HIK CH 31-50 (Patreon)

HIK CH31-40

Chapter 31: Another Stellaron

"Thousands of years have passed; has Jarilo-VI become like this..."

Looking through the window at the planet covered in ice and snow not far away, Himeko couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

It has been thousands of years since the last time the Express visited Jarilo-VI. She had expected that the planet would change, but this image still surprised her.

What is this—a direct regression from the interstellar age to the ice age?

"Is this white planet really our goal this time?"

March 7th increasingly doubted whether the Express had taken them to the wrong place.

Didn't they said that this is a lush and beautiful planet?

The planet in front of them, completely covered in severe cold, does not match that description at all.

"Yes, I guess this 'trailblazing' journey will not be easy."

Himeko nodded after pondering, and she already had some answers in her mind.

Such a degree of change should not happen on this planet in such a short time. There must be some special factors that catalyzed it.

And the most likely factor is—

"The space reading is abnormal! The stability of the star rail has dropped to 12%!"

Just then, Pam on the side suddenly said in a serious tone.

"The stop plan has changed. The stop time at this station has been extended from 7 days to indefinite until the abnormality is eliminated!"

"Ah, indefinite?!"

Hearing these two sentences, Stelle was dumbfounded on the spot.

Although Ilu on the side had known that this would happen long ago, in order to cooperate with Stelle’s performance, she also showed a slightly surprised expression. "What's going on? Why does it take us so long to stop?"

"Take a normal land train as an example. When you are driving halfway, you suddenly find a collapsed hole in front of you. At this time, the Express has to stop."

Himeko explained the current situation of the Astral Express in a more understandable way: "Only by eliminating these abnormalities and repairing the collapsed areas can the Express continue to move forward."

"Yes."

Pam nodded and emphasized again: "If it moves forward again, it may lead to terrible consequences!"

As the train conductor, she must be responsible for the safety of all passengers on the Express. If it continues to jump while the star rail is affected, even they don't know what will happen.

"Alas, this is the case again."

Knowing that the travel plan this time was going to be ruined again, March 7th couldn't help but sigh. She had guessed the reason and said with some helplessness in her tone.

"Needless to say, the star rail anomaly this time should still be for the same reason..."

"Well, the results of the preliminary test are out."

Welt came over, nodded to March 7th, then looked at Stelle and Ilu, who had just joined the Express and did not understand the situation.

"The root cause of the anomaly is the 'Stellaron.' The Stellaron is the same material as the one implanted in Stelle. The Express's many abnormal conditions are all related to the Stellaron blocking the star rail. Its appearance will bring about dramatic changes in civilization and ecology and will also cause space distortion phenomena, such as rifts in some areas."

"Space distortion..."

Listening to Welt's explanation, Ilu couldn't help but think of the analysis made by Herta during the first physical examination. At that time, Herta believed that her memory was affected and determined that she had accidentally encountered time space turbulence during the battle with the Swarm and was teleported to other cosmic spaces by the rift.

In a sense, Herta's guess was completely correct. At that time, she was indeed caught in the cold wave of "Remembrance," and the thing that could transfer her away from the frozen galaxy was also likely to be the Stellaron.

When chatting with Welt before, Ilu learned that the location where the Astral Express picked her up was actually near a Stellaron. At that time, they had just solved the disaster caused by the Stellaron and found her floating outside the window on the way to the next stop.

Hmm...

She always felt that things are getting complicated. Could it be that Aeon's doing?

If necessary, she felt that she has to go back to the place where that Stellaron is.

"The reason why Jarilo-VI has become like this is inseparable from the influence of the 'Stellaron.'"

Following Welt's conclusion, Himeko expressed her opinion with a serious expression.

"According to our conjecture, the 'Stellaron' is a disaster seed sown by an Aeon to various worlds. If the source of the disaster is not removed, then 'expedition' will naturally be out of the question."

"In other words, we have to go down and take a look?"

Stelle asked curiously.

"Well, you are right."

Welt nodded gently, looked out the window at Jarilo-VI, which was almost completely engulfed by the cold wave, and slowly said: "Looking at this planet from our perspective will give you the illusion of omniscience. When you really stand on that piece of land, you will realize your insignificance and ignorance."

Simply translated, it means: You are not a Aeon. How can you know what happened there if you don't go down and see it yourself?

Following Welt's line of sight to look at Jarilo-VI, Ilu's gaze stopped at the only warm place on the planet—a fortress city called "Belobog."

According to the records of "Belobog of the Architects" in the game records thousands of years ago, this place was a fascinating tourist destination. The arrival of the Astral Express connected the star rail to this planet, bringing it trade prosperity and extraterrestrial technology.

But a thousand years ago, the fall of a Stellaron changed everything. The Antimatter Legion brought war to this planet, followed by a cold wave that came from nowhere. Its sudden appearance engulfed the surface of the planet and plunged the future of Jarilo-VI into an abyss.

Uh, you ask if the cold disaster here was caused by me?

Although her ability is related to "Remembrance" and ice, Ilu dares to guarantee that the cold wave of Jarilo-VI has nothing to do with the bullet she fired.

Let alone whether the timing is right; if she takes action, let alone Jarilo-VI, the entire star system where it is located will not be able to escape the disaster of the cold wave.

Perhaps it was the "time when thousands of stars went out" that attracted Fu Li's attention, so that they focused their attention on her...

However, the problem is, if she got off the Express with March 7th and the others, how should she explain her ability to condense "Remembrance" into ice at that time?

It is easy to be regarded as the mastermind behind the cold wave, right?!

"Ilu, Stelle."

Not noticing Ilu's inner worry at the moment, Himeko turned to her and the gray-haired girl beside her and said: "I hope to leave this trailblazing journey to you two. March 7th and Dan Heng will assist you."

---

---

Chapter 32: Just Move Forward and It's Done

"Great! It's a big adventure!"

Stelle looked very excited and seemed to be very interested in getting off the Express to explore with everyone.

"Uh... I don't have any objections."

Fearing that she would cause unnecessary trouble for others, Ilu wanted to refuse tactfully, but she thought that this was her first time participating in a collective activity of the Express group. She had a hidden obsession in her heart, so she changed her mind without hesitation and agreed.

What if she was regarded as an enemy by the locals? That would just add a little difficulty. She is the first assassin in the galaxy who killed The Propagation Emanator alone under the siege of billions of Sting swarms. Why should she be afraid of such a small thing?

As a "Trailblazer," if she becomes a turtle when encountering difficulties, can she still be considered a "Trailblazer"?

She can't just follow others and become a deserter. What if something happens to March 7th, Stelle, and the others down there?

After thinking about these three questions, Ilu already had a clear answer in her heart—no matter what the messy consequences are, she just wants to take risks with everyone now.

Dan Heng dared to risk his life to run to Xianzhou to find someone. He was not afraid, so why should she be afraid?

She just needs to move forward vigorously, and it will be over!

"But why does it feel like our configuration is exactly the same as that of the Stellaron Hunter?"

After hearing the list of people participating in this operation, Ilu couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Dan Heng faced Blade; she faced Sam. Even if Stelle and March 7th didn't have much in common with Kafka and Silver Wolf, if people saw this situation, it would be easy to associate it with the Stellaron Hunter and their group.

She just hopes that she won't be mistaken for Sam when she walks on the road in the future. She doesn't want to take the blame for the Stellaron Hunter for Fyrefly...

If she really can't escape this disaster, then when she does something bad in the future, she will claim that she is a Stellaron Hunter; at least she won't cause trouble for everyone in the Express Crew.

Of course, this is just a joke.

Unless she suddenly turns evil one day, she should have no reason to do bad things.

...

After receiving the trailblazing mission issued by Himeko, Ilu followed Stelle and March 7th to find Dan Heng, who was looking up information in the archives.

In order to better carry out the next task, some preliminary investigation and exploration must be done to obtain enough intelligence, and this part of the work is usually given to Dan Heng, the administrator of the archives.

"I conducted a preliminary survey. This planet should not be completely destroyed. There is an area on the surface with a relatively normal temperature."

"In other words, we should investigate this place first?"

"It is unusual for a normal place to exist on an abnormal planet. If it were me, I would usually prioritize these places for investigation."

"Well, let's go and take a look!"

After determining the investigation site, the group prepared the food and drinking water they brought with them in their folding backpacks and landed on a wasteland covered with ice and snow.

"Jarilo-VI, we're here."

"Hiss... It's so cold here; it must be several dozen degrees below zero."

"The wind and snow are too strong; it's a bit hard to see the road ahead."

"Put on the cold-proof glasses I gave you. They can quickly melt the ice and snow that fall on the lenses and won't block your vision."

The whistling wind and snow scraped across their faces like a sharp blade, making it impossible to open their eyes. The temperature around them was also terribly low. March 7th and Stelle subconsciously wrapped their down jackets tightly. Even though they had a warm layer inside to keep out the cold, and with the blessing of "opening up," they still couldn't avoid the cold air coming in through the gaps in their clothes. The changes on this planet were more serious than expected.

In the game, you can run freely in the snow in a cool outfit, even with a breast window open on your chest, but in reality, you might freeze.

Fortunately, the Express crew knew that the surface environment here was extremely harsh before landing on Jarilo-VI and made adequate preparations for it.

As for Ilu and Dan Heng...

Well, one of them is a High Elder, so he is not afraid of the cold. He just wore a cotton coat to deal with it. The other one summoned the Snow Fyrefly Mech directly after landing.

Walking in this freezing snowfield is just like returning to her hometown. No one is more suitable for free exploration on this planet than she is.

Because of this, after discussion, the Express Crew decided to let Ilu act alone occasionally and send her to those cold areas that others cannot reach to collect useful information.

Of course, the more important reason is her Snow Fyrefly mecha—for some reason, after she entered this planet, the Snow Fyrefly mecha suddenly became excited and always seemed eager to let Ilu move in a certain direction, which made her feel a little troubled.

After walking with everyone for a while, Ilu felt the desire to fight rising from her chest and decided to separate from everyone for the time being.

"The target area should be ahead. You go there first. I'll go to other places and deal with the fragmentum creatures here."

No, she couldn't help but feel excited. She had to find a few fragmentum creatures to kill.

After saying that, she spread the elytra light wings behind her and turned into a blue meteor to fly away.

