Chapter 356
"I'm fine, okay? I'm perfectly mentally sound! Can't I even make a self-deprecating joke?!" Heita retorted angrily, then looked at Ai Yue, "In short, it seems you've come away empty-handed this time?"
Black Tower wasn't too worried about whether the downtime of the Boshizun would affect her future audiences. The Boshizun was, after all, a Star God. If he fell so easily, he would be too fragile. Moreover, she didn't think that the other party hadn't anticipated this possibility and had probably already prepared a backup plan.
However, after such an experience, it's likely that Boshizun will no longer easily contact Ai Yue in the future.
"Although the gains weren't as good as last time, it's not like we gained nothing at all." Ai Yue raised an eyebrow, as if thinking of something. "At least we confirmed some things, and we've made some connections."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a glint of light appeared at his fingertips.
The next second, centered on Ai Yue, the surrounding environment began to change under the light. Hei Ta felt a blur before his eyes, and then found himself in another environment that was somewhat familiar but also very strange.
It feels familiar because the atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of something I've seen before; it feels strange because the place is bathed in a warm white light, making it seem like a paradise from some myth or legend.
But as Black Tower looked up, she realized where she was—
What was hanging high in front of the three of them at this moment was none other than the mechanical body of the Boshizun, which was entirely cast in metal!
Black Tower stared at the mechanical creation so close to him, and for a moment he forgot to breathe.
She had seen this scene before. In the "Visiting System" she had constructed, all she could see was this part of the structure in front of her. However, under normal circumstances, her vision was obscured by the red light emanating from the other party, and she could not see the specific details of the mechanical creation at all.
But now, the red light has gone out, so everything that was once obscured by the light is now displayed before her with crystal clarity...
No, that's not right!
"This isn't the 'Visiting System'!" Black Tower suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes widening in disbelief. "This... this is the Boshizun One himself?"
Within the "Visiting System" created by the Black Tower itself for sending messages to the Boshizun, one can indeed see the Boshizun's image—but it is merely a virtual projection created by the Black Tower based on its own impressions, not the real Boshizun.
That is why Boshizun's body has always been shrouded in red light. This is because when Hei Ta became a genius, this is what Boshizun looked like. She has no idea what details are hidden beneath that red light.
At first, she thought that Ai Yue was using his own power to power the "Appointment System," thereby pulling them into the system so that they could search for the signal of the Boshizun again. But judging from the details before her, that was not the case at all!
Ai Yue used some unknown method to actually allow them to "see" the true form of Boshizun. Moreover, judging from the fact that the red light had already gone out, Boshizun had indeed stopped thinking and was in a state of shutdown.
"Yes, thanks to your 'Appointment System,' I was able to do this." Ai Yue smiled smugly. "You can think of it as me getting the contact information of the Boshizun, so from now on, I can easily contact him."
"Of course, that's assuming the other party is willing to answer the phone."
"So, what's going on here?" Black Tower tried to calm himself down, but his head was still buzzing. "Is it that the Boshizun didn't answer the phone, or is He unable to answer the phone right now?"
"It seems we haven't recovered from the outage yet." Ai Yue shrugged, extinguishing the light at his fingertips, allowing everyone to return to the space station. "It doesn't matter, it was just a demonstration anyway."
"Not bad. This way, it will be easier for you to contact Boshizun in the future," Black Tower nodded first, then suddenly revealed a burning gaze, "Wait, doesn't this mean that if I want to contact Boshizun in the future, I can also use your channels?"
"Didn't you say before that you would figure it out yourself?" Ai Yue looked at her with a subtle gaze. "Giving up so quickly?"
"Ahem, we'll talk about that later." Black Tower turned his gaze to the side. "What are your plans next?"
"I've got the contact information for the Boshizun, so there's no need for me to stay here any longer." Ai Yue smiled. "I heard from Himeko and the others that they were going to escort Tingyun back to the Luofu Xianzhou. I'll go and see if I can find the Hunt Star God."
"The Star God of the Hunt ..." Black Tower pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I've only heard that He hunts down alchemists everywhere. Although He left behind a complete legacy of destiny on the Immortal Ship, it might not be easy for you to find Him there."
"Even so, it's said that the generals of the Immortal Ship have the means to summon the Star Gods of the Hunt, so it's still worth trying." Ruan Mei added from the side, "Also, I might go to the Immortal Ship in a while, but I'm not sure if it's Luofu. Maybe I can ask you for advice then."
"I wouldn't call it asking for advice, let's just learn from each other," Ai Yue waved his hand. "Before the train departs, don't forget to take care of anything."
