*Chapter 21: Herta, the Simulated Universe Suddenly Turned into a Horror Game !*

The Simulated Universe.

A major project spearheaded by Herta, a digital model of the cosmos. It can be understood as a super-precise laboratory or a large-scale playground – provided you use that term, Herta would say, "If you insist on using such a vulgar metaphor."

Using powerful computer technology, it simulates the universe. By relying on external, human-controlled interference within the simulation, it amplifies the influence of conceptual actions related to Paths, thereby drawing the gaze of the corresponding Aeons for research. Once activated, the virtual world instantly forms – enemies, allies. Furthermore, occasional emergent events demonstrate the extremely high fidelity of the Simulated Universe. Countless data points materialize as virtual avatars, awaiting the next action. Through connection with the Paths, virtual Aeons also cast their gazes upon it.

Jointly developed by Herta, Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen, the Simulated Universe can create a virtual world made of code. These four members of the Genius Society initiated this project, using their vast collective knowledge as the foundation.

In short, that's what the Simulated Universe is.

One might doubt Herta's capricious nature, but never her technical prowess.

Before entering the Simulated Universe this time, Stelle genuinely believed this.

"What are you doing?" Stelle asked, seeing Jiang Liang.

The Key of Erosion was deeply embedded in the simulated ground. Visible black patterns spread outwards from the blade like veins. The pitch-black edge seemed alive, greedily sucking at the underlying logic that constituted this virtual world.

The power of erosion spread like a drop of ink in clear water – swift and silent.

"It's working," Jiang Liang stated matter-of-factly. "Obviously, I'm trying to hack into this Simulated Universe."

Even just hearing snippets of conversation between Herta and Stelle, Jiang Liang could roughly guess the purpose of this device. Entering it confirmed his suspicions further.

It was hard to imagine technology reaching this level, capable of perfectly simulating everything in reality, perhaps even more. But considering the various Aeons and technology far surpassing the Trisolarans in this world, Jiang Liang felt resigned. [TN: Trisolarans is an alien race from science-fiction The 3 Body Problem ]

They can destroy galaxies with a wave of their hand, so why not just go along with it?

Not to mention, Herta, the creator of this Simulated Universe, was an Emanator of Nous, the Aeon of Erudition. It felt less like she had cheats enabled and more like she never turned them off.

Fortunately, he had cheats too.

Jiang Liang hadn't entered the Simulated Universe to destroy it, but rather to test whether the so-called Key of Erosion could truly erode anything.

As it turned out, code met the Key of Erosion like prey meeting its natural predator. In an instant, it was assimilated, yet cleverly disguised as the original code. The stable running code was instantly overwhelmed by a waterfall of gibberish. Characters frantically jumped, distorted, and dissolved, like countless startled black insects crawling across a screen.

This phenomenon initially occurred only in an insignificant part of the Simulated Universe, as minor as a speck of dust in the cosmos. But even the smallest speck of dust exists within the universe, just like the erosion virus released by Jizo Mitama.

As long as the virus existed, no matter how small, it could cause erosion and reproduction, spreading at extreme speed.

The environment within the Simulated Universe distorted accordingly. The ground beneath Stelle's feet began to ripple like water. Distant stars dragged unnaturally long trails behind them, blending in bizarre colors. The air filled with the smell of burnt circuit boards, mixed with a cloying, sweet sense of decay. Several virtual enemy models, originally following preset paths, froze in place, their bodies twitching and disintegrating into pixel fragments, only to haphazardly reassemble into grotesque shapes.

"W-what's happening?" Stelle asked, slightly panicked.

"It's fine. It'll be over soon," Jiang Liang reassured her.

Seeing Jiang Liang's calm confidence, Stelle realized this was likely his doing and calmed down somewhat.

She took out her portable game console and started playing.

Meanwhile, in Herta's office at the space station, Herta was leisurely swinging her legs. But the light screen before her flashed with alarms. Shrill beeping replaced the steady hum of operation. Various parameter curves representing the Simulated Universe's stability jumped violently, like the ECG of a dying patient. One curve, representing data integrity, plummeted drastically, nearing critical levels.