...

"By the way, won't it be a problem if Ilu goes alone?"

Looking at the silver knight who had left alone, Stelle couldn't help but feel a little worried, even though she knew Ilu's strength.

No one knew what dangers were hidden on this planet. What if Ilu accidentally ran into one...

"Don't worry. I heard her say before that she used to carry out tasks alone. On the contrary, if there were too many people, it would hinder her performance."

March 7th waved her hand, indicating that Stelle should not care too much about Ilu's affairs.

In her eyes, although Ilu had not been with the Astral Express for long, she was a very reliable companion.

It was because everyone trusted her that they unanimously agreed to let her act alone.

"Is that so? What should we do if the three of us run into trouble?"

Thinking of this, the gray-haired girl raised another question: "Do we need to notify Ilu to come back to help?"

"Don't worry; with the three of us here, is there anything that can't be solved?"

March 7th patted his chest confidently. His eyes swept across Stelle and Dan Heng's faces one by one, and he said with a smile: "You have a Stellaron in your body, I have the unique six-phase ice, and Dan Heng... uh, he has that mysterious history going on."

"It's no exaggeration to say that the three of us can kill together, and with Ilu here, we are invincible. There is nothing to worry about. Whoever dares to come to us for trouble, it's their bad luck!"

"It's their bad luck!"

"Hey! Don't repeat my words!"

"Let's go; bravely explore the unknown. This is the spirit of 'trailblazing!'"

---

---

Chapter 33: Unknown Crisis

"No wonder there are so many fragmentum creatures here. There is actually an erosion tunnel..."

Following the guidance of the Snow Fyrefly mecha, Ilu flew in the sky for several minutes and landed near a dilapidated building complex. Her gaze passed through the gray and white city ruins and focused on the dark yellow tunnel in the center of the city.

This place seemed to be part of the Jarilo civilization, but with the erosion of time, the destruction by the Antimatter Legion, the coming of the cold wave, and the erosion tunnel hidden inside this building complex...

Well, how should she put it? This place is really full of disasters.

In this case, she shouldn't be a big problem, right?

Ilu revealed the mantis blade embedded in the forearm of the mecha and rushed straight toward the fragmentum creatures not far away. The light wings blooming behind her emitted a lonely blue light in the air.

"Swish--"

Before these creatures, who were holding axes, could react, they felt their bodies lighten as they were cut into several pieces by the sharp blades.

Although the ordinary cold had little effect on them, it did not mean that they could withstand the physical damage inflicted by Ilu. Not being frozen did not mean that they could not be harmed.

This is noble mixed damage—magical, right?

Of course, if the power of "Remembrance" were used, even if the ice resistance of these creatures was high, they would still be as fragile as paper in front of Ilu, but she would not waste her precious health bar on these little minions that broke with a touch.

These creatures, which couldn't even break through the defense of the Snow Fyrefly Armor, were not worthy of her taking real action.

"Buzz--"

Just as Ilu was about to rush toward the direction of the erosion tunnel to eliminate the creatures in that area, she suddenly heard the sound of a creature flapping its wings in the distance, unsure if it was just an illusion.

Although this almost inaudible sound was quickly drowned out by the raging blizzard, it was captured by the unique resonance system of the Snow Fyrefly-V strategic infiltration armor in that fleeting moment.

"Similar frequency vibrations detected; analysis underway—"

"Suspected result: Juvenile Stings Swarm."

"What?!"

Seeing the test results from the Snow Fyrefly armor, Ilu was shocked.

She immediately opened her beautiful eyes and looked in disbelief in the direction of the sound.

In the original game, Jarilo-VI never had a Propagatio Swarm incidents. Why did the Snow Fyrefly armor detect the existence of Juvenile Stings in these city ruins full of fragmentum creatures?!

"Turn on the Swarm Mimicry."

Without the slightest hesitation, Ilu immediately abandoned the plan to attack those fragmentum creatures and ordered the Snow Fyrefly armor to activate the mimicry mode.

As we all know, when you find a cockroach at home, there may already be a large group of them lurking inside.

The same goes for "Propagation." When you see Juvenile Sting insect, there may be many more nearby.

This situation was completely beyond Ilu's expectations. For everyone's safety, she had to investigate it as soon as possible!

"Instructions received; mimicry activated—"

With the mimicry function activated in stealth mode, the Snow Fyrefly Armor released pheromones similar to those of the Sting Swarm around her body, and the elytra behind her produced a sound similar to the frequency of the Sting Swarm 's wings, disguising her as a strange "Juvenile Sting."

In order not to arouse the other party's vigilance, Ilu deliberately slowed her flight speed and slowly glided toward the brick and stone ruins from which the suspected wing-beating sound had come.

Soon, she arrived at her destination and landed on a road paved with ice and snow.

Ilu held her breath and listened carefully to the sounds nearby.

"Buzz--"

As if sensing the pheromones released by the Snow Fyrefly Armor, a faint sound of Stings flapping their elytra suddenly emanated from a road covered by ice and snow not far from her.

Hearing the sound of the swarm again, Ilu's heart couldn't help but tremble.

Now she could be sure that there was really a Sting Swarms in Jarilo-VI.

Sure enough, she didn’t hear it wrong...

There are really Stings here, and there is more than one.

Listening to the overlapping frequencies, there must be at least more than ten, or perhaps even more.

The original plot didn't mention Stings at all, and no relevant clues were found. Logically, they should not exist. So the question is, how did this group of Stings come to Jarilo-VI?

"Crack--"

Reaching out to wipe off the thick ice and snow accumulated on the road, Ilu saw a metal manhole cover. She picked it up without hesitation and tossed it aside, revealing the dark underground space below.

For some reason, the temperature in the well was much higher than outside, even close to 10 degrees, but she couldn't fit into it in her current mecha form.

"Tsk, hearing the voices of these guys is really annoying."

Looking at the bottomless sewer pipe, Ilu realized that she had to cancel the transformation and then slowly climb down the ladder to find the traces of the Sting Swarms along the underground waterway of the city, while her defense was broken on the spot.

She had thought this trip to Jarilo-VI would be a pure battle, but she didn't expect to encounter such a disgusting thing.

She hopes that there won't be any Stings on the next Xianzhou and Penocony trip; otherwise, she won't be able to bear it!

"Cancel the transformation."

"Hiss... It's so cold! Why didn't Fu Li give me some ice resistance?"

After changing back from the form of a silver mecha, Ilu's teeth trembled with the cold that surged from the surroundings. She immediately climbed into the well and simultaneously activated the power of "Remembrance," holding a ball of faint blue light in her hand, ready to deal with the Juvenile Stings that might rush up from below.

Fortunately, the Swarm was still far away from her position.

"Boom!"

After climbing to a certain height and ensuring she wouldn't fall and get hurt, Ilu jumped to the ground.

Looking at the dark and narrow underground passage ahead, she couldn't help but frown. It was so narrow... and so hot. There seemed to be an unknown heat source deep in this underground waterway, which kept the temperature of this underground space above room temperature.

---

---

Chapter 34: The Remnants of the Ashen Sun Swarm

"Tick, tick--!" Standing on the dark and damp brick road, Ilu could clearly hear the sound of dripping water, which meant that the temperature here was high enough to melt the ice and snow.

The bricks on the wall had long been weathered and fallen off, and they were wet. The water that gathered after the ice and snow melted left mottled erosion marks on them, and now their colors were almost invisible.

If this was the underground area of Belobog, she might not feel any surprise; at least there were people living there.

But the problem is that the underground waterway she was in is located under a city that has been frozen by cold waves for nearly a thousand years.

It is impossible for such warm and spring-like signs to appear here.

Taking this unusual and strange environment into consideration, Ilu held the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath in one hand, used the lighting bracelet on the wrist of the other hand to assess the road conditions ahead, and took a tentative step forward.

The passages in this underground area are complex and dim, which is her least favorite terrain.

Although it is no problem to become a Glamoth Iron Cavalry Knight in this place, she would lose her best mobility advantage, and her vision would be severely limited. If she encountered more Sting Swarms, there would be no way to bypass it.

"The temperature is gradually rising, and the distance should be very close..."

After walking about 50 meters forward, Ilu could clearly feel that the temperature around her was gradually rising, from more than 10 degrees when she first came in to a level close to the temperature of a summer room, which meant that there were one or more heat sources near her.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was probably no more than 200 meters. Not far ahead was the intersection of multiple underground pipelines. If she continued to move forward like this, she would probably encounter danger.

In other words, it was almost time for her to say hello to those guys.

In such a hot environment, coupled with the inexplicable appearance of the Sting Swarms in Jarilo-VI, it was really hard not to guess their true identity.

"I hope it's not what I think..."

Putting the Iron Knight Transformation Sheath in her hand on her chest, Ilu looked up at the entrance of the cave emitting a dark red strange light in front of her and chose to summon the Snow Fyrefly-V armor here without hesitation.

"Transform!"

Accompanied by a flash of faint blue light, a silver-white mecha knight replaced the previous silver-haired girl and stood in place. It released a large amount of low-temperature gas the moment it appeared, directly condensing the nearby gurgling water into ice.

It's melted, right?

I'll freeze you again.

"Swoosh!"

The wings of light blooming behind her streaked across the sky with a lonely blue light and rushed to the entrance of the cave in front of the girl. The cold spread wherever she went, and the wet walls on both sides were instantly covered with a thick layer of frost, symbolizing the arrival of this uninvited guest.

After leaving this narrow underground pipeline, Ilu's eyes suddenly became clear, and she came to an extremely wide underground space.

What came into view were the residues left by countless voidrangers and fragmentum creatures, as well as a pile of dead bones that had been eroded by time.

Obviously, this underground cave was once a battlefield where humans and monsters fought—but now, it has become a nest for Sting swarms to hatch.

Countless red coleoptera were dormant on the rock wall below, covered with flame patterns, densely packed into a large area. Sometimes they flapped their elytra to make a harsh buzzing sound, while more of them lay motionless on it. A viscous, high-temperature liquid similar to magma was secreted from their tails, flowing slowly along the rock wall to the bottom of the underground cave.

Looking down, there was a bottomless dark red pool. They seemed to be using these nutrients to breed something.

"It's you!"

