Chapter 4

Comprehensive Manga Protagonist: “【Hermes】? Indeed, this name is somewhat unusual…”

Comprehensive Manga Protagonist: “Hss! Itachi don’t mean—?”

Luo Qianqiu stared at the eerily familiar name 【Hermes】 and suddenly realized something, drawing in a sharp breath.

The Wisdom of the Explorer: “Itachi’re right. If nothing goes awry, I am likely the counterpart of 【Hermes】 in the Stellar Rail—and this is precisely what I later came to understand. After spending some time as an Anonymous Passenger aboard the Stellar Train, I transferred to the Archivists’ Faction!”

The Wisdom of the Explorer: “Now, my title is Envoy of the Archivist Sovereign, Seat #84 of the Genius Club!”

Comprehensive Manga Protagonist: “Strong! Thumbs up ·jpg”

Comprehensive Manga Protagonist: “As 【Hermes】, Itachi truly don’t need any flashy power-ups anyway—especially now that Itachi’re a member of the Genius Club!”

Genius Club!

With this status, why even need a power-up?

As a transmigrator well-versed in the Tree Sea’s multiverse lore and a member of the Genius Club, Luo Qianqiu even suspected that her fellow countryman would eventually break through the limitations of the Bengtie universe and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Stellar Gods!

The Wisdom of the Explorer: “Herta sent a message—I need to log off to handle it. I’m leaving now.”

“Ding! Member The Wisdom of the Explorer has logged off.”

With Hermes’ departure, the group members felt a pang of regret.

They were truly curious about this new member’s background—just from his few words, it was clear his story must be extraordinary!

Luo Qianqiu also felt a tinge of regret.

No one understood the value of a Genius Club member better than she did.

With this fellow countryman’s help, perhaps even after her transmigration, this dump of a 【Comprehensive Manga】 world wouldn’t be unsolvable.

Thinking of the world she now inhabited, Luo Qianqiu sighed again, deeply.

…

Hermes logged off in haste because he truly had matters to attend to.

Genius Club Seat #85, Stephen Lloyd.

This original Seat #84, following closely in Hermes’ footsteps, had just been born!

Their consecutive admissions to the Genius Club sent shockwaves across the cosmos.

Hermes was understandable—he had wandered the cosmos for a long time before joining the Genius Club and had once been a well-known Anonymous Passenger.

Though many factions didn’t know when exactly he switched to the Archivists’ Faction, they could still understand.

After all—he’s a genius!

They could do anything astonishing, and no one would be surprised.

But Stephen Lloyd? No one had any idea where he’d sprung from…

Holy hell!

How could he have hidden so deeply?

…

One system time ago, aboard Herta Space Station in the outer void of the Azure Star.

A lady, her hair flowing like the brightest radiance of the starry sky beneath a purple magical hat, sat elegantly in her office.

She was none other than the station’s owner and Genius Club Seat #83—Herta.

Rarely did she appear in person—this time, it was because of the person seated across from her.

Genius Club Seat #81, Ruan Mei, dressed in a modified ink-wash qipao with tasseled shoulder cutouts.

“Ruan Mei, requesting a lab on my space station? That’s a trivial matter.”

Herta nodded without hesitation at this small request, “But Itachi should at least tell me what Itachi plan to do on my station?”

“Don’t go blowing it up.”

Herta was a genius herself—she knew full well that geniuses like them could suddenly create something monumental.

Of course, whether or not something exploded didn’t really matter to her.

But beneath the station lay her homeland—the Azure Star.

So Herta still felt compelled to ask, just in case.

Ruan Mei took out a handkerchief, wiping a trace of pastry from her fingertips, while lightly tapping the floating screen, causing the tassels to sway gently.

Massive streams of data flashed rapidly across the screen.

Soon, she completed the calculation, satisfied, and replied in a voice like silk steeped in osmanthus honey: “Naturally, because my previous labs were all on primitive planets—unsuitable for this research…”

At that moment, both women turned their heads simultaneously toward the boundless starfield.

Their eyes seemed to pierce across infinite distances, seeing something countless light-years away.

They keenly sensed the violent fluctuation of the Path of Knowledge.

Then—

【Congratulations, Genius Club! Welcome your 84th member!】

Instantly, Herta and Ruan Mei widened their eyes.

Especially Herta, who had long resented being the lowest-ranked member, labeled the “smallest genius.”

Now, the Genius Club finally had a new member!

Then, both women listened as the Archivist Sovereign’s voice continued.

【Hermes, Genius Club Seat #84, self-crowned with the Authority of 【Alchemy】 on the Fringe Star Sea and created an almost perfect substance: the Philosopher’s Stone.】

【This substance possesses the ability to enact equivalent exchange of all phenomena in the universe!】

“Self-crowned Authority?”

“Created a Philosopher’s Stone capable of equivalent exchange of all things?”

Herta and Ruan Mei exchanged glances, both drawing in a sharp breath.

Herta tugged at her stiff lips, feeling like she’d witnessed something unprecedented: “I knew the Genius Club produced geniuses, but how did this level of genius only now gain the Archivist Sovereign’s recognition?”

“I’m far more interested in this Philosopher’s Stone that can exchange all things.”

Ruan Mei fixed her gaze on the Philosopher’s Stone, thoughtful: “This could greatly benefit many of our research projects!”

Both Herta and Ruan Mei were deeply intrigued by the new Seat #84—just as they began pondering how such an absurd thing as the Philosopher’s Stone could possibly be created, the Archivist Sovereign’s voice sounded again.

【Congratulations, Genius Club! Welcome your 85th member!】

【Stephen Lloyd, Genius Club Seat #85, born in a remote star region, rapidly revolutionized the interstellar scientific system and casually crafted a device capable of altering the Lieritha scientific framework: [Frequency Catcher].】

“What kind of day is this?”

Herta exclaimed in amazement: “Usually, one appears every few amber eons—yet today, they’re coming in pairs?”

“Herta, why don’t we use the Club Invitation to invite these two to meet?”

Ruan Mei, typically aloof, now smiled faintly, her interest piqued.

“Hmm, good idea. That thing Eliasaras invented does have some utility.”