[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: Breaking news! Duke Inferno, the mastermind behind the Space Station attack, has been killed! /kill_video.mp4!!]
In a group chat filled with many staff members, a message suddenly popped up, firmly grabbing everyone's attention.
Whether they were slacking off or working diligently, everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and clicked on the video.
The content was very concise, and the duration was short.
In the footage, a figure with a blurred face and a frequency-shifted voice walked toward Duke Inferno holding a sword.
A countdown pronouncing life and death appeared word by word, gripping the staff members' attention.
In contrast, Duke Inferno's subsequent response was... hard to describe.
The evaluation was that his speech was way too chuunibyou.
"I will remember your name, Ifrit."
As soon as the words fell, some people blinked and found that the sword-wielding figure in the frame had changed direction.
Not only that, another person appeared behind Duke Inferno, while the one standing in front of him was slowly dissipating.
Immediately after, Duke Inferno became a Duke in three pieces.
[Tireless Destroyer: ???]
[Flying Without a License: What the hell?]
[Mars Robot: Edited! The attack process was edited out!]
[Name Unknown: I think the attack speed was so fast that the camera couldn't capture it, rather than it being edited. Is there even a need to edit it?]
[Melon Eater: Fake. The video must be fake. It must be a special video created by the management to reassure people!]
[Face Tanking Ults: Look at you, getting all worked up again. /You_Are_Crying.jpg]
[Melon Eater: @Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon Where's the source? Why can't I find it anywhere?]
[Super-Fast Hand Piano Demon: /Group Chat History Look for yourselves.]
Everyone clicked on the forwarded chat history. It was fine until they looked, but once they did, they all gasped.
There was a nested chat history inside, and one of the accounts was recognized by every staff member—the profile picture was a Herta Puppet.
In the entire Space Station, aside from the Herta Puppet itself, no one had the guts to use that.
And the puppets were almost always remotely controlled by Ms. Herta herself, or had her autonomous thinking mode activated to represent her.
The video of Duke Inferno being killed was received by one of the Herta Puppet accounts and then forwarded to the group chat.
A sentence was also attached below.
'Herta Puppet No. 7: Clean and beautiful, a one-hit kill. As expected of my man. Hmph, this is the price for provoking this genius.'
[Face Tanking Ults: @Melon Eater Hater, speak up!]
[Tireless Destroyer: Good heavens, so it's Ms. Herta's lover. Well, never mind then.]
[Bill Gava: Accidentally intruded into the Imperial Family.]
[Name Unknown: Look at you, singing again.]
[Group member 'Melon Eater' has left the group...]
[Face Tanking Ults: /Sweating Emoji. This guy was barking so loud before, why is he acting like a coward now?]
[Bill Gava: It's not about being a coward now; he should worry about whether he'll be tracked down and given a 'glorious' dismissal. Just imagine having 'fired from Ms. Herta's Space Station' on your resume.]
[Tireless Destroyer: I will always adore Ms. Herta and her lover. I have never slandered or blackmailed them!]
[Bill Gava: I will always adore Ms. Herta and her lover. I have never slandered or blackmailed them!]
[Flying Without a License: I will always...]
Seeing the staff members start to repeat the message, Stelle and Asta both breathed a sigh of relief.
The latter looked at Qi Zhimu, her face full of gratitude.
Having managed the Space Station for so long, Asta knew all too well how much influence Ms. Herta had.
The entire Space Station staff were her followers, and blindly so.
This blindness had both pros and cons.
Blindness made them believe in everything the genius did without doubt, but after a setback, they easily lost the courage to stand back up on their own.
The benefit was that as long as the genius stepped forward, no public opinion was an issue.
Asta knew even better that in the entire Space Station, those who could get Ms. Herta to step forward and settle such a trivial matter for her...
She couldn't, no staff member could, and Screwllum and Ruan Mei probably couldn't either.
Only Qi Zhimu could do it.
Ms. Herta would be more indulgent and tolerant towards people and things she was interested in.
When it came to her lover, was there even a need to think about it...
Even if everything in the Space Station turned into space junk, if Qi Zhimu said he didn't plan to pursue it, Ms. Herta would most likely listen.
Though... it was impossible for Qi Zhimu to do such a thing.
"Thank you. Not only did you deal with Duke Inferno, but you also recorded the key video, acting as a stabilizing force for this turmoil," Asta said sincerely.
"It was nothing. Besides, this doesn't just involve Herta and the Space Station. The Destruction faction has a higher priority for me than killing The Propagation's Stingbugs."
Qi Zhimu waved his hand, but his thoughts drifted back to a short while ago.
A person named Constance had escaped, using methods that even he almost failed to detect.
The former might not be a scion of Duke Inferno; at the very least, her primary Path was not Destruction.
Coming and going without a trace... could she be from the Remembrance or enigmata factions...
Forget it, it doesn't matter.
"Where's Ruan Mei? Didn't you say she went with you?" Stelle asked curiously.
"She got the materials she wanted and couldn't wait to dive into her research, I suppose."
Qi Zhimu stated his speculation.
"Even Ms. Herta doesn't care much about her own Space Station, let alone her. She definitely wouldn't care about a small matter like settling public opinion."
"True. When is Ms. Herta coming back?"
"In a couple of days. Do you have something for her?"
"Sort of. Mr. Screwllum said a sub-project of the simulated universe needs her presence for a topic extension. I'm fine, since I'm only responsible for testing."
Stelle quickly changed the subject and asked Qi Zhimu about the principle behind the move he used to kill Duke Inferno.
Qi Zhimu explained it straightforwardly; it wasn't some trump card that couldn't be disclosed.
A truly terrifying move never fears its principles being known by others.
Having her curiosity satisfied, the little raccoon asked another question.
"What was Ruan Mei's reaction after finding out you're Ms. Herta's lover? As a fellow genius, it should pique her curiosity a bit, right?"
"As I said, she most likely doesn't care, and might not even know about it."
Qi Zhimu said casually:
"We three talked about so much gossip at noon, and she didn't chime in once."
"...True." Stelle nodded in agreement. "I can't imagine a life without gossip and fun. Maybe that's why I don't understand geniuses."
"Anyway, it's time to clock out. See you another day." Qi Zhimu prepared to slip away.
"See you another day," Stelle waved with a smile.
...
In fact, Qi Zhimu's speculation about Ruan Mei was partially spot on.
Keyword: partially.
He definitely didn't guess that Ruan Mei was currently feeling joyful because of a polite remark he made when they parted at the Space Station.
Time traced back slightly.
Seclusion Zone.
"Although we each got what we needed, without you using the phase flame to help, I might not have been able to kill Duke Inferno in time within three days."
After all, that guy sounded like he was going to Penacony to cause trouble.
It was only after returning to the Space Station that Qi Zhimu remembered the Family had invited the Destruction faction to the Charmony Festival. Could the Annihilation Gang be among them?
It didn't matter now.
He continued, "If Ms. Ruan Mei is willing to grace me with her presence, I'll host a dinner another day to show my gratitude."
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