Ruan Mei then thought of a crucial point:
"Herta, how long can your Brain-Brain Fruit's awakened state last? Can it continuously provide enhancements to those around you, or even to all living beings on The Blue?"
"It can last until my stamina is exhausted." Herman smiled faintly. "But you know, Ruan Mei—I've already completed my self-coronation. I'm now an Emanator of Erudition, and I've undergone super genetic modification. I've also consumed the God Tree fruit of chakra. My stamina can be considered inexhaustible. So I can maintain the awakened state of the Brain-Brain Fruit indefinitely, providing intelligence enhancements for you and for all living beings of The Blue civilization!"
"If that's the case, then the time it takes for me to reach that step of my dream—to become XX—will be greatly shortened." Ruan Mei spoke with a hint of emotion. After a pause, she added, "And with your support, The Blue civilization will surely trigger an unprecedented technological explosion, achieving rapid development and becoming a major force in the cosmos."
"More importantly, if you keep the Brain-Brain Fruit's Wisdom Halo active, then The Blue system will become a holy land for scholars across the universe. Given enough time, you could even develop an intellectual faction comparable to the Intelligentsia Guild!"
"I've already thought of everything you said." Herman nodded. "The Blue civilization is the place that gave birth to me and raised me. It's only natural for me to take care of them... After all, no matter what, they gave me the title of The Blue's number one scholar."
"As for developing a faction comparable to the Intelligentsia Guild, I have no interest in that whatsoever. I'm not interested in managing any academic organization."
Inside the Simulated Laboratory, Herta listened to this conversation and expressed strong agreement:
"Most people in this universe are empty-headed fools. Even if they receive the Wisdom Halo, they won't be able to conduct any innovative research. At best, they'll just follow established methods—only learning a bit faster."
"I even suspect that even with the Wisdom Halo's blessing, they still wouldn't be able to understand my research manuscripts."
After hearing this, Herman couldn't help but reply in his mind, "You're not wrong. But even faster learning speed is something countless people desire."
Herta: "???"
Herman: "In this universe, countless parents hope their children will complete their studies successfully and eventually secure a position in the Interastral Peace Corporation. So if we auction off access to the Wisdom Halo, there would definitely be countless bidders competing for it."
Herta: "You mean entrusting the IPC to hold a universal auction for opportunities to receive the Wisdom Halo?"
Herman nodded inwardly: "Exactly."
Herta fell into thought and quickly considered that she might leave The Blue system in the future for various research endeavors.
If that happened, would people still bid for such an unstable blessing of wisdom?
She asked herself this question and quickly derived the answer using her 3,000 research points:
Absolutely.
Not only would people buy it, but there would be many buyers—perhaps even queues forming.
After all, it was a blessing of intelligence, personally researched and created by "Herta," with a clearly defined effect of enhancing intellect and insight.
After reaching this conclusion, Herta spoke seriously in her mind to Herman, "Then I'll leave the matter of selling Wisdom Halo slots to you. Negotiate with the IPC."
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Herman agreed without hesitation.
At that moment, Jade spoke from the side: "Miss Herta, you just said that the group Wisdom Halo generated by your awakened fruit can be maintained continuously."
Herman nodded, then shook his head. "More precisely, it can be maintained while I'm within The Blue system. If I leave for research or investigations, then it cannot be sustained."
Hearing this, Jade's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on her face. "In that case, Miss Herta, would you consider further cooperation with the IPC—specifically, jointly developing a paid immigration program for The Blue system? I believe countless people across the universe would be eager to experience even a fragment of a genius' wisdom and thereby enhance their own insight."
"Immigration to The Blue system? That's acceptable—as long as they can accept that I may leave from time to time, causing the group buff to disappear."
"They will definitely accept it. After all, you are the genius who walks among the stars. Your wisdom itself is the most valuable treasure in the cosmos. The IPC also hopes you will develop even more unimaginable technologies in the future."
Herta extended her hand. "Then, a pleasant cooperation... As for the specifics, you'll need to discuss them with Pearl and the Supreme Leader of the Blue Federation."
"Of course."
