Chapter 442: A New Commission
By the time the assembled film crew finally dispersed, Steven still hadn't seen the runaway little crocodile again.
That was only to be expected. For Gavial, the role she'd been asked to play was simply far beyond what she could tolerate.
Despite how thick crocodile hide might look, it had absolutely nothing to do with having thick skin emotionally. At least in terms of what she could accept, she was in no way comparable to Specter, that little shark who seemed to possess a near-infinite shame threshold.
Fortunately, Nian's plan had never been to film more than the first two scenes today anyway. As for what came next, she needed more time to think things through before making any concrete arrangements.
Steven had just been about to head off with Ace and the others for a casual drink to celebrate wrapping up work for the day when Nian suddenly called out to him from behind.
"Steven, could I borrow a little of your time?" she asked. "It won't cause you too much trouble."
She lightly tapped his shoulder and gave Ace an apologetic smile. Ace immediately understood, nodding in response before leaving the set together with Logos.
Even among the elite operators, Nian's true identity wasn't widely known. That kind of information belonged exclusively to Kal'tsit—and it wasn't something they were allowed to ask about in the first place.
Still, there was one thing Ace and the others understood very clearly: just like Steven, Nian was classified as top-level confidential. When it came to people like that, the smartest move was to investigate nothing and ask no questions.
They knew Kal'tsit was orchestrating something on a grand scale. And out of trust in her, they had no intention of prying into the secrets she deliberately kept sealed.
Steven turned around, a little puzzled, and looked down at the white-haired girl before him—her brows and eyes carrying a charm that simply refused to fade, no matter how one looked at her.
"What's up?" he asked casually. "Got another bizarre idea you want to share? Or did you come up with some new wild plot twist? I'm all ears."
Meeting Nian's pale violet gaze, Steven figured there were only a few reasons she'd stop him like this. It had to be about creative inspiration, right?
Surely it wasn't something absurd like being conquered by his talent and good looks and wanting to confess to him or something.
"Those things are all true," Nian replied calmly, flicking her ever-present folding fan and lightly tapping it against her palm.
"But that's not why I stopped you."
She continued, "Rhodes Island's general route through Yan has been finalized. We'll most likely pass through Lungmen. When that happens, you should be able to disembark there and head straight into Yan."
Steven paused slightly.
After spending the entire day going wild filming nonsense with her, he'd nearly forgotten that she still had something she wanted to ask of him.
"Hm, and?" he said after a moment. "That doesn't sound like a big deal. Even if you didn't tell me, Kal'tsit would've eventually. Don't tell me you're getting sentimental and don't want me to leave."
He waved his hand dismissively. "If you've got something to say, just say it. As for the movie, I'll do my best to help you finish filming this… masterpiece before I leave."
He quickly calculated Rhodes Island's travel speed and realized there was more than enough time to finish shooting this colossal cinematic disaster before reaching Yan.
"Of course, those things are ones you'd learn sooner or later even if I didn't say anything," Nian continued. "So what I really want to talk to you about is something else entirely."
She snapped her folding fan open with a soft snap, then suddenly smiled at Steven.
It was the kind of smile that made him shiver for no clear reason—like being targeted by a cunning little fox. One look was enough to tell him that trouble was definitely on the way.
"…Can I choose not to listen?" Steven asked cautiously.
"Of course you can," Nian replied cheerfully.
"But what if I told you this matter is related to whether your blade can awaken its Authority?"
She hid the lower half of her face behind the fan, leaving only those bewitching eyes visible as she calmly dropped a condition Steven had no way of refusing.
"…Alright, now I really have no choice but to hear you out," Steven sighed.
"Let's sit down and talk about it properly. Might as well hear what the person involved thinks too."
The moment those words left Nian's mouth, Steven decisively stopped trying to leave. With a casual motion, two plastic chairs appeared out of thin air. He then reached into his Ender Chest and pulled out Yamato and placed it upright beside him.
"Oh? It's only been a day and it's already sharper than before," Nian said as she sat down leisurely, tilting her head to examine Yamato beside her.
"You've been feeding it some pretty rare metals, haven't you?"
Truth be told, even if Nian wanted to forge a divine weapon of this caliber herself, it would be nearly impossible—let alone give it life and a personality of its own.
"More or less."
"So, can you talk now? I'm honestly a little curious about this 'information' and 'clue' you're dangling in front of me."
He propped his cheek up with one hand and lazily looked at Nian, as if he weren't the one desperately searching for a way to help Yamato awaken her Authority.
"Then I won't beat around the bush," Nian said.
"Take a look at this first. See if it might be of some help to your blade."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out something that looked like a fragment of a shattered mirror, extending it toward Steven.
But halfway there, Yamato reacted as if she'd sensed something utterly irresistible. She suddenly lunged forward, blocking Steven and even trying to reach the fragment before him.
Unfortunately for her, no matter how sharp Yamato was, she was still just one of Steven's weapons.
And Steven's reaction speed was, infamously, absurd.
In the blink of an eye, the surging Yamato was pressed down by Steven's hand. With his other hand now free, he took the fragment from Nian and examined it closely.
[Tainted Fragment of a Fragment of a God]
A severely damaged fragment containing traces of an incomprehensible, fragmented Authority governed by unresolvable rules.
He knows what a god fragment is, after all, there's a living one sitting right in front of him.
But a fragment of a fragment?
What, did this god explode twice or something?
Is this god a slime or what?
Hit it once and it splits—hit it again and it keeps dividing?
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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