Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Nahida Caught in Herta’s Sights

“Where did this little thing come from?”

Nahida lifted her head and looked at the girl standing in front of her— someone not much taller than herself.

“A virtual projection? A consciousness construct?”

Treating the space station like her own home and dropping by whenever she felt like it, Herta carefully observed the bewildered Nahida squatting there.

“How strange. Why would something like this be here?

Did Su Ran decide to make an artificial intelligence?”

Listening to the unfamiliar girl muttering to herself, Nahida looked confused.

This was a completely foreign language—one she had never encountered before.

Yet the confidence radiating from this girl, down to her very bones, was something Nahida deeply envied.

Even though she looked like nothing more than an ordinary puppet.

“Hey! Can you understand human speech?”

Herta reached out and poked Nahida’s cheek.

“…”

Unable to understand the language, Nahida could only cover her face and stare at the stranger in confusion.

“There’s feedback? Or is it one-way?”

Seeing the child respond to her touch, Herta’s interest was piqued.

“Are you some new toy Su Ran made?”

“I’m sorry… I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

The barrage of words left Nahida at a loss.

She only hoped the other party could understand her.

Luckily—Herta did.

The Synesthetic Beacon was, after all, a creation of a Genius.

There was a reason it could circulate throughout the universe.

After all, learning multiple languages was far too time-consuming for most people.

“So crude? You didn’t even install a translation system?”

Herta began doubting whether this little thing was really made by Su Ran.

Could it just be decorative?

What use was a child as a decoration?

She’d rather put up a beautiful woman— for example, her own puppet body was quite nice.

She immediately summoned the station’s scanning interface and conducted a full diagnostic on Nahida.

Fortunately, this was only a virtual projection.

As long as there was a signal, data analysis was easy.

After reviewing Nahida’s records, Herta’s interest only grew stronger.

“A branch of the World Tree?

Whoa~ your world is actually pretty interesting.”

Through the scan, she naturally accessed even more data—

Information about Teyvat.

The so-called Seven Gods, Celestia, and the like.

She found it all fascinating.

Existences like Archons, so different from Pathstriders, were genuinely worth studying.

And those demon gods…

Living that long?

And possessing such power?

They were stronger than the vast majority of Pathstriders.

“Who would’ve thought a backwater planet like this would have such an interesting setup?”

The technology was laughably backward— with no visible path toward progress.

But elemental lifeforms themselves were incredibly unique.

Even slimes—creatures that usually only existed in games—were real here?

She almost suspected Su Ran had deliberately created a game planet.

Fortunately, Su Ran had previously decrypted Teyvat’s languages, so backups existed.

Direct translation required no extra development.

Just enable compatibility mode and run the translator.

Besides, this was only a data consciousness.

If it broke, it broke— it wasn’t her property anyway.

After installing the translation system, Herta spoke again.

“Can you understand me now?”

“Yes… I can understand now…”

Having finally understood her words, Nahida looked at the girl before her with curiosity.

“You’re quite something, little one—daring to invade this place.

If it weren’t for the whitelist, you’d already be dead.”

Herta didn’t pay much attention to Nahida’s curious gaze.

She just wanted to study this little being.

A Dendro Archon!

Even if she was nowhere near an Aeon, she still carried the title of a god.

Surely there’d be something worth researching?

“Come with me.”

If she wanted to study a god, she’d need to find Su Ran first.

This puppet body of hers was quite fragile.

It wasn’t equipped with any heavy combat systems.

If she got into a fight with so-called demon gods, she’d be at a disadvantage.

And she couldn’t come personally either.

She needed backup.

“Where are we going?”

Nahida looked at the strange girl, confused.

“To find Su Ran. Bring your real body over—I want to study it.”

Herta stated her intentions bluntly.

She wanted to research Nahida.

No hidden agenda.

Just curiosity.

However, her straightforward personality was probably not to Nahida’s liking.

“I—I’m not going!”

The moment Nahida heard she was going to be experimented on, she stopped immediately.

She would rather leave her consciousness here—

Than watch her body be dissected and studied.

“As expected…

Being researched makes anyone uncomfortable, doesn’t it?”

Nahida’s refusal didn’t surprise Herta at all.

After all, she’d already learned that lesson from Su Ran.

“So maybe I should follow Ruan Mei’s approach and offer a reward?”

Herta thought for a moment, considering what kind of incentive would work.

What reward would convince this little featherball to cooperate?

It was just research, after all.

She wasn’t a butcher.

She wasn’t going to kill anyone.

“How about this— If you let me study you, I’ll send you back. How about that?”

Wasn’t this little thing trapped here?

If she offered freedom—

Wouldn’t that be irresistible?

“Send me back? You?”

Nahida was both shocked and doubtful.

The one who imprisoned her here was a Genius— that Fatui Harbinger.

Did this puppet girl really have that much authority?

“Of course! I’m Su Ran’s best friend—he’ll agree.

Don’t you want to go back? Living here like a prisoner every day—is that really fun?”

Normally, that would’ve convinced her.

But instead—

Nahida felt even less inclined to return.

Here, at least, she could move around.

She could see the real stars.

But going back to Sumeru?

That would just mean returning to a smaller cage.

Compared to that—

This place was far better.

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