Chapter 191: A Second Round
Attack!
No sense of crisis was granted, no omens or premonitions.
An invisible, intangible pressure descended in an instant, like a single drop of water confronting a terrifying tidal wave that crushed the heavens and overturned mountains.
In that instant, it wasn't just Caelus, Herta, and Screwllum; it was also Sister Asta approving reports in her office, Arlan and the Defense Department on patrol, and the staff members hurrying back and forth with documents...
All of them felt this immeasurable, invisible oppressive sensation; their bodies and breaths hitched, their expressions blank and bewildered, instinctively looking up towards the source that tightened their spirits.
The sounds of communication and debate faded into nothingness, the entire Herta Space Station seemed to have its mute button pressed, quiet enough to hear the faint static electricity generated by suit fabric rubbing against swivel chairs.
Everyone was at a loss, unaware of what had happened, except for those inside Herta's office.
After a brief daze, Caelus quickly recalled this familiar sensation; it was from when he had just
faced the Aeon of The Hunt in the Simulated Universe.
To be precise, he had only felt the lingering power from a distance.
And the reason for the current situation was also very simple.
Important things must be said three times!
The Simulated Universe is a real data world, and the Aeons within it are sub-accounts connected to the real Path System, parts of true Aeons.
Therefore, when Caelus became agitated in the Simulated Universe and fully mobilized the power of The Hunt's Path, it naturally led to a consequence.
Invoking the gaze of the true Aeon of The Hunt!
However, the Stellaron's third Path is Harmony, not The Hunt, so this was clearly not the gaze cast when a sentient being steps onto The Hunt's Path, their will sensed and recognized by the Aeon.
Instead, it was a warning gaze imbued with another meaning.
Caelus's warning gaze only lasted for one or two seconds, yet the people throughout the Herta Space Station felt as though they had endured
two long years.
Immediately, the innate oppressive feeling from a life form beyond mortal dimensions vanished, and the staff members in the station regained their ability to breathe, though their bodies remained frozen in place.
It was several more seconds before they finally recovered.
"What happened?"
"Look! The spectrum analyzer, filter, reference level, and attenuator! Are the instruments malfunctioning?"
A commotion erupted within the Herta Space Station, yet only inside the office did the eerie silence persist.
Herta's small mouth was slightly agape, Screwllum's body motionless;
the two geniuses silently watched the two "gray-hairs" (Caelus and Stelle) hugging each other and offering awkward smiles towards the warning gaze that had traversed galactic light-years.
Aside from the gazes cast by Aeons when one steps onto a Path, a warning gaze imbued with Aeon power is extremely rare in other circumstances.
This was the first time Herta had heard the Aeon of The Hunt cast a gaze upon anything other than pursuing and slaying Abundance.
But she quickly seemed to remember something.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait... No! Stop!"
In an urgent tone Caelus had never heard before, Herta was the first to react, her small face revealing a rare hint of horror, like "Holy moly!", as she reached out an "Erkang hand" towards the Simulated Universe.
A buzzing sound, similar to insect wings, emanated from inside the gigantic Simulated Universe machine; the hum suddenly became deafening, and the crackling electricity sounded like countless silver needles falling.
Bang! Bang!
Familiar explosions sounded once more, black smoke billowed from where electrical arcs burst and spread, followed by continuous popping sounds of short circuits.
"The Simulated Universe... my Simulated Universe..."
Herta pressed a hand to her forehead, her face expressionless, yet she seemed to be struggling against the dizziness caused by rising blood pressure.
She immediately ran to the Simulated Universe to inspect it, her expression on the verge of tears, her thin, small back looking particularly desolate and pitiful as she murmured with her head bowed:
"Broken, broken, this part is overloaded and broken too... This is too much, too much!"
The slightly trembling voice and this phrasing gave Caelus a sense of familiarity, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
"Uh, Herta, is your Simulated Universe really okay? Why does it break every time it's tested?"
Stelle looked at Herta's back with a bit of guilt, but then thought, this time it probably had nothing to do with them, right?
In any case, she felt it had nothing to do with them!
So she spoke weakly under Herta's stare, which was like looking at livestock.
"How dare you speak! If it weren't for you causing trouble in the Simulated Universe..."
"Alright, stop crying and fussing, you're not a child anymore."
Seeing Herta about to explode, Caelus stepped forward and patted her shoulder, comforting her.
Herta looked up, her face full of displeasure, glaring at Caelus: "How old are you, to dare speak to me like that!"
"Ah, my apologies." Caelus, as if suddenly realizing his mistake, apologized with sincerity.
"Compared to Grandma Herta, I am indeed just a few months old."
"Grandma..."
"You called me Grandma?"
Herta was furious!
She pulled out a large amethyst hammer from her four-dimensional skirt and leaped high, locking her calves around Caelus's neck, settling herself entirely on his shoulders.
"Oh, really, then let Grandma Herta! Grandma! Teach you two troublemaking brats a good lesson!"
She was about to hammer Caelus and Stelle's heads like playing whack-a-mole.
"Do you still want my help researching the Shadow Mask later?"