"Now that you mention it, it reminds me." Black Tower stood up. "I need to see if there's anything we need to get from the Immortal Ship, and then I'll make a list for Himeko."
"I also need to check on Tingyun's condition," Nguyen Mai said, standing up as well. "After all, she's a very valuable sample right now."
"Go easy on him, don't break him apart." Ai Yue's face showed a subtle expression. "The Power of Light can change according to the user's will. If your methods are too aggressive, be careful of a backlash."
As an entity that currently combines the destructive and bountiful destinies with the Power of Light, even Ai Yue has to admit that Tingyun now possesses immense research value. After all, the Power of Light has been integrated into Tingyun's body, which is a much deeper level of control than the simple manipulation of March 7th.
Ai Yue was also eager to know what would happen to the other two destinies as Tingyun's mastery of the Power of Light gradually improved.
Will everyone live in peace and perform their duties, or will they completely merge, becoming indistinguishable, even leading to conflict and mutual slaughter, until only the strongest force remains?
In any case, Tingyun still has a long way to go.
However, right now, there is another matter that deserves Ai Yue's attention more than Tingyun.
Recalling his conversation with Boshizun, Ai Yue couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression.
During the conversation, he learned that the Boshizun was not the only star god who was aware of the existence of the Solar System. When He calculated the approximate location of the Solar System and locked onto it, another force of destiny had already appeared near that coordinate.
Yes, just as Boshizun himself said, He was merely "one" of the earliest star gods to set his sights on the Solar System.
According to the description of the Boshizun, another star god who noticed the existence of the Solar System was the mysterious being who recorded and observed everything.
Memory Star God, Fuli.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Fuli, you son of a bitch!
What kind of star god is Fuli?
Ai Yue pondered the fragments he had seen in the game text, but he still found it difficult to piece together the other party's specific image. Apart from knowing that Fuli looked like Qin Shi Huang, his impression of this Memory Star God was basically based on the Destiny Walkers under the other party's command.
As travelers on the path of memory, they have basically abandoned their real bodies and transformed into a kind of memory life form called "Meme," simply because this allows them to break free from the constraints of material conditions and better collect memories from the universe.
Relying on the characteristics of Meme, they often possess abilities beyond the imagination of ordinary people. They can spy on or even tamper with the memories or consciousness of others without their knowledge. Because of this incredible ability, coupled with their desire for memories, these travelers of destiny may commit some audacious acts.
Peeping into the memories of ordinary people is nothing out of the ordinary for them. In order to obtain more precious memories, to satisfy their own desires or to please the Memory Star God, these travelers of destiny often take risks and choose to target messengers or even Star Gods as their targets for obtaining memories.
Putting aside other things, Ai Yue at least remembers that there was once a Memory User from the Streamer Memory Court who tried to steal Kiana's memories, who had become the Herrscher of the End, by relying on the pervasive nature of Meme.
Although this storyline comes from a crossover between games and may not actually happen, it's enough to show just how outrageous these guys are.
Of course, these reckless individuals who rely on the characteristics of Meme often end up in trouble or even lose their lives because they misjudge the strength of their opponents.
To take a recent example, there's a guy imprisoned in the Luofu Xianzhou's prison who tried to probe the memories of the Immortal Ship's generals. And as everyone knows, every general of the Immortal Ship possesses the power of a Commander.
If we draw conclusions based on this subtle impression, then the Memory Star God Fuli should be... a voyeur?
Although Ai Yue knew of the existence of the Memory Star God before, he did not know that the other party had already noticed him, so he did not think much about it. However, after being reminded by Boshizun, he learned that there were other people who had watched him leave the Solar System, and the feeling immediately changed.
Moreover, unlike Boshizun who openly approached Ai Yue, Fuli never showed himself from beginning to end. Considering that Ai Yue had never sensed any trace of such an existence, it could be assumed that the other party was consciously hiding in order to avoid his perception.
The thought that he might be being watched by some Memory User, or even by Fuli himself, sent a chill down Ai Yue's spine. He closed his eyes and began to seriously mobilize the power within his body, trying to find out every clue related to Fuli.
In the public area of the space station, Tingyun, who was being inspected by Ruan Mei, suddenly stood up abruptly. To everyone's astonishment, all her tails were stretched out at that moment, clearly showing that she was using all her strength.
"Tingyun, what's wrong?" March 7th asked curiously, only to find that her longbow was also gleaming. "Huh, what's this..."
