Herta let the other three leave first, leaving Yan Huan alone in her office.
His face was already swollen from the beating, yet he still asked excitedly:
"Grandma Herta, have you come to your senses and decided to give me a puppet?"
Herta said speechlessly:
"Why would you want that thing? When I'm offline, it can't even move."
Yan Huan gasped in pleasant surprise:
"There's such a wonderful perk!"
"..."
Spacious as Herta's office was, even with three people leaving, it still felt quite noisy because of Yan Huan.
He alone could fill the entire office with clamor.
"Yan Huan, as far as I know, the Stellaron Hunters made this body of yours, didn't they?"
Herta quietly looked him over:
"Logically speaking, you shouldn't have any memories, and even your emotions ought to be dull. If anything, compared to my puppets, you're the one who should feel more like a puppet."
Yan Huan was already sitting in Herta's desk chair by then, resting his feet on the desk, and praised:
"As expected of you, Watson, you've spotted the blind spot again!"
Herta gently shook her head:
"Actually, plenty of people noticed, but they didn't think it mattered, so they didn't bring it up."
"Then why did you bring it up? Just to be special?"
A few minutes later.
Yan Huan sat on the floor, bruised and battered as he offered a flattering smile:
"Haha, Lord Herta sure is humorous. What made you call that idiot March 7th for no reason?"
Bang—!! March 7th walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Herta looked speechlessly at Yan Huan on the floor:
"I happen to have a rather burning desire for knowledge, but if you don't want to talk, I won't ask."
She walked up to Yan Huan, reached out, and pulled him up from the ground:
"Anyway, thank you very much for protecting the space station. I won't give you any reward money, seeing as you've already demanded quite a bit from Asta."
Yan Huan explained:
"Actually, March made me ask for all that. My core principle is simply finding joy in helping others."
"Is that so? Whatever." Herta waved her hand and handed over a card.
"This is a blank identity document. Go find the relevant staff member to register it, and you won't be an unregistered person anymore."
Yan Huan examined the card with great curiosity:
"Are ID cards a thing here too?"
Herta shook her head:
"This identity document is provided by the Interastral Peace Corporation. Their business is quite extensive, and if you register an identity on it, things will be much more convenient. If you register with this card, I will be your guarantor, and I will bear the consequences of all your actions."
She stared at Yan Huan and continued:
"You still have the card Asta gave you, right?"
Yan Huan nodded and fished it out of his pocket: "Yeah, what about it? Don't tell me you want to take a cut from me."
As he spoke, he clutched that bank card tightly to his chest.
He stared warily at Herta.
Herta: "..."
"When you go to the psychiatric department later, remember to tell the doctor to up the dosage."
"You don't have an identity document with the Interastral Peace Corporation, so using Asta's card rashly will get you placed under strict surveillance. The owner of that card is still Asta. In other words, no matter what you buy, she can check it. After registering, you can link your own identity information."
Yan Huan froze.
"You're actually not a bad person, telling me all this."
He had originally wanted to thank Herta for her thoughtfulness, but her next sentence instantly dispelled that thought.
Herta simply twirled a lock of her hair and said quite airily:
"Right? Look, I've been so good to you, it wouldn't be too much to ask you to do me a small favor, would it?"
Yan Huan: "..."
After two seconds of silence, Yan Huan slowly backed up, turned around, and opened the office door.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw a girl with pink-and-blue eyes sitting on a Grand Tutor Chair by the distant corridor, quietly gazing right at him.
Upon seeing Yan Huan, she raised two fingers, pointed them at her own eyes, and then pointed at Yan Huan to convey I'll be keeping an eye on you, no more funny business, watching him sheepishly retreat.
Yan Huan closed the office door and, under Herta's gaze, slowly walked back to her desk and rounded to the back.
He dropped heavily into the desk chair, propped his feet on the desk, and said seriously:
"Why must it be me doing the test? Can't Arlan do it?"
It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but rather that he feared abusing the power of the Stellaron and snapping out of his slacking state over and over again.
Eight hours of slacking experience wasn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly wasn't a little either.
There were only so many hours in a day total.
It really wasn't worth going all out over something like this.
If anything, Yan Huan was still lingering in lingering terror.
He hadn't forgotten that the whole thing kicked off with a million-strong army from the Antimatter Legion.
If not for Kafka and Silver Wolf, he had no idea how badly he would have been battered.
If an Aeon came looking for him right now, or a few more Emanators showed up to mess with him, not even his ashes would be left.
"You seem extremely reluctant to make a move?" Herta crossed her arms, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "I thought you clearly liked showing off. I didn't expect you to be so introverted in reality."
Yan Huan waved a hand, shifting his posture as his legs rested on the desk:
"Actually, I've always been a modest person. Not only am I shy, but I'm also very timid. Everyone calls me the flower of the motherland."
Herta: "..."
"Besides." Yan Huan's gaze sharpened, "What's in it for me if I run this test?"
Herta lightly tapped her chin with a slender hand and mused:
"Benefits? Of course there are."
She pulled out a tablet displaying various data streams.
"First of all, this test will be broadcast on all public screens across the space station, giving you a chance to show off."
Yan Huan countered:
"The actual utility of broadcasting it on public screens is probably just to showcase your research results."
Herta nodded without denying it:
"But it's also a fact that it lets you flex a bit, isn't it?"
Yan Huan laughed:
"What kind of benefit is that? I can flex anywhere. Why do I have to bother with the Simulated Universe?"
Herta changed her tune:
"Then... how about I owe you a favor?"
A favor?
Yan Huan sniffed, carefully weighing the meaning of those words.
A favor could sometimes be an empty promise, but at other times it could change the ending of a story.
Based on Yan Huan's understanding, Herta was a genius and had even saved numerous planets on the verge of destruction.
Besides, her true age seemed to actually reach grandmother status, even though she had reversed her youth.
Someone like that shouldn't try to screw him over, right?
"Oh, right. This test sends your consciousness data into the Simulated Universe and won't actually put you in any real danger, so you don't need to worry about safety," Herta added.
"Oh?" Yan Huan raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that Yan Huan was still hesitating, Herta continued:
"Let me tell you something else. I'm not looking for anyone else, I'm looking for you because you have a Stellaron inside you, and currently show zero side effects. In that regard, you are irreplaceable."
"If you perform well, giving you a puppet won't be a problem."
"Ah?" Yan Huan's eyes lit up.
What? Did he hear that right? She'd give him a puppet?
"Are you serious?!!!"
She was actually going to give him a puppet.
Herta nodded noncommittally:
"That's right. However, I can't have you running amok with the puppet. I'll have a good chat with Himeko and ask her to hold onto it for safekeeping. The purpose of this puppet is that if you ever truly reach a dead end in the universe, my true body might just be able to log into that puppet and give you a hand."
"Deal, I'll take the job!" Yan Huan agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Hey, letting Teacher Himeko hold onto it wasn't a big deal at all.
As the saying went, even the most careful plans have loopholes.
As long as he found the right opportunity—
"Hehehehehe...!!"
Herta frowned and gave a speechless look at the 'maliciously plotting' Yan Huan:
"The psychiatric department hasn't closed yet. If you go right now, you can still catch your meds."
"I want a double dose!" Yan Huan raised both hands and shouted.
Before you continue