Chapter 309: Chapter 309: “Herta Feels Like Her IQ Got Lowered”

Early in the morning, Stelle came to the office to retrieve March 7th’s camera that had been left behind.

But looking at the perfectly normal Herta now,

She couldn’t quite reconcile her with the "mad scientist" March had described.

Herta seemed completely normal—

Not someone who treated lives like disposable grass.

She had no idea what had happened yesterday.

After returning to the train, March had been acting paranoid the whole time.

But from Stelle’s perspective—

Herta was pretty nice.

The Simulated Universe was fun,

And she even paid credits afterward.

"What are you staring at? Never seen a beautiful girl before?"

Seeing Stelle staring at her, Herta immediately snapped back.

There were so many Herta puppets on the space station—

Why fixate on this one?

If she liked it that much, Herta could just give her one.

It had to be said—

Herta was actually quite friendly toward Stelle.

A level of treatment even Asta might not have experienced.

"Where’s Su Ran?"

As the third person she had "picked up," after Kafka and Silver Wolf,

Stelle was quite concerned about him.

"He’s off tinkering with his inventions."

"..."

"..."

They looked at each other in silence.

"When’s the next test?"

Stelle spoke first.

Herta paused for a moment.

"...Maybe next time."

Only then did she realize—

She might be missing something important.

What was Su Ran doing?

Working on inventions.

And what was she doing?

Running Simulated Universe tests.

The Simulated Universe could be tested anytime.

But Su Ran’s invention?

What was he working on right now?

Recently, the only major project was...

The Equivalent Exchange Machine.

And she had just... ignored it?

At that moment, Herta felt like her IQ had dropped.

How could she overlook something this important?!

Did this Stellaron girl have some kind of IQ-reducing aura?!

Why did her brain stop working whenever she was nearby?!

"What do you think~?"

As order gradually returned to the space station,

Himeko found herself with nothing to do.

So she came with Welt to one of the laboratories.

This lab used to belong to the station’s researchers.

But ever since Su Ran used it once—

It had become something like a holy site.

Countless researchers applied day and night,

Hoping to conduct experiments here—

Just to experience working in the same space as a top genius.

To them,

Even breathing the same air as Su Ran was an honor.

Of course, many ridiculous applications were rejected by Asta.

Only a few reasonable ones got approved.

But that didn’t stop people from treating this place like a pilgrimage site.

After all:

Herta only appeared via puppets.

But Su Ran?

He showed up in person.

That alone made his influence feel far greater.

Which was why some people were even more obsessed with him than with Herta.

Now, outside the lab,

A large crowd of researchers had gathered to watch.

Thankfully, the walls were transparent glass—

Otherwise, there would’ve been endless complaints.

For the first time,

Himeko witnessed how a genius—

Who had barely left any public achievements—

Could still have such a massive following.

Welt adjusted his glasses.

"I haven’t seen this kind of frenzy in many years."

Back when merch of HOMU was sold,

There had been similar scenes.

But those days were long gone.

"And your memory? Any issues?"

Himeko suddenly remembered—

Welt had also undergone Su Ran’s examination yesterday.

"That’s the strange part. My memory is perfectly intact... but that feeling is still there."

Welt paused, then added:

"But that genius is truly remarkable."

He hadn’t found any memory anomalies—

Which disappointed Su Ran.

But in the process,

He had:

Extracted Honkai energy

Identified the genetic code of the Herrscher of Reason

That alone shocked Welt deeply.

He couldn’t believe someone could achieve this.

If Su Ran fully understood Honkai—

He might even recreate the Cocoon of Finality.

Himeko grew curious.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he can not only recreate divine power... but also recreate the apostles of gods."

Welt’s voice was heavy.

"He’s more capable than anyone I’ve ever met. Even... someone I’d rather not mention."

Honkai disasters were terrifying.

But extracting Herrscher authority as genetic code?

That was unprecedented.

Which meant—

Su Ran might be able to mass-produce Herrschers of Reason.

It sounded insane.

So insane that even Welt struggled to accept it.

But then—

Void Archives and the Herrscher of Reason had coexisted.

Which shook his certainty.

"Hasn’t he already done that?"

Himeko thought he was referring to the Emanator of Propagation.

"No. I’m not talking about Propagation." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Welt shook his head.

"The ’god’ I mean... is someone else."

If Su Ran could recreate the Cocoon of Finality—

That would be truly unimaginable.

Welt didn’t know if Su Ran would go that far.

But he already deeply respected his talent.

If someone like him had existed during Anti-Entropy’s time—

They wouldn’t have been suppressed so badly by Schicksal.

And humanity’s struggle against Honkai—

Would’ve been far easier.

But that was all in the past.

Meanwhile...

Behind them—

In the vastness of space surrounding the station—

A phantom-like crystalline emperor stood silently.

Watching everything.

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