Only someone like Herta—a scientist renowned throughout the entire universe—could speak so casually about destroying a planet.
To Herta, it was merely the loss of a single world.
But to Ningguang...it would mean the destruction of her entire homeland.
"If possible..."
"I hope something like that never happens."
Experiments capable of destroying planets were still far too distant for Ningguang.
She wasn't a researcher herself.
But Liyue certainly had its share of scientists.
Though none of them could compare to the two people before her, she still had some understanding of what scientific experiments entailed.
Even the worst failed experiment she'd ever heard of might destroy a building, or at most claim a few lives.
"Don't be so nervous."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Even if I need to conduct a large-scale experiment, I'm not going to blow up Teyvat."
There was an abundance of empty space throughout the universe.
If necessary, he had plenty of other places to perform dangerous experiments.
Herta frowned, then looked toward Su Ran.
"Screwllum and Ruan Mei are requesting a connection."
"They're very interested in what you did inside the Simulated Universe."
"Then patch them through."
With Herta acting as the intermediary, their communication was quickly connected.
The projections of the two Geniuses appeared before everyone.
Ruan Mei glanced around the room, before her gaze settled on Chiyo, who still looked somewhat dazed.
Inside the Simulated Universe, she had played the role of the fictional Emanator.
"You could have sent my real body here."
She looked at Herta with a hint of disappointment.
"Don't you have that teleportation device?"
"Why only connect the signal?"
"Is that really necessary?"
Herta hopped down from Su Ran's lap.
"I've already ordered new equipment."
"We'll be able to resume Simulated Universe testing before long."
The Simulated Universe had always been a method of exploring the mysteries of the Aeons.
But now,
Su Ran had opened an entirely new path before them.
Although Herta was an arrogant Genius, she wasn't a stubborn one.
Once she discovered a shortcut, she had no intention of wasting time continuing down her old research route.
As a result, her attention had already shifted entirely toward Su Ran's new direction.
Still...turning fictional simulated data directly into reality...
was simply too unbelievable.
It was even more astonishing than when Su Ran had invented the Equivalent Exchange Machine.
"I have a question."
"When the events occurred inside the Simulated Universe..."
"...was the power of an Emanator truly projected into reality?"
Although Screwllum always appeared gentle, he still held considerable doubts about Su Ran's hypothesis.
He simply chose not to voice them bluntly.
After all, they were both members of the Genius Society.
Their talents had each been acknowledged by Nous.
Even if one harbored doubts, the proper response wasn't outright denial, but verification through evidence.
"At present..."
"that appears to be the case."
Herta answered quickly.
Although she hadn't been the closest observer, she had obtained one of the clearest sets of data from Herta Space Station.
Those at the center of the phenomenon
could only sense an unimaginably vast power.
But from farther away, she had been able to analyze its actual magnitude.
Even though it had existed for only an instant, it had undeniably reached the level of an Emanator.
"If a Path can be projected from simulation into reality..."
"...wouldn't that imply the birth of the Aeon governing that Path?"
Ruan Mei found herself genuinely looking forward to this line of research.
If she could obtain the opportunity to study a living Aeon...
that would naturally be ideal.
As for who was most likely to become this newborn Aeon...the strongest candidate at present was the test subject from earlier.
"Very likely."
"After all, the birth of an Aeon inherently accompanies the birth of its Path."
"If the Path comes into existence but no Aeon is born..."
"...that would still make for an excellent research topic."
Herta remained optimistic.
Whether a new Aeon appeared or not, either outcome would constitute an extraordinary discovery.
She didn't mind which result occurred.
Both possessed immense research value.
Of course...
having an actual Aeon appear would be considerably more valuable.
Another access request chimed.
Ningguang looked toward Su Ran.
He responded with a simple glance.
The door slid open once more, and two more people entered.
It was Tingyun, who had come to investigate what had happened, accompanied by Keqing.
Ever since arriving at the space station, Keqing had been constantly amazed.
When the station suddenly shut down earlier, she had been even more anxious than Ningguang.
But the moment she entered, she saw several unfamiliar faces gathered inside.
Her curiosity was immediately piqued.
Tingyun, however, instantly realized something was wrong.
She had clearly recognized the four Geniuses present.
"Shh!"
Just as Keqing was about to ask a question, Tingyun hurriedly covered her mouth.
Su Ran was familiar enough.
But the other three...were all towering figures.
Keqing looked at her in confusion.
"...How can just anyone walk in here?"
"The security here is way too lax."
Their conversation had been interrupted once again.
Herta's temper immediately flared.
"Don't get angry."
"It's not worth it."
"Our research hasn't started yet anyway."
Su Ran patted Herta's little head.
Although the sudden arrivals had indeed disrupted the atmosphere, he wasn't particularly bothered.
Still...perhaps it really was time to tighten up workplace access.
The four Geniuses resumed discussing their research.
Meanwhile, Ningguang, Tingyun, Keqing, and Chiyo quietly exchanged information among themselves.
However,
Keqing's attention was obviously fixed on Su Ran's conversation, not Ningguang's.
"My little ancestor..."
"Please don't cause trouble."
"Any one of the people over there..."
"...is an existence whose name shakes the entire cosmos."
"And Miss Herta is famous for having a terrible temper."
Seeing that Keqing still looked eager, Tingyun physically turned her head away.
Listening secretly from afar was one thing.
Staring at them so openly was another.
Especially knowing Keqing's personality—if she didn't understand something, she would absolutely walk over and ask directly.
"They're really that incredible?"
Keqing still couldn't suppress her curiosity.
Aside from Herta's puppet, she had never seen any of these people before.
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