His consciousness returned, and Qi Zhimu looked at Herta and the other, his gaze filled with inquiry.
"If my judgment and perception are correct, the one who launched that attack was a Lord Ravager."
Herta speculated, then changed the subject.
"As for the Ruan Mei you saw... it was a slice of her. Stelle encountered it during her first test as well. If you didn't interact with her slice, then don't worry about it."
Qi Zhimu asked curiously, "What if I had?"
"The port she's in charge of would receive a record of the contact. But regarding her, she's only responsible for R&D and maintenance; she doesn't care about anything else when it doesn't involve her," Herta replied casually.
Screwllum: "Conclusion: Mr. Zhimu's simulated event was a modern war: the Galaxy Rangers' assassination of the Nihility Lord."
"Strange. The timeline was clearly set between Amber Era 1380-1390, yet it entered an event from era 2148..."
Herta didn't understand it for the moment, so she sent a message to Stephen, asking if there was a problem with the Swarm Disaster project.
Stephen performed a remote check and quickly reached a conclusion.
The problem wasn't the project, but Qi Zhimu.
When Qi Zhimu entered the simulated universe, his brainwave frequency actually broke the original settings, causing the timeline to become chaotic.
His consciousness left the simulated universe not because of a fatal attack, but because the underlying protection code purged him.
Otherwise, his brainwave frequency would have broken more of the underlying framework, leading to everyone's hard work being wasted.
Herta and Screwllum weren't entirely baffled by this conclusion.
Translating Stephen's explanation into plain English: The simulated universe could not withstand the causal chain of simulation factors centered around Qi Zhimu, causing the operating program and logic to report errors and trigger a self-rescue.
It was truly astonishing.
One must realize that this was the simulated universe developed by several geniuses together; its immense computing power could even 'swallow' the geniuses themselves without issue!
Not long ago, the Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf threatened to destroy the simulated universe, but in reality, she didn't have the capability.
Qi Zhimu was neither an Emanator nor an Aeon, so there should be even less reason for this. Yet the fact remained: a single dive into the simulated universe brought about a massive risk.
"Herta, before we figure out the cause, I suggest we don't let Mr. Zhimu perform any more tests in the simulated universe," Screwllum proposed.
"Let's put that aside for now. Screwllum, don't you sense where the problem lies?" Herta fell into deep thought.
"Please, go on."
"Swarm Disaster is a separate sub-project and isn't connected to the original simulated universe's database. Logically, even if the timeline was affected and became chaotic, it shouldn't have strayed from era 1380-1390."
"Hmm... his explanation indeed doesn't fully cover the answer to the problem."
Regarding the simulation and birth of Aeons, this area was jointly handled by Ruan Mei and Herta.
One established the Path factors and simulation factors, while the other assisted in anchoring the timeline. They had all tested it initially, and there were no issues.
"During the entire process of The Propagation's ascension and fall, The Hunt and Destruction hadn't even been born yet. This deviation is far too absurd."
Herta met Qi Zhimu's innocent gaze, and a bold guess flashed through her mind.
Could it be that some causal chain he carried was accidentally read by the project's main program, which then generated the battle of the Nihility Lord's fall?
After all—he just happens to be a Galaxy Ranger now.
"Do you have any thoughts on this simulation?" Herta asked Qi Zhimu.
"None," Qi Zhimu said, simply spreading his hands.
In the timeline where that bloody battle broke out, he might have existed, but definitely not in this life, nor the previous one.
Unless his past self was also one of the Galaxy Rangers who assassinated the Nihility Lord. It shouldn't be such a coincidence that he'd walk the same Path twice.
It seems he'd have to find a time to ask The Undying what exactly happened in that bloody battle that was kept secret, and who Tiernan really was.
Since the simulated universe tests couldn't continue, Qi Zhimu returned to his workstation.
Herta casually sent a message to Stelle, telling her to return to the Space Station when she had time.
She hadn't expected much, but surprisingly, the latter actually was free and said she could return today.
Heh, talk about perfect timing.
It seems that for the simulated universe, it's still better to have someone who can play the role of Akivili; it gets twice the result with half the effort.
However, just as a smile appeared on Herta's face, she was left speechless by Stelle's next message.
Her chest had been pierced during the Trailblaze journey. The Trailblazers on the Express didn't have a doctor, and the medical standards at the Trailblaze location were quite backward, so she wanted Herta to arrange for a doctor at the Space Station to give her a check-up.
What kind of request was this?
Wouldn't any attending physician in the Medical Department be more than enough?
"Go register yourself. Have Asta reimburse the costs," Herta simply left it at that.
...
Half a system hour later, in the Medical Department's cabin.
"Sigh, at that time, this Lance pierced right through my chest. For a moment, I thought I was a goner, but in the blink of an eye, I was still alive."
Stelle lay on the examination table, animatedly telling Qi Zhimu about her first Trailblaze journey, with a massive Lance propped up beside her.
On the ice-and-snow planet known as Jarilo-VI, she had experienced a thrilling adventure.
She described the various conspiracies and hardships with great vividness.
"...How many days ago did your chest get pierced?" Qi Zhimu seemed to have thought of something.
"Three days ago. The Amber Lord even glanced at me while slamming down his massive hammer," Stelle said truthfully.
Qi Zhimu's expression instantly turned solemn.
The Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, also known as the Amber Lord, has never stopped forging special crystal walls across the galaxy.
Every time He strikes His hammer, it represents the end of one Amber Era and the beginning of a new one.
Glancing at Stelle on the day the hammer fell was certainly no coincidence.
Perhaps this walking, talking Stelle carried a causal fate that could sway the destiny of the entire galaxy.
At this thought, Qi Zhimu became even more serious.
"Put the Lance away for now. I'm going to start the Full Dialysis Device to give you a comprehensive check-up."
"You got it."
After a while, Qi Zhimu reached a conclusion.
"Doctor, am I okay?"
"Congratulations, Miss Stelle. Your body is very healthy; there are no problems at all."
"I knew I was this strong! Getting my chest pierced was nothing. I told March and the others they were worrying too much," Stelle said with a smirk.
Qi Zhimu couldn't help but smile and corrected her thinking.
"My guess is that your will at that moment resonated with the tenets of Preservation, drawing the Amber Lord's gaze, and He granted you His protection."
"Maybe. Dan Heng leans toward that explanation too."
"...By the way, is it really okay for you to tell me the truth?"
"Oh, you mean the business with Cocolia. Himeko said you're an occasional passenger on the Express, so I can tell you."
Cocolia was the boss behind the scenes of the Jarilo-VI trip, yet in order to preserve that crumbling world, she became a martyr in the eyes of the locals.
"To be honest, I don't really like this ending of using lies to maintain the survival of a civilization, but I couldn't find any other solution. Maybe I'm just too stupid," Stelle said troubledly.
"There's nothing wrong with leaving the right to choose their destiny to the locals; it avoids a future entangled in their karma."
Qi Zhimu smiled calmly and casually changed the subject.
"Is the Express still docked at Jarilo-VI?"
"Yes~ Himeko said it's still early before we head to the next stop, so we're staying there for now to help the locals with their reconstruction."
At this point, Stelle noticed the unique IPC logo on some medical equipment and couldn't help but raise her index finger.
"Oh, right! After sealing the Stellaron that Cocolia had tampered with, I actually received a sales advertisement from the IPC on Jarilo-VI. It was pretty ridiculous."