Fortunately, they had activated the synesthetic beacon.
Otherwise, if Ningguang had simply followed Asta around Herta Space Station, she probably wouldn't have understood a single word.
Even so, she listened very attentively to Asta's explanations of how the station worked.
Not only that—she also gained a much deeper understanding of the structure of the universe itself.
For example, just how massive the Interastral Peace Corporation was, and how unimaginably long it had existed.
When the two learned that a single Amber Era could last anywhere from 76 to 240 years,
Ningguang became even more aware of how rare geniuses truly were in the universe.
Even using the shortest estimate—over at least 160,000 years, only 85 geniuses had appeared in the entire universe.
The number was terrifyingly small.
One hundred and sixty thousand years, combined with the vastness of the cosmos and the sheer number of civilizations—
and yet, only eighty-five people.
That alone proved just how precious they were.
Seeing that Ningguang didn't even fully understand the broader cosmic framework,
Asta thoughtfully went further, explaining the existence of Aeons, Paths, and Emanators.
Her explanation was far more detailed than Herta's earlier overview.
Yelan, who had been quietly following along, couldn't hide her shock after hearing all this.
"So few people can become Emanators. Even geniuses in the Genius Society— even if they receive the gaze of Nous—may still fail to become one."
Asta herself couldn't help but marvel at Su Ran's absurdity.
So many people across countless years had received Nous's gaze—yet fewer than ten had become Emanators of Erudition.
And as for someone who could casually meet Nous just by creating something—there was only one such person.
Su Ran.
To think that for him, meeting an Aeon could be that simple…
Ningguang was deeply shaken.
She had always known her past self was insignificant—
but she had never imagined that beyond insignificance, the gap between them could be this vast.
If one wanted to catch up to the level of cosmic civilization,relying solely on the beings of Teyvat was nearly impossible.
"Miss Asta, were you only able to work here because of Miss Herta's help?"
After roughly grasping the structure of cosmic civilization, Ningguang decided to use this opportunity to befriend Asta.
In her eyes, this young woman might be inexperienced—but her value was unquestionable.
Making such a friend could only be beneficial.
"Yes. If it weren't for Lady Herta's help, my family would never have allowed me to build a space station here."
Whenever she spoke of this, Asta's gratitude toward Herta was unmistakable.
If not for Herta,
she might have been trapped in internal family struggles by now.
Listening to Asta's gratitude, praise, and stories of her past,
Ningguang gradually began to feel that something was… off.
Only later did she finally realize—this girl had always been rich to begin with.
There really wasn't much common ground between her and someone who'd built everything from nothing.
So this was the difference between a born rich woman and a future rich woman?
"Then… roughly how much would it cost to buy a planet like that?"
To test Asta's confidence, Ningguang pointed toward a blue, vibrant planet.
"A life-bearing planet? Those are relatively rare in the universe.
If it's just for habitation, you could buy a cheaper one for around 8 billion credits.
If you want abundant resources as well, the price would be higher."
Then Asta seemed to realize something.
"Miss Ningguang, are you interested in purchasing a planet?
If so, you can tell me—I could sell you one at 50% below market price,
as a gesture of friendship."
That enthusiastic tone hit Ningguang hard.
Because in her eyes, someone willing to sell an entire world at half price was either:
An idiot
Or someone who didn't care about money at all
Asta was clearly not an idiot.
Which meant—she was absurdly rich.
Rich enough to casually slash fifty percent off the price of a world.
During the Archon War, countless gods fought to the death just to claim one-seventh of a world—and that was only one-seventh of the land.
And now Asta was offering to halve the price of an entire planet for a friendship that hadn't even lasted an hour.
This level of extravagance was something Ningguang absolutely did not possess, at least not yet.
Was this the future Su Ran envisioned for her?
Ningguang felt her heart tremble.
That goal… was anything but simple.
"Miss Ningguang?"
Yelan snapped back to reality and lightly tapped Ningguang, pulling her out of her daze.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Asta, but I don't have such plans for now."
At this stage, even the discounted 4 billion credits was far beyond her reach.
And 8 billion was merely the lowest price, not the standard one.
Which meant that even after discounts, a livable planet would still cost well over 4 billion credits.
Her heart trembled again.
"Please continue showing me around the station.
Some things… are still a bit too distant for me right now."
Ningguang temporarily abandoned those fantasies.
Seeing her expression, Asta understood immediately.
Though she herself was wealthy, she knew most people in the universe lived in poverty.
A planet meant little to her, but to others, it was something unreachable even in a lifetime.
And since she and Ningguang weren't close enough yet to justify gifting something so valuable,
the three of them tacitly avoided the topic from then on.
Following Asta's explanations,
Ningguang and Yelan gradually understood the basic operations of Herta Space Station.
But it turned out to be quite different from what Ningguang had imagined.
This space station didn't exist to make money.
It didn't align with her professional expertise; she could learn from it, but she couldn't copy it wholesale.
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