Most members of the Genius Society were eccentric in nature; normal people like Screwllum were few and far between.
Someone like Herta, who was merely direct and sharp-tongued, could, in a sense, be considered quite normal.
As a genius in the field of life sciences, Ruan Mei appeared gentle and wasn't as verbally cutting as Herta. In reality, however, her personality was the most extreme of them all.
Even among all the members of the Genius Society, Ruan Mei's ambition was the greatest.
Not only did she set her research sights on the Aeons, but she even harbored the idea of becoming an Aeon herself.
However, she kept this wish buried deep within her, so deep that not even Herta and the others knew about it.
Now, suddenly hearing Su Mo mention the creation of an Aeon, Ruan Mei naturally couldn't contain her shock.
She was shocked not only because Su Mo shared her ambition but also because he seemed to have genuinely found a viable path.
In contrast, her own research had long since hit a bottleneck. On the matter of becoming an Aeon, apart from continuing to delve deeper into the field of life sciences, she had very few leads.
"You—"
In her shock, before Ruan Mei could even speak, Herta had already let out a similar gasp.
"What did you just say?"
The purple-haired girl stared at Su Mo as if he were some unspeakable monster or a madman rarely seen in this world.
"Create... an Aeon?"
After repeating Su Mo's words, the puppet girl's gaze was no longer just one of admiration but also contained a hint of awe.
She had been wrong before. This wasn't someone as bold as her; her own audacity didn't even qualify to be compared to this madman.
Compared to a "peaceful" individual like her who just enjoyed poking at the Interastral Peace Corporation, Su Mo, with his lofty goals, was the real ruthless one, the true lunatic.
"Correct."
In contrast to Herta's surprise, Su Mo's expression remained as calm as ever.
"According to the previous deductions, Aeons are still a type of god. They have simply transcended the barriers of believers, myths, planets, and cultures, moving beyond the scope of native planetary gods to become interstellar civilizational gods who embody philosophical concepts. That being the case, the method of creating an Aeon should be the same as creating a god. There is no fundamental difference."
"Since the pressure from the Leviathans back then could give birth to the wishes for preservation and communication within civilization, ultimately forming the corresponding Paths and giving birth to the corresponding Aeons, then there is no reason we can't use the same method to create more Aeons."
In the field of mythology, Su Mo's accumulated knowledge crushed anyone in the Honkai: Star Rail universe.
Therefore, on this point, he was completely confident.
"You... you... I can't even refute it."
Faced with such a reality-defying statement, Herta thought for a few seconds but shook her head, unable to find any flaws.
According to Su Mo's theoretical foundation, creating an Aeon was not impossible.
At this moment, Herta's gaze toward Su Mo changed again, her level of recognition soaring.
Her previous assessment was correct. The Su Mo before her was a truly ruthless person, a true madman.
And at the same time, a true genius!
"I was originally going to invite you to join the Simulated Universe project. Now it seems you might not even be interested in such small-scale endeavors."
Shaking her head, Herta let out a rare sigh.
This was the first time in her life she had felt completely outmatched.
Before, she had been thinking of testing Su Mo's abilities, believing that his performance had to earn her approval before she would grant him the qualification to participate in the Simulated Universe.
Now, it seemed her test had been successful, but the problem was that it had been too successful.
The scale of Su Mo's research was far grander than she had imagined. She was just playing with a simulated universe, but from the looks of it, Su Mo was already planning to use the real world as his simulation device.
Moreover, Su Mo's goal wasn't some petty experiment like exploring the secrets of the Aeons; he had laid out a grand blueprint for creating an Aeon.
Under these circumstances, Su Mo was already on a level so high that she felt embarrassed to even extend the invitation for the Simulated Universe.
Compared to his research, her own felt downright shameful.
Hearing Herta's words, Su Mo smiled and shook his head.
"No need to be so modest. For exploring the general direction of civilizational evolution, the Simulated Universe is an excellent verification tool. It's not bad at all."
The Simulated Universe... not bad.
If anyone else had heard this, they would surely be mocked or scorned.
As a project jointly created by four geniuses, the importance of the Simulated Universe was ranked among the highest in the entire cosmos. Its level and conceptual height placed it among the strongest experimental sequences in all of history.
To call such a special experiment in the history of civilization "not bad" meant the person making the evaluation was either scientifically illiterate or brainless.
It was like saying general relativity was "not bad" in the era before quantum mechanics was born. Apart from an Aeon, probably no one else had the right to make such an assessment.
However, at this moment, as the main person in charge and a primary founder of the Simulated Universe project, Herta showed no sign of protest upon hearing Su Mo's evaluation. In fact, she even felt a little happy for his recognition.