"I... I'm not quite sure either, but I felt a familiar power resonating with me..." Tingyun blinked blankly, then after a moment, she regained control of her tail and lowered it again. "Could it be that Mr. Ai Yue did something?"
Feeling the power within her body increase further, Tingyun was momentarily at a loss for words—simply because the power within her resonated with it, she could draw upon a portion of its energy for her own use. Just who was Ai Yue, the one who wielded this power?
As they spoke, Tingyun couldn't help but look up at a certain spot on the space station, a surge of irrepressible curiosity rising within her.
What exactly happened to make that person suddenly unleash such immense power?
Such a violent energy fluctuation came and went quickly, calming down again in just a few seconds. Apart from Tingyun, no one else noticed it.
Even the sophisticated energy measuring instruments in the experimental area failed to record this brief but chaotic energy fluctuation.
Of course, this was a result of Ai Yue's design. After all, if his wide-area perception could be detected by conventional means, then the object he was searching for could probably also detect it in advance and take countermeasures.
Therefore, his method was to recompile the wave frequency of the Power of Light based on his understanding of the power of destiny, so as to achieve a more thorough and wide-ranging perception, while also being able to avoid being spied on by the power of destiny.
This is a detection method that has never appeared in this universe before, and therefore, theoretically there is no way to counter or detect it.
In fact, even though Ai Yue had used what he considered to be the most secretive methods, he still came up empty-handed. Centered on Azure Star, almost two-thirds of the star systems were under his detection, but even so, Ai Yue still couldn't find any clues.
But this is clearly somewhat unreasonable.
After withdrawing his power, Ai Yue revealed a somewhat subtle expression.
To be honest, even without the reminder from the Boshizun, Ai Yue had anticipated that he would be targeted by the Memory Path. After all, those people in the Memory Path would do anything to seek valuable memories, even trying to sneak into the Solar System. Naturally, they wouldn't let go of him, one of only two people who came out of the Solar System.
But it's very strange that not even a trace of the memory's destiny has been found.
Either the other party noticed in advance and quietly left before Ai Yue could make a move, or it means that he wasn't actually being watched at all?
Is Fuli's focus not on himself, but on the Solar System?
That's not impossible. After all, Ai Yue left very discreetly, and even Boshizun had to conduct a thorough search to locate him. Since Fuli didn't do that, it's very likely that he would overlook him.
Thinking of this, Ai Yue returned to his carriage and used the Teleportation Gate inside to temporarily return to Earth.
In the laboratory of the Moth to Fire, Mobius suddenly looked up as if sensing something, and saw that Ai Yue had appeared in front of him at some point, looking at him with a smile.
The sudden scene startled her, and she initially thought she was hallucinating because she had been working too hard lately. But as the familiar presence drew closer, Mobius finally realized that the figure before her was real.
"Why did you suddenly come back?" Seeing Ai Yue's sudden return, Mobius frowned instead. "Don't tell me you're homesick?"
"What's wrong? Is it not allowed?" Ai Yue said as he walked over to Mobius and put his hand on her. "You were just smiling, so why are you glaring at me now? Are you playing the hypocrite game?"
"Who's being hypocritical?" Mobius subconsciously turned his head away, then looked at him again. "I've known you for a while now. Tell me, is the Solar System in danger?"
Mobius knew very well that Ai Yue was actually a very nostalgic person, and if it weren't for the mystery of the Power of Light, he might not have even chosen to set foot in a world outside the Solar System.
That's why, when Ai Yue left, the women all tacitly chose not to see him off, so as not to shake Ai Yue determination to explore the starry sea.
Ai Yue himself was well aware of this, so even though he had a convenient means to travel between the Solar System and the Stellar Train, he had never used it before, for fear that he would gradually lose his desire to explore the outside world after returning to a familiar environment.
Therefore, if the other party suddenly returns to the Solar System, it means that the problem will not be Ai Yue himself, but the Solar System itself.
Mobius frowned precisely because he knew this—had they still not grown to the point where Ai Yue could completely trust them?
"Don't worry, it's probably nothing serious." Ai Yue naturally understood Mobius's thoughts and couldn't help but reassure her. "I came back just to be on the safe side... Who's on duty now, Elysia or Kiana?"
Although the Cocoon of Finality is now under Ai's control, it is still difficult for her to unleash its full power on her own. Therefore, cooperating with the Herrscher of the End of the Cocoon of Finality is the most suitable solution at present. So, under the current circumstances, the two Herrscher of the End must ensure that one of them is in a state of alert and ready to fight at any time.
