Chapter 383
Moreover, as a heavyweight guest at this "Grand Gala of Harmony," Xing is clearly an indispensable member.
"Well..." Xing glanced around the room, "See you later?"
As Stellaron Hunters, Flowing Firefly clearly did not enter Penacony through legitimate channels, and the place where she was located certainly did not have Dream Pool, so Star obviously could not enter the dream here.
Although she was somewhat interested in trying out what "illegal smuggling" that Flowing Firefly used was all about, as a guest, she figured it was best not to cause any trouble for others.
The two were soon reunited in the dream, and at that moment, Xing received another message. After reading its contents, she couldn't help but smile with excitement.
Flowing Firefly had clearly noticed this as well, and moved a little closer. "What's wrong?"
"Brother Yue said that the Hound Family has removed your wanted poster," Xing said with a bright smile. "He also added your name to the invitation list for the Hummusstone, so you don't have to hide anymore!"
With that, she grabbed Flowing Firefly's arm and rushed out of the room. "Now we can finally have some fun!"
In the banquet hall of the central courtyard, people quickly noticed the two reckless young men.
"They're really energetic, reminding me of... cough, never mind." Himeko leaned against the railing, looking down at the two girls gathered around the arcade game console, and couldn't help but smile. "It seems that girl has fully recovered, right?"
"I've already taken action, what other outcome could there be?" Ai Yue raised an eyebrow, then looked around. "So, you called me here for something else, right?"
"I don't think I can hide it from you," Himeko said with a frank smile. "However, strictly speaking, I'm also doing this on someone else's behalf—the one who really wants to see you is someone else."
Ai Yue didn't pay much attention to Himeko's words, because at the same time she spoke, the "person" who was "entrusted" also walked through the bustling crowd and headed this way.
She was a Celestia girl with a halo above her head and a pair of wings on the back of her head. She had a noble temperament and elegant manners, clearly indicating that she came from a distinguished family. Her hair color and appearance reminded people of Sunday, the Oak Family had previously caused a huge incident that almost affected the entire Asdener Star System.
Ai Yue, who was familiar with the story of Penacony, naturally recognized the other party's identity. She was Sunday's sister, and also a famous star in the galaxy, the Robin.
That said, why do these brother and sister's names both seem a bit odd? Is it the naming style of the Oak Family, some kind of harmonious rule, or perhaps the influence of "order"?
"Greetings, Miss Himeko, and Mr. Ai Yue." The girl approached the two men, bowed gracefully, and then spoke slowly, her clear and melodious voice flowing from her throat, "I apologize for only coming to see you now. I am Sunday's sister, Robin."
The other party actually has many identities, but here only Sunday is mentioned. This opening line clearly implies that her purpose is related to Sunday.
"Hello, Miss Robin." Ai Yue smiled and nodded in return for her greeting. "Actually, I had to leave earlier, so even if you had looked for me earlier, I wouldn't have been able to find you."
"Mr. Ai Yue is quite witty, but I understand. With your abilities, it's indeed difficult for you to have any free time," Robin paused for a moment in response to Ai Yue's reply before smiling. "Then I won't waste your time any longer. I'm sorry to bother you this time, but I just wanted to inquire about my elder brother."
She paused for a moment, as if gathering her own thoughts, before finally asking the question, "I wonder, what will you do with my brother?"
"Why are you asking me?" Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "Personally, a family matter should be resolved by Old Odie, and officially, it should be resolved by the company. There's no way they should come to an unknown customer like me."
"Mr. Ai Yue, you jest. You're not that simple." Faced with Ai Yue's feigned ignorance, Robin stopped pressing the issue and said bluntly, "I was also in the know about that meeting before, so of course I know who the new master of this dream is now."
"Looks like the Oak Family hasn't completely collapsed yet," Ai Yue said meaningfully. "I thought you came to find me because you listened to your brother."
"My elder brother did say that if things came to a head, I should come to you. He said you are an upright man and would not stand idly by," the Robin smiled slightly. "However, perhaps I am stronger than he thinks."
"Not only is she strong, but she's also very capable." Looking at the seemingly innocent girl in front of him, Ai Yue felt even more certain that the online analysis of the Robin was accurate. "So, getting back to the point, regarding Sunday's matter, it's up to him."
The Robin didn't speak, but simply watched Ai Yue quietly, waiting for what he would say next.
"If someone makes a mistake, as long as they admit it, correct the problem, and find the right path, then there's really nothing else to worry about," Ai Yue said simply. "But the key issue is whether they can recognize that their previous beliefs were wrong, and whether they can truly correct them."
"Furthermore, is he even willing to deny everything he once firmly believed in and rebuild his ideals on the ruins of his faith?"
"If these problems can't be solved, then even if the family, the company, and even more people choose to let Sunday go, he'll find it hard to let himself off the hook." Ai Yue looked at the thoughtful Robin, then smiled. "Of course, all of that was just to scare you."
