At the same time, the Life Equation possessed another terrifying ability—
so powerful that even the geniuses considered it almost defying the heavens.
It could grant spiritual awareness to ordinary machines.
It could grant intelligence to mindless animals, plants, insects, and fish.
In other words—
It could create entirely new intelligent life.
The authority of a creator had been placed into the hands of geniuses with shocking ease.
Lin Yi had merely mentioned the idea casually.
Yet Screwllum and Ruan Mei had actually managed to produce something this outrageous.
Truly worthy of being called geniuses.
Of course, Aha had also provided inspiration and assistance.
In fact—
Aha was the biggest contributor.
After all, Aha found their research extremely entertaining.
So Aha decided to help… in the most ridiculous way possible.
First, Aha stole a memory from Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance—a memory belonging to someone who had already died.
This ensured perfect consistency at the most microscopic level.
Then somehow, Aha persuaded Nous, obtaining a perfect simulation of the life that person would have lived if they had never died.
Finally, Aha "requested" Yaoshi to create a physical body that perfectly matched the simulated data.
After the person was "born," Mythus stepped in and deliberately distorted historical records, giving everyone involved false memories.
Through this absurd chain of actions—
They had created a person who absolutely existed…
yet had never existed at all.
The entire operation stunned the assembled geniuses.
They unanimously declared:
Aha was the true genius.
Aha proudly declared:
"That's right! I am the strongest Nameless!
The most flawless fictional historian!
And the greatest genius of them all!"
Somewhere in the cosmos, the Aeon of Equilibrium responded:
"—BEEP—"
(The profanity was automatically censored.)
Even more surprisingly, Nous, with its mechanical mind, actually invited Aha to join the Genius Society.
Aha naturally couldn't refuse something this amusing.
That day was both shocking and hilariously entertaining.
It also shattered the geniuses' remaining illusions about the Aeons.
From that day onward—
Aha became Seat #86 of the Genius Society.
And thus, the Life Equation was born.
One Week Earlier…
"This won't work."
A Herta puppet spoke bluntly.
"The Simulated Universe can no longer meet our needs. Its limitations in every aspect have reached the point where simple patchwork fixes are useless."
"We need a complete upgrade."
Screwllum responded calmly.
"I agree. The simulation of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta theoretically exceeds the Simulated Universe's maximum capacity."
"Even if we ignore that research, the current Simulated Universe is already insufficient for studying Aeons."
"Conclusion: both hardware and software require upgrades."
Ruan Mei spoke while delicately tasting a piece of plum blossom cake.
"Hardware and software problems are relatively easy to solve."
"But what about the energy supply?"
"The upgraded Simulated Universe will require enormous energy to operate at full capacity."
She noticed Lin Yi staring at both her and the cake.
"Would you like a piece?"
Lin Yi took one.
"Thanks. It's pretty good."
He chewed happily before continuing.
"Ruan Mei is right. Hardware and software are manageable if we work hard enough."
"But energy is the real challenge."
"Energy density and output power both need to meet the requirements. That's not easy."
"In the entire universe, only a few factions can provide that level of energy."
"The Xianzhou Zhuming might be capable. We can't draw directly from the Hunt's Path energy, but the Flame Emperor might still provide enough power."
Screwllum nodded.
"Confirmed. Xianzhou Zhuming likely meets the energy requirements."
"But how do we convince them to help us?"
He continued.
"Alternative suggestion: temporarily shut down Planet Screwllum, gather all available energy, and conduct small-scale experiments while searching for a permanent energy source."
Herta shook her head.
"That won't work."
"My space station is far too small to house the upgraded Simulated Universe."
She projected a holographic comparison between the current Simulated Universe and the new design.
The difference was massive.
"This station can only support some secondary functions."
"The best location is Planet Screwllum itself. That planet is basically a natural hardware platform."
"And we wouldn't need to negotiate with all kinds of annoying people."
Screwllum responded:
"I understand. A section of Planet Screwllum can be allocated to house the Simulated Universe core."
"However, the energy supply may still be insufficient."
"It would also require time for planning."
"Another suggestion: we could inspect the Interastral Peace Corporation's industrial hubs."
"I believe the IPC would be willing to temporarily shut down one of their facilities for this project."
Herta frowned.
"I really don't want to deal with the IPC."
"Stephen, what do you think?"
Stephen Lloyd suddenly panicked.
"Ah! Me?"
"I don't have many ideas…"
"If I had to say something… maybe Imaginary energy?"
"There's nothing better than the energy that fills the entire universe."
"It's efficient and abundant."
Ruan Mei smiled softly.
"Perhaps we could also consider biological energy."
"The Propagation swarm is endless."
"With proper utilization, it could work."
"This is actually a research topic Lin Yi and I discussed privately. We've already conducted preliminary studies."
"The feasibility is quite high."
Lin Yi immediately raised his hand.
"I agree."
"And I'd like to add something."
"We should genetically modify the swarm used for power generation so they become edible."
"Preferably delicious."
"That way the leftovers can be turned into canned food."
"After all, many people in the universe are still starving."
"We shouldn't waste resources."
After more chaotic discussion, Lin Yi finally stopped the meeting.
"Alright, that's enough."
"We're not getting any new ideas today."
"Ruan Mei and I will visit the Xianzhou."
"I'll try negotiating with them, and I also have some research projects that require their assistance."
"Ruan Mei needs to retrieve something she previously created and collect some experimental materials."
"She's being mysteriously secretive about it."
He turned to Screwllum.
"Could you handle negotiations with the IPC?"
"Your identity—and the advantages of being a mechanical lifeform—make you the best candidate."
Screwllum smiled politely.
"My pleasure."
Lin Yi continued:
"There are 27 large industrial hubs to inspect. That's a lot of work."
"I'll come help after I finish business on the Xianzhou."
"And if nothing works…"
"We can always consider the swarm power plant idea."
Herta sighed.
"Fine. You two go."
"I still need to organize previous experiment data."
"The workload is insane."
"It would be nice to have an assistant capable of handling this kind of work… but assistants at this level are hard to find."
The Herta puppet logged off.
"Then I shall take my leave."
Screwllum's projection faded.
Stephen had already disappeared earlier.
Lin Yi turned to Ruan Mei.
"We should go too."
"Give me a few minutes."
"I still need to deal with some little creatures."
Lin Yi sighed.
"You dumped more experimental animals on the space station again, didn't you?"
He opened his phone.
Message to Asta:
"Asta, please inform the Xianzhou that I intend to visit.
Ruan Mei and I will arrive at the Xianzhou Luofu soon."
Asta replied instantly.
"Understood, Mr. Lin Yi. Should I prepare gifts for your visit? (•̀ᴗ•́)و"
Lin Yi replied:
"Good point. It would be improper to visit empty-handed.
Please prepare something suitable."
Then he added:
"Also inform the IPC that I'll visit them after the Xianzhou.
The time isn't confirmed yet, but they should know in advance."
And finally—
"By the way, Asta… have you considered changing jobs?"
"Sometimes I'm really jealous of Herta. She never has to deal with trivial matters."
"My space city is chaos."
(Pam holding heart image)
Author Notes
Edit 1:
Sharp readers may notice that the resurrected person earlier had no name, gender, or identity.
That's intentional.
It's my anti-tragedy measure.
If a character gets killed in the story later, I can simply turn them into that person.
Edit 2:
I'm considering introducing Baiheng, which could open many storylines.
Edit 3:
Or maybe save that role for Xilian.
The world of Opharos looks like it's hiding a huge tragedy.