"Oh, you mean this."
Lynelle had only spoken halfway when she noticed both geniuses wore expressions of sudden understanding.
"Eh? Is this really that common?"
Lynelle sounded a bit puzzled.
"Of course it's common, ridiculously common."
Herta let out a sigh, speaking with a tone of resignation.
"What you're describing is just standard procedure for the Corporation taking control of a planet and expanding their equity portfolio. In fact, planets that don't get exploited like this are probably the rarer ones."
"As for extreme cases like Jarilo-VI, while less frequent, there have definitely been plenty of similar precedents."
"Then... how do other planets usually handle it?"
"Well, let's see..."
Herta pondered for a moment. "Given Jarilo-VI's specific situation, the Corporation might not even bother sending anyone."
"You have to understand, a loan that's been defaulted for seven hundred years is an astronomical figure to begin with."
"Calculating with the most basic interest rate, even if you only borrowed a single credit from the Corporation seven centuries ago, you'd owe around 10 to the 28th power credits now. Exponential growth, you see? A simple principle."
"Frankly," Screwllum took over, "if a planet actually could repay such an astronomical sum and directly inject that many credits into the market, the sheer volume would cause the Corporation massive headaches, like hyperinflation."
"Recovering these bad debts... the Corporation never really expects them to be paid back in full. Their goal is simply to gain control of a planet."
"Based on that objective, the probability of conflict between the Corporation's recovery agents and the locals has reached a dangerously high number."
"In other words, it's a rotten job. If the Corporation does send someone to recover Jarilo-VI's bad debt, there are only two possibilities: either the agent pissed off the higher-ups, or they have some connection to the planet and volunteered."
"Considering how few descendants of Jarilo-VI are likely out there in the universe, we can almost rule out the latter. So, whether the Corporation becomes a threat to Jarilo-VI is basically a matter of luck."
"After all, if they arrive too late, and Jarilo-VI has already finished its post-disaster recovery and gained the confidence to resist, the Corporation would likely initiate negotiations instead."
"Forcing an occupation under those circumstances could easily be a losing proposition; it'd be better to discuss profit-sharing."
"Of course," Screwllum glanced towards Clara and Pascal in the distance, "if Jarilo-VI does have the bad luck to get into a dispute with the Corporation over this debt... I will assist in mediating."
"Mediating is a bit of an overstatement. The Corporation knows you want to observe this planet; they'd probably just do you the favor outright."
Herta let out a light humph. "I know those types all too well. They're always falling over themselves for geniuses."
"Sadly, to date, the Corporation has only managed to secure collaborations with three. If they get a chance to curry favor with you, forget one Jarilo-VI, they wouldn't even blink at ten more."
"So, if someone really does come to collect on Jarilo-VI..." Lynelle couldn't help but think of Topaz's story. "Wouldn't her expression be absolutely priceless?"
"Of course. Even if it were just you here, never mind Screwllum, the Corporation couldn't possibly cause any real trouble for this place."
Herta stood on her toes to pat Lynelle's head, putting on a show of exasperation.
"It's you I'm worried about. You carry the title of 'this genius's lab assistant,' at least have a little confidence! Do you really have no idea how much weight that title carries across the cosmos?"
"Ehehe..." Lynelle gave a silly laugh. "Then, as your lab assistant, can I request to conduct an experiment with you, Madam Herta?"
"Sure, what experiment did you have in mind?"
"Testing how long two people need to sleep while hugging to feel fully refreshed... Ow!"
"Stop fooling around..." Herta retracted the hand she'd used to bonk Lynelle's head.
"Since things are wrapping up here on Jarilo-VI, hurry back to the station. I've analyzed some information regarding your situation in that other world and need to brief you. And that little gray-haired friend of yours needs to come back and run the Simulated Universe for me."
"Right away, Madam Herta!"
--+--
With the survey of the Robot Settlement complete, Lynelle and the others peacefully spent their final docking day on Jarilo-VI.
Soon, urged on by Herta, they boarded the Astral Express and returned to the space station to resupply and prepare for their next departure.
It's worth noting, however, that Screwllum didn't hitch a ride back on the Express.
He decided to stay in Belobog a few more days.
According to him, he planned to conduct a full population census of the Robot Settlement's mechs to see if there were any other autonomous units like Pascal.
Herta was perfectly happy to let him linger. On the eve of their departure from Belobog, she sought out Screwllum with a mysterious air, seemingly to discuss some "grand plan."
Although she didn't share the details with Lynelle, Lynette could guess what it was about.
After all, as everyone knows, before the whole 'elbowing the old guard' incident, the last time the two geniuses joined forces was just to ban some hacker who'd left a backdoor in the station.
Naturally, Lynelle was also interested. She happened to want Silver Wolf's help with something, so she went to find the Herta puppet left in the office.
"You want in on this too?" The tiny Herta puppet's eyes widened in confusion.
"Dealing with one little hacker... two geniuses teaming up to teach her a lesson is already overkill. If we add you... wouldn't that be a bit too harsh on the kid's psychological development?"
"No, no, no..." Lynelle shook her head vigorously. "Don't worry. When Silver Wolf finds out I'm here, on top of Screwllum, she'll only get more excited."
Herta fell silent for a moment, then asked with a strange expression, "Masochist?"
"She just likes upping the difficulty for herself, that's all. Besides, I'm not trying to 'elbow' the Wolf. I just want to use this chance to connect with her and ask for a favor."
The little Herta puppet's eyes instantly lit up. "So, how do you know her so well? Do you have a thing for the short ones?"
"..."
A few dark lines seemed to form on Lynelle's forehead.
She then grabbed the little Herta's hand, and her Herrscher power instantly surged into the office puppet.
"Command: Disable the sass module. Furthermore, any database downloads from the network must first pass the space station security protocol's sensitive word screening."
"Command accepted..."
Once Lynelle deactivated the random module Herta had activated to mess with her, the little Herta finally returned to normal. "Alright then. So, how did you want to participate?"
"Participate? No, no..." Lynelle shook her head. "Herta, you've already figured out how to teach Silver Wolf a lesson, right? If I had to guess... it's an account ban?"
"So, when the time comes, just transfer the data for those seventy-six accounts to me."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.