The kiss was cold and brief, yet it left an undeniable imprint.
Lilith’s brain crashed for a full three seconds.
The skin on her forehead, where Herta’s lips had touched, seemed to retain a faint, metallic coolness and an extremely subtle, star-dust-like, ethereal fragrance.
‘I…
I…
I was kissed?
By the final BOSS?!
What does this mean?
A stamp of approval?
Marking her possession?’ Her inner monologue had turned into a flurry of snowflakes.
The expression on her face, frozen in shock, looked to Herta like a stunned, speechless cuteness.
This instantly transformed the surging anger and lingering fear in Herta’s heart into endless pity.
Herta finally released her arms, but remained leaning over, gazing at her with those deep purple eyes, as if to engrave every subtle expression into her memory.
“From now on, stay away from those Stellaron Hunters.” Herta’s voice regained some of its usual calm, but the deep-seated possessiveness remained undiminished.
“Their script is a meticulously designed deception, ending only in nothingness.
What I can give you is the truth of the entire universe.” Lilith blinked, finally recovering from the shock of being forcibly’stamped.’ She knew very well that Kafka’s appearance was a crisis, but also a huge opportunity.
Passively waiting for the Stellaron Hunters to ‘turn’ her meant she would always be a fish on the chopping block, potentially exposed at any moment if her acting wasn’t good enough.
But what if…
what if she could make them shift their goal from ‘turning her’ to’stealing something from her’?
That way, she would transform from a passive ‘prey’ into an active ‘hunter’ casting bait.
And Herta, the strongest ‘cage’ in the entire universe, would be her best umbrella and strongest catalyst.
A perfect plan quickly formed in Lilith’s mind.
She needed a stage, one that could be spied upon by the Stellaron Hunters and fully controlled by Herta.
There was only one answer—the Simulated Universe.
‘System, my acting is about to go online, you need to hold the fort for me!’ [No problem, Host.
This system is your strongest backup.
Although it’s not very useful, the atmosphere must be just right!] Lilith took a deep breath, her small body sliding down from the cold main console.
Perhaps due to the intense mental strain just now, her legs were indeed a bit weak.
She stumbled upon landing, almost falling.
Herta, quick-witted, extended her long arm and steadily supported her.
“What’s wrong?” Herta’s brow furrowed, her tone betraying a tension she herself hadn’t noticed.
Lilith leaned into Herta’s arm, raising her delicate little face.
Her crimson eyes were deliberately tinged with a fragile, watery sheen, as if she had just been frightened.
She didn’t speak, merely bit her lower lip slightly, feigning strength in a lovable manner.
This appearance precisely struck the softest spot in Herta’s heart.
“That woman…
scared you?” Herta’s voice softened considerably, tinged with self-reproach.
She regretted bringing Lilith to such a chaotic party, and even more regretted not being able to completely expel Kafka immediately.
Lilith shook her head, then gently nodded, perfectly portraying a child’s contradiction and pretense of bravery.
She reached out her small hand, clutching Herta’s clothes, and softly requested, in a voice tinged with a slight tremor and seeking comfort, “I…
I want to stay in the Simulated Universe for a while.” She paused, as if organizing her words, or perhaps suppressing some emotion.
“It’s…
very quiet there.” Boom!
This light remark, like a supernova, exploded in Herta’s heart.
Quiet?
Was she saying that the real world was too dangerous, and only the virtual world she created was her sole refuge?
Kafka’s appearance had caused her such great psychological trauma!
In an instant, towering rage intertwined with endless self-reproach and pity, transforming into an extremely obsessive protective instinct.
It was her fault.
She hadn’t protected her ‘collection.’ No, not a collection, but her…
child.
This realization flashed through Herta’s mind like lightning, surprising even herself.
But she quickly accepted this premise.
Indeed, only this identity could explain her current urge to knead this little one into her very bones, not allowing anyone else to even glance at her.
“Okay.” Herta agreed almost immediately.
She didn’t even ask another question, directly taking Lilith’s hand and walking towards an independent test cabin in the deepest part of the Laboratory.
That test cabin was Herta’s highest-spec immersion equipment, prepared for herself.
It used triple physical isolation and seven layers of data firewalls, theoretically capable of shielding against any prying eyes in the known universe, including those of the Aeons.
“Go in.” Herta personally opened the cabin door for her, and a soft blue light streamed out from within.
She squatted down, looking Lilith in the eye, and gently smoothed her slightly messy silver hair, her movements incredibly tender.
“I’ve cut off all external network connections here.
