Genshin Impact: Joining the Genius Society

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Invitation from the Erudition

”Success! Success! I’ve done it!”

Inside a cave buried in the snowy wilderness, a young and handsome man stared feverishly at the glowing miniature tower before him.

The grin on his face had long gone past the point of restraint.

If only the ground beneath him were flatter... softer...

At this very moment!

He would probably be writhing around like a worm.

”I knew it! I’m a genius! A one-in-a-million genius!”

His name was Su Ran.

A fortunate—yet also unfortunate—transmigrator.

Half a year ago, he had been ”escorted” into another world by a truck driver rushing to meet his quota.

For most young men, such an event would have been cause for unrestrained joy.

But not for him.

Because this was a catastrophic start.

He awoke in a vast, boundless snowfield.

Thankfully, he had a system.

By completing certain tasks, he could earn chances to choose rewards.

To make up for his terrible beginning, the system had given him one free choice, along with a year’s worth of survival supplies.

The options were:

”Power to crush all living things in this world” or ”Wisdom beyond imagination.”

At that time, Su Ran was freezing, barely able to move.

Yet perhaps because of the cold, his mind was crystal clear.

He wasn’t tempted by so-called invincible power.

Instead, he chose wisdom.

As for why—

It was simple.

He had a system. There would surely be more choices in the future.

By strengthening his brain, he could make the most rational decisions when faced with those choices.

And so, things progressed.

Once he received that wisdom and put it to use, he realized—this wasn’t merely an ”increase in intelligence.”

This was the power of ”I think it’ll work!”

With such wisdom, what did he need for brute force?

He wasn’t some musclehead who solved everything with fists.

To destroy fleets with a laugh, to make fortresses vanish between words—wasn’t that far more elegant?

Thus, in just half a year, relying on his ”I think it’ll work” wisdom, Su Ran successfully constructed what resembled the Plasma Spark Tower from Ultraman—or something close enough.

An artificial sun capable of evolving humans into Ultraman!

Its radiance illuminated the entire cave.

”Much better than a campfire!”

Recognizing the importance of this power, he thought for a long time, then picked up that light and stuffed it into his body.

After all, it had been designed for human adaptation, created under scarce resources.

It couldn’t possibly rival a real sun—

and surely wouldn’t kill him outright.

”Hiss!”

As the so-called plasma spark light merged into his body, Su Ran gasped.

Though it wasn’t enough to blow a man apart, forcing this energy into the human body was still terrifying.

He could feel it seeping through him, spreading out from his chest.

His body was no longer under his control.

Did I... pick up the wrong script?

When control vanished, balance was lost as well.

Su Ran collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Just before he lost control of even his eyes, he blinked hard—

and then everything went black.

No sensation. No light.

Not even imagined light in his own mind.

Did I just... crash and burn?

As despair set in, a blinding red light burst into view, filling his vision.

A massive machine appeared before him.

”I thought I made a plasma spark... what the hell is this thing?”

Su Ran stared blankly at the giant machine head before him.

”Query: What species are you?”

The enormous machine posed its question.

”I... I guess, probably still human?”

He lifted his arm.

By the glow of the machine’s twin red eyes, he could see his own flesh—still human skin.

So he hadn’t turned into Ultraman after all.

What a shame.

Even the ”I think it’ll work” power wasn’t enough? Truly a force of idealism.

”Negation. You are not a carbon-based organism.”

The machine rejected his answer.

”Not? Then... I must’ve succeeded!”

His excitement over a successful experiment outweighed his curiosity about the strange machine.

”Query: Are you alive?”

This time, Su Ran didn’t answer immediately.

He reveled in his joy for a while, calmed his heart, and then replied:

”Of course! To me, if one can think and feel, even if the heart doesn’t beat—

that is still life!”

”...”

The red glow flickered for a while before the machine spoke again:

”Would you be willing to walk the path of Erudition as one of my envoys?”

Su Ran fell silent.

He began to think.

Half a year of loneliness, his obsession with research—he had long neglected to recall the game he once played.

Honkai: Star Rail.

He had even forgotten the appearance of the Aeon of Erudition.

That was why, at first sight of this giant machine, he hadn’t recognized it.

After all, in the game, the first thing one saw was the enormous red glow—

a side view, not the front.

And his precious wisdom had been put to such great use that he hadn’t wasted any time reminiscing about old games.

Until now.

This snowfield...

”Wait... is this Jarilo-VI?”

”Negative. This is a primitive planet. Its life forms cannot travel beyond their skies.” The Erudition crushed his expectations.

”Tch. Fine.”

Su Ran felt a twinge of disappointment.

He had hoped to meet Bronya or Seele here.

”I accept your blessing. Becoming an envoy is no loss to me.”

He was no conspiracy theorist.

He remembered well: in Star Rail’s lore, humanity had no right to judge an Aeon’s morality by its own values.

His vision returned to light.

Su Ran awoke in the cave, feeling the surge of power flooding his body.

The joy that had once calmed down flared up once more.

Not long after, a message echoed through the universe:

”Su Ran, Genius Society member #85. On a remote, insignificant planet, he created a nearly perfect form of intelligent life. Incapable of calculation, incomprehensible in structure, possessing the traits of an undying species.”