Herta Space Station, Support Module, Platform.
A lady with a gentle, refined demeanor stepped down from the spacecraft, looking just like an ordinary visitor.
Her black hair was lightly gathered with a golden hairpin. She wore an ink-wash–toned, strapless slit cheongsam; the high collar and shawl left hollowed openings on both sides, revealing her fair shoulders.
A pristine pearl necklace hung at her neck, complementing the snowy skin faintly visible at her chest.
At the waist and lower abdomen, the cheongsam featured black gauze cutouts. Through the semi-translucent silk, one could vaguely glimpse pale skin and a slender, soft navel.
Her snow-white legs extended from the slits on either side of the dress, adorned with asymmetric thigh rings shaped like deoxyribonucleic acid double helices.
She wore dark navy high heels decorated with plum blossoms, revealing elegantly contoured insteps and ankles.
Altogether, she gave off a serene, understated elegance.
Nolan, who had already activated his golden Eye of Judgment, was drawn to her just as any ordinary person would be by her presence. At the same time, Miko's affection skill triggered:
[Level: 156]
[Ruan Mei: One of the top geniuses in the Milky Way universe; the 81st member of the Genius Society; an expert in the field of life sciences. Cold-tempered and highly rational, low-key and cautious yet ambitious, currently attempting to study the true nature of beings known as "Aeons."]
Another existence comparable to an Emanator—six levels higher than Phantylia. Feeling the feedback, Nolan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
After a glance, he withdrew the affection skill. With his current strength, even if the other party were at the Emanator level, she wouldn't be able to detect it.
"Ms. Ruan Mei, welcome to the Herta Space Station."
As the elegant lady stepped forward, Asta led the group to greet her.
"We meet again, Station Master," Ruan Mei said with a light nod, then turned her gaze to Nolan beside Asta. "I saw your photo in Herta's messages, Mr. Nolan. You're the one who wishes to trade with me, correct?"
"Yes. Thank you for making the trip, Ms. Ruan Mei," Nolan replied with a polite smile.
"It's no trouble. I was planning to come to the station soon anyway—this is simply a few days earlier than scheduled," Ruan Mei said, shaking her head.
She continued, "Let's go see Herta first. You can explain the details to me afterward."
"Mm." Nolan nodded.
Ruan Mei and Herta were collaborators. Upon arriving at the station, it was only natural for her to meet Herta first before discussing the transaction at length.
"Please follow me. Ms. Herta is already waiting in her office," Asta said, stepping aside to let Ruan Mei lead.
As Ruan Mei moved ahead on her long, snow-white legs, Asta followed at a measured pace.
Nolan, along with Arlan and several members of the security department, naturally followed behind—after all, they were the security detail.
Before long, they boarded the space elevator again and returned to the main control module.
Once there, Arlan and the security personnel departed, leaving only Nolan and Asta to accompany Ruan Mei to Herta's office.
Upon entering, they saw Herta—and Screwllum, whom they hadn't seen for some time.
"You're here, Ruan Mei," Herta said, hands on her hips as she looked at the elegant lady approaching.
The "Simulated Universe" project had progressed to a certain stage and was ready for testing. To continue the research, it was necessary to analyze the data produced by those tests.
Ruan Mei's visit to the station, aside from trading with Nolan, was primarily for the Simulated Universe project—research aimed at understanding Aeons.
"Mm." Ruan Mei nodded lightly.
Herta knew that Ruan Mei wasn't the type to enjoy idle chatter, so she didn't say much more—whatever suited her.
At that moment, Herta's gaze shifted to Nolan, a hint of surprise in her eyes as she crossed her arms and said:
"You, it's only been a while since we last met—how does it feel like you've gotten a lot stronger than before?"
If it were just a slight improvement, she wouldn't have been surprised. People grow, after all. It was just that this guy's rate of improvement was unusually large.
"Conclusion: Energy level has increased significantly compared to before." Screwllum lifted his hat slightly and looked at Nolan with surprise.
"Mr. Nolan doesn't seem to have stepped onto a Path yet, and yet such formidable strength has been achieved purely through your own cultivation.
"Perhaps, in terms of cultivation, you too are a 'genius.'"
Nolan knew that Screwllum was praising his cultivation talent as being on par with the geniuses of the "Genius Society," and he wasn't surprised that both Screwllum and Herta could sense how much stronger he had become.
After all, they were existences at the Emanator level. Still, being acknowledged by a true "genius" made him quite happy.
"You flatter me, Mr. Screwllum. It's just that my cultivation methods are a bit… unconventional," Nolan replied with a smile.
He actually knew how one stepped onto a Path—by doing things that aligned with the concepts of that Path.
For example, the Path of Erudition that Screwllum and Herta had stepped onto favored those who were intelligent, rational, good at thinking, and constantly engaged in research.
By living and acting in that way, one might gain the chance to walk the Path of Erudition.
Nolan didn't fit that personality, nor did he share those ideals or pursuits, so under normal circumstances he wouldn't be able to step onto the Path of Erudition.
But he had no intention of stepping onto any Path anyway.
Under normal conditions, growing to the level of an Emanator was fine, but reaching the level of an Aeon—whether by creating a new Path or replacing the Aeon of an existing one—
in the end, one would still be bound by the Path itself.
Relying solely on cultivation with the girls, Nolan would sooner or later grow to a level comparable to an Aeon, so there was no reason to trouble himself by taking on such constraints.
"Alright, no need to be modest. Since your strength is quite good, there's something we'd like to ask you to help with."
Herta raised her gaze slightly and looked at Nolan as she spoke.
"Oh? What do you mean, Ms. Herta?"
Screwllum glanced at Herta and nodded in understanding, while Ruan Mei also gave Nolan a brief look.
"Uh, help with what? My strength may be decent, but compared to you all, there's still quite a gap. I probably wouldn't be much help, would I?"
Nolan was a bit puzzled.
Although his strength was respectable, Herta and the others were all at the Emanator level. If anything required force, they should be able to handle it themselves.
"It's nothing major. We'd just like you to help test the 'Simulated Universe.' It's basically like testing a game.
"The more people involved in testing, the better—it helps uncover more issues. And those with greater strength can test for longer within the Simulated Universe and discover even more problems.
"Besides, you don't usually have much to do as a security consultant anyway, so come help us test it."
Herta gave a brief explanation.
So it was testing the Simulated Universe. If it was similar to testing a game, then it didn't seem like a problem at all.
Agreeing to help Herta would very likely earn him some goodwill, so Nolan was inclined to accept.
But before agreeing, he needed to understand the specifics. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"Ms. Herta, could you explain the details of the test?"
(End of Chapter)
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