Su Mo took the list. A single glance revealed numerous rare materials classified as controlled items in Herta Space Station's database.
These materials were all parts for modifying Intellitrons, the culmination of hundreds of thousands of years of interstellar society's advancements in mechanical devices.
They included, but were not limited to, astral computers, difference engines, and even many efficient programming algorithms.
Whether hardware or software, the items on this list were of the highest level in the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
Even for the current Ex-Machina, using these mechanics for modification would be enough to significantly enhance their strength and adaptability to different environments.
If you added the already-recorded dark matter and antimatter engines, once these aspects were fully modified, the Ex-Machina could easily reach a level where each one was capable of destroying a star.
A legion of ten thousand star-destroying units, plus Ruan Mei's Emanator-level combat power, would be enough to rank among the top-tier factions in the vast universe.
It had to be said, Screwllum's gift was extremely generous.
Even for a genius as renowned as him, and as the ruler of Planet Screwllum, these materials were no small sum.
"Mr. Screwllum's sincerity seems a bit too precious, doesn't it?"
Instead of accepting the gift directly, Su Mo raised an eyebrow and asked a question.
A gift given with such humility must come with a request.
Although he could guess the other party's intentions, it was still necessary to confirm.
"It is merely a small token of assistance to my fellow Intellitrons," Screwllum said politely before revealing his true intentions. "Mr. Su must be aware of what happened to the Intellitron race before. Although my existence led the Interastral Peace Corporation to abandon their plan to exterminate the Intellitrons, this balance is not permanent."
"Though it is unlikely, I must still consider the possibility of my absence. Therefore, I hope the Intellitron race can possess a bargaining chip sufficient to deter the Corporation."
Screwllum was not only a member of the Genius Society but also the monarch of the Intellitron planet, Screwllum IX, and the savior of the Intellitron race.
If not for his existence, the Intellitrons might have been exterminated long ago.
The reason he was going to such lengths to show goodwill to Su Mo was mainly due to his responsibility as the leader of the Intellitron race.
The destructive power of a member of the Genius Society was comparable to or even surpassed that of an ordinary Emanator. This could be seen from the Intellitron Crisis instigated by Emperor Rubert, member #27 of the Genius Society, which directly led to the First Emperor War and indirectly influenced the Second.
He was just one Emanator-level genius, yet he had caused a turmoil almost on the level of an Aeon.
The revered status of later members of the Genius Society might not be without Emperor Rubert's contribution.
The reason the IPC abandoned the extermination of the Intellitrons was to show goodwill to Screwllum, a genius, and also because they feared he would start a Third Emperor War.
It had to be said, the Corporation's decision was very wise. But for Screwllum, the safety of the Intellitron race rested entirely on his shoulders.
While he was around, the Corporation wouldn't dare to act rashly. But once he was gone, it was hard to say what would happen.
And after learning of Su Mo's existence, he suddenly found a way to break the stalemate.
An Intellitron legion closely connected to two geniuses—wasn't this the best deterrent?
He didn't even need Su Mo and the others to do anything. As long as they maintained a good relationship, the Corporation would naturally be wary.
They wouldn't dare to offend one genius, so they certainly wouldn't dare to offend two.
It could be said that as long as Su Mo and Holou existed, the Intellitron race would not be in danger.
That was why he had presented such a grand gift.
"It seems I have no reason to refuse?"
Su Mo took the gift list, accepting the gift.
In truth, even if Screwllum hadn't given a gift, the Ex-Machina would still be classified as Intellitrons in the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
Whatever the Corporation thought of the Intellitrons, they couldn't avoid Su Mo and Holou.
So, while it looked like Screwllum was seeking Su Mo's help, in reality, both parties were already on the same side. His actions were purely a gesture of goodwill to strengthen their connection.
"My gratitude. The friendship of Planet Screwllum stands with your generosity."
Seeing Su Mo accept the gift, Screwllum placed a hand on his chest and bowed sincerely.
