Inside the office, silence reigned.
The four special mirrors reflected nothingness, except for the one in front of Ms. Herta, which was awash with a torrent of data incomprehensible to mortals.
That was the concretization of thought.
Ms. Herta's consciousness was traversing the narrow spaces of the path.
Ahead, a light guided the way.
She was about to meet the Aeon who presided over Erudition.
The "Fourth Mirror" reflected in the mirror followed closely, asking in a fawning voice, "Great Ms. Herta, is that the Erudition Aeon further ahead?"
"That's right," Ms. Herta said, not slowing her pace. "The Space Station has finally accumulated enough computing power to connect the channel. This is an opportunity we've been preparing for a long time."
"But, if I may be so bold, Ms. Herta, isn't all of this... a little too smooth?"
Ms. Herta scoffed, completely justified.
"For a genius like me, shouldn't things going smoothly be a matter of course?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!" The Fourth Mirror immediately changed their tune.
"Ms. Herta is peerless! Ms. Herta is brilliantly intelligent! Ms. Herta is breathtakingly beautiful!"
Despite what she said, the smoothness of the process did make Ms. Herta herself feel a hint of strangeness.
No labyrinth of knowledge, no traps of logic.
The door leading to the Aeon felt like a deliberate invitation.
In a blink, she had arrived before a light source that defied description.
Ms. Herta cast her question into that sea of light,
"Tell me, mechanical head, what is the 'key'?"
The next instant, a pure red light surged from the depths of the mirror, instantly overwhelming her perception.
Her consciousness returned to reality. Ms. Hertaclosed her eyes, and a massive amount of information was rapidly deconstructed and reassembled in her mental palace.
A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, a curve of profound interest on her lips.
She murmured to herself, as if no one else was there, "You really are something, mechanical head."
Only then did her gaze finally fall upon the other person in the office.
Phainon stood on the other side of the office.
He wasn't looking at Ms. Herta, but was quietly staring at a holographic portrait on the wall.
The person in the portrait was Genius Society #1, Zandar I. Kuwabara, "the creator of Erudition."
"Hey."
Ms. Herta called out to him, breaking the silence.
"What, interested in Zandar? I hung him here not out of reverence, but just to remind myself that the birth of Erudition is inseparable from him. It's a form of memorial."
Phainon softly replied, "Between you and him, who is more powerful?"
Ms. Herta returned to her desk and sat down, crossing her legs, studying Phainon with a scrutinizing gaze. "That's a good question, but we'll have to try it to find out."
She tapped the desk, getting straight to the point.
"Regarding the'scepter key' you mentioned, there's new progress."
As soon as she finished speaking.
Buzz—
A blue data stream converged in mid-air, forming a rigorous and precise mechanical figure.
Genius Society #76, the ruler of Screwllum—Screwllum.
His projection appeared, his electronic eyes flickering with rational light, but his metallic body exuded a classical gentleman's demeanor, refined and amiable.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, esteemed Phainon," Screwllum's electronic voice was elegant and clear.
"Question: Does esteemed Phainon know why the Emperor Scepter failed?"
Phainon's gaze finally shifted from the portrait, falling upon Screwllum's projection.
"Hello, Screwllum," he answered calmly. "I think it's because of Ms. Pathevia."
A faint light flickered in Screwllum's electronic eyes, indicating agreement.
"Correct. During the'School War' period, Ms. Pathevia, by reverse-tracking experimental errors, successfully deduced a solitary wave in the universe."
"And while searching for the source of the solitary wave, she also discovered the scepter's core, eventually choosing to meet Erudition, thereby leaving behind the century-old problem—the solitary wave algorithm."
"Since then, all Emperor Scepter terminals have failed."
"Conclusion: Logically, creating a brand new 'key' is not feasible."
The air fell silent again.
This conclusion almost sentenced Phainon's plan to death.
However, Ms. Herta laughed. She held up a finger and gently wagged it.
"Not entirely."
"Although the road is blocked, Screwllum and I can always find other shortcuts."
She raised an eyebrow, saying confidently,
"By reverse-engineering the existing scepter remnants, we've derived a formula that can simulate the 'key' generation process."
"Just now, I received 'revelation' from Erudition, completing the precise values for most of the key variables in the formula."
Ms. Herta leaned forward slightly, her eyes filled with undisguised curiosity as she spoke,
"However, there is still one last variable in this formula."
"A... unique variable that cannot be calculated, nor can it be defined."
Silence once again descended upon the office.
Phainon listened quietly, his face still devoid of any expression.
Under his authority of [Omniscience and Omnipotence], what was called "unknown" had long been designated as "known."
When Ms. Herta mentioned "variable," the answer became as clear as day.
He even found it a bit boring and sighed softly, "That variable is me, isn't it?"
Ms. Herta observed Phainon with interest, "White-haired boy, not bad! Absolutely correct!"
"You yourself are the last and most crucial variable in that formula!"
Phainon was not surprised by this.
All of this was within Erudition's calculations.
He raised his eyes, meeting Ms. Herta's intense gaze, and asked calmly,
"Then, how do I obtain the key?"
"It's simple."
Ms. Herta stood up, pointing to a glowing, pyramid-like facility nearby, "The Simulated Universe."
"Although the original intention of the Simulated Universe's development was to simulate and reproduce Aeons and paths, simulating nearly 70% of the Emperor Scepter's computing power is more than enough."
Her plan was simple, direct, and went straight to the core.
"Next, I will input the complete formula into the Simulated Universe."
"Then, I will also throw you—this unique living variable—into it."
"Let the Simulated Universe use you as their core, and in the end, it will deduce a 'key' unique to you."
She crossed her arms, looking at Phainon,
"Do you understand? Do you need me to explain it to you in simpler terms?"
Phainon shook his head slightly.
"No need, I understand completely. A closed system, an unpredictable initial condition is introduced, and the result of their final evolution is observed."
Ms. Herta looked approvingly at Screwllum, her lips curving upwards, "I told you, he's very interesting."
However, a cold smile emerged within Phainon's heart.
The smile was cold.
An overt scheme.
A blatant, naked scheme, laid out in the open, calculated to ensure he had no choice but to step into it.
Now he could be certain that the bait Black Swanspoke of was this key.
Erudition had calculated that he needed this key to save Amphoreus.
Therefore, Erudition personally paved the way, even "generously" offering revelations to complete the formula.
A key generated in this manner would undoubtedly become Erudition's most fatal trump card.
A trap that could be detonated at any time.
But he had no choice.
Amphoreus was running out of time.
Phainon slowly nodded, accepting this tailor-made cage.
"Alright."
Phainon looked at her, as if remembering something, and suddenly added,
"I need to remind you of something."
"My memories are too vast."
He paused, his deep eyes looking directly at Ms. Herta,
"I hope your Simulated Universe doesn't experience any... accidents then."
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(T/N): Okay here will start a short arc, it may be a bit boring for some people but bear with me it WILL get interesting, also I only posted four chapters today since I didn't want to end it on the start of a new arc so forgive me (˃̣̣̥ᯅ˂̣̣̥)