Screwllum's Guidance

If a painting can pay off 500 million of a debt of 30 billion, then he would need 59 more paintings to cover it.

The weight of that mountain still lingered on Jingxing's fingertips.

Paint another fifty-nine? How many paintings can an average human artist have in their lifetime that are worthy of being hung in a museum? This path seems to be a dead end.

"Miss Asta," Jingxing asked, snapping out of his reverie, "What is the approximate market price of the Curio on the space station?"

"The vast majority of Curio are priced between five and seven figures in Credits." Asta tapped her finger, displaying a list of data on the terminal. "I valued your painting as an extremely high-risk Curio."

"Is that Curio quite rare?"

"While the Curio in the galaxy are generally rare, there are enough to fill several Herta Space Stations."

"Is that so...?"

"But works of art are different." Asta closed the terminal and looked up at him. Her gaze was as if she had been waiting for the perfect moment to utter those words.

"Mr. Jingxing, this is exactly what I wanted to tell you," she continued. "The Milky Way is so vast, and while Curio are scarce, they are not truly rare. But a fine work of art is different. Recently, the highest price for an art item at the Thousand Stars City auction house reached over 40 billion Credits."

Over 40 billion... Wouldn't one item be enough? Jingxing's eyes lit up.

Asta paused, then continued, "Your eyes are blessed by Ms. Herta, and members of the Genius Society would make a special trip for them. Your paintings would certainly be very popular in Thousand Stars City and at Penacony's auction house."

"Thousand Stars City? Penacony?"

The former is the company's entertainment headquarters and resort, while the latter is Planet of Festivities, even more prosperous than the former, and also the place where Robins grow up.

"If I get enough recognition at Penacony, will my opinion of me change on Sunday?" Jingxing couldn't help but start thinking.

He was asked to paint another fifty-nine "Image of Ten Thousand Jun," and although he could do it, he didn't want to create such repetitive works.

But not every painting hanging in a gallery needs to weigh down like a mountain. Asta's suggestion, given her kind nature, is worth considering.

"Three hundred million will be used to pay off debts." After thinking for a while, he gave his answer, "I'll keep the rest for myself."

Asta didn't say anything more, and deftly typed a few lines. The debt figure on the screen dropped from 30 billion to 29.7 billion.

Looking at the number, Jingxing felt a slight relaxation in his heart, which had been taut for so long. Even one percent progress is still progress, and it's better than no progress at all.

"There's one more thing, Miss Asta," Jingxing said, "I'd like to find a few suitable places for sketching, preferably interesting planets that haven't been painted by many people. Is there anything that allows you to view the real-time movements of various star systems?"

"Yes." Asta took a palm-sized round plate from the drawer and placed it on the table. The plate was dark blue, with a layer of extremely fine light patterns floating on its surface, like a pool of living water. She touched it with her fingertip, and the light patterns scattered, with lines of small text flowing across the plate—a new route opened in a certain star system, a beast tide broke out on a certain planet, the list of items to be collected by a certain auction house next week, the latest news of the discovery of a certain civilization's relics... one after another.

"Real-Time Star Chart, mass-produced by the company. It can connect to the spaceship's navigation system," Asta explained. "It's linked to the company's data network, allowing real-time monitoring of the situation in various star systems. We can see which star is suitable for settling down, and which star has just experienced a major event. If you're looking for a place to gather information, I don't think there's anything more convenient than this."

"How much?"

"No need," Asta shook her head. "You're taking it to contribute to the space station, so consider it a gift from me."

Asta could tell that Herta cared a lot about Jingxing, and although she didn't know why, she was happy to show goodwill in this place.

Jingxing tucked the astrolabe into his pocket; the pocket felt heavy, like he was carrying an ocean. Just as he was about to thank him and take his leave, the office Communicator rang. Asta answered, listened for a few moments, her expression turned serious, and she replied, "Yes."

"Mr. Jingxing, please wait a moment." She hung up the call. "Ms. Herta has a guest. The guest specifically requests to see you."

Who is it?

"Genius Society #76, Mr. Screwllum."

When Jingxing met Screwllum, this Intellitron genius was already standing in front of the "Image of Ten Thousand Jun".

Inside the Herta's office, "The Image of Ten Thousand Jun" leaned against the bulkhead, while the seven-colored bubbles on the sea of clouds slowly swirled, like half-open eyes.

Screwllum stood three steps in front of the painting, his top hat placed on the workbench beside him, his white-gloved fingertips hovering outside the painting's frame, not immediately reaching up to touch it.

Those mechanical blue eyes scanned the sea of clouds, frame by frame, as if reading a very long article. Herta leaned against the control panel with his arms crossed, unusually silent.

"Admirable." Screwllum finally spoke, his voice lacking any mechanical, inhuman quality, but rather quite gentlemanly. "A targeted defense against Erudition, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it 'anti- Erudition.' Ms. Herta— "

"That's my painting," Herta suddenly interjected, "Don't even think about it."

"I'm just admiring it," said Screwllum. "The way she's protecting this painting so meticulously... Ms. Herta really is..."

"None of your business." The Herta Puppet turned its face away.

Just then, Screwllum, who had heard footsteps, turned around and gave Jingxing a slight bow. "Screwllum, #76 of the Genius Society, pays his respects to the creator of this painting."

"I dare not accept such praise," Jingxing returned the greeting.

"I've already heard from Ms. Herta about the background and context of this painting's creation," said Screwllum. "Not only can a painting be as heavy as a mountain when infused with Imaginary Energy, but attempts to analyze it using the Path Erudition will also be met with resistance. However, in my opinion, the painting's greater value lies in its artistic merit. May I ask, Mr. Jingxing, where do you plan to go in the future?"

"I'll use my paintings to pay off my debts." Jingxing didn't hide anything. "Miss Asta suggested I sell my paintings in Thousand Stars City and Penacony."

"An auction house is a pragmatic choice," Screwllum, then changed the subject, "However, I have some personal suggestions."

"Please speak, sir." Jingxing said solemnly. A brilliant suggestion was something that everyone in the galaxy dreamed of.

"You've created a painting like this. I thought what you needed most right now," said Screwllum, "Was nourishment called 'knowledge.' I've traveled through many galaxies and seen many painters—many are skilled, but few possess soul in their brushstrokes. It's not just a lack of technique, but also a lack of depth."

Jingxing didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"On my Planet Screwllum, the library mainly focuses on engineering and technology, offering limited help to the path of painting. But on the other side of the galaxy, there is a library with the largest collection in the entire galaxy," Screwllum said. "From the manuscripts of lost civilizations to the latest theories of imaginary numbers; from the aesthetic evolution of a hundred races to the artifact designs of artisans— Ismael's bookshelves contain almost the entirety of civilization. I think that if Mr. Jingxing wants to go further in the path of painting, he might as well go there and take a look."

"The Galactic Library, Ismael," Herta interjected. "The Genius Society once held a conference there, then it was attacked, leaving a large group stranded. Although they didn't come to much conclusions from their discussions, the collection they brought should be of some help to you."

"Indeed," said Screwllum. "Understanding how our predecessors perceived 'beauty' is essential to knowing what kind of 'beauty' we should create. When I was building the Simulated Universe with Ms. Herta, I often felt sorry for those forgotten civilizations—their wisdom had been burned to ashes, leaving only a few pages. If Mr. Jingxing's eyes could take one more look for them, that would be their blessing."

Jingxing's heart stirred. With Screwllum's persuasion, the name Ismael quietly lit up in his mind like a lamp.