Chapter 399

At the same time, Heie flashed in front of Xing and then raised his hand to deliver a downward slash.

However, the longsword fell at an absurdly slow speed. If the footsteps hadn't remained unchanged, Xing would have thought he had awakened some kind of bullet time ability again.

You could say that this sword strike was slowed down so she could catch it—but was it really necessary to slow it down that much? Am I that weak?!

Having vaguely sensed the other party's intentions, Xing no longer hesitated and immediately raised his baseball bat.

Then the downward slash returned to its normal speed and power, instantly sending the girl flying.

Fortunately, she didn't tumble to the ground with her mouth and eyes agape. Instead, she was caught by a broad and strong figure. "Are you alright, buddy... wait, it's that black-robed swordsman!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Dan Heng was also blasted to his side.

"We got the fire!" Xing held up what she was holding to show Bai E, who caught her. "Let's get out of here!"

"Huh?"

Bai E was still in a daze, but Tian had already raised his hands. "The Gate of a Hundred Realms!"

The next second, the enormous doors opened from the light, enveloping them all.

Just as she was about to be teleported away, Xing looked up in the direction of Heie, only to find that the other party had already put down his weapon and was also looking in her direction.

Then came a dizzying sensation, and when everything calmed down, everyone was back in Ochema.

"Phew, that was really close." Bai E released Xing, a genuine joy on his face. "Amazing, partner! You two actually managed to retrieve the fire seed. This is much smoother than we expected!"

Dan Heng and Xing exchanged a glance, both revealing subtle smiles.

It wasn't just smooth sailing, it was absolutely smooth sailing.

"Are Danbao and Huibao injured?" The pink-haired twin-tailed girl from the Dim Light Courtyard also came over. Her instinct as a healer made her examine the two of them from head to toe. "Do they need treatment?"

"It's alright, we launched a surprise attack, and you arrived just in time, so no one was injured." Dan Heng shook his head, using a prepared explanation to divert the others' attention. "Next, shouldn't we go report to Aglaea?"

"That's right, let's hurry and go find Aya!" Tian eagerly opened the Gate of a Hundred Realms again. "She'll be so happy!"

Such extravagant behavior was not allowed in Ochema, because the Tibao consumed their life force every time they used their power, so they naturally had to use every bit of power in the most crucial places. However, the Tian of today is not what it used to be, so no one pursued the matter this time.

"Can I give it to you?" Xing noticed the look in Dan Heng's eyes, then handed the fire seed to Bai E. "We're a little tired and want to rest for a bit."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work." Bai E hesitated only slightly before accepting the torch. "I will relay your message to Ms. Aglaea."

After parting ways with Bai E and the others, the two quickly returned to their rooms.

"What do you think?" Xing asked lazily, lounging in her recliner. "That Heie seems like a decent guy?"

"His behavior is contradictory and hard to explain." Dan Heng frowned. "However, what is certain for now is that Mr. Ai Yue is right. He really meant no harm to the two of us—if it weren't for putting on an act in front of the Golden Kin, he probably wouldn't have attacked us at all in the end."

"Is it just because we're from out of town?" Xing joked. "Or does he have some kind of prejudice against locals?"

"Things aren't that simple. For example, the name Heie is quite intriguing," Dan Heng said. "This name came from Mr. Ai Yue, which may be hinting at some kind of relationship between him and Bai E, but we haven't found any clues yet."

"But where are the clues?" Xing asked. "Brother Yue is also missing for the time being, and A Qi hasn't made a move either. We can only rely on ourselves."

"Since Heie possesses some kind of rationality capable of communication, then perhaps the clues lie within himself. Furthermore..." Dan Heng pondered, "Since Mr. Ai Yue was able to point out the true identity of the mastermind, it means he must have clashed with the other party. I think there might be some changes in that process."

"Let's take it one step at a time. The rest is up to Mr. Ai Yue and the others."

At the same time, after exhausting all the power of Onfaros's internal avatar, Ai Yue regained consciousness on the train. He yawned, showing a rare hint of drowsiness.

The power of the clone was negligible to him, but completely consuming it did put a strain on the consciousness residing in that body, making him particularly sleepy now.

Fortunately, it was just a yawn, and the burden disappeared completely.

However, this action also caught the attention of the two geniuses. Black Tower had just sat down when he stood up again. "Wait, he's awake again? What's going on this time?"

"It seems we need to speed things up." Screwllum noticed something from Ai Yue's unusual reaction. "My guess is that Mr. Ai Yue has likely been exposed."

"The second half is correct, but the first half is wrong." Ai Yue stood up and said casually, "I've been exposed, but you don't need to be in such a hurry anymore; we have more time."

