Ruan Mei looked at Herman with an unreadable gaze and said, "Then it's settled. The Blue will always welcome me."
"Of course."
Herman smiled in agreement, then lifted his head and looked toward the many who had come to assist Herta. Slowly, he spoke, "Thank you, everyone. If not for your urgent reinforcements, this battle between a genius and the Lord Ravagers would likely have ended in the genius' crushing defeat."
"Miss Herta, you are one of the Xianzhou Alliance's most important partners. Upon receiving your distress signal, we naturally mobilized at once." Jing Yuan, General of the Xianzhou Luofu, narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile resting on his lips. "Moreover, both I and the Marshal of the Xianzhou look forward to the day when you develop even more perfect technologies—ones that make the universe a better place."
"Rest assured. I already have inspiration. After returning from this war, I should be able to develop new technology. Please look forward to it."
As Herman said this, he could not help but think to himself:
Warp is capable of absorbing the emotions of all life across the universe. If so, could it also absorb the negative emotions of those afflicted by mara, allowing them to regain their reason?
For example, Jingliu's mara state was caused by excessive accumulation of negative emotions...
Herman continued to think deeply.
At that moment, Jing Yuan's voice rang out again. "I already look forward to it. I hope that in the future, the Xianzhou Alliance can engage in even deeper cooperation with you, Miss Herta."
"By the way, Miss Herta, I must report the situation here to the Marshal of the Xianzhou Alliance. I will take my leave first. Should you encounter the Borisin or the Antimatter Legion again, you may call upon our Alliance for aid."
After speaking, Jing Yuan commanded the Spiritus and, together with the Cloud Knights, cupped his fist toward Herta in farewell before returning to the immense vessel—the Xianzhou Luofu.
Rumble... rumble...
The engines of the Xianzhou Luofu roared to life. At the same time, Jing Yuan's gaze drifted toward a corner of the Yongmei Star System, where he spotted a familiar figure.
A wanted criminal of the Xianzhou Alliance—Blade... Yingxing!
A complicated expression surfaced in Jing Yuan's eyes. In the end, he did not go forward to greet him. Instead, he simply commanded the Luofu to depart.
He understood clearly. He could not greet Blade in public. He was now a General of the Xianzhou, while Yingxing was a Stellaron Hunter wanted across the entire cosmos. The gap between their identities was as vast as heaven and earth.
...
After watching the Xianzhou Luofu depart, Herman turned his gaze toward Jade and Diamond, who had arrived in the Yongmei Star System not long ago.
"This time as well, thank you to the Interastral Peace Corporation for extending your assistance."
"Miss Herta's wisdom and beauty are treasures of the universe. We cannot allow a Lord Ravager to destroy them," Jade replied with a smile.
"Indeed." Diamond, Emanator of Preservation, nodded in agreement. "And since you already have new research inspiration, Miss Herta, I will not disturb you further. I shall also take my leave and report the situation here to the board of directors."
With those words, Diamond's figure vanished.
At this moment, Diamond's heart was solemn. He had already confirmed that what had nearly erupted in the Yongmei Star System was a War Among the Aeons.
Nanook had personally bestowed the Gilded Blood of Extinction upon Herta. That alone proved that Nanook had been observing the battlefield all along.
If the situation had not stabilized—if the conflict had continued to escalate—then the gods themselves might have descended, and a War Among the Aeons would have begun.
Such matters had to be reported.
And the company must prepare countermeasures.
With those thoughts, Diamond entered the star rails and vanished from the Yongmei Star System.
At that moment, Herman's gaze fell upon Mikhail.
"Old sir, your arrival was of immense help. If you had not come and used the power of Trailblaze to lock onto Celenova's true body, it would have been impossible to deter her."
"Hahaha..." Mikhail laughed heartily. "Who told you you're Herta? Your inventions are far too important to Penacony's development. I couldn't possibly stand by and watch you die."
"Thank you," Herta replied.
Mikhail waved his hand. "No need for excessive thanks. As long as the genius and Penacony continue to cooperate, that will be the best gratitude. And farewell—cough, cough... My health is not in good condition. If I don't return to Penacony and enter the world of Memoria to sleep soon, I might just end up Trailblazing into Nihility, hahaha..."
