Herta’s private Laboratory had returned to its usual tranquility, but an invisible undercurrent was quietly surging.
Lilith had been “invited” back here, under the guise of “key protection,” but in reality, it was twenty-four-hour, non-stop surveillance.
She sat in the soft chair prepared specifically for her, continuing to wrestle with that twelfth-order phase cube; on the surface, she appeared bored, but internally, she was frantically reviewing the situation.
‘The performance just now should be fine, right?
Was my expression painful enough?
Were my lines too over-the-top?’ she asked nervously.
[Host, believe me, with the way you looked like you were about to kick the bucket at any moment, the Oscars owe you a golden statue.] The system’s voice carried a hint of admiration.
[Now it’s just a matter of whether Herta buys your act.] Not far away, Herta was hovering in front of the main console.
The massive light screen no longer displayed complex energy models, but rather the structural diagram of the Space Station’s outermost defense network.
Data streams flashed rapidly across her purple pupils, as if she were performing a silent, ultra-high-speed calculation.
Lilith’s “prophecy” was full of idealism, which ran counter to everything Herta believed in.
A pure scientist would never alter a system they had designed themselves—one that had been running stably for countless cycles—just because of a few ambiguous dream-talks.
But…
Herta’s fingertips lightly swept across the light screen, pulling up the analysis reports for the few “design flaws” that Lilith had previously pointed out.
Every conclusion in those reports proved that the little one possessed unfathomable insight.
Her logic and her perspective were identical to her own, and in some aspects, even more tricky and unconventional.
This made it impossible for Herta to simply categorize her “feelings” as nonsense.
Perhaps this wasn’t a “prophecy,” but a type of “risk assessment” based on her special brain that transcended conventional logic?
A subconscious ability she herself couldn’t understand, capable of instantly integrating massive amounts of information to reach a conclusion?
This explanation sounded much more scientific than “a prank by the Elation.” More importantly, as Herta looked at the figure curled up in the chair in the corner, appearing exceptionally petite and fragile, an unprecedented emotion emerged in her heart.
She hated the feeling of losing control, and the little one’s existence was, in itself, the greatest loss of control.
Placing her in an absolutely safe environment was the best way to eliminate this feeling of losing control.
“Absurd intuition.” Herta muttered to herself, as if trying to convince herself.
In the end, she typed a line of commands into the console.
“Arlan, upgrade the protocol version of the terminal neural defense network from 3.4 to the latest 4.eX experimental version.
Encryption level, S.” “Lady Herta?” The confused voice of Arlan, the head of Space Station security, came from the other end of the communicator.
“The eX version is still in the stability testing phase; deploying it to the perimeter rashly…” “Execute the order.” Herta interrupted him with unquestionable authority.
“Also, adjust the permissions for the upgrade logs so that only I can see them.” “…Yes, Lady Herta.” With the order given, Herta closed the communication.
She glanced at Lilith, who was pretending to be engrossed in playing with the cube, though her perked-up little ears betrayed her nervousness.
The corners of Herta’s mouth curled up unconsciously, but she quickly resumed her indifferent expression.
She found the perfect reason for her actions: this wasn’t about believing in the prophecy, but rather a protective measure for a “high-value research specimen,” and at the same time, a field stress test for the new defense protocol.
Everything was perfectly reasonable.
For the next few days, the Space Station was calm and peaceful.
Lilith almost thought her “prophecy” had been wrong, and that the Antimatter Legion had gotten lost or simply wasn’t coming.
[Host, don’t panic.
According to the game plot, the arrival of the Astral Express and the Legion will be in these next few days.
You have to trust Elio’s script; he never flakes.] ‘What if the plot line changed because I arrived in this world?’ [Then you’re done for.
Herta will slice you into ten thousand pieces to study how every cell in your brain learned to lie.] Just as Lilith was terrified by the system, a sharp, piercing alarm sound tore through the silence of the entire Space Station without any warning!
[Warning!
High-energy warp reaction detected!
Warning!
A large number of hostile units are approaching!] It’s here!
Herta appeared in the main control room almost instantly, and Lilith was “hauled” over by her in an irresistible manner, placed beside the main seat.
On the massive circular light screen, an ancient train exuding the aura of Trailblaze had just completed its warp, and not far behind it, countless hideous, twisted shadows were swarming out from the torn space, pouncing toward the Herta Space Station like locusts.
“The Antimatter Legion!” a researcher exclaimed in shock.
“Quick!
Activate all defense units!
Prepare for combat!” “Report!
The Legion’s Void Rangers are attempting a network intrusion!
There are too many of them!” “It’s over…
the perimeter firewall is about to…” Amidst the chaos, everyone had prepared themselves for a brutal battle.
However, the anticipated system crash and defense paralysis did not occur.
The invading data, which had been surging in like a tide, seemed to collide with an invisible yet indestructible Wall of Sighs the moment it touched the Space Station’s terminal network.
“Report!
The intrusion signal…
has been locked down?” the researcher in charge of network security looked at their screen with a blank expression.
“Not just locked down!
They’ve been suppressed in reverse!
Our system…
seems to be ‘eating’ their data streams!” “How is that possible?
Since when did the terminal network protocol become so…
so intelligent?” The core logic of the upgraded eX experimental defense protocol was “lure and devour.” It was like a giant net that had long been laid out, quietly waiting for the prey to walk right into it.
The Legion’s Void Rangers dove right in, and were instantly stripped of their data permissions, becoming “nutrients” for the new system’s growth.
The Legion’s vanguard, having lost its network support, was like a tiger with its teeth pulled, instantly becoming a sitting duck.
The Space Station’s automatic defense cannons fired with precision and efficiency, beams of high-energy light carving deadly arcs through space, effortlessly tearing the leaderless warships and soldiers to shreds.
The entire invasion process, from start to finish, didn’t even last ten minutes.
The thunder was deafening, but the rain was pitifully light.
When the final alarm was cleared, the main control room fell into an eerie silence.
Then, thunderous cheers erupted.
“We won!
We won!” “My god!
Losses were kept under five percent!
This is simply a miracle!” “As expected of Lady Herta!
Your defense system is simply god-like!
It’s like…
like it knew in advance where the enemy was going to attack from!” “Lady Herta is wise and mighty!” All the praise and adoration poured toward the figure in the main seat.
However, Herta turned a deaf ear to these cheers.
She didn’t look at the glorious battle results on the light screen, nor did she pay any attention to the fervent gazes of her subordinates.
She slowly turned her head, her purple pupils cutting through all the noise, landing precisely in the corner.
There, Lilith was hugging her knees, gently tossing and catching that phase cube she had already solved countless times.
She seemed completely indifferent to everything happening outside, and on that delicate little face, there was even a hint of impatience at “being disturbed.” Herta looked at her, the corners of her lips curling into a meaningful arc.
It was the smile of someone who had seen through everything and was determined to capture their prey.
Everyone thought this was her genius, her brilliant foresight.
Only she herself knew that the true “variable,” the “key” that had triggered all these miracles, was this little one who was currently pretending to be unconcerned.