Chapter 400

"Forget it, if it doesn't work out, we'll just send a few more out." Fortunately, Ai Yue didn't dwell on this problem for too long before making a decision. "At worst, I'll just suffer a loss and not deal with Nanook myself."

What did you say?

"Then what about the Star God of Destruction?" Upon hearing this, Himeko's eyes widened suddenly. "Besides you, there's also... wait, could it be?"

Himeko suddenly realized that if Ai Yue's original plan was followed, then at least four more Great Extinguisher would need to be dealt with by their side. However, if Ai Yue were to be disregarded, then the Train's current strength was clearly insufficient to accomplish such a task; at best, they could only serve as a temporary relief.

In other words, these four Great Extinguisher are facing someone else entirely, and the only help Ai Yue can summon besides the Xianzhou Alliance and the company is...

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile.

"That's right, just as you thought." Ai Yue nodded, then looked at the back of the train. "Judging by the time, those people should be here by now."

Chapter 106 Who Does the Master Want to Kill?

The helpers Ai Yue mentioned, besides the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, could not possibly be any other than the others.

In fact, the reason he had arranged for Pardofelis to stay behind was for this purpose. And because he had already informed the Terran Alliance in advance, the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were currently on standby, so it wouldn't take too much time to gather them.

When Ai Yue returned to his private carriage, the teleportation was nearing its end. The immense energy gradually subsided, and the pure white light that had illuminated the entire carriage also began to recede. The area it illuminated gradually shrank, eventually transforming into a human-shaped silhouette—it was Pardofelis.

"Brother Yue?" Pardofelis rubbed her eyes, her face showing unconcealed exhaustion. The girl yawned, then threw herself into Ai Yue's arms. "I've completed all the missions, okay? The rest is up to you..."

After saying this, Pardofelis fell asleep immediately, her body still carrying out its instinctive commands, clinging tightly to Ai Yue.

Ai Yue patted Pardofelis's head, a slightly helpless smile appearing on his face.

Because Onfaros's location is so remote, its distance from the Solar System exceeds the limits of conventional teleportation systems. While the Boundary Anchoring for Opening Destiny can achieve point-to-point teleportation regardless of distance, it is only available to internal personnel. Even Ai Yue needs to use highly realistic Power of Light to borrow it, so others can forget about it.

Therefore, Ai Yue used a special method. He imitated the effect of the boundary anchor and used a being with the Power of Light as a "signal tower" to amplify the power of the teleportation system. Only then was he able to directly pull over the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Solar System through the teleportation system.

Because Pardofelis, who acts as a signal tower, needs to continuously release her power during this process, it is a considerable burden for her. After all, long-distance teleportation is already a very energy-consuming activity, not to mention that the targets are thirteen Commander-level beings.

The energy consumed in teleportation depends not only on the distance but also on the "mass" of the target. If Ai Yue were to do it himself, it might not be too strenuous, but Pardofelis insisted on doing something, and Ai Yue naturally wouldn't dampen her enthusiasm.

As Pardofelis completed her mission, the teleportation pod opened, and familiar faces appeared in the soft light.

Before this, he hadn't actually told Elysia and the others what he was planning to do by gathering the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, but no one questioned it—or rather, their support arrived before any questions arose.

Seeing his friends gathered together, Ai Yue was overwhelmed with emotion, but unfortunately, he opened his mouth and didn't know what to say.

The heroes remained silent, simply watching him. After about ten seconds, Elysia turned around with a smile, extending her hand to the others. "What did I tell you? Hurry up, a bet's a bet!"

Watching the others sigh or helplessly pull something out of their pockets and place it in Elysia's palm, Ai Yue realized he seemed to be used as a tool for illegal fundraising. "What do you mean, are you betting on my reaction?"

"Before the teleportation, Elysia said you'd be so moved by our presence that you wouldn't be able to say a word, and nobody believed her," Mobius shrugged. "Now it seems, whether you were moved or not is hard to say, but at least you didn't say a word—by the way, I didn't participate in the bet."

"How can you believe that? Nobody's ever seen Doctor Ai Yue so moved," Desdrobia said softly. "But then again, is this really just being moved?"

Clearly, more than one person had doubts about Ai Yue's reaction.

But no one gave Pardofelis a strange look when she slept clinging to Ai Yue —because Pardofelis had done this many times before on Earth.

"In short, we'll split it in half when we meet." Ai Yue held out his hand to Elysia. "And don't do it again next time."

