“Aye~”
Kafka answered with unruffled composure, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Xu Zixuan carrying just the right measure of doting indulgence, as if humoring a mischievous child.
Silver Wolf, however, instantly flushed bright red, her teeth gently biting her lower lip.
This guy was utterly insatiable!
But thinking of how much Kafka had already sacrificed, there was absolutely no way she could drop the ball at this moment.
“Aye…”
She forced out the response through gritted teeth, her voice so soft it was barely audible.
“I really didn’t expect you two to actually agree.”
“Ah, I truly am far too charming.”
Xu Zixuan couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.
A maiden’s blush said it all.
He was simply far too charming.
To think that after only their second encounter, both of them had already fallen for him.
Seeing that narcissistic look on his face, Silver Wolf wanted nothing more than to sock him right in the jaw.
That maiden’s blush was clearly from sheer anger!
And this guy interpreted it as being smitten with him?!
“Get lost, you Fool.” Silver Wolf cursed in exasperation.
“Sure thing.”
Xu Zixuan’s projection dissipated in response, as if it had never been there at all.
“Hey!
No—you’re just going to leave, just like that?!” Staring at the now empty data space, Silver Wolf stomped her foot in fury.
She had sacrificed so much to play along with his act, and this guy just up and left without a word?
“Ding ding ding…”
A new message alert suddenly popped up on the virtual screen.
Contact: Xu Zixuan.
Message: If anything comes up in the future, just contact me directly by phone.
I’ll just consider myself an external associate member of the Stellaron Hunters…
Silver Wolf: …
Silver Wolf fell silent.
She, Silver Wolf, the Uncrowned Ruler of Punklorde, had actually been outplayed by the other party.
He had silently hacked right into her device!
Agh, so infuriating!
No.
She would definitely hack him back someday!
Silver Wolf: Fine.
I’ll contact you if needed.
Though deeply unwilling to accept this, she decided to stabilize the situation first.
Xu Zixuan: Oh, right.
Don’t bother trying to hack my phone again.
Xu Zixuan: This thing was made by Aha.
If you actually managed to hack in…
who knows, Aha might just grant you a blessing and let you play at being an Emanator.
(TL note: …)
Silver Wolf: ᗜ‸ᗜ
No wonder she couldn’t breach it no matter what.
Wait, hold on!
Silver Wolf: Didn’t you say you weren’t a Masked Fool?
Xu Zixuan: I did say I’m not a Masked Fool.
But I also told you I know Aha.
When I met you two, that was Aha’s doing!
Silver Wolf was rendered utterly speechless.
Silver Wolf: No, what kind of person are you?!
Not a Masked Fool, but on great terms with Aha?!
Xu Zixuan: Has it occurred to you that I might be a Trailblazer?
After all, Aha is the strongest Emanator of Trailblaze.
Wouldn’t it be perfectly normal for THEM to be on great terms with a Trailblazer like me?
Silver Wolf: …
“Aha is the strongest Emanator of Trailblaze?” She turned to look at Kafka.
“It seems Xu Zixuan knows more inside information than we imagined.”
“According to the records, Aha did indeed once disguise THEMSELF as a Nameless and sneaked aboard the Express,” Kafka spoke gently.
“THEY were quite close with Akivili personally.
Calling THEM an Emanator of Trailblaze…
wouldn’t exactly be wrong.”
“But…
Xu Zixuan plans to join the Astral Express?”
Silver Wolf: You’re going to join the Astral Express?
Xu Zixuan: Of course.
Joining the Astral Express will be so much fun.
The beauties on the Express are no less than you Stellaron Hunters.
Plus I can go on adventures to other planets and meet even more beauties.
Seeing Xu Zixuan’s message, a vein bulged on Silver Wolf’s forehead.
“Kafka, is it possible that the future Elio foresaw could be wrong?”
“Everything about this guy screams unreliable.”
Silver Wolf couldn’t help but grumble.
“I believe in Elio.” Kafka’s voice was gentle yet firm.
“It has never deceived us.”
“Perhaps a future spent together with Xu Zixuan is, for us, the best possible ending.”
Kafka smiled faintly, a glimmer of anticipation flashing through her eyes.
“To be honest, I too am somewhat longing for a life I have never experienced before.”
“So that’s the reason you agreed?” Silver Wolf sighed.
Indeed, had Kafka not been willing from the heart, Silver Wolf would have struggled to imagine anyone being able to force Kafka into making such a choice.
Xu Zixuan, huh?
…
Meanwhile, Xu Zixuan had just ended his communication with Silver Wolf because Welt had sought him out.
“Mr.
Xu, I have a question I hope to have answered.”
Welt’s voice was calm and composed, but Xu Zixuan keenly detected that subtle hint of tension within it.
“Regarding your earlier imitation of me…” Welt forced these words out with great difficulty.
“To my knowledge, there should be no other individuals privy to that piece of history.”
“So you admit that what I imitated was indeed you?”
Welt: …
Had he just inadvertently confessed?
No, the other party had known long ago.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to stir up entertainment like this.
Though Welt’s surface remained utterly unperturbed, inwardly he felt a fair measure of embarrassment.
After all, that was his dark history.
“Old Yang,” Xu Zixuan deliberately dragged out his tone, “if I said Aha told me all of this, would you believe me?”
“The Aeon of Elation, Aha?” Welt adjusted his glasses.
“By common sense and rationality, the Aeon of Elation could indeed be privy to such information.”
Though his mouth said this, Welt didn’t entirely believe it in his heart.
He was, after all, not a person native to this world.
Even if an Aeon’s might was unfathomable, it was unlikely THEY would know the details of his past like the back of THEIR hand.
But then again, thinking of the boundless power of the Aeons, which mortals truly could scarcely imagine, Welt didn’t completely dismiss the possibility.
“But THEY have always only disseminated ‘entertainment’ capable of creating chaos,” Welt continued his cool analysis, “and never something so…
exhaustively detailed.”
Before his words had even fully landed, Welt suddenly froze mid-sentence.
Xu Zixuan had lightly tapped his phone a few times, and a holographic projection instantly unfolded in the air before them.
In the footage, his younger self was facing off against Bronya.
“Why should I play the shadow of a failure?”
“I did what that man could never do.
I have surpassed him.”
Bronya: “Have you gone mad?”
“I am not mad.
I conquered the world.
This is my own power, my ultimate destiny, the true me.”
“Enough.
On your knees.”
“You have no right to judge me.
I killed someone important to you.
You hate me too.
What difference is there between you and me?”
Stirring background music paired with that youthful yet resolute face—this clip, less than a minute long, was indeed filmed with considerable flair.
It was just that, to the present-day Welt, those chuunibyou-laden lines were so mortifying they made his toes want to dig straight through the floor.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
“Turn off the projection, now!”
Welt waved his hands frantically, a rare loss of composure overtaking him.
Xu Zixuan obliged and shut off the projection, then turned to blink innocently at him.
“Where did this video come from?
It hasn’t been spread around, has it?”
Welt wiped at the nonexistent cold sweat on his temple.
“Came with the phone.
Aha special edition.” Xu Zixuan waggled the device in his hand, his smile utterly harmless.
“Hasn’t been leaked yet.”