Just as Herta entered the NPC World, in the Real World space station, inside a certain female researcher’s room.
“How are things?
Have you managed to contact Elio?” A mature and enchanting older sister pushed open the door, her steps elegant and composed.
“No luck.
Elio isn’t responding.” A girl sitting cross-legged on the bed had a terminal in front of her, her fingers dancing like butterflies.
“What about you?
How are things on your end?”
“Not great either.
Herta herself has arrived, and the room containing the vessel is actually guarded by Herta dolls.
I didn’t act rashly to avoid alerting her.”
Kafka walked to the table and sat down gracefully, pouring herself a glass of water.
Her verbal arts allowed her to hypnotize and control others, and it was thanks to this ability that she had hypnotized a female researcher in the space station, allowing the two of them to temporarily hide in the researcher’s room.
But as for hypnotizing and controlling a Herta doll, Kafka wasn’t that arrogant.
Whether it would succeed or not was one thing, but if it triggered some strange module and allowed Herta to trace them back, that would be disastrous.
Thus, figuring out Stelle’s current condition wasn’t something they could accomplish easily.
“After Herta arrived, she upgraded the space station’s data systems.
It’ll take time for me to break through her firewalls.
Should I try now?”
“No rush.
Let’s wait and see.
The script has gone awry, Elio is out of contact—we shouldn’t act recklessly now…”
“Wait… there’s a message!” Silver Wolf’s voice suddenly rose a few notes.
“Elio contacted us?”
“No… it’s Sam!” Silver Wolf shook her head.
“Sam says Elio sent her a message before he lost contact.”
“What message?”
[Unknown interference has shrouded fate in mist, making further observation impossible.
The script has deviated.]
Silver Wolf showed the terminal to Kafka, the entire screen dominated by a line of pitch-black text.
Kafka and Silver Wolf stared at each other, both momentarily bewildered.
As the leader of the Stellaron Hunters, Elio had written a script spanning the cosmos, with its ultimate goal directed at the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.
The Stellaron Hunters acted according to the script he provided, guiding Stelle toward her destined fate.
Now, before Stelle has even set out, you’re saying the script has deviated and fate can no longer be observed?
“Even Destiny’s Slave can’t observe fate now?
This just got more interesting.” Having regained her composure, Kafka smiled, returning to her elegant and poised demeanor.
“What do we do now?” Silver Wolf shrugged.
“Let’s handle what’s in front of us first.
Ensure the vessel boards the Astral Express smoothly.
Even if the script has deviated, the general direction likely hasn’t changed.” “By the way, Sam said she’s coming to join us and act together.”
“Let her come.
Since the script has already deviated and Elio is missing, there’s no need to stick to the original plan.” “Aren’t we going to try looking for Elio?”
“No need.
We just need to focus on our own tasks.
Besides, I have a feeling that the unknown force interfering with the predetermined fate might be related to the space station.
Staying here might yield unexpected gains.”
Both Kafka and Silver Wolf were seasoned elites.
Though Elio’s disappearance and the deviation of the script were indeed shocking, they didn’t cause panic.
They quickly adjusted their mindset.
Even without the script and Elio, they were more than capable of handling things.
“I’m a bit tired after a long day.
I need to sleep and Hone Your Strength.
What about you, little Silver Wolf?” Kafka lazily stretched, her enchanting figure displayed to perfection.
“You sleep first.
After all, this isn’t our territory.
I’ll keep watch for you.” “Heh, planning to play games again, aren’t you?
I’ll sleep first, then take over for you.”
In the NPC World, Lin Li carried the sleeping Herta back to her own room.
It wasn’t practical for everyone to squeeze into Asta’s room.
Herta’s sleeping face was unexpectedly serene, showing no trace of her usual haughty demeanor.
After settling her in, Lin Li checked his phone.
Herta’s Character Card had been updated.
[Collected Member: Herta][Age: 18+]
[Affiliated Faction: Genius Society]
[Status: Bonded][Bond Level: 20]
[Operable Functions: Viewpoint Sharing]
Lin Li and Herta had just shared quite a bit of intimate contact, raising the Bond Level to 20 and unlocking the [Viewpoint Sharing] function.
As for previously teaching Asta the technique of holding a gun with her feet, that had also increased the Bond Level a bit, from 40 to 50.
Lin Li guessed that when the Bond Level reached 60, another new function would likely unlock.
Lin Li only glanced at Herta and Asta’s Character Cards.
His main focus was on another Character Card.
It was Kafka’s Character Card!
[Collected Member: Kafka][Age: 18+]
[Affiliated Faction: Stellaron Hunters]
[Status: Bonded][Affection Level: 0]
[Operable Functions: None]
Kafka’s status had changed to [Bonded], indicating she had also arrived in the NPC World.
Just before Lin Li made the bet with Herta, Lin Li’s phone vibrated.
He casually fiddled with it, but in reality, he was checking who had arrived.
Only after confirming it was Kafka did he seize the opportunity to propose the bet with Herta.
Herta believed the space station in the Real World was her domain, unaware that Lin Li’s methods were far more extraordinary than she could ever imagine.
This is…
the Storage Zone?!
When Kafka opened her eyes, she instinctively tensed up.
Wasn’t she resting in a researcher’s room?
How did she end up here?
“Silver Wolf, what happened?
Did you teleport us to the Storage Zone?” She spotted Silver Wolf busy nearby and asked, “The Stellaron is stored inside.
Herta certainly has quite the collection!” Silver Wolf operated her terminal, talking to herself.
“What Stellaron?
Wasn’t it already implanted into the vessel’s body?” Kafka didn’t understand at first, but then she realized something was off.
This Silver Wolf…
was acting strangely!
Although her expressions and demeanor were identical to the real Silver Wolf—vivid and flawless—Kafka keenly noticed that this Silver Wolf’s gaze wasn’t fixed on her.
She ignored Kafka’s question and continued speaking on her own, as if reciting lines—lines from their raid on the Storage Zone yesterday while searching for the Stellaron!
What’s going on?
Did I travel back in time?!
No!
Kafka shook her head.
Even if she had traveled back, Silver Wolf shouldn’t be ignoring her like this!
She reached out and patted Silver Wolf’s shoulder.
Sure enough, she was still ignored.
This wasn’t Silver Wolf—just a puppet identical to her!
So where exactly did I end up after falling asleep?!