The Cosmic Juggernaut had been refurbished nicely, even equipped with proper rooms.
It was fully kitted out with all sorts of equipment: photosynthetic aquatic plants, a dedicated animal cultivation chamber, embryo breeding devices, and so on.
These things basically guaranteed a nutritionally balanced three meals a day.
The Herrscher of Sentience, in Mobius's form, gave Noldrei a simple tour of the modified Cosmic Juggernaut.
Senti-Mobius's only worry now was that Imaginary Energy would become ineffective after they left the solar system. If Imaginary Energy was truly just a second-hand energy source, then its use could easily be exploited as a weakness. That's why the energy system from the Sea of Quanta had been preserved here—an invention originating from the Venusian civilization.
"Whether it's the Aether Anchor or the disposition of Imaginary Energy, everything is very suitable. This little Cosmic Juggernaut has already gathered all of civilization's most cutting-edge energy technologies."
Senti-Mobius believed they had now prepared enough for Noldrei to break through the star gate. She didn't think anything could stop this man now.
All Senti wanted now was for this bastard to leave as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, even as he was leaving, Noldrei insisted on taking her, a Herrscher of Sentience with little to no power, with him.
The Herrscher of Sentience was utterly baffled by this. Noldrei clearly had many other choices; he could have even taken Tesla with him. But no, this guy insisted on taking her.
What grudge did he possibly have against her?
The Herrscher of Sentience believed she hadn't had a chance to do anything bad. Besides, with Finality watching over the Earth, she wouldn't have any opportunity to stir up trouble even if she wanted to.
Noldrei nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. It would be even better if that Elysia hiding in the corner would come out on her own."
"Elysia? What Elysia?"
Senti-Mobius hadn't had much contact with Elysia. She glanced around and found Elysia lying on the train car, fast asleep.
"?! How? There was no one here when I came!"
Senti-Mobius strode over, yanked Elysia off the long sofa, and stared at her with a cold face. "When did you get in here?"
"Aiyah!?"
With a yelp, Elysia rubbed her head and dazedly grabbed onto Senti's skirt to pull herself up.
"How rude! How could you treat Ely like that? I've been waiting for you all for a long time."
Noldrei glanced at Elysia's face. Unfortunately, he couldn't analyze what this woman's intentions were.
So he asked bluntly, "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I want to go with you, of course!"
Elysia said with an innocent face, as if "going with you" meant tagging along with Noldrei to get some KFC down the street.
"No! This has nothing to do with you. Get lost and go back!"
Senti-Mobius thought Elysia was an absolute menace of a woman. To think she'd want to tag along at a time like this. It was unbelievable. If Elysia was with them the whole way, just recalling Mobius's memories made it difficult for Senti to imagine getting along with her normally.
Uncharacteristically, Noldrei didn't shoo Elysia away. He thought for a moment, then said immediately, "Since you want to stay, then stay. One more person or one less makes no difference here."
"Huh? Really?"
Elysia had been fully prepared to be kicked out. She hadn't discussed this with anyone before coming, nor had she given Tesla and the others a heads-up.
"I said you could stay, so I won't chase you away again."
Perhaps because he was about to leave, Noldrei seemed to have become much more tolerant of the people here. The usually chattering Elysia didn't seem quite so annoying anymore.
Elysia was still a little surprised. She looked at Senti-Mobius, hoping to get some sort of confirmation from her.
Senti, of course, did not understand Noldrei's thinking. "Don't you know how troublesome this woman is?" she asked, displeased.
"Troublesome she may be, but sometimes I think she can communicate with others on our behalf."
Having spent a long time on Earth, Noldrei was well aware of his own communication skills. Going to another unfamiliar place would definitely require someone more adept at communication.
However, Noldrei didn't expect Elysia to be of much use.
He figured that since there were so many different races in the universe, they surely wouldn't be like the humans of the industrial age.
They couldn't possibly still adhere to things like human etiquette out in the cosmos.
Noldrei just hoped Elysia could present a more 'gentle' outward attitude.
Senti began to suspect Noldrei's motives.
Although she didn't like the guy much, she knew that ever since she'd met him, he never did anything meaningless.
This made Senti worry that he might use Elysia as some kind of bait to fill a cosmic sinkhole.
"That's great! Then, little Mobius, how about I live with you?!"
Elysia hugged Senti-Mobius and began to shove her face into her chest, as if trying to smother the little creature who had only just been born.
"You bastard! You bastard!"
Noldrei couldn't be bothered to watch their squabbling.
He paced back and forth, observing the structure of the train car. A complete structural layout of the Cosmic Juggernaut quickly formed in his mind, and all sorts of familiar operating procedures soon appeared in his thoughts.
Just as Noldrei walked up to the control console, an unexpected voice suddenly spoke.
[Hello, I am Ai Hyperion Λ. I am the AI currently in charge of the Cosmic Juggernaut. Please give your orders, Your Majesty the Emperor!]
Noldrei wasn't surprised. He had seen plenty of intelligent AIs in this world.
"Where is the machine start/stop button?"
[Navigating for you now.]
As an AI, Ai-chan was clearly a bit too personable, especially when she spoke, her voice laced with clear emotional activity.
She didn't have the clear, rigid logical processes of a typical AI.
'Strange, who installed this AI here?'
Noldrei knew Tesla. Tesla wouldn't normally do something so unreliable, especially with an AI system like this. Tesla would always prioritize simplicity and effectiveness.
Under the guidance of Ai-chan's lights, Noldrei followed her lead and found the machine start/stop button.
"Have the coordinates all been set?"
[Dr. Tesla has confirmed them repeatedly. Nothing has been missed.]
'As expected, it mimics human emotional patterns. It even knows how to phrase things to make me trust it more.'
Noldrei glanced back at Senti-Mobius, who was still arguing with Elysia, then turned back to the AI's display.
Without a second thought, he decisively pressed the machine start button, right before Ai-chan's shocked and horrified eyes.
Son of a bitch! A sneak attack on me, an old comrade AI!