o— “How about this data optimization program?
It should help reduce your workload even further.
You can submit it to the Department of Universal Things as an optimization suggestion.
Once the technicians verify its security, they’ll have to sing your praises.” “A program made by Brother Hua Yi is amazing, of course!
But Shiling would never submit it under my own name.
Wouldn’t that be stealing your credit?
I’m going to tell everyone that this is a detailed optimization plan that Brother Hua Yi wrote specifically for the actual needs of our department!” With her gift in hand, Wen Shiling chattered away as she scampered off, eager to show off her idol’s latest creation to the Department of Universal Things.
If the program had security issues or was just something to amuse a child with limited practical effect, she would have been stopped.
However, Hua Yi was confident in the code he had written.
This wasn’t to say that the newcomer’s technical skills surpassed everyone at the station, or even the Genius Society member, Herta, herself.
Herta rarely concerned herself with the station’s operations, let alone the performance of some backend program in a specific department.
The other senior technicians had their own projects and off-world expeditions; they wouldn’t spend their energy collecting user feedback and understanding the practical situation just to optimize a common work program.
Hua Yi was someone who had the ability and was also willing to listen to the needs of the station’s researchers.
—o— He had read through most of the internal data accessible with his Level II clearance.
The next step was to produce some results in line with the research direction of the Department of Lumina Archives to achieve a promotion.
There was no need to apply for Curios for the time being.
A Level II Researcher could theoretically apply, but in practice, the Department of Universal Things would never approve it.
Besides, a researcher of his rank wouldn’t be able to get their hands on any truly valuable Curios for research.
Hua Yi chose to focus on the two main research areas of the Department of Lumina Archives: Aeon secrets and Hidden Mysteries.
To collect rumors about the Aeons, one often needed to travel to distant planets in search of the gods’ traces.
Even for the most ethereal legends, there needed to be an accurate time, place, and person to investigate.
Hua Yi had no intention of leaving the crucial stage that was the Herta Space Station so soon.
That left the Hidden Mysteries: using specific materials and a series of complex rituals to achieve a desired outcome.
Of course, none of them allowed for direct communication with an Aeon.
Otherwise, the Department of Lumina Archives would have long since crushed the Department of Universal Things, kicked the Department of Star-Field Species to the curb, and become the sole powerhouse of the Herta Space Station.
But, setting aside the crude rituals that were limited to creating fleeting sensory experiences or momentary mystical light shows, the department did possess High-rank Mysteries.
It was rumored that if one were successfully performed, it could draw a single droplet from the surging river of a Path and give it physical form.
Performing a High-rank Mystery not only required all sorts of rare materials and placed strict demands on the experimenter, but the success rate was also pitifully low.
In fact, if a member of the Department of Lumina Archives could successfully perform even a single Mid-rank Mystery, it would be considered a tremendous academic and professional achievement.
By reviewing the department’s internal research papers, Hua Yi could see the essence of what some of the mysteries required—the experimenter’s disposition had to be in alignment with the Path the mystery was aimed at.
At the very least, there could be no fundamental contradiction.
To use a Hidden Mystery to call upon the power of the Path of Preservation, to catch a single insignificant droplet splashed up by the ritual’s disturbance, the experimenter had to possess a sliver of the will to preserve.
The firmer this will, the more likely the ritual was to succeed.
For someone completely devoid of such a will, no amount of rare materials could prevent failure.
A Level II Researcher couldn’t access the detailed data and past records of the department’s High-rank Mysteries, but to Hua Yi, that was irrelevant.
Aeons, Emanators, Pathstriders…
these beings walked their Paths, and the best among them could draw upon their power at will.
The rituals of the Department of Lumina Archives were merely attempts to create favorable external conditions to achieve an outcome far shallower than what a true Pathstrider could accomplish.
As it happened, Hua Yi had a certain talent when it came to Imaginary Energy.
“I just need to find useful patterns from a large number of Low-rank Mysteries, compare them with a few Mid-rank ones, and then fine-tune things bit by bit using my own sharp perception and control over Imaginary Energy.
Then, I can try to create a High-rank Mystery.” In truth, High-rank Mysteries were the only rituals that truly touched upon the Paths.
The Low-rank ones were closer to esoteric metaphysics and lacked much reference value.
—o— Walking into a laboratory that his Level II clearance only granted him temporary access to, Hua Yi activated a professional recorder watermarked with the station’s logo.
All subsequent images, sounds, and detectable energy fluctuations in the lab would be recorded into the database.
“First, I will attempt the Low-rank Mystery colloquially known as ‘Flash of Insight.’ Successful completion will result in a thumb-sized flash of light.
The department believes this mystery is related to the Path of [Erudition].” Following the standard procedure, Hua Yi gave a basic introduction before the ritual began, then methodically started using the required materials.
A moment later, a flash of light, too quick for the naked eye to capture, was recorded by the station’s top-of-the-line equipment.
“Expected result achieved.
Beginning the attempt of the Mid-rank Mystery, ‘Flower of Another World.’ The sign of success for this mystery is the appearance of a floral phantom that constantly imitates and pieces together some other object.
This phantom lasts for a relatively long time and can be captured by the naked eye and technological equipment.
It is similar to the Calyx (Simulated) generated by spatial distortion phenomena throughout the universe.” After a period slightly longer than the last experiment, but by no means an overly long time, the floral phantom appeared.
Hua Yi didn’t rush to upload the experimental data.
Even after successfully completing a Mid-rank Mystery, his career as a researcher at the Herta Space Station was already destined to be a smooth one.
“Next, I will attempt to create a new mystery based on the data recorded from these two rituals.” As he finished speaking, a long silence fell over the laboratory, broken only by the imperceptible hum of the various machines and the soft sounds of Hua Yi handling the rare materials.
An Imaginary Energy detection device, a piece of equipment that ninety-nine percent of the planetary civilizations in the known universe could not manufacture, flickered wildly, recording, archiving, and backing up the ever-changing parameters off-site.
From beginning to end, Hua Yi never once glanced at the device’s display.
His perception of Imaginary Energy was far more acute than an instrument that was fundamentally unsuitable for observation during operation.
Since he possessed this talent, wouldn’t it make him the biggest fool of all not to make good use of it?
A long time passed.
For something done as overtime after his main work was finished, it was a long time.
But as the genesis of a brand-new High-rank Mystery, it seemed incredibly short.
So short that calling it a prelude to the birth of a High-rank Mystery would still feel like an overstatement.
The screen of the monitoring device, which had been flashing with a sea of data, suddenly froze.
The phenomenon of Imaginary activity within the lab ceased.
A dim, mysterious key materialized out of thin air, lying silently in the center of the ritual platform.
“Experiment successful.
I shall name this mystery—Calyx (Simulated): Bud of Erudition.” —o—