"Lynelle only went to the Luofu for a few days and this happened? No wonder I hadn't heard from her in two days!"
After hearing the full story, Herta didn't even bother with her usual tough act of pretending not to care about Lynelle, immediately issuing a flurry of orders in a rushed tone.
"Tch, that idiot is nothing but trouble. Even the Aeons in the Simulated Universe don't pop up as often as she causes incidents!"
"Quick, go to the Express and fetch my doll... no, never mind. I'll go to the Luofu myself."
"Before I arrive, set up an anchor point for me on the Luofu. I need to send a projection first to observe the Ambrosial Arbor's condition ahead of time."
"As for that General Jing Yuan... don't worry. So-called politics is just a game of exchanging interests. Since the Xianzhou is currently making an issue of his problems, it means some in the Alliance feel a Jing Yuan nearing his mara-stricken period isn't valuable enough."
"Well... I'll just add some chips to his side of the scale."
"Give it two days at most, and he'll return safely to the Luofu. Just wait and see."
--+--
Though she called it a hassle, Madam Herta's efficiency proved she was actually extremely worried.
After Himeko set up the anchor point, Herta immediately projected herself to the Xianzhou using the Fourth Mirror, heading straight for the Scalegorge Waterscape.
The speed was so astonishing that Fu Xuan, who rushed over upon hearing the news, couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.
After all, the news of Herta's visit had arrived on Fu Xuan's desk alongside the report of an unauthorized intrusion into the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Naturally, she wouldn't comment much on it.
Herta's notorious protectiveness of her own was known across the cosmos, and Fu Xuan completely understood her anxiety—she'd been plenty worried about Jing Yuan's situation these past two days herself.
But... when she arrived at the Scalegorge Waterscape, she immediately understood what people meant by the 'weight of a genius'.
The Express crew and Fu Xuan had spent over half a day trying to establish communication with Lynelle inside the Ambrosial Arbor with no success.
Yet, Herta had managed to contact Lynelle through some unknown method within just thirty minutes of arriving.
However, after listening to their conversation for a short while, Fu Xuan quickly found an excuse to step outside the Scalegorge Waterscape to wait.
It wasn't because they were discussing anything inappropriate... but rather, the way Herta was lecturing Lynelle reminded her irresistibly of Jing Yuan.
While she was genuinely worried about him, this particular style of lecturing... she'd heard it so often she could predict the next line after hearing the first.
"Herta, I'm sorry QwQ..."
"What good is saying sorry to me now?"
Herta let out a light 'hmph'.
"Do you have any idea how many unfinished projects I've had to drop because of you, you dummy?"
"Gulp..."
Lynelle's voice went soft and pleading. "Can I offer myself to pay off the debt?"
"No. Because you've been mine for a long time now."
Herta's voice paused briefly before continuing, "So, you'd better figure out a way to get yourself out of there. I don't want my personal property damaged—not even if an Aeon is the one doing it!"
"Hehe..."
Hearing Herta's classic 'I-don't-mean-what-I-say' tone, Lynelle giggled foolishly.
"Oh, right, Herta. How did you manage to contact me?"
"Swiped the tech from Screwllum."
Herta answered without hesitation. "You gave him samples of your abilities to study before, remember? After you got into trouble, I touched base with them, and Screwllum whipped up this tech for you."
"As for the principle... you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. Basically, since the Ambrosial Arbor and the intense Path energy are blocking normal communication transmission and translation, we just needed a communication method that isn't limited by that energy."
"Conveniently, due to the nature of the Herrscher of Corruption, Lynelle, you aren't really human in essence anymore."
"You can be roughly viewed as a data consciousness entity. So, once we figured that out, the communication problem wasn't hard."
Seeing Lynelle starting to look confused again, Herta decisively changed the subject.
"As for your current situation..."
"Do you have a solution, Herta?"
Lynelle's eyes lit up.
"Yes."
Herta nodded. "But the cost is rather high. So, Screwllum and I are working on optimizing the method. For that, I've enlisted a friend who specializes in biological fields to help."
"So, the cost is..."
"Don't even think about it. I know you. It's a cost you wouldn't be able to accept."
Herta sighed. "And it's one I can't accept either."
"When I first explained the Paths to you, you probably remember me mentioning one special Path, right?"
"The Path of [Equilibrium], whose corresponding Aeon is the Aeon of Equilibrium, HooH, who indirectly created the Aeon of Enigmata, and then famously lost a two-on-one fight against Nous."
"Remember, remember!"
Lynelle nodded repeatedly. "Equilibrium exists in all things!"
"On the Path of Equilibrium, there is a special profession called Arbitrators."
Herta continued. "If you ever see someone in the cosmos who is immensely powerful and walks far on multiple Paths, even contradictory ones... that person is most likely an Arbitrator of the Path of Equilibrium."
"This profession, under the influence of Equilibrium, allows one to tread multiple Paths simultaneously, ensuring the different Path abilities don't interfere with each other."
"Whether this is a characteristic of the Path of Equilibrium or a blessing from its Aeon is debated."
"In my Space Station, there is a Curio called the ["Cognito Averagifier" Communal Nexus]. This thing can directly influence you to walk the Path of Equilibrium. Combined with some other items, I'm confident I could make you an Arbitrator. But..."
"That would mean you'd become an extension of [HooH]'s consciousness. Because in the cosmos, HooH's influence over its Pathstriders is even greater than Ena's or Terminus's, almost to the same degree as Nous's influence."
"Mmm... I probably really couldn't accept that then."
Lynelle blinked. "But, HooH's influence must have already quietly seeped into every corner of the cosmos, right? Looking at it that way, the power of Equilibrium doesn't seem very far from us?"
"And that's exactly the direction of mine and Screwllum's research."
Herta shrugged. "We plan to extract some product of the Equilibrium Path—whether it's power or a Curio—to help stabilize the balance of power within you."
"Of course, since it involves you, I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket. I've already requested a sample of the Ambrosial Arbor from the Interastral Peace Corporation; it was a gift exchanged between the Xianzhou and the Corporation long ago. I've handed it over to Ruan Mei."
"If achieving balance proves impossible, then having the [Abundance] within you completely suppress [Destruction] is also a viable solution."
"Because the blessing of Abundance within you is actually a third party, separate from the Paths of Abundance and Destruction."
"Oh, right. We actually have a third backup plan."
"As expected of Madam Herta!"
Lynelle instantly felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Having geniuses as her backup was an indescribable comfort.
"Don't celebrate too soon. The third method is being handled by Stephen."
Herta said, sounding somewhat resigned.
"If we absolutely can't fix your physical problem, he'll figure out some projection tech for you, at least so your consciousness isn't locked in a black box all day."
"So, this one can only be considered... the last resort."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.