Dania's Defeat

A heads-up before reading: This chapter includes explanations of some in-game timelines to help readers who haven't played the game or have skipped it understand the plot.

Nighttime, Lu Guan's dormitory.

[Ding! Dania's Affection Value +1]

"Darling~♡ Can you tell me... why... do you... smell like... Sigelika?"

Indeed, although Lu Guan didn't say it aloud, Dania still managed to smell her best friend Sigelika's scent on her boyfriend thanks to her keen sense of smell.

Faced with this probing question, Lu Guan could only helplessly say, "No matter how I answer, you'll always have an excuse to go into overtime, right?"

"Hmm~ You're pretty smart..."

"Unfortunately... I'll have to give up all those formalities from now on." A smile appeared on Lu Guan's lips; he already knew how to defeat the star-struck Dania.

As we all know, the human body has a limit to its capacity, but Dania, as Resonator of Aleph-1, can connect to the Void Matter space through Resonance Power... This is almost cheating!

However, as mentioned before, Dania resonates with Aleph-1 through Lu Guan, meaning that Lu Guan can sever her connection with the Void Matter space if he so desires.

The reason Lu Guan didn't do this before was mostly because he spoiled Dania. He figured it was just a matter of her being able to fully recover with a simple "Three Qi Return," so let her explode; she wouldn't die anyway.

But things are different now. If Dania continues to hold the reins, what will happen to my position in the family?

"What did you do?" Dania asked in surprise, realizing that her connection to the Void Matter space had been severed by an unknown force...

With her greatest reliance gone, Dania instantly went from hunter to prey. Having lost her connection with the Void Matter space, how could she possibly contend with Lu Guan, whose physique had been strengthened to an almost abnormal degree after absorbing multiple "Desolation"?

"Are you ready for my revenge, baby..." Lu Guan smiled slightly, taking advantage of Dania's panic to completely seize the initiative.

"Wait... I'm not doing this anymore... Let me leave..."

"So you're already thinking about running away? Oh, my dear Dania, I still prefer your old, rebellious self..."

Lu Guan smiled slightly, "I won't stop until I've satisfied you... so you'd better accept this with gratitude!"

[Ding! Dania's Affection Value +1]

[Ding! Dania's Affection Value +1]

[Beep! Notification: Dania's special defeat CG has been unlocked.]

The next day.

"Senior Lu Guan, where is Dania?"

"She didn't sleep well last night... so she took the day off today." Lu Guan shrugged. "I told you not to cram at the last minute, but she stayed up until four in the morning to prepare for an exam."

"Exams?" Sigelika tilted her head in thought, her face full of confusion. "But school has only just started, hasn't it?"

"Ahem... actually, it's the Black Shores's entry test." Lu Guan coughed twice, casually making it up. "Once she passes the test, Dania will be Black Shores's intern Bloom Bearer..."

"Wow, that's amazing! (✧_✧ԅ)!" Sigelika's eyes sparkled. "Yaya is working so hard behind the scenes! I need to work harder too, so I can become Six Seats of the Secret Sun as soon as possible..."

"Haha... Well then, senior, I wish you a successful landing." Lu Guan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, feeling that he would have a hard time keeping his composure if he continued.

It's important to know that... in the original game storyline, the Tunneler went to guard the Tunnel Gate for Solaris, so theoretically, there was no need for the Rinascita Royan Tribe's Six Seats of the Secret Sun to continue their lineage...

However, if it were now, Aleph-1 had already been escaped by Lu Guan, and the Tunneler probably wouldn't need to go outside to guard the gate anymore. As for the Six Seats of the Secret Sun... they should still exist, right?

Wait a minute!

Lu Guan suddenly thought of a problem: if Aleph-1 escaped because of his elbow, what would happen to Augusta ' closed loop?

Is there still "Farewell to the Star of the Long Voyage"?

Let's recap the timeline. Hundreds of years ago, the first Lament occurred in the Lahai-Roi region. Solaris had not yet been blockaded by the Sea of Stars. The Court of Savantae established the Tiancha Space Station near Solaris to study the "Sea of Stars Droplets" that existed at the time but had not yet covered Solaris.

At that time, the Lahai-Roi region was still a cold-temperate fjord suitable for human habitation, with vast forests covering the surface, where the nomadic Rinascita people lived and settled.

