Today, the temporary hideout of the Stellaron Hunters was unusually quiet.
Elio was holding yet another meeting.
At this moment, he stood calmly in the center of the room in his black cat form, while Kafka and Silver Wolf lounged lazily on the nearby sofa. Firefly remained standing behind them in SAM's form like a silent bodyguard, faithfully maintaining her position.
Blade, on the other hand, lay motionless on the floor off to the side with his eyes closed, pretending to be a corpse.
He couldn't really help it.
Since he could not die even if he wanted to, he could only entertain himself in strange and bizarre ways to relieve the endless pressure that constantly weighed on his mind.
"According to the information Kafka brought back, Lucian is my natural enemy. But since we can't defeat him, and I can't see his destiny either, I'm planning to change the way we operate."
"In other words, we're joining his side. I'll become his advisor or strategist so that, at the very least, I'll have a chance to understand his movements instead of having our scripts ruined by him every single time."
"Jarilo-VI is his territory, but he didn't put us on the wanted list, nor did he arrest Kafka, so I assume he's willing to cooperate with us. We're only lacking a bit of sincerity."
"What do you all think?"
It should be noted that the Stellaron Hunters were criminals wanted by the IPC, infamous throughout the cosmos for acting however they pleased and never giving anyone face. Yet now, they were actually discussing the possibility of pledging allegiance to someone else.
Within the Stellaron Hunters, the true core had always been Elio's ability to observe destiny.
However, Lucian's existence had repeatedly caused Elio to hit a wall at critical moments, leaving him unable to resist, predict, or even interfere properly.
In order to save the universe and avoid the coming end, Elio had no choice but to join Lucian and completely alter the direction of the plan.
Honestly, even he no longer felt particularly confident and did not know whether this decision was right or wrong.
Unfortunately, there was no other option left.
"Whatever. As long as Lucian doesn't exploit his employees, I'm fine with that."
Silver Wolf was the first to express her opinion.
"I don't mind either," Kafka said with a faint smile. "He might like pretty women, but he's still a proper man with principles. He won't make things difficult for us."
"If you're all going, then I'll go too."
Firefly also nodded slightly in agreement as she spoke.
However, the voice that came from her now was no longer the gentle and soft voice of a young woman, but the deep and magnetic voice of a man.
In the end, only Blade remained silent, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he slowly opened his eyes and finally spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Kafka said he is an Emanator of Abundance, so he definitely has a way to remove the curse of Abundance from me. We should've joined him the day before yesterday."
Perhaps this was the first time in his life that he had ever been eager to work for someone.
"Fufu, but he won't accept us..." Kafka couldn't help laughing softly as she retorted. "He said our relationship with him isn't close enough."
"In that case, how do we improve the relationship?" Blade asked with a slight frown. "Give him gifts? Help him with things? Or is he simply after your beauty?"
"Beauty? What beauty do I even have?" Silver Wolf immediately clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. "If he's gonna lust after someone, it'd be Kafka or Firefly..."
As she spoke, she casually glanced at the metal giant standing more than three meters tall behind her.
"But, well, Lucian probably wouldn't be into a tin can, right? As long as Firefly doesn't come out, he won't know SAM is actually a cute girl."
*Pop!*
Right after speaking, the bubble gum she had blown burst with a loud pop before her little tongue skillfully swept across her lips and smoothly drew the chewing gum back into her mouth, which had curved into a teasing smile.
"Didn't Kafka say he's a proper man?" Firefly asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Then why not just tell him who I am?"
At the question, Silver Wolf grinned mischievously.
"What if you happen to be exactly his type and he can't control himself? We can't beat him, and we definitely can't outrun his teleportation abilities, either."
Hearing that, Firefly stiffened slightly.
"Fufufu..."
Kafka suddenly chuckled and casually revealed another piece of information.
"Silver Wolf's plan already failed. Actually, he already knows everything about our organization's members. He already knows SAM's real identity, and he even personally asked me whether Firefly wanted to join."
Instead of being disappointed, however, Silver Wolf unexpectedly looked somewhat proud upon hearing that.
"Heh, that guy really is amazing. He even knows secrets like that. As expected of my partner."
Hearing their conversation, Firefly became even more confused.
"Huh? Why do I feel like I'm the only idiot who doesn't know what's going on?"
Seeing the two of them openly teasing her while she herself remained completely unaware and clueless about what was going on, Firefly couldn't help but feel increasingly uneasy.
Lucian knew her secret, yet she had never even met him face to face before—that fact alone gave her a strange sense of nervousness toward the unknown.
Before the topic could drift even further off course, Elio interrupted them.
"Let's choose someone good at socializing to deal with him and improve our relationship with him. Who's going?"
As soon as that question fell, the room instantly fell silent.
Kafka disliked wasting words on strangers and lacked the patience for socializing.
Silver Wolf was a shut-in girl who could only act bold online while hiding behind a screen.
Firefly was a terminally ill girl who had practically no social experience whatsoever.
Blade was a cold and taciturn man obsessed with seeking death.
What an incredible lineup.
A group of Stellaron Hunters, infamous throughout the cosmos for destruction, murder, and robbery, yet somehow they couldn't gather a single person capable of proper social interaction.
"I'll go."
Blade slowly raised his hand and volunteered, but unfortunately, Elio rejected him without hesitation the very next second.
"No. You're obviously going there because you want him to kill you, right?"
