After chatting with Citlali for a while, Nolan managed to subtly draw a few points of goodwill from her, though the amount was so small that even she herself could hardly notice it.
Once Nolan and Kirara finished delivering the mail, they also took the opportunity to try some of Natlan's local cuisine before returning to the Wonderland Space.
Since she had already agreed to move in and live here with him, Nolan naturally wanted to prepare her room as quickly as possible. Fortunately, he was already quite experienced with this kind of task.
Before long, he had arranged the essentials such as the bed, bedding, wardrobe, and other basic furnishings. The remaining details would be for Kirara to gradually add herself later.
After finishing, Nolan brought Kirara to meet everyone. Once she became familiar with them, she quickly started playing and chatting with the others.
Meanwhile, Nolan headed to the library and found Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. He asked whether she and Nahida had already figured out how to deploy the Akasha Internet within the world bubble of the "Assembled Continent."
Speaking of which, in the Sea of Quanta there existed countless world bubbles. The Akasha Internet could grow endlessly there.
There was no real need to develop it toward interstellar society. After all, interstellar civilization already had the Interastral Peace Network. Even if the Akasha Internet expanded to other planets, it would still be difficult to compete with the corporation.
Unless it developed in unexplored civilizations where nothing yet existed. In such places, the Akasha Internet would likely be welcomed.
Of course, the main issue was that, based on the current method by which the Akasha System expanded its coverage, it was basically impossible for it to spread across the entire galaxy in a self-sustaining way like the Interastral Peace Network.
Take the continent of Teyvat for example. The population of all seven nations on this planet provided faith in justice, and under the current situation, the upper limit of that energy supply would only allow the Akasha System to grow enough to cover the entire planet.
Beyond that, it would likely be unable to expand any further.
At this point, the Indemnitium generated from that faith had already reached the population limit. The energy produced was only sufficient to maintain daily operations and was no longer enough to support further expansion.
Therefore, covering the entire galaxy was most likely impossible.
After all, the Akasha System could not rely on the energy generated by the people of Teyvat to expand all the way to another intelligent life planet located who knew how many light-years away in order to obtain more Indemnitium.
Using a method similar to projecting a subsystem into the Wonderland Space, Nolan could theoretically bring Focalors to another intelligent life planet and deploy a subsystem there directly.
However, with her current power, maintaining the Wonderland Space and the temporary subsystem in Inazuma was already quite manageable.
Adding a few more regions would already start to become difficult for her, let alone covering the entire galaxy.
But the Sea of Quanta was different.
There, Nolan could fuse countless world bubbles together, piecing together and connecting the regions inhabited by intelligent life into a single vast continent as much as possible.
In that way, the Akasha Internet could grow on its own just like it did on Teyvat's continent. Moreover, there would be no monopolistic competitor already dominating the market.
It would be a place where the Akasha System could grow wildly and freely.
With that being the case, there was no need to compete with others in interstellar society.
After all, the market within the Sea of Quanta was limitless. Nolan only needed to continue searching for world bubbles.
In any case, the main purpose of developing the Akasha System was simply to make people's lives and work more convenient. Making money was only secondary.
Of course, the Akasha System was a creation of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Now its current master was Nahida, but in essence it was also an extension of both of their authorities.
The growth of the Akasha System would also allow their authorities to grow stronger.
If one day it could expand like a Path of an Aeon and cover the explored universe, then their strength could become comparable to that of an Aeon.
Furthermore, Nahida could also open system permissions and allow anyone to become an administrator.
Nolan, Ningguang, and the other girls in the Wonderland Space all possessed administrative privileges within the Akasha System.
As the Akasha Internet continued to expand, it would be impossible for Nahida to monitor every situation within the network at all times. Granting permissions ensured that when problems appeared, others could help resolve them promptly.
When Greater Lord Rukkhadevata heard Nolan's question, she looked slightly surprised and asked in return:
"You never seemed concerned about this before. Why are you suddenly interested now?"
"Well, before this I didn't have the relevant professional knowledge, so even if I wanted to help you there wasn't much I could do," Nolan explained. "But recently I summoned a Heroic Spirit who was once a top-tier genius in the universe's history. She might be able to come up with some solutions."
