Hearing Herta's words, Ruan Mei leaned in and peered at the operating system on Herta's phone for a moment. "Is there a problem with the operating system?"
"No."
Herta was certain that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the operating system she had created. The only possibility was that the problem was with the Herta puppets themselves.
"I suspect some guy infatuated with my beauty stole all my Herta puppets."
Ruan Mei slanted a glance at the self-proclaimed genius beside her. Even with her calm disposition, Herta's words left her feeling a little speechless.
"Putting aside whether someone would actually ignore your strength and steal all your puppets just for your beauty, the sheer weight and number of the Herta puppets alone would probably make it difficult to steal all one hundred-plus of them from the space station in such a short time, wouldn't it?"
Herta's face was cold as Fu Zhu's image surfaced in her mind. "No, if it's that man, it's possible."
Ruan Mei raised an eyebrow with some surprise and glanced at Herta, smiling faintly. "Looks like you already know who it is. Let me guess, could it be that Nameless you're always muttering about, the one named Fu Zhu?"
"Hmph."
Herta's soft snort was as good as an admission. She then tapped her phone and placed a call to Fu Zhu.
The phone rang for a while before it was answered. The voice on the other end sounded a little guilty.
"Herta, why are you suddenly calling me? Is something wrong?"
Herta, who had initially been a little angry, couldn't help but smile when she heard Fu Zhu's guilty tone.
"Fu Zhu, all of my Herta puppets have gone offline. Do you have any idea why?"
Fu Zhu fell silent for a moment, then admitted decisively, "I took them."
His straightforward admission actually caught Herta by surprise. She had initially thought Fu Zhu would try to argue for a bit before finally breaking down and confessing his crime under the weight of the evidence she presented.
Now that he had confessed so quickly, Herta found herself at a loss for words.
After thinking it over, the scolding she had wanted to deliver turned into a helpless complaint.
"...Is your room that big? Can it even fit all one hundred-plus of my puppets...?"
Hearing that Herta seemed to have misunderstood his reason for taking the puppets, Fu Zhu quickly explained, "Of course I didn't take them to put them on display."
Herta was shocked, her voice filled with disbelief. "Don't tell me you took them to use them?!"
Fu Zhu opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know how to answer. In the end, he could only slap his forehead in frustration. "...Just come back to the office. You'll know why I took the puppets."
With that, Fu Zhu hung up the phone. He glanced at the Herta puppets that were crammed into his inventory, unable to be stacked, and took out a few, converting them into Totems of Undying.
Since he was the one who took Herta's puppets, it was only right to give her a few back. Hopefully, she'd like them.
After putting the Totems of Undying away, Fu Zhu turned and walked back toward the office.
A few minutes later, Fu Zhu pushed open the office door to find Herta and Ruan Mei waiting for him. Screwllum and Silver Wolf, it seemed, hadn't left the office since they had parted ways.
When Herta saw Fu Zhu arrive, she crossed her arms, a hint of annoyance on her face. "Fu Zhu, you can now tell me what you're doing with my puppets. If you can't give me a good reason... then you'll have to spend the rest of your life testing the Simulated Universe for me."
At this moment, Herta was actually hoping Fu Zhu couldn't give her a good reason. A mere hundred or so puppets that could be created at will were worthless compared to the gold mine that was Fu Zhu.
"Here, this is the new toy I made with your puppets."
Fu Zhu walked forward and stuffed ten Totems of Undying into Herta's hands. Herta took the totems and examined them closely.
She could tell they were some kind of totems used for rituals or worship in a certain culture, but beyond that, she couldn't see anything special about them.
Herta turned them over and over, looking at them carefully. She even passed two of them to Screwllum and Ruan Mei for inspection.
Although she couldn't see anything special about these totems, a person like Fu Zhu would never produce some useless little trinket. There had to be some special effect she wasn't seeing.
"Screwllum, Ruan Mei, did you two find anything special about these totems?"
Ruan Mei inspected it for a moment before shaking her head. "Composition unknown."
Screwllum also shook his head. "According to my analysis, I have not detected any abnormalities. However, I did detect an extremely pure energy within it, one that does not belong to any Path, nor does it resemble any commonly seen energy. The effect of this totem will likely have to be explained by Fu Zhu himself."
Herta nodded after hearing their reports. It seemed their analysis was more or less the same as her own; none of them could discern anything special.
Since the three geniuses of the Genius Society couldn't see what made it special, it was clear that the technology of this totem also came from Fu Zhu's "homeland."
---o---
"So, Fu Zhu, what's so special about it?"
Fu Zhu took another Totem of Undying from his inventory and held it in his hand, explaining mysteriously to the three of them.
"This thing is called a Totem of Undying. Its effect is very simple. When you're holding it in your hand, it can block one fatal attack for you and restore your condition. Furthermore, there's no limit to the attack it can block. Even if it's an Aeon, as long as you're holding a Totem of Undying, it will take a second hit to kill you."
"Death immunity?!" x3
A look of astonishment appeared on even Ruan Mei's calm face as she stared at the unassuming totem in her hand. It looked so ordinary, and even the energy Screwllum had detected within it wasn't much, yet this "ordinary-looking" thing could actually block a blow from an Aeon?!
Herta stared at the Totem of Undying in her hand with a grave expression, then looked up at Fu Zhu seriously. "Are you serious?"
Fu Zhu nodded. "Of course. I never lie."
The serious expression on Herta's face vanished in an instant, replaced by one of pure excitement. She whipped out her phone and dialed Asta's number.
"Asta, prepare to fire the space station's plasma cannon at full power! I want you to blast me with it!"
Hearing Herta's words, Screwllum was instantly alarmed and rushed forward to stop her. "Herta, don't be reckless! Although Fu Zhu claims it can grant death immunity, we can't have you personally test something that hasn't been verified! At least use a Herta puppet... ah..."
Screwllum remembered: the puppets had all been taken by Fu Zhu.
Besides, Herta had a rebuttal. "A puppet is not a life form. How can you be sure a non-living thing can trigger the totem's effect? That's why I have to do it myself!"
"No, let me."
At that moment, Silver Wolf, who had been quiet in the corner, suddenly walked out. She glanced at the three geniuses—Herta, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum—and couldn't help but chuckle before turning her head to look at Fu Zhu.
"Fu Zhu, do you know who trusts you the most? It's not the geniuses who have a partial understanding of your homeland's knowledge, but Elio, who utterly despises you for ruining his script. Elio believes in your abilities, which is why I came here. And right now, I believe in Elio's judgment. I am willing to be the test subject."
"Oh?"
Fu Zhu raised an eyebrow in surprise, a half-smile on his face. "What if I was lying? Or what if this Totem of Undying doesn't work on you?"
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Silver Wolf's forehead, but she forced herself to remain calm. "I told you, I believe in Elio's judgment. However, I hope that after this is verified, you can give me one of these Totems of Undying. Or sell one to me. I have a friend who might need it."
"Alright."