Jarilo-VI, Underworld
"Yeah, it was a close call! Luckily, I Sampo, had a brilliant idea: Hey! I don't need to be the main character, right? We can just play the clown in the mask."
"That's very much like your style, but if you ask me... it's not [ Elation ] enough. In the final battle, wouldn't it be more interesting to secretly help the Supreme Guardian than to lie around and do nothing?"
"You know, being too restrictive is a major taboo when it Elation!"
Hearing the mocking laughter coming from the screen, Sampo sighed helplessly.
Unpredictable and ruthless " Elation " is truly terrifying. "Miss Sparkle's pursuit of ' Elation '... Sampo can't say the same for you."
He got back to the point. "Aside from the somewhat perilous process, being tossed around like a kite by Chair Blake." Recalling the past, Sampo's face turned ashen.
"Haha~ I never thought you'd be used as a kite one day! It's a pity I wasn't there, otherwise... I would definitely have brought high-definition recording equipment to record it!"
"Miss Sparkle, please have mercy and stop making fun of me." Sampo shrugged; this was driving him crazy.
"Alright, let's change the subject~ When can we invite the mad Chair of the Church to the [ Tavern ]? I'd really like to meet him."
"I'm afraid Miss Sparkle will be disappointed; he has already gone back."
"Hmm~ Why would the Emanator of [ Eternity ] target Jarilo-VI? Don't speak yet, let me guess..." The girl's voice began to mutter to herself.
" Jarilo-VI, is a great calamity imminent?"
Sampo's lips curled into a smile; this amusing girl rarely guessed wrong. "Unfortunately. It seems Miss Sparkle hasn't had that much contact with [ Eternity ]."
Blake removed the snow from Jarilo-VI, and the frozen Antimatter Legion's Voidranger soldiers were also wiped out. It can be said that Jarilo-VI is the safest planet.
"Say what you will, the vast universe... sooner or later I will encounter an interesting [ Eternity ] traveler, maybe even Emanator. Seeing you having so much fun in Jarilo-VI, I am truly happy for you."
"If you run out of ideas, remember to contact me. I value relationships a lot."
Upon hearing Sparkle's sudden change in attitude, Sampo realized something was wrong.
"Forget it, just staying away from Belobog is already a huge help to me."
"Sigh~ They're all like that. Don't worry, I don't have the time to come here to play."
Sampo detected a hint of amusement in her voice, and he had a feeling that she was hiding something big from him.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Give my regards to the brothers and sisters at the Tavern, and don't forget to tell them... look forward to the next act by old Sampo!"
After hanging up the call, Sampo pulled out a brand-new Fool's Mask and an unopened milk tea, revealing a mysterious smile.
A note was attached to the back of the mask, with neat and clear handwriting, containing only one sentence:
[[ Eternity ] Never break your promise. As agreed, the mask is returned to you. You did a great job on that play. Looking forward to the next one!]
Um...
Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
Meanwhile, at the [ Tavern ] at the edge of the universe, Masked Fools named [ Sparkle ] takes out her phone and repeatedly watches a video sent to her by an anonymous user.
It's easy to see that this is surveillance footage... and it's been specially restored.
At first, Sparkle was puzzled as to who could have hacked into her contact information.
She tried to trace the source of the problem in reverse, but failed.
It was as if some unseen force was preventing her from doing so.
Unable to find anything, Sparkle wisely gave up. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at the latest message:
[ Interastral Peace Corporation ]
"The company?" Sparkle's eyes lit up; she sensed a strong sense of Elation in it and immediately started playing the video.
In the grayscale footage from the surveillance camera, only the back of a man can be seen; he is talking to his subordinate on the phone.
[... The Church possesses vital natural water resources; whoever secures them first will gain the upper hand in departmental competition. If the arrogant and disrespectful Chair and residents are unwilling to cooperate with the Market Development Department...]
[Perhaps, we could take over the administration of this world? Time is running out; we need to prepare sufficient military force to bring new civilization to this water city...]
[No, no... There is an Emanator stationed in the Church; we cannot rashly attack them. What should we do?]
bass!
Sparkle stood up, having somehow found a magnifying glass. She had to stand to see this top-secret image; even the Interastral Peace Corporation hadn't successfully repaired it yet.
