"So, what exactly happened at Arc-27?"
Having determined that Li Xingkong was not an enemy, the group turned their attention to Albert. Logically, they should have arrived at Arc-27 Star System long ago, but they were still in the system, which was quite strange.
It's a long story.
Albert gave a wry smile.
"In the original timeline, after separating from you, Shutra and I went directly to Arc-27."
"Although the scholar's defenses were tight, they weren't insurmountable with the two of us working together... After quickly devising a raid plan, we successfully brought the scholar out."
"But... the problem is, Xingci didn't tell the truth."
At this point, Albert did have a somewhat indescribable expression, perhaps because of his old friend's deception, or perhaps because he trusted her too much and acted too hastily in this matter.
"That scholar is a native of Arc-27, a local who has never stepped outside the star system. His so-called research is the culmination of hundreds of years of research by his lineage, and there is absolutely no question of him forcibly seizing or plundering what Xingci claims."
After Albert finished speaking, the others didn't show any change in expression. In fact, during the intelligence gathering over the past few days, and under Xingci's various surveillances of them, this suspicion had already been lurking in their hearts.
It was simply because of their long-standing friendship that they found it hard to believe.
Now that Albert had said it so definitively, they were relieved.
After all, he is the most sentimental person, and it would be difficult to persuade him based solely on intelligence if the facts were not presented to him.
"But... we're no longer the young people who spoke only out of passion and a sense of justice, are we?"
Albert gave a self-deprecating, bitter laugh.
"Although we knew kidnapping him was unethical, we still brought him back. Our original plan was to let him stay on the spaceship for a few days until the new era began, and then release him. But..."
" Xingci has indeed changed."
"Or rather, in her eyes, there is only Xingxi and her family; everyone else is merely a matter of value."
"I thought I could protect him well, but unfortunately, not long after we returned, he died in an accident."
"And the rest of us weren't much better off; we became frequent visitors to the bounty lists."
"Damn it, what happened to this guy?!"
Tataru was furious. She had come out of kindness to help, but how did it end up like this?
"Then let's not help her, let's go straight back!"
Albert shook his head; it was a bit too late to talk about this now.
"After the first timeline's tragic ending, I chose to start over. This time, we did indeed reject Xingci's proposal... However, what's far more troublesome than before is that her invitation to us already had a second layer of preparation."
"Oh? What preparations?"
"That's the magic within us."
Albert stretched out his hand, and a blue flame erupted, burning several feet high.
"For her, if there's no way to stop the progress of the Arc-27 research, then the only option is to find a new breakthrough based on this foundation."
"And a modification scheme that could grant someone the power to destroy the world..."
"So, by the time we arrived here, her goal had already been achieved."
"But can't you go back in time? Why don't we go back to before we came here?"
Tataru completely puzzled.
"That was originally how it was going to be, but an unexpected event occurred."
"She had been preparing for a long time and went directly to the messenger of the Axiom Arc. It just goes to show that powerful civilizations are indeed powerful; he only made a slight move, and we were utterly powerless to resist."
"My original plan was to escape by going back in time, but I didn't expect him to be so powerful. Even if I went back in time, it seemed to have a way to resist this kind of memory erasure."
"Like a hunting dog, he followed me closely, and no matter how I tried to trace back, he always found me."
"Although regression does affect it, it always remembers to come to me."
"So, through repeated backtracking, I finally found a crucial point: now!"
"The first time I met Mr. Li was when I first traveled back to this galaxy and was being chased by that person. Mr. Li intervened and stopped him. Although he couldn't capture him, he didn't get any advantage over Mr. Li either."
"But the good times didn't last long. Mr. Li couldn't stop the next team that arrived. However, Mr. Li from that timeline did tell me that he had been watching us since the very first day we logged in."
"So, at the end of that timeline, Mr. Li told me to come find him sooner, saying that would give me a chance... But frankly, I really didn't see any way to escape."
"That man was like a hound approaching from the future; I simply couldn't find a way to escape him."
For the first time, Albert felt somewhat powerless before the messenger of the Axiom Arc.
His biggest trump card, which had supported him all the way to this point, had been locked away in this way, leaving him feeling, for the first time in his life, utterly trapped with nowhere to turn.
Come find yourself sooner?
Li Xingkong really didn't expect that this idea was his own.
But what difference does it make whether you come early or late? Can you really expect to rescue someone from the clutches of Axiom Arc?
Although Li Xingkong has the bracelet given to him by Yan Jun, making him somewhat of an ally, it's unlikely that the bracelet alone carries that much weight.
Albert's ability to Traversal time has already been locked down by the people of the Axiom Arc. Even if he goes back to before he Kingdom of Fixed Light, he will still be found; it's just a matter of time.
There's only one way to get him out of this pursuit...
"Huh?"
Li Xingkong; if there was enough time, he seemed to actually have a solution.
Yan Jun had spoken to Li Xingkong about the time anomaly project in the Kingdom of Fixed Light, and had indeed recommended that he participate. Therefore, it's highly likely that Li Xingkong is already registered with the Axiom Arc.
Albert's abilities are also time-dependent; if, under the guise of the project, his true form were to take him away...
It does seem to be a way to escape.
As for why the physical body is needed, it's mainly because that bracelet is required as a witness.
Although Li Xingkong can now create things out of thin air, like a creator, that's only possible for things he has fully mastered the technology and principles of. There are still many things in this bracelet that Li Xingkong has never come into contact with, so it would indeed be difficult to forge one on the spot.
In comparison, it would be much simpler to have the main body and the Guapilong arrive in advance.
As for whether what Albert said was true or false, his direct calling out Li Xingkong's name was enough to prove it.