Meanwhile, inside the room, Pei Guang wasn't asleep at all. He was still sitting on the floor, admiring his "Best Performance" highlights in the system menu.
As a player, he found endless joy in rewatching his victories. Reviewing how he and his teammates crushed their enemies? Absolutely satisfying.
He had felt a bit tired earlier, but after watching a few replays, all that fatigue had vanished.
Because he hadn't been sleeping, he heard the commotion outside the door. Curious, he got up to check—and found his door already open.
Standing outside were March 7th and Stelle, locked in a bizarre standoff.
March 7th was holding a camera, clearly caught in the act, while Stelle looked at her in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.
Pei Guang couldn't help but smile.
"Oh, you're both awake? Well, since you're up, why don't you come in?"
Hearing his words, March 7th took a deep breath. Originally, she had planned to take advantage of her clear-headed, well-rested state to get closer to him. But Stelle had completely ruined her plans.
At that moment, March 7th cast a slightly resentful look at Stelle.
However, Stelle didn't see it that way at all. Instead, she puffed out her chest proudly. In her mind, mischievous March 7th had clearly been sneaking around to take embarrassing photos of Pei Guang.
And even though they were teammates, how could March 7th do something shady without inviting her? Good deeds or bad deeds—it didn't matter. If she wasn't involved, then it was definitely wrong.
With this thought, Stelle felt even more triumphant. It was as satisfying as shaking every carbonated drink in a convenience store just before someone opened them.
For a brief moment, she even felt like the universe itself was applauding her moral righteousness.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang, ever observant and experienced, studied the two girls' expressions. Despite all the games he had played, he couldn't recall ever encountering a scene quite .
No—wait. That wasn't entirely true. Some "love-triangle drama" events in dating sims had setups that felt vaguely similar.
But Stelle and March 7th in a love-triangle drama???
A giant question mark popped into Pei Guang's head as he tried to process the situation.
Before he could make sense of it, March 7th and Stelle entered the room one after the other. March 7th grumbled, "I was just trying to sneak a couple of photos, but she ruined it~"
Pei Guang shrugged. "No big deal. I'll let you take as many as you want later. But judging by how lively you two are, I'm guessing you're both well-rested? If so, how about we head to Herta's Space Station?"
He had no intention of dwelling on the weirdness. Thinking too hard about it would just give him a headache. Instead of trying to figure out why Stelle and March 7th had those strange looks earlier, he'd rather focus on how to handle Herta's upcoming mission.
Hearing Pei Guang's suggestion, Stelle immediately perked up.
"The Simulated Universe, right? I know it inside and out! But wait—I thought it could only be played solo?"
Pei Guang blinked. "Huh? No multiplayer? Hold on, I'll ask."
He pulled out his phone and messaged Herta.
Pei Guang: "Hey, you there? I'm ready to test you~"
Herta: "I told you—it's not me you're testing, it's the Simulated Universe. What's the question?"
Pei Guang: "Can this version be played multiplayer? Playing alone sounds kinda boring."
Herta: "The old version couldn't, but the new one? No problem at all! Let me guess—you three, right? I knew it. You guys can't seem to go anywhere without each other. Don't worry, the new hardware can handle it just fine!"
Thanks to Nous's support, the upgraded system could easily handle multiplayer testing.
Herta had also given it some thought. In reality, Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th had been operating as a team from the very beginning. Testing the Simulated Universe as a group might lead to unexpected results.
Pei Guang was a player, Stelle had a unique body and a Stellaron inside her, and March 7th? Well, Herta figured she could act as a "limiter."
After all, throwing a completely free-willed player into the simulation was already risky enough. Bringing March 7th along would provide just enough restraint—and maybe keep Pei Guang from slacking off too much.
Pei Guang relayed Herta's response to Stelle and March 7th.
Hearing the news, Stelle practically jumped for joy. "Awesome! Playing together will be so much more fun! Ah Guang, listen—I'm an experienced tester for this game. I know it like the back of my hand. It's super immersive and super fun! Ahem—this time, let me lead the way in the Simulated Universe. I'll pick the Hunt Path. Hunt blessings are ridiculously strong!!!"