"Oh, it was just a little joke to lighten the mood. After all, it's been a long time since we've all gotten together like this." Elysia simply placed everything she had received into Ai Yue's palm. "Alright, what happened that made our all-powerful savior call for outside help?"

Ai Yue casually collected the small odds and ends that Elysia had won, then said seriously, "In short, we're about to fight a war of gods."

Although it was somewhat comical that he was still wearing a human form, everyone became serious, since it was rare to see Ai Yue with such a solemn expression.

Even during the time he faced the threat of the Herrscher on Earth, only a handful of crises had prompted Ai Yue to show such a serious expression.

Soon someone spoke up, "The war of gods... could it be referring to the war with the Star Gods?"

The person who asked this question was Vill-V, but the excitement in her tone clearly outweighed her doubt, and even a few wriggling mechanical hands couldn't help but stick out from the toolbox on her lower back. "Really? Can we get involved in such a big scene?"

Although the Terran Alliance has only been connected with the Milky Way for a short time, with the help of the company, their understanding of the universe has obviously deepened to a certain extent. Individuals like Vill-V, who had previously come into contact with the Boshizun, have a vague understanding of the Star God, and therefore naturally understand that there is a huge gap between them and the Star God.

Even so, Vill-V was still very excited, because if the word was indeed as she understood it, then it meant that she would have the opportunity to face the Star God directly—after all, what Ai Yue said would surely come true.

"Yes, our enemy this time is Nanook, the Star God of Destruction, a young God of Destruction... but he ascended to godhood earlier than me." Ai Yue nodded. "Moreover, my goal is to eliminate him outright—do you have any thoughts on this?"

The heroes exchanged glances, and finally Kevin spoke up, "Since you've already summoned us, surely the plan won't change, right? In that case, we only have one question—"

He paused here, then smiled and asked, "Who wants to go first?"

A war against the Star God was thus hastily recounted by Ai Yue, yet it received no objection from anyone.

Because everyone trusted Ai Yue completely, believed in all his decisions, and trusted the reasons behind them.

Therefore, no matter how disparate the strength of the enemy and themselves, no one would retreat a single step—they had experienced even more desperate situations before, but without exception, they had all achieved victory under Ai Yue's leadership.

This time will be no exception.

Chapter 107 Your Commander is Very Good

Without needing many words, Ai Yue could feel the unreserved trust of the heroes.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He simply gave a smile as a response to everyone.

In fact, Ai Yue had prepared many reasons to persuade them, but now they all seemed a bit pretentious.

"That's true, but shouldn't you tell us the whole story?" Elysia leaned closer and patted Pardofelis's head. "What did Nanook do? How did he offend you?"

"It's probably the work of His Antimatter Legion," Cosmo said from the side. "Those people take it upon themselves to destroy the universe and have committed countless atrocities. Even if they hadn't provoked the Doctor, I bet he wouldn't have let them off the hook."

Since gaining access to information about the universe, Cosmo has been keen to collect information about various factions of destiny and the Star Gods, and thus has obtained a lot of information about the Antimatter Legion, and is very clear about their actions.

In fact, if it weren't for the many things inside the Solar System that required the heroes' efforts, this guy who had longed to "uphold justice" since childhood would probably have already set off alone to fight the Antimatter Legion as a lone wolf.

Now that he heard that Ai Yue had directly targeted the backing of the Antimatter Legion, Cosmo, though he didn't show it, could tell from his expectant gaze that he was probably the most excited of all.

"That's part of the reason, but of course, the main reason is that we had the perfect opportunity to capture them." Ai Yue smiled, then gestured for everyone to look out the car window at the celestial bodies. "Let me introduce you to the catalyst for this divine war— Onfaros."

"Wow, what a beautiful celestial body!" Elysia exclaimed first, but then looked puzzled. "But this shape... it can't have been formed naturally, right?"

Elysia didn't actually understand the principles of celestial body formation, but her intuition told her that such a magnificent celestial structure was full of many unnatural details.

"Of course, after all, such a flamboyant attitude isn't something to be ashamed of..." Vill-V naturally picked up the conversation, admiring Onfaros's appearance as she spoke, but she quickly noticed several pairs of eyes on her. "Wait, what do you mean by those looks?"

"It's nothing, I just think this style is very similar to yours," Kevin said thoughtfully. "And I heard from Mei that you did submit a similar application some time ago..."

