Ruan Mei

Beside the space station's Realm Anchor, a pale blue halo flowed regularly.

Bai Luoming stood at the edge of the teleportation beam, wearing a brand-new set of casual clothes. The fabric was soft and clingy, clearly custom-made by the Herta to fit his physique.

However, his current appearance didn't quite match his exquisite clothes.

He carried a huge package in his left hand and several gift bags of different sizes in his right, looking like a personal shopper who had just returned from an interstellar shopping festival with a full load of purchases, exuding a simple and unpretentious sense of busyness.

He lowered his head, carefully taking stock of the "local specialties" he was about to bring back to the train, muttering to himself.

"A fully automatic pour-over coffee maker for Himeko. Hopefully, this fully automatic coffee maker can save us."

"Old Yang's limited edition 'Titan Antimatter Legion' mech model is hard to find."

"I hope Teacher Egg Yolk's 'Unofficial Anecdotes of the High-Cloud Quintet' is a rare, out-of-print novel on Xianzhou. I hope he doesn't kill me."

Bai Luoming prepared gifts for everyone on the train, and they were all gifts that they would like.

Most of these items were gathered by Herta using its own channels and authority. Bai Luoming only mentioned everyone's preferences, and she arranged everything perfectly.

Standing to the side, Herta crossed her arms and looked at him, watching him count his stockpiles like a little hamster. His earnest yet slightly silly expression softened her eyes without her even realizing it.

After a moment, she asked.

"Are you really not going to stay another day?"

Bai Luoming looked up and gave her a bright smile.

"It's not like I'm not coming back." He moved the things he was holding aside, freeing up his hand to gesture, "I'll come back to see you whenever I have the chance."

Herta sighed softly as he listened to Bai Luoming's words.

Then she walked up to Bai Luoming, tilted her head slightly to meet his gaze.

It would be best if you could remember.

As she spoke, she took a small metal box, about the size of her palm, from her pocket and handed it over.

The box is matte black with a delicate texture and rounded, smooth edges. There is a small, key-shaped pattern in the center of the box.

"Oh, and bring this with you."

Bai Luoming took the box with some doubt. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, as if it contained something quite substantial.

He held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand, then asked curiously, "What is this?"

"There are some little gadgets inside that I made on the spot. They should come in handy if you encounter any danger or trouble you can't solve. Consider it a gift for you. Don't lose them; it's a lot of work to make them again."

She said it was "made on the spot," but her slightly reddened ears betrayed her.

Bai Luoming felt a warmth in his heart.

It's important to understand that anything that can be rated as "usable" by the Herta is absolutely a top-tier item in the world.

Bai Luoming then stopped asking questions and solemnly put the small box into the inner pocket of his clothes, patting it to make sure it was safe and secure.

After doing all this, he habitually smiled and thanked her, "Thank you, Ms. Herta."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the temperature of the surrounding air drop several degrees.

The Herta, who had been feigning calm just a moment ago, suddenly turned grim.

She turned her head, her beautiful purple eyes narrowing slightly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her tone revealing anger.

What you call me outside is none of my business, and I don't care.

She stepped forward, almost touching Bai Luoming, and grabbed his collar, forcing him to lower his head.

"But now, here, on this space station, what should you call me?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of authority, asserting her dominance.

Bai Luoming was taken aback at first.

He stared at Herta's face, so close yet etched with displeasure, and his mind raced.

Immediately, his remarkably "insightful" emotional intelligence once again took center stage.

He straightened up, stood ramrod straight, cleared his throat, and then shouted loudly:

"Thank you, honey!"

Upon hearing this, Herta paused in his grip on Bai Luoming's collar.

Her tense expression completely crumbled under the impact of that "wife."

Herta's lips unconsciously wanted to curl upwards, but doing so in front of Bai Luoming would seem somewhat frivolous, so she had to forcefully hold it back.

Then she let go, waving her hand haphazardly as if trying to shoo away something annoying, but her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.

"Alright, alright! I got it!"

She turned her head away, not daring to look at him anymore, her voice filled with barely suppressed joy.

"I won't say much more. If you're going to leave, then leave quickly. Dragging your feet will only make it sound like a dramatic farewell, which is really troublesome."

Bai Luoming laughed even harder at her insincere expression.

He responded, then picked up the pile of souvenirs from the ground with one hand, and waved his other hand vigorously at the Herta.

Herta also raised his hand and waved somewhat stiffly in response.

Bai Luoming turned around and, without further hesitation, stepped into the radiant pillar of light that Realm Anchor.

His figure rapidly disintegrated and dissipated within the pale blue data stream, eventually disappearing completely from the space station along with the gift bags.

The light faded, and the teleportation platform returned to its usual silence.

The Herta remained standing, staring at the empty anchor point for a long time.

She sighed softly, her thoughts drifting uncontrollably back to that "past life" that haunted her dreams even in the dead of night.

In those fragmented Remembrance, she stood there too, in some corner, watching his departing figure.

Recalling all the humiliations of the past, a victor's smile reappeared on Herta's lips.

After all, this time is completely different.

She had gained absolute control.

"Tsk."

She suddenly clicked her tongue softly, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and she muttered to herself, her tone full of annoyance.

"It's a pity we couldn't force him to wear the doll; otherwise, we could have kept an eye on what he was doing."

She composed herself and turned to return to her private lounge.

I had only taken two steps when my personal terminal in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

Herta stopped and glanced down at the screen.

On the screen, a line of bold text prominently displays the visitor's information.

[Genius Society #81, Ruan Mei.]

[Status: Authentication granted, decompression in progress on the base module.]

Herta looked at Ruan Mei's visit request and rubbed his temples helplessly.

She's feeling rather lazy right now, and even less inclined to deal with this unexpected situation herself.

Soon, in the blink of an eye, a standby doll in the base section lit up its eyes, receiving a remote command from the Herta, and stepped toward the newly opened landing gate.

Inside the base section.

Ruan Mei wore an elegant lotus-root-colored cheongsam that accentuated her slender figure, and her long, dark brown hair was tied up with a DNA-shaped hairpin. She stood quietly, her temperament as ethereal as ever, like a secluded orchid untouched by the dust of the world.

She simply stared into the distance, her gaze unfocused, as if waiting for a predetermined outcome.

Only when a mere Herta -like doll approached from afar did a barely perceptible ripple appear in her calm eyes.

At this moment, she didn't want to engage in much small talk. As the Herta Puppet approached her, she asked directly:

"Is the information on the interplanetary network... true?"

The Herta's doll stopped in front of her and snorted coldly.

The doll crossed its arms, raised its chin, and spoke with a tone full of disdain for the news.

"Do you really think there's some reckless fool in this world who would dare to fabricate such a scandal about me?"

That one sentence alone confirmed the accuracy of the information.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mei fell into a long silence.

The doll from the Herta, seemingly displeased by her indifferent attitude, added without hesitation:

"If you're here to see Bai Luoming, I advise you to give up that idea."

The doll's lips curled into a sneer, and it snorted coldly.

"He is my property, and he has already left the space station."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mei lowered her eyelashes, her gaze falling on her beautiful hands.

After a long while, she moved her lips almost imperceptibly, but no sound came out.

Unexpectedly, she rushed to the space station as soon as she saw the news, but she was still a step too late...