Herta: How Did I Become an Outsider?

The Herta must have mentioned inviting you to participate in the Simulated Universe test, right?

A gentle tenderness seemed to flow between her brows and eyes, and Ruan Mei's voice seemed to carry a hint of apology for saying something that could be misunderstood.

"Yes, indeed."

Gwen nodded, his expression calm, unmoved by Nguyen Mai's change in expression.

"However, I have some concerns about the fact that Simulated Universe requires accessing Remembrance."

From a certain perspective, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Ruan Mei was a fake, so Gwen regarded all the expressions on that stunningly beautiful face as the opening and closing of a pink skull.

"This is to give you a more realistic sense of combat. After all, the enemies you fight also need to be extracted from your Remembrance, otherwise it will be too unrealistic and reduce the effectiveness of the experiment."

Nguyen Mai looked apologetic and patiently explained,

"Of course, Remembrance are one of the most precious things a person has, and it's normal if you don't want others to see them."

Therefore, if you are very concerned, we can adjust the relevant parameters for you, allowing you to selectively provide Remembrance and generate enemies. However, this will also reduce the experimental results.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you all."

Gwen remained calm and said as usual—

"I've set many restrictions on my Remembrance, so it wouldn't be good if something unexpected happened if they collided with the system."

"I see."

Ruan Mei nodded in realization, a strange glint in her eyes, and moved the small dish in her left hand forward—

"Here, the pastries I promised you, try them, they're sweet and delicious."

"...good."

Gwyn stared at Ruan Mei for a moment, unable to discern anything from her gentle, watery eyes, but ultimately did not Gwen. Instead, he smiled and accepted the delicate little dish.

"Then I shall accept it without hesitation."

While Nguyen May is indeed dangerous, Gwen greatly needs her talent, knowledge, and influence within the Herta group.

It was just a pastry that didn't make him notice anything unusual, not something that would make Gwen afraid to even touch it—

At worst, he could use his powers to solve the problem, seek help from the Herta, or even ask Sasha for help from next door. Gwen was very confident and had no worries about being drugged.

"Did you make this yourself? It's a beautiful plum blossom pattern. I have a friend who loves to bake pastries and often makes plum blossom patterns on them."

Gwen remarked casually as he looked at the beautifully crafted pastries on the small plate.

However, what was said without malice was taken to heart by the listener.

Upon hearing Gwen's words, Ruan Mei's eyes flickered slightly, and the calm emotions beneath her gentle exterior subtly tightened, her usually steady heartbeat beginning to accelerate uncontrollably.

Although he greatly admired the exquisite design, Gwen quickly pierced the other silver spoon that Nguyen Mai had placed on the small dish, and put the pastry, which carried a slightly refreshing aroma, into his mouth.

"!"

Gwen, who had just been smiling, suddenly froze—

It wasn't poisoning or being controlled; it was simply that the pastry, with its sweet aroma, was far too different from Gwen's guess—it was far too sweet!

"Puff--"

In the lounge, Herta disregarded the witch's reserve and elegance, rinsing her mouth repeatedly, trying to banish the almost morbid sweetness from her tongue.

Herta usually enjoys eating Ruan Mei's pastries; after all, it's a time-honored brand and the pastries are really delicious.

But today's pastries are so unusual—

It's so sweet it could kill a diabetic on the spot, making you feel like you're trapped in a jar of syrup.

Even Herta, faced with such overwhelming sweetness, was unable to escape its influence for a time—

"Did Ruan Mei put a planet's worth of candy inside?"

Moreover, it has undergone some special treatment..."

"Did I eat this before?"

The excessive sweetness even gave Gwen a vague sense of déjà vu, a feeling of déjà vu...

Wrong!

That was not an illusion, but something that actually happened.

Realizing that something was amiss, Gwen's gaze subtly shifted as he began searching his Remembrance for the source of this familiarity.

Almost instantly, Gwen found its source—

"..."

His eyes trembled as he looked at the small plate in his hand and the pastry that had been bitten. A scene from Gwen's Remembrance slowly matched the image, and his heart finally died.

"..."

Seeing Gwen pause in his movements, but with a complicated expression, clearly not in a good Gwen, Ruan Mei's eyes flickered slightly and became even brighter.

Even though she had already made a definite guess from various details, Nguyen Mai couldn't help but feel a little more expectant at this moment.

Gwen... be able to respond to her such a blunt suggestion?

"The taste of your pastries... is truly unique."

Gwen suppressed the overwhelming sweetness on his tongue, muttered a complaint, and, holding the small dish in one hand, effortlessly produced another plate with the other.

"However, as the saying goes, it's only polite to reciprocate. Since you've given me such sweet pastries, I can't just leave without giving anything in return—"

"Coincidentally, I also have a very delicious pastry here. How about we exchange them?"

Speaking somewhat stiffly, Gwen presented the plate in his hand, which, except for being slightly larger, was exactly the same in shape and pattern as the small dish in his left hand, to Nguyen Mai.

"My friend here has always enjoyed making his own pastries, and I thought it might be nice to invite you to try some."

Gwen had only ever tasted this incredibly sweet pastry from one place: his second Netizen, who was his daily chat partner, when he first left Schicksal.