"But they didn't approve it for me!" Vill-V immediately complained. "Besides, how could I possibly come to a place like this to cause trouble? If it weren't for Ai Yue's teleportation, I would have been here for at least twenty years!"

"Calm down, it doesn't say you did it," Ai Yue patted her shoulder, trying to reassure her, but then a slight smile appeared on his face. "But thinking about it, you might actually have something in common with the mastermind."

"You can't say that," Vill-V quickly waved her hand. "I'm a law-abiding citizen; I would never do something like that!"

"Really?" Mobius suddenly sneered. "Have you figured out how to explain your 'Project Zero' to Ai Yue?"

Hmm? Is there something else I need to do?

Ai Yue immediately looked at Mobius: "What's going on?"

Vill-V is someone who can easily pull off something big if you're not careful, and Ai Yue knows this perfectly well. But with Dr. Mei and Ai Yi supervising her in the Solar System, and Elysia constantly scanning large areas, there shouldn't be any room for her to act recklessly.

But Mobius never speaks carelessly, especially not in front of everyone. The fact that she could clearly say the term "Project Zero" proves that she definitely has relevant clues.

"Oh, let's get down to business!" Vill-V's expression changed immediately upon hearing about Project Zero, but she quickly changed the subject, then leaned close to Ai Yue and whispered, "Well, let's talk about this when we get back, hehe..."

Judging from her attitude, it's clear that this matter is not only true, but also quite serious.

Ai Yue sighed and didn't pursue the matter further, as now was indeed not the time to dwell on it. However, he still delivered a sharp chop to Vill-V's hand and reaffirmed his determination to keep a close eye on this guy.

Looking back now, the phrase I used to describe geniuses works perfectly well for these guys too.

Ai Yue shook his head slightly, temporarily setting aside his chaotic thoughts, and began to introduce the situation of Onfaros to everyone.

As he spoke, the expressions on everyone's faces gradually changed. Some looked thoughtful, some showed a hint of sympathy, and some even frowned. But no matter what the changes were, the heroes' faces all shared the same emotion.

That's what I mean by being unhappy.

"A completely closed world, achieving the creator's experimental goals through endless cycles..." Kevin closed his eyes, slowly summarizing, "It's so similar, so very similar."

If Onfaros is not a virtual world ruled by Emperor's Scepter, if its interior space is not merely a confined piece of land—then how different is this place from the Solar System once sealed off by the Cocoon of Finality?

This is the root of the dissatisfaction among the heroes.

They had personally experienced such a desperate cycle, and if it weren't for Ai Yue's appearance, they would probably be a handful of dust by now. How could they not empathize with those who were imprisoned in the same cage?

It's precisely because Onfaros is a virtual world that the heroes' dissatisfaction would have been far more complex than just a simple matter of being unhappy.

"It's just that this Laigushi still has some conscience; he's only using a virtual world." Vill-V blinked and said, "Although it's not the nicest way to put it, virtual data isn't living beings. Using it for experiments is much more humane than using living people."

"Stop playing dumb. You're one of us, can't you understand?" Mobius scoffed from the side. "He's trying to cultivate an equation, so of course he can't use living people. Otherwise, do you think this guy wouldn't do it? He's already destroyed several civilizations just to test the power of the equation!"

"There's another possibility that he can't do it," Ai Yue added. "What kind of existence is the Cocoon of Finality? Just gaining its recognition is enough to obtain power surpassing that of a Commander. Laigushi is merely an AI machine transcribed from a Commander of Intelligence, so he obviously can't do the same thing."

Although the Iron Tomb is an equation, it perfects itself by calculating the "first cause of life." If the Laigushi truly possess the power to seal off and continuously reincarnate real civilizations, Ai Yue believes he would not hesitate.

Among the Onfaros, those who had already developed their own will are another example. If Laigushi had no requirement for the authenticity of civilization, why would he have allowed these experimental subjects to grow to a point where they could threaten the experiments?

Putting aside the others, Bai E was a ruthless person who blocked the entire experimental process at the last step, dragging it out for more than 30 million cycles. If it weren't for his existence, the Iron Tomb would probably have been born long ago, and the Nameless Guests wouldn't have had a chance to solve this problem.

Faced with opposition from two people in a row, Vill-V couldn't help but shrink back. "I was just saying it casually, what's the big deal...?"

Her eyes darted around as she said this, clearly indicating that she couldn't even convince herself.

Mobius didn't bother to expose the guy, and instead turned his gaze to Ai Yue: "So, you're planning to stop the Iron Tomb from being born? Or do you have other ideas?"

