Yao Guang spoke seriously, saying that this journey of Herta's would be an extremely auspicious omen and that her wishes would surely be fulfilled.
Herman replied, "I'll take your blessing for it."
"Don't worry. Boss Yao's divinations are incredibly accurate," Yao Guang said with a grin.
...
Herman hung up the call, but he did not immediately set out on the path to find the Stellaron Hunter Blade. Instead, he contacted Ruan Mei and requested to purchase an entire Swarm planet.
"I do indeed possess plenty of materials related to the Swarm of Propagation. As long as they are provided with biomass to devour, their numbers can expand at an explosive rate. Occupying a planet would be effortless for them. But once the insects on a planet lose control, the resulting chaos could engulf one or even multiple star systems—perhaps even an entire galaxy—causing the Swarm Disaster to descend upon the universe once more."
Herman replied calmly, "Don't worry. I only need a planet's worth of insects for their biological energy. I have a special project here—the God Tree—that requires biological energy in order to be perfected."
"Very well. I will cultivate a Swarm planet within my secluded domain. But when you conduct your experiments afterward, you absolutely must be careful."
"Mm, don't worry... I'm Herta. Experiments involving the Swarm absolutely won't go wrong." Herman's voice was filled with confidence.
He firmly believed that with himself, an outright cheat player, assisting her, The Herta's future experiments using the Swarm of Propagation to cultivate the God Tree would certainly succeed flawlessly.
"Very well. I'll begin cultivating it here. Once the process is complete after some time, I'll contact you," Ruan Mei said.
"No problem."
Herman agreed, then immediately contacted Jade to purchase special botanical materials capable of synthesizing God Tree seeds and even Devil Fruit Tree seeds. He also purchased materials for constructing Soul Society in the future.
As a result, the Credits in Herman's account began draining at an astonishing speed. In a very short period of time, the total plummeted from five trillion down to three trillion.
At the same time, the IPC's Building Material Logistics Department began mobilizing enormous numbers of starships, transporting all kinds of materials and resources toward The Blue star system.
After arranging all of this, Herman took the Herta Magic Wand and flew out of The Blue star system, stepping onto the star rail of Trailblaze. His destination was Punklorde, the world overflowing with hackers.
On that planet, every person possessed a cartridge.
The grade of one's cartridge was determined from birth.
A high-grade cartridge meant high status. A low-grade cartridge meant low status. The hierarchy was rigid and absolute—a world with an advanced society but a miserable standard of living.
According to the Fortune Hexagram calculations performed by Yao Guang, the Stellaron Hunter Blade was currently within the Punklorde system.
As Herman rode the magic wand through the star rail, he could not help thinking to himself:
If Blade really is in the Punklorde system, is he preparing to recruit Silver Wolf?
This time, perhaps I'll finally get to meet Punklorde's αWolf. I wonder whether she's already used that special cartridge to become an invincible player and perhaps even the new legendary hacker of Punklorde.
As Herman continued thinking, anticipation flashed through his eyes.
...
Punklorde.
Night City.
Inside a guest room within the Afterlife Bar, Kafka—dressed in a black coat and wearing sunglasses atop her head—sat gracefully on a sofa, sipping wine. She slightly raised her gaze toward Blade, who stood nearby in a suit.
"Elio just sent me a rather special message," Kafka said. "The Seer Strategist used divination to calculate the coordinates of the Stellaron Hunters in order to help Miss Herta locate Blade."
"Elio believes we should make contact with Miss Herta, who is suspected to be a variable capable of altering the cosmos itself. So he did not interfere with Yao Guang's Fortune Hexagram calculations, allowing her to determine that we are currently in Punklorde."
"I imagine Miss Herta will arrive here before long."
"Herta?" A trace of confusion flashed through Blade's eyes. "Why would that Genius want to find the Stellaron Hunters specifically... and even seek me out in particular? I don't recall ever having any contact with her."
"According to Elio, Miss Herta's objective in finding you is very simple. She wants to use the Blood of Abundance for a special experiment."
"Blood of Abundance... an experiment?"
Blade's expression darkened instantly.
The reason was simple.
He had recalled the past.
Back then, together with Dan Feng, he had attempted to revive Baiheng using the Transmutation Arcanum.
That experiment had failed utterly and completely.
And the consequences had been horrifying.
