About five minutes later, Jiang Ling arrived at the conference room Asta had arranged in advance.
The puppet carrying Herta's consciousness was already seated inside, casually flipping through the proposal on the table, her expression utterly unreadable.
As if sensing his arrival, Herta lifted her eyes and glanced at him. Then she snapped the proposal shut and let out a cold laugh.
"Hmph... this is what you were relying on? A trash project the Intelligentsia Guild already reached a definitive conclusion on long ago—something cooked up purely to fleece people for credits?"
"Tsk. What a waste of time. I thought the IPC had finally made some progress for once, but this is even worse than before."
Herta rolled her eyes in annoyance, her tone steeped in disappointment and irritation.
She had originally assumed this overconfident nobody might actually bring her something interesting, but instead he had only let her down. All she felt now was that her time had been pointlessly wasted.
And just as she was about to end the upload and return to working on the Simulated Universe, Jiang Ling spoke.
"When I first received this project, my reaction was exactly the same as yours, Lady Herta."
"Even if I'm only an ordinary scholar within the Intelligentsia Guild—just a researcher in the Technical R&D Department—I still know this project is meaningless."
"But if I had no theoretical basis at all, I wouldn't have come to discuss it with you in the first place."
At those words, Herta's crimson-violet eyes, which had already begun to lose focus as she prepared to disconnect, sharpened instantly.
She looked at Jiang Ling, who stood there calm and composed, as though everything were under control, and a feeling she had not experienced in quite some time rose in her chest.
Curiosity.
Herta had lived for many years. She had seen all kinds of people, dealt with far more complicated figures than Jiang Ling, and accumulated enough experience to tell at a glance whether someone was lying.
And what she saw now told her that Jiang Ling was not bluffing.
He truly had something to stand on.
She was curious about this "theoretical basis" he claimed to have. Curious about what kind of foundation could possibly be enough to challenge a conclusion already accepted across the academic world.
With that thought, Herta pressed her lips together, then finally gave in to her swelling curiosity and asked on her own initiative:
"So... how exactly are you planning to overturn Dewitt's conclusions, the ones he reached through the Parallel Universe Communicator and the Theory of Moments?"
Seeing that Herta's interest had returned, Jiang Ling quietly let out a small breath of relief. Then he smiled and answered,
"Lady Herta, let me correct one thing—I'm not trying to overturn that theory. I want to take it one step further."
"Dr. Dewitt's experiment and the Theory of Moments only proved that Nous anchored the exact instant the Parallel Universe Communicator was used. They did not prove that a parallel universe is completely identical to our own."
"And what this research is meant to do is verify that point completely, so we can determine whether the moment anchored by Nous concerns only major cosmic events—things like the Swarm Disaster or the Borderstar Trade War—or whether every individual's fate is also anchored by Them."
At that, Jiang Ling paused slightly. Watching Herta lower her gaze as if in thought, the stone in his chest finally began to settle.
The development had been strange, but judging from the current situation, Herta already seemed inclined to agree.
Just as he had expected on the way here—if Herta wanted to study the Aeons, then all he needed to do was tie this matter to the Aeons.
He was almost grateful his cheat had come late. Without that light screen prompting him, he might not have remembered these details from the setting so quickly.
"So, in essence, what you want to verify isn't just the definition of parallel universes... but whether that tin-can know-it-all is truly omniscient and omnipotent?"
"Though my original intent was simply to complete the project assigned to me by the company... if the project can advance, then yes, it would also verify the power of an Aeon."
Jiang Ling met those crimson-violet eyes, now gleaming with a different kind of light, and answered softly.
Herta fell silent for a moment.
Then the corners of her lips curved upward, and she nodded in approval.
"I'll admit it—your idea and your line of reasoning are interesting. Bold enough, crazy enough. I like it."
'Verifying whether an Aeon's power is truly that great'... This is the first time I've heard someone outside the Genius Society propose a topic like that."
"Well then, just as I said before, your research interests me, so I can cooperate with you. However..."
Herta paused, her eyes fixed on the young man before her. The playful smile on her lips deepened.
Then she gave her condition.
"As a genius, I want full control of the research. You'll need me if you want any real results anyway, so that leadership should belong to me."
"On top of that, I want you to be my assistant. I'm usually very busy—it's impossible for me to devote all my energy to a commercial research topic like this. You understand what I mean, don't you?"
"...?"
Looking into those bright, clear eyes full of unmistakable intent, Jiang Ling blinked rapidly and pointed at himself in disbelief.
"M-Me? You want me to be your... lab assistant?"
"Of course."
Herta folded her arms and nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You're completely different from those people in the Intelligentsia Guild. To put it bluntly... you're smarter than they are. Whether it's experimental work or coordination, you'd handle both better than they ever could."
"As my assistant, you'd probably need to stay on the station for an extended period. And once the collaboration ends, it would be perfect for you to transition directly into work here. Mm. A win-win."
???
Jiang Ling's eyes widened at once.
Wait, hold on—what did you just say? Transition directly?
Wasn't he here on the IPC's behalf to discuss cooperation?
How had the conversation taken such a bizarre turn?
Wait...
Maybe Herta wasn't trying to poach him at all.
Maybe she was planning ahead to settle accounts over that line about her being an "old woman pretending to be young."
She didn't want to give up the chance to explore the power of the Aeons—but she also didn't want to let the man who had insulted her walk off the station so easily.
Good lord, Herta wants to drag me into the space station—she's definitely planning to humiliate me thoroughly!
The moment that image crossed his mind, Jiang Ling broke out in a cold sweat, and his expression turned... rather strange.
"Hm? Why are you making that face?"
Seeing the look on him, Herta frowned impatiently, then snorted and waved a hand.
"You'd better think carefully. I'll only say this once—either you agree, or you don't. But whichever you choose, it won't affect our research cooperation."
The moment her words fell, that familiar light screen with its utterly deranged options appeared before Jiang Ling once more.
[Faced with Herta's invitation to her personal little black room, your choice is...]
[1. "It would be my honor to serve you. The company? Not even a dog would stay there!"]
[2. "I came here to discuss cooperation, and you're after my body? No! Absolutely not!"]
[3. "You want me to leave the company? I've only got two words for you—pay more!"]
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