Mobius didn't care at all about the birth of a mere messenger. Since they had all gathered here, even if the Iron Tomb did hatch, it was destined to die here.

But Ai Yue's purpose was clearly not just that; Mobius could see more in his eyes—the kind of look that only appeared when the other was about to pull off something.

"I suppose so. After all, no one can guarantee that what is born from Onfaros will necessarily be Great Extinguisher, right?" Ai Yue revealed a meaningful smile. "Besides, I also plan to give Laigushi a great gift—"

Chapter 108 Is the plot a bit off?

"Farewell, Your Excellency. May we... meet again in the new world."

Amidst the ruins of the Stikosia Tower, the gray-haired girl reluctantly released her arms.

Before her, the gentle and reserved girl had vanished, leaving only a lingering warmth on her neck, a testament to her presence.

The desolate ruins around her underwent a dramatic transformation at that moment—countless flowers bloomed silently, their forms spreading from beneath the girl's feet until they covered the entire site. Then, countless butterflies rose from them, gradually flying into the sky, as if the aloof girl was bidding her final farewell.

Xiadie, the girl burdened with a terrifying curse and destined for a life of solitude, finally fulfilled her mission as Golden Kin, transforming into the Titan of Death in this place and shouldering the responsibilities of a demigod.

She will remain in the underworld forever, protecting the souls of the dead and watching over the mortal world, so that the Journey of Chasing Fire can take another step forward.

Xing lowered her head, looking at the spark in her hand that symbolized the power of death, and subconsciously clenched it tightly.

This is the most precious thing left behind by the Xiadie, and it is also their ultimate goal on this journey.

Therefore, only...

A slight noise startled the girl from her thoughts. She abruptly summoned her baseball bat, looked warily to the side, and at the same time, didn't forget to put away the embers.

"It's me, Grey." A slender figure slowly emerged from the shadows, the sly smile that usually graced her face gone, replaced by a solemn expression. "The Princess of Dwelling... it seems she's stayed in the Underworld."

Xing opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she only nodded. "Mm."

The seemingly eccentric fellow with cat ears and a cat tail is named Saifeier. He is also one of the Golden Kin and a veteran demigod who has long since obtained the power of the Titans. Although he doesn't usually stay in Ochema, judging from his current behavior, he is clearly not shirking his responsibilities.

Therefore, the other party must have felt no less than she did about Xiadie's departure, and there's no need for her to say anything more.

"Alright, stop looking so gloomy, cheer up," Saifeier walked to Xing's side and patted her on the shoulder. "You've completed the mission of the Princess of Dwelling,' but you still have a long way to go, right? The tasks ahead will only be more difficult, and this won't do!"

"No," Xingwei turned her head slightly, "I just felt... the hug was a little too short."

"You..." Saifeier paused for a moment, then shook her head helplessly. "Well, at least you still have the mind to say weird things. Looks like you really have a big heart."

With that, she gently hugged the other person. "In that case, I'll make up for the hug that the Princess of Dwelling' owes you!"

Xing was taken aback for a moment, and was about to say something when she saw the cat-eared girl's sly smile, "Of course, I was just teasing you!"

The next second, a Cat's Eye Gold Coin flew up behind Xing and was then gently caught by Saifeier.

The Titan of Trickery is unleashed at this moment—

When the gray-haired girl came to her senses, the surroundings had transformed from a tranquil ruin and flower field into a bustling city street. At that moment, Saifeier released her grip. "Alright, now the mission is completely complete. The seamstress has nothing to say now, right?"

"Since that's the case, then..."

"Wait." Xing grabbed Saifeier's arm, looking at her with expectant eyes. "Are you really not staying? Xiadie has left too, and we really need you."

"Hmph, you want me to stay, but you won't even say a sweet word?" Saifeier's eyes wavered slightly, but she quickly suppressed it, then deftly shook off Xing's hand. "Forget it, I've already said, I don't like staying here."

Seeing the obvious disappointment on Xing's face, Saifeier finally added, "Don't worry, if it really comes to the point where I'm indispensable, I'll naturally appear. That's all then—"

Unfortunately, her graceful departure was once again interrupted by a childish voice.

"Little Grey, and Fei'er? Great, you're finally back!" Tibao ran up to them, panting slightly. "Something terrible has happened!"

Moments later, at the Genesis Vortex Heart.

"What do you mean Feng Jin is missing?"