Clearly, to her, Su Mo had the qualification to make such an assessment.
Not only that, but she even felt that Su Mo's evaluation, while objective, was even slightly complimentary.
"Are you saying you're willing to join the Simulated Universe project?" Herta asked, her eyes shining.
Before, it had been her testing Su Mo's qualifications. Now, the roles had reversed; it was Su Mo scrutinizing whether the Simulated Universe project was worthy of his participation.
"Of course," Su Mo replied without hesitation. "Whether it's for exploring the secrets of the Aeons or for simulating the changes in civilization, the Simulated Universe can be of great use."
"If we were to rashly interfere with interstellar civilization without any simulation, the final outcome might not be what we want."
Even though he was very familiar with the field of mythology, interstellar civilization was still a significant leap from a planetary civilization.
Therefore, on this point, even Su Mo was extremely cautious.
At the very least, before he possessed power comparable to an Aeon, he couldn't introduce too many unnecessary variables.
"That's great!"
"I'll give you access to the Simulated Universe right away. Oh, and also some authority over the space station. From today on, just treat this place as your own turf! If you need anything, just find Asta!"
Herta was extremely generous in her reward for Su Mo's participation.
The space station was her private property. Let alone sharing it with Su Mo, she wouldn't even blink if she gifted the whole thing to him.
The reason she didn't do so was firstly because the existing projects were difficult to separate, and secondly, because binding Su Mo to her would facilitate future collaborations.
As for how Su Mo would use his newfound authority to mess with the space station, that was none of her business.
Anyway, Asta would be the one cleaning up the mess in the end. It wouldn't be any trouble for her.
"Thank you." Su Mo did not refuse Herta's gift.
Having an extra experimental base was a good thing. And with Herta's personality, after collaborating with her, he could obtain a lot of top-secret information about interstellar civilization from her.
Even considering just that point, it was already a huge gain.
After settling the collaboration with Herta, Su Mo turned his gaze to Ruan Mei, who had been unsettled since just a moment ago.
"Miss Ruan Mei, would you care to collaborate?" he asked, extending the invitation.
Hearing this, Herta tilted her head, finding it a bit strange.
"Ruan Mei? She's also one of the collaborators on the Simulated Universe. Since you're willing to join the project, aren't you already collaborating with her?"
"No." Su Mo shook his head, looking directly into Ruan Mei's eyes. "I mean a deeper, personal collaboration."
At this, his tone became complex, as if hinting at something more.
"I would like to invite Miss Ruan Mei to become my retainer. And I, in turn, promise to fulfill your wish... What do you think?"
Hearing this invitation, Ruan Mei's eyes widened.
"My... wish?"
Her gaze trembled as she looked at Su Mo, shocked that he knew her so well.
Even Herta didn't know her most secret wish.
"That's right." Su Mo nodded with certainty. "Although it's not yet perfected, you should know that I'm not lying."
"..."
Ruan Mei fell silent.
She knew that Su Mo was telling the truth.
If there was anyone else in this world who could create an Aeon, besides Nous's creator, Zandar, the most likely person to achieve it would be Su Mo.
"Hey! What kind of riddle are you two playing at?"
Seeing the loaded conversation between Su Mo and Ruan Mei, Herta frowned, her eyes darting suspiciously between them.
"I won't ask about Ruan Mei's wish, that's your private business... but the price you're asking for this collaboration, isn't it a bit too much?"
She wasn't the nosy type, but hearing Su Mo's conditions, and since it involved her friend, she couldn't help but say a few more words.
"Asta told me your identity. You're the One True God. I know about a god's retainers. They are beings who are completely subordinate to their master."
"In other words, the price you're asking for this collaboration is for Ruan Mei to completely hand over her ownership to you. What kind of wish could have such a high price?"
Slavery hadn't been abolished in interstellar society, and Herta didn't care about it one way or another.
But for her friend, Ruan Mei, to become someone else's subordinate was a different matter.
Even if a retainer wasn't a slave and their treatment was much better, the fact that they were someone else's property remained unchanged.
Given Su Mo's previous behavior, his requests hadn't been excessive. Logically, he shouldn't have proposed such a condition.
Faced with Herta's questioning, Su Mo simply shrugged.
"Don't you think the fact that she hasn't refused on the spot implies that my proposal has a value corresponding to, or even surpassing, her own?"
"Hiss!"
Seeing Ruan Mei's tempted expression, Herta sucked in a breath of cold air.
Oh, right! It's a fair trade, not a forced sale.
Ruan Mei wasn't an idiot. If Su Mo proposed such an outrageous condition and she didn't refuse...
Doesn't that mean her wish absolutely surpasses her own value, to the point where she must rely on Su Mo to achieve it?