"Woah, such a novel headline!?"
Asta covered her mouth with her hand, worry flashing through her eyes.
If she remembered correctly, her friends from the Astral Express were in Penacony right now.
Please don't let this bad news be about them.
But judging from the Trailblazers' usual track record, perhaps they were once again key figures in a major incident.
Asta grew curious and continued reading.
[Bad news from Penacony: Aventurine, one of the Ten Stonehearts and a P45-level employee of the Interastral Peace Corporation, has fallen into a storm of public opinion. He has been misidentified as the mastermind behind the collapse of the Dreamscape, causing severe damage to the company's image.]
[The Interastral Peace Corporation solemnly declares that the collapse of the Penacony's Dreamscape was an internal accident and has absolutely no relation to the company. Any rumors or slander will be met with strict accountability.]
[At present, important corporation assets have been seized by the Penacony Families. The Corporation hopes the Families will return them as soon as possible. Upholding universal peace as its mission, the company seeks an open, mutually beneficial outcome…]
"Wow, the IPC actually took a loss. That's rare."
Asta couldn't help but feel surprised.
The Ten Stonehearts were already high-ranking executives within the IPC. Though still far from the old geezers in her own family, they could already be considered the IPC's public face.
Yet now Aventurine was mired in controversy, and the IPC's wording was oddly vague. They even spoke of "mutual benefit" after losing important assets.
Based on her deep understanding of the company, this was completely out of character—so soft it was almost unbelievable.
Those people always made a fuss even when they were in the wrong, and when they had the moral high ground, they would rather swallow Penacony whole.
This reaction clearly meant they had run into a tough opponent—one so formidable that they didn't even dare to utter threats.
Asta didn't spare a second feeling sorry for the IPC. Even though it was, in a sense, part of her family business, she had run away precisely because she didn't want to inherit it.
She was far more curious about what kind of person could make the IPC suffer such a loss without daring to protest.
Asta scrolled further down.
[Former Penacony leader Sunday attempted to revive the Aeon of Order during the Charmony Festival, plunging all life in the Asdana Star System into a false dream, with extremely severe consequences.]
[At present, some affected individuals have suffered cognitive damage and are shouting: "Mr. Sunday, please take us for another run!"]
[In this incident, Mr. Sol Mercer, an Emanator of the Path of Erudition, rallied the Astral Express, the Garden of Recollection, and other forces to raise the Light of Hope within the dream. Countless lives responded, jointly breaking free from the illusory dream—this is a hymn to life!]
[We cannot help but praise Mr. Sol Mercer's tremendous contribution. He is a sacred angel who saved countless lives. The light he spread allowed hope to rise across all of Penacony. Great indeed is the divine radiance! Holy indeed is hope that pities all beings!]
[At the conclusion of the incident, the suspect Sunday will be jointly judged by the Astral Express, acting as a witness, together with the dream victims. The final outcome—stay tuned.]
Someone in Penacony tried to revive an Aeon?
And this kind of news was actually broadcasted!?
What on earth was the company doing?
Asta felt her worldview being completely overturned.
Aeons—such exalted beings—and someone actually dared to attempt their resurrection with mortal power. From the report's wording, it even affected the entire Asdana Star System, and they really achieved something.
For the first time, she felt that Lady Herta might be a version behind. Lady Herta was still simulating Aeons, while others had already started reviving real ones.
Sin, heresy. I mustn't think like that.
Lady Herta is unparalleled. Lady Herta is peerlessly brilliant.
Asta silently recited her mental scripture, thoroughly purging those irreverent thoughts about Lady Herta.
So, the IPC's problem really was serious.
They didn't even use this kind of news to squeeze Penacony for leverage. Instead, they loudly praised someone else—it was like a total loser trying to cover up its own mistake.
No wonder the headline said "bad news from Penacony." For the IPC, this was absolutely disastrous news!
It seemed that name being lavishly praised had played a decisive role in the Penacony incident—forcing the IPC to take a huge loss and still put on a polite front.
What an incredible figure, making even the company retreat in the face of difficulty.
But…
"An Emanator of Erudition?"
Asta stared at that special term, deeply puzzled.
As the station director of Herta Space Station—and someone protected by Lady Herta herself so she wouldn't be dragged back to inherit the family business—she was particularly sensitive to Emanators of Erudition.
The benefactor she admired most, Lady Herta, was precisely an Emanator of Erudition. Because of this, Asta had memorized all known Emanators of Erudition.
But she was certain—there was absolutely no one named Sol Mercer among them. He didn't even have a ranking within the Genius Society.
So, this was a newly emerged Emanator of Erudition—but why wasn't he listed in the Genius Society?
Filled with questions, Asta opened several related pieces of information about Sol Mercer.
Including the small suns that appeared during the Golden Hour, the giant of light extinguishing the Dreamscape inferno, the light particles that later flowed into people's bodies, and even a distant group photo…
Even blurry videos shot from far away, incapable of capturing the full truth.
Yet the uniqueness of that light was still striking and brilliant.
"So, this is the research direction of this Emanator of Erudition? It really does look like a miracle of tremendous power—just like Lady Herta's inventions."
"And that group photo… the young man standing beside Stelle must be Mr. Sol Mercer. He doesn't seem arrogant at all—more like a gentle person."
A trace of admiration flashed through Asta's eyes. She had always revered geniuses.
She exited the news feed and sent a message to Herta.
"Lady Herta, I have something very important to tell you."
A newly emerged Emanator of Erudition, bearing dazzling results and having stopped the revival of an Aeon.
This was absolutely the kind of major event Lady Herta would be interested in—she had to make sure the message got through.
Lady Herta rarely paid attention to external news. Those universe-shaking events often seemed trivial to her.
Lady Herta herself was the center of the universe—at least in her own view, and in reality, that wasn't entirely wrong.
So, when it came to matters Lady Herta might find interesting, someone needed to remind her.
===BREAK===
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