Yukong wore a faint smile, but she said nothing more and merely turned her gaze toward Liuge.
"Your name is Liuge, right?"
"Yes, Lady Yukong!"
Liuge nodded, feeling a little embarrassed as well.
"This matter was of great importance. Because you gave the Xianzhou advance warning, you prevented the sudden crisis that might have followed."
"Therefore, General Jing Yuan specifically said that the Xianzhou owes you a favor."
Yukong's words made Tingyun, standing beside them, widen her eyes slightly.
This was a favor owed by the entire Xianzhou.
At the same time, Yukong handed Liuge a token.
"This is a pass. Aside from certain important places such as Cloudford Prison, it will grant you access anywhere."
Liuge accepted the token and felt as though he had been transported into another lifetime.
So, did that mean he had gotten a chance to make a wish?
That was right. Getting a favor from the Xianzhou was basically the same as getting one wish, wasn't it?
After putting the items away, Liuge pondered for a moment.
"I wonder, how will the Xianzhou respond now? If I remember correctly, that Lord of Ruin: Phantylia has already escaped, right?"
This was what Liuge cared about most right now.
"That matter is still classified. But for you, it is no longer much of a secret."
Yukong thought for a moment before continuing.
"Although that Lord of Ruin escaped, she detonated part of her body. She will not be able to cause any trouble in the short term. The entire Xianzhou will be strengthening its defenses in the near future to guard against any accidents."
Liuge was startled as he listened to Yukong.
Did this count as creating a butterfly effect?
But after giving it some thought, Liuge gave up on the idea.
He should leave philosophical matters like that to people such as Dr. Ratio. Someone with a brain as slow as his should avoid burning out his CPU.
As for the Astral Express crew coming to the Xianzhou later, Liuge did not doubt in the slightest that it would still happen.
Though Phantylia had escaped, she was still within the Xianzhou. So afterward, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus would probably still cause trouble in the Xianzhou.
All he needed to do now was wait for the train crew to arrive.
Thinking of the train crew, Liuge remembered the messages March 7th had sent when he checked his terminal earlier, and a cold bead of sweat trickled down his face.
Crap, I forgot to reply!
Loving Train Group
After leaving the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs with Tingyun, she left as well because she had business at the merchant guild.
Before departing, however, she exchanged contact details with Liuge and told him to contact her if he needed anything.
After saying goodbye to Tingyun, Liuge began wandering around the Xianzhou, which possessed both ancient poetic charm and a cyberpunk atmosphere.
After wandering around for a little while, he found quite a few Stat-Stick Light Orbs.
For Strength, Speed, and endurance alone, he collected nearly forty of each.
He also obtained quite a few entirely new stat-sticks.
Such as Hunting, Archery, Driving Mastery, and Secret Language. Liuge nearly started drooling just looking at them.
But what puzzled Liuge most was why he could stumble upon Character Stat-Sticks just by casually walking around the Xianzhou.
Tyrant Quality · Gold Effect: A required stat-stick for combining a character card.
Still puzzled, Liuge sat down on a bench beside the bridge railing not far outside the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs. He stared blankly at the rolling sea of clouds and the many starskiffs passing through it.
It was not until his communication terminal received another message that he snapped out of his daze.
Taking out the terminal, Liuge looked at the messages on it.
March 7th: Hey, hey, hey, Liuge, what have you been doing these past few days? Why haven't you sent any messages at all? You're really making me nervous!
This was March 7th showing concern.
Stelle: Liuge, this old mom has been worried about you!
Trying to take advantage of me, huh!
Bronya: Did something happen to you recently? If you're safe, at least send us a message.
As expected of my dear Hacker Bunny.
After thinking for a moment, Liuge opened a group chat called Loving Train Group.
Your Gege: Ahem, hello, everyone! Grin.JPG
March 7th: Wow, he's revived!
Stelle: He lives!
Bronya: Alive!
Dan Heng: ...
Himeko: Where are you now, Liuge? Why haven't you sent any messages at all? If we're close enough, Pom-Pom can come pick you up!
Welt Yang: Although I do not particularly want to say this, I would still like to know how you triggered a random transfer.
