Thanks to [Appointed as] for the God-tier Certification x2!
Thanks to [Sunny and cheerful Wang Lufei] for the God-tier Certification!
...
On the other side, after Qi Zhimu and Arlan finished inspecting some of the defensive facilities, several improvement plans quickly took shape in his mind.
"March, how long does the Astral Express intend to stay at the Space Station?"
"Why the sudden question?"
"The external defense network of the Space Station is easy to handle; I can have a proposal ready by tomorrow. But the interior is a mess. There are too many zones, and it'll take a few days just to sort everything out."
"I'll ask Himeko."
March 7th immediately pulled out her phone.
A reply came quickly.
"She says she's not sure, but at least they won't be leaving in the next few days."
"That's good, there's enough time then."
Qi Zhimu nodded, then turned to Arlan and instructed:
"At exactly 8:00 AM system time tomorrow, I'll hand over the first draft to you. It will involve a batch of material procurement, including standard equipment from the IPC and some from the Xianzhou Alliance."
"Understood. Thank you both for your hard work," Arlan said gratefully.
After parting ways with Arlan, March 7th stretched her arms. With nothing else to do, she led Qi Zhimu to the Reception Center in the Base Zone.
"Normally, this place is packed with fanatical fans who admire Ms. Herta, although the vast majority of people can only get this far."
"To stay on the Space Station, you either need Ms. Herta's approval or you have to pass a stack of interview processes thicker than a dictionary."
Qi Zhimu nodded absentmindedly, his attention elsewhere.
Many of the staff members staying here also had faces full of worry.
"...Sigh, damn Destruction."
March 7th noticed that Qi Zhimu's mood wasn't quite right.
"...Are you feeling sentimental? After all, your home was also destroyed by..."
"My sigh isn't for my planet. It was a small place, and I was the only living person there. Its loss is just a property damage. But quite a few people died on the Space Station."
Several tragic images flashed through his mind.
"The Space Station's current situation is actually considered lucky. I've seen too many worlds and lives vanish into thin air under the iron hooves of Destruction."
"If it were done by the Antimatter Legion, then so be it."
"What makes me even angrier are the scumbags who use the name of Destruction to commit arson, murder, and pillage—endless destruction to incite fear in living beings, just to gain pleasure from it."
"The Annihilation Gang?" March 7th reacted immediately.
"Exactly. They call themselves the vanguards of Destruction, but in reality, they're just a bunch of lunatics drowning in their own desires. If I were Nanook, I'd find even looking at those things beneath me."
Qi Zhimu gave a cold laugh.
"My colleagues and I once took on an emergency rescue commission. By the time the Rangers arrived, that Space Station had already become floating debris in the universe, with mangled bodies everywhere. The perpetrators didn't even bother to hide their tracks."
"Are you worried this place will follow in those footsteps?"
Qi Zhimu: "The ragtag bunch of the Annihilation Gang are experts at picking off leftovers. Wherever a celestial-level weapon like the Doomsday Beast passes, it leaves behind a heavy trail of Destruction. To those lunatics, that's a guiding light."
"You mean... they'll follow the scent of the Doomsday Beast here?" March 7th covered her mouth in shock.
"Looting while the house is on fire and following the Legion's exhaust to strengthen themselves is their old trick. Not to mention, this is the territory of a Genius. Toppling this place would be a massive achievement for them. The person coming will likely be a tough nut to crack."
March 7th now completely understood why Qi Zhimu was in such a hurry to upgrade the security.
It turned out that after driving away the wolf, a tiger was about to arrive.
With the Antimatter Legion's invasion today, many people on the Space Station had died. If it happened again, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Asta must be worried sick, and Ms. Herta is a hands-off boss as usual," March 7th said, deeply concerned.
Qi Zhimu: "The Space Station has a good foundation. As long as it's quickly armed, we'll make sure the Annihilation Gang never leaves."
"Don't look at Arlan's youth; his attitude is commendable. He clearly cares about the safety of the Space Station and its staff."
"Over the next few days, I will do everything I can, but I can only do so much."
After a moment of thought, March 7th suggested:
"I need to talk to Sister Himeko about this and have her ask Herta for a high-level authorization."
"Arlan is currently busy defending against the Rift and clearing out the remnants; he's really stretched thin. With authorization, you'll save a lot of trouble entering and leaving sensitive areas."
Qi Zhimu nodded slightly; this was exactly what he wanted.
...
Herta's Office.
The puppet here was currently focused on staring at various data from the simulated universe.
Since Screwllum finished the final engineering, Herta couldn't wait to start the first round of testing.
She figured that since the kid had a Stellaron inside her, letting her play the role of Akivili in the simulated universe might lead to unexpected developments.
Surprisingly, there really was a harvest.
Right at the beginning, they encountered the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, although His appearance only gave the acting Akivili a warning.
"The Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, has reappeared, drawing out an old friend. Not bad, not bad. Well done, kid."
"But what did His warning roar mean?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
"Legend has it that Akivili was once a rebellious youth who drove the Astral Express and crashed through the wall Qlipoth built. He's probably warning you not to touch His wall again?"
"What a wild piece of history."
"Maybe it's true... Anyway, what you saw was just a simulated Aeon carefully cultivated by Ruan Mei and Screwllum."
Herta brushed aside the pointless conversation and returned to the main topic.
"Real Aeons won't pay us any mind, and simulated Aeons are naturally the same."
"It seems my judgment was correct: only an Aeon can attract another Aeon. From now on, when you encounter virtual Aeons while playing Akivili, you need to try and get closer to them."
"What do you want me to get out of them?" Stelle asked.
"Ways to change causality and the past without pain, secret histories of the Aeons, anecdotes, loves and hates, or the origin of the universe—anything will do. Just think of something yourself!" Herta said irritably.
"Fine, but don't get your hopes up." Stelle was gradually getting used to Herta's temperament.
While Herta was immersed in the simulated universe, her communication device suddenly rang.
She hung up once.
It rang a second time.
She cut it off again.
The third time...
"Who is it?!"
Herta answered, fuming with anger.
Seeing the caller was Himeko, she didn't immediately start yelling for the sake of their friendship.
"The curio handover is already finished. Is there something else?"
"I need you to give the highest level of authorization to a hitchhiker on the Astral Express. According to him, Destruction still has follow-up—"
"Fine, fine, fine. Tell him to get it from the puppet in the Master Control Zone. Don't bother me with such trivial matters; I'm very busy right now."
Herta impatiently interrupted Himeko, dropped those words, and immediately hung up.
Then, she activated the puppet's autonomous thinking mode, specifically focusing on the "unreasonable" module, cranking it up to 100% execution level.
She must let that hitchhiker know how formidable her puppet is.
...
Book testing has begun. I want to push this book to a 9-point rating for more traffic. It's still 0.3 away; hitting 9.1 is also fine—consider it free advertising.
So, can I get a good review? Pretty please~
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