Lady Herta, I Want You

Regarding the reward Herta mentioned, Lin Shuang had no hesitation.

After all, she already had what she wanted.

"Then, can I have your... doll, Ms. Herta?"

"...?!"

March 7th, standing nearby, widened her eyes in shock.

Wow, this was truly eye-opening.

Was this something you could just ask for so casually?

She had expected Lin Shuang to ask for money, information, or a favor—something more conventional.

But instead, Lin Shuang went straight for the boldest request.

Was she not afraid that Herta would be offended?

But clearly, March 7th didn't understand Herta well enough.

She was not the type to get angry over such direct remarks.

"Oh? You're quite interesting, kid. You actually like my doll. Are you my fan?"

"Almost."

Lin Shuang didn't express her true thoughts. She couldn't exactly go wild and say, "I'm Herta's dog."

Herta didn't care about such things. It was far more entertaining to mess with someone who had a sense of shame.

Like March 7th.

March 7th, who was standing by, suddenly shuddered for no reason. She looked at Lin Shuang suspiciously, feeling as if this girl had just thought of something devious.

Herta, however, wasn't concerned.

"Alright, then this doll is yours."

As soon as she spoke, the 'Herta' in front of them fell silent, no longer moving.

Then, Lin Shuang's phone buzzed with a message from Herta:

[Herta: This is Herta.]

[Herta: Bring the Stellaron Imp with you later. Come to my office quickly. I'll be waiting.]

March 7th, peering over at the message, looked between the motionless doll and Lin Shuang in confusion.

"…Ms. Herta, isn't she right here?"

"Clearly, Herta has gone offline here. She probably moved to her office."

Lin Shuang's explanation made March 7th nod, only to suddenly react and point at the doll.

"Wait, you're actually taking this?"

"Why wouldn't I? Herta gave it to me. Besides, this puppet looks pretty sturdy."

"But do you even know how to operate it?"

"Don't worry, I have my ways."

Lin Shuang gave an ambiguous smile.

March 7th suddenly felt uneasy.

Was she planning to pull the same stunt as with the Doomsday Beast?

Was she really not worried about Herta coming after her?

—

March 7th was never one to sit still.

After resting for a while, she got a meal from the little robot and ate.

Then she ran off to play.

As for Lin Shuang—

Stelle was still lying here, so Lin Shuang stayed behind instead of leaving with March 7th.

The Herta doll had been stored away in her space; she would find a quiet place to deal with it later.

At least after returning to Azure Planet.

For now, with some free time, she could draw a card.

Earlier, while chatting with March 7th, she had already confirmed her relationship status.

[Target: March 7th]

[Favorability: 72 (Admiration and Empathy)]

[Relationship: Good partners]

['Wow, wow, you've learned to use your tragic backstory to gain sympathy? You're really a natural-born scumbag!']

[Reward: Green Card Draw]

If favorability increased, or their relationship deepened, she could get a purple card.

But there was no rush.

It wasn't the same as a battle settlement, anyway.

When March 7th's status updated, messages from Himeko and Stelle popped up:

[Target: Himeko]

[Favorability: 67 (Trust and Curiosity)]

[Relationship: None]

['This is Aunt Himeko, alive! How could you bear this? You have to win her over immediately!']

['But she seemed quite curious about why Welt reacted so strongly when he saw you.']

Himeko seemed to have a good impression of her.

Reaching 65 favorability meant basic trust.

As for the last comment, Lin Shuang silently apologized to Uncle Yang—in her heart.

Hopefully, when he saw Luocha in Luofu, he wouldn't get so excited that he attacked him outright.

And then there was Stelle:

[Target: Stelle]

[Favorability: 75 (Care and Trust)]

[Relationship: None]

['This silly girl is so naive. Just because she remembers you standing with Kafka, she trusts you completely.']

['How could you bear to deceive such a good kid? You monster!']

Yes, Stelle's favorability was even higher than March 7th's.

Lin Shuang was honestly surprised.

To be fair, she had expected Stelle to trust March 7th more.

But looking at the comments…

It seemed that because Stelle had last seen her standing beside Kafka and Silver Wolf, she had chosen to trust her so easily.

Lin Shuang didn't know what to say.

This girl looked like an elegant beauty, but why was she so naive?

No wonder Sparkle called her Little Gray Hair.

Thinking of this, Lin Shuang couldn't resist reaching out and pinching Stelle's cheek.

Maybe it was because Silver Wolf had done the same to her before—

Stelle's skin was so soft it seemed like water would seep out with just a squeeze.

When a pretty girl was sleeping, looking so defenseless, it really made people want to tease her.

Lin Shuang rubbed Stelle's cheeks, shaping them into round and flat forms, before letting go when her face turned slightly red.

"Hey, Little Gray Hair is actually pretty cute."

Retracting her playful hand, Lin Shuang returned to the card-drawing interface.

She was curious—

What skill would she get from March 7th?

Archery?

Or Six-Phase Ice?

She pressed draw!

Lin Shuang's eyes swept across the interface.

The familiar green glow flashed before her.

A new skill appeared:

[Photo Memory]

['Unlock memories through photographs. You can witness them, but only witness them.']

['Photos cannot carry the past, but they can be the key to memory.']

['The invisible never disappears; it exists whether remembered or forgotten.']

It was a bit of an abstract description, but Lin Shuang, as the skill holder, roughly understood its function.

She could use photographs as records to read the events captured in them.

Logically, such an ability should be extremely overpowered, with a rarity higher than just green.

However—

This skill had limitations.

It didn't allow free reading, and clarity wasn't guaranteed.

Repeated attempts could even lead to permanent failure.

At best, it would be interesting for gossip.

But using it to gather intelligence or uncover past events?

That was probably wishful thinking.