Herta furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked at the data from the Simulated Universe. Although the data looked perfectly normal, it was too normal.
When something is this out of the ordinary, it's bound to be trouble. This was especially true for the Simulated Universe. Such a normal data stream... even the data from the simulated Aeons was perfectly stable. All the malignant bugs seemed to have vanished as if they had never existed. Not even a system rollback could produce a situation like this.
If one had to describe the state of the Simulated Universe right now, it was like... a perfectly balanced scale?
"Screwllum, do you think this is normal?" Herta asked, turning to him in his wheelchair.
"Hmm... Lady Herta, while data equilibrium is an ideal state, it also means the data is currently extremely fragile. It is like..."
"You don't need to say more, I know..."
Herta shook her head, her gaze fixed on the Simulated Universe, the doubt in her eyes deepening.
This feeling was like... "hanging by a thread"?
But... why was this happening?
"Lady Herta, Lady Ruan Mei has likely noticed this as well."
As soon as Screwllum finished speaking, another communication request came through. Ruan Mei's projection appeared in the office.
"Good morning, you two. It seems the Simulated Universe is experiencing a rather serious problem."
"It is, but it's still running stably, as if nothing is wrong at all."
"Is that so..."
"By the way, Screwllum, why are you suddenly in a wheelchair?"
Just as Ruan Mei was about to ponder a solution, she noticed Screwllum sitting in the wheelchair and addressed him with surprise.
"Lady Ruan Mei, the information received by an organic body is complex and diverse. A great deal of effort is still required to perfectly resolve an organic body's signal transmissions."
Screwllum shook his head.
"He ate that Wende's cooking. Tsk... is it really that good? Good enough to fry your electronic components?" Herta said with her arms crossed, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Well... perhaps it really is that delicious?" Ruan Mei smiled.
"Alright, forget about his food. The priority is to investigate the problem within the Simulated Universe. That little hacker isn't capable of leaving behind trouble of this magnitude," Herta said sternly to Ruan Mei and Screwllum.
---o---
Xianzhou Luofu, Starskiff Haven.
The Trailblazing team decided to spend the night at the Starskiff Haven first. If that soul-deep chill were to return, they would have to reconsider the feasibility of their continued mission on the Xianzhou.
"Sigh... Benefactors, you truly can't seem to stay idle. I was hoping to take a long vacation these next few days~"
Tingyun spoke pitifully to the group. When her gaze fell upon Wende, her large tail began to sway unconsciously, and she rubbed her legs together.
"Our apologies, Miss Tingyun. We did not wish to disturb you, but here on the Xianzhou, we still require a knowledgeable and well-informed guide such as yourself to lead the way," Welt said apologetically.
"Please, Mr. Welt, don't mind me. That was just a little grumble. As a member of the Sky-Faring Commission, and moreover, as a citizen of the Xianzhou, it is my honor to have the opportunity to assist you all."
Tingyun's fox-like eyes sparkled as she invited the group into the hotel.
Now that Wende was here, she no longer had to seek out those Xianzhou masseurs every day. This past period... had left "her" longing quite badly.
That night... a thoroughly exhausted Wende lay on his bed. He had thought things would be a bit more relaxed on the Xianzhou, but he never expected to be swamped by foxians... After he finished with the red one, the blue one caught wind of it and came running... The evening had completely worn him out.
Whatever. He'd see if the players were still going crazy tomorrow. If they were... were they supposed to just stay in their rooms all day?
In the dead of night, "Tingyun" arrived as expected.
But before she could sneak into Wende's room, her brow suddenly furrowed, and she promptly left.
Within his dream, Wende was back in a classroom, occasionally joking and roughhousing with his deskmate before being called up by the teacher to stand in the corner as punishment.
The him in the dream had no idea it was a dream, much less did he notice that above his dreamscape, a single, massive eye was staring intently down at him.
The next morning, the three men sat in the hotel lobby looking refreshed and energetic. Wende, in particular, had a healthy glow on his face; he had clearly slept well.
"My, the three benefactors seem to be in high spirits," Tingyun said as she walked down the nearby stairs, still wearing her usual beaming smile.
"We have you to thank for that, Miss Tingyun. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the chance to enjoy Wende's massage," Welt said with a smile. From start to finish, he never mentioned the previous chill to this "guide."
"Mr. Welt, you jest. We should be thanking Benefactor Wende for his generosity. Otherwise, how could my little whim have been indulged?"
Tingyun smiled at Wende, but behind the smile, a deep sense of dread flashed in her eyes. She quickly turned and walked away.
That heart-pounding sense of crisis she felt yesterday... where did it come from? How had this little doctor become so dangerous after just a few days?
Tingyun hid her confusion well, but Wende keenly noticed a slight hint of it.
Though a bit puzzled, Wende didn't dwell on it. The Tingyun before him... no matter how he looked at her, she was the same one they had met at the beginning, but...
Wende felt that she had changed a lot since they parted ways in Central Starskiff Haven, especially that... exceedingly powerful Yang energy...
"Since we don't seem to have any issues, let's go get March and the others," Welt said to Dan Heng and Wende as he watched Tingyun's departing figure.
Although they were still working for the Xianzhou, Welt had managed to squeeze a little something from between the "Divine Foresight General's" fingers during his conversation with Jing Yuan yesterday. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to cover the Express's expenses for a while.
He couldn't rule out the possibility that the General felt guilty for constantly ordering people around under the pretense of "since you're already here..."
...Actually, yes, he could probably rule that out.
"Hmm~ Uncle Yang, you guys are okay now?"
March and Stelle walked down the stairs together. Seeing the three men looking perfectly normal, she immediately adopted an "I-knew-it" expression.
"See, I told you! You were definitely cursed by a cosmic monster on the Express! You just needed to sleep somewhere else!"
March put her hands on her hips, looking like the great Detective March had successfully cracked the case.
"Yes, yes, March is right again."
Wende shrugged at Dan Heng, and they both shook their heads before Wende spoke in a doting tone.
"Eww... you're being so insincere, but I love it! More, please!"