Following the small Herta doll—now back in autopilot mode—Ryan walked through several corridors.
The deeper they went, the dimmer the lighting became, and even the architectural style seemed to shift.
Finally, the doll stopped before a wooden door fitted with metal studs.
“We’re here. This is where you’ll be staying.”
The door hinges creaked.
Ryan peeked inside and felt his lips twitch.
The room was decently sized, but the style…
was hardcore.
Mottled stone walls, with chains and shackles visible in the corner.
A bed that looked like it was built from rough stone blocks, covered with a thin layer of straw.
The only modern facility was a simple lamp on the ceiling giving off a ghastly white light.
It was a perfect replica of a medieval dungeon.
“This… this is my room?” Ryan asked in disbelief.
“Your laboratory’s guest rooms have quite… unique styling.”
“Of course!” The little Herta doll placed her hands on her hips, her voice actually carrying a hint of pride.
“This is a retro experience themed suite personally selected by Madam Herta. She said it would remind you of the primitive life on Aerido Star and help you maintain your original research spirit.”
Ryan: “…”
Retro experience, my ass.
Primitive life, my ass.
“We were just slightly behind on technology—I wasn’t living in a cave!”
He took a deep breath and attempted to negotiate.
“Um… could I switch rooms? Maybe something… more normal?”
The doll tilted her head, seemingly receiving instructions, then replied after a few seconds: “Madam Herta says either you stay here, or in the transparent observation pod in the center of the main laboratory. Your choice.”
Ryan stared at the dungeon before him, then imagined being gawked at like a monkey in a transparent pod.
He silently pulled back the foot he’d extended.
“…I think this place is fine. Quiet. Grounding.”
He resigned himself to his fate and walked into the room.
The heavy wooden door slowly closed behind him with a dull thud.
He looked down at the lace-trimmed lab coat in his hands, then surveyed the dungeon, and sighed deeply.
Fine.
At least…
the privacy is decent?
Decent my ass.
How is this any different from being locked up?
Just as Ryan was lamenting the dungeon and preparing to bond with the fake straw, his nuclear-blast-surviving 8848 Titanium phone suddenly rang with a message notification.
Herta: What brand is your phone?
Why is the signal so terrible?
Data transmission keeps cutting out.
Even scanning it is a pain.
Ryan raised an eyebrow and replied quickly.
Ryan: Custom-modified 8848 Titanium phone.
If separated from the owner by more than ten meters, it auto-detonates.
(Cool emoji attached)
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before a new message appeared.
Herta: …
Herta: Auto-detonates?
Your research direction really has gone off track.
Herta: Your phone’s communication protocols are ancient enough to have been stolen from a historical museum.
Signal strength barely covers one planet, and it relies on physical satellite relays.
Ryan stared at the screen, stunned.
He’d always thought his hand-crafted, nuke-proof phone was pretty impressive.
But in Herta’s eyes, it couldn’t even manage direct intergalactic connection?
No wonder he always felt the signal was poor in certain places…
Ryan: Uh…
technology changes lives.
I’ll work hard to improve.
His message had barely been sent—before Herta could even reply—when a soft mechanical sound came from outside the door.
The door opened again, and the same little Herta doll from before had returned.
“By Madam Herta’s order: due to the research subject’s severely outdated communication device, which has significantly impacted preliminary data collection efficiency, your accommodations are being upgraded to accommodate basic network interface requirements.”
Ryan immediately grabbed his not-yet-worn lace-trimmed lab coat and bolted out of the dungeon without hesitation.
The doll led him back a short distance, stopping before another automatic door that looked considerably more normal.
The door slid open silently to reveal the interior.
It was a simple, compact room.
White composite walls, a comfortable-looking floating bed, a desk with an integrated transparent display screen, a private bathroom, and even a small window with a view of the stars outside.
It wasn’t large, but it was filled with the clean simplicity of modern technology—a world apart from that “retro themed suite.”
“Technology changes lives! Praise Madam Herta!”
Ryan exclaimed sincerely, and this time he meant it.
The doll seemed satisfied with his attitude and nodded.
“The network interface is under the desk. It supports cross-galactic quantum communication protocols. Figure it out yourself. Keep communications open. Experiments begin tomorrow on time.”
With that, she turned and left, the automatic door sliding shut silently once more.
Ryan tossed the lace-trimmed lab coat onto the floating bed and looked around the clean white room, then thought back to the dungeon.
He couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Pulling out his 8848 Titanium phone, he began figuring out how to connect to the cross-galactic quantum communication protocol.
Staring at the cable-like interface under the desk, then back at his phone, Ryan fell into deep thought.
Connect directly with a cable?
As if.
His hand-crafted phone had completely custom interfaces that wouldn’t match these standard ports.
“Looks like I’ll need to try something unconventional…”
Ryan muttered, concentrating as the invisible electromagnetic field lines and vectors appeared in his vision again.
He planned to use his abilities to forcibly distort the local magnetic field and simulate a compatible communication signal, letting his phone “piggyback” onto the quantum network.
“It’s just protocol conversion. The principle should be similar…”
He carefully manipulated the electromagnetic forces.
Crackle…
buzz…
The phone screen flickered a few times, then…
full signal!
“Ha! It worked! I knew reading books would—”
Ryan’s smugness lasted less than two seconds before freezing on his face.
The phone’s wallpaper—which he’d carefully chosen as an interstellar landscape—suddenly transformed into a close-up of Herta’s beautiful face, her purple eyes seeming to stare at him through the screen.
And the phone began opening and closing apps on its own, then launched something resembling a social media feed.
Various photos…
“Wait… something’s wrong…”
Ryan’s heart lurched.
“Did I not connect to the network, but instead directly tapped into Herta’s personal terminal or… her doll control channel?”
“Is this invasion of privacy? Wait—is she spying on me, or did I break into her territory?”
Just as he was frantically trying to disconnect, the Herta wallpaper on his phone seemed to smile a little more.
Then the phone’s temperature began rising sharply, becoming almost too hot to hold.
“Whoa whoa whoa, calm down, phone buddy, hang in there!”
Ryan tried to forcibly stabilize the internal circuits with his abilities, but the chaotic electromagnetic interference only seemed to make things worse.
Bang!
A dull pop sounded as black smoke poured from every port on the phone, accompanied by the familiar smell of burnt electronics.
The screen went permanently dark.
Technology phone had now become a rather solid brick…
Ryan: “…”