The taste was familiar, the plates and dishes were almost identical, and the silver spoon was exactly the same...

This is practically a blatant, explicit statement!

The person he had always been wary of, regarded as an uncontrollable factor, and wanted to keep at a distance from, Nguyen Mai, turned out to be his once closest friend!

Chapter 873 Herta: How Did I Become an Outsider?

Is that correct?

This doesn't make sense, does it?

My confidante, with whom I can talk about anything, is actually Ruan Mei, whom I've been trying to avoid.

The BOSS is actually myself?

"Certainly."

Looking at Gwen's complex and indescribable gaze, Ruan Mei couldn't help but smile, a smile that carried a joy and pleasure that even she herself found somewhat perplexing.

Still wearing her lace gloves, her slender fingers gripped the silver spoon, scooped up a piece of pastry she had made herself, and put it in her mouth. In a daze, Ruan Mei seemed to be able to feel what kind of feelings she had when she made this pastry.

"You still keep it?"

Experiencing this sensation so different from usual, Ruan Mei's smile softened even more as she looked curiously at Gwen—

She could clearly feel Gwen's resentment even through the written word.

I thought Gwen would just throw it away, but to my surprise, he preserved it perfectly, and even now it tastes almost the same as it did back then.

"...Oh..."

Seeing that Ruan Mei had given up on acting, Gwen completely abandoned any illusions, chuckled, and simply pulled up a chair and sat down, his movements casual and natural.

"After all, it was the first gift I received when I had a brief respite, so it was very meaningful. I decided to keep a space for it."

"... Well... from this perspective, it is indeed worth keeping."

Ruan Mei nodded slightly, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, obscuring her gaze, and her hands paused for a moment.

"Of course, besides that, I'm also thinking that when I finally meet you in person, I'll definitely stuff it all into your mouth so that you'll get dizzy from the sweetness."

Noticing Ruan Mei's subtle actions, Gwen immediately added.

"Oh..."

Upon hearing this answer, Ruan Mei's brows immediately relaxed, and her hair seemed to carry a hint of a smile, as if she were laughing at Gwen's childish temper. However, her hands did not stop for a moment, and she ate the fruits of her anger from that time.

"I didn't tell you to actually finish it!"

Seeing that Ruan Mei's movements were elegant and serene, yet the pastries on her plate were rapidly disappearing, Gwen had no choice but to quickly stop her—

He plans to keep it as a keepsake.

Moreover, this plate of pastries clearly held a slightly different meaning for Ruan Mei.

"Um?"

Seeing the plate in her hand being snatched away, Ruan Mei blinked and tilted her head in confusion to look at Gwen.

"I'll eat your food for the rest of my life for this!"

Gwen shook the plate with half a dish of pastries still on it, smiled and shook it, then put it away without giving Ruan Mei a chance to take it back.

"You really are..."

Ruan Mei seemed speechless at Gwen's actions, but the smile in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

The tassels behind her swayed gently as Ruan Mei pulled out a chair and sat down, resting her cheek on her hand as she looked at Gwen.

"Speaking of which, it seems you've known my identity for a long time, haven't you?"

After being stared at by Ruan Mei for half a minute, Gwen realized that she seemed to only want to look at Gwen, so he had to ask.

"Um."

Ruan Mei nodded slightly, her hair swaying gently with a touch of lively rhythm—

"The pastries I prepared for you during that last period were all made by hand. I discovered this after I unexpectedly met you here."

As it turned out, I was right.

"So the touch just now was also?"

Gwen pressed for an answer.

Not entirely.

Ruan Mei shook her head and said seriously,

"You are indeed very healthy, even beyond the scope of a healthy person."

"Alright, let's change the subject,"

Although Ruan Mei's current attitude seemed to suggest she was willing to give him a different kind of affection than others, listening to Ruan Mei words still made Gwen feel a chill run down his spine, as if he had become Cat Cake waiting to be bred in her hands.

"I'm sorry for unintentionally ruining your experiment."

"It's alright, but I should thank you for helping me deal with that trouble—"

Although it was destined to be a failed experiment, it did indeed deserve to be destroyed because it had gone down the wrong path by accident.

That unexpected event seemed to have rendered our original countermeasures ineffective; without your timely intervention, I wouldn't know what to do.

Ruan Mei shook her head, speaking with a very solemn expression, then suddenly stood up and took Gwen's hand—

"As a small token of my gratitude, let me help you solve the problem of reading Remembrance when entering the Simulated Universe."

Before Gwen could respond, Gwen Ruan Mei had already pulled him up and led him outside.

"?"

Although Gwen didn't know what Ruan Mei was up to, they had been Netizen for years, and Gwen was willing to give her some basic trust.

In any case, it's impossible to read his Remembrance without his knowledge.

"Um?

What's going on?

It was the first time that Herta had seen Ruan Mei, who was always calm and composed, as if she had stepped out of a traditional Chinese ink painting, so... "wild" Hei Ta blinked, somewhat unable to process what had happened.

When the Herta finished its brainstorming session and tried to find the two again, it discovered that Ruan Mei had already led Gwen to the Simulated Universe's chamber.

"I never expected this..."