Fragmentum Spreads

[Natasha's Affinity: 82%]

[Seele's Affinity: 66%]

[March 7th's Affinity: 62%]

[Bronya's Affinity: 0%]

[Cocolia's Affinity: 0%]

[Affinity Guide: 60% is the baseline. Above that means the target has a generally favorable impression of the host; below that means they don't like the host much. Below 50% means they harbor ill will toward the host; below 40% means they hate the host; below 30% means they have a blood feud with the host! Above 70% means they admire the host quite a bit; above 80% means they feel deep affection for the host but have difficulty confessing it; above 90% means the target has been won over.]

[Note: Affinity may fluctuate.]

[Rewards for completing a conquest: 1. Heart-to-Heart (telepathy). 2. The target becomes the host's believer, and the host can grant believers divine power, turning them into Emanators (the Path abilities developed by Emanators, which the host, as an Aeon, can also master). 3. Other Path authorities. 4. Special item rewards.]

Jing Yan glanced over the details on the conquest panel and found them pretty good.

According to the explanation, once he successfully won someone over, not only would he and the other person gain a special form of telepathy, but he would also receive many other unknown rewards.

However, from what Jing Yan understood, the higher someone's affinity for him, the harder it seemed to take things further. And if their affinity for him was already below 60%, then unless he resolved whatever was weighing on them, it would be all but impossible to make them like him.

The next morning, Jing Yan knocked on the doors of March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle, one after another.

"What is it? I'm so sleepy!" March 7th rubbed her bleary eyes and grumbled unhappily.

She seemed to have quite the temper when woken up.

The people in the other two rooms were much the same.

Though they were a little better about it.

Stelle was still a bit dazed, and although Dan Heng was still sleepy, he quickly managed to clear his head.

He had evidently realized the seriousness of the situation.

Jing Yan hadn't come here without a reason.

"What happened? What's going on?"

March 7th, Stelle, and Dan Heng were now dressed and had come out.

[March 7th's Affinity decreased: 62% → 61%]

Jing Yan couldn't help feeling a little speechless.

Was March 7th really that petty?

Did that mean winning her over wouldn't be as easy as he'd imagined?

"What happened? Of course the Fragmentum is spreading. It's not safe to stay here."

Jing Yan answered casually.

"What? The Fragmentum is spreading?" March 7th was shocked.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

She immediately took off toward the stairs.

"Wait, are you sure you're not messing with me?" March 7th stopped after a couple of steps. Seeing no sign of anything unusual around them, she turned back, rubbed her chin, and asked.

"Why would I? Look out the window," Jing Yan replied casually.

By then, the three of them had reached the hotel lobby.

Through the glass windows, they could indeed see Silvermane Guards fighting Fragmentum creatures below.

"What is going on..." Dan Heng asked, confused.

"I already told you this was caused by people."

Jing Yan answered casually.

"Do you think the Fragmentum could spread into the city so easily? It was allowed to happen by people, and besides, this is one of Cocolia's goals."

At that, the others began to believe him.

"An experiment?"

"Transformation. Assimilation." Jing Yan continued.

"Cocolia believes the depletion of Geomarrow is imminent. They can barely put it off beyond this generation or the next, so the only choice she has is to release the Fragmentum and twist everyone into Fragmentum Monsters. Most people's memories will disappear, but a small portion will remain.

"That is the experiment Cocolia wants to conduct, and she has already had some results. But..."

"But fewer than one in a hundred survive," Jing Yan continued.

"Most of them still turn into mindless monsters. Only a few manage to retain some of their memories."

"Mm..."

By then, March 7th was mostly convinced.

They hurried down the stairs toward the hotel entrance.

As they went down, Stelle suddenly turned and asked, "Then how do you know all this, Mr. Jing Yan?"

"Me?"

Jing Yan smiled at that.

"I'm from the Underworld. You could also say I'm opposed to the Overworld."

"And I happen to have a few special abilities. You should have seen them before. That makes it difficult for people to notice me, and even if they do, I can avoid danger. Naturally, I get to see and learn more than other people."

"Mm, that's true," Dan Heng said with a nod.

He knew that everyone had their own secrets and special abilities. The three of them were proof of that.

And the two who hadn't left the Astral Express, Himeko and Uncle Welt, were even more unfathomable.

After all, the Express had been broken, and Himeko was the one who repaired it.

Jing Yan was just as unusual, and he wasn't a native of this planet either. It made sense that he had some secret abilities.

Seeing that they had believed him for now and hadn't questioned him, Jing Yan was quite pleased.

He had told a little lie about this, but it was a white lie.

If he said too much, like revealing that he was an existence beyond the Eighteen Aeons, an Aeon of Eros, they might treat him like a monster and start doubting him.

There was no record of such a thing anywhere in the universe, and most people wouldn't believe it.

Besides, the Fragmentum Creatures appearing in Belobog's Overworld hadn't happened for no reason.

On the one hand, Cocolia's secret experiments had caused the Fragmentum to invade an area not far from here. On the other, Jing Yan had tried using his divine power to control the Fragmentum Creatures and discovered that he could.

So he had taken control of a few of the weakest Fragmentum Creatures, Frost Crystal Creatures, and used them to distract the Silvermane Guards.

"But the Eternal Freeze is coming, and the Fragmentum Creatures that come with it will be far more numerous than the few we've seen. There are many more Fragmentum Monsters in the Guard Restricted Zone."

At that, the three of them grew even more serious.

"So what should we do now?"

The three of them looked tense.

"Haha, it's fine. Relax," Jing Yan said with a laugh.

"There's no need to rush. Besides, you have plenty of allies. They're all down in the Underworld..."

Just then, a group of people hurried toward them from the distance.

The woman leading them had silver-gray hair and an elegant bearing. The silver-and-blue emblem fastened to her white dress marked her as someone of high status.

Her purple-blue earrings added a touch of grace.

It was Bronya.

Her gaze was distinctly hostile.

Even though the Fragmentum Creatures Jing Yan had stirred up had distracted the Silvermane Guards, Cocolia had still set her sights on the three outsiders here and sent Bronya to arrest them. ```