However, with the first recorded Lament of Lahai-Roi causing a change in the geomagnetic poles, Lahai-Roi became the new Solaris pole, covered by endless ice and snow. At the same time, the change in the magnetic poles also triggered the fall of near-Earth man-made objects, including the Tiancha Space Station.

A large number of satellite and space station debris fell on the ice sheet surface, and the Rinascita people were able to survive in the suddenly harsh environment by taking advantage of these debris. At the same time, the data left in the space station became the enlightenment of the Rinascita Royan Tribe's computing methods.

During this period, the Sea of Stars covered Solaris, blocking the path for human civilization to explore outwards.

Then came the second Lament after Aleph-1's arrival.

The Tunneler used by the Hé Civilization to transport the Sentinel was spotted by the Mech Abomination Aleph-1 while traveling to and from Solaris, and followed him to Solaris, triggering the second Lahai-Roi's Lament.

The Tunneler and the Threnodian fought fiercely on the ice plains, carving out an underground space. The Tunneler gradually became outmatched until Augusta used the Void Matter space to travel through time and resonate with it, thus using her sword to seal Aleph-1 behind the Tunnel Gate.

Afterwards, the Tunneler intended to wait and repair itself, but upon seeing countless Rinascita Royan Tribe figures, it realized that they would not be able to continue surviving due to the Void Matter and harsh environment caused by the battle.

With the power of the lover's underlying code, the Tunneler retrieved the "Furnace Heart" to illuminate the underground ice plains, while its own components formed Tunnel Cluster, creating an ecological environment suitable for human reproduction and survival. At the same time, it used its nervous system to form Sun Tree to seal the Tunnel Gate.

Thanks to the gifts of the Tunneler, the Rinascita people were able to develop civilization here, establishing mechanisms such as the Sunward Hall and the Six Seats of the Secret Sun to survey data related to the "Baldur" (Tunneler), including Furnace Heart, Tunnel Cluster, and Sun Sprite.

Then came the discovery of this place by the Pioneer Association. Because of past lessons, and to avoid the possibility of nomadic peoples being invaded by "developed regions," the leaders of the Pioneer Association chose to conceal this discovery.

However, leaks subsequently occurred within the Pioneer Association, and a large number of private scientific expeditions and investigation teams were dispatched to explore the area, attempting to preemptively claim the discovery of the "New World".

Some people who consider themselves from the "civilized world" view the Rinascita Royan Tribe as a backward tribe and do not intend to treat them according to the standards of the civilized world.

To prevent acts of aggression, the Black Shores chief intervened and brought the heads of state of various countries to the negotiating table, establishing the Polar Union (later renamed the Deep Space Union) and forming an alliance with the local Rinascita Royan Tribe.

Through subsequent joint research, information related to the Tunneler and the Tacet Discord of Nihility also emerged. When they learned that the underground Tunnel Gate could lead to space, their will to explore the universe was rekindled.

Since then, the Polar Union has been renamed the Deep Space Union and has launched a variety of programs, including the "Stardust Academy", the "Sun Replacement Project", and the "Eligible Candidate Project".

Then comes the main storyline we've all been waiting for... Augusta must cross the century-long boundary to resonate with the Tunneler during their final battle with the Threnodian Tunneler, so that Lahai-Roi can survive.

In other words, as long as Lahai-Roi exists, Augusta will inevitably have to travel to the past to resonate with the Tunneler...

"So now the question is..." Lu Guan rubbed his head in frustration, "Aleph-1 has already been sent flying by my elbow, and he probably won't be coming back. How will Augusta use the Void Matter space to go back and complete the closed loop? Or has Lahai-Roi's closed loop already been broken?"

Now it seems... the Tunneler wasn't exactly a master of borrowing money after all. Unable to win, he simply took out a huge loan, borrowing his future Resonator to seal Aleph-1, and then slowly began paying off the debt...

"Senior ( ๑ŏ ŏ๑ ), what's wrong?" Sigelika stepped forward and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing..." Lu Guan shook his head and opened the system interface.

Since Dania's special Oath reward is used to solve problems, then Augusta's Oath reward could be used for the same purpose as well...

[Augusta's Oath Rewards: Two extremely useful kidneys, the Tunneler's Blessing, and the Augusta's Resonance Ability.]

"I can understand the rest... but what the hell is this 'two extremely useful kidneys'?!" Lu Guan internally screamed. "What does this have to do with saving Augusta?!"