For Aha's Sake, Dude, You're Actually Serious!

As Jiang Yu looked at the message from a stranger on his phone, ripples of doubt stirred in his mind.

For a moment, he genuinely had no idea how to judge whether the message was real.

The stranger claimed to be Aha and invited him to the Tavern for a drink.

If this really was Aha, and the invitation to the Tavern was meant to make him a Masked Fool, wasn't an invitation this obviously fake, like an incompetent scam, a little too pathetic?

But if he dismissed it as spam... the sender claimed to be Aha, so this seemingly crude, blunt invitation was perversely bizarre enough to fit the god of amusement's style perfectly.

Jiang Yu's mind raced.

If this really was Aha, an invitation resembling a low-grade scam would inevitably make him wonder whether the message was fake.

If the sender was a scammer, however, the clever setup made him unable to help feeling a little hopeful-receiving an Aeon's gaze meant either soaring to greatness or becoming a laughingstock. This would be one hell of a gamble.

But that raised a question: why would Aha invite him?

Surely it couldn't be because, while wandering around the universe, Aha had happened to see him crash into the space station on his flying sword and found it amusing?

After turning it over in his mind several times, Jiang Yu decided on a compromise.

He would both believe and disbelieve the message.

Jiang Yu treated the sender as a Masked Fool looking for amusement. Perhaps the fellow was at the Tavern right now, showing his phone screen to his colleagues and confidently providing them with entertainment as he said, "Look, I caught a little sucker!"

The Masked Fools enjoyed seeking amusement. Jiang Yu didn't know what methods they used, but getting his phone number probably wasn't a problem.

Jiang Yu felt his theory was perfectly sound.

So he replied:

"For Aha's sake! Has your Tavern really gotten this bored?"

The sender replied with a "?"

Jiang Yu gave a crooked grin, feeling he had seen right through the other party, and continued:

"This trick is way too pathetic. I'd sooner believe I'm Black Marshal than believe you're Aha!"

The reply came quickly: "What's Black Marshal?"

"The Aeon of Nihility, IX!"

"..." The sender quickly sent an ellipsis, then followed it with words expressing just how delighted he was. "Hahahahaha! Black Marshal! What a wonderful name! Can someone as cold as THEM really have such an adorable nickname? My stomach hurts from laughing!"

After finishing his laughter, the sender messaged him again.

"For Aha's sake! You're so talented! Please, you simply must come to the Tavern for a chat. We'll have so much in common!"

Clearly, Jiang Yu's sarcastic mockery hadn't discouraged the sender. Instead, it had only made the fellow on the other end double down.

Jiang Yu seemed to have thoroughly caught his attention.

Jiang Yu felt rather speechless... then typed:

"Whether you're Aha, a Fool, or some clever scammer, send me a photo first so I can see what you've got."

"No problem!" The reply was swift, followed immediately by a photo.

Jiang Yu opened the photo and saw the boundless universe and a sky full of starlight. A sudden burst of laughter rang out in his mind, instantly tearing through all his reason and mental defenses!

The Blue Planet and Herta Space Station appeared in the photo. A blurred figure stood in space. Jiang Yu couldn't make out his face, only a smile that kept swelling and receding within the indistinct silhouette.

Candy, toys, balloons... bizarre, circus-like colors and decorations. A magic box opened, releasing hunched, bowing playing cards, while a banana-shaped moon wept atop a spring; the centers of flowers became eyes, and a flying Jimi sprouted long, sculpted legs; a horn grew a horse's body and an owl's head, and a wallet became a mouth spitting out coins!

The meaning of all things gave way to taciturn nihility, and coldness forged the end of the universe. How utterly boring! Joy, anger, sorrow, contemplation, resentment, obsession, madness... every emotion was here, stirring the cold universe into an ocean of chaos. All manner of masks erupted from that ocean and began to dance merrily!

The next moment, all reason returned to its starting point.

The system's voice sounded in his mind at just the right moment.

[Ding! Aha has provided the host with a portion of power. Please choose whether to use it.]

Jiang Yu didn't immediately make arrangements for that power. His eyes were bloodshot and wide, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead, as though he had yet to recover from those bizarre, chaotic visions.

Holding his phone, his heart full of shock, he quickly typed a message.

"For Aha's fucking sake! You're actually real!"

Aha still replied instantly: "For Aha's fucking sake! I'm actually real!"

As if Aha was also shocked to discover that HE really was Aha.

Aha followed up with more messages.

"Go ahead and use it, my friend. What's so great about someone as boring as Black Marshal? I look forward to the day you come to the Tavern. I'll personally mix you a drink. What do you think of grinding the shells of Tayzzyronth's offspring into powder and adding some bitter medicinal herbs?"

"I think it would be better for rubbing on your body." Jiang Yu considered the question very seriously before replying.

"Great idea! I'll steep it in liquor today. Once I've used it for a spa treatment, I'll tell you how it feels, my friend."

That was the last thing Aha said in this conversation.

The next moment, Jiang Yu saw two lines of small text pop up beneath the chat window.

"This account has been disabled after reports from multiple users."

"Stay vigilant, resist temptation, and do not readily trust messages from strangers. If you haven't yet installed our software, please download it promptly.-This message was brought to you by the Interastral Peace Corporation's anti-fraud app."

"Nice."

Looking at the inexplicably familiar message, Jiang Yu let out that remark.

Then he opened the Evernight Marquis group chat and sent a message there.

"Boss Mengming, Mr. Xiyan, I've arrived safely at my destination, and I've made some new friends too. Once I'm back on the Xianzhou, I'll bring them to the Evernight Marquis for tea and storytelling!"

Mengming and Mr. Xiyan were probably busy at the moment, as neither replied immediately.

Jiang Yu then put away his phone and set off to find the other members of the Astral Express Crew.

He had already decided how to use the power Aha had given him.

With the system, he could keep growing stronger simply by increasing his popularity. The power Aha had given him was really only useful for emergencies and showing off.

Showing off could increase his popularity. When the Doomsday Beast arrived, the stellaron inside Stelle would go berserk because of Nanook's fleeting gaze. That would be the perfect time to use Aha's power.