"Huh?" Completely unprepared for that last sentence, the Robin looked up, blinking in confusion. "Trying to scare me?"
"I guess that guy won't give up and accept his fate. People with lofty ideals don't lack the courage to start over," Ai Yue smiled. "So there's only one thing you really need to worry about."
"Internal family strife?" the Robin murmured to himself, then nodded, his gaze hardening. "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Ai Yue. This is precisely the only thing I can do."
After saying this, she bowed to the two people, then turned and left.
"I thought you'd just wave your hand and smooth things over," Himeko had witnessed the whole thing, finally spoke up. "Just like you've always done."
"Some things shouldn't be interfered with too much, like this trip to Penacony," Ai Yue shrugged. "Besides, this is also for the sake of the siblings' relationship."
"What do you mean by that?" Himeko asked curiously. "It sounds like you're thinking about it more than that?"
"It's very simple. First, let me ask you a question," Ai Yue said, watching the Robin's figure disappear into the crowd before turning his gaze away. "What kind of person do you think this Robin is?"
"She appears gentle on the outside but is strong on the inside. She seems naive, but she possesses considerable wisdom and skill," Himeko commented. "To be able to re-enter the family's affairs after her fall on Sunday, she must have reorganized the Oak Family in a short period of time to gain such an opportunity."
"Yes, he's not as simple as he seems," Ai Yue shrugged. "But Sunday might not realize that. Perhaps in his eyes, Robin is still that weak little sister who needs his careful care and protection."
"So, you're going to give the Robin a stage to shine, and let Sunday get to know his sister again?" Himeko swirled her wine glass and nodded slightly. "I see. Is this how you bridge the gap between the siblings? That's certainly an interesting approach."
"Sometimes, it's really hard for people to truly see their closest relatives. If Sunday had noticed the Robin's growth earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have gone down such a dead end." Seemingly certain of something, Ai Yue's mood improved. "In short, another problem is almost solved. Who's next?"
"What do you mean, whose turn is it?"
"What I mean is... who still has dreams?"
Chapter 80 That's why I couldn't make a move.
Ai Yue stopped paying attention to Sunday's matter, because he knew very well that he had done so much to make Sunday's return to freedom much simpler, Robin could handle the rest on its own.
Therefore, Penacony to resolve is...
As Ai Yue was still pondering his plan, he saw a slender arm, encased in a long purple glove, push a glass of a dreamlike liquid in front of him.
He looked up and saw a woman whose main color was purple smiling elegantly at him, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Ai Yue?"
Wow, it's Miss Memory User, who's good at courting death.
"It's me." Ai Yue tried hard to control his expression to avoid revealing a strange smile, and nodded at the same time. "Did you need something, Miss Black Swan?"
Ai Yue wasn't surprised that the Black Swan had come knocking on his door. The Black Swan had played an important role in the Penacony journey on the Stellar Train, and in the original storyline, it was also the guide for the next leg of the journey. Therefore, it was certain that the Black Swan would learn of its existence from the nameless passengers.
As a Memory User who is extremely curious about all memories of the world and acts recklessly because he is a memetic being, it is only natural that the Black Swan would be curious about him.
However, after the near-fatal incident where she was almost completely exploited by a Void Order wielder, it remains to be seen whether she will still recklessly attempt to read other people's memories as before.
Looking at the Black Swan sitting properly opposite him, Ai Yue couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"You did know me after all. Even though only a few people in Penacony have truly seen me, you, outside the dream, couldn't hide it from me." The Black Swan wasn't surprised that Ai Yue could directly reveal her identity, clearly having already learned something from the other nameless guests. "Truly worthy of being on par with the Star God."
"They even said that?" Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "Although there's nothing to hide, it seems you two get along quite well."
"To my shame, I was actually the one who received help," the Black Swan said, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "After arriving in Penacony, my divination skills became completely useless. All I could rely on were the few characteristics of being a meme, but..."
Before she finished speaking, Ai Yue already understood everything.
The failure of divination is naturally his fault. As the greatest uncertainty in the universe, Ai Yue has completely destroyed the existing prophecy system wherever he goes. Whether it is the script of "Slave of Fate" Elio, the calculation and deduction of the Qiong Guan Zhen of the Immortal Xianzhou Alliance, or the tarot divination used by the Black Swan in front of us, they all have no chance of being rendered useless.
However, as Ai Yue leaves more and more traces in the sea of stars, his existence will naturally be included in the calculation scope of the universe's rules again. Although the Power of Light is a brand new power different from the destiny system, Ai Yue's personality traits are very distinct, so it is easier to quantify.
