Lin Li’s words left Herta quite surprised.
She had thought there was no escaping his clutches today, yet he had reined himself in at the last moment, abandoning further humiliation.
It seemed she had misjudged him once again.
This man was lustful but not depraved—he still had some principles.
Lin Li wasn’t as noble as she imagined.
He was simply greedy, wanting even more.
He desired not only Herta’s body but also her heart.
Taking her body would be easy—Lin Li could charge ahead right now and indulge to his heart’s content.
But that would almost certainly ruin any chance of truly conquering Herta’s heart, something Lin Li didn’t want to see.
Winning over a genius like her wouldn’t be easy, of course.
He had to play a little game of cat and mouse.
The punishment was to establish dominance, to intimidate this big fish that had swum into his pond.
Lin Li generously released control, and Herta regained her composure, refraining from any further extreme reactions.
“Can you return my clothes to me?”
Herta’s expression was cold, her fair body like a blooming snow lotus.
Even as she tried to adapt to the situation, speaking while naked felt awkward, so she made an effort to ask.
“No, that’s still part of the punishment.
I’ll return them to you next time you come!” The refusal didn’t surprise Herta.
She pursed her lips, tucked her legs in, and shifted closer, nestling against the sleeping Asta as she slipped into her student’s blanket.
Muffled, she asked, “What do you want to talk about?”
“Let’s talk about the purpose behind all your efforts to come here.”
“You know what I want to do?”
“Lady Herta is the most brilliant genius, only interested in exploring knowledge of the unknown.
The suddenly emerging NPC World is undoubtedly a brand-new field for you, enough to capture your interest.”
“That’s right, I do want to study this NPC World.
But will you still allow me to research it now?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Lin Li shrugged.
“To be honest, the level of authority I possess in this world is beyond your imagination.
No matter how much you study it, you won’t be able to affect me in any meaningful way.”
“But you don’t seem like someone who would be that kind!” Herta pouted again, gesturing toward her body hidden under the covers in a silent accusation of Lin Li’s earlier actions.
“Haha, you called me a pervert the moment you arrived and even controlled a puppet to swing a hammer at me.
And you still have the nerve to say I’m not kind?”
“What you did to Asta—isn’t that perverted enough?” Herta pursed her lips slightly and whispered, “Besides, I didn’t mean to hurt you.
I just wanted to teach you a lesson.
The hammer wasn’t meant to cause serious harm.”
“Tsk tsk, you just don’t understand.
This is called ‘spice.’ When it’s consensual, how can you call it perverted?” Lin Li was in a good mood.
Even though Herta was calling him a pervert again, he didn’t bring up punishment.
After all, the so-called punishment was just Lin Li’s way of putting Herta in her place from the start.
Geniuses like Herta, who rank among the top in the entire universe, are all proud and arrogant individuals.
To conquer her heart, one must demonstrate their strength from the very beginning.
Without sufficient power, it’s difficult to even earn the right to speak with her on equal terms.
Of course, this isn’t to say that Herta only believes in the principle of strength.
In fact, she possesses no shortage of virtuous and admirable qualities.
Herta has saved her homeworld, The Blue, from the brink of destruction multiple times.
In the storyline Lin Li knows, she has helped Stelle on numerous occasions, even going so far as to decisively abandon a rare opportunity to meet an Aeon.
As an Emanator of Erudition, she doesn’t blindly worship Aeons and has her own principles—proud toward those above but fair to those below.
Her character is beyond reproach.
So when she says she didn’t intend to harm Lin Li, only to knock him out as a lesson, Lin Li believes her.
The main reason Herta wanted to teach Lin Li a lesson was because she felt he had bullied her student, Asta.
Even though Asta had been proactive earlier and seemed deeply affectionate toward Lin Li, Herta could guess that in their initial interactions, her student must have been mistreated.
“So, what price do I need to pay?
You wouldn’t just let me study here for free, would you?” Herta didn’t want to discuss topics like “spice” and forcibly steered the conversation back on track.
But Lin Li had a talent for derailing conversations.
With a smirk, he said, “Well, you’re right.
I do have a small request!” “What request?”
“The request is that when you’re in your office in the NPC World, you’re not allowed to wear any clothes.”
Herta had to admire Lin Li—she was impressed by how seriously he could say something so shameless.
She refused without hesitation.
“Impossible.
Your request is too much!” Herta looked directly into Lin Li’s eyes.
“At most, you can force me to undress like you did today, but then I’ll never enter this world again!”
After all, Herta had her own pride and wouldn’t truly allow Lin Li to control her.
“Tsk, so you’ll never sleep again?”
“Finding an alternative to sleep isn’t difficult for me!”
“Then how about this?
Let’s make a bet.
If I win, we’ll do as I said earlier.
If I lose, I promise never to force you to do anything by any means, and you can study this world as much as you want.”
Lin Li calmly fiddled with the phone in his hand, proposing a new idea.
He wasn’t surprised by Herta’s refusal—geniuses had their own pride and wouldn’t yield so easily.
“What do you want to bet on?” Herta didn’t agree immediately; she wanted to hear the terms of the wager first.
“How about betting on who finds the Stellaron Hunter hiding in the space station in the Real World first?”
“You want to bet on that?” Herta was somewhat surprised.
If the bet were to take place in the NPC World, Herta would definitely consider it carefully to prevent Lin Li from using some unknown method to cheat—in fact, she probably wouldn’t agree at all.
But a bet in the Real World?
Her advantage was enormous!
Not only was the space station her home turf, but no matter how invincible Lin Li was in the NPC World, he couldn’t enter the Real World.
How could he possibly find the Stellaron Hunter before her?
This bet had potential, and the odds of winning were high!
“I’m sure!
What, Miss Herta, are you afraid to bet?”
“Your provocation is too crude, but I’ll take this bet!” Herta didn’t hesitate much, after all, she didn’t want to give up the chance to study this world so easily.
Besides, refusing a bet on her own turf wasn’t her style!
“Alright, it’s settled then!” Lin Li snapped his fingers, and Herta’s previous dress reappeared on her.
“I’m returning to the Real World.
You’d better hurry up—don’t say I didn’t give you a chance!” Herta replied calmly before closing her eyes.