"Are you an idiot? How could we possibly hand it over to someone from the Genius Society?" Marcille gave a look that said 'you're an idiot.' "Have you forgotten who created Staff? It was Genius Society Seat #66! That guy created Staff and launched the The Second Emperor's War, a conflict even larger than the first. If you were part of the Company, wouldn't you be wary of geniuses?"

"I..." Laios was taken aback for a moment, and upon careful thought, it seemed Marcille was right. The Emperor Rupert II was not an Emanator, yet he created a situation countless times more terrifying than a 【Destruction】 Emanator. If the Company were even slightly extreme, they would view the entire Genius Society as a high-risk group requiring special monitoring, let alone entrust such a dangerous creation as Staff to another genius for use.

Who knows if the next genius might inherit Staff and become Rupert III?

"Could a genius today create a 【Scepter】 system? Like Screwllum?" Chilchuck suddenly interjected.

"Impossible," Marcille instinctively denied.

"You think he can't create it?"

"No, creating it shouldn't be a problem," Marcille shrugged. "...But the Company, the Xianzhou Alliance, and other factions probably wouldn't allow Screwllum to create something so dangerous. If he dared to build it, another great war between organic and inorganic life would likely erupt."

——

"'It's sufficient. Everyone here knows I'm not one to rest on my laurels. I've always wanted to break through the existing shackles of knowledge, find a new breakthrough point, and elevate the total sum of knowledge in the universe once again,' Herta said. 'This simulation of the School War is precisely for that goal. To this end, I intend to introduce a fifth collaborator to the Simulated Universe.'"

"Star teased, 'Could it be the one who loves eating bananas?'"

"Herta ignored her, declaring loudly, 'Let's resurrect Rupert II!'"

"Star: 'Huh???'"

"'Of course, not 【resurrection】 in the literal sense. We'll collect data from the School War, replicate a complete Scepter system within the Simulated Universe, and recreate the Emperor's external cognitive unit. Then, we can obtain the intellect of the fifth genius. And I will pose a question to him... her? No, I should say, to it—just as someone posed that final problem, which I later solved, at the end of the School War.'"

"Screwllum said, 'Although Stephen and Ms. Ruan Mei have no objections, I personally reserve my opinion on this matter. Adding too many objectives to a single study will greatly disperse research focus.'"

"'Reserving opinion means having no opinion—' Herta waved her hand dismissively. 'The School War, my starting point, the fifth genius—it's all like an interlocking chain, Screwllum. Don't tell me you're not curious about this simulation.'"

"'As you said, to be factual: my analysis weighting does indeed include a fifteen percent factor of curiosity.'"

"Having successfully persuaded Screwllum, Herta finally turned around. 'Hey, Star, you performed well in Gold and Gears and have experience dealing with Rupert's creations. And I just happen to need an assistant right now. What a coincidence, don't you think?'"

——

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

"The full computational power of the Simulated Universe can already simulate virtual Emperors, but that's only 71% of the power of a single Scepter. I dare not imagine what Rupert II, with thousands of Scepters at his disposal, could accomplish."

That was a true "Emperor."

However, Welf was also deeply puzzled. If, in Rupert II's eyes, organic life had to be exterminated, and inorganic life was to be infected by his equations, becoming tools and puppets, then wouldn't his vast territory spanning countless galaxies contain only a single conscious mind—his own?

Possessing the universe's most perfect weapons of slaughter, a supreme position, and a vast territory... yet not a single subject?

Welf found it hard to imagine the life of this "Emperor." Just a simple thought made him feel an unparalleled loneliness. The iron throne would always be lonely, occupied by only one person, his responses met only by the sounds of machinery and silent stillness.

But when his consciousness deemed itself inorganic life, he probably couldn't even feel "loneliness" anymore, could he?

"So, with such powerful weapons, how exactly was Rupert II killed by Polka-Kakamond?" Compared to Staff, Liliruca was more curious about that lady whose face was forever unclear. "Rupert I was killed by her, and the second also died by her hand. She herself is organic life, right?"

"I think she seems less like a life form and more like a 'ghost' or'specter,' don't you?" Welf took over her line of thought. "A ghost drifting through the universe, existing everywhere. But why does she only target members of the Genius Society? With such ability, why not go kill the 【Destruction】 Emanators?"

"Because she's capable, not insane," Liliruca said, her gaze darkening. "However, she doesn't eliminate all Genius Society members equally. At least Herta, Screwllum, and Ruan Mei haven't faced assassination attempts. So I suspect... the geniuses who were killed shared some commonality or characteristic, one we simply cannot discern."

——

"Star initially wanted to refuse; the job looked dangerous. But unfortunately, Herta refused Star's refusal."

"Entering the Simulated Universe again, Star felt herself slowly sinking into an unknowable mire. A layer of illusory light draped over her consciousness like a veil, and the churning data in her ears grew clearer."

"'Newcomer, adjust the observation precision of the imaginary number background calibration to the highest setting, based on the recording frequency of quantum intervals. And don't forget to pour yourself a cup of coffee.'"

"This was the first voice Star heard as her consciousness regained clarity, carrying a tone of accustomed command."

"Star looked around."

"It was a laboratory. Workbenches lined the walls, instruments stacked like silent building blocks. She looked down at herself. She was now wearing a white lab coat, perfectly fitted, with the cuffs rolled up twice, and even a pair of round-frame glasses perched on her nose."

"'What are you standing around for?" The lady didn't turn around."

"Star poured herself a cup of black grape Milk."

"A badge hung around her neck with the name Partivia Adela Somerville. She was frowning deeply, looking extremely troubled."

"As her research assistant, Star knew the source of her distress. She was currently agonizing over a number, a figure that clung to her like a ghost, maintaining the same margin of error in every experiment."

"Instruments creaked, the sound swallowed by the boundless vacuum. Out of habit, Star switched on an old-fashioned radio she'd acquired. A fragmented male broadcaster's voice came through: 'The Quantum History School's prophecy declares that beneath the thoughts of inorganic cells, a new genius shall arise. Although the Academy questions the prophecy's accuracy, with the Emperor's corpse not yet cold, we must heed the prophecy and prevent unknown crises from emerging.'"

"'Vague and ambiguous, very much their style,' Partivia remarked sarcastically. 'It's either that among the many Scholars, those maggots clinging to the Emperor's legacy and gnawing on the fruit of wisdom, one will become a genius. Or, that Rupert III will awaken from the empire's ruins.'"

"With that, she got up and walked to the calibration instrument's control panel, ending the process. The result was as expected: the visualized error fitted into a stable set of signals. It appeared at a frequency of once every thirteen minutes. No matter where the lab was relocated—the Purlang Nebula, Herdorin, even the edge of a black hole—its intensity and frequency never changed."

"As if there was a voice, existing simultaneously everywhere and at all times."