This can be seen in Boshizun's response. Originally, Boshizun did not know Ai Yue, but he was able to deduce the existence that caused this phenomenon through the "Radiant Flow" and lock onto the special coordinates of the hidden Solar System. This is enough to illustrate the importance of data.
As more and more data about Ai Yue is exposed, his behavior can be deduced through extensive calculations, thus allowing certain divination systems to once again affect him.
Of course, this situation is based on the premise that the updates to this prophecy system can keep up with Ai Yue's evolutionary speed.
But everyone on Earth knows that Ai Yue's evolutionary speed may be faster than light.
Of course, these things are temporarily unrelated to the Black Swan in front of her. The divination system she possesses obviously does not involve the calculation of big data models, so it will probably need to stay away from Ai Yue and all the Power of Light may be involved in for a long time before it can be effective again.
Besides the failure of her divination methods, the appearance of Pardofelis further diminished her value—as a memetic life form, Black Swan could obviously remain unaffected in dreams, which is why she was able to know the true situation of the "Great One's Dream" in advance for the vast majority of people.
In the original storyline, Black Swan used this advantage to remain clear-headed and left a clue about Star, ultimately awakening the Nameless Ones at the last moment, enabling them to truly defeat Sunday and completely destroy the conspiracy.
But Pardofelis... she can not only freely travel between each layer of dreams, but she can also bring others along. In comparison, the Black Swan can only rely on the characteristics of memes to ensure that she is not hypnotized, which seems somewhat inadequate.
That is why she could only witness and record everything as an observer in this upheaval. Although this was enough for the Memory User, it was still a pity that she could not play a role, judging from the Black Swan's reaction.
Thinking about it this way, it seems like it's all my fault that Black Swan's role was taken away?
"Uh, sorry?" Realizing this, Ai Yue couldn't help but show a slightly embarrassed expression. "I'll be more careful next time."
"Looks like I guessed right," Black Swan said with a knowing smile in response to Ai Yue's somewhat bewildered reply. "The fact that the divination failed is related to you, isn't it?"
"Since you already guessed it, you didn't come to see me just to chat, did you?" Ai Yue realized something at this moment and couldn't help but compose himself. "Do you need my help?"
"Sir, your insight is truly remarkable," the Black Swan complimented tactfully, then tentatively asked, "This next question may be somewhat offensive, and I hope you will forgive me... You must be related to the Terran Alliance of that newly emerging civilization, the 'Ai-Terran Star System,' right?"
Ai Yue blinked, then revealed a subtle expression.
I do know about the Terran Alliance, but what exactly is the "Ai-Terran Star System"? This name sounds so casual; could its full name be "Ai Yue - Terran Alliance Galaxy"?
As Ai Yue predicted, since there were no other more advanced civilizations in the large star system to which the Solar System belonged, the naming rights for this relatively remote star system, which did not yet have an official name, were naturally handed over to the Terran Alliance in accordance with the cosmic convention.
According to convention, this galaxy should have been directly named "Terran Alliance Galaxy" to highlight the dominant position of the Terran Alliance civilization in this galaxy. However, for various reasons, the Terran Alliance ultimately decided to include Ai Yue's name as well, and so it ended up with this name.
The only difference is that they were well aware that Ai Yue didn't need such an empty title, and even disliked it, so they didn't use Ai Yue's name directly, but only took the character "Ai". Therefore, "Ai-Terran Star System" is the full name.
Of course, Ai Yue was unaware of these matters at the moment, so he refrained from drawing any conclusions. Instead, out of caution, he asked, "If the full name of the Terran Alliance you mentioned is the United Earth Government, then that is indeed correct."
"As expected, it seems my guess was correct." Hearing Ai Yue's admission, Black Swan's eyes lit up. She moved slightly closer to him and asked earnestly, "May I ask if I can obtain permission from you to visit this civilization?"
"When Memory User become so well-mannered?" Ai Yue blurted out subconsciously, then realized his mistake, "Oh..."
He suddenly remembered that Elysia, who was now in charge of maintaining the Solar System, had been glanced at by Fuli before.
"It seems you've remembered," the Black Swan said, her expression stiffening slightly at being spoken so bluntly to her face, but she still maintained her basic elegance and manners. "The Memory User Master can sometimes...act a little unpredictable, but this time is different, because that's a 'forbidden zone' marked by the Id-court Mirror."
Fuli is really good at getting along with people; he's given the best treatment imaginable.
"The so-called restricted area isn't actually a place where entry is strictly prohibited, but rather an area where entry is not allowed without permission," Black Swan paused, then continued, "And this permission is usually obtained from a local Memory User within the restricted area, but I suppose it's possible to obtain permission from you, right?"
So, in the eyes of those Memory User, there are no forbidden areas at all? No wonder they're so good at courting death; it turns out it's a family tradition.
Ai Yue suppressed the urge to complain, then put on a thoughtful expression.
