Star Rail: Can't I Just Peacefully Do Commissions? Chapter 32

"Who?!" Seven.

Chapter 066: Response of the Third Time Beacon.

Emotional Value +75, From Himeko's Path of Joy emotions and Welt's broken-defense emotions.

Normally, Welt wouldn't be so impolite as to judge by appearance, but… there were a few names that naturally fell into the category of unusual circumstances.

For example, a male acquaintance with blonde hair.

And another female acquaintance with blonde hair.

The former was named Otto, and the latter was Cocolia.

The shadow that man cast over him was so profound that even mentioning his name today still gave him a bit of PTSD.

As for that woman, she had overturned so many of his common sense assumptions, making him truly understand what a "pig teammate," a "backstabber," and… pure "beast" meant.

She single-handedly orchestrated the deaths of 4.5 million people in Changkong City and forced Bronya to betray them during the Fourth Honkai Outbreak, which led to the escalation of the situation and caused a large number of casualties. Honestly, sometimes he really couldn't understand Cocolia's thought process. She'd talk about "for the children" one moment, then turn around and use her own child as a test subject, shoving chips into her child's head.

He was also a parent himself. He genuinely couldn't imagine any reason he'd have to shove such inexplicable things into little Qiao's head…

"Surprised, Old Man Yang?"

"Your taste in surprises always makes it difficult for me to adapt."

After explaining the actual situation of the Belobog trio to the approaching Old Man, Welt felt a sense of relief. Hearing Shirou talk about Cocolia, she was still terrible, but considerably more restrained than the one from his hometown. At least this one was still somewhat human.

"No, why did you revive her?"

Suddenly, Welt looked at Shirou with confusion.

"What good does reviving this woman do for you?"

"Her daughter and best friend asked me to."

"…That makes sense. You're always like this. So, she won't be able to live in Belobog anymore, will she?"

"Indeed. That's why I've arranged for her to go to the Flame-Chaser organization and see if she can find a new job."

"A new job, alright… Huh? Wait, where did you just say?"

Old Man pushed his glasses up his nose, as if he thought he was hearing things. What term did this brat just mention?

"Flame-Chaser?"

"Yes."

"Is it the one I know?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be."

The two stared at each other for a good while before Welt couldn't help but chuckle. Welt couldn't help but pat his forehead, feeling a bit like he had a nervous breakdown.

"Although we did manage to contact Earth, it's a shame the timing seems off."

After a moment of silence, Shirou explained to Welt.

"That side is currently in the period of the Sixth Honkai Outbreak of the Previous Civilization. There's only Kevin as a Flame Chaser. If you insist on finding someone you know there, it'll probably only be Fu Hua, who is currently only sixteen years old."

"A sixteen-year-old Fu Hua."

Welt fell silent, rubbing his forehead.

"Although she's always looked young, it's true… she's spent fifty thousand years alone."

"So, are we still going?"

"We are going."

The old man nodded firmly, his expression full of resolve. "Although there's no one I know there… isn't Honkai still there?"

When he said this, Shirou's eyes involuntarily trembled. After a long pause, he smiled.

"Your words today get a perfect score."

"I can send you there, but you should understand that the situation in the Previous Civilization differs from the current one. Without the sacrifice of the Human Herrscher of the Previous Civilization, the Herrschers of the current civilization wouldn't be able to maintain their rationality. Without the Previous Civilization's desperate effort to install the AI Prometheus into the Cocoon of Finality, the Herrscher projections of the current civilization wouldn't be so fixed."

"In other words, you'll be facing a brand-new version you've never encountered before."

"But we've also come through it this way before."

"Then I'll send you there first. Himeko, I've found a new world here. Do you want to come take a look?"

"A new world? Sure. It just so happens that the Astral Express needs to collect some fuel."

As Aevium's legacy, the Astral Express's space-warping capabilities were second to none in the universe. However, the consumption of this performance was also quite special and could only be replenished through the act of "Trailblaze." This was why the Astral Express had connected the vast and boundless universe in just a few hundred thousand years.

The compass of destiny pointed in three directions: Unknown, Known, and Unknowable.

One could endure the "Unknown," but one could never yield to the "Unknowable."

Every new planet, every new journey, a race never encountered before, a language never heard…

This thirst for knowledge formed the cornerstone of the Trailblaze Path.

Himeko, being chosen by the Astral Express, naturally possessed this desire for knowledge, just as her ultimate skill voice line stated, "Humanity has never concealed its desire to master the starry sky, and of course, neither have I..."

"Not just Earth? It seems the ability Herta helped you develop before yielded good results?"

Welt had some understanding of the Nen ability developed by Shirou Emiya. By randomly releasing a beacon to lock onto a target, once a sentient life form was confirmed, he could then contact them, and through that Nen ability, eventually master their coordinates.

"It's indeed quite good."

After adding three proficiency cards to the Nen ability, his understanding of the ability's optimization direction seemed to have deepened. Although he couldn't give a precise numerical value for now, these cards were like deleting a lot of useless programs from a mountain of messy code.

Not only did the range of the spacetime beacon's spread increase, but the coordinate system's feedback also became faster. He even had some ideas for the Nen Beast "Servant" he had envisioned, as if he had suddenly swallowed a piece of Nzt-48, and his mind became much clearer.

"It's just a pity that the hit rate of the beacon is still too low. In such a vast universe, the person who could find my beacon is truly..."

[Suspicious, Arl, we should get rid of this thing sooner rather than later.]

