"T-This… this is far too precious!"
Just moments ago, while she was still flying over, Robin had seen Lin Yi wielding Tianhui in battle.
"Relax," Lin Yi said casually. "This sword is only a token, not a gift. Once you use the favor I owe you, I'll be taking it back."
However, Lin Yi was thinking something entirely different.
If I let this sword leave my side too… my defenses should be weak enough now.
Kakamu… why haven't you shown up yet?
You can't guard against a thief forever.
When Lin Yi had discovered the butterfly that Aha had pressed down aboard Argenti's "Rare and Precious", he had nearly been shocked out of his skin.
Outwardly he remained calm.
But inside? Panic was inevitable.
Polka's record was simply too terrifying.
Only after Zhuxing became an Emanator of Elation did Lin Yi regain a sense of security.
Perhaps that sense of security was the true gift Aha had given him.
"So… what do we do now?"
The one speaking was Zhili.
Lin Yi understood exactly what she meant.
"What else can we do?"
"We've already done everything we could."
"Accept bad luck and move on."
"Evacuate the population."
"I don't know how long the dream will keep him immersed, but it should be enough time to clear everyone off this planet."
"Then everyone goes home and finds their own mother."
"With the echo of Order constantly interfering, even if we brought another follower of Harmony here, they wouldn't be able to do anything."
"Silver Wolf just threw me over here, and I happened to witness something interesting."
A mature female voice suddenly spoke.
"Looks like my timing couldn't be better."
"Would everyone be interested in hearing what I have to say?"
Lin Yi turned toward the voice.
A purple figure came into view.
Kafka.
Dongfang Qiqing frowned.
"A Stellaron Hunter?"
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.
"What are the Stellaron Hunters doing here?"
"There's no Stellaron here."
He paused.
"Oh wait. That guy does have a damaged one inside him."
"So what? Are the Stellaron Hunters interested?"
"If you want it, go ahead and take it. Nobody's stopping you."
Kafka seemed not to hear him.
She simply smiled and looked directly at Lin Yi.
"Elio said that when I meet you, I should complain first."
"That's written in the script as well."
"For the past fourteen years, ten months, and twenty-seven days, Elio has personally torn up countless scripts."
"I've seen him hide in his room more than once, completely losing it."
"The floor would be covered with shredded paper."
Lin Yi chuckled.
"That's… interesting."
Kafka continued calmly.
"Elio's script says that if I tell you exactly what I just said, you'll believe me."
"Looks like it's correct."
"His scripts are still perfectly accurate."
Lin Yi had considered the possibility that Elio knew about him.
With the power of Finality, Elio could see the future with perfect accuracy.
But before Lin Yi arrived in the Star Rail universe, the future of that universe had never included him.
In theory, Lin Yi existed outside that system.
Elio's predictions shouldn't have been able to see him.
However—
Once Lin Yi entered this world and began interacting with its matter and energy—
His influence would inevitably appear in the fixed future.
Even the smallest ripple would become enormous across the vast scale of time.
The script being rewritten was inevitable.
Of course—
That was only Lin Yi's speculation.
There was another possibility.
A possibility Lin Yi did not want to consider.
Perhaps whether he came or not…
He had always existed within Elio's vision of the future.
Lin Yi crossed his arms.
"So the predetermined future changed back then."
"Tell me something first."
"How many scripts has that cat torn up?"
Kafka answered instantly.
"13,762."
"A rather impressive number, wouldn't you say?"
Her tone remained calm, as if she had mentioned a trivial figure.
After all—
She wasn't the one writing the scripts.
Watching Elio lose his mind was actually quite entertaining.
Lin Yi fell silent for a moment.
That meant the cat had been tearing up a script once every four days on average.
"I can understand why he went crazy."
"If it were me, I'd lose my mind too."
"Respect the perseverance."
"Go, kitty, go!"
Lin Yi gave a thumbs-up.
"But if he started rewriting the script back then, that means he knew everything."
"So why didn't he come find me all these years?"
"Why today?"
Kafka explained gracefully.
"Because today is very important in Elio's script."
"And for the future he desperately wants to achieve…"
"You aren't the most important factor."
Kafka quoted Elio directly:
"Although his existence makes everything proceed more smoothly and increases the margin for error."
Lin Yi thought for a moment.
"I want to meet Elio."
"He probably knows exactly what I want to ask."
It would be easier to talk to the source directly than rely on an intermediary.
Less risk of distorted information.
Kafka nodded slightly.
"Elio said he would arrive two minutes and seventeen seconds after you asked that question."
Lin Yi blinked.
"Wow."
"That's some serious cheat-level power."
He pulled out a stopwatch and started timing.
"Alright, timer's running."
"What else did Elio's script say?"
Kafka answered calmly.
"Everyone present here today…"
"We will all meet again at the Harmony Festival in Penacony."
Lin Yi frowned immediately.
"Impossible."
"Absolutely impossible."
"That guy's existence erosion is severe."
"He can't live that long."
Lin Yi checked the latest data again.
"At most he has three hours left."
"Unless you Stellaron Hunters have a way to reverse existential collapse?"
Kafka shook her head.
"Of course not."
"If we had that ability, the Chaos Doctors would have come knocking already."
"Elio only said this much."
"If you want to know why, you can ask him when he arrives."
Lin Yi decided to confirm something else.
"How many Stellaron Hunters are there right now?"
"Four."
Kafka answered.
Lin Yi blinked.
"Four?"
"Who's missing?"
Kafka looked confused.
"What do you mean missing?"
"Me. Blade. Silver Wolf. Sam."
"They're all on the wanted posters."
She pulled out four bounty notices and showed them to Lin Yi.
Seeing Kafka casually use wanted posters as identification cards, Dongfang Qiqing internally muttered:
Respect.
Lin Yi pointed.
"What about Elio?"
Kafka shrugged.
"Elio is a cat, not a person."
Lin Yi: "..."
Kafka smiled again.
"Just kidding."
"I didn't want to say that either."
"But it's part of the script."
"Oh—"
"Even that sentence."
Lin Yi took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Alright."
"One last question."
"When does Welt Yang board the Astral Express?"
"I'll go wait for him in advance."
Kafka gave an unexpected answer.
"Who is Welt Yang?"
Then she added:
"That's Elio's exact line."
"He also said you would start laughing uncontrollably…"
"…and say that he'll have to rewrite the script again."
Lin Yi froze for a second.
Then immediately understood.