During the beta test, she had already mastered the Simulated Universe. And now that Pei Guang was about to try it—complete with multiplayer support—she was ready to take on the role of a veteran player and guide the newbies.
The thought made Stelle feel smug.
Pei Guang played along, praising her. "Oh? You're a beta tester? A closed beta player? In that case, I'll count on you to carry me through this. This mission's all on you, miss pro gamer."
Stelle struck a confident pose, hands on her hips, and grinned. "No problem! Just leave it to this experienced beta tester to show you the ropes in Herta's Simulated Universe!"
Pei Guang laughed. "Alright, let's go test it out!"
Being able to play together made Pei Guang genuinely excited. Out of the countless games he'd played—whether they were hyper-realistic or purely fictional—there was one thing he always valued above all else: having friends to play with.
Stelle cheered, "Yay~ Let's do this!"
Watching the two of them so happy, March 7th smiled too. But just as she started to feel excited, an inexplicable sense of dread crept over her.
And it wasn't just March 7th who felt uneasy. Over at the Space Station, Herta—while eagerly awaiting Pei Guang's arrival—suddenly shivered.
Not just her puppet body, but her main body and every puppet connected to her all twitched at the same time.
A strange sense of foreboding hit her. She started trying to figure out what caused it—only to be interrupted when Pei Guang's group suddenly appeared in her office.
Pei Guang stepped forward and greeted her. "Herta, we're here. Three people testing together is fine, right?"
Herta, still distracted by the ominous feeling, quickly brushed it aside. Seeing Pei Guang and the others ready to go, she abandoned her train of thought.
"Of course! Three of you should be more than enough. So, where do you want to start? From the Space Station? From Belobog? Or should I set up a completely new planet for you?"
Pei Guang blinked. "Wait, we can pick a starting point?"
Stelle tilted her head. "Where should we start?"
March 7th chimed in, "How about we start here? This is where the three of us first met, and I think it'd be a meaningful place to start. Besides, I don't really know how this works yet, so why not go with something familiar?"
Herta shrugged. "Fine, we'll start here. But let me make something clear—it's not a game. It's a Simulated Universe… Actually, you know what? Think of it as a game if you want. It's easier that way."
Pei Guang asked skeptically, "You're sure this Simulated Universe…"
Herta interrupted, already anticipating his question. "It's not one of those bad stories where you can't log out. My Simulated Universe has an exit button, and dying inside won't affect your body or mind. Just relax and enjoy it!"
Pei Guang wasn't the only one with this concern—Stelle had asked the same question before. But Herta understood; it was hard for most people to grasp just how advanced the Simulated Universe really was.
Pei Guang nodded. "Alright, so how do we start?"
Herta gestured toward the equipment. "Come over here. I'll get you hooked up and ready to go."
Leading the three of them to the simulation pods, Herta prepared for the test.
In her mind, she was already bracing for the possibility of failure. The way she saw it, the worst-case scenario was blowing up another set of machines. That wouldn't be a big deal—both she and her collaborators had factored that into their plans.
Even if the test yielded no useful results, or worse, turned out to be a complete waste of time, energy, and resources, it wasn't the end of the world.
What other consequences could there possibly be?
Neither Herta nor the other three geniuses had considered anything more disastrous.
After all, this time, they had prepared fantastic rewards for Pei Guang. No matter what the results were, he wouldn't leave empty-handed.
Stephen had even simulated Pei Guang's likely behavior based on "player logic."
He imagined Pei Guang rampaging through the simulation—looting, killing, hoarding resources, and collecting as many attractive characters as possible.
What could possibly go wrong? It would just be a chaotic, fun mess.
But in reality, Herta had grossly underestimated Pei Guang—and the full implications of what it meant to be a player.
The six-letters word "player" carried far more weight than Herta and her team had prepared for.