The Bill

Is it dangerous?

Kiana felt the unassuming, ordinary Stigma on her body.

"Don't get agitated, speak slowly."

I didn't lie to you.

The Nightingale emphasized that everything he said was true, saying, "If you don't believe me, I can resonate with you."

She could make Kiana feel that same feeling she had just experienced, that... deep and desperate extreme negative emotion.

It was like a painful, blood-red vortex.

This was the first time the Nightingale had encountered such extreme emotions, leaving a deep impression on her that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

"I didn't distrust you, but I didn't lie to you either. The Stigma is truly safe for me. What you just felt might be the emotion left behind by Sakura."

The Nightingale stared wide-eyed.

Kiana hadn't told the Nightingale about Yae Sakura's experiences in the Stigmata world, but Robin had sensed her emotions. Now, she couldn't rest easy if she didn't tell Robin something.

"That's right, Sakura, who is also my friend, her name is Yae Sakura, and she was once a priestess who worshipped the Frost God."

Kiana selectively told the Nightingale some of Yae Sakura's stories, and then they talked about the Stigmata world.

"She could never forget it, so after death in the Stigmata world, she returned to the point of her most regretful life, and then, as if falling into the deepest hell, she experienced the same pain again and again."

"The negative emotions you're feeling are mostly the accumulated feelings she's experiencing from repeatedly restarting her system."

The Nightingale hearing Kiana's story about Yae Sakura, the robin's expression had already become full of sympathy.

She has an older brother.

Therefore, it's understandable how painful it would be for those who depend on their siblings to lose them.

If that's the case, then what I just felt certainly cannot be used as a judgment of danger.

"It seems I misunderstood."

"You're worried about me too, about Sakura... I'll go apologize to her later."

Upon the Nightingale asked somewhat shyly, "Can I go with you to see her?"

"No."

Kiana shook her head rapidly, no longer daring to joke about a Pathwalker who had never been exposed to Honkai energy entering the Stigmata world.

She didn't know what was going to happen.

"I see."

The Nightingale, thinking it couldn't enter a dream like Kiana, said, "Penacony might be able to solve this problem."

"Ah?"

"You know about the issue of getting you to see her again, right? Penacony's Ido is very rich; it's possible that someone in a dream could actually come out of the dream."

Kiana's eyes flickered slightly.

Remembrance...

If there's really no other way, replicating Penacony and creating a complete dream world from Izumo is also an option.

"I'll go when I have time!"

She spoke earnestly, this time truly earnest, already considering that after seeing Ruan Mei, she would go and check out Penacony's arrangements.

"If you're coming to Penacony, be sure to let me know in advance!"

The Nightingale laughed, a hint of helplessness in his smile, "I'll probably be staying in Penacony for a while."

After what happened to her in Kasli, her brother would definitely keep her there and have a serious talk with her about the importance of protecting her safety.

My brother just took over as head of the Oak Family Lineage a few days ago, so going back here will also be a good opportunity to check on Penacony's current situation.

I'll definitely contact you then.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Interstellar travel is always very time-consuming.

They have left Tenhutou Rock and entered other star systems, but have not yet encountered the Interastral Peace Corporation.

Another two weeks passed.

They then entered a world where the Interastral Peace Corporation was very active.

Kiana placed a 100 million Credits on Mei, betting almost all of her money on it, before finally parting ways with the Nightingale and embarking on her journey back to live off Ruan Mei.

However, she was unaware of this at the time.

The route I chose is not peaceful.

"This is the Herta Space Station? It's quite impressive. Is that Azure Star below?"

After a long voyage.

A merchant ship docks at the Herta Space Station.

Sirin and her assistant disembarked, but she was more drawn to the azure planet than to the magnificent space station.

In the past...

Izumo is also a beautiful planet.

As the people from the space station approached, Sirin concealed the longing in her eyes and took the initiative to step forward.

That pink-haired girl is probably the one in charge among this group; the cooperation with the Herta Space Station will most likely be discussed with her.

Thinking this, the girl walked up to them with a smile, "You must be from the Izumo Trading Company? I'm the stationmaster of the Herta Space Station, you can just call me Asta."

"So it's Station Master Asta."

Having sailed for many years, Sirin was no longer the grumpy girl she once was. She smiled politely and said, "I am the president of the Izumo Chamber of Commerce. Just call me Sirin. We received a cooperation invitation from the Herta Space Station some time ago, so we came here specifically for this."

