"Long story short, while you were gone—in the years that passed on Amphoreus..."
Herta's brows drew together.
"The Chrysos Heirs fought desperately and suffered heavy losses, but their sacrifices weren't in vain."
"We also made a few temporary adjustments to disrupt some of Laigushi's underlying protocols. That kept him from using his full strength, but only for now—"
At the same time, the Emperor Scepter's central system spoke again through the monitor in a cold voice.
"Anomalous data detected. Confirmed as illegal communication. Initiating response... Purge sequence begins in 10..."
Herta clicked her tongue, her brows tightening.
"We're running out of time. Here's the point..."
Her image began to flicker violently.
"We'll keep up our side-channel attacks to destabilize this place and create an opening for you to escape."
"You need to seize that opening, get moving, and figure out how to pull off a clean jailbreak yourself."
"?"
"I don't know anything about Erudition. How am I supposed to break out?"
Yan Huan glanced awkwardly at the dense tangle of cables and ports around him. Was he supposed to teach himself hacking from scratch right here?
"Or can I smash my way out?"
Willing to give it a try, he pulled out his bat again, hefted it, and blinked.
"If I smash this, can I get out?" He pointed to a core processor unit blinking red beside him.
"If that worked, why would I bother calling you...? I could've just waited for you to finish smashing things." Herta's projection wavered, her tone helpless.
"Ms. Yan Huan, let me remind you: another Path has invaded Amphoreus. Her power may be able to help you... Find that 'variable'..."
Before she could finish, a burst of violent distortion and static forced her projection out. The screen instantly reverted to a cold red