"Oh? Originally, I thought that if we 'train' together a few more times, then once the Akasha System had nearly covered Teyvat, I should have the ability to maintain another subsystem and place it within the world bubbles over there.
"Since you say that Heroic Spirit might have a solution, then please invite her over to give it a try."
Focalors nodded.
"Alright, give me a moment."
Earlier, Nolan had already given Ms. Sserkal a waymark, making it very convenient to contact her. After notifying Sserkal, he also informed Nahida.
It was about dinner time, so Nahida quickly finished the work she had at hand and teleported back. Sserkal also arrived shortly afterward upon receiving the message.
"The Sea of Quanta? It seems to be a dimension that people have yet to understand," Sserkal remarked with some surprise after learning about the situation. Looking at Nolan, she added, "In a few days, once I complete a project related to the Simulated Universe, please be sure to take me there so I can see it for myself."
As for why she would not go now, the reason was simple. One could not divide their attention. Even a genius needed full concentration during research.
"Of course, that's no problem," Nolan agreed readily. It was a simple request.
"Thank you," Sserkal said politely before continuing, "From what you described, your Akasha System seems somewhat similar to the Metafield Space that I created in my early days."
"Metafield Space?" Nolan nodded. He had read information about the geniuses and was naturally familiar with some of their works.
He had previously learned a little about Metafield Space. It seemed to be a digital space similar to a virtual world created by Ms. Sserkal, which people could log into through a Metafield Deep-Dive Device.
From this perspective, it really was somewhat similar to the Akasha System.
"The Metafield Space transcends multiple dimensions. It is a public 'open dream.' Any lifeform can use a deep-dive device to synchronize their neural signals into this consciousness network from any location in any dimension.
"I imagine that even the dimension of the Sea of Quanta would pose no problem. I can merge the Metafield Space into your Akasha System. Afterward, we can modify the Akasha Terminals to include the neural synchronization function of the deep-dive device. That should work."
Sserkal presented what she considered a fairly good solution.
"Merge the Metafield Space…" Nolan's eyes immediately lit up.
Originally, Nolan had only wanted people in the Sea of Quanta to be able to log into the Akasha Internet. But once Metafield Space was integrated into it, people would be able to access it from anywhere.
There would be no need to let it grow slowly either. A complete system would already exist from the start.
Moreover, although the Akasha Internet possessed the ability to transmit and upload memories, its usage was still similar to a virtual computer or smartphone. A virtual interface invisible to others would appear in front of the user, allowing them to operate it.
It was similar to augmented reality, which was quite convenient for daily life.
Metafield Space, on the other hand, synchronized neural signals and allowed people to directly enter a virtual world of consciousness.
Both had advantages and disadvantages. For example, with the latter, one could not possibly dive into a virtual world every time they simply wanted to check the time.
However, if the two were combined together, it would be perfect.
Thinking of this, Nolan felt a little excited. He looked at Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Nahida.
"What do you think of this plan?"
After some thought, both Rukkhadevata and Nahida also felt that the proposal was indeed excellent. Nahida pondered for a moment before looking at Sserkal.
"Metafield Space is your creation, right? Are you really willing to let us merge it like this?"
"It's fine. Metafield Space was only something I built for experimental purposes. After the experiment was completed, it was shut down. Leaving it unused would just be a waste, so handing it to you allows it to serve a purpose."
Sserkal replied.
"Thank you, Ms. Sserkal," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata expressed her gratitude.
Seeing that they had settled everything so quickly, Nolan was quite happy. This way, they would no longer need to worry about the growth of the Akasha Internet.
Of course, the specific technical details could not be resolved with just a few words. They still needed to discuss and communicate about them in depth.
As a non-specialist, Nolan decided not to disturb them and prepared to go downstairs to help with dinner. However, when he arrived on the second floor, he saw Furina and Clorinde preparing to take a bath, and Arlecchino was there as well.
Furina still seemed a little afraid of Arlecchino.
In order to help everyone get along harmoniously, Nolan followed them in as well, hugging them together and engaging in their usual intimate cultivation.
