She'd long heard that Lady Herta would do anything for a topic she was interested in—now she saw it firsthand.
After a moment's hesitation, Yukong spoke.
"Lady Herta, it's said that you've completed the formula for reversing aging, but age still continues to increase. So I'm really curious about your mindset… well, forget it."
The more she said, the more off-topic it got, so Yukong stopped herself.
"…So, will you agree or not?"
--------------------------
"No."
"Sigh, you people are really no fun." Herta let go of the fabric and spoke indifferently: "Don't you realize how much impact that big guy could have on the entire universe? A being like him might not appear even once in thousands of years. And now, that chance is right in front of me. You think I'd just give it up!?"
"If that guy weren't so good at fighting, I'd have dragged him into my lab already."
Herta said helplessly.
If she really had a way, she wouldn't have come to Yukong.
She once tried to sneak up on Godzilla at night, intending to draw a small vial of blood.
She'd compared it—the difference between that vial and Godzilla was like that between a human and a mosquito. She even went so far as to coat the needle with anesthetic. It was a beautiful plan.
But the moment she got close, Godzilla smacked her away with his tail.
She'd heard Welt talk about the dangers of Godzilla's leaking cells, and Himeko had warned her countless times.
In short—don't mess with Godzilla.
But when such a miraculous being is right in front of you, what scholar could resist the temptation?
The people on Jarilo should feel lucky right now.
Lucky that they were the first to discover Godzilla.
If it had been Ruan Mei instead, who knows what kind of extreme scientific protocol would've been enacted. Hundreds!
"Forget it, boring. I'll go study that guy's ecological adaptation ability instead."
Herta said, uninterested.
Herta had heard an old saying from some planet during one of her trips:
'If you grind an iron rod long enough, it'll become a needle.'
If this body won't do, she'll change it. Sooner or later, she'd make Godzilla give up resisting!
A few days later, the Astral Express was ready to depart.
"Leaving so soon? Can't you stay a bit longer?" Seele asked. Though she knew these friends were wanderers of the cosmos, it still hurt to say goodbye.
"We'd love to, but we've already been on Jarilo for a long time. If we don't leave now, the conductor might scold us," March 7th said with a helpless sigh, but she quickly regained her energy.
"Hehe, I heard our next destination is a super fun place. When we get there, I'm definitely gonna explore a ton!"
Hearing this, Bronya smiled and said, "Be sure to take some pictures for us. We've never seen the scenery of other worlds."
"Mm, no problem!"
"By the way, where's Stelle?" Cocolia looked around, confused not to see her.
"Oh, her." At the mention of Stelle, March 7th looked exasperated. "She's still trying to figure out how to get Godzilla onto the express. He's so big—if she really gets him on board, the conductor's going to make the two of us chase after the March 7th. I can already hear what she'll say… 'For the sake of studying Godzilla's compatibility with space environments!'"
"Ha ha! That's exactly something she would do."
Listening to March 7th describe what Stelle did, everyone couldn't help but laugh, and the sorrow of parting was eased considerably.
...
Looking down at Jarilo from space, the once ice-covered planet was now a thing of the past. The now-vibrant Jarilo was truly a miracle in the universe.
"I'm really reluctant to leave. We've had so many wonderful moments on Jarilo." Leaning on the windowsill and gazing at Jarilo, March 7th let out a sigh.
Stelle mirrored her posture, full of reluctance as well. "Why couldn't the big guy get on the the express?"
She wore a necklace made from Geomarrow around her neck, while March 7th had a bracelet.
"Hmph!" Just as the two were lost in their emotions, Pompom appeared behind them with a displeased expression and gave a cold snort.
"Ahh! Train conductor!"
"Pompom! You almost scared us to death!"
Hearing March 7th's indignant scolding, Pompom snorted lightly and stared at her dangerously.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" March 7th swallowed nervously; her instincts told her Pompom was in a dangerous mood.
"Hmph, it seems Passenger March and Passenger Stelle had so much fun that they even forgot the the express's departure time. What, want to go back down and play a bit more?"
The two glanced at each other and hurriedly moved away.
"By the way, didn't Passenger March say she would bring a specialty from Jarilo-VI for Pompom? So, where's my souvenir?"
Pompom extended a small hand, ready to rightfully claim what was promised.
Hearing this, March 7th stiffened, and large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
"Hmm~?" Pompom's gaze grew increasingly dangerous.
"Don't tell me you forgot your promise to Pompom?"
"Of course not!" March 7th quickly shook her head and deftly pulled a gemstone from her pocket and handed it over.
Even though most of its energy had been absorbed by Godzilla, the gemstone still shimmered beautifully.
March 7th had picked it up one day, and after consulting Godzilla, decided to bring it back to decorate her room.
"Hehe, Jarilo doesn't really have many specialties, but this gemstone has always been by Godzilla's side—definitely a valuable collectible. Please take it."
Pompom accepted the gem and inspected it carefully, eventually nodding.
"I'll forgive you this time, but get ready—we need to discuss the the express's next destination."
Pompom didn't truly care about the souvenir; it was more a sign of discontent about being left alone on the the express while the others had fun.
Luckily, Himeko and Welt came back once, and then Dan Heng returned afterward.
...
"That's the situation. What should we do next?"
Holding an umbrella, Kafka leaned against a wall and smiled as she asked the virtual projection before her.
"…The script is already in chaos, Kafka. I can no longer see the future. To be precise, I can't see a future where he joins us."
After a moment, a voice spoke from the projection.
It was the leader of the Stellaron Hunters, the one who led a group of madmen dancing on the edge of the universe.
"Can't see it anymore…" Kafka fell silent for a while, shocked, yet also feeling it made sense.
Just like how Godzilla wasn't in Elio's original script, the inclusion of Godzilla in the current story naturally blurred Elio's foresight.
"So what now? Do we still proceed? By the way, that guy Phantylia is already at Luofu."
"Not surprising. The Luofu Xianzhou is only two jumps from Jarilo, and Phantylia loves to dismantle civilizations from within. Noticing Luofu is normal."
Kafka shook her head slightly.
She wasn't concerned about Luofu right now.
The script was broken, and Elio couldn't see the future. So, how should the story unfold now?And what about Stelle?
All of it left her a bit lost.
"…Let's proceed. Go to Luofu. The future may be unclear, but the road must still be walked. A blurry future might be a blessing."
Elio's last words were so soft that both of them almost didn't hear them.
After saying that, Elio's projection vanished.
Leaving behind Kafka with her umbrella—and Silver Wolf squatting beside her, battling a game.
"So, what now? Are we really going to the Xianzhou?"
Silver Wolf asked without even turning her head.
"Just to be clear, I only noticed Phantylia because she was acting too arrogant recently and got detected by Herta. Don't expect me to do too much."
Kafka gave a helpless smile.
"Of course we're going. After all, Blade is still at Luofu."
At the thought of this, Kafka felt a bit exasperated.
According to the original plan, Blade should have been captured by Luofu, then a Stellaron would erupt, and in the resulting chaos, they would infiltrate Luofu.
Now? They'd just have to go and check if Blade was still around.
But given Blade's capabilities, he was probably doing fine… probably.
...
At this very moment on the Luofu Xianzhou.
Jing Yuan sat silently, staring at the complex state of the chessboard—
It mirrored the turmoil in his own heart.