Chapter 77: Herta Space Station: Want to Research? I'll Research You!
With the sealing of the Stellaron, the journey of the train team on Jarilo-VI also came to a conclusion.
Bronya ultimately chose to conceal the truth, shaping Cocolia's death as a heroic sacrifice—
The Grand Guardian Cocolia sacrificed herself, expelling the calamity that had plagued the city for seven hundred years from Beloberg, bringing hope to the entire city.
The passage between the upper and lower districts of Belobog was finally clear, and the people in the lower district could once again see the sky.
After listening to the speech of the new Grand Guardian Bronya along with everyone, Chase bid farewell to the others and willingly boarded the train, guided by Welt.
Though it's said he was guided, it's more accurate to say that Chase volunteered. After all, he needed to go to the Herta space station to meet the mysterious lady that Welt mentioned and find a way to bring Sirin, trapped in the Stigmata, into the real world.
Welt was quite pleased with Chase's willingness to board the train. He had been wanting to get his student on board for a while. Now that Chase was on the train, he hoped that March and Stella would calm down a bit. At least they wouldn't be pestering him with questions about Tesla like they used to.
Thinking about this, Welt couldn't help but want to give himself a slap. Why did he have such little trust in Chase? He had to wait until the guy spilled some big secret before he was willing to let it go. Now, it's become such a mess, and even his junior disciples were getting curious.
He just hoped this wouldn't reach Miss Himeko's ears. This was Welt's last stubbornness.
Standing by the train window once again and watching the almost snow-covered planet, Welt sighed softly.
"Mr. Welt, is there something bothering you? Feel free to tell me," Chase walked up to Welt, looking in the same direction as him, and asked.
"Is your room all set up?" Welt asked, a bit puzzled as Chase approached.
"Rather than saying it's set up, it's more like I moved in directly. I didn't have many personal belongings to begin with," Chase shrugged helplessly. "But Bella said she wanted to share a room with me, and then I was dragged away by Miss Himeko... ahem, Sister."
Initially, when Chase first saw Himeko, he thought she was probably his elder, so he subconsciously called her Auntie. Then, under the gentle expression of Himeko, he chose to be sincere and changed his address to Sister.
Welt fell silent, and he noticed the slight pause in Chase's words just now.
You were thinking of calling her Auntie, weren't you?
"Bella is really sticking to you..." Welt consciously didn't bring up the issue of how Chase addressed Himeko and instead said, "If this had happened before, if someone told me that Benares would get so close to a human, I would have laughed and done a few sit-ups directly."
"The level of shock this news brings me might not be inferior to suddenly seeing Otto, who was dead, start attacking me."
Welt's metaphor is vivid and abstract. Chase couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. The experiences of the two simulations had already given him a clear understanding of the grievances between Welt and Otto.
They didn't get along, wanted to kill each other, a classic case of irreconcilable differences.
"After all, I am, except for Sirin, the only relative Bella has in this world," Chase sighed. "And now, Sirin is trapped in the Stigmata and can't come out. Bella only has me to rely on."
"So, Mr. Welt, what kind of person is this lady in the Herta Space Station?" Chase asked.
Welt fell silent for a moment, organizing his words as he slowly spoke, "Most people's evaluation of her is like this—she only does what she's interested in. Once she loses interest, she immediately leaves—just like the space station."
"So, if I want her help, I have to make her interested first?" Chase asked.
"That's right," Welt nodded.
Chase pondered for a moment. Since Herta was a researcher, what could make her interested was likely something related to the Honkai.
But what should he offer as compensation...
---
"Hey."
As Chase was contemplating, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he saw a rabbit-like creature standing upright and talking like a human. The creature was dressed in a red uniform with a high hat and was staring at him with an imposing manner.
"It seems Pom-pom has something to discuss with you," Welt chuckled.
"Yes, it's you. You look foolish," Pom-pom said.