Every Masked Fools in the [ Tavern ] was familiar with the attack on Oswaldo Schneider, the head of the Market Development Department at Interastral Peace Corporation. They even wanted to join the company's special investigation team, but were politely declined.
Sparkle took out a magnifying glass, not wanting to miss a single detail.
In the video, just as Oswaldo hung up the phone, a dark figure appeared behind him.
"Who is it...?!" Oswaldo instantly became alert, and didn't forget to take out the defensive weapon he was carrying.
Seeing the shadowy figure silently slip into the office, he belatedly realized that a terrifying thought had entered his mind, and he began to frantically run outside, preparing to sound the alarm.
The shadowy figure showed no fear; with a mere flick of the wrist, Oswaldo collapsed to the ground, rendered incapacitated.
"Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal."
"Friend, before the game officially begins, I'd like to ask you a question."
[ Eternity ] [ Trailblaze ] [ Elation ]... Which do you think is better?
After a burst of static, Oswaldo gave his answer. Sparkle, watching off-screen, was bewildered—why was there a mute?
"Very good answer, this is a gift for you."
All eight boxes of soap spilled out and hit Oswaldo on the head.
"You're from the Church..." Oswaldo hadn't finished speaking when the shadowy figure silenced him.
"Pfft! You guessed wrong."
A strange circus sound effect rang out. Before Oswaldo could react, the dark figure in front of him pulled out a small wooden stick and struck him unconscious with it.
Sparkle thought the video would end there, but it didn't.
The video continued to play. After confirming that Oswaldo would not wake up, the shadowy figure turned around and put all eight boxes of soap in the bathroom. Then, he took out a piece of paper, scribbled a few lines on it, and threw it next to him.
Sparkle was stunned. Was this some kind of crazy move?
"[ Eternity ] revenge, Aha!"
Sparkle fell into deep thought as she watched the dark figure relentlessly kicking Oswaldo's rear end.
I understand; some criminals have rather strange little quirks.
After beating up Oswaldo Schneider, Sparkle finally saw the true face of the shadowy figure as a light came on.
That's right, it's that God of Elation who's wearing Ye Yan's face. At this moment, she already considers Ye Yan to be the real culprit in this case.
Well... no one would send you this video for no reason; the other person must want you to do something.
Seeing Ye Yan's handsome face and the six words " Interastral Peace Corporation " sent by the anonymous account, Sparkle already had a plan in mind.
Wouldn't it be hilarious if she carefully edited the video, removed the unnecessary parts, and then sent it to the company's higher-ups?
Then Sparkle can also create an anonymous account, so they can't trace her back and can still have a lot of fun~ How wonderful!
In Kliperburg, the sounds of girls arguing echoed in the Supreme Guardian's office.
"...[priority]? What do you mean? Do you think the reconstruction of the Underworld towns is unimportant?" Seele leaned against the wall, her hands supporting her chest, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.
"No! Of course not... It's just that we have limited resources at our disposal right now. Chair Blake said that the Church's aid will have to wait a while, and we need to replan," Bronya retorted. Hearing this, Seele became even more displeased.
"Resources... planning... why do you always throw these kinds of words at me? Forget it, don't worry about it. Looks like I'll have to go down there myself... ah..." Seele's gaze was drawn to something in the sky.
"... Don't act rashly, Seele! I won't let you go..."
Seele pointed to a shooting star that was gradually disappearing into the distance, interrupting Bronya: " Bronya, look!"
Following Seele's gaze, Bronya's tone suddenly softened as she recalled her experiences over the past few days, letting out a sigh of emotion.
"They'll definitely encounter a lot of difficulties along the way, won't they?" Seele, one hand on her hip.
"Yes... it may be even more treacherous than the future we face. But we will definitely overcome the difficulties!"
Even if it means that disputes like this will continue indefinitely...
Seele scoffed, "... Hey, I'm pretty good at arguing. And this going on and on, wouldn't you say that's what Ye Yan always talks about, ' Eternity '?"
"I guess so... um?"
Bronya pressed her face against the window. " Seele, look there!"
Following Bronya's pointing finger, Seele saw Star and March 7th holding hands beautifully as they walked towards the [ Neverending ] mechanical house.
Seele, Bronya:...
"So they didn't leave after all?!"
"What was that streak of light that just rose in the sky...?"