"It should be Elysia," Mobius thought for a moment, then said, "The Terran Alliance recently unearthed something from Mars and is now conducting joint research with Schicksal. Kiana is in charge of overseeing things there, so Elysia is in charge of the watch."
Mars?
Ai Yue paused for a moment, then nodded silently without saying anything more, clearly not intending to get involved in the matter.
The Solar System's combat power is already oversaturated, so this matter is completely unnecessary for him to worry about. He believes that May and Theresa can handle it themselves, and it can even be used as an experimental project to test the overall capabilities of Earthlings.
Just like when he arranged for Cocolia and others to provide assistance to Yalilo-VI, if these projects progress smoothly enough, it might mean that the Solar System can truly spread its ideas to every corner of the starry sky.
Having obtained the information he wanted, Ai Yue did not rush to leave. Instead, he reached out to look through Mobius's experimental records. "What have you been researching lately?"
"Don't rummage around!" Mobius quickly reached out and pressed him down. "Alright, alright, go find Elysia. Don't stay here and delay my research."
"Wow, how can you be so heartless?" Ai Yue's eyes widened immediately. "Who was it that worked so hard to help you with your research back then, and now you just kick them aside because you don't need them anymore?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Mobius reached out and pinched Ai Yue's waist, then sighed, "I was just afraid of interfering with your important business."
"Really?" Ai Yue stared into Mobius's eyes. "But I have a feeling you're hiding something from me?"
"When did you become so inquisitive?" Mobius sighed helplessly. "Okay, I admit it, I'm afraid you'll finish all my research in one go, and that will break me down, alright?"
"That makes sense," Ai Yue stroked his chin, then suggested, "How about I take it back and wait a couple more days before making it?"
"Get out! Get out! Get out!" Mobius rolled his eyes at Ai Yue's obvious mockery, then personally pushed him out of the lab. "Don't come back to annoy me before you understand the Power of Light!"
After confirming that Ai Yue had left, she breathed a slight sigh of relief, then looked back at the experimental data on the table and muttered to herself, "After all, I don't want to be a stumbling block."
Although the words were so faint as to seem like mere echoes of his own thoughts, they were not difficult for Ai Yue, who was still paying attention, to catch. However, despite hearing them, he made no comment and simply left Mobius's laboratory.
Ai Yue knew very well that the reason Mobius did this was because she didn't want him to stop because of her. So, he shouldn't be so clueless as to expose her. Leaving was the best option.
However, given all this, why are you still insisting on rotating with Pardofelis? Mobius, can you still say you're not being hypocritical?
Ai Yue shook his head slightly, deciding to keep those words to himself, otherwise Mobius might really get angry with him.
As for Elysia, her location is quite easy to find, because the Herrscher of the End in a state of combat readiness needs to maintain a connection with the Cocoon of Finality as much as possible, so she is either on the moon or in the space where the Cocoon of Finality is located.
However, Ai Yue didn't go looking for her, because Elysia came to him on her own.
Just as he left Mobius's laboratory, Ai Yue sensed a familiar energy fluctuation around him. The next second, an oval-shaped Teleportation Gate opened in front of him, and a slender, white arm reached out and pulled him inside.
Without a doubt, only Elysia could do something like this.
"Long time no see! Did you miss me?"
Sure enough, before Ai Yue could even see the surroundings on the other side of the Teleportation Gate, a familiar voice reached his ears.
Along with the sound came a soft, warm body.
"Of course I missed you, Elysia." Ai Yue, who was being hugged by Elysia, was taken aback for a moment before returning the hug. "How have you been lately?"
At this moment, he could also see his surroundings clearly. The pale purple space and the huge sphere not far away indicated that he was in the dimension where the Cocoon of Finality was located.
"Boring." Elysia loosened her embrace, revealing a somewhat unhappy expression. "It's so boring to be stuck here and not be able to go anywhere."
At this point, she looked at Ai Yue again. "Since you're back, why don't we quickly abolish this rule that requires someone to be on duty? The Solar System is perfectly peaceful, nothing's happening!"
"That won't do. You understand the principle of prevention is better than cure." Looking at Elysia's eyes, Ai Yue could only shake his head. "Anything can happen in the Star Sea. Once we let our guard down, something evil might take advantage of the situation. If we wait until a problem occurs before we react, it will be too late."
Elysia knew this perfectly well, so she was just grumbling. After all, given her current status in the Solar System, there were only a handful of people she could be affectionate with. Now that she had finally caught the opportunity of Ai Yue's return, how could she let it go?
"And strictly speaking, Elysia, you're not really boring," Ai interjected at the opportune moment. "After all, you were just happily spying on everyone."