Although he didn't know where Black Swan got the information to connect him with the Terran Alliance, nothing stays hidden forever, and Ai Yue didn't expect to keep his identity a secret forever, so he wasn't too concerned.
His dilemma was whether or not to send the Black Swan to the Terran Alliance.
Logically speaking, Black Swan has acted sensibly, has some connections with the nameless guests, and with Elysia in charge of the Solar System, granting her permission shouldn't be a problem. But just letting her in like this still feels a bit unsettling... Wait a minute?
"No problem, I can give you that permission." After thinking of something, Ai Yue nodded, a subtle smile appearing on his face. "However, I would like to invite a friend to visit Terran Alliance later. It would be good if you could travel together, so you would have company."
"Of course!" Hearing the other party agree to her request so readily, Black Swan was overjoyed and quickly agreed. She then added, "If possible, I hope to set off as soon as possible, preferably before the Stellar Train departs."
While exploring that mysterious Terran Alliance is important, Black Swan hasn't forgotten what she most wants to accomplish: to use the pioneering power of the Stellar Train to explore a special place.
"Don't worry, pick-up and drop-off are included. The train will likely stop in Penacony for a while and won't depart immediately." Ai Yue waved his hand, readily agreeing. "I'll let you know when I have more information."
"Then I'll have to trouble you Mr. Ai Yue."
The two chatted amiably, and the conversation ended with Black Swan exchanging contact information before taking her leave. Although Black Swan felt a little uneasy afterward, her divination methods were still ineffective, so she naturally couldn't find the source of her unease.
Before Ai Yue could even enjoy a few minutes of peace, two more guests arrived, one dressed in flamboyant attire, and the other... also quite seductive.
"Mr. Ai Yue, I apologize for disturbing your private time."
As a familiar voice Ai Yue's ears, a golden figure appeared before him. Aventurine led another figure to him. "Someone's been insisting on seeing you, and I really had no choice..."
Before he could finish speaking, the tall, thin figure pushed him aside and faced Ai Yue alone. "Hello, uh, well, I'm the one who wanted to see you. My name is Boothill, I'm a cowboy—and also Sea-faring Ranger."
"Hello, you can just call me Ai Yue." Ai Yue looked at the somewhat uneasy expression on the man's face and couldn't help but laugh. "I guess it's quite rare to see you like this?"
As he spoke, Ai Yue had already looked Boothill up and down, and then surprisingly found that this cowboy in front of him was actually much more manly than he had imagined.
In the original storyline, Boothill's hometown was destroyed by the company's aggressive Market Development Department, and his family perished in the disaster.
Later, in order to seek revenge, Boothill chose to enhance his strength through mechanical modification, so 90% of his body was made of machinery. However, although the man in front of him was as slender as the one in the story, at least the part that could be seen with the naked eye was only one arm made of metal.
"Yes, it's rare to meet someone as important as you, and..." Boothill paused for a moment, then said quite bluntly, "I heard that Schneider Oswald died at your hands?"
"Yeah, that video's already all over the place, hasn't it?" Ai Yue nodded, then looked at Aventurine beside him, "But isn't your company's security a bit lacking?"
Although the video of Oswald's killing has become widely known, Ai Yue remained hidden in the incident, and only a very few people knew the truth behind it. Therefore, Boothill must have learned about it through one of these people.
Thinking about it carefully, the Black Swan probably obtained its knowledge of his connection to the Terran Alliance from the company, right?
"Let me make this clear, I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, but he did find out from your friend on the train." Aventurine spread his hands, making a helpless gesture. "As for why this guy forced me to come to you, I honestly don't know either."
"The nameless passengers on the Stellar Train are all good guys like me, so of course I can't force them to do such a thing," Boothill said matter-of-factly. "But using the company's lackeys is something I have absolutely no qualms about."
After saying this, he looked at Ai Yue again, his face no longer showing any frivolous expression.
After a moment, the cowboy slowly spoke, "Thank you."
Chapter 81 Oh my, there's even dog food here!
Ai Yue merely raised an eyebrow at Boothill's thanks, accepting it without a second thought, "I thought you'd complain about not being able to take revenge yourself or something."
"He's my darling, you understand me so well?"
Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, Boothill immediately quoted a classic saying, causing Ai Yue to raise an eyebrow. Clearly, his Synesthesia Beacon, just like in the original storyline, still had a problem.
Boothill seemed to realize he had sworn in front of the important figure, and his expression became slightly awkward. "Ahem, well, how should I put it? To say I'm not a little disappointed is obviously impossible, but the sooner this guy dies, the better for the entire universe, so my own affairs don't really matter."
In fact, given Boothill's free-spirited personality, he usually doesn't care at all about the identity of the person he's chatting with. Even if the person sitting opposite him is a high-ranking executive with connections to the company, he won't restrain his "rough" speaking style.