"You figured it out?"
The system screen didn't seem surprised by Wende's discovery.
"If I hadn't, I'm afraid you would've kept pretending to be a system to fool me."
"Pretending? I never pretended. I just happened to wake up recently. Waking up to take a peek before was a pure accident. This time, if the auras of those two hadn't woken me, I wouldn't have even bothered to get up!"
For some reason, Wende felt that the tone of this Permanence was tinged with a bit of resentment.
"In that case... the system actually exists? Then what is its purpose?"
Faced with Wende's question, Dragon just typed out a few ellipses "...". To be honest, Wende still felt like he was in a dream. He had imagined many things, but he had never imagined that he would become an Aeon overnight, and that another Aeon was currently acting as his "old master in a ring." And this Aeon was the legendary Permanence, Long...
Alright, he knew there was an Aeon called The Permanence with a very high cool-factor, and he had even fantasized about how majestic and imposing He would be. After all, everyone who comes from the land of Hua has an inexplicable sense of kinship with dragons.
But clearly, the dragon hiding behind this system screen was no proper dragon. At the very least, from their conversation, Wende could tell that this guy was a chatterbox...
"Don't you have that memory? Why are you still asking me how it came to be? As for its purpose... how would I know?"
"You're saying the system was also given to me by that higher-dimensional existence?" Wende asked with a frown.
"Of course. What gave you the delusion that an Aeon could make you cross the Tree and Sea to come here and be a savior?"
"Then its purpose is..."
"I don't know, I'm not familiar with it, don't ask me."
"..."
"Then when did you get inside my body?"
"Ask your master."
"His ashes have been scattered, how am I supposed to ask?"
"Then don't ask."
"Damn it all, you really are a slacker! Give me back my beautiful fantasy of The Permanence!"
Looking at the completely lazy Dragon before him, Wende instantly felt the fan filter he thought was already shattered break into even smaller pieces...
"Has it occurred to you that if you just thought about it a little more carefully, I wouldn't have to answer you?"
"Nice."
Wende's internal turmoil suddenly vanished. All that stuff about saving the world could be temporarily set aside. Although there were many things he still didn't understand and he didn't know what to do next, but...
Help me, how did I end up with a slacker on me!
In that instant, Wende felt his mind clear. Was this the comfort only a goofy online friend could provide...?
Though it's not like anyone else had an immortal Aeon as their online buddy. But based on this lazy attitude toward life... had living for so long made this whole god thing become surreal?
"Suddenly feel like the serious and solemn matter of the universe's life and death has become a bit of a child's play?" Dragon suddenly typed.
"Aren't you the one leading me to think that way?" Wende retorted.
"Indeed. Young people shouldn't be under too much pressure. After a while, this system should tell you what to do next on its own. Just follow its lead and you'll be fine."
Dragon maintained his slacker attitude.
"No, if I just follow the system, then what's the use of you? What are you even doing in my body?" Wende immediately questioned Dragon.
"Well... it's better if you don't know."
"Heh, let me guess. You're a failsafe, aren't you?" Wende sneered at the system screen.
[Beep beep. Establish miHoYo Interstellar Inc. at this location and conduct a universe-wide open beta for Honkai Impact 3rd? Y/N]
"Stop pretending to be the system!"
[Beep beep. Establish miHoYo Interstellar Inc. at this location and conduct a universe-wide open beta for Honkai Impact 3rd? Y/N]
"Dragon?"
[Beep beep...]
Wende was speechless. Had he hit the nail on the head? Could He really be a failsafe left by the other Aeons...? But he was Order now. Shouldn't he be firmly tied to the Aeons' camp?
"Forget it. I'll deal with the Punklorde situation first. I really didn't expect these two Aeons to be waiting for me here..."
Gazing at the wormhole not far away, Wende suddenly felt an even deeper exhaustion in body and soul. He really wanted to go back to the Express and sleep... The events of the past two days were about to exceed his brain's capacity... Maybe he should just start slacking off too and go back to the Honkai world to recover some Wendy energy?
But then he thought of the two "wolves" waiting for him outside the wormhole, and Star Rail's Little Lu Bu on the other side, and a headache instantly set in.
Let's go. A man's got to face reality.
Wende comforted himself with this thought, and then stepped into the wormhole.
---o---
"We've suddenly received a message from Punklorde! The specific point of origin is... Punklorde Neon Metropolis, Veyl's Orphanage?"
At the IPC headquarters on Pier Point, a staff member responsible for round-the-clock monitoring of Punklorde suddenly shouted from his workstation, immediately causing a commotion in the office.
To handle the Punklorde matter, the Corporation had specially established a dedicated Punklorde task force to study all subsequent affairs related to the planet. But due to communication problems, this group had absolutely no information to analyze the specific situation on Punklorde!
Now, communications were finally open! They finally had some performance metrics to report!
"Quick! Send an interstellar communication to Miss Topaz! Ask her about the current situation on Punklorde! Where's the observation team?! Lock onto the source of the Punklorde signal immediately! See if Punklorde has reappeared on the star map!"
"Quick, quick, quick! Get a move on! Our year-end bonuses are riding on today!"
"OOOOOHHH!!!"
---o---
"They... succeeded?"
Jack, who had been fighting to the death on the Old District front line, stared in disbelief as the tide of monsters gradually receded.
"Yeah, Boss Jack. The monsters are running away. Those Nameless... they succeeded..."
"Don't look so down! Cheer up! We saved our home!"
Jack lightly slapped the person next to him on the back, a wide grin on his face.
"Boss Jack, ah, let's celebrate later. We're not like that big brother over there. He can fight for a day and a night without batting an eye... We haven't closed our eyes in a week... After the stimulants ran out, everyone's been running on the coffee and pastries Miss Meryl made..."
"Ah... that's true..."