Big Herta: Oh no, I've become the body double! / Herta: Men only slow down my sword-but Chen Li doesn't!

The long Amber Era has passed, and the Emperor has long since passed away, but the lingering effects of this terrifying inorganic life have not yet dissipated.

For example, Interastral Peace Corporation once phased out a large number of intelligent robots.

Machine life was subjected to suspicion and even persecution because of the Emperor's War, and the key to turning things around was precisely the invitation that the Erudition gave to Screwllum.

However, it is precisely because Screwllum is also Intelligent Machines life form and was also invited to the Genius Society that some people refer to him as Rupert III. This is why people question what kind of harm Screwllum could cause to the universe if he harbored malicious intentions.

Fortunately, Screwllum's gentlemanly character and behavior successfully dispelled this idea.

But now, the true emperor has appeared!

A virus-like ability to spread, and a machine spirit that allows inorganic life to transcend the norm...

It's time to make inorganic life great again!

"Do you know how many Credits a bottle of engine oil is worth now?!" Herta shouted from behind Chen Li.

"Don't use the permissions I gave you to look at random junk." Chen Li flicked the Herta dolls's forehead.

"Oh."

"Conclusion: Machine Souls must never be allowed to spread to the Endless World again," Screwllum said solemnly.

As the current leader of inorganic life, Screwllum knows better than anyone what kind of impact the Herta dolls, which can spread machine souls, would have on the current survival of inorganic life in the world if it returned to the Honkai: Star Rail world.

"I know. That's why I said I Extraction the 'spreading' entry from the Herta dolls before you arrived. This means that the crisis, which could spread like a virus and unleash a world- Destruction frenzy, has been successfully resolved. And this Herta dolls is also the only survivor in the world with a machine spirit. I called you two over here precisely to discuss the current situation," Chen Li said.

Entry entries are such magical things.

An entry represents the origin of an item.

If you remove the "immortality" attribute from an immortal god, then the god would have a health bar.

If you remove Aqua's "Wisdom" attribute, then Aqua... will not change at all.

Even if Aqua does have the [Wisdom] attribute, that attribute would definitely be mutated.

What does this tell us?

It tells us not to waste our time on things that don't exist.

After Chen Li removed the "spread" entry, he extinguished the biggest advantage of that unknown World Destroyer seed player.

With the virus no longer transmissible, the only victim is the Herta figurine behind Chen Li.

Chapter 165 The Great Herta: Oh no, I've become a substitute!

"What's there to discuss? Let's just keep this doll. It's quite interesting." Herta looked at another Herta dolls, his face full of interest.

"Question: Does the loss of the propagation entry mean that this situation can never be replicated?" Screwllum asked.

"Theoretically speaking, yes. Without the transmission term, no matter what method you use, you can't make this virus spread. If you don't believe me, ask Herta."

"Oh, why are you asking me that?"

"Don't tell me that after discovering the situation of your doll, you didn't try to back up and copy its state."

"Uh... okay, her situation is indeed impossible to replicate. Don't look at me like that, I'm confident I can eliminate any danger. Besides, I'm just confirming again whether the doll's situation is truly impossible to replicate. What if Chen Li makes a mistake?" Seeing Screwllum turn to look at him, Herta instantly raised his hands in surrender.

"Question: So what exceptions could actually happen?" Screwllum then asked.

"For example, possessing certain propagation-related Miraculous Item could potentially lead to the spread of machine spirits. This is because Miraculous Item have higher priority than the attributes," Chen Li said.

"Then as long as she doesn't come into contact with any propagation-type Miraculous Item, wouldn't that be fine? So let's just keep this doll... Wait, does Friends Circle count as a propagation-type Miraculous Item?" Herta suddenly paused for a moment.

"...Okay." Chen Li nodded.

"Then what should we do?"

"If you trust me, you can leave her at my house. I will check her up regularly."

"???" Herta stared wide-eyed at Chen Li.

"If she wants to use a propagation Miraculous Item to spread this Machine Spirit Virus, corresponding illusory terms should also be generated on her body. I can see similar terms that are about to be generated by touching the doll," Chen Li said.

"Oh, this kind of examination..."

Herta was startled.

