Azure Star Region, Herta Space Station!
Inside Herta's office!
Miss Herta—the super-dominant, genius scholar—had just teased Ruan Mei a moment ago, only to be thoroughly intimidated in return.
Miss Herta, who at the youngest age in history solved a grand universal problem,
Miss Herta, who had received multiple glances from Aeons, and had even audiences with Aeons themselves!
At that very moment, a familiar notification sounded in her ears.
The Genius Club… had just welcomed a new member!
Seat #85.
Her eyes instantly lit up, shining exactly like the moment she first cracked the Solitary Wave Algorithm.
Almost reflexively, she opened the Genius Club academic network.
Just what kind of achievement had this brand-new #85 produced?
"Huh?"
"Did something go wrong?"
"Why is there absolutely no paper, no data, no record about this #85 on the academic network?"
"Since when did the threshold for entering the Genius Club become this low?"
Only those personally noticed by Nous and invited into the Genius Club could be called true geniuses.
Up until this newcomer joined,
the Genius Club had exactly eighty-four members—no more, no less.
And among them were absolute monsters.
Even scholars like Doctor of Truth had failed to qualify—
which was precisely why the Intelligentsia Guild even existed.
To those inside the club,
anyone who spent their entire life without earning Nous's attention
were nothing more than mortals and mediocrities.
And yet…
This Seat #85 seemed to have no background at all?
No publications.
No research field.
No recorded breakthroughs.
How was this possible?
Herta frowned slightly.
Under normal circumstances, joining the Genius Club required reaching the absolute pinnacle of intellect in some domain.
Every member had their own research subject.
Including the Simulated Universe, which itself was one such joint project.
She still remembered clearly—
when she solved the Solitary Wave Algorithm, she wasn't even a member yet.
But she had papers.
She had results.
She had proof.
Even her current rejuvenation technology had been researched and tested personally.
"Strange… how exactly did this person attract Nous's attention?"
"Is there something special about them?"
"Or—wait—did the Aeon of Elation mess something up?"
"No, no, that can't be right. Last time Elation tried sneaking bugs into the club, Nous caught it immediately."
"A human… no way. Absolutely no way."
Herta's curiosity about this newcomer skyrocketed instantly.
And right then—
A new message arrived from Ruan Mei.
"This newcomer seems interesting."
"Isn't your Simulated Universe in need of test participants?"
"This person might be suitable."
"But if they're truly a genius, they should already have a Club Invitation Token, right?"
"Why not meet them personally at the banquet?"
"Oh! Right—how did I forget about that!"
Herta suddenly remembered.
She still had one of those Genius Club Invitation Tokens!
That artifact was created by the second acknowledged leader of the Genius Club—
Genius Club Seat #56: Elias Salas.
The man who invented the Synesthesia Beacon—
yes, that device Boothill treats like a treasure.
With his own hands, he shattered the Dark Forest Theory,
allowing the entire universe to finally communicate.
And because of that, he entered the Genius Club.
The Invitation Token itself was an oddity he invented.
Every Genius Club member would automatically receive one upon joining.
Its purpose was simple:
So that after death,
a member could still enter the club's gathering space through instant planar teleportation.
In reality—
Ever since this item was created,
every single member had used it at least once.
But strangely enough…
Not a single meeting ever overlapped in time.
After all, geniuses were all eccentric.
Even Herta—who seemed easygoing—
was actually weird as hell.
"The question is… will this person even show up?"
"Geniuses are all strange—especially you, Ruan Mei."
Herta spoke aloud.
Ruan Mei didn't bother refuting her.
She had already hung up earlier, only to reconnect again because of a newcomer.
"Whether they're truly a genius is for you to judge."
"I don't have time anyway. I think I picked up a little cutie along the star route."
"Alright, alright, I get it. You're busy—Screwllum said the same thing."
"Busy is good~ Busy is great~"
Herta understood Ruan Mei perfectly.
Outside of life research, Ruan Mei had no interest in anything else.
Especially now, when she'd found the remains of a King Insect in some abandoned star sector.
Something that interesting was obviously far more worth studying than a newly arrived genius.
Perspective shift.
Belobog, Goethe Hotel.
After handing the Stellaron over to Welt and Himeko for sealing,
March 7th's group began shopping around Belobog.
Meanwhile, before Bronya's formal ascension,
she still needed to lift the lockdown and personally visit the Underworld to understand their situation—
so Seele was taken along as well.
And just like that…
The entire Upper District was left with only one person.
Oh—right.
Sparkle's little prank
didn't seem to be completely resolved yet.
At this moment,
there were less than thirty-six hours left
before Belobog's explosion deadline.
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