This is a completely independent world, belonging only to you.” Herta gazed at her, her purple pupils filled with reassuring determination, “Rest well in there.
No one will disturb you again.” She thought she had personally built the strongest, safest golden cage for a frightened little bird.
Little did she know, she had personally sent the universe’s most dangerous ‘Pandora’s Box’ into the vastest ‘fishing ground.’ Lilith nodded obediently and walked into the test cabin under Herta’s doting gaze.
The cabin door slowly closed, cutting off Herta’s gaze, which almost seemed to melt her.
The fragility and dependence on Lilith’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a cunning and excited smile belonging to a ‘God-tier Actor.’ ‘Bait, ready to enter!’ [Simulated Universe system logging in…
Identity verification: Invited Tester – Lilith…
Permission level: Highest…] [Assigning independent server for you…] Lilith skillfully operated the virtual interface.
Her goal was clear—World VII.
That was a newly updated, high-difficulty world in the Simulated Universe, known for its extremely complex environment and very high data redundancy.
For someone wanting to hide some ‘private goods,’ there was no more perfect stage than this.
She knew that the genius hacker, Silver Wolf, must currently be like a ghost shark lurking in the depths of the data ocean, monitoring every corner of the Simulated Universe with her ubiquitous probes.
Especially after Kafka’s contact with her, she must have become their key ‘observation’ target.
So, the performance begins now.
A virtual ruined city unfolded before her eyes, broken skyscrapers like giant skeletons pointing towards the crimson sky.
Lilith began her’strategy.’ Every action she took was meticulously designed.
She would use terrain advantages to cleverly avoid unnecessary battles, which was characteristic of a smart player.
She would also get into tough fights, even ‘nearly’ wiping out, when facing elite monsters due to ‘unfamiliarity with skills,’ making her image more realistic and not flawless.
She would discover some hidden blessings and curios, but also ‘miss’ others, demonstrating the exploration ability of a high-level player, but not omniscience.
Time flew by in the virtual world.
After several hours of high-intensity ‘performance,’ Lilith finally arrived before the final BOSS of World VII—the Abundance Deer.
‘Here comes the main event!’ The battle erupted.
This was a seemingly perilous battle.
Lilith controlled her virtual character, maneuvering amidst the overwhelming vines and branches of the Abundance Deer, symbolizing the power of The Propagation.
Her HP dropped to critical levels several times, only barely stabilizing the situation with a few ‘extreme maneuvers’ at crucial moments.
All of this resembled an exciting, high-level strategy livestream filled with uncertainty.
Finally, after one last precise attack, the massive Abundance Deer let out an unwilling wail, and its colossal body began to collapse and disintegrate.
A tsunami-like torrent of data, symbolizing the BOSS’s death, exploded throughout the virtual space!
Now!
Under the perfect cover of the immense data stream generated by the explosion, enough to instantly overload any monitoring system, Lilith’s fingers became a blur on the virtual keyboard.
A data fragment she had prepared long ago, encrypted with triple disguise, was silently injected into the combat log about to be packaged and uploaded, like a drop of ink merging into the ocean.
Its external identifier was ‘Accidental Program BUG: Data Overflow.’ [“Pandora’s Box” deployed.] The system’s voice calmly chimed, [Disguise protocol initiated, causality perturbation shielded.] Lilith exited the Simulated Universe.
The test cabin door slid open silently.
Herta was still waiting outside.
She hadn’t been conducting her research, but merely sat quietly in a nearby chair, holding a cup of cold coffee, like a parent waiting for their child to return home.
Seeing Lilith emerge, she immediately stood up.
“Feeling better?” Lilith rubbed her eyes, a perfectly appropriate hint of fatigue on her face, and offered Herta a shallow, dependent smile.
“Mm.” She didn’t mention that just now, she had personally opened a box that could drive the entire universe mad.
Hidden within that data fragment, disguised as a ‘BUG,’ was a subversive, almost blasphemous concept.
It wasn’t a complete technology, but merely the prototype of an algorithm.
A mad concept about how to use specific rituals and curio combinations to perform a ‘counter-fusion’ of The Hunt’s destructive power and The Propagation’s reproductive power.
To exchange ultimate destruction for targeted, instantaneous new life.
This power was enough to drive anyone bound by ‘fate’ and eager to break free from the script, insane.
Herta might scoff at its theoretical absurdity, but for Elio, the’slave of destiny,’ this was undoubtedly the only possible variable outside the script.
This was bait he couldn’t refuse.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”