"By the way, do you know Vita?"
"Vita? Nope~ Why, is she a Masked Fool too?"
Sparkle grew a little interested.
Whether a girl Lingchen brought up was interesting remained to be seen, but she was bound to be pretty.
"Does she like role-playing as much as Sparkle does?"
"She's a master director, just like you.
She enjoys all kinds of performances-a true bad girl."
If he could, he also wanted to try hoisting Vita's legs onto his shoulders and feeling their weight.
With the Path of [Remembrance], Lingchen could tell Sparkle was speaking the truth.
According to the original story, Sparkle had most likely met Vita before Welt left the solar system and entered the galaxy.
From the look of things, Sparkle had not been there yet.
But according to what he had learned while gaming with Silver Wolf, the Trailblazer would soon be born. In other words, Welt had arrived in the galaxy long ago.
So reality really did differ from the game.
In fact, he had noticed that difference when Fuli, the Aeon of [Remembrance], took an interest in that particular memory in his mind.
After all, a memory obtained by a Memokeeper was as good as a memory obtained by Fuli. If Fuli did not have it, that could only mean the solar system was still enveloped in an imaginary belt.
Lingchen felt his arrival in this world probably had something to do with it. A butterfly effect would hardly be surprising.
That was what Lingchen thought.
Perhaps he could go take a look himself someday.
"Ooh~ So you think Sparkle is a bad girl too~"
"No, you're a little brat."
"That's way too big a difference! How could a brat be as cute and charming as the great Sparkle? I'm going to get mad."
"No way, no way. A Fool of a thousand faces, playing through life without a care-the adorable Lady Sparkle wouldn't get angry over a little role like that, would she?"
"Hmph, who knows?"
Sparkle flitted like a dancing butterfly, darting in front of Lingchen one moment and behind him the next.
"By the way, can Lady Sparkle stay on your other side? We do need to nurture our feelings, after all."
"Sure."
That way, someday, Lingchen could claim he had walked into the wrong room.
"Yay~! Will you make Lady Sparkle move out in the future?"
Sparkle cheered and skipped along behind Lingchen with her hands behind her back. Her twin tails bounced with every step, and the bells all over her jingled.
"When you want to leave the Xianzhou.
Or when you go looking for fun."
Lingchen's steps remained steady, his voice as calm as ever.
"What if Lady Sparkle comes back? Wherever you are, Lady Sparkle will go there too, after all."
Sparkle quickened her pace for a couple of steps, came up beside Lingchen, and looked at him playfully.
Lingchen slowly lowered his head, a smile on his lips.
"I promise I'm never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you, never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."
"So darling knows about the pop superstar from the Epsilon XII system too."
"I thought you'd dislike me quoting someone else~"
"How could I? As long as darling says it, Lady Sparkle loves hearing it, and she'll take it seriously.
But Lady Sparkle was crying just a moment ago~"
"Really? But from what I saw, you were clearly smiling the whole time. You never stopped."
Their voices grew fainter and fainter. Fu Xuan's residence was unexpectedly large.
"Little Elena, I'm entrusting this visit to the Xianzhou Luofu to you.
Investigate why the Imaginary Wall appeared and disappeared, ascertain why that [Remembrance] lotus appeared, and find the [Elation] Emanator staying on the Luofu. Ask whether he is willing to join the Interastral Peace Corporation."
Just as the Corporation had people from the Luofu, the Luofu had people from the Corporation.
Lingchen had lived on the Luofu for over five months. Every day, he would spend time with Tingyun, Fu Xuan, or Qingque, and occasionally visit Yukong and Bailu. Otherwise, he drank tea, took his bird out, and listened to storytelling. There was no way he could have left no trace.
Thus, a report about an [Elation] Emanator staying on the Luofu for the beauty of its young women was submitted.
At first, the Corporation's upper management thought the report was a joke and even demoted the person who submitted it. Only later did they discover it was true.
Now that was interesting. The Corporation had no shortage of beautiful women either, after all. In that case, why couldn't they win him over?
The Corporation could promise him a host of wives and concubines, a higher position, and greater authority.
"Yes, Madam Jade. But why was I chosen? May I ask?"
She had little to complain about regarding the complexity of the assignment. She was already used to that.
But Topaz's face was full of curiosity over why they had picked her. As she held Zhang Zhang, her restless hands kneaded his ears.
"And you're actually sending our Strategic Investment Department."
"None of the other departments are suitable. Think about what their work entails."
Topaz thought it over carefully. That was true. The Talent Incentive Department had disagreements with their department. The Construction Materials Logistics Department, Business Consolidation Department, and Technology Research and Development Department were clearly unsuitable as well. As for the Market Development Department... its reputation was even worse.
"But there are other members of the Ten Stonehearts. Why pick me?"
"I have a debt to collect soon. Pearl is an Intellitron, so she isn't suitable. You know what Amber's personality is like, and as for the others... sigh. You've read the information on that new [Elation] Emanator, haven't you?"