Astral Express, Parlor Car
Hearing a loud bang outside the carriage, Himeko and Welt became alert again.
Last time this commotion attracted two [ Eternity ] Emanator, who knows what will happen this time.
With a bright flash, Dan Heng and Ye Yan were back inside the train.
"Cough!" Dan Heng almost lost his balance and nearly knelt down, but Ye Yan pulled him back in time.
"This method is a bit too primitive..." Dan Heng steadied himself and complained.
Just now, Ye Yan specially led him to an empty alley, and after taking a series of protective measures, he made a big jump, allowing Dan Heng to experience the feeling of high-speed ascent.
"Taking off from the spot, don't you think that's exciting?"
"Exciting as it may be, why don't you take March 7th and Xing to experience it for yourself?"
"It's not impossible."
Seeing the two chatting, Himeko and Welt seemed to understand something.
Is it taking off from Wuhu? That's interesting.
After chatting with them briefly, Ye Yan found Pom-Pom, who was cleaning the carriage.
"Oh, passenger Ye Yan, you're back."
Pom-Pom took the milk tea, which was about her size, and said, "You'd better not let me find any damage to the exterior of the train, Pam."
"If there were any damage, I reckon the Conductor would have been biting my trouser leg by now," Ye Yan joked. Just to be on the safe side, he offered the Conductor a cup of milk tea as a bribe.
"Shh! We're conducting a star orbit stability test, please don't interrupt!" Pom-Pom changed the subject and began checking the train's condition.
"Space readings... back to normal range! Orbit stability, 56%...57%... continuously rising!"
"The operating environment has reached a stable threshold! Train start permitted!" Pom-Pom turned around and took out a fragrant, crispy Pom Pom Pie.
" The Trailblaze mission has been successfully completed. The Astral Express Crew thanks you for your contributions! This is a reward card from passenger Ye Yan!"
"As for the train itself, Pom-Pom has conducted a thorough inspection from start to finish, and all equipment is functioning normally!"
"Hmm... As for souvenirs, considering that passenger Ye Yan has already given us Bobo Milk Tea, we don't need to give us any more!"
Looking at the large bundle of Belobog sausages in the system space, Ye Yan guessed that Pom-Pom wouldn't eat this stuff either. He'd save it for Mengming when he returned to Xianzhou Luofu, as it would help improve the performance of the [ Sleepless Earl ] teahouse.
Speaking of teahouses, I wonder how well Qingque is managing her milk tea shop...
But now is not the time to think about that; now is the time to slack off!
"So... can I go back to my room to rest now?"
"Okay, I approve!"
Before long, having finished exploring all the streets and saying goodbye to everyone, March 7th and Xing, after taking many commemorative photos, boarded the aircraft and returned to the carriage.
We're back!
Welcome home, everyone.
Seeing that everyone except Ye Yan had arrived, Himeko began her final summary.
" Himeko, Uncle Yang! The Trailblaze team's first mission has been successfully completed!" March 7th said, hands on her hips, extremely satisfied with the adventure!
"Although we weren't personally involved in this [ Trailblaze journey], the results alone show how hard everyone worked. Congratulations to everyone... especially Xing, everyone gave your debut very high praise."
"A piece of cake! So can I ask for a break next time?" Xing instantly became dejected.
"And then miss out on a fantastic adventure? I'm not sure you'd like that."
"Take a good rest on the train and relieve the fatigue you've accumulated on the Jarilo-VI. Look, even Ye Yan is exhausted and has gone back to his room."
The fact that Emanator tire out the Envoy shows how formidable the Supreme Guardian is; Welt knew without a doubt it would be a fierce battle.
" Uncle Yang, he's probably just lazy." March 7th was already used to Ye Yan's absence.
Welt got back to the main point. " Pom-Pom believes we should leave this region as soon as possible to avoid a recurrence of the recently alleviated spatial anomalies. Himeko and I both agree with the Conductor's view."
"In other words, we need to decide on our next destination as soon as possible."
"Is this the Path of the Nameless? Forever on the road, never ceasing the pace of [ Trailblaze ]... Wait! Doesn't that sound a bit like [ Eternity ]?"
"The case is solved. The [ Eternity ] Aeon is actually the [ Trailblaze ] Aeon."