An Oral Examination

The dizziness from having his consciousness pulled away gradually faded. When Bai Luoming opened his eyes, the lids of the two testing pods were rising in sync.

Herta confirmed that both of their consciousnesses had fully returned and that their physical readings showed no abnormal fluctuations from the forced exit. Then she announced, "This round of testing is over."

"Whoa, you really did kick me out."

Stelle was the first to sit up in her pod. Instead of checking the data, she immediately stretched her arms, kicked her legs, and even stomped hard on the floor.

Only after confirming that the heavy blows she had taken in the Simulated Universe hadn't carried over into reality did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Bai Luoming sat up after her. Watching her go through the whole routine, he couldn't help saying, "I didn't expect you to be so cautious, Sister Stelle. Were you afraid the Simulated Universe would break you?"

Stelle replied without a hint of embarrassment, "As you know, I was only born not long ago. I still want to see more of the world."

Their brief exchange brought a little life back to the excessively quiet office.

Herta picked up their terminals and tossed them into their laps.

"The upgrades are complete," she said succinctly. "Your operating permissions and security levels have both been raised."

Almost at the same time, a cheerful notification sounded from each of their terminals.

It notified them that a payment of Credits had been deposited.

"Your compensation for this test," Herta explained. "There will be more in the future, as long as you provide useful data."

Stelle opened her terminal, and her eyes immediately lit up at the extra zeros on her balance. All her gloom over the beating she had just taken vanished. She tucked her terminal away and said earnestly, "Sister Herta, you can give me this kind of test a few more times. I'm willing to work overtime!"

Bai Luoming also glanced at the amount deposited.

It was a generous sum, enough for him to live on an ordinary planet for a long time.

But ever since the shock of receiving a transfer from the wealthy young Asta, fewer than a hundred million Credits could hardly stir much emotion in him anymore.

Unless it was more than a hundred million Credits. After all, who would ever complain about having too much money?

Herta took in Bai Luoming's reaction.

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she turned to her console as if nothing were amiss. Her fingertips swept across the virtual screen, and she used a previously implanted monitoring program to pull up the background records on Bai Luoming's terminal.

When she saw Asta's enormous transfer, her hand paused.

Then she closed the page without expression.

No wonder Bai Luoming's reaction had been so lukewarm. She simply hadn't transferred enough.

"You can leave," Herta told Stelle, dismissing her in a tone several degrees colder than before. "He stays. I still need to examine him separately."

The atmosphere in the office abruptly changed.

Stelle looked at Bai Luoming, then at Herta, who was clearly displeased. Although she couldn't figure out what had happened, she knew better than to ask.

After all, this was the big boss who paid her wages. If she went and offended her while knowing she was angry, the result was bound to be unpleasant.

"All right."

She walked to the door, but paused with her hand on the switch. Looking back at Bai Luoming, she said, "Brother, I'll wait outside. When your examination's done, I can take you straight to the platform and show you our Astral Express."

"Okay!" Bai Luoming agreed at once, his voice full of anticipation.

Stelle waved to him, and the automatic door closed behind her.

Only the two of them remained in the office.

Bai Luoming looked down and put his newly returned terminal in order, preparing to get this over with quickly.

Herta, however, didn't return to her console. Her footsteps were so light that by the time Bai Luoming looked up again, she had already walked behind him, deliberately closing the distance between them to less than half a step.

"You seem very happy."

Her voice drifted from beside Bai Luoming's ear.

Bai Luoming didn't turn around. Looking at the tightly shut door, he answered frankly, "Of course. That's the Astral Express. I've wanted to go aboard and have a look for ages."

Halfway through, he turned his head instinctively, wanting to share his excitement.

But as soon as he turned, he saw Herta's expression darkening by the second.

The rest of his words caught in his throat, and his voice grew quieter.

He thought back over what he had just said and confirmed that there was nothing offensive in it. All he could do was ask tentatively, "What's wrong? Is there... a problem with the test data?"

Herta didn't answer. She just stared at him.