After speaking, Mikhail tipped his hat toward Herta, turned, and piloted his ship away.
Herman waved his magic wand in farewell.
His gaze then shifted to the Vitalized Blood of Abundance.
"Shuhu, this time you truly stirred up quite a bit while I wasn't paying attention."
"..."
The will of Shuhu fell silent.
The reason was simple. The scene of Herta requesting the Gilded Blood of Extinction—and Nanook immediately granting it—had utterly shaken him.
At this very moment, Shuhu still could not comprehend:
Why would a supreme Aeon heed the words of a genius?
Why would Nanook halt this war?
Nanook was the Aeon of Destruction!
Should They not destroy everything?
Why... why... why...?
Countless doubts flashed through Shuhu's mind. Finally, the Vitalized Blood of Abundance trembled, and he spoke.
"Herta, you took my blood from Blade and said you would fuse it with the Gilded Blood of Extinction. What exactly is your experiment?"
"Do I need to explain myself to you? Just wait for death."
Herta let out a cold laugh and sealed the Vitalized Blood of Abundance inside a box.
Finally, Herman looked toward Silver Wolf LV.999.
"That appearance suits you well... It carries both the bearing of an invincible player and the gentleness of a magical girl."
Silver Wolf lifted her chin proudly, hands on her hips. "In my current form, there's nothing I can't do."
Herman inwardly thought:
Incorrect password.
The true Herrscher password should be: There's nothing I can do... And besides, in tokusatsu shows, characters who say things like that usually end up as villains who devour everything.
After finishing his thoughts, Herman spoke sincerely to Silver Wolf.
"Thank you for your help this time."
"If you want to thank someone, thank Elio. Its eyes saw the anomaly in the Yongmei Star System."
"Elio? It came as well?"
"Naturally. According to Elio, this battle in the Yongmei Star System had the potential to evolve into the War Among the Aeons," Silver Wolf continued. "After all, nearly all the Lord Ravagers appeared in this war... Even Nanook descended once."
Herman nodded.
In the normal worldline, a war in the Yongmei Star System would never have occurred.
After all, without Herman's version of Herta, there would have been no meddling with Warp technology, no request to the Stellaron Hunters for the Gilded Blood of Extinction...
All of this was an accident caused by Herman's interference.
As Herman was thinking this, αWolf's voice sounded.
"Herta, you are extremely special in this world. Even Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, regards you differently and granted you the Gilded Blood of Extinction."
"In my world's timeline, that Herta was not nearly as special as you. She never reached a point where even the Aeons had no choice but to take her seriously."
"Since I exist in this world, then naturally I am the most special Herta," Herman replied with a smile. He then glanced at the Soul Gem on Silver Wolf 999's body. "With the gem in place, it seems you can properly maintain the Silver Wolf 999 state and unleash the power of a top-tier Emanator of Elation without suffering any backlash."
"Of course. I'm Silver... Wolf!"
When she said the latter half of that sentence, her voice suddenly shifted, and a strained expression appeared on her face. Her legs went weak, and she dropped into a seated position on the ground. Sweat poured down her face as she panted heavily, her complexion turning deathly pale.
Seeing this, Herman could not help but remark, "It seems that even with αWolf's consciousness and the Soul Gem assisting you, you still can't maintain the invincible player state for long."
"..."
Silver Wolf fell silent—more accurately, she was so embarrassed she was practically overheating.
She had never expected that the moment she finished boasting, she would immediately drop out of her transformation state.
She could not help but communicate with αWolf in her mind.
'Couldn't you have maintained the transformation just a few seconds longer? Even three more seconds would have been enough. Then I could have exited the invincible player state naturally instead of in such a humiliating way.'
'And you're blaming me? It's clearly because you're too weak. Remember this—if you're bad, then practice more!' αWolf shot back.
'You're one to talk. You're the one who lost to Firefly in a game.'
'Hah?' αWolf sneered. 'If you hadn't interfered with me, do you think I would have lost? What a joke.'
'Did I interfere? I only disabled your cheat. I didn't affect your skill at all,' Silver Wolf analyzed seriously. 'By common reasoning, your skill just isn't as good as Firefly's. And stop explaining. If you're bad, then practice more. I'm returning that line to you.'