"Hm?"

Herta furrowed her delicate brow, putting down the file she was holding. "What's going on? It's just a standard test. How could there be this level of data corruption?" A debugging interface appeared before her. She rapidly typed, accessing deeper log files. Error codes scrolled increasingly faster across the screen, many displaying gibberish she had never seen before.

"Something's wrong. Very wrong," Herta muttered to herself. A grave look flashed in her violet eyes, but it was overshadowed by aroused curiosity and the desire to investigate. "This erosion pattern doesn't look like a simple system crash... it's more like an external force actively interfering... Hey ! Test subject ! Little Stellaron thing ! Can you hear me?" She initiated communication with the interior of the Simulated Universe.

She had been monitoring the situation inside the simulation the whole time. Before this happened, she saw Stelle just standing there motionless, muttering a few words to herself, and then things went haywire.

Herta's intuition told her Stelle caused this, but she didn't trust intuition. Yet, her technical expertise told her that with her skills, the Simulated Universe shouldn't collapse this easily.

And Stelle was just standing there, unmoving...

Her left and right brain started fighting each other.

Herta's cool voice echoed directly within the Simulated Universe, reverberating through the distorted space. "Stelle ! What did you do in there? Don't tell me you just picked up some garbage program and shoved it into the Simulated Universe ! My readings here are about to go off the charts ! Report the situation immediately ! While seeing some unexpected data is interesting, breaking my Simulated Universe isn't fun !"

However, her voice couldn't get through. The communication channel was filled with sharp, irregular static.

Even with her best efforts to adjust, she could only hear sounds from the Simulated Universe, unable to transmit her own voice into it.

"Kzzzt... zzzt... all..."

"Kzzzt... What? Stelle? Hey ! Can you hear me?"

Amidst the intermittent static, Stelle's voice was barely discernible, but it was quickly drowned out by louder bursts of electrical noise.

Herta tapped impatiently on the debugging panel, her small brow tightly furrowed. "What the heck? ! This blasted signal ! It's like the comm channel was thrown into a microwave ! Stelle, what's happening over there? ! Are you okay? ! Don't scare me ! Hurry up and find a way, at least make a sound !"

She stood with her hands on her hips, her tone a mixture of worry, impatience, and the subtle excitement of a researcher encountering the unknown.

"Kzzzzt... it's your fault... kzzzzt... dead..."

"Ah? ! Don't just say it, don't actually die !"

Hearing the garbled words "fault" and "dead," Herta's frown deepened. She suddenly remembered she had placed several backup puppets inside the Simulated Universe for observation. She immediately decided to connect to one of them.

Then, she discovered something far more terrifying than the Simulated Universe malfunctioning.

When she took control of the backup puppet, the other Herta puppet inside the Simulated Universe was standing directly in front of her, staring straight at her.

[Translator's Note: Another promotional blurb or synopsis for a different novel appears at the end of this chapter. ]

Book Title: Star Rail Players All Want to Single Me Out

Synopsis: Others who transmigrate into game worlds are either the chosen one or just build harems. But after I transmigrated, I can only be a gacha character drawn by players, and I'm even required to become the most popular one? !

This is really hard ! Nowadays, gacha players have policies like 'won't pull male characters,' 'won't play if they're weak,' 'won't look if they're not hot.' How can You Yi, a male character, become number one in popularity?

What?
High popularity increases strength and unlocks new forms?
Alright, alright, alright ! In that case, there's only one answer !
I shall sortie in Kamen Rider, Gundam, [Magical Girl - crossed out ] forms !
Changing size at will ! The strongest man in the history of Honkai: Star Rail strength ! The culmination of a man's dream ! The most reliable senior in the plot !
Facing ever-increasing popularity, You Yi says:
"Follow You Yi, meow ! Please follow You Yi, vote for me lots, thank you, meow !"
"Say you love the Trailblazer, Stelle ! Get her to vote for you again ! Recharge !"