Seeing this group of very familiar Juvenile Stinging Stings, Ilu drew the mantis blade hidden in her arms without hesitation. The cold air spread over it, turning into a very lethal ultra-low temperature air blade on the outermost layer.

The DNA moved, and there was no way to go.

As a Glamoth Iron Cavalry Knight, she had a condition that made her feel uncomfortable when she saw Stings. To cure this condition, perhaps she had to kill all the Stings in this world.

Kill, kill, kill!

I'm not pretending anymore. I'm going to start hunting mode directly!

Kill all the Stings here. Don't even think about surviving!

"Sizzle!"

The moment Ilu removed her mimicry, the Stings in the cave noticed this uninvited guest. Seeing the silver iron cavalry with azure wings flying towards them, they instantly became a mess.

"Swoosh!"

The girl shuttled between the Stings at a terrifying speed that was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch. The ultra-low temperature air blade on the outside of the mantis blade cut them into several pieces without any resistance. The remaining coldness on the blade spread rapidly, freezing the remains of the group of termites into ice in the blink of an eye.

The alien Lesser Stings that tried to rush over and self-destruct with her in the distance were directly frozen into a large mass by Ilu's freezing rays.

Under the gravity of Jarilo-VI, they fell uncontrollably towards the dark red Sting pulp pool below, and finally set off a violent explosion underground.

"Want to self-destruct? Hold it in!"

The last time she fought these alien Sting swarms, they were near the huge dark red star. Because the ambient temperature was too high, the freezing had little effect on them.

But this time, the battle took place in Jarilo-VI, where the cold wave spread. The surrounding temperature could not be much higher. These alien Sting swarms had already lost their home advantage and could only watch as Ilu went on a rampage in front of them. Any Sting that tried to escape from the pipe would be caught up and chopped into several pieces by her.

As mentioned before, for the safety of everyone in the Express group, Ilu did not intend to let any Sting leave here. They all had to die here today.

"Shhh!!!"

At this moment, the Stings recalled the fear of being dominated by extreme cold and the humiliation of being trapped in ice for tens of thousands of years.

It was a memory scene transmitted by the Ashen Sun Swarm King before it lost contact. In this memory shared by all the Swarm, they saw a silver knight breaking through numerous obstacles and flying towards the King like a god of death descending from the sky, and finally shooting a blue bullet that seemed to be able to freeze everything in its path.

And she came again.

------

---

Chapter 35: Strange Snowdrift 

"Wow! How come there are so many frozen monsters here?"

Walking on the desolate and silent snowfield, March 7th was surprised to find many frozen remains of voidrangers on the roadside. The raging blizzard had buried most of their bodies in the snow. It seemed that many years had passed.

Not only that, but many buildings had also been buried by snow. If you didn't look carefully, you might not be able to see any traces of human survival here.

"They are voidrangers of the Antimatter Legion. It seems that the current state of Jarilo-VI should have a lot to do with their invasion..."

Reaching out to wipe off the ice and snow covering the remains of these voidrangers, Stelle recognized their true appearance and then turned his head to look at the black-haired young man who was also observing them. "Dan Heng, can you tell when they died?"

It wasn't just the Antimatter Corps that had been frozen into ice; there were also some Silvermane Guards wearing silver-gray armor and automatic robot devices made by the IPC.

It could be seen that this place seemed to be a battlefield where both sides had fought. A very fierce battle broke out a long, long time ago.

However, the sudden cold wave that arrived at some point submerged everything and encased all things equally in ice.

"The exact time is not clear yet. I guess it should be about a thousand years, or even longer."

Reaching out to take off a broken piece of iron from the shell of the automatic robot, Dan Heng lowered his head and looked at it carefully for a while, then threw it into the snow on the side and looked at the Fragmentum creatures wandering in the snow in the distance.

"This place has not been eroded by the Fragmentum, but the monsters bred by the Fragmentum have already run out. The impact of the Stellaron on this world may be extraordinary."

"Hey! Did you see it? Something seems to be moving over there..."

Just then, March 7th's eyes suddenly lit up. She didn't know what she had discovered. She looked past the Fragmentum creature in front of her and pointed to the snow pile in the distance.

"It's just an ordinary snow pile. Are you sure it's not your imagination?"

Dan Heng questioned this pink-haired girl, who usually liked to be startled, but March 7th still believed that her eyes were not wrong.

"Absolutely not! My eyesight is very good! Let's go; let's get closer and take a look!"

"Okay, let's go and take a look."

...

"Hey? Why is there someone hiding in here?"

In the real world, Jiahun had just controlled the Trailblazer to defeat the Fragmentum creature that blocked the road and followed the task instructions to the vicinity of the "strange snow pile" mentioned by March 7th.

As soon as she got close, she heard the trembling sound of someone shivering from the cold. Jiahun immediately realized that there was a person hiding in the snow pile and couldn't help but complain to the comments: "This person is so brave that he dares to hide in the snow pile. Isn't he afraid of freezing to death?"

[Jiahun, you don't know. It's actually warm to lie under the snow pile, and it's easy to freeze to death if you run around in the cold wind.]

[Don't worry; there's a hot man inside; he won't freeze to death.]

[By the way, where did Ilu go?]

[She should have gone to collect intelligence; after all, she is the only one among the four protagonists who can act alone in the severe cold environment.]

[Alas, I can't go with Ilu; I always feel something is missing.]

As the comments in the livestream room chatted, it shifted from the unknown person hiding in the snow pile to Ilu, who had just left not long ago. They really hoped that Ilu could also join the exploration team and form a real four-person team to act together.

However, it seemed that this extremely popular DLC character also had her own things to do and often could not travel with the protagonist group.

"Ding--!"

Just when Jiahun was about to interact with the strange snow pile in front of her, she suddenly received a text message from Ilu, which instantly attracted the attention of her and her friends.

"Hey, Ilu sent me a message..."

Opening the text message interface, Jiahun was stunned by the several messages displayed on it:

"Ilu: Sorry, I have encountered some troubles here, and I may not be able to meet up with you for the time being."

"Ilu: There are big problems on this planet; you must be careful and remember to contact me if you encounter any abnormalities."

"Ilu: Okay, that's all for now."

"--The other party is offline."

Without even giving her time to reply, Ilu hurriedly went offline, which made Jiahun feel a little confused. "What did Ilu encounter?"

[Could it be that she met the final boss?]

[No way, we just arrived at Jarilo-VI; how could we encounter an enemy that even Ilu can't deal with?]

[I remember she seemed to say that she was going to clean up the fragmentum tunnel. I guess she can't spare the time to come back. After all, this planet was severely damaged by the Stellaron.]

"Oh... I remember Dan Heng also said just now that the Stellaron has a serious impact on this world. Maybe she encountered a more powerful fragmentum creature."

Looking at the speculation given by the livestream room, Jiahun nodded thoughtfully. She closed the message interface and returned to the main storyline.

...

"Hey! Don't hide; you're shivering from the cold..."

Standing near the strange snow pile, March 7th was looking down and shouting at the person hiding inside. Suddenly, she saw Stelle staring at the phone screen in a daze. She couldn't help but blink in confusion. "What's wrong, Stelle?"

"It's Ilu. She just sent me a message."

"Oh? What did she say?"

"Ilu said she might not be able to come back for the time being. There is something wrong with this planet. Let's be careful."

The gray-haired girl said as she turned her eyes to a strange snow pile and quietly took out a baseball bat from her back.

"Yeah! I understand."

Seeing Stelle's cautious behavior, March 7th also understood what she meant and took out her ice bow from the folding space. The arrow was strung and ready to be fired at any time.

Ilu was right. There was indeed something wrong here. They had to be alert.

"The guy hiding inside, come out quickly!"

Stelle pointed the baseball bat at the snow pile in front of her and said resolutely, "Otherwise, we will not be polite."

"..."

The snow pile fell into silence and did not move, as if it were dead.

"It's no use for you to hold back your voice..."

Looking at the scene in front of her, March 7th sighed helplessly, although she also wanted to get this guy out of the snow pile.

But she knew that if she took action, she might freeze this guy in the snow pile, and it would not melt.

They still had to let someone else do it...

"Make way, March."

Just as March 7th was hesitating whether to let Stelle hit the snow pile with a stick, Dan Heng who was not far away walked over with an expressionless face, and a simple spear emerged from his hand.

"The best way to deal with this kind of guy who is trying to cover up his own mistakes is naturally—"

"The truth of life and death, revealed in an instant."

"This sanctuary, is but a vision...."

"Break!"

-----

---

Chapter 36: Encounter with Gepard 

“Ouch!”

After being hit hard by Dan Heng with the butt of his spear, Sampo rolled out of the snow pile, holding his backside.

Looking at the people in front of him who were preparing for battle, he said with a wronged expression,

“No, buddy! I just hid in the snow pile for a while. Why do you have to hit me with a stick?”

“You are hiding and don’t look like a good person at first glance.”

March 7th scrutinized the young man with blue-purple hair, her vigilance evident as she muttered, “I called you for a long time just now, and you didn’t say a word. You deserve to be hit.”

“Hey! Little girl, there’s no need to judge people by appearance, right?”

“Which good person has nothing to do and goes into a snow pile?”

“Uh…”

Realizing he might not be right, Sampo scratched his head a little embarrassedly and smiled, “Ah, this is indeed not the fault of the heroes! Haha, I appeared a little abruptly, and it is worth it, should, and must be hit! Otherwise, how could I get to know you all so quickly?”

“Excuse me, is Commander Gepard here? I’m quite familiar with him…”

While speaking, Sampo looked behind everyone, as if searching for someone.

Listening to what he said, March 7th couldn’t help but frown and interrupted, “Who?”

“Ah? You don’t know him?”

Seeing the reaction of the pink-haired girl, Sampo was slightly stunned. After realizing what was going on, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “Huh, so you are not the Silvermane Guards. You should have said it earlier; the misunderstanding is resolved…”

Knowing that the people present were not the Silvermane Guards under Gepard, he immediately became enthusiastic. He introduced himself briefly to everyone, and invited them to join his merchant gang.

“Merchant… gang?”

Listening to his self-narration, the corners of March 7th’s mouth twitched. “Mr. Sambo, do you want to consider what you are talking about? Who uses 'gang' to describe merchants?”

