The Herta: I Want to Be Pampered

Seele was surprised, but even more than that, she was eager.

Lin Hai gently lifted her feet onto his lap and played with them even more tenderly, as though handling a piece of jade.

Seele was almost melting in their intimacy.

Outside the car, a figure approached through the wind and snow.

Bronya had braved the storm in search of them and finally found the car parked by the roadside.

She walked over, but the dark privacy glass completely blocked her view of the interior. She couldn't see a thing.

After hesitating for a moment, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the window.

A sly gleam flashed in Sparkle's eyes. With a mischievous smile, she quickly pressed the window control.

The window slowly lowered, and the cold air inside and outside the car mingled in an instant.

At that very moment, Bronya looked through the lowered window and saw clearly what was happening inside.

Lin Hai was holding Seele's ankle, while Seele nestled against him, her face bright red.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Even the sound of the storm seemed to fade abruptly, leaving only silence between heaven and earth, and shock written all over Bronya's face.

Lin Hai's expression returned to its usual composure.

He looked at Bronya, whose figure seemed somewhat slight as she stood in the storm.

"It's cold outside. Get in first."

The car doors unlocked at his words. Without hesitation, Bronya pulled one open and silently climbed into the third row.

Fortunately, this was a spacious midsize SUV, with three rows of seats and plenty of room inside.

Lin Hai first drew Seele into his arms and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Only then did he return to the driver's seat and start the car.

The SUV rolled over the snow-covered road once more, moving steadily forward.

Outside the window, Belobog remained deathly silent, blanketed in white.

"Mother... the Supreme Guardian..." Bronya's voice came from behind them, heavy with suppressed emotion. "Something is seriously wrong with her."

"It's the stellaron." Lin Hai kept his eyes on the road, his tone certain. "It's eroding the Supreme Guardian's will through some means."

"Is there a way... to fix it?" Bronya pressed.

"Yes!" Lin Hai's answer was short and forceful. "The most direct way is to restrain her before she causes more destruction, stop her from going further out of control, and then... deal with the stellaron, the root cause."

Bronya knew all too well how difficult those two things would be: restraining Cocolia, the powerful Supreme Guardian, and dealing with the mysterious and dangerous stellaron.

Either one was as hard as ascending to the heavens!

"I can do it." There was a measure of composure in Lin Hai's voice.

Bronya couldn't help pressing him. "Just how... powerful are you?"

"Powerful enough to restrain Cocolia quickly and keep her from causing greater harm."

Lin Hai gave her a measured answer.

At that moment, Sparkle turned around, her face wearing her characteristic expression, somewhere between joking and serious. "If you need me, I can help too~"

Seele immediately spoke up as well. "I can help from the sidelines too!"

Listening to them, Bronya struggled even more. In the end, she asked quietly, "If... if possible, could you... try to hurt Mother as little as possible?"

Lin Hai was silent for a moment. His answer was rational and candid. "I'll do my best, but please understand, the safety of myself and the people around me has to come first... I can't make a one-hundred-percent promise."

Though the answer was cold, it was utterly honest.

Bronya knew this was the greatest concession Lin Hai could make.

She let out a soft breath. "At least... please don't take her life. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Lin Hai promised again.

There was still no definite guarantee.

When the car entered the Underworld, Seele's body visibly relaxed, despite the dilapidated surroundings.

This was her home, the place where she could feel at ease.

Just then, however, the car's sound system suddenly activated on its own, and a familiar, calm female voice came through.

"Hello? Hello? Lin Hai, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Lin Hai replied.

The voice continued through the speakers. "I'm about to reach orbit around Belobog. You can come meet me outside the city."

It was The Herta!

The smile on Lin Hai's face widened.

Without hesitation, he swung the steering wheel hard, and the car traced a clean arc through the streets of the Underworld.

They headed back the way they had come.

Destination: outside Belobog!

Once The Herta arrived, the moment when Belobog's chaotic game would finally be decided would truly come!

The small space station The Herta controlled hovered in orbit near Jarilo-VI like a silent star.

The station's observation array operated soundlessly, penetrating the clouds and snowstorms that shrouded the planet year-round and projecting Belobog's outline onto a screen in the main control room.

The Herta was in no hurry to act. Instead, she leaned comfortably back in the command seat, relaxed.

Her fingertips tapped the holographic interface, retrieving more comprehensive information about this world of ice and snow from the vast interstellar database.

The power structure of the Upper District, the struggles of survival in the Underworld, and the deep-rooted, bitter conflict between the two quickly formed a complete picture in her mind.

Combined with the information Lin Hai had provided earlier,

The Herta gained a more precise understanding of the situation.

Lin Hai's sympathies clearly lay with the Underworld, where supplies were scarce, the air was polluted, and energy was in short supply.

As for these problems, which seemed incredibly thorny to ordinary people,

To this member of the Genius Society, who had once solved the Solitary Wave Algorithm and built a space station to house her collection of curios, they were merely another major subject waiting to be analyzed and optimized.

An eager interest flickered in The Herta's eyes.

She decided to join forces with Lin Hai to resolve these deeply entangled problems.

Having made her decision, she brought the small space station out of orbit. It descended like a light feather onto a relatively flat expanse of ice outside Belobog, raising a faint ring of snow dust.

The hatch slid open, and The Herta herself stepped out gracefully, setting foot on this land of eternal frost.

The wind and snow enveloped her instantly, but could not move her in the slightest.

She wore her signature outfit, incorporating elements of a magician's attire. Beneath her hat brim, her face looked even more beautiful in the snowy light.

The cold wind brushed the hem of her clothes, accentuating her tall, graceful figure.

Together with the desolate yet magnificent world of ice and snow, she made for a striking sight.

Before long, a midsize SUV burst through the curtain of snow, sped toward her, and came to a smooth stop not far from the space station.

The door opened, and Lin Hai stepped out.

The two looked at each other through the swirling snow. No words were needed; trust and understanding passed between them as their eyes met.

Lin Hai strode forward, and The Herta went to meet him. They embraced, their brief warmth dispelling the surrounding cold.

"You got here fast," Lin Hai said, his voice full of amusement.

"That's because I missed you," The Herta said with a smile of her own.

"How much did you miss me?"

"Very, very much. I thought about you every moment I was on the Herta Space Station."

"Did you only miss me?"

The Herta leaned close to Lin Hai's ear and whispered, "I wanted you to pamper me!"