A stream of data flashed silently through Screwllum's eyes.
He had just completed a massive series of calculations—evaluating feasibility, potential consequences, and balancing risks against benefits.
Unlike Herta and Lin Yi, who had relatively little to consider, Screwllum bore responsibility for the entire civilization of mechanical life.
Being leader of the mechanical lifeforms was both an advantage and a burden.
More often, it was a restraint.
It prevented him from acting as freely as Herta or Lin Yi could.
After all, every action he took would influence how organic lifeforms viewed mechanical beings.
Screwllum finally spoke.
A feasible plan.
Logic.
If Ruan Mei and Stephen are also willing to participate, the combined efforts of five geniuses would allow us to achieve the objective with ease.
Consideration.
However, Stephen may be unwilling to participate.
Herta waved a hand dismissively.
I'll speak with him.
Besides, with this many people already involved, one less won't matter.
Screwllum replied calmly.
According to an internal provisional policy once proposed by Elias Salas—
When five or more members of the Genius Society collectively support an action without objection...
The action is automatically elevated to an operation in the name of the Genius Society.
Herta's eyes lit up.
So we can use the Genius Society's banner and let them absorb the pressure afterward?
Not bad, Screwllum.
I didn't expect your machine brain to understand flexibility.
Lin Yi nodded.
That makes sense.
Screwllum has responsibilities we don't.
Since we all agree, let's discuss the details.
We'll borrow a few things from the Garden of Recollection.
Then we'll never have to worry about this issue again.
Herta snorted.
If it's robbery, just call it robbery.
No need to dress it up with fancy words.
Lin Yi sighed.
...Fine.
Back to the Present
Lin Yi had not expected Herta to start the story from that far back.
Their trip to the Garden of Recollection had encountered more than a few complications.
At one point, the group had even split up.
Thinking back on it now—
Herta had probably gained something extremely valuable during that second visit.
Lin Yi smiled faintly.
Herta, you're not someone who wastes words.
So it seems you gained quite a lot from that trip.
Herta looked smug.
Of course.
Who do you think I am?
The great Herta never returns empty-handed.
Those Light Cones you picked up back then are worthless compared to what I obtained.
Lin Yi only smiled and said nothing.
The Past Before the Operation
Herta asked,
So the details are basically settled.
Are we visiting openly, sneaking in first and acting later, or smuggling ourselves inside?
Lin Yi rubbed his forehead.
The Genius Society doesn't exactly have an excellent reputation already.
Let's not make it worse.
Visiting openly, then betraying them afterward?
That was the behavior of Lü Meng.
Even if the Garden of Recollection possessed incredibly tempting treasures, they could not profit by destroying their own credibility.
Even if they were planning a robbery in practice...
There were still limits to how shameless they should be.
Ruan Mei nodded softly.
I agree, Herta.
Screwllum analyzed the matter.
Consideration.
If so many geniuses openly visit the Garden, they will certainly attract significant attention.
Under such a high-level reception, our movements would become inconvenient.
Stephen Lloyd sat quietly.
...
Herta nodded.
Fine. Consensus reached.
Next topic.
Stephen parted his lips slightly.
Then closed them again.
He remained silent.
Herta continued.
The Garden of Recollection exists in Sanjian Heaven.
It does not exist within the normal universe.
It lies within dimensional fissures.
Between existence and nonexistence.
It is sustained entirely by memory and thought.
Other than the Memokeepers' regular method of entry...
The best way to sneak in would be through the Memory Domain.
Or through dreams.
Dreams are probably the closest place to Sanjian Heaven.
According to Si Si Kaal's research, the dimension where Sanjian Heaven exists lies precisely at the boundary between dreams and reality.
Screwllum replied,
Memory Domain or dream.
Conclusion.
Penacony may be the best choice.
Ruan Mei shook her head.
No.
Penacony gathers tourists from across the universe.
Too many people.
And it lies under the protection of Harmony.
That may be inconvenient.
Herta proposed another option.
What about Moonshield?
There aren't many people there.
Lin Yi considered it briefly.
But there are Memokeepers there.
If our actions create any disturbance, we may be discovered too early.
Herta looked annoyed.
There are only a few places with dense concentrations of memory substance.
And most of them have Memokeepers collecting memories.
Moonshield already offers the best conditions.
We need to choose something.
Lin Yi suggested another location.
What about Holstein?
The memory concentration is high.
There are no Memokeepers.
But Cremators appear there occasionally.
Herta frowned.
Where is that?
Let me check.
Screwllum answered immediately.
Negative.
Holstein's memory density is too low.
It may not meet operational requirements.
Herta knew little about the place and began searching through records.
Meanwhile, Screwllum calmly explained further.
Mechanical lifeforms held an advantage in matters like this.
As long as their memory storage modules were large enough, they could preserve absurd amounts of information.
And no one except Screwllum himself knew the true limits of his storage capacity.
Herta finally concluded:
Let's vote.
Three options.
Result: 2 to 1.
Stephen abstains.
Moonshield wins.
Next item...
Oh.
There is no next item.
If there are no further questions—
Let's move quickly.
The tedious preparation phase was finally complete.
If they had simply been paying a polite visit, the process would have been much easier.
But sneaking in unnoticed required significant effort.
No one discussed how the spoils would be divided.
Anything that could be shared would be shared.
Anything else—
Whoever seized it first kept it.
Everyone understood that rule.
The Operation
Lin Yi and the others successfully entered Sanjian Heaven through the massive memory void of Moonshield.
They were not discovered by the Memokeepers stationed there.
Probably.
At that moment, one diligent Memokeeper sensed something unusual.
Zhi Li frowned.
Was that my imagination?
No... the memory currents really changed.
She hesitated for a moment.
Then shook her head.
Never mind.
Recovering the memories of the fallen world is more important.
If I don't hurry, Moonshield itself may disappear from memory.
And that—
Was why she had survived for so long.
She knew how to restrain her curiosity.
And how to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Author's Notes
I suddenly realized I forgot something earlier.
I forgot to include a news broadcast confirming that the protagonist wasn't dead.
Let's just assume it happened.
Otherwise Jing Yuan would be under tremendous pressure right now.