Was "Universe Energy" important to Riku? Without a doubt. Whether it was clearing away Extinction or the future development of the Longhuang Universe, the support of Universe Energy was essential.
However, there was a caveat. While Universe Energy was vital, its importance was not actually that high for Riku, who possessed the Universe Gate. If one place did not work out, he could simply move to another. If he could not farm it slowly? At worst, he could just go for a quick "all-you-can-eat" buffet, opening his mouth wide to take a massive gulp of energy, or perhaps setting off a "firework" and running.
Talent, however, was different. That was the true core, the fundamental root of importance.
Saori Kido from the Saint Seiya Universe. Saeko Busujima from the Apocalypse Universe.
To put it in terms of the gacha games Riku played before he crossed over, Saori Kido was an absolute top-tier [SP-rank] card, while Saeko Busujima was an [SR-rank]. These were the most important assets. As for training talent himself? The difficulty level was far too high.
Time is the least valuable thing to a long-lived species, especially when one is busy with a specific task.
Nine months passed in the blink of an eye. Exactly one year had passed since the Universe Gate first opened.
During this year, aside from occasionally returning to the Saint Seiya Universe to check on things or make arrangements, Riku spent almost all his time in the Apocalypse Universe. However, he spent most of that time drinking tea and watching the show. As for the actual work? He did not participate at all.
He had people for that. If he had to do everything himself, what would the others do? An emperor can be wise and powerful, but he must never do everything personally, otherwise, what is the point of his subordinates' existence? Besides, that would be exhausting!
"Finished!" Alice clapped her delicate hands, a thick smile on her lips, radiating confidence.
"It's finally done..." Yuriko Takagi looked up, murmuring to herself.
Saya Takagi whispered in agreement, "Yeah!"
The Undead Central Hub was complete. It was a towering spire of deep, translucent blue, standing over several thousand meters tall, with pitch-black patterns etched across its surface.
As for the zombies, they were no longer called zombies, but "The Dead." It was just a change in terminology. Alice simply felt that the name "zombie" did not sound good. Since it did not sound good, they changed it.
With the Undead Central Hub as the core, they could perfectly control every single one of The Dead on Earth. Of course, if that were its only function, it would have been finished long ago.
The Undead Central Hub also possessed the ability to allow The Dead to "gestate" more of their kind. That is right, single-cell reproduction, or rather, fission. As for who researched this? Alice, of course.
Beyond that, the Undead Central Hub was embedded with Magic Circles capable of mining Universe Energy. It would automatically command The Dead to carry out the mining operations. It also contained a Universe Gate; as long as they set up outposts on other planets, they could continue mining the Universe Energy of those worlds as well.
One could only say that Alice's imagination was truly vast. She kept adding more and more functions. If she had not eventually felt that it was "good enough," her unbridled creativity probably would have cooked up even more features.
As for the mother-daughter duo, Yuriko and Saya Takagi? Surprisingly, their talent in this area was not bad. After studying under Alice, they could be considered qualified novice witches.
Rei Miyamoto and Rika Minami also showed decent talent regarding the Cosmo; they could be considered [R-rank] cards.
And finally, Shizuka Marikawa? She was a beautiful "vase," meant to be well-kept and occasionally polished.
"It's finished?" Riku's figure manifested at that moment as he asked.
Alice put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "But of course! A small project like this is easy work!" She made a small gesture with her fingers, the "fingertip universe" meme style.
"Sir!" Yuriko and Saya Takagi both bowed in greeting.
Riku simply smiled and nodded. In a sense, Riku was not the type to obsess over power or the feeling of being superior. A title was just a title; it did not matter much to him. Even if they called him by his name, he would not really care. It was just that sometimes, even if he did not care, it did not mean others would not.
"Darling, I did some research and found something very interesting~" Alice said with a squinting smile.
"What is it?" Riku asked, following her lead.
Alice, looking satisfied, explained, "The Apocalypse Universe is currently in a developmental stage. In other words, other civilizations will continue to be born within this universe, which will naturally generate Universe Energy. If we manage the frequency of our 'mining' correctly, we can thoroughly squeeze the energy out of this entire universe."
Universes also develop in stages, from infancy to youth and finally to maturity. During these stages, a universe naturally produces Universe Energy to ensure its stable development until it reaches maturity.
The transformation and development of civilizations create a feedback loop, allowing for step-by-step evolution. If the evolution succeeds, the universe continues forward; if it fails, it faces Extinction.
The Apocalypse Universe was currently in the first stage. For a long time to come, it would naturally produce Universe Energy. They had to take it slow and not let it go to waste.
"Sir, by extracting energy step-by-step, we can use The Dead as a core to form a cycle once the universe enters its mature stage. We will then introduce technological systems to continue the cycle of extraction."
"When the universe nears Extinction, we will perform a final extraction of all remaining Universe Energy and collect the Seed of the Universe."
Yuriko and Saya Takagi spoke one after another, laying out a plan that spanned countless years into the future.
Riku smiled and nodded in satisfaction. Although plans often fail to keep up with changes and no one knew what the future held, having a plan in place was vital. Even if things changed, they could adjust at any time.