At the same time, the Life Equation also had an extremely powerful, even heaven-defying effect that even the Geniuses found astonishing—it could grant sentience to ordinary mechanical constructs and wisdom to unintelligent flora and fauna.

That is to say, it could create entirely new sentient life.

The authority of a Creator was thus easily grasped by the Geniuses.

Lin Yi had only mentioned it in passing, and Screw and Ms. Ruan Mei had already come up with something so outrageous. One could only say they were truly Geniuses.

Of course, it was also due to the inspiration and help provided by Aha. Aha was the greatest contributor, finding their research highly amusing.

So Aha stole a memory from Fuli, a memory concerning a deceased person, ensuring consistency from the most microscopic level.

Then, somehow, Aha convinced Erudition to provide an absolute simulation of the deceased's experiences as if he had never died.

Finally, Aha 'implored' the Abundance to create a body that perfectly matched the data from the simulation.

And The Muses, upon its birth, actively intervened to obscure the true history, granting all relevant individuals false memories.

This series of actions created an absolutely real, yet non-existent, person.

This whole operation left the Geniuses deeply shocked, and they unanimously declared that Aha was the true Genius!

Aha: "That's right, I am the strongest Nameless, the most seamless fictional historian, the most intelligent Genius!"

equilibrium: "Beep~ (expletive automatically censored)"

And Erudition's mechanical mind, for reasons unknown, actually invited Aha to join the Genius Society.

Aha simply couldn't refuse something so entertaining.

All in all, that day was both shocking and amusing, shattering the Geniuses' filters regarding the Aeons.

Thus, Aha became the 86th member of the Genius Society.

The Life Equation was born from this~

A week ago... "No, the Simulated Universe is already far from meeting our needs. Its shortcomings in all aspects can no longer be fixed with simple patches. A complete overhaul is necessary."

A Herta Puppet said so.

Screwllum: "Agreed. The simulation of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta theoretically far exceeds the load capacity of the Simulated Universe."

Screwllum: "Even without researching the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, the current Simulated Universe can no longer satisfy our research on the Aeons."

Screwllum: "Conclusion: Both hardware and software are insufficient and require an update and iteration."

Ruan Mei: "Hardware facilities and programming issues are actually easy to solve, but what about the energy problem?

For the upgraded Simulated Universe to fully perform, the energy requirements for its operation are very high."

Ruan Mei dipped a plum blossom cake and gently tasted it, seemingly noticing Lin Yi staring at her and her plum blossom cake.

"Would you like a piece?" Ruan Mei extended the hand holding the pastry.

Lin Yi picked up a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth.

"Thanks, it's delicious ╰(*´︶`*)╯. Ruan Mei is right, software and hardware can be solved with a bit of effort from everyone, but energy is tricky. It's not easy to find something that meets both energy density and output power requirements."

Lin Yi: "Few entities in the cosmos can do it. The Xianzhou Zhuming might be able to, and while the path energy of the hunt cannot be directly obtained, Sui Huang should also be able to meet the energy supply needs."

Screwllum: "Affirmative. The Xianzhou Zhuming should be able to meet the energy demands."

"Query? But how to get the Xianzhou to agree to provide us with assistance?"

"Suggestion: Screwllum could temporarily halt operations and concentrate all energy, which might reach the peak requirements. Before finding an energy source, this might help us conduct small-scale experiments."

Herta shook her head: "That won't work. My Space Station clearly cannot accommodate the upgraded Simulated Universe."

Herta pulled up a holographic projection of "Simulated Universe • New" and brought out the current one for a direct comparison.

Herta: "This Space Station is too small; at most, it can only carry a portion of secondary functions. The best option is still to place it on your Screwllum, which is a natural hardware facility."

Herta: "And we won't have to deal with all sorts of messy people, which can save us a lot of time."

Screwllum: "Understood. Screwllum can designate an area as the main body of the Simulated Universe, but this might not provide sufficient energy supply and would require some planning time."