[But, brother, it seems we are actually transmitting voice to them.]

[That doesn't matter... Hey, hey, hey, I don't know what god, devil, or anything else you are, but we have no intention of communicating anything with you.]

Hearing the voice from the other side, Mr. Shirou Emiya couldn't help but chuckle. He transmitted a thought-message to them through his Nen energy, [Shorty?]

[Who are you calling a shorty?! You damn guy, who are you?!]

[I am the one who can truly help you revive your mother.]

[...We will never touch that taboo again! Listen, no matter who or what force you represent, I swore before that guy that I would never participate in such taboo human transmutation again in this life!]

[Really? Even if your brother remains forever trapped in armor form?]

[I will find a way to help Arl regain his body, you don't need to interfere.]

[I see, still hoping for a Philosopher's Stone?]

[You know about the Philosopher's Stone?]

[As a gesture of goodwill, the so-called Philosopher's Stone is piled up like mountains beneath the ground of Amestris, but... there are formidable monsters down there.]

Chapter 067: Reply from the Fourth Spacetime Beacon.

"You found another new world?"

Welt looked at Shirou, who had suddenly interrupted the conversation and fallen into a daze, and couldn't help but ask.

After finishing the conversation with the Elric brothers, Shirou heard Welt's question and nodded.

"A world where alchemy is very advanced. People can directly mobilize the planet's crustal energy to perform 'alchemy.' Water, fire, wind, thunder, and ice are naturally not a problem. Steel and alloys can also be manipulated if the principles are understood. Excellent alchemists can form their own armies, which bears some resemblance to your previous authority."

"However, the civilization there is still stuck in the Middle Ages. No dangerous fellows have discovered things like the Axis Element yet. At most, they can only create things like anti-aircraft guns, thermobaric bombs, poison gas shells, and white phosphorus shells."

"Oh? Directly using crustal energy? It sounds like it has universal applicability?"

"You'll know when we get there. It should take about two to three weeks."

"Not too slow."

Unlocking another new world, Shirou's face showed a hint of joy. Although it wasn't a particularly valuable world, he was quite interested in their world's "Gate of Truth."

He felt it was somewhat similar to the situation with the Counter Force, but he would need to go to that world to observe further.

Moreover, there were quite a few regrets in the work "Fullmetal Alchemist." For Mr. Shirou, the line "Big Brother, let's play" had almost become one of his childhood traumas.

Regardless of whether he gained anything in that world, he had to summon his fists in their attack form and beat that scum, who was worse than a beast.

"I was just saying how difficult it is for beacons to land precisely in anyone's hands, and then this happens right in front of me..."

As he spoke, Shirou couldn't help but laugh. Welt also chuckled, but the moment he smiled, Shirou's smile froze again. Welt's expression also stiffened instantly...

No way?

[Princess, this thing is very suspicious and definitely not from Teyvat's technology. Perhaps we should experiment with it first.]

[Stand down, I am more familiar with this thing than you are.]

[But Princess, we must be vigilant against anything from outside Teyvat. The Scarlet King of the past was tainted by taboo...]

[It's fine, and I've already connected to them... If you can hear me, please respond, friend of unknown origin.]

Shirou fell silent for a moment, then looked at Welt seriously. He suddenly felt that this old man also seemed to possess some kind of inexplicable luck.

"Did it really hit again?"

Welt asked in disbelief. Shirou nodded silently.

"Should we go buy an Interstellar Lottery today?"

"Then let's go buy two tickets at the Herta Space Station now?"

"Let's go!"

"Wait for me to reply to a message first."

After saying that, he walked to a nearby sofa and began replying to the message.

[Lumine?]

[It's me, who are you?]

[Shirou Emiya, a Nameless.]

[A Nameless who Trails?]

Good heavens, Lumine actually knows about Trailblaze and Nameless? But thinking about it, these two siblings are indeed travelers within the Seelie system's universe. And before arriving in Teyvat, they were outside that false starry sky. It's possible they've wandered the galaxy before, and it's even highly likely that they both possess a Path.

[I didn't expect you to be able to contact us here. Has your Aeon returned?]

[It seems you know quite a bit of common knowledge. But unfortunately, Aevium has not returned; rather, the current Navigator has inherited His legacy.]

[I see. My brother and I also once admired the Nameless. It's just a shame we might not have the unwavering will to attract the Aeon's legacy like your current Navigator.]

[It's not too late now. Do you want to join? The Astral Express.]

[Have your Star Rails been laid beyond Teyvat? Although the administrator here doesn't possess the might of an Aeon, they wield power comparable to an Emissary beneath this false starry sky.]

[Since I can contact you through this Beacon, I naturally have a way to bypass the Heavenly Principles' surveillance. You just need to answer whether you want to join the Astral Express crew.]

[Not for now. I must wait for my blood relative to complete an important matter, and after we defeat an important enemy together, we can liberate this false starry sky.]

[An individual comparable to an Emissary? Do you truly have a way to defeat them?]

[I have already found that possibility, but I am not complete now. Only after my blood relative completes her journey through the Seven Nations can we truly reclaim our Path.]

Pathstriders as well? Come to think of it, that makes sense. Imaginary energy, Light-world power, and Elemental power are all layers of descending energy, but their fundamental source is still the endless Imaginary Energy.

However, given the way these two siblings operate, Shirou can't quite figure out what Paths they might walk.

Destruction? They don't seem that extreme.

Joy? I haven't seen them seeking pleasure.