"My heavens… th-this is…"
When Ningguang arrived at the space station with her three secretaries and a few essential staff, the group froze on the spot.
Even Ningguang herself—who had already visited once—
felt that familiar hit her again.
But unlike her subordinates whose shock was written all over their faces, Ningguang only exclaimed inwardly, silently admiring the scene.
"L-Lady Ningguang… are we really going to work in a place like this?
Where is this…?"
Baiwen was the first to recover her voice.
Even though she had witnessed countless storms at Ningguang's side, this kind of scenery—
the kind that broke common sense— was beyond her imagination.
"Calm down. This is the Outer Heavens—higher than the Sky Island.
A place even the Seven Archons cannot reach."
Ningguang's tone was calm.
But the moment she said this was somewhere even the Seven can't touch—
Her subordinates collectively lost their calm.
If Lady Ningguang can work here…
Doesn't that mean she's more impressive than the Geo Emperor himself!?
"Alright. Let's start unpacking.
From now on, this will be our workplace."
Even though the station wasn't fully connected to the outside world yet,
Ningguang couldn't wait any longer.
Compared to the Jade Chamber, this place was far less convenient…
But comfort wasn't the point.
Who would choose Yujing Terrace when she could work above the heavens?
"But… decorating a place this large will be a huge project, right?"
Baiyi still couldn't help marveling at the station's size.
Just the area visible from where they stood was several times larger than the entire Jade Chamber.
"Don't even think about decorating.
This isn't my place.
If we start renovating, I'm afraid the owner will throw us out."
Ningguang cut the idea immediately.
Even she could tell—
Liyue décor would look extremely out of place here.
Besides, Su Ran was a man from beyond the sky.
Who knew if he'd tolerate Liyue-styled buildings cluttering up his station?
"I was just imagining…"
Baiyi scratched her cheek awkwardly.
All of them had assumed Ningguang was the owner of this place.
Now they learned—
she wasn't.
Which meant…
It must belong to that infamous executive, the "Genius."
That made sense.
After all, no matter how powerful or wealthy Ningguang was, she still wasn't on the level of the Geo Archon.
She was someone to admire, someone to respect.
But a god was a god.
Ningguang settled comfortably into a chair and penned her first set of official instructions,
using a brush on paper as she always did.
When she finished, she handed the document to Baiwen—or… that was the plan.
A hand took the paper before Baiwen could.
Baiwen froze mid–reach.
Ningguang also noticed something was wrong.
Because the paper had been taken by…
Herta.
Her dormant puppet had suddenly activated, standing beside the desk.
The other two secretaries arrived just in time to see the strange puppet as well, and all three nearly jumped out of their boots.
This…
wasn't a human.
"This is such an ancient way of working."
Herta glanced at the handwritten document, then tossed it casually back onto Ningguang's desk.
"You're working in this place now, and you're still using paper to pass orders around?
Aside from legal documents, how does this compare to the station's computers?"
She tapped Ningguang's desk—
SHOOM.
A large holographic screen flickered into existence.
Before Ningguang even recovered from the shock—
Herta clapped her hands again.
Along the walls, on side desks, on workstations—
More screens lit up, one after another.
The four Liyue women stared, completely dumbstruck.
Ningguang and her three secretaries:
"..."
Herta hadn't insulted them directly…
But she might as well have.
Seeing these technological displays, every one of them suddenly felt—
Like total country bumpkins.
Even with the Synapse Beacon making all alien text readable, they had no idea how to operate any of this.
"There's a tutorial.
Figure it out yourselves.
If you really need paper, there's a printer. Print it."
And with that, Herta dusted her hands and walked out like nothing happened.
She had come expecting Su Ran—
thinking his "new folder" had finally been created, meaning construction would begin.
After all, in her own station, she had personally witnessed Su Ran's terrifying efficiency.
Idea today, prototype tomorrow, finished product next week.
But instead of Su Ran—
His sugar mommy showed up.
After seeing Ningguang's "write on paper with ink brush" workflow…
Herta could only sigh.
Su Ran's taste in choosing investors is terrible.
What era was this?
No network?
No electronic communication?
Still using ink brushes?
If this weren't the "boss's chosen candidate,"
Herta would've fired her on the spot.
The high-tech workspace left Ningguang and her secretaries silent for a long, long time.
Finally, Ningguang inhaled deeply.
"…Put the work aside for now.
Let's start by learning how this technology works."
It was the first time she ever felt so embarrassed.
Comparable only to when she first met the Raiden Shogun.
Even though she wasn't alone this time her pride still hurt.
Herta hadn't said much…
But somehow it felt like she'd said everything.
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