Jade agreed eagerly, then immediately took out her phone and reported to Diamond the mysteries of Herta's Devil Fruit awakening, as well as the fact that she had developed the Brain-Brain Fruit to its awakened state—transforming herself into a humanoid intelligence amplifier.
!!
Even Diamond, an Emanator of Preservation, was shocked upon hearing this news for the first time:
Enhancing intelligence!
What an incredible ability!
To think that consuming a Devil Fruit and developing it to its awakened state could grant such an unbelievable power!
After expressing his astonishment, Diamond seriously instructed Jade to seize any opportunity to acquire a Devil Fruit on behalf of the IPC.
Immediately afterward, Diamond contacted the seven-member board of directors, informing them that The Blue system had become a star of intellectual evolution under Herta's control.
The Scar-Eyed Madam's brows twitched. "Diamond, are you saying that anyone living in The Blue system can increase their intelligence? Become smarter?"
"And Herta has already shown preliminary intention to open temporary immigration access to The Blue system." Oswaldo tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers. "If that's true, then those immigration slots will be extremely valuable."
At that moment, the seven-member board was shaken.
After all, the high-ranking members of the IPC's board had extensive networks of relatives—and they had children as well.
They all hoped their children could possess higher intelligence, climb to higher positions within the company in the future, or even inherit their own roles.
Thus, they began arranging for relatives and children to head toward The Blue system, while also submitting immigration applications to the Blue Federation in advance.
On this day, the Blue Federation's immigration bureau was thrown into chaos, receiving one sudden application call after another.
What made the situation even more alarming and bewildering was that these calls came from places billions of light-years away—such as the IPC headquarters at Pier Point and Astropolis, as well as other famous commercial hubs across the universe.
In the end, the overwhelmed immigration officials compiled all the information and reported it to the Supreme Leader of the Blue Federation.
And then, even the Supreme Leader was stunned.
The reason was simple—the wave of immigration had come too suddenly and too fiercely, leaving no time to react.
More importantly, all the applicants were relatives of major figures renowned across the universe.
For example, the son of a senior executive from the Marketing Development Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation at P43 rank.
Or the daughter of a high-ranking manager from the Strategic Investment Department—whose status is second only to the Ten Stonehearts, a P44-level executive.
Or even a newborn child from the core lineage of a top IPC family.
After coming back to his senses, the Supreme Leader of the Blue Federation felt his mind trembling. Then his thoughts rapidly aligned, realizing that this sudden wave of change was most likely caused by that individual.
Miss Herta had likely completed yet another extraordinary research breakthrough—one that had attracted a massive influx of immigrants from beyond.
Perhaps...
The Supreme Leader thought of something and picked up the special intelligence reports gathered by the intelligence department today:
Monkeys that could speak human language and had learned to scroll through videos on mobile phones.
And students across the board achieving high scores—top scorers who had never appeared in past years were now emerging one after another in this year's examinations.
More importantly, it wasn't just civilians who felt themselves becoming smarter—even within the Federation... including the Supreme Leader himself, everyone had this sensation.
This led him to a conclusion:
Perhaps Miss Herta had used some newly developed technology to adjust the intelligence of the Blue Federation's civilization. That was the true reason why so many immigrants from Pier Point and Astropolis were flocking in.
"Supreme Leader, how should we handle these immigration applications?" The immigration bureau director, dressed in a formal suit and waiting in the office for quite some time, finally asked.
The Supreme Leader clasped his hands under his chin and said seriously, "Put them on hold for now... We'll wait until Miss Herta returns and ask for her opinion."
"Supreme Leader, you mean these applications are because of her?"
"Of course. Aside from her developing new technology, what else could possibly attract immigrants from Astropolis and Pier Point to our Blue Federation?" The Supreme Leader spoke earnestly. "You have to understand—without Miss Herta, our Blue Federation, or rather the entire Blue system, is nothing more than a small and insignificant star system."
"In the grand cosmos, we're not exactly at the cosmic fringe, but we're definitely a backwater among backwaters."
"I understand. I'll arrange for someone to invite little Herta 05 to a meal and inquire when Miss Herta will return."
"Mm. Go take care of it."
