“This place is…”
“Where?”
While the three were chatting idly, Caelus groggily opened his eyes.
“Congratulations.
The operation was a great success.
You are now a girl.”
Xu Zixuan leaned in close to Caelus and announced with a grin.
Kafka: …
Silver Wolf: ???!!!
“Be good.
Don’t cause trouble.”
Kafka pushed Xu Zixuan aside, then signaled Silver Wolf with her eyes to keep an eye on him and not let him stir up any mischief.
What if both Stelle and Caelus ended up infected by Xu Zixuan’s absurd habits?
What if he turned them rotten?
Xu Zixuan: Huh?
Did they needed to be turned rotten?
Stelle also groggily opened her eyes.
The two of them, like newborn infants, gazed around in confusion.
“Kafka?”
“Wonderful.
You remember me.”
A trace of barely perceptible joy surfaced on Kafka’s face.
Then, Kafka shot another glance at Xu Zixuan.
Xu Zixuan: …Is this level of guarding really necessary?
Kafka: Just afraid you’ll be a bad influence.
“Listen to me…”
Kafka skillfully invoked her Spirit Whisper ability, as if she had rehearsed this many times before.
Xu Zixuan watched Kafka from a distance, the corner of his mouth involuntarily curving into a pleasing arc.
At this moment, Kafka truly radiated a maternal glow.
Like a mother forced into a helpless farewell, saying goodbye to her two children.
This radiance was too dazzling, too elegant, too utterly captivating.
Naturally, Xu Zixuan recorded this scene with his phone.
Huh…
why does it feel like I’ve been doing Fuli’s job this whole time?
Alright, setting aside the antics.
Xu Zixuan himself found his own abilities incredibly strange.
Xu Zixuan could sense it.
Eighteen different Paths all unfolded before him.
Including the already damaged Path of Order, and the ruined Path of Permanence.
Xu Zixuan could effortlessly channel the energy of every Path.
What’s more, he could see, at the furthest end of each Path, the Aeon standing there…
Oh, not necessarily standing.
There was also IX, who knows whether it’s standing or lying down.
Aeon of Nihility IX:
This feeling was miraculous.
Xu Zixuan felt as if he were omnipotent…
Mm…
mustn’t get reckless.
What if this is just an illusion Aha gave him?
Push all irrational things onto Aha, and it all becomes perfectly rational.
Aha-men!
“When you have the chance to make a choice, make one you won’t regret…”
Soon, Kafka finished speaking with Stelle and Caelus.
Looking at the two of them fallen back into slumber, Kafka became thoughtful.
Originally, in Elio’s script, there should have been only one Trailblazer.
And this one Trailblazer would receive the gaze of all Aeons, grow, and become an essential force in preventing the world’s destruction.
But now, the Trailblazer had become two…
Could they still, as in the script, receive the gaze of all Aeons?
Kafka couldn’t help but feel some concern.
“Let’s go.
We’ll go back and ask Elio what’s going on.”
Silver Wolf also sighed.
For something to completely exceed Elio’s predictions, there was a high probability an Emanator had intervened.
Even more than that…
Silver Wolf glanced at Xu Zixuan.
She could only pray that Xu Zixuan hadn’t lied to her before, that it truly was Aha who had swatted him here.
Otherwise, Silver Wolf would have to suspect that Xu Zixuan was actually Aha in disguise!
Silver Wolf and Kafka prepared to leave.
According to Elio’s script, they were not supposed to encounter the Astral Express Crew, who would be arriving shortly.
“Come on.
Aren’t you planning to leave with us?”
Seeing Xu Zixuan still standing there, a bad premonition rose in Silver Wolf.
Could it be that Xu Zixuan intended to stay here?
Kafka also said nothing, merely watching Xu Zixuan with a smile.
“I’m not planning to leave with you.”
“I’m going to stay.
I plan to join the Astral Express.”
Xu Zixuan smiled.
He didn’t hide his intentions.
Following Kafka and Silver Wolf back to the Stellaron Hunters’ base, how could that be more fun than sticking with Stelle, Caelus, and March 7th!
Sure, among the Stellaron Hunters, there were Firefly, Silver Wolf, and Kafka, all of whom he liked.
But by following the Astral Express, he’d get to meet Big Herta and Little Herta on the space station, along with Asta…
On Jarilo-VI, he’d meet Bronya, Seele, Serval…
On the Xianzhou Luofu, he’d meet Yukong, Fu Xuan, Qingque, Tingyun…
Hah, just kidding.
You don’t meet Tingyun.
You meet Phantylia!
But by following the Stellaron Hunters, all he could do was date Firefly, date Silver Wolf, date Kafka.
Compared like that, the Astral Express has one win.
The Astral Express has one win.
This counts as two wins.
The Astral Express has two wins.
This counts as three wins…
In short, the Astral Express wins hands down.
“What’s the matter?
Can’t bear to part with me?”
“If I were actually going with you to the Stellaron Hunter base right now, would I even be welcome?”
Seeing the distrustful looks on Silver Wolf and Kafka, Xu Zixuan was speechless.
What, does he look completely unreliable or something?
He was super reliable, alright!
“It’s true.
Just thinking about you coming back with us makes the pressure skyrocket.”
Silver Wolf sighed.
Although Xu Zixuan seemed completely unreliable on the surface, the pressure he gave her wasn’t the slightest bit small.
Somehow, she kept getting the feeling that her Aether Editing was nothing more than a toy in his eyes.
“I hope you’ll treat them well.”
Kafka drew close before Xu Zixuan, her wine-red eyes gazing at him.
Her tone hadn’t changed at all, but Xu Zixuan could hear the plea within her voice.
“Of course…”
Seeing Kafka’s face right before his eyes, Xu Zixuan couldn’t resist leaning in closer.
Kafka smoothly evaded, then turned and left with Silver Wolf.
“Ah, we haven’t even exchanged contact info…”
“Once the operation is over, I’ll contact you.”
Silver Wolf waved her hand.
The pixel-art portal appeared once again.
Silver Wolf and Kafka stepped inside, and the portal vanished.
Oh, right.
He almost forgot Silver Wolf was an elite hacker.
Hacking into Xu Zixuan’s phone to add him as a friend should be simple enough.
Should be simple, right?
Looking at this phone that had appeared together with the mask, Xu Zixuan fell silent.
Should be simple enough, right?
Should be?
“Haah…
Are you sure about leaving him on Herta Space Station?”
“He wouldn’t happen to be the Aeon of Elation, would he?”
After departing, Silver Wolf took a deep breath.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt this guy was out of the ordinary.
What kind of normal person could whip up a Stellaron by hand?
“Probably not.”
“I don’t think my charm is quite enough to move an Aeon.”
“As for the truth—who’s to say it wasn’t just a one-man show directed by Aha from start to finish?
Who can ever tell.”
“All I know is, given the situation at that moment, we were powerless to change anything.”
“Let’s ask Elio.
Perhaps the answer was already written in its script all along.”
Kafka spoke with her usual composure, her voice carrying its signature lightness and languid ease, even faintly laced with a note of amusement.