Dan Feng, the High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu, had been forced into Vidyadhara rebirth, becoming Dan Heng.
He himself had become a sinner of the Xianzhou.
And Jingliu, the sword champion of the former High-Cloud Quintet, had begun relentlessly hunting him down while teaching him swordsmanship through an exceptionally brutal method.
After reaching this point in his thoughts, Blade took a deep breath and spoke.
"I don't want to hand over the Blood of Abundance to Herta for experimentation, because it would remind me of an unpleasant past."
"When Miss Herta arrives in Punklorde, we can formally discuss the matter with her then," Kafka said with a smile. She then turned her gaze toward the Sam armor beside them.
"Firefly, how has your condition been lately?"
"Not good," Firefly answered. "Ever since arriving in Punklorde, the people on this planet have been calling me a super cybernetic-modification user—a legend among legends."
She continued helplessly, "I've explained to them countless times that I only wear this armor because I have no other choice. But every single one of them acts like they've gone insane. They don't listen to reason at all. Some of them even turned red-eyed the moment they saw me, screaming that the cybernetics belonged to them before attacking me outright."
Kafka asked, "And afterward?"
Firefly said nervously, "I granted them death by my sword. Kafka... you won't blame me, right?"
"Of course not. They brought it upon themselves," Kafka replied before adding, "And what about our Silver Wolf? How is she doing right now?"
"She's still in the junk mountain, grinding levels," Firefly answered. "Her level has already surpassed ninety. She's only one step away from becoming Punklorde's legendary αWolf."
She paused for a moment, thought briefly, then added:
"Of course, if she uses the Soul Gem, she can break through the level cap and unleash power surpassing level one hundred."
"In that case, after a little more time passes, we can officially extend an invitation to Silver Wolf," Kafka said.
"And at that time, through the strand of Elio that exists within the body of Finality, we will be able to retrieve the power of the αWolf 999 cartridge from the future."
"That is a power standing at the very pinnacle of the Path of Elation. It may still be far from the Aeons, but it surpasses the vast majority of Emanators. According to Elio, the power of αWolf 999 can even nullify the Knowable Domain of Polka Kakamond, the Fourth Seat of the Genius Society."
"If that's the case," Firefly said, "then the Stellaron Hunters will gain a truly special powerhouse."
Kafka nodded in agreement.
Blade remained noncommittal.
And at that very moment, the door to the private room of the Afterlife Bar opened.
A figure dressed like a mercenary entered from outside, travel-worn and dusty from the journey.
It was Stelle.
After walking into the room, she sat down and said:
"Kafka, Firefly, Blade—I just finished the mission from Punklorde's big, big, big garbage can intermediary. I earned a pretty decent sum of Credits, so I can buy things for you guys now."
"Kafka, look what I brought back for you—a coat, and a pair of sunglasses."
"And for Firefly, I got you an oak cake roll."
"Lastly, Blade, I brought you a frying pan. From now on, you can cook for us more often."
"Thank you, Stelle. I'm very satisfied with your gift." A smile curved at Kafka's lips as she stood up and took the clothes from Stelle's hands.
"I like my gift too," Firefly said eagerly, quickly reaching out to take her favorite cake roll.
As for Blade, the corner of his mouth began twitching violently. "A frying pan? You brought me that as a gift? Your choice of presents is certainly... creative. Fine. I'll accept it."
"Of course. I'm the Star of Creative Wisdom." Stelle placed one hand on her hip, her face brimming with proud self-confidence. "Blade, I believe in you. I'm sure you can use this non-stick flat pan to cook even more delicious meals."
Blade's mouth twitched again, but he said nothing.
At that moment, Firefly grabbed Stelle's hand.
"No wonder you weren't around earlier—you were out doing missions. Stelle, can I go with you next time?"
"Better not. You're still a little too eye-catching." Stelle pinched her fingers together to indicate just how little. "Punklorde is connected to the interastral network. Some people can recognize us as Stellaron Hunters—universal fugitives—through bounties issued by the IPC. Especially you, Firefly. Once you put on that armor, you're very easy to identify."
"But I have a great idea." Stelle's eyes rolled thoughtfully. "What if we repaint the Firefly Type-IV Sam armor? Change it to black—something even more imposing."
