Thanks to [Astonishing World Wisdom Master of Great Techniques] for the Great God Certification!
...
"You want to get off at the Space Station?"
Seeing Qi Zhimu's serious expression, Himeko knew he wasn't joking.
"It's a bit sudden. Would you mind telling me the reason?"
"This is the reason."
Before Qi Zhimu could speak, Herta suddenly appeared and reached out to wrap her arms around Qi Zhimu's neck right in front of Himeko.
Originally, hearing Qi Zhimu say he wanted to get off the train wouldn't have surprised Himeko too much.
Herta's actions, however, left her stunned.
This was the real body, not a puppet. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Qi Zhimu held undisguised affection, while the look she gave Himeko carried a faint warning, as if staking her claim.
Ah...?
Realizing the relationship between the two, Himeko didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Being treated as a romantic threat by a genius was a first in her Trailblaze journey; it felt quite subtle.
To be honest, for a moment, Himeko even wondered if Qi Zhimu had cast some kind of spell on Herta.
The impression geniuses gave the outside world was either eccentric, crazed, or as mysterious as the Path of enigmata—known by name but never seen in person.
Member #83 of the Genius Society, an Emanator of the aeon of erudition.
Any one of those identities could stir up massive Imaginary waves across the galaxy, yet Herta possessed them all.
Many people in academia gave the outside world a stereotypical impression of being rational, or even absolutely rational.
Galactic gossip was endless and covered every topic imaginable, except for the romantic lives of Genius Society members, which were extremely rare.
A genius and a Ranger should have nothing to do with each other, but Herta was now telling her that not only was there a connection, they might have already done 'it'...
The special mark on Qi Zhimu's neck wasn't actually visible at first glance.
But with Herta's move—whether intentional or not—his collar shifted, making it incredibly obvious.
The mark looked quite... fresh?
It was still bright red, not dark red, indicating it had likely been planted not long ago.
What had happened was self-evident.
Noticing Himeko's strange expression, Qi Zhimu knew Herta had done it on purpose.
In reality, not long ago, things had heated up but didn't quite reach the finish line.
Qi Zhimu recalled the events of the morning.
...
A few system hours ago.
After finishing her kiss with Qi Zhimu, Herta roughly tore his shirt open and prepared to strip off the rest.
After becoming a mercenary, Qi Zhimu occasionally played single-player games.
Among them, he played the pioneering works of the Black Myth series the most.
Following the current trend, in just a few minutes, he might have to release a Four-focus Pillar Stance and then switch to Thrust Stance.
However, before he could release his fully charged skill, two communications arrived one after another, abruptly ruining the atmosphere that should have flowed naturally.
The first to call was a fellow genius.
Herta was absolutely furious.
Two times, two times!!
But she couldn't really just hang up with a sour face; after all, she was the one who had invited the person to the Space Station.
"What is it so early in the morning?!"
The other end of the line was silent for a moment, as if not expecting to hear such a tone.
"...You sound like you're in a terrible mood. Is the simulated universe not fixed yet, or has a new problem appeared?"
"You know that and you're still asking? Spit it out!"
"My current experiment is going smoothly. I expect to wrap it up in two days and can arrive at the Space Station within this system month."
A certain someone whose experiment is going smoothly.
"Got it. If that's all, I'm hanging up."
"There is something else."
"..." Herta's face darkened.
Qi Zhimu noticed the small hand on his shoulder, with purple nail polish, almost piercing his skin.
The communication methods between Herta and other geniuses weren't common. Qi Zhimu had no idea who the other person was or what they said.
He only knew that this person would likely be remembered by Herta.
In the 'holding a grudge' sense.
"If there's something, say it all at once! I'm busy right now!!!"
"I need to borrow your phase flame, and the Seclusion Zone. I plan to stay at the Space Station for a while this time..."
"Go find a puppet yourself to get the curio. The zone permissions haven't changed. That's it!"
Herta didn't give Ruan Mei a chance to add anything and unilaterally cut the connection, fuming.
That's it? That's it? That's it???
Such a trivial matter, and she chose neither earlier nor later, but exactly this moment to notify her.
Fortunately, Qi Zhimu was still very 'energetic,' as she could feel directly while sitting on his lap.
Herta took a deep breath, giving herself a mental suggestion not to be affected by the interruption and to continue what she wanted to do.
And then—
It was Qi Zhimu's turn to receive a communication request.
Qi Zhimu hung up in less than two seconds, directly dispelling Herta's concerns.
Herta was very satisfied with Qi Zhimu's prioritization of her. Her inviting, moist lips had just pressed against his neck when the communication rang again.
Qi Zhimu wanted to hang up again, or even turn off the phone.
But Herta said faintly, "Answer it. After all, I answered mine just now. Let's call it even."
Since she put it that way, Qi Zhimu swiped to answer, glancing at the caller ID. His eyelid twitched inexplicably.
[Yelena (The employer who wants me to be a kept man)]
He glanced at Herta out of the corner of his eye and knew from her expression that she had seen it too.
Not good...
Qi Zhimu braced himself and greeted her, keeping his tone as flat as possible to avoid provoking the woman who could get jealous at any moment.
"What is it?"
"Can't I call you if there's nothing? Can't I just miss you?"
"..."
Qi Zhimu was indeed a century-old grand mage, but that didn't mean his emotional intelligence was zero, nor did it mean he couldn't sense the quietly shifting atmosphere.
The moment she said 'I miss you,' the small hand on his shoulder began to stroke gently.
It was the gentleness that was terrifying!
"If you keep flirting, I'm hanging up. Speak quickly if there's something; I'm busy fighting."
"Fighting what? You're clearly at Herta Space Station. Don't deny it; the order sent by the Security Department there clearly has your touch on the details."
Yelena was very familiar with the materials Qi Zhimu needed for his improvement plans, and she said with certainty:
"The supplies for the several Space Stations you Rangers saved a few years ago, and the armaments used for the security systems you were hired to improve, were all ordered from departments under my command."
"Still fighting? If you are, I'll come to Herta Space Station right now to fight with you, and I can collect a debt while I'm at it."
Qi Zhimu was speechless, thinking to himself that there were thousands of channels to place orders with the IPC. How did that guy Arlan happen to pick one under Topaz's command?
"So, what is the real intention behind this call?"
"I just wanted to let you know that I happen to be going to Herta Space Station in a few days. We'll have to catch up then. I'm done. Since you're busy, I won't disturb you. Bye-bye."
"..."
Qi Zhimu turned off his phone and met a smiling, pretty face.
He finally knew why Boothill always loved to use one sentence to describe him: 'When Zhimu smiles, the world goes wild.'
Herta was smiling damn sweetly right now, but behind that sweetness was a barrage of cannonballs.
However, unexpectedly, Herta didn't fire the cannonballs. Instead, she tucked away her smile and sighed faintly.
She didn't do anything special, just leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"Even if I came first, that was your emotional bond from a previous life... I can be overbearing and unreasonable to anyone, but you... are the only exception."
"If I were to order you to cut ties with others for my own selfishness now, one day, you might also cut ties with me because of another woman..."
...
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