After pausing briefly, Elio continued speaking.
"Forget it. Since he's generally more approachable toward women, Kafka, Silver Wolf, and SAM—you'll act together and look out for each other. Do your best to make him accept our organization. As for the method, I can't see his destiny anymore, so I'm powerless when it comes to that. You'll have to rely on yourselves."
Honestly, even Elio himself had never imagined that the Stellaron Hunters would one day be forced to resort to a 'honey trap.'
In his eyes, it was nothing short of disgraceful.
After all, the Stellaron Hunters had always been known for operating in the shadows, manipulating destiny, orchestrating grand schemes, and pursuing Stellarons across the cosmos.
Yet now, they had somehow reached the point where a tactic like this had become necessary.
Just thinking about it left him feeling irritated.
He absolutely needed to go stir up some rebellion somewhere and collect another Stellaron afterward just to soothe his wounded pride.
===
At the same time, while the Stellaron Hunters were busy discussing how to get closer to Lucian, Lucian himself was leisurely bringing three beautiful women back home while casually introducing the Xianzhou Luofu to them along the way.
"According to the future the Stellaron Hunters saw, after you leave Jarilo-VI, you'll come here to deal with the Stellaron crisis and make connections within the Xianzhou Alliance."
As they walked, Lucian calmly explained the original course of events to them—it was essentially one giant spoiler.
March, Stelle, and Himeko were all stunned after hearing that.
It couldn't be helped.
Realizing that their Trailblaze journey had not even properly begun yet, only for its ending to have already been revealed in advance, could this still even be called Trailblazing anymore?
Himeko turned her gaze toward Lucian, her beautiful eyes carrying a trace of curiosity as she quietly studied him.
"So that's what'll happen in the future? But what exactly did you mean by speedrunning?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Clearing things quickly," Lucian answered naturally. "As I said, the result of all that is gaining connections within the Xianzhou Alliance... but you've already got those connections—that's me."
The Xianzhou Alliance could call upon the Aeon of the Hunt for assistance, and Lucian could do the same.
The Xianzhou Alliance possessed countless troops, and Lucian had troops of his own as well.
The Xianzhou Alliance possessed Traces of Abundance, while Lucian himself was an Emanator of Abundance.
Lucian's influence extended across the Xianzhou Luofu, the Xianzhou Yaoqing, the Xianzhou Yuque, and even more so the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
In other words, wasn't Lucian already the Astral Express's greatest connection within the entire Xianzhou Alliance?
Needless to say, there was no need to resolve any Stellaron crisis at all when they had practically skipped straight to the rewards.
Besides, whether the Stellaron crisis would even appear anymore remained uncertain.
After all, if Phantylia dared to show herself, Lucian would definitely capture her on the spot.
At that point, how would the Astral Express even have a chance to shine?
"Sooo... we're basically just here for tourism, dropping down a Space Anchor, and that counts as finishing our journey here...? Isn't this way too easy?"
March couldn't help exclaiming in amazement.
Realizing that they no longer had to exhaust themselves or risk their lives as they had before, because they now had someone so powerful to rely on, truly felt incredible.
"See? He's my godfather~"
Stelle suddenly leaned closer to March and whispered proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it already..." March rolled her eyes. "Your godfather's amazing, alright?"
Honestly, even Himeko herself didn't know whether this situation was a good thing or a bad thing.
At this rate, wouldn't they end up becoming completely spoiled?
Lucian really did feel somewhat like a machine specifically designed to raise useless people.
Yes, there was definitely a strong sense of security around him, but it almost felt too safe to an excessive degree, to the point where there was practically no danger whatsoever.
Just like that, the four of them chatted the entire way casually before finally returning to Lucian's quiet home within Fyxestroll Garden.
Just like before, the atmosphere here still carried a faintly gloomy and eerie feeling.
As a result, March and Stelle instinctively moved closer to Lucian and grabbed onto his arms.
"Well, this is the home I've set up for myself on the Luofu. Come in and get some rest."
Right after entering the front yard, Lucian was just about to introduce the house to the three of them when, unbeknownst to him, three pairs of eyes had already been silently 'waiting for a long time' within the front yard.
Fu Xuan stood with her arms crossed beneath her chest while her eyes narrowed slightly. Her gaze swept past Lucian, briefly glanced over March and Stelle, and finally landed directly on the elegant and mature Himeko.
'Three this time... and such a mature, graceful type too? Her chest is even that big... Tch, this damn husband of mine—his tastes are becoming more and more demanding...'
Fu Xuan frowned as she grumbled inwardly.
Meanwhile, beside her, Jingliu remained expressionless from beginning to end, quietly observing the newcomers as though she were evaluating their 'qualifications.'
Even though Fu Xuan, Jingliu, and Baiheng exchanged no words, all three of them arrived at the exact same conclusion almost immediately—the two girls clinging to Lucian's arms were clearly not their sisters.
As for the elegant and intellectual red-haired beauty, she was probably the newest addition to the family this time.
In the next moment, Baiheng, the most energetic among them, immediately stepped forward, an enthusiastic smile spreading across her face the instant Lucian and the others entered the front yard.
Completely bypassing Lucian, she warmly grabbed Himeko's hands.
"My, my! So you're the new sister joining us, huh? Welcome, welcome! My name's Baiheng, Lucian's wife. From now on, we're all one big family!"
Hearing the sudden welcome, Himeko froze on the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
'What sister?'
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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