Herta called a meeting with all the members of the Genius Society this time not for anything else, but to invite new geniuses to join the Simulated Universe Project team.
Everyone gathered together mainly to discuss this matter.
Stephen still abstained, not participating in this gathering of geniuses.
Bai Luan was genuinely envious.
When would he be able to simply cast a vote and not have to come?
Hmm... if he did that, he'd probably just be forcibly dragged over by Herta's tangible large hand, right?
However, Bai Luan fully supported the idea of bringing more geniuses into the fold.
With one more genius, he could do a little less work, so why not?
It would be best if another one came, just like Stephen; this genius hadn't actively communicated with him to this day, only silently contributing to the development of the simulated universe.
The Simulated Universe Project team desperately needed such a pillar of strength.
But until the very end, not a single genius responded.
This was likely largely related to the members of the Genius Society being mostly occupied by Kakakame.
But Herta didn't care about this, even calling out into the void to the Lord of Silence, inviting her to join the project team.
The moment Herta spoke, Bai Luan was ready for Kakakame to pop out.
Fortunately, Kakakame did not respond.
It proved that most members of the Genius Society were all about doing their own thing.
This reminded Bai Luan of a famous meme.
Today marks my first month in the group, and everyone in the group is still the same as before... they don't give a damn about me.
Thank you, everyone. In the days to come, I won't give a damn about you either, you jerks.
Although it was a joke, it was quite fitting to describe the current Genius Society.
Ultimately, the greatest significance of this meeting was to allow Stelle to make an appearance in the Simulated Universe Project team.
After this meeting, Bai Luan's workload increased compared to before.
Both Ruan Mei and Screwllum had sought out Bai Luan for discussions.
And the content of their discussions was often related to their respective research topics.
Their conversation topics were no longer limited to the simulated universe but gradually began to expand outwards.
Indeed, this was a sign of their relationship improving; now their relationship with Bai Luan was gradually evolving from genius colleagues researching the simulated universe together into friends, which was a good thing.
It would be even better if understanding what they said didn't require so much effort.
Every time Ruan Mei came over, she would talk about her analysis of that incomplete Abundance Blessing.
As for Screwllum, his conversations began to gradually build the prototype of gold and gears.
When discussing with Ruan Mei, he had to learn a lot of new knowledge on the spot to be able to converse.
When communicating with Screwllum, it was like watching the gold and gears DLC sprout, as if he himself was personally pushing the progress bar that made him work overtime.
No matter which genius he communicated with, it was not an easy task.
Fortunately, he could use the excuse of needing to help Herta with errands to interrupt academic discussions.
Herta also noticed that Bai Luan was using her as a shield to escape conversations with other geniuses.
But she didn't expose him, merely watching.
It wasn't a problem for her Staff to rely on her honestly for a bit.
However, although Herta tacitly approved of Bai Luan's actions, this was ultimately not a long-term solution.
An excuse used too often becomes stale.
He urgently needed to prepare more excuses so he could quickly escape when the other party brought up topics he completely didn't understand.
Just then, good news arrived.
Professor Ratio had arrived at the Space Station.
Fantastic, he could use the excuse of needing to show Professor Ratio around the Space Station to avoid the geniuses' conversations!
His adoptive father was truly a savior!
On the platform, Bai Luan waved to Professor Ratio, who was stepping off the spaceship, and greeted him:
"Professor, long time no see~"
"It's not exactly 'long time no see.' Your activity on the Star Network has been quite high recently, and even without deliberately paying attention, I've heard rumors about you more or less."
Upon hearing this, Bai Luan scratched his cheek.
"So... Professor, you've also seen those 'prank' videos?"
"Although I didn't intentionally watch them, I suppose I've seen them. It's indeed something you would do."
Professor Ratio was all too familiar with Bai Luan's occasional playful nature.
Professor Ratio walked over and then stared at him for a while:
"It seems you haven't slacked off on your physical training. Compared to our last meeting, you've become quite a bit more robust."
"It seems daily check-in workouts are still useful."
Bai Luan casually struck a fitness pose.
"Professor, let me show you around the Space Station."
Professor Ratio shook his head.
"No need. I will evaluate the Space Station's standards myself. A tour is merely a perfunctory formality; there's no need to waste either of our time."
Hiss... why were his plans always going awry recently?
Never mind, he had already used the excuse of showing Professor Ratio around the Space Station to escape an academic discussion with Ruan Mei once.
He had already gotten his money's worth; it didn't matter.
Perhaps he had experienced such things too often recently, so Bai Luan's self-consolation speed was also incredibly fast.
"Alright, Professor, but I have one request."
"What request?"
"Go easy on the criticism."
"..."
Professor Ratio was silent for a moment upon hearing this.
"Is the Space Station that bad?"
"That's for you, Professor, to evaluate yourself."
Bai Luan recalled his own 'red-hot' anger when teaching those old 'noobs' a long time ago.
Presumably, Professor Ratio's feelings when looking at the Space Station Staff were similar now.
It might be a little better than back then, but not by much.
"Professor, I imagine visiting the Space Station shouldn't take too long. After the visit, what will you be doing at the Space Station? If you need anything, I can offer my assistance."
"I might meet with some geniuses in addition to my investigation. As for what form the challenge letters to the geniuses will take, I'll decide then."
"Challenging geniuses? Quack! Professor, don't challenge me!"
Professor Ratio glanced at Bai Luan, knowing he was just trying to be playful.
Among all the geniuses at the Space Station, Bai Luan was the one Professor Ratio was least likely to successfully challenge.
Because Professor Ratio had taught Bai Luan, and Bai Luan had learned it thoroughly.
One day later.
As Bai Luan expected, Professor Ratio sent a pile of messages.
Professor Ratio: The entire Space Station shows no trace of independent thought, everywhere filled with blind personal worship of geniuses.
Professor Ratio: I suspect that if the geniuses said 1+2=4, they would accept it without hesitation.
Upon seeing this, a certain individual who used his genius identity to fool others broke out in a cold sweat.
Bai Luan: Hmm...
Bai Luan: It's alright.
Professor Ratio: It's not alright.
Professor Ratio: The Space Station's personal worship of you and Herta is particularly severe.
Professor Ratio: It has reached the point of mindless devotion. The last time I saw someone discuss others with such fanaticism was with a religious devotee.
Professor Ratio: What exactly have you done at the Space Station?
He just built the Space Station, sealed the Stellaron in the Space Station, elbowed the Doomsday Beast in the Space Station, recently had three top account aliases dismantled, stuffed a large number of curios into the Space Station, often paid a little money to the Staff to buy new experimental equipment, and served as Ms. Herta's assistant for a long time... No, no, why was he reminiscing about the glorious past?
Bai Luan: Professor.
Bai Luan: Whether they are geniuses or ordinary people, everyone needs to be taught.
Bai Luan: You also know that in this situation, my saying 'don't blindly follow me' is completely useless.
Bai Luan: So, Professor, teach them to think independently, just as you taught me.
Professor Ratio: How much they can learn will depend entirely on them.
Bai Luan: They will learn to understand.
Otherwise, they would become the shame of the old noobs...