"Repaint it? Yes, yes! As long as you're willing to help me change the color, I'm fine with it," Firefly said earnestly.
"Perfect."
Stelle rubbed her hands together, then somehow produced paint from who knew where and began applying it directly onto Firefly's armor. Before long, the armor had taken on an eerie, unsettling appearance.
It looked as though it had been contaminated by the Path of Propagation.
With this, no one would be able to identify Firefly as a Stellaron Hunter at first glance just by observing her battle armor.
...
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Herman finally arrived in the world of Punklorde from The Blue star system.
And he quickly confirmed that the knowledge he had previously learned from Honkai: Star Rail was true—every native lifeform in Punklorde possessed a cartridge.
It wasn't just humans. Even dogs had dog-tag cartridges.
And on every cartridge, a level was clearly displayed.
This fact further proved just how fractured Punklorde's society truly was. High-level and low-level individuals essentially belonged to two completely different worlds.
One lived in the upper echelons of society.
The other struggled at the bottom.
At that moment, Herman noticed that most of Punklorde's residents were looking at him with strange expressions—some even with naked greed.
Their eyes seemed to say:
Where did this peerless beauty come from? And why doesn't she have a level above her head?
If she isn't from another planet, then she'll probably end up becoming some passing powerhouse's captive very soon.
In that instant, countless lenses flickered as people tried to determine exactly where Herman had come from.
If she was from another world, they would not dare act.
But if she were a local without an Aether cartridge or level, they would transform into ravenous wolves and tear a chunk of flesh from her without hesitation.
Herman also noticed these abnormal gazes, but he paid them no mind. He simply waved the Herta Magic Wand in his hand, releasing the aura of a true powerhouse.
In an instant, every gaze withdrew.
They realized Herta was not someone to provoke.
She was definitely not a native of Punklorde, but a powerful being from beyond.
In that case, acting rashly would be foolish.
At that very moment, The Herta's soul consciousness also sensed that the external environment had changed. She glanced outside and said:
"Herman, where have you brought me? Why does it feel like everyone around here is staring at us strangely—like a bunch of members from some Fool's Club?"
"This place is Punklorde. And yes, they probably qualify for the Fool's Club. You can tell just by the levels floating above their heads."
"Level 10, level 15, level 30... So it's true that Punklorde natives are born with cartridges and levels displayed above their heads!"
The Herta's voice was filled with astonishment.
"I want to study this. Then, through Punklorde's level system, determine what level I currently belong to here."
Herman suggested, "How about borrowing a cartridge from someone?"
"How rude. I'll simply mobilize the computational power of the 2.0 version of the astral computer and manually hack into Punklorde's Aether Network, connect to it, and collect everyone's cartridge data," The Herta said enthusiastically.
"By gathering large-scale cartridge level data, I can deduce Punklorde's level formula. Then, using that formula, I can determine my own level."
Herman snorted. "So you're going to forcibly access everyone's cartridges? And that's not rude?"
"I'll give them a choice," The Herta replied.
After saying that, she began her operation.
[Super Herta Astral Computer 2.0 platform—data connection in progress.]
[Data connection successful.]
[Hacker intrusion—Punklorde · Aether Network.]
[Intrusion successful.]
[Herta protocol editing in progress.]
[Editing successful... Broadcasting to all of Punklorde.]
In that instant, the native lifeforms of Punklorde—especially those equipped with cybernetic eyes—suddenly saw a line of text appear within their field of vision:
"Citizens of Punklorde, are you willing to provide your Aether-editing cartridge information to the great Madam Herta so that she may deduce the mysteries of Aether cartridge level calculation—and the reason why levels are fixed?"
!!
The entire planet of Punklorde erupted.
Corporate lackeys, mercenaries, intermediaries—everyone was in uproar.
Herta had invaded the entire planet of Punklorde?!
Who exactly was this being named Herta, whose name was the same as that of the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society?
To invade the global network single-handedly—was she not afraid of provoking public outrage and suffering retaliation?
As for why no one believed she was the genius Herta, the odds of encountering someone who merely shared the same name were millions of times higher than meeting the true Herta of the Genius Society across the vast cosmos.
And in the very next moment, torrents of data surged across Punklorde's network.
It was the elite hackers of Punklorde launching a counterattack against Herta.
A network war storm sweeping across the entirety of Punklorde had begun.