"Hearing from Welt that you're his acquaintance, I won't say much. Just follow the rules on the train," Pom-pom paused. "But don't be like that guy last time; I have a schedule to keep."
"I'm Pom-pom, the train conductor. If you have any issues on the train, feel free to come to me."
After saying this, Pom-pom left. Chase walked back to Welt's side and continued to enjoy the scenery.
"Don't be fooled by Pom-pom's appearance; it's actually happy when new passengers come on board," Welt said.
Chase nodded and asked, "Who was the person Pom-pom kicked out?"
Welt hesitated for a moment and then said, "Void Archives. He often teased Pom-pom and got kicked off the train. I don't know where he is now."
Welt added with a hint of helplessness, "Why learn from Otto? Instead of studying something useful, he chose to imitate Otto and amuse himself, and he got what he deserved."
"Void Archive took on Otto's appearance again?" Chase was surprised. In his first simulation, Void Archives was directly imprisoned by Otto. Generally, Otto wouldn't completely release Void Archives, whom he always thought wanted to take over his body, unless he acted foolishly.
"Why did you say 'again'?" Welt frowned.
Chase chuckled and was about to tell Welt about the events in his first simulation when Stella walked over and said, "Mr. Welt, Lady Herta sent me a message. She's asking when I'll come for the test."
"Hmm?" Chase was puzzled, and Stella showed him her phone. The screen displayed the latest message from Lady Herta.
[Herta: Upgrade completed. Come for the test.]
"What's the test about?" Chase asked.
"Wonderful, Chase is also going. Let's go together," Welt smiled.
"Hey, is Chase going too?" Stella looked over, a bit confused.
Chase nodded, "Yes, I have something to discuss with Lady Herta."
Chase didn't plan to tell Stella about the Stigmata. After all, Stella was not a native of Honkai, and explaining too much would take time.
However, when Chase first saw Lady Herta, he thought she was a serious and capricious researcher. He didn't expect her message to be so... personalized.
"Big brother!" Just as Chase was still pondering the issue of Lady Herta, a silver-haired girl ran to his side, grabbed his hand, and said pitifully, "Bella can't sleep with big brother anymore..."
Chase looked at Himeko and found her sitting on the sofa at the moment, sipping red wine. When he looked over, she smiled slightly, showing elegance in her demeanor.
Chase could only respond with an awkward but polite smile. What else could he do? Should he argue with Bella and insist on her sleeping with him?
Well, that doesn't sound appropriate, even though having Bella next to him in a warm bed is quite nice, except for the mornings when she clings to him like an octopus...
"Well, that's the way it is," Chase smiled and looked at Bella's clear blue eyes with a hint of helplessness.
"Well, Bella wants to stay with big brother a little longer," Bella was still a bit disappointed, but Sirin in the Stigmata space felt a bit relieved.
Big brother's bed, of course, must be warmed by Sirin! Hmph, hmph ┗|｀O′|┛
But on second thought, she could only stay in the Stigmata space for now. She couldn't even go to reality and cuddle with her big brother.
In the Stigmata space, she fights with all her might! In the real world, she obediently agrees.
"ε=(?ο｀*))) Alas." Life is not easy; the little angel sighed.
Really want to go out and cuddle with big brother soon...
At this moment, Pom-pom's voice came through the train's broadcast system:
"The train is about to make a leap, please don't move around randomly and find a seat."
"Let's go." Welt, holding his uniquely shaped cane, walked ahead and found a sofa to sit on.
Chase and Stella exchanged glances, nodded at each other, and then took Bella to find a seat.
Chase and Bella had not experienced a train leap before, so they sat upright in their seats. Bella subconsciously grabbed Chase's hand, looking a bit uneasy. Although Stella had experienced it once, she still felt a bit restrained.
Dan Heng went back to his room, while March 7th stood in the central hall by herself, closing her eyes and repeating phrases like "I won't fall, I won't fall." Chase unconsciously looked at Stella, who was a bit embarrassed.