"Yes, we sent out the cooperation invitation. To be precise, I sent out the message myself."

Asta was quite welcoming to Sirin, saying, "Miss Sirin, you must be tired from your journey. Please come with me to the space station to rest."

"Thank you for your help, Station Master Asta."

The Herta Space Station was built by the Herta to store rare and unusual items.

They were fairly confident about the collaboration invitation, since there had been discussions and speculations beforehand. The other party was most likely interested in acquiring the various rare items they possessed, almost all of which were left behind by Kiana.

Some similar items, which are not very useful, can be traded to the Herta.

They also have no shortage of Credits.

Sirin came to the Herta Space Station with only one goal in mind: to achieve cooperation, the same goal as Raiden Mei.

Confirm Kiana's fate.

However, the high concentration of Honkai energy in Izumo is beyond her reach; she needs to find a capable partner to collaborate with.

Herta...

She is a great partner for collaboration.

The premise is that she is interested in Honkai energy.

The Herta Space Station's purpose may be the artifacts they possess, but her true target is the Herta itself.

Asta politely introduced the space station to her throughout the journey, and answered all of Sirin 'Asta questions about the Herta.

After touring half of the space station, Asta led her to a conference room and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Sirin, Ms. Herta is still busy. We'll have to wait a moment."

"Geniuses value their time highly, I understand."

Sirin wasn't angry, at least not outwardly.

45

Chapter Forty-Five: The Bill

"That's it. Interested in joining?"

The room in the Herta.

Opposite the Herta Puppet is Ruan Mei's projection; they are having a long-distance conversation.

"You've already asked me this question once."

The projected image of Ruan Mei, slightly apologetic, once again rejected Herta.

"Aren't you really that indifferent to the Aeon? Aren't you curious? What subject could be more important than Simulated Universe?"

The proud and arrogant Herta looked at Ruan Mei with great dissatisfaction. She had invited Ruan Mei once, but Ruan Mei had temporarily declined on the grounds that she couldn't find the time.

Now that so much time has passed, and she's been keeping track of the time, surely Ruan Mei's project should be resolved by now, right?

But she was rejected again.

What project is Ruan Mei handling that's even more captivating than the Aeon?

Could it be that she somehow obtained the remains of the Aeon and is secretly studying them by herself?

There is no unknown in this universe more fascinating than the Aeon, and this is a consensus shared by many others as well.

I'm very curious.

Ruan Mei's tone was as gentle as ever as she said, "But just like the answer I gave you last time, I'm afraid I don't have much time to spend on Simulated Universe."

Was she curious about the Simulated Universe proposed by the Herta?

Of course I'm very curious.

However, after meeting Kiana, her research focus shifted to Kiana's power to fight against the void, and she actually made some progress without Kiana's knowledge.

It refers to progress towards nothingness.

Her long-term research has led her to a distance she never imagined she would travel on the path of exploring nothingness.

The more one understands nothingness, the better.

The more she looked at Kiana's Honkai energy, the more curious she became about this energy she had never encountered before.

Before unveiling its secrets, Ruan Mei had little interest in anything else, let alone spending most of her time and energy on the Simulated Universe.

"What exactly are you researching?"

Herta frowned deeply. She and Ruan Mei weren't actually very familiar with each other, but they were both extremely proud geniuses.

Ruan Mei could tell what she was thinking from her expression, and considering that she had invited her again and again, it showed that she was really interested in the Simulated Universe project.

Besides himself, it's said that Herta also invited two other members of the Genius Club to jointly study the Simulated Universe.

They all agreed, except for themselves.

If she hadn't met Kiana and hadn't been exposed to Honkai energy, Ruan Mei felt she would have joined the Simulated Universe project as well.

After all, she always wanted to know what kind of life Aeon was, what the essence of life was, and where life ended.

This was a project worth her time, but the timing of its emergence was rather inconvenient.

"I have some reports from the IX mechanism here. I can send them to you if you need them."

Her expressionless face showed no further emotion; she simply stared at the Herta.

"Are you researching the IX mechanism?"

Herta paced back and forth in front of her, utterly bewildered, and said, "This doesn't conflict with the Simulated Universe. If you want to research IX, then go ahead and do it. We won't stop you."

That's really an excessive obsession.

Ruan Mei was thinking absentmindedly that someone like Herta, who had been rejected by her once, probably wouldn't contact her again.

But it was obvious that she underestimated the importance of the Simulated Universe in the Herta's mind.

Time and time again.

It seems they absolutely have to have her join.