“Ahaha, I accidentally said it, companions! Companions!”

Hearing this, Sampo spread his hands a little embarrassedly and explained, “After all, doing business always involves some risks. Who let the rules set by the Silvermane Guards be so strict? Sometimes we can only hide from them and run around.”

“I heard you keep mentioning the Silvermane Guards. Who are they and where do they live?”

“Oh? You are talking about them. To be straightforward, you just want to ask where there are still living people.”

Hearing the question from Stelle, Sampo showed a matter-of-fact expression and pointed in a certain direction. “The only place in this world where humans still live is our ‘Belobog,’ and the Silvermane Guards are the army, law enforcers, and police there. Remember to avoid them.”

“Belobog? Well, you can also call it ‘The City of Preservation,’ ‘The City of Eternal Preservation,’ or ‘The Only Fortress of Humanity Against the Eternal Freeze.’ Although the names sound intimidating, they are also true. After all, most of the humans outside are dead, and only by hiding behind this iron wall can you have a chance to survive.”

“…” Looking at Sampo’s smiling face, Stelle couldn’t help but recall Ilu’s reminder. She felt for some reason that this man appear a little off.

Why did it feel like he was waiting for them here on purpose?

Since Belobog's law enforcers are called the “Silvermane Guards,” where did he learn the title “policeman”? Although she had doubts in her heart, she didn’t say much when she heard that Sampo was willing to lead them into the city as a guide and followed his footsteps toward Belobog. Then—

“Have we run into the Silvermane Guards?”

“It seems so.”

“What should we do? Should we take action or hand this guy over?”

“Ah... No, buddy?!”

Listening to the Express crew discussing whether to hand him over to the Silvermane Guards blocking the road in front of them, Sampo's face turned green.

“Brothers treat you as good brothers; why do you treat your brother as ATMs?”

“Help me, buddy! I don't want to be caught!”

“Spot the suspect and his accomplices; execute the arrest order!”

Looking at Sampo and the Express crew standing next to him, the Silvermane Guards present did not intend to give March 7th and the others a chance to explain. They picked up their weapons and rushed over to surround them, intending to arrest them all.

“No choice; it seems we can only fight…”

“Stelle, don’t hit them too hard. We are not enemies.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Listening to Dan Heng’s reminder, Stelle pulled out a baseball bat and knocked down all the Silvermane Guards who rushed at her, while Sampo took the opportunity to slip away quietly when the Express crew was entangled with the Silvermane Guards.

“Hey! Let you taste my power… eh?!”

Just when March 7th was about to freeze the group of Silvermane Guards in place with ice arrows, a blond young man holding a black guitar case and wearing silver-white armor suddenly stepped up and blocked her attack with one hand.

“Where is the blue-haired main culprit?”

After blocking all the ice arrows, he turned his head and asked the Silvermane Guards beside him.

“Sorry, Commander Gepard! We lost him. We can’t find his trace…”

“It doesn’t matter. His accomplices are still here with us. The main culprit won’t be too far away; he will definitely take action. We just need to wait for him to return here.”

Looking at the Express crew surrounded by the Silvermane Guards not far away, Gepard's tone was confident. He appeared sure that the blue-haired man would turn back to pick up the accomplices in front of him.

“Are you sure you want to wait for that man to come back?”

Listening to their conversation, March 7th spread her hands helplessly and couldn’t help but complain, “That may not be possible…”

“That’s right.”

Stelle nodded in agreement.

Looking at the speed at which the blue-haired guy ran away, it was estimated that he would never come back for the rest of his life.

Well… she doesn't know if this situation is dangerous. How about sending a text message to Ilu?

Thinking this, the gray-haired girl quietly put her hand into her pocket, but her small action was quickly caught by the observant Gepard.

He immediately pointed his finger at Stelle and scolded her sternly, “You are now a suspect. Before the arbitration panel makes a decision about you, you are not allowed to touch any communication equipment. Put down your meaningless resistance and surrender!”

“Uh… No, you misunderstood. I want to show you the photos.”

Realizing that it was impossible to contact Ilu in front of Gepard, Stelle quickly thought of a way to break the deadlock. She turned to March 7th beside her. “March, show him your photo and prove to this officer that we are from the Astral Express.”

“Yes! Stelle, you are brilliant. Isn’t this a good idea?”

Hearing Stelle’s suggestion, March 7th suddenly realized and clapped her hands. Then she smiled and looked at Gepard, who was frowning beside her, showing her camera hanging on her waist. “You probably haven’t seen what your own planet looks like? Let me show you a photo of Jarilo-VI…”

“Astral Express?”

Looking at the pink-haired girl who had put away her weapon and walked toward her with a camera, Gepard couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. He waved his hand to signal the Silvermane Guard beside him to lower their weapons.

“Let her come over.”

“Yes, sir.”

He looked down at the photos shown by March 7th, and his frown gradually relaxed, revealing a rather surprised expression. “Is this… our planet?”

“Well, there’s also this one, which is a group photo of our Astral Express. Is it enough to prove our identity?”

“It seems that this is indeed a misunderstanding.”

With this strong evidence, the misunderstanding between the two sides was quickly resolved. Gepard ordered the Silvermane Guards behind him to lay down their weapons. The group walked toward Belobog while discussing the future of this planet.

“I just heard you say that, in addition to the three of you, it seems there is another unknown guest who has come here. Why don’t I see her?”

“Ilu… She is currently in the uninhabited area over there, collecting information about this world. It is said that she has encountered some troubles and cannot come back for the time being.”

“Over there?”

Looking in the direction where March 7th pointed, Gepard was stunned for a moment.

They didn’t know what bad memories he recalled, but his brows knitted more tightly. He reminded them in a serious tone,

“It’s very dangerous over there. Even our Silvermane Guards rarely set foot in that farther area. If you are considering the safety of that friend, please notify her and let her come back as soon as possible.”

Chapter 37: The Cold Wave of Remembrance

While the Express crew followed Gepard to Belobog, Ilu was still fighting fiercely against thousands of alien Red Sting swarms in an unknown underground cave.

It was not the first time she had fought against thousands of them alone.

Although the Snow Fyrefly-V Mech did not have the strong wide-area destructive power of the Fyrefly-IV Mech, which could kill hundreds of Sting swarms in an instant, as long as she killed them quickly enough, she could still compete with the full-power "Sam" in terms of efficiency.

Especially since the Red Sting swarms she was facing now were born with the characteristics of high temperature, and "Sam"'s attack had little effect on them. The only cavalry that could effectively kill these fireflies was Ilu.

"Swoosh!"

An alien Lesser Sting hit by the freezing ray fell into the dark red magma pool below.

At the moment of unfreezing, it set off a violent explosion in the cave like a heavy bomb. The boiling dark red Sting pulp was blown away by the shock wave of the explosion for dozens of meters, splashing onto the nearby rocks and making a hissing sound.

However, before the pool of Sting pulp calmed down, dozens of Juvenile Stings were shot down by Ilu in the air. Countless broken limbs and arms fell into the bubbling magma pool like raindrops, sinking into it and disappearing without a trace.

"Really, there are too many of these guys. It feels like I can't kill them all in a short time..."

After throwing away another Sting corpse hanging on her mantis blade, Ilu frowned and looked at the red Sting swarm below. She noticed that the number of these Juvenile Stinging Stings did not decrease despite her killingspree.

On the contrary, perhaps because they were scared by her, these Stings actually began to replicate themselves regardless of everything. The hundreds of Stings she had just killed were soon replenished by their frenzied Propagation behavior.

This is definitely not going to work. We must find a way to kill them all in one go. In that case—

"So I still have to use this move..."

Looking down at the right hand emitting a chill, Ilu took a deep breath, clenched it into a fist, and called upon her own "Remembrance."

The azure light suddenly lit up in the dark and sultry cave like a dazzling morning star.

The next second, an extremely low-temperature cold wave broke out with Ilu at its center, releasing a blue light waterfall that seemed capable of freezing everything. It froze the rock wall with red Sting slurry flowing around it and the young hibernating Stings lying on it into ice, spreading to the magma pool below that was emitting terrifying heat at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, the entire underground cave suddenly began to shake violently, as if something had awakened.

"Puff!"

A red lava ray gushed out from the dark red magma pool below and collided directly with the dark blue light waterfall from above.

The heat and cold clashed, resulting in a deafening roar.

What is this?!

Could it be that there are bigger Stings hidden beneath it?

Seeing this scene, Ilu's pupils shrank slightly, and she did not hesitate to increase the output power of "Remembrance." The dark blue cracks like tree marks spread on her right arm at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then a more dazzling azure light bloomed in her palm.

Using money for your game account will make it stronger.

So, what about a person who uses Life Force as fuel for their attack?

"I don't believe that this can't take you down!"

As Ilu thought about how much "Remembrance" she had spent to deal with these insects hidden underground in Jarilo-VI, she couldn't help but feel increasingly angry. If she didn't deal with these guys now, no one could predict what kind of disaster they would cause later.

"Crack—"

With the spread of extreme cold and the splashing of crystal ice mist, the temperature in the entire underground cave began to drop sharply, and even the hot and boiling magma pool below was affected, slowly condensing a layer of frost on the surface, freezing together with the dark red lava flowing below.

Like lava but condensed into ice, it was as if time had suspended at this moment. Such a strange scene was not something that could appear in nature, but for Ilu, this was not impossible.

"Huh... It's finally over."

After retracting all the extra "Remembrance" into her body, Ilu felt that her right arm had lost consciousness again, almost exactly like the situation after her battle with the Doomsday Beast not long ago.

But for some reason, this time she didn't feel how much "Remembrance" had been added, and the dark blue lines spreading on her arm showed no signs of fading.

Fortunately, after the reminder from Herta, she had realized where her power came from. Ilu tried to mobilize the "Remembrance" stored in other parts of her body and transferred them to her right arm.

With the influx of these "Remembrance," the dark blue lines on her arm finally showed signs of fading, and some fine dark blue cracks appeared in the corners of Ilu's eyes.

However, at this time, Ilu's attention was entirely on the lava pool below that had been frozen into a glacier by her, and she did not notice the changes in herself.

Reflecting on what had just happened, she couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"By the way, how did this specific Swarm come to Jarilo-VI? Could it be that they were teleported here by the fragmentum phenomenon caused by the 'Stellaron' like me?"

