Kafka, Let's Join Forces!

Lin Hai felt an icy hand settle quietly on his shoulder.

With a dagger pressed against his lower back, he had little room to fight back.

He wanted to turn around and see who it was, but before he could make any obvious move, the icy hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Lin Hai focused his gaze on the amusement park ahead.

A huge metal billboard stood at the entrance to the amusement park. Its highly reflective surface faintly showed Kafka's silhouette.

Lin Hai couldn't tell who was threatening him, but from the reflection in the billboard, he could roughly make out a tall woman standing behind him.

"Who are you?" Lin Hai clenched his fists, his voice wary.

"I'm here to kill you."

Kafka spoke softly, but every word was clear, as though she were stating something perfectly ordinary.

Lin Hai forced himself to stay calm. "We have no quarrel. Why do you want to kill me?"

"Because you don't belong in this world."

Her gaze seemed to pierce his soul.

Lin Hai's heart jolted, and he asked tentatively, "Is that you... Sparkle?"

Could Sparkle be playing a prank?

Unlikely.

Sparkle wasn't that tall, nor was she that curvy.

Kafka shook her head gently, her hair shifting slightly with the movement.

"I have many questions for you. Let's find somewhere private to talk."

Lin Hai took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

He suddenly realized that this was still Penacony's dreamscape.

He steadied his voice, trying to sound more confident.

"This is a dream... Even if you kill me, I won't really die."

Kafka gave a low chuckle. "If I can find you in the dream, I can naturally find your real body too. So you'd better cooperate."

"...All right. Where are we going?" Lin Hai didn't insist on fighting to the bitter end.

He had too little information.

Kafka quickly put away her dagger. Without another word, she turned gracefully and led the way.

Lin Hai felt the sharp object disappear from his lower back, then noticed that the immense pressure on his shoulder was gone as well.

He spun around and saw Kafka's back, along with her distinctive hair color.

It's her!

It's actually Kafka!

Lin Hai put a hand to his forehead, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

But he also understood that if Kafka wanted to kill him, she really might do it!

With that in mind, Lin Hai took a few steps forward and matched Kafka's pace.

The two made their way through the bustling crowds in the streets and alleys, eventually entering a private room in an ordinary-looking karaoke bar.

She shut the door behind her and casually selected a song with a pounding beat. The booming music filled the room, forming a natural wall of sound.

She spoke over the loud music. "I'm quite certain... you've disrupted the course of many things."

Lin Hai's heart tightened. "You shouldn't have met me before. How can you be sure I don't belong here?"

"Everything I do is meant to lead fate toward a predetermined ending." Kafka's gaze sharpened. "But your appearance was like a stone thrown into a lake, making a once-clear future grow hazy."

"So, as far as you're concerned, I've committed a terrible crime?"

"In a sense... yes." She leaned forward slightly. "Do you know that you've almost completely wasted all the effort I put in before?"

At that, Kafka let out a helpless sigh, recalling the hardships she had endured along the way.

Elio had the ability to foresee the future.

Through that ability, he had seen many possible futures.

He had devised a script intended to achieve the optimal ending.

Kafka had a deal with Elio. She worked for him and gradually became one of the most outstanding members of the Stellaron Hunters.

Years of groundwork had all turned to ashes because of Lin Hai, an outsider, a person from beyond this world.

It was all for nothing!

Kafka looked at Lin Hai, examining the nature of this unexpected presence.

"Killing you might be the most direct way to set things right. Once I've eliminated the variable from outside this world, I can simply spend more time laying my plans again."

Her voice was calm to the point of cruelty.

A chill ran down Lin Hai's spine. "Even if you kill me, you might not get your wish and return to the original course."

"Perhaps not..." Kafka picked up a bottle of drink from the table, opened it and took a sip. "But at least I'd eliminate a huge disruption. At worst, I'd tear everything down and start over!"

Then she shifted course. "If I don't kill you, perhaps... you could bring about a completely different ending. After all, the predetermined ending we were striving so hard to reach wasn't exactly a wonderful one."

A silent weighing of options took place in the air.

A complicated light appeared in Kafka's eyes, filled with an intense desire to investigate.

"I've decided to take a gamble and keep you, the greatest source of instability, alive."

This was undoubtedly a huge gamble, placing an uncontrollable variable on the board.

Lin Hai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With his current strength, he had no way to stand against Kafka.

If they fought head-on, he would lose for certain.

Even if they didn't fight head-on, he was no match for Kafka.

Things were better now. Kafka had decided to keep Lin Hai alive. She wanted to preserve the variable and let it bring about a better future.

Lin Hai gave a light cough, clearing his throat, and asked, "You still haven't told me how you found me. There were so many people in those streets and the square. Was I really that easy to spot?"

"Elio." Kafka gave him a name. "He sensed a disturbance at its source, and it first appeared in Penacony."

Kafka had been carrying out a mission in a nearby star system when she received the information from Elio.

She immediately chose to stop her current mission and investigate the source of the disturbance instead: Lin Hai's identity and location.

"But I'd only just entered the dream and arrived at that place at dusk. Before I'd even figured out what was going on, you caught me. We'd only just met, and you were already so sure I was the source?"

The corners of Kafka's lips curled up as she smiled. "Actually, when we first met, I didn't know you were the source either. When I said, 'I'm here to kill you'... I was just bluffing."

She watched Lin Hai's face register instant shock. "Judging by the result, you're... much more forthcoming than I imagined."

Kafka had tried similar questions and answers on dozens of people.

Lin Hai was immediately struck speechless. He realized he had just brushed against death, all because he was inexperienced and had been intimidated by her, unwittingly giving himself away.

For his first experience in a life-or-death contest, his performance had indeed been quite immature.

Kafka watched the regret on his face with interest and posed her next question:

"So, Lin Hai, where exactly do you come from?"

Lin Hai recovered from his regret and pondered for a moment before saying, "A blue planet where many people live. Its technology is far behind Penacony's..."

Kafka listened quietly, gathering as much information as she could.

She had already chosen to spur Lin Hai on, letting him further disrupt the Star Rail world to reach a better predetermined future.

The more she knew about Lin Hai, the more it would benefit Kafka's subsequent plans.