"Hmm... who are you, my darling?"
Boothill turned around and found himself in the empty VIP room. Could he be the bartender?
"Nice to meet you. Like Mr. Boothill, I am also Nameless newcomer to the Astral Express. You may call me [ Lycurgus ]." Ye Yan extended his hand to Boothill in a serious manner.
"Wait." Dan Heng stopped Boothill, then looked at Ye Yan: "What were the last things you said to me before I opened the sea in the Scalegorge Waterscape?"
"That sounds familiar... The questions the Astral Express Crew uses to test members' identities should be changed." Ye Yan didn't give the answer directly, but instead asked Dan Heng:
"Did we have any verbal exchanges before Mr. Dan Heng opened the fishing boats?"
It's me.
Hearing this, Dan Heng felt relieved, because Ye Yan was just sitting there drinking milk tea and watching the show.
"Wow, Brother Dan Heng, you're quite good at verifying identities."
Boothill had just finished praising someone when he frowned, realizing something was amiss. "This Lü something-goss doesn't seem to be on the Astral Express's roster. Brother Dan Heng, you haven't been tricked, have you?"
"Names and identities don't matter, Mr. Boothill. After all, this is our first meeting, so... I want to leave a lasting impression on both of us, isn't that interesting?"
Ye Yan's tone suddenly became deep and somber, completely unlike his previous one.
"Oh... right, these two bottles of [ Asdana White Oak ] are a small gift for us." Under Boothill's gaze, Ye Yan took out two oversized bottles of liquor.
The moment Boothill saw the two bottles of [ Asdana White Oak ], he understood:
"Damn it, that Garden of Recollection actually uses the middleman trick to make a profit, they even hired an informant, and it just so happens to be Nameless. What a small world."
"Are Himeko and Mr. Welt alright?" Dan Heng asked.
"Excellent! To make a long story short, I'll just leave it at that and you two can go in and see for yourselves."
Ye Yan unleashed a [ Gate of Myriad Paths ] that led directly to the milk tea shop, then swiftly left the scene.
"Wait, this guy just disappeared like that? He seemed to be in a hurry..." The process happened so fast that Boothill didn't have time to react.
Before entering the [ Gate of Myriad Paths ] left behind by Ye Yan, Dan Heng and Boothill resumed their earlier conversation about the Aeon and Path.
"But I believe that Akivili's fall was also a precious legacy He left for the Nameless."
"Oh, I guess it's because after losing their [absolutely correct] leader, the Nameless have to take responsibility for their choices?"
"Yes," Dan Heng nodded, "I believe the meaning of a journey is not about finding an absolutely correct path..."
Rather, it is to strive, among countless paths, to choose [the one that suits oneself] based on one's limited knowledge and judgment.
Boothill's gaze towards Dan Heng shifted slightly; the Nameless were all people with stories to tell...
"Although I don't know what you've been through, I agree that people must take responsibility for themselves, and no one can do that for you."
"That's why the Galaxy Ranger must find that imposter herself... and figure out what she's up to."
"Just in case, if the Memokeeper never appears, I have a backup plan... This is the last one."
There's no rule saying you can only have one backup plan, so having more backups is always a good thing.
"I'm actually not very good at roundabout ways. If I could go back to my old profession, many things would become much simpler." Boothill smiled wickedly, looking at Dan Heng:
"Brother Dan Heng, you took a walk around the hotel earlier. Did you see any guests, or guests, of particularly distinguished status?"
Dan Heng immediately guessed the details of Boothill's plan, "... What do you want to do?"
"It's simple. We just need to quietly take a few hostages, and everything else will be easy. We can use them to negotiate with the Family, or we can take their identities—"
"No need, let's go in now." Dan Heng immediately rejected Boothill's plan. Were all the Galaxy Ranger this reckless?
"What! Are you scared, brother? Pull out your gun, we're about to pull off something big! Hey, hey, just kidding, let's go."
Golden Hour, Oti Mall
After passing through the Gate of Myriad Paths, Dan Heng and Boothill arrived at a milk tea shop.
"Why did that guy take us to the bubble tea shop? And he didn't even come with us." Boothill was confused and looked at the blue-purple-haired employee not far away.
"Wow, there are still employees working at this hour, that's quite dedicated!"
"Greetings, you two. I am Acheron."
Acheron stood up and walked towards Boothill and the other person.
"What?!" Boothill's eyes widened in shock, and in a split second he drew his gun and pointed it at Acheron. "Holy crap—so you're Acheron?!"
"I'm sorry, this is my request. For some reason, I was banished by Penacony, but fortunately, this Nameless accompanied me, which gave me the opportunity to quietly escape the control of my the Family."
"I asked him to go to a place outside the Family's sight and contact a few trustworthy people, which means you all."
Acheron said honestly, but Boothill clearly didn't believe him.
"Trust? Haha, hahahahaha... Cutie, do you think I'm crazy or stupid? Isn't this bubble tea shop in Penacony?"
"How about this, let me make a few holes in you first, see what's hidden inside, and then we can talk about trust..."
Acheron remained calm and continued, "There's no need for that. I'll tell you everything you know, but not now... If my identity hadn't been exposed, perhaps we'd have more time, but for now, this is all we can do."
"Only? What do you mean, only?"
"Mr. Boothill, as you may have guessed... I've been waiting for you. The Galaxy Ranger are elusive and rarely interact with each other, so please forgive me for having to contact you in this way."
"Only in this way can I find the true Galaxy Ranger. And only in this way can I fulfill a long-standing promise... to return [his] second relic to its rightful owner."
Meanwhile, seeing Ye Yan reappear before them, Sunday and Robin fell into deep thought.
"Coming and going like the wind, Mr. Ye Yan is truly free and unrestrained."
"Mr. Sunday worked tirelessly day and night for the Charmony Festival, and now this unexpected tragedy has befallen him. As Nameless, I feel deeply sorry for him, so I specially bought him a gift. I hope you like it."
Ye Yan got into the zone and pulled out a sparkling bottle of bubble tea from his pocket.
"Hehe, it's alright." Sunday chuckled and handed the cup of milk tea to Robin. " The Charmony Festival was originally intended to enhance the happiness and harmony of the Milky Way, but now that we know the truth, it's time to stop it."
"Our wish, as siblings, is for everyone to be happy... Therefore, we will try our best to persuade the Dream Master. If we explain the situation clearly, the Dream Master should be able to understand."
Even if the negotiations don't go as planned... I will refuse to go on stage. Without the [ Tuner ], the [ The Choir ] would never have been born, and the ceremony would just be an ordinary performance.
Upon hearing this, Ye Yan finally felt relieved and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
"Seeing your determination, I'm relieved... Ah, I'm feeling a little tired."
Let Him run between reality and dreams, and then He'll have to extort a hefty sum from [ the Harmony ] Xipe.