"How much longer until we reach Herta Space Station?"
Aboard a cargo transport ship in flight, an elegant woman took a sip of coffee and looked toward the pilot operating the vessel.
"Reporting to Lady Jade: at our current speed, we are expected to arrive at Herta Space Station in three days."
The pilot glanced at the velocity readouts and navigation instruments.
The transport ship itself wasn't particularly fast.
And to ensure the safety of the cargo, stability had to be prioritized.
Even with a warp system installed, high-speed travel was impossible.
That was simply the limit of current technology.
Being able to arrive in three days was already the best possible outcome.
And that was assuming no unexpected incidents along the way.
If anything went wrong, the arrival could be delayed even further.
"Three days…"
"By then, he'll probably already be gone…"
Jade rested one hand on the table, gently swirling the coffee cup in the other.
Her expression was calm as she looked at her own reflection in the dark liquid.
"That Su Ran has already developed a device capable of long-distance transport, hasn't he? Then why not just use it to retrieve the materials directly? Why does the company still have to handle the shipment?"
In her view, this was completely unnecessary— a tremendous waste of time.
Of course, that was only from Su Ran's perspective.
For the company, it was different.
Only through this process did they have a chance to make contact with him, rather than not even catching a glimpse of his shadow.
"Still… even Little Topaz hit a wall with him. That genius clearly doesn't think much of the company."
After learning that Topaz had been rebuffed by Su Ran, Jade realized just how difficult he was to deal with.
Although the Ten Stonehearts belonged to the Strategic Investment Department, this kind of situation might be better handled by professionals from another division.
Surely the company didn't think that befriending that genius counted as a simple investment, right?
"I just hope that genius stays at Herta Space Station for a few more days."
Even so, Jade didn't hold much hope.
The free time of geniuses was probably even scarcer than that of high-ranking corporate executives like herself.
How could someone like that linger at a space station for long?
"…Sigh."
"…Sigh."
Herta stared at Asta.
"I'm the one feeling melancholy—why are you sighing too?"
She was sighing because Su Ran refused to tell her the secret.
Not only that—he told Asta but still wouldn't tell her, which made her especially frustrated.
But Asta?
She was actively helping Su Ran hide it, and now she was sighing along with her?
"Lady Herta, I just think Mr. Su Ran is… really incredible. And really terrifying."
"…Then tell me what he said to you. I'll protect you!"
Herta put her hands on Asta's shoulders and looked at her with a resolute expression.
"But if you knew… my situation might become even scarier."
Asta refused without hesitation.
If Aha had truly appeared at the space station, she would honestly want to turn the place inside out three times over.
Just in case that Aeon had planted a bomb somewhere.
"With me backing you, what's there to be afraid of? Who are you afraid of—Su Ran?"
That guy had even tried to poach her before.
Surely he wouldn't suddenly start bullying Asta?
So what exactly was she afraid of?
"Mr. Su Ran… he's really terrifying. He even wants to create a machine capable of equivalent exchange…"
"He can already move stars—doesn't that mean there's nothing in the universe he can't use as an exchange item?"
Whether it was real or not—
If such a machine ever came into existence, it would be something unimaginably terrifying for the entire cosmos.
For a man who could already relocate stars, almost anything in the universe could become currency.
After all, the universe had no shortage of stars and planets.
Such an invention should only exist in novels.
Reality shouldn't allow something like that.
Yet someone was actually trying to bring it into existence.
Wasn't that terrifying?
"So… he already has an idea?"
Herta's eyes instantly lit up.
"Yeah, just now—eh?"
Asta was just about to continue, when she suddenly saw Herta turn around and leave.
Judging by her direction, she was clearly heading straight for Su Ran.
"Wasn't she just as gloomy as I was a moment ago? Why is she suddenly so energetic now?"
Faced with Lady Herta's emotional whiplash, Asta could only smile helplessly.
As expected, every genius in the Genius Society had a personality far beyond ordinary people.
Truly worthy of being her idol.
She herself was still feeling conflicted and uneasy, yet Lady Herta had already reignited her enthusiasm.
But if Lady Herta kept getting completely outplayed like this, and Mr. Su Ran was that terrifyingly capable
Wouldn't her idol just get completely dominated for the rest of her life?
Should she do something for her idol?
…Forget it.
She was just an ordinary person— how could she possibly join a battle of wits between geniuses?
She'd probably be toyed with to death the moment she stepped in.
Or worse, turned into free labor.
Better to stand on the sidelines and enjoy watching their intellectual warfare from afar.
"So, how much did you learn from Asta?"
After finishing a round of testing in the Simulated Universe, Lei Dian Zhen had taken up some time.
That was more than enough for Ningguang to absorb knowledge from Asta.
Su Ran was looking forward to seeing how much Ningguang would grow after gaining new perspectives.
After all, since Asta couldn't be poached, he could only hope Ningguang would rise to the occasion.
"A lot. But Herta Space Station's operating model might not suit our station."
Ningguang was a merchant.
She could manage operations, but making her a pure administrator instead of a businesswoman would be a waste of her talent.
"Then do you have any ideas?"
Su Ran had no intention of copying Herta Space Station's model wholesale.
What worried him most was money.
Asta had the company backing her— her daily allowance was enough to casually buy a planet-destroying battleship.
But Ningguang?
In the universe, she truly had to start from scratch.
All her achievements in Liyue were worthless on a cosmic scale.
"Not yet. I need time to think."
She had absorbed far too much information all at once.
Even though she remembered everything, she hadn't fully digested it yet.
She needed time to sort things out.
"Take it slow—no rush."
"Because soon, we'll have a very profitable business model."
"Once that happens, our startup capital will be secured."
"What kind of business?"
The mention of startup funds immediately caught Ningguang's interest.
"It's very likely that we'll end up controlling interstellar transportation across the universe."
"When that happens, we'll just charge toll fees."
"I think we'll make a fortune."
With that, Su Ran explained his Stargate concept to Ningguang.
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