That look made his skin crawl.

"What's so bad about the space station?" she finally asked, suppressing an indistinct sense of dissatisfaction. "Why are you always thinking about leaving?"

Bai Luoming didn't notice the resentment in Herta's tone. But recalling how Asta had also tried hard to persuade him to stay on the space station, he automatically attributed Herta's current attitude to a genius scientist's possessiveness toward a rare research subject.

So he said seriously, "Staying on the space station is nice, but for me, becoming a Nameless and setting out on the path of Trailblaze would open up a much wider world."

When he finished, a long silence settled over the office.

Herta didn't argue, because she had already been through something like this once before.

But Herta knew that, given how strongly Bai Luoming wanted to board the train, the more she tried to stop him, the more it would backfire.

Before that, though, she could collect some interest.

Thinking he had persuaded her, Bai Luoming took the opportunity to make a promise. "Don't worry. If you need me in the future, I can come back anytime to help with the Simulated Universe research. I can also bring you local specialties from different worlds as payment."

Rather than improving Herta's expression, those words only deepened the anger in her eyes.

The same old line again.

He always thought a few pleasant words could settle everything, and then he could turn around and leave without a care.

He had said the same thing in his previous life.

And the so-called "specialties" he had brought back had turned out to be women he had met on different worlds, each more troublesome than the last.

There was no one else in the office, and Herta couldn't be bothered to maintain her previous image.

She stepped forward and stood directly in front of Bai Luoming.

She raised a hand and hooked her fingers under his chin, forcing him to lift his face.

Bai Luoming sensed no hostility, but the sudden closeness left him a little dazed. The hand holding his terminal stopped in midair, and for a moment he didn't know whether to put it down or keep holding it up.

Herta studied his features carefully, her gaze openly predatory.

"Tsk, no matter how many times I look, your face is still so handsome," she said softly.

Looking at Herta like this, Bai Luoming asked timidly, "Ms. Herta, is this also... part of the examination?"

A smile of unclear meaning curved Herta's lips.

"Yes. Next, I'm going to conduct an oral examination. I hope you'll cooperate and not resist."

Bai Luoming instinctively retorted, "What kind of physical examination includes checking my mouth? Is this procedure legitimate?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he met Herta's unfriendly gaze and wisely shut up.

Forget it. Let's see what this genius wants to do first.

Herta offered no further explanation. Her fingers tightened slightly on his chin, and her stunning face moved straight toward Bai Luoming's.

Bai Luoming's eyes widened, and his body stiffened for a moment.

He had thought Herta's examination would be something formal, but now it seemed to be nothing more than an excuse.

Though he didn't know why Herta was doing this, she was already taking the initiative. As a grown man, he would only seem petty if he pushed her away.

Following the principle that "he wasn't losing out anyway," Bai Luoming raised a hand, wrapped it around Herta's waist, and deepened the kiss himself.

Herta sensed his response, and the dissatisfaction and anger pent up in her eyes finally found an outlet.

The fingers holding his chin loosened, then seized his collar instead as she demanded more of a response.

He didn't know how much time passed. It might have been two minutes, or it might have been half an hour.

Their lips parted.

As they separated, both were breathing a little unevenly. A thin silver strand stretched between their lips, then broke.

For a moment, no one spoke in the office.

Herta was the first to regain her composure. She wiped the traces from the corner of her mouth with her thumb, stepped back half a pace, and resumed her lofty researcher's pose.

"You cooperated well. We'll continue next time."

She turned and walked toward the console as though nothing had happened.

The tips of Bai Luoming's ears felt a little hot, and he was just about to speak...

Knock, knock, knock.

Stelle was knocking on the door, urging him on from outside. "Bai Luoming? Are you done with your examination? If we don't leave soon, we'll miss dinner!"

Bai Luoming turned to look at Herta. After confirming that she had no intention of stopping him, he prepared to leave.

Just as he reached the door, his terminal vibrated.

It was the examination result from Herta. The title read: [Oral examination: passed. Follow-up date to be determined.]