The Supreme Leader waved his hand, dismissing the immigration bureau director. Then he picked up his phone again, watching videos of monkeys learning to speak and scroll, and couldn't help but recall life from just over a month ago:
Back then, Herta City didn't exist.
The Solitary Waves Theory hadn't been solved, and the bizarre phenomenon of monkeys speaking human language had never occurred.
All of these changes had come about because of Herta—the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society!
Her arrival had brought a qualitative transformation to life on The Blue. And now, she was even elevating the intellectual capacity of its entire civilization.
The Supreme Leader once knew that Pier Point was a dream destination for countless talents seeking to join the IPC, while the Xianzhou Alliance was a place that attracted innumerable outsiders.
In short, the headquarters of these top-tier cosmic powers were holy lands that countless people longed to join.
And now, under Miss Herta's support, the Blue Federation had begun to show faint signs of becoming such a supreme holy land.
The Blue civilization was about to undergo a transformation unseen in hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of years.
As long as Herta remained alive, and the Federation continued to hold tightly onto her support, it could continue to soar—perhaps even becoming a top-tier cosmic power rivaling the Xianzhou Alliance and the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Lost in these thoughts, the Supreme Leader gradually fell into deep contemplation.
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Blue system, Lingsha had also reported to the Xianzhou Alliance that Herta had transformed into a humanoid goddess of wisdom, capable of enhancing the intelligence of others.
Holding the phone, Jing Yuan opened his previously half-lidded eyes. The lazy, catlike drowsiness vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "Lingsha, is what you're saying true? This is not something to joke about."
Lingsha replied solemnly, "It's absolutely true. I just experienced the enhancement myself. It's incredibly powerful—pharmacological knowledge I couldn't understand before is now completely clear to me."
"Such a thing actually exists..." Jing Yuan murmured. "I'll contact the Marshal. In addition, I'll dispatch a group to the Blue system to meet Miss Herta and personally experience this intelligence enhancement."
"General, please take this seriously."
"Mm."
After ending the call, Jing Yuan chose to report the matter of intelligence enhancement to Marshal Hua. Then he contacted Fu Xuan of the Divination Commission aboard the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Fu Xuan, I have a special task for you."
"What is it? Have you finally realized you're too old and plan to hand over the position of Arbiter-General to me?" Fu Xuan said calmly.
"Heh." Jing Yuan chuckled. "You're still too young—you need more tempering. But if you complete this mission, you might truly have a chance to become the next General of the Luofu."
Fu Xuan perked up. "What mission? Tell me in detail!"
"Go to the Blue system."
"The origin star system of Miss Herta, the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society?" Fu Xuan's voice was filled with confusion. "Why go there? Has some force invaded the Blue system, and the Alliance is sending us for support?"
"Of course not." Jing Yuan shook his head slightly. "That individual recently repelled multiple Lord Ravagers in the Yongmei Star System. Even if it was through connections, it's enough to make many forces wary. No one will provoke her anytime soon."
"What I really want to say is—she has another new invention."
Fu Xuan grew even more puzzled. "Isn't subspace and psionic energy already new inventions?"
"No..." Jing Yuan continued. "According to the report from Lingsha, our Vidyadhara envoy in the Blue system, Herta planted a special seed within subspace—a realm capable of absorbing emotional energy from millions of galaxies. That seed can absorb the fantasies of living beings..."
"And in the end, it grew into a great tree, bearing treasures known as Devil Fruits."
"More importantly, after consuming the fruit and awakening it, Miss Herta gained the ability to enhance the intelligence of others! And this enhancement works as long as they are within her domain!"
"According to Lingsha, on Herta's origin world—The Blue—billions of living beings have already gained boundless wisdom under her influence!"
!!
Hearing this, Fu Xuan was completely stunned.
After several dozen seconds, she regained her composure and immediately abandoned her earlier reluctance. She decided to personally travel to the Blue system.
She wanted to meet Herta—to see how this genius had developed a method to enhance intelligence. After all, throughout countless Amber Eras, such a method had never existed.
And beyond that, she had another question she wished to ask:
Could fate truly be changed?