"She was like this last time too," Stella said with a slightly lower voice. "Let me tell you a secret; last time, March 7th fell quite miserably."
Chase thought for a moment, observing March 7th standing there. He wanted to see if her challenge this time would be successful.
...
What does a leap feel like?
The power of "Expansion" enveloped the train, followed by a somewhat uncomfortable dizziness and a heavy muffled sound.
"Woo-hoo!" No doubt, March 7th fell again.
Chase and Stella exchanged glances, seeing the hidden amusement in each other's eyes.
Naturally, they couldn't laugh out loud; it would be impolite.
The train had arrived, and March 7th got up from the ground, touched her slightly dizzy head, looking full of regret.
"March, why don't we forget it? Sit next time," Stella advised with a bit of helplessness.
March 7th blushed immediately and argued, "This time was an accident. Next time, I won't fall for sure!"
"We're here. Let's go," Welt walked to Chase's side.
"Okay." Chase stood up and followed behind Welt, with Bella and March 7th excitedly following.
March 7th couldn't stay still and wanted to explore the space station, while Bella simply didn't want to be separated from Chase.
Stella looked at March 7th, who couldn't wait to go out, and then at Himeko, who was still sitting on her seat drinking red wine. She asked, "Sister Himeko, aren't you going?"
"I won't go. I'll stay on the train with Dan Heng to accompany Pom-pom. Sometimes, Pom-pom feels lonely by herself." Himeko smiled and replied.
"Then, I'll go first." Stella waved her hand and said goodbye to Himeko.
...
Herta Space Station.
It was funded by the Interstellar Peace Corporation and was a product of Lady Herta expressing goodwill. It bore the responsibility of housing many "anomalies" held by the Herta.
Anomalies like black holes that could absorb heat but not food, gold coins that could infinitely split, and a scoring gun that could give people scores, etc. — all of these were anomalies contained by the Herta.
The space station, containing so many precious anomalies, naturally attracted the attention of many scheming individuals in the universe. However, those individuals ultimately failed in the face of the Herta's power.
Due to prior notice, Lady Herta had left a puppet here early on, waiting for the arrival of the train.
When Chase and the others got off the train, the Herta puppet sent a message to the main body, and then the main body intervened in the puppet, greeting them:
"Stella, come quickly to my office for the test of my simulated universe."
Stella put her hands on her hips, looking proud, "Beg me~"
"I'm begging you, come for the test," the Herta puppet said.
"..."
Silence spread among them. Welt and Chase exchanged glances, seeing the hidden laughter in each other's eyes.
It was something they couldn't laugh out loud about, but it was impolite.
Breaking the silence, Lady Herta spoke, looking at Chase and then at Welt, "Is he the one you mentioned?"
Welt nodded.
"Hello, Lady Herta, I'm Chase." While politely greeting, Chase observed the Herta in front of him.
A face as fair as a doll, a petite figure, brown hair and purple eyes, probably about the same height as Sirin... Of course, if there weren't obvious puppet joints, this puppet's body could indeed be considered a work of art.
"What do you want me to help you with?" Lady Herta asked straightforwardly.
"Consciousness transmission across spaces," Chase replied.
Lady Herta seemed less interested, not responding but silently staring at Chase, as if waiting for him to continue.
For her, consciousness transmission was not a big problem; it was almost like child's play. She had long overcome this research topic and used her puppet to build her own hive network.
Seeing Lady Herta's lack of response, Chase continued, "As for the reward, Lady Herta, how about this?"
He waved his hand, and a virtual void suddenly appeared behind him. From it, a virtual hand reached out, placing a yellow crystal full of virtual energy in his hand.
"A virtual energy crystal uncontaminated by the power of destiny. Do you need it?"
Lady Herta's eyes lit up. She quickly walked to Chase, excitedly saying, "Do you want to research it together? I'll study you."