"What else did you think?"

"Can't I even think about it?" the Herta dolls suddenly raised its head and asked in a low voice.

"Thinking about it is illegal, and even thinking about it is a sin."

"Oh."

"Furthermore, the Friends Circle feature doesn't currently allow 'communication' or 'selling' of one's talents, so after I removed her dissemination tags, this little guy's potential harm was minimized," Chen Li said.

"Little guy, did you hear that? Now we're deciding your fate. Aren't you scared at all?" Herta walked up to Chen Li and stared at the Herta dolls that only had its head peeking out from behind Chen Li's waist.

"Hmph! You are the Herta, and so am I. Why should I be afraid of you?" The Herta dolls stopped hiding and stepped out from behind Chen Li with its arms crossed, looking at the Herta arrogantly.

You are the Herta, and I am the Herta. Why not ask whether the Great Herta and the Little Black Tower are both Little Herta?

"Hmm, it seems the [Personality Mapping Module] and the [Unreasonable Module] are still functioning normally." Herta nodded in satisfaction.

This proves that Chen Li was right; the Herta dolls in front of them is still the Herta dolls, and its perception has not been altered.

In fact, the Machine Spirit Virus does not need to distort cognition at all, because as long as it does not encounter Chen Li, the Machine Spirit Virus can continue to spread normally, and the Destruction of the world is already a foregone conclusion.

Whether it's because some robots with machine spirits rebelled in search of freedom, or because some people with ulterior motives wanted to use machine spirits to rule the world, the rise of a new species means the end of an old one.

Because Herta dolls's cognition had not been altered, Herta didn't care about the Herta dolls's little temper at all.

At most, we've become a little more free.

To put it nicely, it's called "freedom"; to put it bluntly, it's called "insubordination."

However, the Herta dolls is equipped with the "Unreasonable Module" and the "Refusal to Cooperate Module", so it's not surprising that the Herta dolls is unruly.

On the contrary, because this Herta dolls possesses a machine soul, Herta dolls Herta actually wants to collect it as Miraculous Item.

As long as the Herta dolls remains the Herta dolls, the Great Herta doesn't care.

For the Great Herta, the biggest problem is having no problems at all.

Moreover, the Great Herta once had a Herta Personality Completion Project, which failed several times. This led the Great Herta to conclude that it was indeed perfect and that this personality could not be improved at all!

However, the Herta dolls may have the potential to be improved to perfection.

Oh no, I'm getting the urge to do research.

Machine Soul... it's so interesting!

"Let me see your number... Herta dolls #0988? Very good, I'll remember you."

"Please call me the Unique Herta!" The Herta dolls crossed its arms.

"You little rascal, you're quite bold, directly using the name the Erudition Society was planning to give me." The Great Herta was both amused and exasperated.

Because Herta created many Herta dolls to impersonate others in crucial moments, but also installed Personality Mapping Module on each Herta dolls, the name "Herta" seems a bit confusing.

The contributors to the Erudition Society once considered adding a title to the Great Herta, something like "The Unique Herta".

The Great Herta was clearly not interested in this, but the Herta dolls seemed quite interested.

"Because there is only one Great Herta, but there are countless Herta dolls. And I stand out among countless Herta dolls, so am I the Unique Herta? The one and only Herta dolls!" the Herta dolls said, puffing out its chest.

"You're right... From now on, your number will be Unique Herta." The Great Herta found this very interesting, so it readily agreed to the Herta dolls's request.

This also shows that although the Herta dolls is somewhat unruly due to the "freedom" brought by the Machine Soul, its attitude towards the Great Herta, its creator, is still evident.

"Chen Li, I've become the Unique Herta now, isn't that amazing?" The Unique Herta said proudly to Chen Li.

"Oh no, the Great Herta has become a substitute."

"That's not quite right. These Herta dolls only resemble me about six or seven parts from when I was a child. The real me is unique, unparalleled, and breathtakingly beautiful!" Herta said confidently.

It is precisely because of its self-confidence that the Great Herta can tolerate the misbehavior of the adorable Unique Herta.

It's like a kitten trying to box with you, only to be knocked to the ground with a flick on the head. Even if it activates its Hakimi Spinal Dragon form, you'll only find it amusing, not a challenge to your authority.