"You interfered with the flow of time within Onfaros?" The Black Tower, true to his genius, grasped the point instantly and drew inferences from it. "So you must have interfered with the underlying code of the Emperor's Scepter... You haven't run into Zandal, have you?"

Judging from the underlying operational data obtained from Ai Yue, it was clear that the other party could not easily access the true core of the Emperor's Scepter. However, this time, their appearance disrupted Onfaros's time flow, which could only mean that something else had happened.

"Smart. He's now a machine calling himself Laigushi." Ai Yue smiled and began sharing intelligence. "It can be confirmed that the Great Extinguisher being nurtured inside is indeed the Iron Tomb. The previous destruction events caused by the Iron Tomb were all his doing."

"How could this be?" Screwllum couldn't help but ask. "Mr. Zandal, although I have never had any contact with him, I have heard that he is a gentle and sensitive scholar... What has turned him into this?"

"According to him, it's for atonement." Ai Yue shrugged, briefly describing Laigushi's words. "Judging from the lines, this atonement is clearly related to the Boshizun. What are your thoughts?"

"Atonement, Boshizun?" Black Tower and Screwllum exchanged a glance. "Could it be that?"

"According to my calculations, the probability is as high as 96%." Screwllum nodded, then looked at Ai Yue, "Mr. Ai Yue, I wonder if you have ever heard of the saying—that since the birth of intelligence, the future of this universe has been determined."

"No, what's the logic behind this?" Ai Yue blinked curiously. "Locking in the future of a universe sounds much more powerful than preservation or destruction."

"Some say that the Boshizun has calculated all the possibilities in the world, and all the things that will happen in the future are actually recorded in His records," Black Tower explained. "The saying 'there are no geniuses after the Boshizun's also means this. So, the inventions that geniuses think they have are actually already known to the Boshizun. So, where does the genius come from?"

"Nonsense, is He really that powerful that I could bring him down?" Ai Yue scoffed. "Even with all his calculations, He didn't foresee my arrival, did he?"

"So, ever since you appeared, I haven't believed in this stuff anymore—regardless of whether Boshizun really locked onto the future before, at least you've shattered that possibility." Black Tower smiled, clearly liking what Ai Yue said. "But obviously, Zandal... or rather, Laigushi is a reclusive machine head; he's completely unaware of this."

"Moreover, Zandal is the creator of Boshizun, and from his perspective, he is clearly the culprit who caused all this," Screwllum added. "Therefore, the so-called atonement is self-evident—he wants to destroy Boshizun."

"Putting everything else aside, this plan alone is awe-inspiring." Black Tower revealed a subtle expression. "Most importantly, he really has a chance of succeeding—because the Iron Tomb is an extinction equation targeting technological creations. If it is fully completed, it could truly threaten the Boshizun."

"No need to be afraid, that thing is indeed powerful." Recalling the casual glance in the Emperor's Scepter, Ai Yue shook his head slightly, "The most crucial point is that the Iron Tomb is not an independent entity, but an equation that can spread throughout the entire universe—the Anti-Organic Equation is like a greenhorn in front of it."

"If it comes into being, it won't just be the Boshizun suffers."

Chapter 105 This is a sure thing

A new Great Extinguisher is about to be born. If it appears in the world, it will not only threaten the Boshizun, but also unleash a catastrophe far more devastating than the First Emperor War.

The truth deduced from Onfaros was chilling, yet the atmosphere inside the carriage was not tense.

"So what? What can you do?" Black Tower patted Ai Yue on the shoulder casually. "We have big shots here. What Iron Tomb or Bronze Tomb dares to cause trouble? We'll scatter their source code!"

After saying that, she looked at Ai Yue with expectant eyes. "Right, Ai Yue?"

"That's true, but you're being a bit too decisive." Ai Yue nodded, then gave Black Tower a subtle look. "I thought you two would try to stop this first, and only come to me if that failed."

"In fact, without you, we'd probably already be calling on our friends by now." Black Tower shrugged. "Oh, considering we probably wouldn't have this much information without you, we might have just plunged in headfirst and then stubbornly tried to fight against the geniuses of the old era with only a half-baked understanding."

"If the possibility you're referring to is that 'Mr. Ai Yue never boarded the train in the first place,' then the probability of that happening is probably over 98 percent," Screwllum added. "But now that we have a more reliable method, we shouldn't take unnecessary risks for the sake of Onfaros's lives."

Ai Yue looked at the two people in front of him, a hint of relief in his eyes.

As expected of the most humane member of the Genius Club, so understanding and considerate, it's wonderful.

But he soon noticed that the two of them had fallen into a strange silence, as if they had something to say but were hesitating for some reason.

"Uh, actually, with someone as powerful as Ai Yue, it's not really a risk, right?" Sure enough, when Ai Yue didn't respond, Black Tower hesitated for a while before finally awkwardly bringing up certain topics again, "In other words, even if the Iron Tomb really does emerge, it won't pose a threat to us, right?"