This problem was definitely not something that could be figured out in a short time. Ilu knew this clearly. She decided not to stay here. She spread the elytra light wings behind her and transformed into a blue meteor, flying away from this troubled place.

She wanted to go somewhere else to see if there were other fish that had escaped the net.

If other parts of this planet had been occupied by the Swarm, then the entire Jarilo-VI would be in danger. If the IPC knew about this, it would probably send out a fleet to raze this place to the ground immediately.

------

---

Chapter 38: Heroes Appear

"As you can see, the monsters from the eroded space 'fragmentum' are also one of the threats currently facing Belobog. We Silvermane Guards have been fighting them, but the situation is not optimistic. After meeting with the Supreme Guardian later, I hope to ask for your opinions on this matter. We also lack external intelligence."

Under the leadership of Gepard, the Express crew successfully entered the protective city of Belobog which was surrounded by steel walls, and arrived at the residence of the Supreme Guardian Cocolia.

"Ding--!"

Just then, Stelle's mobile phone suddenly rang with a message reminder. She was slightly stunned, then took out her phone and looked at the message on the screen:

"Ilu: The trouble is temporarily over. I'm fine. Tell March 7th and the others not to worry."

"Ilu: There are some things I need to discuss with you privately. Where are you now? I'll come find you."

Ilu?

Who was it...

Ah! Wait, she was just discussing sending a message to Ilu to ask her to come back quickly. How could she forget something so important?!

When Stelle saw the message for the first time, she didn't immediately recognize who had sent it.

It wasn't until a familiar memory came to her mind that she realized how significant her oversight was, and she couldn't help but feel scared.

"What's wrong? Who is sending you a message?"

Looking at the gray-haired girl staring blankly at her phone screen, Gepard asked in confusion.

"It's Ilu. She's finished her work there and is coming to join us."

"Ilu?" Gepard frowned.

The name sounded familiar. He seemed to have heard it just moments ago but had forgotten it.

"Ilu..."

Dan Heng frowned slightly and turned to March 7th. "It seems that it's that situation again..."

"Well... we forgot about her again."

March 7th scratched her hair in distress. "Really, I hate this situation the most!"

"Wait a minute; I'll send her a text message."

While Stelle spoke, she typed two messages on her phone and replied.

"Stelle: We have just arrived at Belobog. It was Gepard, the guard captain of the Silvermane Guard who brought us in."

"Stelle: If you are planning to enter the city, we can send you a message in advance."

Not long after the message was sent, she soon received a reply from Ilu:

"Ilu: No need, I'm already here."

"Ilu: The hero has arrived!"

"Boom!"

Before Stelle could react to what was happening, she saw a silver figure with a dark blue tail falling from the sky like a meteor.

When it was less than 20 meters from the ground, it braked, slowed down, and landed steadily in front of everyone, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes as the temperature around it dropped to freezing point.

"Who is it?!"

Seeing that the figure had ignored Belobog's heavy steel barriers and landed directly near the mansion of the Supreme Guardian, Gepard was shocked. He immediately took off the piano case hanging on his back and scolded the figure harshly.

The Silvermane Guards on the side also drew their hand cannons and axes, surrounding the suddenly appearing mecha knight, ready to attack at any moment.

"Uh..." Seeing this scene, Stelle and March 7th exchanged glances and couldn't help but sigh.

Ilu really likes to mess around. It can only be said that she is true to her nature. 

"Captain Gepard, this is the companion we just mentioned, Miss Ilu."

Seeing the tense situation, even the usually taciturn Dan Heng couldn't help but stand up and explain to the group of Silvermane Guards who were prepared for battle: "Her way of appearing... uh, has always been special. She usually takes the most efficient route and rarely goes through various cumbersome procedures."

"So that's it; she is really a unique unknown guest... Everyone, put down your weapons. This is not an enemy."

Listening to Dan Heng's explanation, Gepard understood that the mecha knight in front of him was not an enemy of Belobog, but his expression was still displeased, as if he had eaten a sour lemon. In his opinion, this was a show of strength that the people from the Astral Express had prepared for him, proving that they had the ability to compete with the Silvermane Guards.

But soon, he changed his mind...

"Remove the transformation."

Seeing that all the Silvermane Guards around him had lowered their weapons, Ilu also reverted from her Iron Cavalry Knight form covered in frost back to the petite and delicate silver-haired girl she was before.

"Sorry, everyone. What I want to say is very important. I had to find you as soon as possible, and this was the only way I could meet you."

Ilu glanced at everyone present and finally fixed her gaze on Gepard. She took a deep breath and said in a serious tone:

"Captain Gepard, have your Silvermane Guards recently investigated other cities buried in ice and snow?"

"No."

Gepard shook his head and replied, "The Supreme Guardian issued a ban three years ago, prohibiting us Silvermane Guards from leaving the area 20 kilometers from Belobog, designating those places as 'forbidden areas.' Unless the Supreme Guardian allows it, we are forbidden to enter these 'forbidden areas.'"

The will of Preservation is to safeguard the people of Belobog. For dangerous areas outside the city, they naturally have no need to risk their lives to explore.

"That's the problem."

Ilu asked Gepard another question: "If there is a creature whose numbers show an exponential growth trend, do you think it poses a significant threat to humans?"

"This..."

Gepard frowned slightly at the question posed by Ilu. Although he didn't know what the girl in front of him wanted to express, from the perspective of the people of Belobog, the answer to this question was very clear:

"I think this creature is very threatening. The current resources of Jarilo-VI are very limited. If other creatures want to snatch these resources, then they are undoubtedly enemies of our Silvermane Guard."

A creature that can exhibit exponential growth?

March 7th and the others also heard what Ilu said. For the Express crew members who knew her background, after hearing this description, the first name that came to their minds was the "Propagation" Tayzzyronth, who had brought endless catastrophes to the universe.

Could there still be remnants of "Propagation" on Jarilo-VI?

If this is true, then the problems on this planet are much more serious than imagined.

-------

---

Chapter 39: Meeting the Supreme Guardian 

"Next is the third question."

Ilu looked into Gepard's blue eyes and asked her next question: "If we want to kill these creatures and stop their reproduction, when is the best time to do it?"

"You mean, this kind of creature has appeared on Jarilo-VI?"

Gepard was not a fool who only knew how to fight. Under Ilu's step-by-step guidance, he quickly realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately asked in return.

"Yes, they are remnants of The Propagation. I just found their nest."

Ilu nodded lightly, and her casually spoken words shocked everyone present. Gepard was undoubtedly the most shocked person among them. It was the first time he had heard of such terrible creatures on Jarilo-VI.

This matter was closely related to him and the people of Belobog, and he could not ignore it.

"Where are they?!"

"Don't worry; I have just completely wiped out the tens of thousands of bugs in that nest."

Hearing this, Ilu smiled and spread her hands, indicating that the crisis had been resolved by her alone.

"After dealing with the nest, I went to a farther place, but I didn't find any trace of them."

"According to my current guess, the appearance of the swarm is likely related to the anomaly caused by the 'Stellaron.' Otherwise, there is no way to explain why they appeared on this planet."

"But you don't need to worry about them attacking Belobog for the time being. According to my observations, these bugs don't seem willing to go to the surface, perhaps because they are afraid of the cold."

Of course, they may also fear being detected by the Engine of Creation left by "Qlipoth."

In that case, this large robot would likely run out of Belobog without hesitation, smashing the bugs it encountered into powder with one punch after another.

However, Ilu wouldn’t say this out loud. After all, she was a newcomer, and knowing too much could easily raise suspicions.

"Is that so?"

Knowing that Ilu had cleared a 'Propagation' Sting nest, Gepard couldn't help but bow his head and fall into deep thought.

He realized that the fighting power of the silver-haired girl in front of him was much stronger than he had imagined. Another thing that concerned him was the group of Stings that had appeared on Jarilo-VI at an unknown time. He had to report this to the Supreme Guardian.

"Miss Ilu, on behalf of the Silvermane Guard, I would like to thank you for your efforts. I will apply to Lord Cocolia for permission to investigate the restricted area later."

"In addition, I sent an envoy to convey the message in advance. Lord Cocolia is already aware of your arrival. Please follow me." Gepard waved his hand, motioning for everyone to follow him.

Following Gepard's guidance, the group entered the residence of the Supreme Guardian.

As soon as they entered the spacious and bright meeting hall, Ilu heard Cocolia and Bronya arguing about something.

"...But this sacrifice is meaningless; you can't—"

"Okay, you can leave, Bronya; our visitor has arrived."

The blonde woman standing behind the desk noticed the arrival of the Express team and sternly signaled to the black-haired beauty with the three-turbine spiral hairstyle to leave. Although the latter was somewhat reluctant, she glanced at the people standing behind her, hesitated, and agreed.

"Yes, Mother."

...

At the same time, in the real world.

After learning from Ilu that there was The Propagation Swarms on Jarilo-VI, the comments in Jiahun's livestream room exploded instantly. No one expected her to bring back such explosive news.

In the subsequent negotiations between the Express Crew and Cocolia, viewers began speculating whether this Supreme Guardian had any connection with the Sting Swarms that appeared on the planet.

[Fuck! There are Stings on Jarilo-VI? Is it really that exciting?]

[But from what Cocolia said, she didn't seem to know about the bugs. These creatures hid very well; I don't know how Ilu found them.]

[But Gepard said that the ban was issued by her. Logically, Cocolia should know what happened there; otherwise, there would be no need to stop people from going.]

[Is there a possibility that only Belobog maintains a normal temperature, and breaking into other areas would only lead to freezing to death from the cold wave? Would she let the Silvermane Guards go there to die?]

"This... Is Cocolia a bad person? I feel a little confused."

Glancing at the comments in the livestream room and looking at the various incredible speculations from the fans, Jiahun's mind was a bit overloaded.

She knew that everything about Jarilo-VI was closely related to this Supreme Guardian, but she was not sure whether this blonde woman was the one responsible for the planet's current state.

"Cocolia: Tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?"

"Dan Heng: We are here for something called a Stellaron."

"Cocolia: Stellaron?"

"Dan Heng: It is a substance that suddenly lands on various worlds. Its appearance also means disaster. The planets we pass through are all poisoned by the Stellaron..."

