceremony."
"Something is off. You are not Madam Herta. You are her second personality, aren't you?" Words appeared upon the mirror's surface.
Herman revealed a trace of curiosity. "Sharp intuition. How did you figure it out, Fourth Mirror?"
"Do not underestimate my understanding of Madam Herta. For the past ten years, I have been the one who accompanied her the longest."
By the end of that sentence, however, a slight stutter crept into the Fourth Mirror's voice.
The reason was simple. As it spoke, it recalled that it was precisely because its companionship had not been enough that Madam Herta had grown too lonely—too isolated—ultimately walking the path of mental division and giving birth to the second personality.
"I understand," Herman guessed. "You realized I am someone else because, according to Herta's original personality, she would never attend a boring ribbon-cutting ceremony. Correct?"
The Fourth Mirror regained its composure and steadied itself. "Correct. According to Madam Herta's personality, she would say, 'What is there worth attending in such a boring ribbon-cutting ceremony?' and then immediately return to researching whatever interested her.
"Not accept the invitation so readily and attend the ceremony as you did."
"That is the difference between Herta and me."
After a brief sigh, Herman continued, "Fourth Mirror, prepare yourself. After attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I will connect your computational power to the Soul Gem factory. From then on, you will be responsible for the production of Soul Gems."
"Rest assured. After my upgrades, my computational capacity is sufficient for such a task."
After saying this, the Fourth Mirror asked an extremely crucial question:
"So, Madam Herta's second personality—why did you bring back another mechanical life-form?"
"Clearly, Madam Herta only needs me alone!"
Herman felt his eyelids twitch, sensing that the Fourth Mirror's final words carried an unmistakable yandere undertone.