In the main control sector, Pei Guang and his companions located Rocky, the person who had sent Stelle the ssage. Although he's a staff mber of Herta Space Station, he wasn't engrossed in research at the mont but was instead deeply focused on a poem he was composing.
Beside him stood an elderly man hunched over, his expression a mix of frustration and helplessness as he glanced at Rocky's cheerful deanor. As Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th approached, they overheard the elder muttering under his breath.
"This fool is at it again, playing with his ridiculous stones. He's throwing away his future! If he keeps this up, other departnts will keep looking down on us from Galactic Geography. How can we achieve anything like this? Romance and frivolity are nothing but distractions on the path to scientific discovery."
Originally, Pei Guang and his friends had approached in high spirits, ready to take on a simple mission, but the old man's words piqued his curiosity.
"Why do other departnts look down on Geography?" Pei Guang asked, intrigued.
The elder, whose na was Bernard, initially seed ready to scold, but when he realized who had asked, he froze. Pei Guang had earned the gratitude of many during the antimatter legion's invasion, having saved several young mbers of Bernard's departnt. Additionally, Pei Guang was a guest of considerable importance to Herta herself.
Realizing this, Bernard sighed and began to explain. "The space station operates under one of its most foolish rules: talent is categorized into rigid departnts."
"And the second most foolish, though unspoken, rule is this: departnts are ranked, creating hierarchies of prestige. Those who are eloquent and presentable are seen as shining examples of intellect, while those who are reserved and deeply focused on research are dismissed as outdated and useless.
It's a flaw in the space station that cries out for reform. But as an old man, I'm no longer capable of bringing about such change, it will fall to the younger generation to make a difference."
Bernard's lant piqued Pei Guang's curiosity further. "Why would a scientific research station rank departnts? If I'm not mistaken, you're all supposed to be geniuses, aren't you? Maybe not on Herta's level, but at least among the best of your respective planets."
At this, Bernard let out another heavy sigh. "The best of their planets? Many here are indeed their world's brightest minds, but what does that matter? Choose the wrong focus, and even the brightest star will dim into obscurity."
Pei Guang clicked his tongue. "Your space station seems to have quite a few issues. I may not be a researcher, but I know enough to say that so fields, though they seem mundane, are absolutely crucial. Take terraforming, for instance. Transforming a seemingly habitable planet into one that's truly livable takes vast amounts of ti and countless skilled researchers."
His experience with simulation gas gave him a deep understanding of such matters—only the right people in the right roles could achieve aningful progress.
An idea struck Pei Guang, and he couldn't help but grin. "If there's no room for growth here, why don't you co work with ? I recently got an entire habitable, resource-rich star system from Asta as a reward. I haven't visited it yet, but knowing her, it's bound to be fantastic. I'll need people to explore it, and I think a few scientists from here would fit the bill perfectly."
Bernard was left dumbfounded by Pei Guang's bold proposal. Even March 7th looked concerned. "Ah Guang, don't you think this might be a bit... inappropriate? Sure, we're doing tasks for Herta, but openly poaching her staff seems a little underhanded."
Pei Guang pondered for a mont. "Now that you ntion it, poaching people like this does seem a bit inappropriate. They're giving us fun missions and rewards: if we hurt our standing and lose so favorability points, it'd be a pain to fix. How about this—I'll ssage Herta first."
Taking out his phone, he sent a ssage to Herta. She glanced at it briefly before replying with a single word: "Whatever."
Herta's indifference wasn't surprising. As long as Pei Guang was willing to test her Simulated Universe, she'd be fine with handing over the entire space station staff if necessary. Of course, there were exceptions; diligent and reliable mbers like Asta would remain off-limits.
What about the researchers' contributions? To her, they were practically irrelevant. The gap between her brilliance and theirs was vast—like comparing a human to a dog, or, in her mind, a human to a single-celled organism. As such, she didn't care much about their research results.
Still, whether intentional or not, Herta had a habit of leaving behind handwritten notes. What happened to those notes afterward was no longer her concern.
Pei Guang read her reply and nodded. "It's settled—Herta said we can do whatever we want."
Stelle added, "That ans we have her permission. Whatever we do, it's fine."
March 7th chid in, "No idea what to say, but if it's 'whatever,' then we're good to go."
Bernard, standing nearby, observed the trio in silence for a long mont before deciding to change the subject. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
This question jogged Pei Guang's mory, and he smacked his forehead. "Oh, right! Almost forgot the task. We're here on behalf of Rocky. He sent us to help reconcile with Lesley."
Bernard froze, stunned. "Reconcile? You think Rocky has a chance with Lesley? Dream on! A toad lusting after a swan. Maybe all the rumors about that girl have blinded everyone to an essential truth!"
Bernard explained that Lesley was a genius among geniuses at the space station. If she were a once-in-a-century prodigy, Bernard would be the equivalent of a di-a-dozen researcher. In his eyes, there was no way these two could end up together.
Whether he genuinely doubted their compatibility or had ulterior motives remained unclear.
As he spoke of the vast gap between Rocky and Lesley, the young man in question stood behind Bernard, entirely unbothered by his ntor's dismissive comnts. Working in such a marginalized departnt had given Rocky a thick skin; he didn't care about others' opinions.
He sighed as he finished his description. "Ah, such misfortune for my discipline. Please, young folks, try to talk so sense into my foolish apprentice."
After Bernard's tirade, March 7th furrowed her brow. "Talk sense? Why? Pursuing sothing beautiful is everyone's right. As long as he's not bothering her or refusing to take no for an answer, I think it's nice to have hope for sothing."
Her words caused Rocky to look up, his eyes sparkling with excitent and gratitude. For the first ti, soone recognized his feelings, and it filled him with joy.
"You're absolutely right, miss! Lesley is the most beautiful existence in my life!" he exclaid, his voice brimming with passion.
Bernard interjected, "Ha! Lesley is the star of Herta's Departnt of Insight. She's the only emissary to the Abundance segnt in the past amber era. Do you really think she has ti for soone like you?"
Rocky imdiately retorted, "Of course she does! Ever since she left, we've been communicating intermittently through galactic signal relays. Even across tens of thousands of light-years, she's never ignored . If she hasn't responded, it's because sothing unusual must've happened. I even wrote her a letter, confessing my feelings—not just talking about the kinds of rocks and dirt we catalog in the Departnt of Galactic Geography."
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