Things were even more chaotic over on the Xianzhou side. There was the drunkenness of vodka picked up at a tavern, and the bizarre embellishments of Tall Tales picked up from a storyteller...
Then there were the ones he had just obtained: Yin-Yang Repulsion, Gravity, Rebellious Child...
Liuge pondered for a long time but still failed to reach a conclusion.
Although he had a possible character combination in mind, just as its description said, it absolutely required a savior-type stat-stick. Otherwise, the combination simply could not be made.
Could he combine Sunshine Cheerful Boy with Vodka?
On a whim, Liuge gave it a try.
Then he slapped himself across the face.
Because it actually worked.
Character Stat-Stick: Kitahara Iori Quality: ? Description: A Land War God among ordinary people. You deserve to have him. (Note: Is it really appropriate for him to become this here?)
That was obviously inappropriate!
Liuge immediately discarded the Kitahara Iori stat-stick plan and dismantled it on the spot, reverting it back into the Sunshine Cheerful Boy and Vodka stat-sticks.
Thinking about it, Liuge suddenly remembered something.
There were still several character stat-sticks in his Stat-Stick Library.
He rummaged through the Stat-Stick Library and pulled those character stat-sticks out.
Character Stat-Stick: Bad Woman Quality: Gold Description: Do you think she is a bad woman? But she is actually a good girl. For example, you might call her Mom!
The corner of Liuge's eye twitched as he recalled obtaining this stat-stick when he had first arrived at Herta Space Station.
At the time, he had also obtained the Genius Hacker stat-stick.
Now that he thought about it, they should have been dropped by Kafka and Silver Wolf.
Wait, Kafka?
Liuge's attention returned to the Bad Woman description.
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.
He quickly began searching through the Stat-Stick Library.
"Just as I thought!"
A moment later, Liuge found what he had just thought of.
It was the gold stat-stick Word Spirit that he had just obtained, along with Silk Thread, which had previously been combined with the puppet stat-stick, as well as a nearly forgotten Stat-Stick: Firearm.
Looking at those stat-sticks, Liuge smiled helplessly.
He had been thinking about how to make use of Sunshine Cheerful Boy, only to end up combining the nearly forgotten Bad Woman stat-stick into a new character stat-stick.
The combination was so obvious that he could guess the result without even trying.
His fingers moved across Aether Edit.
As each stat-stick merged into the Bad Woman stat-stick, it began to change.
It was like the opening sequence of a Showa-era Ultraman TV show, with the letters constantly spinning before emerging in reverse.
Bad Woman had already changed.
The result was naturally just as Liuge had expected.
Character Stat-Stick: Stellaron Hunter Kafka Quality: Gold Description: The infamous Stellaron Hunter Kafka, who roamed the universe, lacks relevant temperament stat-sticks. Current usable strength: 80%.
Rubbing his forehead helplessly, Liuge placed the character stat-stick into the character stat-stick section of his Stat-Stick Library.
There were now four characters in the character stat-stick section.
They were Haxxor Bunny Bronya, Flower Field Tyrant Kazami Yuuka, Blazing Fire Chief Tingyun, and the Stellaron Hunter Kafka he had just obtained.
Yep, all women.
"Liuge... Hey, Liuge!"
Suddenly, a somewhat annoyed voice sounded beside his ear.
It snapped Liuge back to his senses.
He looked at March 7th, who was standing before him, with a bewildered expression.
"What were you thinking about? I called you so many times, but you didn't react."
March 7th nearly burst out laughing at Liuge's dazed look.
"Oh, I was thinking about how March is so cute!"
Liuge gave a flippant reply.
March 7th instantly fell silent, and even a faint blush appeared on her face.
"After all this time, you're still just as unreliable!"
March 7th shot Liuge an irritated glare.
However, before Liuge could answer, Stelle beside them spoke up.
"To be fair, March really is adorable!"
"Stelle, why are you joining in too?!"
March 7th complained as she looked at Stelle.
"By ordinary standards of beauty, I agree with Liuge and Stelle. March is indeed the very cute type."
Unexpectedly, Welt joined the discussion as well.
"Come on, Uncle Yang. Why are you bullying me too?"
March 7th puffed out her cheeks.
"Heh..."
Welt adjusted his glasses and walked off to the side.
"I agree!"
At that moment, Bronya smiled as she chewed bubble gum.
"March, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but appreciating beautiful girls is one of life's great pleasures. And that sort of thing knows no age or gender."
"I agree!"
"Agreed."
For a moment, Liuge, Stelle, and Bronya all reached a consensus.
Watching the three of them act like sworn brothers, March 7th did not know what to say.
"All right, enough joking around."
Welt stepped in at the right moment and eased the atmosphere.
"Liuge, we just arrived on the Xianzhou as well. If possible, could you show us around?"
"No problem. I'm good at that!"
Liuge nodded. Although he himself had only been here for a few days, he still remembered the general routes quite clearly.
According to the plot, shouldn't that little fox Tingyun be the one guiding them right now?
Where was that little fox?
Liuge looked around but did not see her.
How strange!
Liuge shook his head and led the Astral Express crew behind him toward Chang'le Sky-Garden.
As they walked, they chatted about what had happened to Liuge after he arrived on the Xianzhou these past few days.
When Welt heard that a Lord of Ruin was still lurking on the Xianzhou, his expression turned grim.
This Xianzhou situation was rather serious.
Aside from that, everything else could only be considered minor issues to Welt, with nothing especially worth worrying about.
"Oh, right, Uncle Yang!"
"Hmm?"
"A few days ago, I ran into someone on the Xianzhou who looked almost exactly like that blond Bishop."
Thinking of Luocha, who had come over to watch when he and Qingque played Diyuan Qiongyu, Liuge decided to mention it to Welt.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah!"
"...Liuge!"
"What?"
"Do you think it's possible that the person you saw is the mastermind behind the Xianzhou's changes this time?"
Silence. Complete silence.
Liuge looked at Old Yang, with only one thought circling through his mind.
This is PTSD, isn't it?
"Sorry, sorry. I just thought of an old friend and accidentally projected him onto the situation."
Having come to his senses, Welt wore an unusually embarrassed expression.
At his age, how could he let his emotions sway him like that?
"It-It's fine. After all, the things Bishop did were indeed a little... you know!"
Liuge smiled and did not think much of it.
"Uncle Yang, Liuge, what are you talking about? Who is this Bishop?"
March 7th listened from the side with a completely confused expression.
They seemed to be discussing something very profound, but I don't understand it. Should I pretend that I do?
But when March 7th looked at Stelle and Bronya beside her, who clearly did not understand either, she was instantly relieved.
So I wasn't the only one who didn't understand!
"It was nothing."
Welt still did not want to explain too much about his past, so he did not intend to elaborate.
Upon arriving at Chang'le Sky-Garden, Liuge immediately spotted a small figure sitting at the Diyuan Qiongyu table outside the divination shop.
"Uncle Yang, I see a friend."
"Mm, go ahead. We'll look around here."
Old Yang did not restrict him and simply let Liuge go.
After all, Liuge was far more familiar with the Xianzhou than they were, having only just arrived.
Seeing that, Liuge greeted Stelle, Bronya, and March 7th before walking toward Qingque.
Bronya looked at Liuge's retreating figure, her gaze flickering, but she did not follow him.
Liuge quietly walked up behind Qingque and carefully leaned close to her ear.
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