"So, is the cold wave here also caused by Nanook?"

Looking at the options given on the screen, Jiahun couldn't help but complain in a low voice: "I originally thought he would only blow the planets he passed by into slag, but I didn't expect that his methods were quite gentle..."

["Gentle?"]

[Ah? You call this gentle?]

[Do you want to see what you're talking about?]

"But Ilu did this but much larger..."

Jiahun said a little aggrievedly: "Isn't it gentle?"

[Grass]

[Hahaha! Damn, you are worthy of it!]

[It seems impossible to refute.]

[Oh no, I seem to have fallen into the logic of the fool's answer.]

-----------------

As the negotiations between the two sides continued, something unexpected yet reasonable happened.

Cocolia tactfully rejected the cooperation request made by the Express Crew. She didn't appear to believe what they said, or perhaps she didn’t want to involve everyone.

But after hearing Dan Heng mention that the Astral Express had a way to seal the Stellaron, the other party suddenly changed the subject and immediately agreed.

"Okay, I believe you. If all this is really related to the Stellaron, your arrival will be the hope that Belobog has been waiting for for 7th hundred years. I am willing to provide all possible assistance to help you find the Stellaron..."

"As for Gepard, for the sake of your Silvermane Guards' safety, I have rejected your application for investigation. The Stellaron Corrosion in the city has not yet been dealt with, so don't waste your energy exploring such a dangerous place."

"It's getting late, and you must be tired. I will arrange for you to rest in the best hotel in the city and have a good sleep. I will send someone to invite you at noon tomorrow, and then we will discuss this matter carefully."

After saying this, Cocolia couldn't wait to announce the end of the negotiation and sent Gepard to escort the Express Crew to the door.

"What a pity; the Supreme Guardian rejected my application for investigation..."

After leaving the Supreme Guardian's mansion, Gepard reflected on the negotiation process between everyone and Cocolia and couldn't help but sigh helplessly. "The Silvermane Guards cannot leave their posts without permission. Although I want to help you, I can only act according to orders. This is my duty."

"Thank you, Commander Gepard. We understand your difficulties, and you have done enough for us," Ilu said with a smile.

"Well, let's not dwell on this too much. I still have a task to do early tomorrow. You can explore here first. If you get tired, go to Goethe Hotel to rest... By the way, remember to avoid the alley where the Silvermane Guards are stationed. It has been affected by the fragmentum erosion and has been blocked."

-------

Chapter 40: I Am Really a Genius!

"Has the corrosion approached the interior of the city? It seems that the situation is more serious than expected."

Looking at Gepard's departing figure, Dan Heng held his chin with one hand, looking thoughtful. "So what should we do now?"

Looking up at the still blue sky above her head, Stelle realized that there was still a long time before dark, and they were not in a hurry to go to the hotel to rest for a while.

"Well... let's listen to Gepard. Let's go to the attractions he introduced, and then take some photos together?" March 7th thought for a while and made a suggestion that only she would make.

"I have no objection to March's proposal. When you arrive in an unfamiliar place, you should quickly familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment to deal with the emergencies that may be encountered next." After speaking, Dan Heng looked back at the silver-haired girl following behind everyone. "Ilu, what about you? Do you plan to go around here with us, or continue to look for the remnants of 'Propagation'?"

"Me..."

Hearing this, Ilu hesitated for a while. When she thought that she would not get any benefit from working so hard in Jarilo-VI, and that Cocolia might attack the Express group during her absence, she nodded and agreed with a random reason.

"Cocolia probably doesn't like me running around. To avoid her thinking too much, I'd better go with you."

Of course, the more important reason is that she needs to replenish the power of "Remembrance" now. Continuing to carry out pest control in the no-man's land is tantamount to suicide.

When Herta conducted the second physical examination on her, he said that every time she consumed the "Remembrance" in her body, she would extract the memories of "Ilu" from other people, and the more impressive the person was, the more Remembrance would be extracted.

But Ilu didn't want this to happen. If this power that could rival the Emanator was exchanged for everyone's memories, then she would rather not have this strength.

"Hmm... How can I do this?"

While silently following March 7th and others to visit the landmark buildings of Belobog, Ilu was thinking about how to get more "memories" to fill the gaps in her body.

You know, you can't catch a sheep to fleece, and you're afraid that you'll fleece all the sheep. It's better to follow March 7th and others around the city for a few more rounds to make more people remember her. Not to say it's impressive, but at least you have to meet them once and leave a small memory in their minds.

In this way, it can accumulate a little, and when you extract the memory, you won't focus on a few people in the Express crew.

Besides, Ilu didn't feel guilty about getting "memories" from passers-bys. She hoped that these passers-by could forget her quickly, and then she could harvest another round...

Wait!

At this moment, Ilu suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up.

A brilliant idea emerged in her mind—wanted posters.

Yes! When the Express Crew and Cocolia have a falling out, her wanted posters should be everywhere in the city. She can see them on the streets. Then she doesn't have to worry about the source of  free “memories”!

Hehe, I’m really a little genius!

“Huh?”

Noticing the slightly raised corners of the silver-haired girl’s mouth beside her, Stelle couldn’t help but feel a little curious and asked, “Ilu, what did you see that made you so happy?”

“Nothing, I just thought of something interesting.” Ilu said mysteriously.

"Interesting things?"

Hearing her say that, Stelle tilted her head and became more curious: "What is it? Can you tell me?"

"Uh..."

Seeing the gray-haired girl looking at her with a curious expression, Ilu couldn't control herself. Her eyes were a little erratic, and she secretly complained in her heart:

I didn't expect that you usually look inconspicuous, but now you are a little cute. You are worthy of being the famous Star Rail Succubus...

Just when Ilu was hesitating whether to tell the gray-haired girl in front of her that she needed to consume "memories" in battle, the latter stared at her in a daze, not knowing what she was seeing.

"What's wrong?"

"You seem to have something in your eyes..."

"Really?"

"Well, I'll wipe it for you..."

While speaking, Stelle raised her hand and gently touched the dark blue cracks spreading at the corners of Ilu's eyes.

At the moment their skin touched, Ilu felt an extremely cold sensation from Stelle's fingertips. Stelle didn't feel like she was touching human skin, but more like she was touching a piece of ice that had been frozen for tens of thousands of years.

The bone-chilling cold made her entire fingers feel as if they had lost consciousness in an instant.

"Ah!"

The gray-haired girl withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted. Seeing this, Ilu also panicked. She hurried over to check Stelle's injuries.

Fortunately, due to the short time they were in contact with the "Remembrance Ice" and Stelle's own special physique, her fingers were only frozen and numb, and she did not suffer much damage.

"Are you okay, Stelle?"

"No... just a little cold."

Stelle shook her head, indicating that she was fine, and then looked at the dark blue cracks in the corners of Ilu's eyes, asking with some concern: "What's wrong with the wound on your eyes?"

"The wound on my eyes?"

After being reminded by her, Ilu also realized what was going on. She took out a mirror and looked at it. After seeing the dark blue cracks spreading in the right corner of her eyes, she couldn't help but fall into deep thought: "Is it really like this..."

Using the "memories" of other parts of the body to fill the gap in the right arm is undoubtedly an act of robbing Peter to pay Paul. She had expected that some similar features would appear, but she didn't expect it to show up on her most visible face.

Now she couldn't hide it even if she wanted to.

"It's like this..."

Helplessly, she had to explain her current situation to Stelle.

"What?"

When she learned that Ilu would extract other people's memories of her during battle, the gray-haired girl couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

"Then we have to hurry up and create more memories of being together!"

Stelle said very seriously: "We must not let the most precious memories between us be consumed as fuel."

Even if it really comes to that, we have to let it burn vigorously for a lifetime, and it will never burn out!

...

At the same time, in the real world—

After hearing Ilu admit that she would extract other people's memories of her when fighting, the comments in Jiahun's livestream room instantly exploded like a flood, filling up most of the screen at once:

[Ah? Didn't you say that this is a passionate, relaxed, and happy plot? How did it become like this?]

[Retired veteran, burning memories, fighting with her life. She really won't die later, right?]

[Not burning your own, but burning others'. I have already anticipated the development of the plot later.]

[Hehehe, where there is a blade, this accomplice will be there.]

[Stay away, don't jinx it. She's not getting stabbed yet; why are you in such a hurry to open the champagne (angry.jpg)?]

[Hurry up and show the real game. My buddy finally saw a girl he likes. He's really scared now!]

"Don't panic... I'm not panicking; why are you panicking? Besides, Ilu is still standing in front of us. It's just that she consumed a little more energy. Isn't it okay as long as she replenishes it in time?"

---

HIK CH41-50

---

Chapter 41: I Get Pumped When She Heals Monsters

Although she was somewhat worried, Jiahun did not show her true emotions to the fans in the livestream room. She maintained a sunny and confident smile.

Ha!

Want to stab me?

Two words: no way!

"Okay, let's continue!"

After saying that, Jiahun resumed controlling the mouse to click on the character dialogue and soon entered the stage of mutual understanding between the two parties.

"Ilu: Sorry, Stelle, I made you worry. I should have told you about this earlier."

"Stelle: It's okay. Everyone has their own secrets. I was a little abrupt just now."

"Ilu: Thank you for your understanding... How about this: I will take you to find some good things. Follow me~"

"Well, what good things?"

Looking at the silver-haired girl who had turned and left, Jiahun was a little curious. She immediately controlled the Trailblazer to follow. Before they walked far, she saw Ilu stop next to a wooden treasure chest and wave at her with a smile.

Ah?

Seeing this scene, Jiahun was stunned on the spot, and the viewers in the livestream room were also shocked. For a while, the entire barrage was filled with question marks.

No?

Oh my god, she actually helped us find the treasure chest?

"Ilu: How is it? Not bad?"

"Ilu: There is more than one. Come with me; I saw several when I flew over just now. I will take you to pick them all up."

"Ilu: There are several monsters blocking the road. Wait a moment; I will deal with them... Okay, come here."

"Ilu: Uh, don't rummage through the trash can. I will take you to a better treasure chest; come here with me~"

Seemingly seeing the Trailblazer controlled by Jiahun standing near the trash can, Ilu specifically reminded her not to rummage through the trash inside. This made Jiahun, who had originally maintained a bit of reserve, a little uncontrollable; she couldn't help but whisper:

"So this helps up build a character, right? Okay, okay, I'll pull. Can't I pull as many as I can by then?"