Caelus's words made Herta's hammer stop mid-air, "Besides, this test allowed the Alchemist and Lan to have intimate contact, which is unprecedented and valuable data, isn't it?"
Herta gasped, feeling choked; fortunately, puppets don't need to breathe, otherwise Caelus would have worried she might suffocate.
After a long while, she let out a sigh, swallowing all her emotions and helplessness:
"Alright, alright... I am a reasonable person after all, and this time the gains aren't less than the losses."
The Simulated Universe project aims to overcome the ultimate challenge that has plagued human civilization and geniuses for thousands of Amber Eras: the mysteries of the Aeons.
As the main testers for the project, the Trailblazers' actions did, to some extent, align with the research theme.
In the first test, the two guys enraged the honest one—oh no, the honest Aeon Qlipoth—the wrath of Preservation, a rare sight in history.
This time was even more outrageous, having the Aeon of Abundance kiss the Aeon of The Hunt, though strictly speaking, there are no humanistic ethical "kisses" between Aeons.
The Alchemist's kiss was, in essence, an Abundance blessing given to Lan.
To Herta and Screwllum, the two geniuses, this was even more explosive; they dared not imagine what would happen if this scene occurred in reality.
Both The Hunt and Abundance are young Aeons, and such an event would absolutely be the first of its kind since the birth of these two deities.
The rarity of this data was easily imaginable.
"Herta, can we still continue testing?"
Herta, having exited her enraged state, put away her hammer but remained seated on Caelus's neck, while Stelle poked Herta's smooth, tender calf.
She hadn't broken enough yet.
"So many parts are broken, what is there left to test!"
Herta, riding Caelus, looked down at the Simulated Universe device from a higher perspective.
She tightened her legs, gripping Caelus like a chokehold, her expression fierce, her small hands tugging at Caelus's gray hair to vent her emotions.
"Do you know how many resources were poured into this test!?"
It wasn't just the Simulated Universe that had broken instruments and equipment.
The gaze of an Aeon is not something easily received.
As an Emanator of Erudition, Herta had a way to proactively contact her own Aeon, the Machine King.
Calling it contact, it was actually just a one-sided transmission of information; Herta rarely used that system because the cost was simply too high.
For this, she had to mobilize the entire space station's energy, put the station into silent mode, and then restart it afterwards.
The reason for such troublesome preliminary preparations was that a mere glance from the Machine King could, with a slight error, destroy the entire space station!
Entering silent mode was a protective measure, to prevent equipment from overloading or even becoming scrapped.
And now, without any preparation, the space station had received the warning gaze of the Aeon of The Hunt.
The difference in Paths between The Hunt and Erudition meant the space station wasn't entirely destroyed, but Herta's office was the focal point of The Hunt's gaze, and the Simulated Universe parts overloaded because of it.
Departments close to the office, along with certain special observation instruments, would likely all be scrapped.
Even so, they still had to thank the Aeon of The Hunt for casting a 'light' gaze.
Otherwise, the immense Path energy contained within that gaze would not only destroy equipment but also incinerate the ordinary human staff members into charcoal.
"Uh, how high?"
Caelus gripped Herta's calf, which was straddling his shoulders; it felt warm and smooth like a maiden's skin, a bit firmer than collagen, and he began to twist Herta's body, which was clamped around his neck like a screw nut.
"Hmm..."
Herta paused at his words, "Money matters aren't my concern; if you want to know, ask Sister Asta."
When she conducted research, she never bothered with vulgar costs.
But it was definitely not a small sum.
Herta, who had been riding on his shoulders from behind, was now turned to face front. If the current Herta were real, at such close proximity, Caelus could probably smell Caelus's scent.
"You don't even know how much, and you say... wait."
Caelus suddenly realized something, startled, and raised his head, Herta's skirt hem lifted by his head.
"The parts are broken, but is the storage broken? Can I export those pictures and videos I refined in the Simulated Universe?"
"Export your head!"
Herta vigorously shook on Caelus's neck, finally flipping Caelus directly onto the ground, delivering a spectacular K.O.
Stelle watched enviously as Caelus, in the prime viewing position, was ridden by the puppet...
"Alright," she thought, "I checked Lingta, Herta's puppet really doesn't have that organ."
Patting her skirt, Herta stood up from Caelus, then looked at her partner, Screwllum, who had been in a state of silent contemplation: "Screwllum, the spare parts are all used up. Quickly prepare to make new ones."
"Wuwuwu, my Caelus pictures, my Alchemist Sister!"
The Stellaron Spirit's eyes were teary, looking pitifully like a small raccoon who had lost its golden trash can.
Caelus also had a pained expression.
Those were Caelus pictures and doujinshi refined by the Simulated Universe's planetary-level computing power! Every doujinshi was a masterpiece, every second of video was cinematic quality; would they just be buried with the Simulated Universe like this?
[Cough, cough, why not ask the magical System?]
A feigned cough sounded in Caelus's mind, full of the intention to take credit.
"Hmm?"
Caelus paused, his consciousness immediately focusing on the System panel in his mind.
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