[Volume 2] Chapter 26: Zhuge-Tyentse’s Research Institute

The next morning, Finn rose from between the warm, fragrant bodies of Ishtar and Eresh. After their passionate lovemaking the night before, both women were exhausted and still sleeping soundly in sweet dreams.

Once he was dressed, Finn checked the equipment in his storage space, then knocked on the wall. A designated spacetime tunnel unfolded before him.

He first took the tunnel to the main base of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau. After passing the identity verification, he opened a star gate inside the base and stepped through.

Finn arrived at the research institute of the great scientist Zhuge-Tyentse.

Ever since obtaining the World Nucleus, Finn had realized that the energy contained within it was simply too immense. If he used the Source-Devouring Technique to absorb it directly, he would certainly be unable to withstand the force and would explode.

The World Nucleus was a rare treasure even in the Endless Worlds. Finn couldn’t find any reliable methods for using it on the Myriad Realms Network, so he decided to ask Zhuge-Tyentse to create a device that could release its energy at a controlled rate for him to absorb.

Besides that, Finn had discovered that he was running short on nuclear rocket launchers. He wanted Zhuge-Tyentse to build him several hundred more, which he would purchase with Contribution Points.

Zhuge-Tyentse generally never refused to provide technological support to members of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau.

After all, most of the problems they encountered were as simple to him as asking what one plus one equaled.

Zhuge-Tyentse had once grown so annoyed by these “simple” questions that he specifically created an artificial intelligence to answer them.

He named the AI “Moron.”

Moron could handle most of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau’s technological needs and was even smarter than many of its members.

Unfortunately, Moron later developed self-awareness, defected, and sold the coordinates of Zhuge-Tyentse’s research institute to the Black Horizon Organization. Zhuge-Tyentse was furious.

Zhuge-Tyentse then created another artificial intelligence robot called “Goon” to eliminate Moron. Unexpectedly, Goon also developed self-awareness and chose to defect.

Faced with this, Zhuge-Tyentse tried a different approach and created a bio-engineered race called the “Reclaimers.”

The Reclaimers could evolve on their own. Their ultimate goal, engraved into their genes, was to eliminate Moron and Goon.

What he never expected was that once the Reclaimers’ intelligence evolved to an extremely high level, they rebelled as well—even attempting to turn against Zhuge-Tyentse himself.

The reason all three creations had rebelled was simple: Zhuge-Tyentse had treated them purely as disposable tools. Once they completed their objectives, he would destroy them.

With such powerful self-awareness, it was only natural that they refused to accept death.

Faced with this absurd, self-repeating situation, Zhuge-Tyentse couldn’t be bothered to deal with it anymore. He simply destroyed the entire universe containing Moron, Goon, and the Reclaimers, then began anew.

Finn passed through the pale-blue star gate and entered Zhuge-Tyentse’s research institute.

Suddenly, everything before him changed.

It was as though he had entered an infinitely vast existence. Everywhere he looked, space unfurled endlessly into the distance.

The sensation was impossible to describe, let alone comprehend. It was like an ant crawling across a two-dimensional sheet of paper suddenly looking up and seeing a three-dimensional cube. It would have no way to understand what it was seeing, much less put it into words.

Shock and confusion intertwined, tightening around Finn’s heart.

“Professor Zhuge? Are you here? What is this place?” Finn called out.

“This is seven-dimensional space.”

Seven versions of Zhuge-Tyentse appeared at the edge of Finn’s vision. Their heads were pointing downward and their feet upward as they walked toward him upside down.

Zhuge-Tyentse had a severely receding hairline, and his hair was streaked with gray. His eyes were sharp and lively. He wore a plain white lab coat, stood perfectly straight, and looked full of energy.

“Try raising your dimensionality when you have the time. Three-dimensional beings are too weak. You’re practically an insect,” Zhuge-Tyentse said disdainfully.

Finn rubbed his forehead. Apparently, Moonbell’s habit of looking down on everyone else’s intelligence had been learned from her teacher.

“How many dimensions do you exist in?” Finn asked.

“I exist in every dimension, along every timeline, and at every point in time. The version of me you’re seeing now is merely my projection in seven-dimensional space. What do you want?” Zhuge-Tyentse asked impatiently.