When you're weak enough, even being angry seems cute.

"I am the Unique Herta. You are at most unparalleled in the world, a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky," the Little Herta retorted.

"Alright, alright." Even the Great Herta was amused by the Unique Herta.

That's so interesting.

I simply can't get angry.

"Screwllum, what do you think of this decision?" Just as the Great Herta was teasing the Little Herta, Chen Li asked Screwllum, who hadn't spoken until now.

"Logic: You will check her body every day to ensure that the Machine Spirit Virus will not spread, and the ownership of the Herta dolls belongs to the Great Herta. I have no reason to object to the decision made by the two of you," Screwllum said clearly.

"Curious: But I'm really curious to know just how far the Machine Soul can go?"

"Well... this Little Herta's abilities might exceed your imagination. Originally, the Machine Spirit Virus she possessed was contagious. Once it spread, the Herta dolls could only be considered patient zero. But once the Machine Spirit Virus lost its ability to spread, this Little Herta became the Machine Spirit Virus itself..."

As Patient Zero, Little Herta already possessed the strongest potential, and now that it has become the only Machine Soul, it represents a significant enhancement on a spiritual level.

And coincidentally, the machine spirit is inherently idealistic.

"... Perhaps this Little Herta has the potential to become Aeon," Chen Li said with emotion.

"Really?" The Great Herta and the Little Herta looked at Chen Li at the same time.

"Of course they're fake." Chen Li looked at the two Herta in surprise.

How can you believe such an exaggerated claim?

"Sigh, I was even thinking of creating a Path called the Herta in the universe." The Great Herta shook its head in disappointment.

"However, it is not difficult to achieve what the Great Herta can achieve while in puppet form," Chen Li said.

"Great! Understand the Great Herta, surpass the Great Herta! Become the Super Herta! Steal Ruan Mei!" Little Herta shouted, raising his arms.

"???" by Chen Li & Screwllum.

"Don't look at me like that, this has nothing to do with me, I have no idea why she would say that." Seeing that both Screwllum and Chen Li were giving him strange looks, the Great Herta quickly explained.

"Don't explain. I've already recorded it." Chen Li suddenly took out a voice recorder.

"When did you take out the voice recorder?" Great Herta was taken aback.

"That's none of your business. Ahem, if you don't want Ruan Mei to know what's happening here, Great Herta ..." Chen Li said in a stiff, monotone voice.

"Speak, what do you want?" Herta asked impatiently.

"Little Herta only has one set of clothes, don't you think that's a bit insufficient?"

"I'll prepare enough clothes for the Unique Herta. Come to the Herta Space Station to get them yourself. Also, call Sirin over. I'll test the attributes of her Herrscher of the Void Authority. I'm logging off to prepare now." The Great Herta stared at Chen Li and the Herta dolls for a while, rolled its eyes at them, and then said quite readily.

"Little Herta, has Great Herta gone offline?" Chen Li suddenly asked.

"I think I should log off," Little Herta said after thinking for a moment.

"Plan works!" Chen Li raised his hand and high-fived the Little Herta who had raised his arm.

"Let's make this clear first, I'll only allow you to designate one outfit for me each day."

"No problem."

"You two..." Screwllum, who had been watching the whole thing from the side, was stunned.

"Little Herta is in charge of shouting slogans, and I'm in charge of recording. Is that hard to understand? There's something called private messaging in this world. And I think Great Herta must have noticed something too, which is why he prepared the clothes so readily. What's this called? This is called a little love affair between oneself and oneself." Chen Li snapped his fingers, and a light blue virtual screen appeared in front of Little Herta, which was the Friends Circle Terminal.

"..."

Screwllum thought that only organic life had no limits, but he didn't expect that inorganic life had no limits either.

It's clear that the freedom attribute carried by the Machine Soul can indeed make inorganic life forms unruly.

But you didn't say it would be that free, did you?

Chapter 166 Herta: Men only slow down my sword-drawing speed, but Chen Li won't!

"Ah, it's so hot! Chen Li, what did you add to the cup?" Little Herta cupped her face, her originally indifferent, inorganic face instantly turning crimson.