Nolan looked at the pale blue spider resting on his palm, no larger than his hand and nearly the same color as the Phase Flame. Clearly, this was the 29th member of the Genius Society, Sserkal.
"A Heroic Spirit? Was it you who summoned the deceased me back into existence?"
After absorbing the information, Sserkal shifted her faint blue body. She turned, eight red eyes focusing on Nolan.
Her voice was gentle, transmitted directly through spiritual power. After all, spiders did not possess the vocal structure of humans.
"Yes, Lady Sserkal. As one of the universe's foremost scholars, your life was far too short."
Nolan spoke with a hint of regret in his tone.
"By the standards of my species' timescale, my life was quite long," Sserkal replied calmly. "Though there were indeed projects I did not finish. That is a pity."
For example, the Phase Flame she had just successfully created through experimentation. Or the soul experiments she had been conducting using the Metafield Space.
That had been her method to transcend the limitations of the physical body and extend her lifespan. Unfortunately, she reached the end of her life before she could succeed.
Within her twenty nine days of existence, guiding her species' development had consumed the majority of her time. Of course, she did not regret it.
"If you need to restart your experiments, I will help," Nolan said with a nod after hearing her words.
"Thank you," Sserkal replied.
"Don't listen to this guy brag. The funding required for a genius's research project would not be covered even if you sold him."
Herta shot Nolan a mocking glance.
"Oh please. Someone who lives off Asta's support has no right to laugh at others."
Nolan looked at Herta with open disdain.
While chatting around the space station, he had heard rumors that many of Herta's purchases on the Interastral Peace Network were made on her own credit.
Whenever the company sent people to the station to collect debts, she would pretend not to be there. In the end, Asta, unable to stand it, would step in to settle the payments.
"Y you know nothing! That's part of the station master's assessment. If she can't handle something that small, how can she manage the station!"
Herta retorted irritably.
"And this young lady is?" Sserkal turned slightly toward Herta, asking with mild curiosity.
"Like you, I'm also a member of the Genius Society. I'm the 83rd seat, Herta," she explained.
"The 83rd seat? There are that many now?" Sserkal said in surprise.
She had been the 29th. At the time of her death, there had not even been a 30th seat. And now there were already more than eighty.
"After all, your era was many Amber Eras ago," Herta shrugged before continuing, looking at Sserkal.
"I have a major project here. Interested in joining?"
She briefly explained the Simulated Universe to her.
"To be researching Aeons themselves… how astonishing," Sserkal remarked thoughtfully before glancing at Nolan. "What do you think?"
She was indeed quite interested. However, as a Heroic Spirit summoned by someone else, she naturally needed to ask her summoner's opinion before deciding anything.
"I think it's a great idea. An environment like the space station is exactly where your brilliance can truly shine," Nolan replied.
"Hmph. At least you have some taste."
Herta crossed her arms proudly. At the same time, she felt a slight increase in goodwill toward him for agreeing to let Sserkal join the Simulated Universe research.
[Herta Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 820 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (300/900)]
Seeing the affection notification pop up on his character panel, Nolan felt delighted. Herta's affection toward him was almost maxed out.
Did that not essentially mean that the owner of Herta Space Station had gone from one person to two?
By living off others' support, he had directly become the leader of a major galactic force. As expected of me, Nolan thought to himself with a quiet chuckle.
Sserkal left with Herta, saying she would be introduced to Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen, and discuss the specifics of their collaboration.
Nolan and Stelle also returned to the Wonderland Space.
Stelle headed to the training grounds to continue studying her baseball bat, while Nolan casually placed the Phase Flame on a shelf in the storage room.
When they brought both the bat and the Spirit Flame into the Wonderland Space, it began expanding once more. The total increase amounted to more than three hundred square meters.
Combined with the treasures everyone had gathered recently, the Wonderland Space had now grown to over two thousand square meters.
Moreover, with multiple levels already constructed, no matter how many girls moved in later, there should be no need to worry about insufficient space or crowded living conditions.
Since both the bat and the Spirit Flame were high quality treasures, the Wonderland Space gained two new traits as well.
The first was "Fortification," brought by the bat. It strengthened the space itself, making abilities such as spatial traversal or shattering space significantly more difficult to execute within it.
It was rather fascinating that a weapon focused on destructive power would grant a fortifying property.
The trait brought by the Spirit Flame was called "Heartfire." This ability allowed those within the Wonderland Space to summon Heartfire to temper their mental strength and willpower.
Nolan immediately tested it. It felt as though a flame suddenly ignited within his heart, continuously burning him from the inside.
As time passed, the burning sensation grew stronger. As long as one endured it, it truly did serve as an excellent method to train mental resilience. And best of all, it caused no actual harm.
Glancing at the time, Nolan noted that it was morning in Teyvat.
The Astral Express had been exploring this region for several days already. He felt it was about time for the crew to officially develop this star system and connect it with the interstellar community.
Before that, however, he needed to take a look outside Teyvat itself and see what was going on with the so called Abyss. If there were problems, they had to be resolved first.
With that thought, Nolan used the Waymark to teleport directly to the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles on Celestia, expressing his intention to step beyond the "False Sky" and have a look outside.
He could have simply forced his way out. However, the False Sky blocked spiritual perception, preventing him from sensing what lay beyond.
Breaking through it by force might damage the False Sky, so it was better to proceed carefully and exit through the stone gate on Celestia.
Although the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles did not want Nolan stirring up trouble, she had no choice under the control of the Command Seal. She obediently followed his instructions, leading him to the stone gate and opening it.
Through the doorway, all that could be seen was a scene resembling the starry sky, like a spatial rift. To truly step outside likely required a form of teleportation.
Nolan told the Sustainer to remain where she was. Then he slowly walked toward the white stone gate.
It felt like stepping into an ordinary spatial fissure. After passing through the stone gate, Nolan successfully emerged outside, his feet still standing on a stone pathway that extended a fair distance forward.
Ahead of him lay the vast, pitch black expanse of the cosmos.
(End of Chapter)
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