At the far edges of the galaxy.
Inside a solitary clock tower.
Lady Herta had just finished a project and decided to take a short break, treating herself to some afternoon tea.
She stretched lazily, leaning back against her ornate chair:
"Now that I think about it… shouldn't the space station be launching around now? Let me see if it's ready for use…"
As she spoke, Herta waved a hand casually to the side.
A puppet swiftly flew over, replacing the table in front of her with a dedicated control console.
Several smaller Hertas carried over tea and snacks, arranging them neatly before her.
At the same time, another Herta puppet had already gathered all the recent news and updates related to the space station that had caught her interest and handed the report over to Herta.
Lady Herta lifted her cup and took a small sip of tea, glancing down at the news.
And the moment she saw the first headline, she let out a laugh of sheer disbelief.
"Lady Herta Visits the Herta Space Station?! Oh, wonderful. These people have some nerve, don't they? Daring to impersonate me, Herta herself."
A video tagged as "on-the-scene footage" began to play.
Herta initially planned to tear this impersonator apart from every possible angle.
She even started considering what manner of death would best suit the faker.
But as she kept watching…a frown gradually crept onto Lady Herta's face.
"Huh? Now this is interesting… This one's imitation is surprisingly good… the nose, the eyes, the eyebrows—almost a perfect ten out of ten replica of mine."
Seeing that the other party had managed to replicate her beauty to near perfection, Herta suddenly felt her anger fading.
Even if it was shameless flattery, the fact that this impersonator admired her enough to achieve such a high level of accuracy… well, that was at least somewhat commendable.
Truly, her beauty was simply that flawless.
"Hmph~ While utterly hopeless, being able to reproduce my beauty so perfectly does show a hint of good taste."
Herta lowered her head again and took another sip of tea.
She also picked up a snack and took a small, delicate bite.
The footage continued to play.
But after the impostor entered the space station, the progress bar suddenly sped up.
Clearly, the fake Herta didn't play much of a role in the long stretch of events that followed.
Soon, the scene shifted to the formal launch of the space station.
As the countdown from the snack timer reached zero, the space station, along with its thrusters, roared to life and began lifting off slowly.
And then… her own voice echoed from the speakers:
"...Acting Station Head, AI Herta… The key to the problem lies in the problem of the key—"
Crack!
A sharp, clear sound suddenly rang out.
Lady Herta had clenched her teacup so hard it shattered in her grip.
The falling shards and spilled tea were frantically caught by the little Hertas, narrowly avoiding a mess on the floor.
"Heh… heheh… hehehehe… Good. Very good. Just perfect…"
Lady Herta's gaze fell, her expression deceptively calm.
Still holding her snack, she grinned and let out a low, chilling laugh.
"It's been a long time since anyone dared to provoke me like this… and even had the audacity to tamper with my toys…"
All Herta wanted right now was to grab that impostor, stuff her into one of those handheld coin-launcher toys, and fire her straight into a star!
As for the long list of Herta-related news that followed, Lady Herta couldn't be bothered to read any more.
All she wanted now was to capture that fake immediately, right this very moment, and give her backside a good, hard spanking!
And so, Lady Herta brought her afternoon tea to an abrupt end.
She changed into her outdoor attire and picked up that massive staff of hers.
For the first time in a long while, she prepared to leave that clock tower no one could ever find.
Lady Herta activated the teleportation function, intending to descend directly upon the Herta Space Station, string that impostor up from the station's highest point and spank her mercilessly.
But when the spatial warp was activated, and the destination locked onto the Herta Space Station, the transfer device returned an error instead.
"Warning: The target space is under interference. Spatial jump cannot be completed."
"Oh? That impostor can do something like this?"
After seeing the error, an intrigued smile spread across Herta's face.
She knew exactly what those space station construction guys were capable of—utter mediocrities, the lot of them.
That's why she lost interest so quickly and couldn't be bothered with the overall construction work.
Those amateurs could never have created a defense system like this.
There weren't many places in this universe that could block Herta herself from entering.
It had to be the work of that impostor.
"How interesting… I'm starting to get curious about you, faker."
A dangerous smile played on Herta's lips.
She didn't dwell on the failed jump. Instead, she adjusted the coordinates, changing the destination from the station's dock to a point just outside the space station.
She wanted a good, hard look at exactly how this firewall that could keep her out was written.
"Initiate jump now!"
Lady Herta slammed the activation button.
Whoosh—
In an instant, Herta vanished from her spot and arrived at her destination.
Her figure materialized just outside the Herta Space Station.
Mirrors encircled her, providing ample protection.
Herta glanced around and let out a soft "hmph."
As expected, she hadn't been able to reach the station's interior dock.
Because…
"Unauthorized access. Entry denied!"
She couldn't even get into the dock!
Before Lady Herta could react, AI Herta's voice actively transmitted a signal to her:
"Ahem! This is the glorious Lady Herta's Herta Space Station. I am the Acting Station Head, AI Herta. Unidentified intruder! Shameless impersonator of Lady Herta! State your business!"
"You call yourself AI Herta? You can't even recognize the real Herta standing right here, yet you dare call yourself Herta?"
Herta had lost count of how many times she'd been angered into laughter today.
Her own space station was treating her like an outsider.
Labeling her as the fake!
The sheer audacity!
And this impostor—incapable of recognizing the original—dared to take the name Herta?
The moment she reclaimed her space station, the first thing she'd do was execute this embarrassing AI Herta!
"Fake is fake! My creator, the great Lady Herta, is currently inside the space station! You didn't even know that, yet you come here pretending to be her? Hah! Let's see how you, a fake Herta, can possibly prove you're the real Herta."
"...You've got nerve. I'll remember you."
Lady Herta snorted coldly, her eyes glinting with displeasure. She didn't bother with further words,
instead immediately launching a system invasion.
She was going to see exactly what kind of skills this brazen challenger had.
And AI Herta instantly realized what was happening.
"Hmph! I knew you were up to no good. I'll admit, your disguise looks about ninety percent like Lady Herta. But! Against me, AI Herta, if you think you can invade this space station, you're still twenty thousand years too early!"
"..."
A vein nearly throbbed into visibility on Herta's forehead.
This thing…
Once she dealt with the impostor, this one was next on her list to dismantle!
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T/N: This really gives me Jiang Qiao vibes, those who know, know.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! 2 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.