In the core area of the Herta Space Station, the entrance to the Simulated Universe emitted a soft light.
Lilith sat up from the immersion device, let out a huge yawn, and looked completely lifeless.
[Congratulations, Host.
You have successfully cleared ‘World 3’ of the Simulated Universe and obtained the achievement ‘Unremarkable Stelle’.] ‘Shut up, this dump is just too boring.’ Lilith complained frantically in her mind.
‘It’s just fighting monsters, getting blessings, and fighting bosses over and over again.
The blessing effects are a mess, and the stat bonuses are impossible to calculate.
Can this really be called Herta’s proudest work?’ [Wake up.
This is just the V0.5 beta version; were you expecting to play with a three-path protagonist and all the DLCs?] The system’s voice was as annoying as ever.
[Being able to experience it early is already a huge favor Herta, that daughter-obsessed person, did for you.
Be content.] ‘That’s not obsession, that’s captivity!
The nature of it is completely different, okay!’ While arguing with the system in her mind, Lilith walked out of the test room.
Not far away, in front of the circular main console, Herta’s puppet was floating in mid-air, motionless.
On the light screen in front of her, countless codes and logic nodes were intertwined into a web so complex it made one’s scalp tingle.
The atmosphere was very off.
Lilith keenly sensed the low pressure permeating the air.
Suddenly, the web in front of Herta was selected by a rough command, and then she hit the delete key without mercy.
Large swaths of her hard work vanished in an instant.
“Tsk.” Herta let out an extremely impatient clicking sound.
Just then, a communication request popped up, and the image of a gentle and elegant woman appeared on the screen.
Genius Society #81, Ruan Mei.
“Herta, has there been any new progress on the superposition effect of the ‘curios’ in the Simulated Universe?” Ruan Mei’s greeting was always so polite, yet it precisely struck a sore spot.
“The life samples I’ve cultivated here are ready for multi-dimensional adaptability testing; I’m just waiting for your environment algorithms to stabilize.” Herta crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Soon.” She spat out two words, concise and to the point.
“Is that so?
That’s great.” Ruan Mei smiled slightly.
“I look forward to seeing what kind of brilliant sparks those ‘curios’ can create in your hands, rather than just simple numerical stacking.” The communication cut off.
The temperature in the Main Control Room seemed to drop by several more degrees.
‘Simple numerical stacking…’ Lilith repeated these words in her mind, almost laughing out loud.
‘As expected of Ruan Mei, she really knows how to cut deep.’ She knew very well that this was the exact bottleneck Herta was currently facing.
There were many types of “curios” in the Simulated Universe, but the synergy between them was poor.
They couldn’t produce a qualitative change where one plus one is greater than two; they could only perform simple addition.
For Herta, who pursued perfection, this was an intolerable flaw.
The timing was right.
Lilith quietly walked to the rest area in the corner of the Laboratory, where there was a huge, soft sofa.
She threw herself heavily onto the sofa, hugged a fluffy pillow about the same height as her, and buried her face into it.
She adjusted her breathing, making herself look as exhausted as if she had just finished a marathon.
‘System, help me monitor her emotional fluctuations.’ [Received.
Emotional radar is on.
Current target emotions: 78% irritable, 15% annoyed, and 7% ‘whoever dares to bother me, I’ll throw them into a black hole’.] ‘Very good, keep monitoring.’ Lilith curled up, making herself look smaller and more harmless.
She began to mumble in a very low, indistinct voice.
“Hmm…” “So noisy…” Herta didn’t react at all; she was still struggling with that pile of garbled code.
Lilith increased her volume, her tone carrying a hint of childish confusion and innocence.
“Herta…” She called out softly.
Herta’s movements paused.
“I had such a strange dream…” Lilith didn’t open her eyes, continuing to speak in a dream-like tone, as if she were just unconsciously sharing an absurd dream.
“I dreamed of…
so many, many glowing little pigs…” “They were running around in the universe, running so fast…” Herta finally turned around and looked at the little ball on the sofa.
[Warning!
Target irritability level has risen to 85%!
She thinks you’re talking nonsense!] Lilith ignored it and continued her performance.
“And then…
‘Bang’!” She mimicked the sound of an explosion, her body even shaking in coordination.
“All the little pigs crashed into each other…” “And then, then they turned into one…
one bigger, brighter, golden, shining pig…” “I don’t know why…” After finishing the last sentence, she rolled over, turned her back to Herta, and emitted a steady breathing sound, as if she had truly fallen asleep.
The entire Main Control Room fell into a deathly silence.
[Host, the target’s emotional fluctuations have disappeared.] [She isn’t reacting.] [Did she crash?] [Hey, hey, hey, she’s coming over!
She’s walking towards you!
Her footsteps are very light!
What does she want to do?] Lilith’s heartbeat began to accelerate, but she forced herself to maintain the “asleep” state, not moving an inch.
Herta walked up to the sofa.
She didn’t speak, just stood there quietly, looking down at Lilith, who was curled up on the sofa.
Glowing little pigs…
Running in the universe…
Crashing into each other…
Turning into a bigger, golden pig…
These few illogical, childish words stirred up a monstrous wave in Herta’s high-speed brain!
Glowing little pigs…
aren’t those just the “curios” that appear randomly in the universe, emitting unique energy fluctuations?
Running around…
represents their independence and randomness!
Crashing into each other…
Fusion!
Superposition!
Collision!
Turning into a bigger, brighter golden pig…
A qualitative change!
The birth of a brand-new, unique “super curio” whose effect far exceeds the sum of its basics!
This metaphor, this train of thought…
It was so incredible, so absurd, yet also so…
vivid!
It was like a key, instantly unlocking the lock deep within her mind.
Why must curio interactions follow complex logical formulas for linear superposition?
Why not introduce a more fundamental, more chaotic “collision” mechanism?
When specific curios are combined, let them directly “annihilate” themselves, thereby “creating” a brand-new, more powerful curio!
This is true “simulation”!
The evolution of the universe is inherently full of uncertainty and miracles!
Within Herta’s body, the part that belonged to the scientist was screaming frantically, urging her to return to the console immediately and put this subversive idea into practice.
But she didn’t move.
She just stood there, looking at Lilith.
This little one, once again, in her incomprehensible way, saw through her predicament and provided an answer that she couldn’t have thought of even if she racked her brain.
A prophecy?
Intuition?
Or…
something else?
Herta reached out, her movements very light, as if afraid of waking the “little pig” on the sofa.
Her fingertips gently touched Lilith’s soft silver hair.
[Warning!
Strong emotional fluctuations detected!
Possessiveness 90%!
Curiosity 85%!
And…
the pampering level is soaring wildly!] The next second, Lilith felt her body lighten.
Herta had actually picked her up horizontally, along with the huge pillow.
‘Hey!
Not again!’ Lilith let out a silent scream in her heart, but her body dared not resist in the slightest, continuing to play the sleeping beauty.
Herta carried her, not heading towards the main console, but turning and walking deeper into the Laboratory.
She pushed open a door that was never usually opened and had no markings.
Behind the door was a small, exquisite lounge, containing only a floating bed and an air circulation system.
This was an absolutely private resting space Herta prepared for herself; even Arlan had no right to enter.
She walked to the bedside, carefully placed the “little pig” in her arms onto the bed, and even thoughtfully pulled the quilt up for her.
After doing all this, Herta turned and left.
She returned to the main console; on that face originally filled with irritability, only a near-fanatical excitement remained.
Her fingers turned into afterimages on the light screen; the old algorithms were completely overturned, and brand-new code emerged like a gushing spring.
“My…” While programming frantically, she muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear.
“…little pig.”