Seeing that Ilu and Jiahun had picked up all 10 treasure chests in the entire Belobog Administrative District, some viewers in the livestream room who were not particularly interested in Ilu's character also made up their minds to draw one to serve as an illustration:

[Just for helping me pick up treasure chests, I will definitely pull one Ilu, even if it means restoring the HP of monsters.]

[She is a person forgotten by the world, a person that people will never remember again, and the reason people follow her is that they believe she will lead us to find the hidden treasure chests one day.]

[My memory has worn out too much, but I still remember that she also likes those treasure chests.]

[It's so funny; how come there's something weird mixed in?]

[Don't be silly; you are silly. Who will lead me to find treasure chests in the future?]

-----------------

"Hmm? Where did Ilu and Stelle go?"

Near the Backwater Pass, March 7th took out her camera and was about to gather everyone in the Express Crew for a group photo, but she found that besides her and Dan Heng, there was only a group of children around Pela, listening to her story.

"Ilu said she wanted to take Stelle around and left fifteen minutes ago."

Dan Heng, who was standing aside, pointed in a certain direction. He looked calm, as if nothing there had anything to do with him.

"Wow! They are playing around. Why didn't they take me with them for such a good thing?"

"They saw that you were chatting happily with the Silvermane Guard intelligence officer named Pela, so they didn't bother you."

"Then why didn't you follow them?"

"...Ah."

Hearing this, Dan Heng couldn't help but sigh. He stared into March 7th's eyes and said in a tone like he was teaching a child: "It's not a good thing to act alone. There is more than one pair of eyes watching us nearby. They should be people sent by the Supreme Guardian. I can't let you stay here alone."

"Oh, so that's the case."

Hearing Dan Heng's explanation, March 7th realized that things didn't seem to be as simple as she had imagined. She stopped asking too many questions and focused her attention on the "Perpetual Motion" mechanical house not far away.

"There's nothing to see here at the Eternal Winter Monument. Let's go over there and take a look."

"Yes."

...

"Yes? Strange, where are March 7th and the others?"

After searching all the treasure chests in the Belobog Administrative District, Stelle followed Ilu back to the vicinity of the Eternal Winter Monument.

She scanned the surroundings and saw only a group of children surrounding Pela and some passersby talking on their phones, but she couldn't see March 7th and Dan Heng. Stelle couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"Based on the attractions recommended by Gepard, I guess they should be over at the 'Perpetual Motion' mechanical house."

"Ah... then let's go over there and take a look."

The two came to the vicinity of the mechanical house and happened to meet March 7th, who was looking around the heater, and Dan Heng, who was standing silently at the door.

"Ah! You're back!"

"Yes, I went around nearby."

"How was it? Did you encounter anything interesting?"

"Uh..."

Stelle and Ilu looked at each other and decided to keep this secret to themselves and not say it out loud; otherwise, next time, March 7th would probably ask to follow them to find the treasure chest.

By then, Dan Heng would definitely follow them because he was worried about them, and there would not be enough to share the spoils.

Thinking of this, Ilu spread her hands and sighed with regret: "Alas, it is precisely because there is nothing interesting that we came back so soon."

This trip was very fruitful. Since the treasure chests were distributed in various corners of the administrative district, she let more people see her appearance while taking Stelle to find the treasure chests.

Not only did it add some credit points to Stelle's small treasure house, but it also filled in the part of her lost "Remembrance."

Although it was not much, it was barely enough—at least enough to repair the dark blue cracks spreading in the corners of Ilu's eyes so that everyone in the Express Crew would not worry about her.

---

---

Chapter 42: What a Difficult Choice

"By the way, March 7th, what are you staring at this heating device for?"

"I'm just a little curious why it's placed outside. Logically, shouldn’t heating equipment be inside the house?"

"Do you want to rely on these things to resist the Eternal Freeze?" Stelle guessed.

"According to you, the Architects are quite naive. It seems that this heat alone is not enough to do anything," March 7th couldn't resist the urge to complain and muttered under her breath.

"Uh... How can you talk for so long about a broken heater?"

At that moment, a strange female voice reached their ears. Ilu turned around and saw a blonde woman with dark blue highlights staring at them with a look of curiosity.

The woman was Serval, the proprietress of the "Perpetual Motion" mechanical house.

After some communication, she learned the identities of the outsiders in the Express Crew and then warmly invited Ilu and the others to enter the mechanical house.

"What you just saw outside is the most common Geomarrow heater in Belobog. Although it looks inconspicuous, it is a life-saving device for people. After all, the wind and snow outside are so strong. Without a reliable heating method, Belobog would have become a dead city long ago."

"What is Geomarrow?"

"Geomarrow is a special mineral found here and the most important energy source. From city heating to the counter on my table, everything is powered by Geomarrow."

As she moved to find a seat for everyone, Serval explained the source of Geomarrow while tidying up the messy brown wood bar.

"Geomarrow grows beneath the surface of this planet. The professional mining team in the lower area extracts it and then sends it to the surface through the transportation pipeline."

"In contrast, the upper area uses the same pipeline to send support materials that are only available on the surface to the underground area."

Speaking of this, Serval couldn't help but sigh. "However, due to an order many years ago, there has been no personnel exchange between the upper and lower areas for many years..."

"This kind of order again?"

"I remember we seemed to have heard Gepard mention it before..."

"Well, although these things did not happen in the same time period, there should be some connection."

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, each keenly noticing that something was wrong.

They had previously heard from Gepard that the Supreme Guardian had demarcated a large restricted area outside the city of Belobog three years ago and had cut off the connection between the upper and lower areas earlier, which raised suspicions.

"Well, it’s getting late, and the store is about to close. You can go somewhere else. The machinery house welcomes you at any time, and of course, you are also welcome to shop here at any time," Serval said with a smile.

"Well, then I won’t bother you."

After receiving important information about the lower area from the proprietress of the machinery house, everyone left the "Perpetual Motion" machinery house contentedly. Looking up at the dark sky, it was almost time to return to the hotel to rest.

"Let’s go. Most of the shops outside are closed. We should head back."

"Well... We have been walking all day today. We really need to take a good rest!"

On the way back to the hotel, March 7th suddenly cast a sympathetic look at the Silvermane Guard responsible for guarding the blockade not far away.

"Hey! Look, that Silvermane Guard over there looks so miserable."

"Where is it miserable?"

Hearing this, Ilu also looked in the direction of the Silvermane Guard and asked in confusion, "Isn't he standing guard?"

"Yeah... The problem is that the area behind him doesn’t seem to be a place where people live. He was assigned to stand guard in such a place. Do you think he offended his superiors and was exiled here?"

"Wait, why is he not moving? Is he a statue?"

"No! He seemed to be looking at us just now. I bet this guy is definitely not a statue!"

Perhaps because the mood that had been suppressed for a long time was finally relaxed, March 7th’s thoughts became more and more playful. Listening to her random guesses, Ilu and Stelle exchanged somewhat awkward smiles.

How to continue this conversation... It seems there is no way to continue. Their brain circuits really can't keep up.

"This is the Goethe Hotel, right?"

"Hmm... it looks a bit deserted."

"Strange, why are there only three rooms for us?"

The group arrived at the front desk of the Goethe Hotel but found that Cocolia had only arranged three rooms for them. Listening to the nervous apology from the girl at the front desk, everyone cast strange glances at the silver-haired girl beside them.

"If I’m not mistaken, it seems to be that situation again."

"Yes, it seems the Supreme Guardian has almost forgotten Ilu’s in her memory."

"The problem may not be with Cocolia. It could be that the person responsible for delivering the message forgot her, or perhaps the issue lies in the link responsible for receiving the hotel arrangements. But regardless of which link has a problem, the result is the same."

"You can't blame me for this..."

Ilu blinked innocently and said with an embarrassed smile.

Suddenly, she was stunned.

Wait a minute!

If Cocolia will forget about her tomorrow, doesn't it mean there is a high possibility that there won't be a photo of her on the wanted list?

Thinking of this, the silver-haired girl’s smile froze on her face.

It's over! She had planned everything, but she didn’t expect that there would be a problem at this stage!

Hiss... Is it too late to find Gepard or Pela to draw a wanted poster now? It's urgent—waiting online!

"Four people, three rooms, which means at least two people will have to share a room."

As the only opposite sex in the team, Dan Heng was naturally the first to be assigned to a separate room. Turning to look at the three hesitant people beside him, he took the lead in breaking the silence. "So, how do you three plan to allocate these two rooms?"

"I don't know. Let’s see what Stelle and Ilu say."

March 7th was the first to abstain from voting. She felt uncomfortable no matter how she chose. If possible, she even wanted to share a room with both of them, but that would be too crowded and could cause trouble sleeping at night.

"How about letting Stelle choose?"

Ilu suggested, "She is still young. If she lives alone in a room, I am worried that she might be in danger."

...

"1. Share a room with Ilu."

"2. Share a room with March 7th."

"Brothers, should we live with March 7th or Ilu? It’s such a headache. How should we choose?"

Looking at the two options given on the screen, Jiahun could hardly suppress the corners of her mouth. She felt enveloped by happiness, and even her body felt light, like a magical girl who was about to realize her wish.

There has never been such a wonderful start. Please cheer for her and applaud her!

Jiahun could even foresee her beautiful future with girls on both sides—of course, this is on the condition that the screenwriter does not make a sudden decision.

If the screenwriter suddenly goes crazy one day and kills off the living Ilu, then she will probably go to Ilu's house in person to play in the offline resurrection match for her.

-----

---

Chapter 43: A Trap

"So, who should I share a room with...?"

Looking at March 7th and then at Ilu, Stelle lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

After considering her options, she finally decided to sleep in the same room as Ilu. She had no other ideas, but March 7th had been a little too excited today, which made her feel overwhelmed.

She had heard from Himeko before that March 7th liked to talk in her sleep and had a poor sleeping posture. Stelle was worried that she would be kicked out of bed while sleeping soundly at night.

From this perspective, Ilu seemed like a better choice. She believed the other girl wouldn’t disturb her.

"Hu——!"