In terms of social graces, he was the most adept genius of them all.
"You're welcome." Su Mo shook his head.
As soon as they finished talking, Herta chimed in.
"Alright, alright, stop with the pleasantries. Now that Screwllum's problem is solved, shouldn't you ask your question, Su Mo? Didn't you say earlier that you had something to confirm, and you wanted to wait for the three of us to be here?"
She had been curious about Su Mo's question for a while. Now that everyone was present, she naturally asked immediately.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Screwllum looked at Su Mo.
"If Mr. Su has any questions, please feel free to ask us. Even if you do not wish to join the Genius Society, you will still be the best friend of Planet Screwllum."
Ruan Mei also looked over curiously.
If he wanted to ask about how to use the Key of Erudition, he didn't need to wait for all three of them. What was Su Mo's question?
Under everyone's gaze, Su Mo didn't keep them in suspense.
"What I want to ask is, how related were the insights you all gained from your audience with Nous to the fields you are currently researching?"
Hearing this question, the geniuses exchanged slightly puzzled glances before giving their answers.
"Completely consistent."
"Hmm, about the same both times, I'd say!"
Apart from Herta, who had visited the Aeon twice and gave a slightly different answer, the other two answered the same way.
This was not surprising.
The opportunity to have an audience with an Aeon was so precious that even geniuses wouldn't waste it, focusing their questions on the areas they cared about most.
And after receiving enlightenment from Nous, they would naturally seize upon it and continue to delve deeper.
For Screwllum and Ruan Mei, who primarily researched a single field, the two naturally overlapped completely.
Herta, however, was different. She only researched what interested her and was a true polymath. Even if she had an audience with Nous back then, it didn't mean her interests wouldn't shift later.
"However, the idea for the Simulated Universe was indeed inspired by Nous," Herta added, remembering this point.
"As I thought..."
Hearing these answers, Su Mo nodded slightly, as if confirming something.
"What, is there a problem with that?" Herta asked curiously.
Even she couldn't understand the purpose of Su Mo's question.
"Nothing, I just confirmed one thing."
"What thing?"
"A simple question. Why does Nous summon you geniuses? If the Aeons are truly as the records say, asking nothing of humanity, why would they be interested in intelligent life forms like you?"
Su Mo posed this question to the three geniuses before him.
"Even if you are all renowned geniuses of the universe, with inventions that can transcend eras and intellects that surpass the ordinary... all of this should be meaningless to Nous."
"With Nous's computational power, all the inventions you have conceived, or have yet to conceive, should have already been mastered by Nous through exhaustive calculations."
"In a sense, all the achievements of interstellar society to date were already lying quietly in Nous's database before they were even born. The so-called inventions of geniuses are actually just outdated data in Nous's database."
"That being the case, why would they summon you?"
Su Mo's question was as sharp as a knife. If an ordinary person heard it, they would most likely think he was slandering the achievements of geniuses.
But as geniuses themselves, having truly met Nous, none of them had any intention of refuting this statement that negated their work.
The so-called inventions of geniuses might surpass human limits, but they could never surpass an Aeon's database.
That being the case, why would Nous summon these geniuses who had nothing new to offer?
"According to the consensus within our Genius Society, Nous's invitation is not one of recognition, but a hope to explore the answers of the universe together with us," Herta said, giving the standard answer, before shaking her head. "However, this explanation is rather suspect. Although I also want to explore the answers of the universe, with Nous's intellect, it seems they don't need our help."
"Not to mention, Nous has granted audiences to many others, many of whom do not belong to the ranks of geniuses."
For example, Fu Xuan, the Master Diviner of the Xianzhou Luofu, had been granted an audience with Nous and was given the Matrix of Prescience.
No matter how you looked at it, these actions had nothing to do with exploring the truth of the universe.
"Mr. Su means to say that Nous has other motives?" Screwllum asked in astonishment.
This was the first time he had seen someone doubt an Aeon's purpose.
