[God of Mercury]

Mercury.

Ye Yun sat in the pilot's seat, holding a photograph in his hand, his eyes full of tenderness.

It had only been a few days since they last saw each other.

He missed her a little.

If only he'd known, he should have forcibly tied her up back then and taken her along to wander the myriad heavens.

But he didn't regret leaving her behind, either.

If he'd brought her along, she would have been in great danger, with no way to protect herself.

"Big Brother Ye, who's that?"

Yaoyao saw him holding a photograph and gazing at it, lost in thought. She walked over, and when she saw the beauty in the picture, shock filled her eyes.

She was so beautiful?

She seemed even more elegant and beautiful than Lily.

It was just that, well, her chest was a little small.

"My older sister!"

Ye Yun smiled and put the photograph away.

"Your older sister? Doesn't look like it!"

Yaoyao gave him a long, searching look.

Bullshit.

Did he think she was a little kid who couldn't read the emotions in his eyes?

"She's my older sister, and also my fiancée!"

Ye Yun finally said it aloud.

He acknowledged her as his fiancée.

"Wait, your relationship is a little complicated, isn't it? What about Sister Lily?"

Yaoyao was immediately baffled by what he said.

Weren't he and Sister Lily dating?

How had an even more beautiful and elegant woman than Lily suddenly turned up, and she was his fiancée?

Was he sure it wasn't April Fool's Day?

"Who said Lily was my girlfriend? Lily and I aren't dating, all right?"

Ye Yun rubbed his forehead. He and Lily weren't dating, so they shouldn't make things up.

He didn't have those kinds of feelings for Lily, either.

"Uh!"

Yaoyao was instantly embarrassed. "We thought Sister Lily was your girlfriend."

"Don't make things up!"

Ye Yun's expression turned serious. "I was rescued by Lily, just like you were. I didn't have money to pay her, so I worked for her to make it up to her. Don't say that again."

"Oh, okay!"

Hearing Ye Yun emphasize again and again that they shouldn't make things up, Yaoyao nodded.

So that was it.

His experience was similar to theirs.

"By the way, you said that girl was your older sister. Why is she also your fiancée?"

Xiao An had been bored nearby, and after hearing Ye Yun and Yaoyao's conversation, he pushed up his glasses and asked curiously.

"We aren't related by blood. She's about four years older than me, and we grew up together."

Ye Yun thought it over. There was no need to hide this.

He was calculating his age by the standards of this society, not by the age he'd had in the Divine River Universe.

If he did that—

He could be their ancestor.

"Oh, so that's how it is!"

The two nodded in understanding.

"Actually, Xiao An, Dilu, and I are all good friends. We live pretty close to one another, in the same residential community..." Since Ye Yun had told them about himself, Yaoyao told him about the three of them, too.

In short, Dilu had dragged them all along.

The three of them had been spoiled by their families, and they were timid, too.

"All right, are you hungry now? If you are, let's go eat in the dining room!"

Ye Yun glanced at the two kids, stood up, and left the cockpit, heading for the dining room.

If they were hungry, they should go get something to eat.

"Okay, we're definitely hungry."

Hearing that, Xiao An and Yaoyao touched their stomachs, their little faces turning sheepish.

They really were hungry.

They just weren't used to the food here.

In the canyon.

"Are you sure it's here? But there's no way through!"

Lily looked at the icy cliffs around them. The spaceship could only land on this platform. If they went any farther down, there probably wouldn't be anywhere for it to land.

"Yes, it has to be here. I couldn't have remembered wrong."

Dilu nodded solemnly, insisting he was absolutely sure.

"There isn't a passage here, Dilu. Could you have remembered wrong? Why don't you think it over carefully?"

Gaia stood behind them, keeping them safe. He gripped the Mysterious Iron Laser Gun tightly, warily surveying the surroundings.

"No, I haven't got it wrong. It's inside a cave."

Dilu was very confident, and began looking around.

Suddenly—

His eyes lit up. Pointing at a place that glowed faintly purple, he said, "Gaia, there's a cave here. Open it up and have a look."

"All right."

At his words, the Mysterious Iron Laser Gun in Gaia's hand shifted into its laser-gun form. It fired a searing white beam that struck the cave with a thunderous boom.

"Boom!"

At the sound, chunks of stone came tumbling down.

A cloud of dust billowed into their faces.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Lily and Dilu hurriedly waved their hands, choking on the dust.

Seeing the familiar cave entrance, Dilu said excitedly, "Yes, this is the place! This is the spot I saw inside the Star of the Galaxy. Let's hurry in and find Apollo!"

"All right. Be careful."

Lily had always been pretty bold. She stepped forward and led the way.