Really.

Ai Yue's expression was somewhat helpless; he knew that Black Tower would have other ideas under extremely low-risk circumstances.

It can only be said that when the world is in crisis, geniuses are very reliable helpers, but when the world is peaceful, then geniuses themselves are a crisis.

From Rupert Horace before him to Chadwick after him, both have proven this statement true.

"Based on what I know about you, you'll most likely ask Mr. Ai Yue to allow the Iron Tomb to be born, and then have him help seal it for your research," Screwllum said bluntly. "Ms. Herta, I said that just now to prevent you from having such thoughts."

Screwllum rarely showed such a cold tone. If it were a genius like Ruan Mei, who lacked empathy, she might have ignored such a tone. However, Black Tower was indeed one of the few people in the Genius Club with a strong sense of humanity. Therefore, she lowered her head slightly, feeling a little guilty.

"I was thinking that if we could thoroughly analyze the situation of the Iron Tomb, we could avoid similar risks." Although she felt guilty, she refused to admit defeat and continued to emphasize, "Just like the anti-organic equation, the Iron Tomb won't be the first, nor will it be the last. We were able to prevent its birth this time, but will we have such an opportunity every time in the future?"

This time, it was Screwllum's turn to fall silent, because he also knew that the Black Tower's concerns were not without merit—not every time could a skilled Memory User accurately lead a group of street thugs capable of traversing the universe to find these guys quietly doing big things in remote, impoverished areas.

If a targeted defense system could be developed by reverse engineering the Iron Tomb's source code, then all similar crises could be prevented in advance, thereby reducing the deaths of innocent people and the destruction of civilizations.

The Great Extinguisher is indeed dangerous, but that's precisely why the Black Tower is unwilling to give up such an opportunity, because now they have Ai Yue.

As long as Ai Yue can suppress the Iron Tomb, then there is absolutely no risk involved.

"Strictly speaking, it's a good idea, but there's a problem." Ai Yue nodded, seemingly in support of the Black Tower's idea, but then quickly changed the subject, "The birth of the Iron Tomb requires the destruction of Onfaros as its final nourishment, and digital life with its own will has already been born there."

The implication is clear: Ai Yue does acknowledge the rationale behind the Black Tower's ideas, but he will not sacrifice a group of beings who have finally been born into this world—even though their human rights are not guaranteed or recognized in many places.

"Then there's nothing we can do." Hearing this, Black Tower sighed, readily abandoning his own idea. "We can only hope you'll show mercy and leave Iron Tomb with a complete corpse—at least it will still have some research value."

"That depends on the situation in Onfaros." Ai Yue didn't rule out any possibility, because if the Iron Tomb's source code was the underlying logic of the entire Onfaros, then he feared it would be difficult for him to show mercy. "In short, let's get to work. It's a bit too early to discuss the results now."

Although they portray the Iron Tomb as a helpless prey, everyone knows that's not actually the case.

At least Laigushi would not sit idly by and wait for death. Although Ai Yue used his last strength to adjust the flow of time inside Onfaros to the same level as the outside world and Power of Light to isolate external interference, Laigushi was, after all, a genius, and Ai Yue could not guarantee that the methods he had hastily prepared would be able to stop him.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to return to Onfaros as soon as possible—with reliable helpers.

"Leave this to us." Black Tower nodded without further ado. "I'll work with Screwllum to break through his firewall, and then see if we can glean anything from the underlying code."

She needed to feel involved, not just follow behind Ai Yue like a tourist—this was a rare opportunity to spar with a veteran, who would want to miss it?

Hearing this, Ai Yue didn't say anything more. Although he might be more efficient to do it himself, since Black Tower had volunteered, there was no need to dampen his enthusiasm.

The time saved can be used for other preparatory work.

However, before that, Ai Yue planned to check on the situation on March 7th.

He did not find any trace of her in Onfaros, but this actually meant that March 7th was safe, because if even someone like Ai Yue, who left a beacon in the spirit of March 7th, could not find her, it meant that Laigushi was even more helpless against March 7th.

As long as she isn't targeted by the mastermind, it means that the crisis facing March 7th will be limited to the level of the Onfaros worldview. However, this level of crisis is impossible to break through the protection set up by Ai Yue. In other words, March 7th is actually the safest of the three nameless guests who entered Onfaros.

And the facts proved Ai Yue's conjecture. March 7th's physical condition was very stable, which meant that her consciousness was also in a stable and peaceful environment.

However, some people have different opinions on this.

"I'm sorry, this matter is far beyond my imagination," Black Swan said, sitting by March 7th's bedside. With Himeko handling communications between the company and the Immortal Boat, she had taken on the responsibility of looking after March 7th. "Just now, Fuli glanced at Onfaros."

