Astral Express · Observation Car
Danheng sat alone on the sofa, gazing at the vast star sea outside the window, his brows slightly furrowed.
It wasn't until Welt's voice sounded beside him that his thoughts were interrupted.
"Danheng, you seem preoccupied. Did you discover something yesterday?"
Welt sat opposite him, holding a steaming cup of coffee, his tone gentle.
He had previously asked Danheng to pay more attention to the recent situations of Xing and March 7th, as the states of these two young companions had indeed been worrying lately.
Danheng collected himself and clearly relayed everything he had seen and heard outside the Party Car yesterday to Welt, including the black and red dress girl who closely resembled March 7th but had a completely different aura, and their vague conversation.
Welt listened, his brows gradually furrowing. He pushed up his glasses: "A girl exactly like March 7th... Did you check the train records?"
"I did."
Danheng nodded, "Conductor Pom-Pom is very certain that, apart from us, there have been no records of outsiders boarding the train recently."
Welt was silent for a moment, his fingertips lightly tapping the coffee cup, and he mused: "To appear on the train so silently, even avoiding Pom-Pom's perception... Danheng, what are your thoughts?"
Danheng raised his eyes and uttered a concise yet powerful word: "Memokeeper."
"Fuli's followers..."
Welt repeated in a low voice, his expression growing more solemn, "Indeed, as far as we know, only Memokeepers might be able to achieve such a feat. However, why would they contact March 7th? And what is their purpose? All of this remains unknown."
He sighed, "You've worked hard, Danheng. As for March 7th... I'll talk to her myself later."
Then, Welt changed the subject, asking with concern: "What about Xing? She seems... not in good spirits lately?"
At the mention of Xing, Danheng's expression went blank for a moment. He paused, his mind uncontrollably replaying the abstract scene from last night where Xing, with a serious face, searched for a "second Danheng" beside him.
He took a deep breath and finally shook his head, succinctly remarking: "She... needs rest."
Welt looked at Danheng's rare expression of weariness and couldn't help but sigh again, raising a hand to rub his temples: "Ah, I understand. As for Xing, let Himeko look after her more."
Outside March 7th's Room
A moment later, Welt found March 7th in her room, trying out a new hairstyle in front of the mirror.
"Uncle Yang? Do you need something?"
March 7th put down her comb, her pink and blue eyes looking at Welt.
Welt organized his words, deciding to use a roundabout strategy. He showed a gentle, elder's smile: "Little March, recently I've noticed you often seem lost in thought by yourself, and you don't go to bed very early at night? Do you have something on your mind, or... have you met someone special?"
He specifically emphasized "someone special" a little, hoping to guide March 7th to talk about the'sister' herself.
However, March 7th clearly understood it in a completely different way.
She first froze, then two red clouds quickly flew to her cheeks, her eyes began to dart around, her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, and her voice became as thin as a mosquito's buzz: "S-someone special? Uncle Yang, you... why are you suddenly asking this? Did you discover something? Actually... actually, it's nothing! It's just... it's just..."
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, and her head lowered, completely showing the shy appearance of a young girl whose secret crush had been accidentally exposed by an elder.
Welt's heart sank as he watched her reaction, feeling that the conversation's direction seemed to be deviating from the preset track, but he still tried to pull it back to the main topic: "I mean, if someone... um, for example, someone who looks very much like you, said something to you, or..."
"Oh! Uncle Yang, stop guessing!"
March 7th suddenly looked up, her face as red as a ripe apple, her tone coquettish, "I-I know you're worried about me! But some things... it's not convenient to talk about them right now! Wait until I... wait until I sort things out, okay?"
She looked at Welt, her eyes becoming a little strange.
Welt: "..."
(Wait, March, did you misunderstand something?)
He looked at March 7th, completely engrossed in her own thoughts, opened his mouth, and finally swallowed the words he was about to say.
He helplessly pushed up his glasses, feeling that this conversation seemed... to have completely failed.
"Alright, if you say so... then you handle it appropriately, and if you need any help, just let us know anytime."
Welt left March 7th's room with a sense of frustration from his unsuccessful attempt.
After the door closed, March 7th patted her burning cheeks and mumbled softly: "Uncle Yang is so... why is he suddenly concerned about this? Did he see me meeting'Sister'? Hmm... I need to be more careful next time!"
Elysian Realm · Central Hall
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Elysian Realm had dropped to freezing point due to the news brought by Kevin.
"Su... also disappeared?"
Eden's voice trembled slightly as she looked at Kevin, "What exactly happened?"
Kevin's gaze swept over every Flame-Chaser present, including the newly joined'Sakura' and 'Pardo'. His voice remained cold and steady, yet carried the oppressive feeling of an impending storm: "He was examining the traces on the Paradise's boundary with Aponia. Aponia sent back information that Su's signal completely vanished in an instant, without any warning. Afterwards, Aponia chose to continue her investigation and is temporarily unreachable."
Disappearing in an instant... even Su couldn't react or give any warning.
This news made everyone's heart sink.
It meant the enemy's danger level might far exceed their estimations.
Mobius's snake eyes flickered with a cold light: "An instant... was it erasure, or shielding?"
Vill-V hugged her arms, tapping her chin with a finger: "Wow, even 'Heavenly Wisdom' has fallen this time? It's getting more and more interesting... although this 'interesting' might mean we're not far from collectively 'disappearing'."
Kevin ignored their discussions and immediately began to redeploy arrangements, his voice brooking no argument: "The situation has changed, strategy adjusted. Sakura, you are with me, responsible for patrolling the Paradise's core data."
Xing, who was playing'Sakura', immediately nodded.
"Understood."
Kevin's gaze then turned to 'Pardo', who was trying to minimize her presence: "Pardo, you will follow Dr. Mobius and assist her with data sampling and basic analysis."
'Pardo' showed a slightly scared expression: "O-okay! Boss Kevin! Sister Snake, please guide me!"
Mobius glanced at her, giving an noncommittal snort, but her eyes clearly held a warning of "don't cause me trouble."
Black Herta, hiding inside 'Pardo's' shell, perfectly played the role of timidity while the little person inside her was excitedly rubbing her hands:
(Close contact with Mobius! The opportunity has come!)
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