Jade looked helpless. The ten members of the Strategic Investment Department each had their own personality, but the person in question was an [Elation] Emanator. Though he seemed rather interested in feminine beauty, she refused to believe there was nothing else wrong with his head.
Who could become Aha's Emanator without having a screw loose?
"D-don't tell me you want me to..."
Topaz's eyes widened. It seemed the Corporation wanted to use beauty to acquire an Emanator.
Could even someone at her level be sacrificed?
Of course.
Topaz answered herself inwardly. She was merely a somewhat bigger cog in the machine. Compared with an Emanator, what was she worth?
"You can give it a try, but only a try. Your own future matters most." Jade shook her head. "The Corporation hasn't issued any absolute orders. After all, with an [Elation] Emanator, far too much can go wrong."
P.S. Thanks to 18981.. for the monthly ticket.
Please send some engagement my way.
Chapter 54: Ms. Herta, I can't do it!
"So, in other words, this time you're really just having me make initial contact with this Mr. Lingchen, while the Imaginary Wall is the main priority?"
Topaz finally understood.
Clearly, the Corporation had never expected to bring Lingchen into its fold in one go. They merely wanted her to try.
After all, the Ten Stonehearts were quite important themselves.
Without a guaranteed chance of success, and if Topaz herself was not interested in him, they would be better off simply building goodwill.
After all, if Topaz refused and they were forced together, it would probably alienate Lingchen too.
"Exactly. So don't worry. Just think of this as a company-paid vacation to the Luofu."
Though they called it an investigation, Jade did not think Topaz would uncover much information.
After all this time, the Luofu was certain to have made preparations of its own.
"Ah, I'd actually like to go too. Unfortunately, I'm a man."
"Hmph. Anyone can make glib remarks."
From the tone alone, Topaz knew who had arrived.
Topaz shot an annoyed glance at the garishly dressed Aventurine.
"Watch out. Those stocks you recently invested in might crash."
"All right, Topaz. Hand your current project over to Aventurine for now and get ready to leave."
"Yes, Madam Jade."
"A newly emerged [Elation] Emanator, the sudden appearance and disappearance of the Imaginary Wall, a crystal lotus of the Path of [Remembrance]... sigh. Ms. Herta either never contacts me, or dumps something like this on me when she does."
Inside Herta Space Station, a pink-haired girl held her forehead, staring helplessly at the last message on her phone.
[That's everything. Investigate it and message me when you have results.]
The message was brief and irresponsible.
Farther down was: '[[Automatic reply] Hello, I'm currently busy and unavailable. I won't be contacting you later, either.]'
She was not even willing to log into a puppet.
"How am I supposed to investigate something like this for you?"
She was the lead researcher of Herta Space Station, and everyone currently aboard was a researcher. Surely she couldn't send Arlan to investigate.
Even setting aside whether the Luofu would agree, Herta Space Station could not do without Arlan for its security.
But Herta had done her an enormous kindness. Although Herta herself might not care much about it, she could not simply ignore it.
It was just...
"Ms. Herta, I really can't do it..."
Asta wanted to cry, but had no tears.
Clearly, Herta was mildly interested, but not all that interested. Her mind was almost entirely on her own experiments, so she had passed the matter off to Asta.
But she couldn't simply go straight to the Luofu.
"Forget it. The Astral Express will come here to resupply in two months. I'll ask them then. If they don't know, so be it."
"Marshal, have you made your preparations?"
General Huaiyan asked one final question:
"I have long since made mine, but doing this could very well cause unrest throughout the Xianzhou."
At that moment, the Xianzhou's generals, along with its High Elders, were holding a secret conference.
The generals were actually far more united than outsiders imagined.
"We should have acted long ago. Apparently, the lesson Lingchen taught them last time wasn't enough. They're still making trouble."
Heavenly Strike General Feixiao spoke with her arms folded.
"General Feixiao, you've exchanged contact information with this Mr. Lingchen. What do you think of him?"
General Rongtao suddenly spoke.
"Huh? You're asking me?" Feixiao pointed at herself with a puzzled expression, then added in confusion, "I recall Fu Xuan of the Fu family is much closer to Lingchen. Wouldn't asking her get you more information?"
"If you ask me, he's a pretty good guy. I like him, and he's strong too. I'll definitely go spar with him when I get the chance."
Among those old fossils, quite a few looked down on her origins and mocked her behind her back. She had even personally caught several trying to impeach her.
This time, Lingchen had truly helped her vent her anger.
"General Yaoguang, could it be that even you are unable to learn this Mr. Lingchen's origins?"
General Huaiyan asked.
"Correct. I summoned Fu Xuan back this time because there are some things I need to ask her.
I'm very interested in this Mr. Lingchen."
Yaoguang rubbed her chin as she thought about Lingchen. Unfortunately, her projection did not reveal much of her expression.
"Still, from what we've seen so far, this gentleman's combat prowess is certainly impressive."