"Don't be nervous. The one I met was Mr. Dilok, appearing as a projection in Aurora World."
Xu Nan said softly:
"While I'm curious about many things concerning this Cloud Ascending Ship—for example, what you went through in the spacetime turbulence, or why you left the Nova..."
"None of that is the point. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't press you."
"The point is that I asked him what he thought of the Dark Side Universe Energy Extraction Array. Though he was wary of it, he admitted that until a better energy source was found, it was the most reliable solution."
"Though several thousand years have passed, I have to admit that Anonymous City needs it now, just as the Arcane Empire did back then."
Xu Nan finished laying out his thoughts in one breath, then quietly looked at Blazing Fire.
The little silver-haired girl's eyes were filled with conflict, pain, and remorse.
"I understand."
Blazing Fire said somewhat dejectedly:
"There are some things I didn't mean to hide from you, but I can't remember them very clearly myself."
"All I know is that it was an extremely, extremely painful memory. Although I've reformatted myself countless times, that memory always resurfaces as if by some unseen force, deeply engraved in my vessel..."
"I don't know how to tell you the story of what happened back then."
Xu Nan said forgivingly:
"It's fine if you don't know, or if you haven't figured out how to say it yet."
"You can tell me these things once you're ready."
"But Anonymous City truly can't wait when it comes to energy."
Blazing Fire fell silent for a long time before finally nodding.
"I understand."
"Since it's your decision, I have nothing more to say."
"I can take you to activate