Looking at Old Yang's message, Liuge's mouth twitched.
Even here, you still like researching this stuff?
Your Gege: I'm on the Xianzhou right now. The random transfer sent me onto a Minghuo Merchant Guild merchant ship, and I got brought here along the way.
Dan Heng: ...
When Dan Heng saw Liuge's message, his pupils visibly contracted.
Seeing Dan Heng's response, Liuge knew he probably had PTSD.
March 7th: So you've been having a great time over there these past two days, huh! Smile.JPG
Stelle: What's the Xianzhou? Is it fun?
Bronya: I looked into it a little. The Xianzhou where the Minghuo Merchant Guild is located should be the Luofu Xianzhou, right?
That was Bronya for you.
March 7th: Pom-Pom just said that the Luofu Xianzhou's route isn't anywhere near ours, so Liuge, you might have to become a permanently settled Nameless over there.
Stelle: ...Take care!
March 7th: We'll miss you!
Stelle: A moment of silence!
Bronya: Salute!
Your Gege: Help me, hey! Don't make it sound like I'm already dead!
Bronya has changed your nickname to "Liuge."
Bronya: That nickname looks like you're taking advantage of people no matter how I look at it, so I changed it for you!
March 7th: Nicely done!
Stelle: Nicely done!
Himeko: Nicely done!
Welt Yang: Indeed!
Liuge: ...
Watching this scene, Liuge wore the expression of an old man staring at the subway.
So I don't even get freedom over my online nickname? What kind of dictatorship is this!
Liuge: By the way, are you still on Jarilo-VI?
He had been on the Luofu for nearly a week now. Based on the information he had received earlier, they should have been about to set off.
March 7th: We were just about to depart. I'll ask about the next destination.
Himeko: No need to ask. It's Penacony!
Liuge: That's great. I want to go too!
Although Liuge replied like that.
According to the story, even though he had interfered with the prerequisite for Phantylia possessing Tingyun and strengthened the Luofu's defenses.
Nothing had fundamentally changed. Phantylia was still on the Xianzhou and would most likely still contact the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
Therefore, the train crew would most likely still come to the Xianzhou. After all, Elio's script could not do without the train crew interfering in the Xianzhou's affairs.
Liuge: I'll see if there are any ships here heading to Penacony. If there are, we can meet up there.
I should at least put on an act. It's not like I'd abandon you guys!
Stelle: Okay!
March 7th: Okay!
Himeko: Okay!
Bronya: Okay!
King Trash Can: Okay!
Liuge: Wait, how did this thing get in here??!
Bronya has removed King Trash Can from Loving Train Group.
Bronya: Stelle invited him in. I already kicked him out!
Stelle: No!!!
Looking at the messages one after another, Liuge could barely suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
This was too hilarious!
Just then, Liuge suddenly discovered that everyone in the Loving Train Group had collectively gone offline.
Liuge: Huh? Where is everyone?
Liuge: Say something, you're making me nervous like this!
Liuge: No, this really makes me look stupid!
But no matter how many messages Liuge sent, nobody responded. He could only helplessly put down his terminal.
Before doing so, however, he checked the private messages Bronya had sent him.
She roughly explained what had happened on Jarilo and told him that they had already set sail for their next destination two days ago. Bronya herself had also joined the train crew and taken responsibility for the train's network systems.
But by the end of the message, several drops of cold sweat slid down Liuge's forehead on their own.
Because...
Bronya: Oh, right. Do you know someone called Silver Wolf? These past two days, whenever I went to the recreation room to play games, I kept running into her. Every time we met, she called me a country bumpkin and said she wanted to compete with me in gaming and hacking.
Bronya: I don't know what the situation is, but I don't mind. It's pretty entertaining. She's rather bad at games, but her hacking skills are really impressive!
Looking at the final messages Bronya had sent, Liuge could only let out a few dry laughs.
Putting away his communication terminal, Liuge looked toward the Stat-Stick Library of his Aether Edit.
He looked at the Tyrant Character Stat-Stick, his eyes moving across one stat-stick after another.
His mind kept considering characters that suited the Tyrant stat-stick and which stat-sticks he already possessed.
Before you continue