Every move of the Star God carries extraordinary significance, especially a glance—this act may create a messenger, but for the Memory Star God, there is another possibility.

That is, what momentous event, concerning the entire universe, is about to occur here, and is worth recording?

"It's alright, it's within expectations." Ai Yue nodded slightly, not surprised by what the Black Swan said. "Keep an eye on things. If I'm not mistaken, Fuli might be looking this way quite frequently during this period."

If Fuli turned his gaze in this direction because of the impending birth of the Iron Tomb, or because of something happening within Onfaros, then he certainly wouldn't miss the divine war that is highly likely to erupt soon.

The Black Swan silently looked at the man before her, then sighed softly, "I think I understand why you don't care about my problems."

She felt she had made a huge blunder, causing the train crew to encounter an unprecedented crisis, but it wasn't hard to tell from Ai Yue's words that the other party had probably already caused a major disaster.

"Let's just go with the flow. We're going to cause trouble anyway, so let's go big." Ai Yue glanced out the car window and gave a mysterious smile. "After all, there are still some guys I haven't seen yet."

"I'm a little scared." The Black Swan gave a helpless, bitter smile. "But I think it's too late to run away now?"

"Running away isn't necessarily safer than staying here," Ai Yue shrugged, saying meaningfully, "Don't worry, as long as you don't make the wrong choice, you'll be fine."

While the Black Swan event appears to be the culprit behind the train's crisis, from a longer-term perspective, it can be said that the other side successfully found one of the few forces in the universe capable of resolving the Onfaros crisis – the Stellar Train. If this matter can be successfully resolved, it can be considered a meritorious deed.

"Then I'm relieved." Black Swan breathed a sigh of relief. "After all, I'm a very timid person."

Are you still a coward?

Ai Yue gave the Black Swan a strange look, but said nothing, and then left for the train's think tank.

This room was originally used by Dan Heng, a young man with very simple living habits. He only laid out a mattress on the floor here and had almost no personal belongings. After contacting Xianzhou and the company, Himeko was responsible for contacting them from here in real time to ascertain the situation outside.

"Please come in." After Ai Yue knocked on the door, he was invited in. He entered the room, and Himeko turned around to meet his gaze. "There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"

"Good news, I suppose." Ai Yue smiled. "I'm curious what news would qualify as good news for me."

"I almost forgot, there are a few pieces of news I need to tell you." Himeko paused for a moment, then gave a helpless smile. "First, the movements of the Antimatter Legion —all the Antimatter Legion forces that can be detected so far have abandoned their original routes and are now heading towards Onfaros."

"Among them, the Yaoging Xianzhou has been tracking the legion of the Great Extinguisher, Starfall," Himeko continued after a pause, "I confirmed with General Feixiao and found that the Antimatter Legion's change of course... happened before you released Phantylia."

"Interesting. It seems the Iron Tomb is quite important to the Antimatter Legion," Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "Or did Nanook realize that the Iron Tomb's birth would be difficult, so he arranged for them to be there to deliver it? In any case, it's good news that these guys are in place sooner."

"Actually, I initially thought it was bad news... Oh well." Himeko said in a subtle tone, "Also, all the Immortal Ships from the Xianzhou Alliance will be coming. The first to arrive should be Yaoqing, followed by Luofu."

"This is a bit of an overreaction," Ai Yue said, scratching his head. "I was originally thinking two or three ships would be enough."

"The Xianzhou Alliance values this operation highly. According to General Feixiao, Marshal Hua will personally oversee the front lines and command this battle." Himeko smiled. "Of course, I think the Xianzhou Alliance's most important target is actually you—all of this is an attempt to curry favor with you."

"That's only natural, after all, I'm kind and generous." Ai Yue smiled, shamelessly boasting, then frowned, "But that's a bit problematic."

Oops?

Himeko looked at the man in front of her, unsure of what expression to wear.

She felt it was a bad thing that the Antimatter Legion would arrive earlier than expected, but they thought it was a good thing. And the Xianzhou Alliance's all-out assistance should have been a good thing, but they thought it was terrible... Is this the worldview of gods? It's so hard to understand.

"Yeah, there are too many monks, and not enough porridge to go around." Ai Yue scratched his head helplessly. "Even including the Iron Tomb, there are only seven Jue Great Extinguisher. I was originally thinking of splitting two out, one for the Xianzhou Alliance and one for the company, but they all came at once. Is one too few?"

Himeko paused for a moment before realizing what Ai Yue meant—so the other party felt there weren't enough prey, and it would be difficult to divide them up once more hunters arrived?

This attitude of treating the Great Extinguisher as if it were already his... if Lan saw this, she'd probably just hand over the position of the Hunt God to you.