'Y-you...'
At that moment, αWolf also overheated, and the two of them began arguing fiercely within their shared mental space.
"You recovered quickly," Herman commented as he watched Silver Wolf's pale face suddenly flush red. "You're quite energetic."
"..."
Silver Wolf, who was currently locked in a mental shouting match with αWolf, froze when she heard Herman's remark. It felt as though a lump was stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow or spit out.
At that moment, a black cat ran over and snatched the Invincible Player cartridge from Silver Wolf's hand while she was still too weak to react.
"My cartridge!"
The instant she felt it disappear, Silver Wolf's expression changed dramatically, and she cried out.
"I'll hold onto this cartridge for now. You still can't properly use this power, Silver Wolf. You need more practice."
After saying this, the black cat Elio lifted its head and looked toward Herta. Brilliant light shimmered within its eyes.
"Herta, you truly are remarkable. To obtain the Gilded Blood of Extinction from Nanook..."
In Elio's understanding, Herta should not have been able to see or sense the confrontation between the Aeons in higher dimensions.
And yet, she had keenly grasped the subtle intent of Nanook—the desire to expand the limits of the Path—and boldly requested the Gilded Blood of Extinction.
That was no small feat.
"Isn't it only natural that I'm remarkable? I'm Herta," Herman replied, chin slightly raised.
Hearing this, Elio could not help but think to itself:
No matter how many times Herta shatters my expectations, her confidence—bordering on arrogance—never changes.
However, there was something it had to bring up.
After a moment of thought, the black cat's expression turned solemn.
"Herta, you said you have new inspiration. What exactly is your next research? Will it negatively impact the current state of the universe?"
"It's research related to dimensions. Don't worry. It won't negatively affect the universe."
After speaking, Herman silently added in his heart:
At least not in the short term.
After all, the various gods of Warp could not possibly be born alongside Warp itself. They would require time to gestate.
"Then I'm relieved."
Elio let out a long breath.
At that moment, the Firefly Type-IV armor descended onto the scene. From within the SAM armor, Firefly spoke.
"Miss Herta, hello. We meet again."
"Firefly, meeting again under these circumstances is fortunate. Ruan Mei can examine your body—and perhaps even cure your Entropy Loss Syndrome."
As Herman spoke, he raised his wand and pointed toward the Starcrusher Swarm King's duplicate in the distance.
"That duplicate of the Starcrusher Swarm King, an Emanator of Propagation, is Ruan Mei's creation. That alone demonstrates just how outstanding her research is in biotechnology and in the Path of Propagation."
"Is that... possible?"
Firefly raised her head anxiously and looked toward Ruan Mei, who radiated a cool, detached aura.
"Since Herta has personally asked, I can certainly attempt to resolve your condition," Ruan Mei said slowly, her gaze fixed on SAM. "In a moment, come aboard Ruanruan. I'll conduct a physical examination first."
"Thank you, Miss Ruan Mei," Firefly said excitedly.
"No need for thanks."
After speaking, Ruan Mei silently added to herself:
Entropy Loss Syndrome... That is a condition only the Propagation swarm contracts. If the person inside this armor is infected, it means she has stepped onto the Path of Propagation. How intriguing...
"Come. Let's head to Ruanruan," Ruan Mei said, a faint note of impatience already creeping into her tone.
As a warrior, Firefly's instincts stirred with unease. She shivered slightly.
"It's just a physical examination... nothing dangerous will happen, right?"
"Don't worry. I'll examine you together with Ruan Mei. Nothing will happen to you," Herman promised.
"Thank you, Miss Herta," Firefly said gratefully.
Before long, Ruanruan arrived.
Firefly piloted the SAM armor aboard. Herta and Ruan Mei followed.
Soon, Firefly ended her transformation and reverted from the armored state to her human form. She immediately entered a biological medical chamber to maintain her life-support condition.
Of course, when Firefly exited her transformation, she was fully clothed.
More precisely, she wore a white combat suit—tight-fitting and form-contouring—accentuating her flawless proportions and golden-ratio physique with striking clarity...