Only when it was time to eat did they finally come downstairs. By then, Furina was no longer as afraid of Arlecchino, since they had already become close sisters who shared the same intimacy with Nolan.
At this moment, Rukkhadevata and the others had also finalized the specific implementation method.
They said it would take a few days to complete the integration and subsequent adjustments. Judging from such a short timeframe, it was clearly not an overly difficult task.
Nolan asked about it and confirmed that was indeed the case.
Soon night fell. Nolan continued to cuddle with Arlecchino, Furina, and Clorinde. Later, Kirara joined them as well.
She had come looking for Nolan. When she opened the door and saw the chaotic state of the bed and blankets, she froze in place with a blushing face before Nolan pulled her onto the bed as well.
Time passed slowly like this.
Over the following days, Nolan spent his time raising the girls' affection levels and being affectionate with them.
The main ones whose affection he focused on were Mikoshi Chiyo and Stelle, since both of them lived in the Wonderland Space, making it convenient.
At the same time, during the daytime he would also go to Fontaine to raise Charlotte's affection. It was similar to Kirara. He said he wanted to experience what it felt like to be a reporter, and she happily took him along.
Although he was raising several girls' affection at the same time, thanks to his ability to naturally attract affection from girls, the progress with each of them was still quite good.
Among them, Mikoshi Chiyo, after being summoned as a Heroic Spirit, had already reached a little over Level 4 affection toward him. After living in the Wonderland Space for several days, it had increased further to Level 6.
Now, after a few more days, Nolan would take every opportunity to chat with her. When the Shogun and Ei became interested and sparred with her, he would join in as well.
Gradually, her affection reached the maximum level.
After the character panel displayed the notification that her affection had reached max level, another prompt appeared informing him that he had obtained a new affection skill:
[Through sincere feelings and unyielding effort, your once unrelated fate has become deeply intertwined with hers. From this moment on, the girl's constellation shall shine alongside yours. Ability obtained: Oni Transformation.]
When Nolan examined it, he discovered that it was an affection skill that provided extremely powerful combat enhancements:
[Oni Transformation: Enter the "Oni" state, gaining all of Mikoshi Chiyo's abilities while additionally increasing them by "the sum of both parties' levels percent." The body and soul permanently remain in a "super armor" state, immune to all control and negative effects.
Fear Aura: Centered on yourself, within a radius of "the sum of both parties' levels" kilometers, all hostile creatures fall into a state of "fear." All attributes and attack power are reduced by thirty percent, and their fighting spirit collapses, leaving them unwilling to fight.]
Not only did he gain all of Mikoshi Chiyo's abilities, he also became immune to all control and negative effects. Furthermore, all creatures within a large area would have their attributes greatly weakened and lose the will to fight.
Especially the effect that inflicted the "fear" state on enemies. That meant Nolan would essentially always hold the advantage. After all, when someone's fighting spirit collapses, they might even make mistakes while simply walking.
Mikoshi Chiyo's affection skill was yet another enhancement to his already formidable combat strength.
Aside from Mikoshi Chiyo, Stelle's affection toward Nolan also increased quite a bit. However, since most of his attention had been focused on Mikoshi Chiyo, he had not stayed constantly by Stelle's side.
He would only occasionally chat with her when she returned to the Wonderland Space.
As a result, Stelle's affection rose from Level 7 (420 points) to about Level 9 (around 300 points).
[Stelle's Current Affection Level Toward You: Lv.9 (312/900)]
Charlotte's situation was similar. While experiencing a reporter's work, Nolan had not followed her around the entire day either.
After all, besides attracting Mikoshi Chiyo and Stelle's affection, he also needed to search for world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta to maintain his cultivation speed.
Therefore, Charlotte's affection toward him only rose from Level 7 (680 points) to about Level 9 (over 750 points).
[Charlotte's Current Affection Level Toward You: Lv.9 (753/900)]
Originally, if he had spent another day following her to experience being a reporter, he would have been able to reach max level.
However, today was the day the Astral Express would depart again for its next destination.
So he could only head over to the train with Stelle first to take a look. Another opportunity would have to wait before he could raise Charlotte's affection to the maximum.
(End of Chapter)
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