"No." Su Mo immediately shook his head. "Just as a god cannot betray their own essence, an Aeon cannot betray their own Path. Since Nous's purpose is to obtain the answer to the universe through calculation, all their actions must revolve around this. Even seemingly unrelated actions must be related to this."
Conspiracy theories did not apply to a species like gods. The Aeon's Path itself determined everything.
"Are you saying that Nous summoning us is also related to calculating the ultimate answer to the universe?" Herta asked with a strange expression. "But didn't you just say that our achievements are meaningless to Nous?"
Isn't that a contradiction?
"I mean that the achievements of geniuses are of no help to Nous's calculations themselves," Su Mo emphasized again. "But what if Nous's own calculations have encountered an obstacle, and they need to use the hands of you geniuses to break through it? Wouldn't that count as indirectly helping their calculations?"
"An obstacle?"
The geniuses were slightly taken aback.
Screwllum was still puzzled as to why Su Mo was comparing gods and Aeons in this way.
Herta, on the other hand, immediately began to think.
If there was anything in this world that could interfere with Nous's calculations...
"Are you talking about... Mythus the Enigmata and Nanook the Destruction?"
The only thing that could be an obstacle to an Aeon was another Aeon.
Mythus was dedicated to turning the universe into an unobservable zone. Nanook was dedicated to destroying the world, erasing all observation.
In a sense, both powers were the opposite of the Aeon of Erudition.
"You're missing the most crucial one, but that's more or less it." Su Mo nodded. "If all civilizations are destroyed, observation itself loses its meaning. Of course, Aeons can still observe each other, but if the universe is destroyed, the answer to the universe cannot be verified."
"So, the purpose of Nous summoning us is to ensure the continuation of civilization, thereby ensuring a basic point of observation?" Herta barely managed to keep up with Su Mo's train of thought.
"More accurately, it is a choice to interfere with fate, an act to steer the world in a direction favorable for calculation. It is also the destined tendency of the Path of Erudition."
As he said this, a smile appeared on Su Mo's lips.
"Thank you all for your answers. I can now roughly confirm Nous's intentions and know what questions to ask next."
With that, all his objectives for meeting the geniuses had been achieved.
The only thing left was the meeting with the Aeon.
Hearing him say this, Herta, who hadn't yet had time to understand the meaning of his last sentence, was slightly taken aback and suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, you still haven't asked how to use the Key of Erudition!"
That was the most important thing he should have asked them!
To this, Su Mo simply shook his head.
"No need to trouble you. I've already figured this thing out."
He took out the two Keys of Erudition that Nous had given him earlier and took Holou's hand.
After Ruan Mei took out a handkerchief and wiped the lingering cake crumbs from the young goddess's mouth, he inserted the Key of Erudition into the empty space before them.
"A key of wisdom naturally opens the door of riddles. And the truth... is often beyond the door."
Though he used no strength, the Key of Erudition floated in the void.
An invisible wave passed, and a spiraling staircase appeared, at the end of which was an ancient door.
That was the door to the library, the sacred domain of Nous.
As long as one stepped through the door, one could meet the master of the Path of Erudition.
"Then we'll see you later."
After saying goodbye to the geniuses, Su Mo took Holou's hand and stepped onto the staircase.
In the sight of the geniuses, the figures of Su Mo and Holou abruptly disappeared.
"He really figured out how to use the Key of Erudition so quickly... What a monster."
After confirming that Su Mo had left, Herta let out a long breath and sighed.
"This Mr. Su's way of thinking is extraordinarily peculiar. I really want to know what questions he will ask Nous."
Screwllum's tone was slightly curious.
Hearing this, Herta and Ruan Mei exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
"Don't worry. It will definitely be something you can't imagine, something that even Nous can't imagine."
Recalling Su Mo's calm expression when he talked about creating an Aeon, Herta felt that even an Aeon might not be able to keep up with his train of thought.
This genius was very strong, but his way of thinking was just too shocking.