Herta's arms were locked tightly around Qi Zhimu's neck, her strength so great it felt as if she wanted to meld herself into his body, never to be separated again.
If the patterns on the key could still be a coincidence, then—
The name 'Little Ta' that Qi Zhimu had just blurted out, in a tone so familiar it was etched into her very bones, was ironclad proof that could not be faked even if the universe were to be destroyed immediately!
"It's me... it's me..."
Herta buried her face deep into the crook of his neck.
Once, she had been powerless to do anything but cry, forced to watch him leave and witness the most important light in her life being extinguished.
In the hundreds of years after losing him, no matter how many inventions and achievements shook the galaxy, or how many honorary titles she received, nothing could ever make up for that regret.
And now, that irremediable regret was actually being held in her arms.
Feeling the steady heartbeat from Qi Zhimu's solid chest and the warmth radiating from his skin, Herta could no longer control herself.
Long-absent tears surged forth, wetting Qi Zhimu's clothes as a warm dampness spread against his skin.
Herta sobbed incoherently, calling his name over and over again.
"Zhimu... Zhimu... Brother Zhimu..."
Qi Zhimu was held so tightly by her that his trachea was compressed, making it difficult to breathe.
But he didn't speak to stop her, nor did he make even a subconscious move to push her away.
The longing, fear, grievance, and ecstasy accumulated over hundreds of years by the person in his arms were being continuously transmitted to him.
The remaining memories he had deliberately sealed before entering the new cycle, which had just begun to resurface, were gradually merging under the catalysis of this intense emotion.
He was both the Galaxy Ranger who lived life on the edge and the person who had promised to respond to her call.
Qi Zhimu raised his arms to tightly embrace Herta's trembling body, pinning her firmly into his chest, his chin gently rubbing against her long hair.
No redundant words were needed; an embrace so forceful it was almost rough was the best response he could give her.
They embraced for a long time until Herta's crying gradually turned into sobs.
She lifted her face from Qi Zhimu's neck, her cheeks a mess from the tears.
Her purple eyes were shimmering with moisture as her lips pressed directly onto Qi Zhimu's.
Her soft tongue, filled with urgency, actively pried open his teeth, darting inside like a nimble little snake, greedily plundering the taste that belonged to him.
This was the scent.
Even across life, death, and reincarnation, these things were still engraved in the depths of her soul.
The memory of their parting kiss back then surged into her heart, perfectly overlapping with the current sensation, exactly the same.
Qi Zhimu was somewhat dazed by Herta's sudden and fierce offensive.
Her movements were somewhat unpracticed and clumsy.
His instinctive response to her intense expression of affection was also unpracticed.
In his past life, he had walked toward death after a single kiss, and in this life, he had spent over a hundred years dealing with outlaws and had no romantic history.
A mood-spoiling thought even flashed through his mind: I've lived for 116 years in this life, and I'm only losing my first kiss now...
Inexperience didn't matter; soon, Qi Zhimu was intoxicated by the young woman's undisguised affection and desire.
He rolled over, turning the passive into the active.
Inside the room, the air gradually heated up, leaving only the sound of their rapid, intertwined breathing.
The left shoulder strap of Herta's nightgown slipped down unnoticed, revealing most of her fair, tender shoulder, and soon it fell even further.
Her small hand moved down, undoing the future restraints for Qi Zhimu.
Fair neck like congealed fat, light robes of pale pink.
The garden flowers low and reflecting, in the guest room of the Astral Express.
Tonight teaching clouds and rain, descending slightly from the peaks of Wu.
Unknowingly passing the hour of the Rat, the night is still long.
...
Qi Zhimu and Herta had a bout.
Just as a second bout was about to begin, he noticed her soft, hot body suddenly stiffen.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
Herta first clenched her fists in frustration, then gave Qi Zhimu a helpless look.
"Several partners sent emergency contacts at the same time... I..."
"Contacting at this time must mean something urgent. Business comes first," Qi Zhimu comforted.
Herta really wanted to say that what they were doing now was the real business, but seeing the restraint surfacing in his deep eyes, she knew the atmosphere had been slightly ruined.
Considering her body was still in a softened state, she took the opportunity to back down, quickly tidying her appearance and putting on her nightgown.
Then, sitting on the edge of the bed, she swiped open the real-time communication.
The communication screen in front of her was split into three; two faces appeared, while one had no camera active.
"...Contacting at 2 AM system time, you'd better have a reason that can convince me..."
Hearing these words, Screwllum couldn't help but be taken aback.
The results of his emotional reading and analysis told him that Herta's current resentment was not small.
He had never seen her react like this before.
Resentful because of their emergency contact?
There should be no reason for that.
In the early stages of constructing the simulated universe, it wasn't as if they hadn't initiated contact at even later hours for technical exchanges.
Not just Screwllum, even Ruan Mei noticed that her mood was off.
"Herta, you..."
Before she could finish, Ruan Mei noticed Herta make a movement, tilting her head to look at someone beside her.
Is there someone next to her? A puppet, or...?
No, that's not right.
The background Herta was in seemed to be a room, but it wasn't the style of the Space Station, nor was it the appearance of her private tower.
Until two solid arms suddenly appeared in the shot, draping a coat over Herta.
"...Is it inconvenient for you right now?"
Ruan Mei's voice held a hint of something inexplicable.
The muscle lines were distinct, clearly a physique that could only be achieved through daily tempering, indicating that the owner of the arms was likely not an academic who spent all day in a research lab.
As a biologist, she could analyze this at a glance, but she didn't care too much.
She was just a bit curious about what kind of strengths the person Herta took a fancy to might have.
"Get to the point!" Herta said crossly.
Screwllum summarized efficiently: "Herta, there is currently a problem with the simulated universe, including but not limited to—"
"Regression of the computing power iteration system, stagnation of core sector module supply, the Path simulation engineering process being stuck and unable to restart, which in turn affects the operational and calculation logic of the underlying architecture..."
"We are currently unable to perform remote repairs. You are the fastest; please make sure to head to the Space Station for damage control and repairs."
"Otherwise, we will lose a significant amount of time, and the precious data obtained over the past two days will also be invalidated."
Speaking of business, Herta put away her displeased expression.
The Astral Express was currently docked at the Space Station; she could pull up the core data to check at any time.
One look was all it took for her expression to turn sheepish.
No wonder the three geniuses had contacted her simultaneously to signal an emergency.
The reason the simulated universe had encountered so many problems was, logically speaking, her own fault.
Not long ago, upon learning of Qi Zhimu's existence, her heart had been so agitated and shocked that she had inadvertently mistyped several sections of real-time iterative programming, which led to errors in the underlying logic.
The problem remained unresolved, triggering a butterfly effect and causing even more issues.
The partner geniuses all had remote access permissions to the simulated universe; finding problems, they naturally had to make an emergency contact.
"Understood, I will complete the repairs tonight."
The communication ended, and Herta immediately looked at Qi Zhimu, her eyes filled with apology.
"I'm sorry..."
"What are you apologizing for? Since we've reunited, we have endless time in the future." Qi Zhimu smiled and shook his head.
"You're right, we have plenty of time, Brother... Zhi... mu..." Herta adopted the sweet voice of her childhood, her smile like a blooming flower.