"Suggestion: Perhaps we could investigate various industrial hubs of the Company; there might be suitable targets. I imagine the Company would be willing to halt production at an industrial hub."

"To be honest, I really don't want to deal with the Company. Stephen, what do you think?" Herta frowned.

Stephen Lloyd: "Ah! Me? I don't have many thoughts. If I had to say, I'd like to try using Imaginary Energy. Nothing is a better energy source than the Imaginary Energy that fills the entire universe—efficient and abundant."

"Perhaps we could try bio-energy. The Propagation's Swarm is endless; with a little utilization, it might not be impossible. This is a topic Lin Yi and I discussed privately, and it has already undergone some research with quite high feasibility."

Ruan Mei smiled and offered a unique suggestion.

Lin Yi decisively raised his hand in agreement and offered a supplementary suggestion: "We can also find ways to genetically modify the Swarm used for power generation to make them edible, preferably even more delicious."

"This way, the leftovers from power generation can be made into canned food. You know, there are many people in the cosmos who are still starving, so we can't be wasteful~"

After a while of chattering discussion, seeing that nothing new could be discussed, Lin Yi spoke to interrupt.

Lin Yi: "Since that's the case, let's end the discussion here. Nothing new will come from further discussion. Ruan Mei and I will go to the Xianzhou."

"I will try to negotiate, and at the same time, I have some new research that requires the Xianzhou's help, so it's convenient to do it along the way.

As for Ms. Ruan Mei, she needs to retrieve something and procure some consumables. I heard it's something she tinkered with before, very mysterious.

So, Screw, can you investigate and negotiate with the Company? Your identity and the advantages of inorganic life make you more suitable than us." Lin Yi interrupted the conversation.

"With pleasure."

Screwllum was always so gentlemanly and elegant.

Lin Yi: "Twenty-seven super-large industrial hubs need to be inspected. The workload is indeed a bit heavy. I will come to help after I've handled matters on the Xianzhou. If there's really no other way, then consider utilizing the Swarm."

"Alright, you two go. I still need to organize the previous data; the workload is too massive. Heh~ Such tedious work isn't for everyone. I really wish I had an assistant who could help, but an assistant of that caliber is hard to find."

The Herta Puppet went offline.

"Then, I shall take my leave first, Mr. Lin Yi, Ms. Ruan Mei. I wish you a smooth journey." Screwllum's projection dissipated.

And Stephen was already gone.

"We should go too," Lin Yi looked at Ruan Mei.

"Give me a few minutes; I still need to deal with some little guys."

"What creature did you throw into the Space Station again?" Lin Yi complained ┐(─__─)┌

Lin Yi opened his phone.

—

【Stranger from a Foreign Land】: Asta, please convey my intention to visit the Xianzhou. Ms. Ruan Mei and I will be visiting Xianzhou Luofu soon.

【Name Withheld】: Alright, Mr. Lin Yi, do you need me to prepare visiting gifts for you and Ms. Ruan Mei? (•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)ᵒᵏᵎᵎᵎᵎ

【Stranger from a Foreign Land】: ... 【Stranger from a Foreign Land】: I overlooked that. How can one make a formal visit empty-handed? Then I'll trouble you to prepare them.

【Stranger from a Foreign Land】: Oh, and also, please notify the Company. I will visit the Company after my visit to the Xianzhou. The specific time is TBD; I will inform the Company then, you just need to give them a heads-up.

【Stranger from a Foreign Land】: By the way, Asta, have you considered changing jobs? Sometimes I really envy Herta; she doesn't have to worry about all the trivial matters. The Space Station is just too chaotic.

「Pom-Pom holding heart JPG.」

—

(First edit: Attentive readers should have noticed that the resurrected person has no name, gender, or identity. That's a protective measure I arranged. If any character gets 'knifed' later, I'll assign him/her/it to be this person.)

(Second edit: Considering whether to arrange Baiheng, which could naturally lead to a lot of plot.)

(Third edit: Considering saving it for Xi Lian. Omphalos looks like a big knife.)