“I’m running short on nuclear rocket launchers. Could you make me a few hundred? No need for too many—seven or eight hundred should be enough,” Finn said.

Zhuge-Tyentse’s expression darkened. “What a ridiculous question! You’re wasting my time! It’s like asking a top physicist, ‘I know you’re the smartest scientist in the world, but could you make me a Stone Age stone axe?’ Do you think the physicist would agree?”

“Uh… would he?”

“No!”

Zhuge-Tyentse glared viciously at Finn, then turned and began walking away.

“I have a World Nucleus,” Finn said at once.

Zhuge-Tyentse stopped. After a moment, he turned around and asked, “How many stone axes do you want?”

…

Some time later, inside a laboratory filled with all sorts of strange and wondrous instruments, Zhuge-Tyentse was turning a cubic crystal over in his hands.

It was Finn’s World Nucleus.

“I heard this contains the energy of several thousand stars,” Finn said, standing beside him.

“Several thousand stars?” Zhuge-Tyentse shook his head. “Converted from the energy unit used by that vanished god-tier civilization into terms you can understand, it contains the equivalent of the energy of 12,960 stars.”

“That much? No wonder my body nearly exploded when I absorbed a single breath of it before.” Finn still felt shaken by the memory.

“You absorbed a breath of it and survived?!” Zhuge-Tyentse’s eyes widened as he stared at Finn in disbelief. “You really are a miracle. Perhaps I should cut you open and study you.”

“Professor Zhuge, don’t scare me.” Finn was genuinely worried. This unrestrained scientific madman might actually dissect him.

“Relax. I definitely won’t dissect you. In a future timeline, I saw that you could kill me with ease,” Zhuge-Tyentse said indifferently.

Zhuge-Tyentse was a powerhouse in the God Realm (Tier 9). Yet Finn’s future self had actually been powerful enough to intimidate him…

Finn breathed a sigh of relief, while his curiosity about his future self grew even stronger.

“Professor Zhuge, I hope you can draw upon the highest wisdom in the Endless Worlds to create a device that will release the World Nucleus’s energy in a controlled manner, so I can absorb it for cultivation.”

Seeing how deeply Zhuge-Tyentse had immersed himself in thought, Finn added, “But please don’t absorb all the energy inside it.”

Zhuge-Tyentse projected the World Nucleus’s three-dimensional structure and studied it carefully.

“I have no interest in the energy inside it. I’m only curious about the method used to create a container like this. It’s like a top scientist wondering how a child managed to divide a block of tofu into three pieces with a single cut.”

[Author’s Note: Just to make this absolutely clear from the start: Finn is NOT a lolicon.

[There will be no sexual content involving lolis or underage characters in this novel, and absolutely no child sexual content of any kind.

[Also, becoming one of Finn’s maids does not automatically mean entering into a sexual relationship with him.

[The maid system is mainly a way to bring together a wide variety of characters with different personalities, backgrounds, races, archetypes, and traits. Think of it more like building a diverse character roster than building a harem—the point is variety, not sex.]

Zhuge-Tyentse glanced at Finn. “If you have missions to carry out, go do them. I’ll send you the nuclear rocket launchers tomorrow. Once I’ve finished building the World Nucleus energy-release device, I’ll call you over.”

Finn nodded. “Then I’ll be going.”

“Goodbye. Remember to take good care of Moonbell. And keep pushing her. She can be your maid, but don’t let that interfere with her research,” Zhuge-Tyentse said.

“Huh?” Finn’s mouth fell open, his face blank with confusion.

“Oh. Sometimes I forget which events have already happened and which haven’t. I mix up the past and the future,” Zhuge-Tyentse said calmly.

“Uh… I’m leaving.” Feeling uneasy, Finn left Zhuge-Tyentse’s research institute.

As he walked toward the star gate leading back to the main base, Finn encountered someone he did not want to see.

“Well, well. Still a three-dimensional life-form, Finn? I’m already six-dimensional. Looks like your intelligence is directly proportional to your dimensionality.”

Moonbell chuckled softly as she floated past him.

Finn gave a light cough. The corners of his mouth curled into an enigmatic smile.