Chapter 178: Nanook: Aha is So Bad
Herta Space Station.
Herta, who rarely returned to her own domain, was currently staring at the photo displayed on her datapad screen, a headache brewing behind her eyes.
"Normally, a photo like this would be an obvious fake," she muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But in this situation, what 'normalcy' is there even left to talk about?"
She had already run it through every detection tool at her disposal, yet none could find a single trace of digital editing. It looked as if it had been casually snapped with the most ordinary device, its authenticity so natural it was absurd.
Refusing to believe her own instruments, Herta forwarded the image to Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen.
Herta: Is this photo… real?
Before the other members of the Genius Society could reply, her impatience got the better of her, and she went straight to the source.
She messaged Leon directly.
Leon: What else could it be?
Herta: But this is too unconventional.
Leon: How is it unconventional? You're not an Aeon. How could you possibly know what an Aeon is thinking?
Leon: You are not a fish, so how can you know the joy of a fish?
Herta: …
She was utterly choked by his words.
Herta: That's sophistry. Everyone knows that the actions of Aeons have always been bound by their Path…
Leon: "Everyone knows?" That's nothing more than the speculation of mortals.
Leon's reply came with a light, dismissive chuckle.
Indeed, it was common knowledge that Aeons were shackled by their respective Paths. But in reality, this "common knowledge" was merely the collective guesswork of mortals trying to comprehend the divine.
If Qlipoth were truly and completely bound by the Path of Preservation, why would He have taken the initiative to strike down and cause the fall of Tayzzyronth, the Aeon of Propagation? Could such an act truly be considered "Preservation"?
If every action could be traced back to a Path, then the so-called "shackles" of the Aeons might just be a comforting fantasy mortals had invented for themselves. Of course, the Paths did exert influence, but for the few Aeons Leon had been in contact with, that binding force seemed to have weakened significantly.
Herta: But you're not an Aeon either. How do you know what They are thinking?
She spotted the flaw in his logic and swiftly launched a counterattack.
Almost at the exact same instant, a new message popped up.
Aha: Aha loves playing divination stones! Zixuan is right!
Herta:???
She blinked, her eyes widening in confusion. At some point, her private chat window with Leon had morphed into a temporary group chat.
And the members were…
Nanook: It's your turn. Play.
Nous: Don't stall for time. You're about to lose.
Qlipoth: …
Fuli: [Image Preview: Light Cone - "Herta: Do You Understand Aeons, or Do I?"]
Aha: Aha just saw someone who didn't believe Zixuan~ This person seems to be your subordinate, Nous?
Aha's message was followed by a virtual hand waving "super casually"... and then a deafening CRASH!
The entire gaming table they were seated around collapsed into pixels.
Nous, Nanook, and Qlipoth fell silent simultaneously, their collective, imposing gazes turning to fixate on Aha.
Watching from the sidelines of the chat, Leon couldn't help but laugh. The games between Aeons weren't for money or cosmic power; they were for the simple joy of sticking little white paper strips on the loser's face.
Right now, Aha's face was almost completely obscured by them. He was clearly losing badly and was getting desperate.
"Noob," Nanook's voice was as cold and vast as the void. "Hasn't won a single time."
"Aha isn't bad! Aha is just letting you all win!" Aha waved his arms frantically, arguing with a theatrical flair. "I am the Aeon of Elation! Do you understand the value of that?! Ugh… Aha lost so badly… Hahaha, this is truly fun!"
Nous and Qlipoth didn't waste words. They simply grabbed Aha by the arms, one on each side.
Want to welsh on a bet? Flip the table? Not a chance.
Amidst Aha's exaggerated, ear-splitting "screams," Nanook expressionlessly pulled out a fresh white strip. He licked it to dampen the back slightly and then—smack—stuck it right onto the center of Aha's forehead.
"You're too bad at this…" Fuli added with a soft, gentle jab.
"Hahahahaha… Aha is so bad!" Aha himself burst out laughing again, his own failure being the peak of comedy.
Herta stared, utterly dumbfounded, at the flickering messages and that absurd Light Cone preview. She remained silent for a long, long while.
Herta: You guys are really…
She had just typed a few words when a glaring red exclamation mark appeared next to her message.
She had been removed from the group chat.
Herta: Why was I kicked out?
She immediately shot a private message to Leon.
Leon: I just let you in to confirm the info. Did you really think you could stay permanently?
Herta: Let me back in for a bit! I have things to ask… please!
Leon: Pleading won't help. Even calling me daddy won't work.
Herta: Daddy, daddy.
Leon: Cough, I said it. Even calling me daddy is useless.
Herta: …Dammit.
Herta was fuming.
Just then, a phantom flickered into existence beside her. "Where did this photo come from?"
It was Ruan Mei's holographic projection.
"This photo shows no traces of being edited, but it certainly defies all common sense," another projection materialized—Screwllum.
"Background analysis complete: The Ambrosial Arbor on the Xianzhou Luofu," Stephen's voice piped up weakly from his own projection. After discovering the photo was unmodified, he had immediately cross-referenced its background, confirming the impossible location. The Aeons were apparently having their game night right on top of the Luofu's sacred tree.
"This is a photo Zixuan sent me," Herta said, raising an eyebrow as she looked pointedly at Ruan Mei. "Didn't he send it to you?"
Leon had just left her feeling utterly frustrated, so it was only fair she passed a little of that frustration along.
Ruan Mei shook her head, her placid expression unchanging. "I was not aware of this."
Sent to Herta first, and not to her at all?
Ruan Mei silently made a note against Leon in her heart. She could get jealous, too.
"In that case," Herta continued, a sly glint in her eye, "I suppose he didn't pull you into the Aeon group chat either?"
"Aeon group chat? What is that?" Screwllum asked, his mechanical curiosity piqued.
"A group chat filled with Aeons—Nanook, Aha, Nous, Fuli, and Qlipoth," Herta explained. "And it's confirmed. They are all real."
"You were just in there?" Ruan Mei asked, her tone still level.
"I was," Herta said with a brilliant smile. "But I was kicked out not long after entering."
Ruan Mei looked at her quietly for two full seconds.
"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Her voice was as calm as a still lake. "Is it because you suffered a setback with Zixuan?"
As a fellow member of the Genius Society, she could see through Herta's little scheme perfectly.
"Exactly," Herta admitted with a frank, mischievous smile. "So now, let's be frustrated together."
The four Genius Society members involved in the creation of the Simulated Universe all possessed an obsession with the Aeons that far surpassed that of ordinary people. In Herta's experience, Ruan Mei's pursuit was particularly pure and deep.
Now that Ruan Mei knew about this, given her personality, she would naturally go find Leon for a… good talk later. She would do it even knowing this was likely a petty little calculation on Herta's part.
For Herta, however, the goal had been achieved.
Since she had been made to feel frustrated, dragging Ruan Mei down to experience the same feeling was only fair.
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