Silver Wolf's fingertips left afterimages on the virtual keyboard, and a data rift, visible only to her, silently opened in the Herta Space Station's Base Zone.
She stepped out as lightly as if passing through a water curtain, her quantumized body rapidly solidifying.
After standing still, she clicked her tongue impatiently.
"Seriously, Kafka is too cautious..."
Silver Wolf muttered, her blue-gray hair looking a bit unruly in the soft cabin light. "Isn't it just that Herta's 'plot' has temporarily disappeared? It's not completely gone, why does she insist I confirm it..."
Despite her complaints, she immediately got into action.
As a Genius hacker, infiltrating this Space Station, which she had 'visited' more than once, was not difficult.
She could feel that the omnipresent sense of surveillance was indeed gone, replaced by a more... placid atmosphere.
The Space Station was still operating orderly under Asta's management, but it felt as if it had lost the gaze of its soul figure.
(It seems Herta is really not here. It's not easy to make her leave her favorite 'toy box.')
Thinking this, Silver Wolf, as if strolling through her own backyard, skillfully avoided the main corridor's surveillance nodes from memory and stealthily moved towards the Master Control Zone.
Just as she passed through a circular corridor connecting the Base Zone and the Master Control Zone, faint voices coming from around the corner ahead made her stop instantly. Her body instinctively pressed against the cold cabin wall, hiding herself in the shadows of a blind spot.
She cautiously poked out half her head, looking towards the source of the sound—the next moment, she sharply pulled back, her back pressed tightly against the wall, her face filled with disbelief.
(Is that... Herta? And Ruan Mei?)
She would never mistake them.
Herta's iconic long brown hair and purple-black dress, and Ruan Mei's elegant and ethereal figure.
They were standing there, seemingly conversing.
(When did their relationship become so... close?)
However, an even more shocking scene followed immediately.
Due to the angle, from Silver Wolf's perspective, she clearly saw "Herta" actively take a step closer to Ruan Mei, and then... their figures almost overlapped!
"Herta" even seemed to reach out and caress Ruan Mei's cheek!
(Wait... are they... ki-kissing?!)
This thought exploded in Silver Wolf's mind like a thunderbolt, instantly petrifying her.
She could even imagine the stunned expression that might appear on Ruan Mei's usually calm face (though she couldn't actually see her full face).
(These two... are actually in that kind of relationship?! )
The hacker lady's brain CPU almost crashed from this overloaded information.
She blinked hard, then secretly peeked again, only to see "Herta" had retreated, but the subtle sense of intimacy between them still lingered.
(No wonder... so they were busy... uh, dating?)
Silver Wolf felt her worldview had been impacted like never before.
She shook her head, forcing herself to calm down.
(No, this is not a good place to stay! If I get discovered...)
She didn't want to get caught in the center of this level of "gossip," especially when it involved two Genius Society members!
Silver Wolf held her breath, using her superb stealth skills, like a true data ghost, she quickly retreated silently along the way she came, many times faster than when she arrived, as if a Stellar Hunter was chasing her.
[Stellaron Hunters Temporary Outpost]
Kafka was elegantly sitting on the sofa, wiping her uniquely styled gun. Seeing Silver Wolf's figure gradually solidify through the projection device, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"You're back? How are things?" She put down her gun, her rose-red eyes looking at Silver Wolf, her tone as composed as ever.
However, Silver Wolf's expression was unusually strange.
She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start.
"Herta... is fine."
Silver Wolf finally squeezed out dryly, her gaze flickering, not daring to meet Kafka's probing eyes.
Kafka tilted her head slightly, keenly noticing Silver Wolf's abnormality: "Fine? Then why that expression?"
Silver Wolf took a deep breath, as if having made some decision, and said rapidly: "She's just... messing around with someone!"
After speaking, as if afraid Kafka would press for details, she turned and walked quickly towards her room, leaving only a hasty retreating figure.
Kafka: "..."
She watched Silver Wolf's almost "fleeing" back, and for the first time, a clear look of confusion appeared on her elegant face.
She gently picked up the steaming black tea from the nearby table, took a sip, and murmured to herself, her tone filled with genuine bewilderment:
"Messing around...?"
"Messing around with whom?"
"...What is 'messing around' anyway?"
[System Space · Lower Platform]
Warm light softly illuminated the platform area covered with soft carpets. The books and trinkets Cyrene brought made the place no longer cold, but rather like a carefully arranged safe corner.
Madam Herta's figure appeared silently in this space, her purple-black eyes calmly falling on the pink-haired girl sitting on the blanket.
Cyrene noticed her the moment she appeared, her slender body tensed slightly, and her fingers, wrapped around her knees, tightened a bit.
She looked up, her azure eyes filled with complex emotions: lingering fear, nascent confusion, and a glimmer of determination.
"Have you... thought it over?"
Madam Herta spoke, her voice softer than usual, with less ethereal echo and more solemnity of "confirmation."
Cyrene nodded gently, her voice soft but clear: "Mm... I'm willing... to try."
Once the words were spoken, both fell into a brief silence.
Madam Herta didn't know what to do next, while Cyrene nervously awaited the unknown process of "acknowledgment."
Staring at each other, a subtle awkwardness filled the air.
(Uh... and then? The System only said 'acknowledgment' was needed, but what's the specific process? A handshake? An oath? Or...)
Madam Herta felt a bit helpless internally, feeling that her role as a "savior" was somewhat unprofessional.
She subtly raised her hand and gestured in the air, bringing up a system panel visible only to her.
"System,"
she remotely contacted the system puppet still on duty in Hertas Office via thought, "What are the specific steps for 'acknowledgment'?"
[Instruction received. Generating interactive interface.]
A faint light appeared before Cyrene, condensing into a simple, translucent panel with only two ancient characters—[Acknowledgment].
But these two characters were currently dim gray, lifeless.
[Guide the target to focus attention on the panel. When the 'acknowledgment' intent reaches the critical point, and the target's inner 'recognition' and 'trust' for you meet the standard, the characters will light up. At that time, you can click to confirm.]
The System calmly explained.
Madam Herta understood, looked at Cyrene, and pointed to the floating panel: "Concentrate, look at it. Think about your decision just now."
Cyrene complied, her azure eyes intently gazing at the gray characters [Acknowledgment], her small brows slightly furrowed, as if trying to mobilize some inner strength, striving to believe in this mysterious and powerful being before her, and the path of "salvation" she promised.
Time passed minute by minute.
Madam Herta waited patiently. She could feel the mental fluctuations emanating from Cyrene, an effort struggling to break through an inner barrier.
Finally, the gray panel changed!
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