In the past, Noldrei had always been a man of great magnanimity toward humanity.
He was especially considerate of those living in the industrial age, knowing full well the suffering people of that era endured.
This only fueled his hatred for those incompetent vermin who, despite having the power to lead, always managed to fail, preventing civilization from crossing that critical threshold due to their own foolishness.
It would be one thing on a world like Earth, which had struggled for millennia to recover after losing its Previous Era civilization.
Their progress over a few thousand years, given how hard their journey had been, was commendable.
But whenever Noldrei thought of Sa, the inheritor of a civilization of twelve billion people, who so flagrantly squandered that legacy, who openly exploited those under her command to the point of driving away her most brilliant staff, all while running in circles for hundreds of millions of years…
His loathing for Sa only grew.
It was especially infuriating when Sa pontificated about "rationality" and other such justifications.
Her so-called rationality was one that completely obscured her own position, a "rationality" utterly devoid of any rational self-reflection on its own origins.
Noldrei was, in truth, a very tolerant person. Aside from proactively dealing with threats like Otto, he usually left the judgment of individuals to others.
Even with Welt Yang, Academy City's biggest local powerhouse, Noldrei never had any intention of dealing with him.
Factions or central authority—they were all just tools for guiding the grand course of things.
If you had the ability to steer that course, factions were nothing more than minor sects. If you lacked that ability, those same factions became daggers aimed at your back.
Thus, the point of breaking up factions wasn't for the sake of the central power, but to ensure you had a chance to protect yourself after making a mistake.
Fortunately, Noldrei could still grasp the future direction of humanity, but he was also aware that this control likely wouldn't last for thousands of years.
Therefore, before that time came, Noldrei would choose to resolve the issue of the Imaginary Domain, which held humanity back from the stars.
And the Stargate was a promising avenue of research.
Immediately after leaving Venus, Noldrei went to find Kevin. At that moment, Kevin and Su were conserving their strength, awaiting the final battle against the Cocoon of Finality.
For them, defeating the Honkai was the ultimate purpose of their lives.
Noldrei candidly informed Kevin and Su about the Stargate.
The news caught them both completely off guard. After all, the Previous Era had never touched upon this critical discovery.
If their interstellar technology had been advanced enough to detect the Stargate, they wouldn't have suffered such a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Honkai, even if they had still lost in the end.
Kevin had no real solution to offer.
Ever since Noldrei had proven that all the Previous Era's plans were failures, Kevin's purpose had narrowed to a single objective: Finality.
Su, on the other hand, was able to contribute to the conversation.
He had some authority on the matter. He observed the universe from a very broad perspective and had his own thoughts regarding the Stargate.
"Based on what you've described, Director, whether it's the Sky People or this 'Sa,' or even the current Imaginary Domain and the Cocoon of Finality, they all bear the distinct marks of being artificial constructs. I believe the Stargate is no exception."
Su was not just speaking nonsense. He paused, then continued in a measured tone, "Take that digital lifeform, Mara, who has already escaped the solar system. Whether her words described Sa's physical form expanding or its ideology expanding... does that mean a digital lifeform leaves via the transfer of digital information? Something similar to the Hare's transcription ability?"
"Or perhaps it has a mechanical form, a biological form... What I can't determine right now is, if we were to attempt to cross this Stargate, would the place we emerge into be the same as the starry sky we see?"
"Director, I don't know if you've considered this problem. Since light can traverse the Imaginary Domain, then theoretically, the power you possess should also be able to cross it. But by the same token, what if the universe displayed by this domain is a fake? A landscape projected by Imaginary Energy based on its nature."
"If we enter rashly, we might just plunge directly into a tide of Imaginary Energy."
Finally, Su arrived at an issue that could not be ignored.
He stated calmly, "Our problem now is how to determine if this Mara's words are true or false, and to determine if Sa is possibly using this to lure you, Director, into a trap."
Noldrei was quite surprised; the master angler himself was about to be baited by Sa.
Sa viewed herself as the ultimate product of civilization, the savior of the people of Venus. She would never dare send her own proxy, let alone herself, to test the Stargate.
That was why, despite having discovered it so long ago, she had made no move. Her rationality was completely shackled by her own self-interest.
Noldrei remained reserved on whether Sa was deceiving him. He could, in fact, discern if Sa was lying. Only the genuine article could successfully bait Noldrei.
Kevin frowned and asked, "You're not actually thinking of crossing the Stargate, are you?"
Noldrei nodded. "Of course. But only after we have Finality completely under control. Besides, I can't accept humanity's current half-baked level of development."
Kevin and Su glanced at each other, instantly abandoning any thought of dissuading Noldrei.
Since he was considering it from the perspective of civilization's external expansion, it was not something they could argue against.
Su asked, slightly curious, "Director, have you already determined that Sa told you the truth? Meaning, the information from that digital lifeform named Mara is real?"
"Yes," Noldrei replied honestly. "That is indeed my judgment."
Su pondered for a moment. "In that case, do you plan to send people on a trial run through the Stargate to see what's outside?"
To his surprise, Noldrei looked at them in astonishment. "How can you be so inhumane? Of course, we can't experiment like that. People must participate in such exploratory activities voluntarily. Since I was hooked, there will naturally be others who are hooked by the dream of exploring the universe. We've obtained Sa's Star-Crosser; with such an opportunity, we should just publicize all the information."
"You must remember, everything can be used as a catalyst to hasten the descent of Finality."
"The Second Cocoon is ready, which means breaking the blockade of the Honkai and the Imaginary is our backup plan. The Cocoon of Finality may be able to control the solar system, but it doesn't have the power to control the entire universe."
"In other words, announcing the existence of the Stargate to the civilization of Earth will be the final strike to force the Cocoon of Finality to reveal itself."
Kevin and Su stared blankly at Noldrei. They never imagined that the news of the Stargate, through a strange twist of fate, would become the final step in forcing out the Cocoon of Finality.
Baiting the Cocoon of Finality and the internal opposition at the same time?! Is there anything you can't use as bait?