"Lily, is that guy surnamed Ye your boyfriend?" Dilu hurried to catch up, his hands behind his head as he asked curiously.

"Why are you asking?"

At his words, Lily stopped and gave Dilu a scrutinizing look.

Why was he asking about that?

"Hey, I'm just bored! It's freezing around here, and I'm scared. Let's chat to take our minds off things!"

Dilu looked at the empty, silent surroundings. They really did give him the creeps.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

Lily continued walking ahead and said,

Ye Yun wasn't her boyfriend. She had to make that clear so nobody got the wrong idea.

"What? He's not your boyfriend? Then is he your employee?"

Dilu reacted with great surprise. He wasn't her boyfriend?

No way. Was that guy blind? Couldn't he see how beautiful she was?

"What are you thinking?"

Lily shook her head helplessly. You kids—what on earth were you thinking about all day?

Honestly.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Lily didn't keep discussing the subject with Dilu. Instead, she looked curiously at the cave. This place looked like an altar.

"It is—whoa, this is deep!"

Dilu nodded and looked around at the sights inside the cave. It was so beautiful.

He nearly fell down, too.

"Watch your step. If you fall, there won't even be a body left."

Lily glared at the kid and continued forward.

The thrusters on Gaia's back emitted two blue flames, and he flew to the middle of the altar, calling out, "Tethys, Tethys, is that you? Tethys, it's Gaia! Tethys, are you here? If you are, answer me."

"Gaia, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly—

Tethys flew down from a huge stone pillar and landed in front of Gaia. He lowered the sniper rifle in his hand and asked in confusion.

As a Cosmic Star God of the sniper type, he was extremely sensitive to sound.

And Gaia and the others hadn't tried to hide their movements.

"It's really you, Tethys? It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?"

When Gaia saw that it really was Tethys, his blue Electronic Eye flickered.

He hadn't expected it to really be Tethys. It was astonishing.

"Venus brought me here."

Tethys replied.

"Venus? That's wonderful! Where is she?"

Gaia asked excitedly.

If Venus was there, they could gather three Cosmic Star Gods at once to protect the Star of the Galaxy.

"No. Venus left after bringing me here. I don't know where she went."

Tethys shook his head.

He hadn't seen Venus for a long time.

"What?"

Gaia couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Venus wasn't there?

"By the way, Gaia, what's going on here?"

Only then did Tethys remember that he seemed to have forgotten about the two humans.

How had Gaia ended up with humans?

"Hello, Tethys. I'm Dilu. It's nice to meet you."

Dilu looked at the warrior and said,

Ye Yun had analyzed that this wasn't Apollo.

But after hearing Gaia call him by name, Dilu followed suit.

"I'm Lily. It's nice to meet you."

Lily politely greeted Tethys, too.

After all—

They might need his protection in the future.

"Hello!"

Tethys nodded, then turned to look at Gaia, unsure what was going on.

"Tethys, these are the people chosen by Autan. Dilu saw you on Mercury through the Star of the Galaxy."

Gaia explained everything that had happened to Tethys.

"The Star of the Galaxy?"

At that, Mercury God Tethys fell silent.

It seemed to bring back memories of that battle long ago.

The betrayal, and the falling-out with his good friend Panra.

"Tethys, let's go find the other Cosmic Star Gods together, protect the Star of the Galaxy, and find Apollo!"

Seeing Mercury God Tethys fall silent, Gaia urged him anxiously.

As long as they worked together, they would definitely find Apollo.

"No, I can't go with you."

At once—

Mercury God Tethys, lost in memory, rejected Gaia's request without hesitation. "I swore I would never fight again. Leave!"

Mercury God Tethys refused outright, decisively.

The past was too painful to revisit.

So.

He didn't want to remember, and he didn't want to act again.

He was already tired of it, or perhaps he was avoiding reality.

"Tethys, are you really going to betray your mission too? This is the mission the Creation God, Autan, entrusted to us. Are you really going to betray the mission Autan entrusted to you as well? We have no choice but to find Apollo, whose whereabouts are unknown, and give him the Star of the Galaxy."

Gaia glared angrily at Tethys. You really are a disappointment, buddy!

"Leave, Gaia!"

Mercury God Tethys turned his head away from Gaia and spoke coldly.

"You..."

For a moment,

Gaia really didn't know what to say.

After all,

Tethys was just like that. Once he made up his mind, he would stubbornly stick to it.

"Tethys, things aren't like they used to be. Panra, Salong, and the others want the Star of the Galaxy so they can rule the universe. They've abandoned their original intentions and betrayed the mission Autan entrusted to us. They're consumed by ambition. Why would you..."