After closing the door, Stelle took a deep breath and prepared to take off her clothes and go to bed. At that moment, the silver-haired girl beside her suddenly grabbed her wrist, tiptoed slightly, and whispered in her ear, "Someone may come to see us tonight, so don’t take off your clothes just yet—just go to bed."

"Ah?"

Someone is coming to see us?

Or tonight?

Hearing Ilu's reminder, Stelle couldn't help but be stunned. Before she could come to her senses, Ilu took her hand, brought her to the bed, lifted the quilt, and motioned for her to lie down. Then she quickly walked to the window and closed the curtains.

"Hua La-Pah!"

Then Ilu turned off the lights, and the hotel room was suddenly enveloped in darkness; it was pitch black.

The air around them fell into silence, and no one spoke.

Not long after, Stelle felt something cold crawling into the quilt and gently pressing against her side.

Is this... Ilu?

Listening to the steady breathing of the girl beside her, Stelle felt a strange itch in her heart. The thought of the person lying next to her pillow being Ilu made her feel even itchier, and her breathing became rapid.

Although Ilu did not touch her, for some reason, she suddenly had the urge to touch Ilu...

Of course, this was just an emotional impulse driven by desire, and Stelle could still easily restrain it.

In her mind, this was just a longing for something beautiful.

However, she was now curious about something—she had heard that a person's sleeping face has a lot to do with their personality.

If it was Ilu, what would she look like while sleeping?

Well, although this statement was a bit ridiculous, Stelle was still quite concerned...

Okay, she wouldn't keep it a secret; she just wanted to see Ilu's sleeping face.

But Ilu should not be asleep at this time, so she decided to wait a little longer.

After silently waiting for about twenty minutes, Stelle finally couldn't help but turn her head to look at the pillow.

To her surprise, the other girl was not asleep either. What caught her attention was a pair of eyes as gorgeous as fireflies, staring at her without any concealment.

It's bad!

She was caught doing something she shouldn't!

Seeing this scene, Stelle's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Fortunately, the other girl didn't seem to realize what she wanted to do and instead blinked in confusion.

"Are you still awake? If you’re sleepy, you can sleep for a while. I’ll wake you up when they come."

"They?"

Hearing this, Stelle quickly realized something. She had been a little drowsy but woke up instantly. She quickly asked the silver-haired girl in front of her, "Are you referring to the Cocolia's men?"

"Well, did you notice that when we went to pick up treasure chests today, there were always people following us? Those people were sent by Cocolia to monitor us."

"I felt it... But I was a bit too excited at the time, so I didn’t take them seriously."

After hearing Ilu's reminder, Stelle recalled the experience of picking up treasure chests in the administrative district that afternoon.

At that time, the nearby Silvermane Guards had turned a blind eye to their presence, but some unknown individuals disguised as ordinary residents always appeared nearby and followed them.

At first, she thought these people were gangsters, but later, as they didn’t approach them, and she was busy searching for treasure chests with Ilu, Stelle hadn’t paid much attention to them—she thought, as long as they didn't try to steal her treasure chest, it was fine.

"Okay, don't think too much about it; just go to sleep."

Seeing Stelle frowning and deep in thought, Ilu took out the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath with a faint blue light from under the pillow and urged with a smile, "It’s just a trick to lure you into a trap. I'm guarding here. Even if the sky falls, they can't rush in."

"Well, okay..."

"Do you need me to sing a lullaby for you?"

"No! I'm not a child. I can sleep by myself!"

Hearing the silver-haired girl's teasing, Stelle felt a mix of embarrassment and anger as she emphasized her maturity, but as soon as she said it, she regretted it.

After all, this was Ilu, who had taken the initiative to sing for her. How could she refuse so quickly?

Well... forget it. If she regretted it at the last minute, she would definitely be laughed at. Anyway, they would have plenty of time to spend together in the future, so it wouldn't matter if she heard it less this time.

She simply stopped thinking about it, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Stelle suddenly felt someone pushing her.

She woke up from her dream and saw a familiar face as soon as she opened her eyes. The other person appears to be waiting patiently for her to wake up.

Seeing her open her eyes, the silver-haired girl said softly, "It's almost time to get up. Listen to the sounds outside. They are coming."

"Ah..."

Hearing Ilu's reminder, Stelle lost all her sleepiness in an instant and immediately sat up in bed.

It was still light outside the window. She quietly approached the window and listened carefully to the sounds outside. She heard the sound of people gathering in a queue, as if to welcome them... Well, no matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like they were being welcomed. It was better to say that they were here to arrest them.

"Ding--"

Just then, Ilu's phone suddenly rang with a text message alert. She picked up the phone and looked down, discovering that it was a message from Dan Heng.

"Dan Heng: Are you and Stelle awake?"

"Dan Heng: A group of Silvermane Guards has come to the door of the hotel, but they seem to have ill intentions."

"Dan Heng: If you see this message, go to the corridor to meet up."

-----

---

Chapter 44: But There Is a Gundam on the Opposite Side

“Dan Heng is awake too. Let's go out and take a look.”

“Yeah.”

Hearing this, the gray-haired girl nodded and then followed Ilu's footsteps out of the room.

As soon as she walked out of the room, she saw March 7th and Dan Heng standing in the corridor.

“Yeah? You all woke up so early?”

Looking at March 7th, who greeted them not far away, Stelle walked over and asked with some confusion.

“No, I should say I didn't sleep all night. Listening to the noise outside, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to…”

Stretching out her fingers and tapping on the dark circles under her eyes, March 7th couldn't help but sigh, looking at the gray-haired girl who looked refreshed, with a bit of envy in her eyes:

“After all, you two can take turns to keep watch, and I can only stay up all night alone... Alas, I have to make up for my sleep after returning to the train.”

“Uh, take turns to keep watch?”

After hearing March 7th's words, Stelle couldn't help but be slightly stunned and then looked at the silver-haired girl beside her with an incredulous expression.

It was obviously two people keeping watch together, but I slept until dawn... Damn it, I can obviously help!

“Hey~”

Noticing Stelle's somewhat resentful gaze, Ilu stuck out her tongue playfully and explained in a low voice: “Don't look at me like that. You slept soundly last night. How could I have the nerve to wake you up?”

“You should have woken me up!”

Standing in front of the silver-haired girl, who was a head shorter than her, Stelle argued: “I can help keep watch.”

“Children should sleep more.”

The silver-haired girl put her hands on her waist, looked up at Stelle in front of her, and refused to back down: “Leave the night watch to the adults.”

Haha.

Listening to the two bickering, March 7th couldn't help laughing with her mouth covered.

This sentence sounded particularly funny when spoken by Ilu. After all, judging from her height, she might be the child.

“Okay, let's go. It looks like those guys have been waiting for us for a long time. Let's go down and meet them.”

Seeing the atmosphere on the field gradually become tense, Dan Heng on the side coughed twice. He once again saved the situation in time and directed the conflict to the Silvermane Guards who were waiting for them outside the Goethe Hotel. 

“Meet them!” “How long has the repetition symptom lasted?” “Hey~”

As soon as they left the door of the Goethe Hotel, the Express Crew encountered a group of fully armed Silvermane Guards. Their eyes were fixed on everyone through their helmets, and their faces were unfriendly.

“You!” The leading Silvermane Lieutenant came forward and said in a very stern tone: “Commander Bronya is waiting for you below. Go see her quickly, and don’t try to play moves!”

Looking in the direction of his finger, everyone saw a beautiful girl with black silk stockings and three-turbine spiral gray curly hair. It was Commander Bronya, whom they had met in Klipperburg yesterday.

“What are you looking at? Come down quickly.”

Bronya was looking up in the direction of the crowd with an arrogant expression. Behind her stood a quiet girl wearing round-frame glasses. She was the intelligence officer of the Silvermane Guard, Pela, whom they had met yesterday at the Eternal Winter Monument.

Behind them stood dozens of fully armed Silvermane Guards. Their attire was much more exquisite than that of the ordinary Guards seen in the city before. They were obviously the elite troops of the Guards. Among them, there were also several Silvermane Lieutenants wearing silver armor, exuding a dangerous aura.

“Well, Cocolia really thinks highly of us. She actually sent so many people.”

Seeing this scene, March 7th couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

“Let's go over there and see what they are playing ar.”

“Yes.”

Under the vigilant gaze of the Silvermane Guards, the Express Crew approached Bronya. The gray-haired girl's eyes swept across everyone's faces one by one and finally stopped at Ilu's face.

Is this... the one she saw in Klipperburg yesterday?

The doubt in her eyes flashed away, and Bronya's expression returned to its previous calmness. She said to the four people in front of her in a cold tone.

“I am Bronya Rand, acting as the leader of the Silvermane Guard.”

“In the name of the noble Amber Lord, I am ordered by the Supreme Guardian Cocolia Rand to capture the infiltrators who intend to start a rebellion.”

“Here, as the acting Supreme Guardian, I temporarily deprive you of your autonomy to act and speak. When the referee team conducts the trial, you will have the opportunity to defend yourself.”

“Give up meaningless resistance and follow me.”

As her voice fell, a large group of Silvermane Guards suddenly surrounded them from all directions. These soldiers appear to have been lurking near the Goethe Hotel for a long time. The strange noises that came from outside the hotel from time to time last night were caused by them.

“Uh, what should we do?”

“I have a plan. Look over there...”

“Well, I saw it too; it’s indeed a feasible plan.”

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, March 7th and Dan Heng looked at each other and then at the empty alley not far away, where the Silvermane Guards were all gathered.

Following the two people's gazes, Stelle also glanced in that direction with the corner of her eye. There was an alley blocked by the erosion of the Rift.

At present, this was undoubtedly the best escape route.

“Get ready to escape. I will cover you.”

At this time, Ilu suddenly spoke.

“Ah? Really? I just said it casually...”

“Don't worry; I can hold them back. If I want to leave, they can't catch up with me.”

Putting the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath in her hand on her chest, Ilu glanced at the Silvermane Guards who were ready for battle around her and chose to summon the Snow Fyrefly-V armor here without hesitation.

“Henshin!”

Accompanied by a flash of blue light, a silver-white mecha knight replaced the silver-haired girl and stood in place. The cold air released enveloped the surroundings in a cold mist, temporarily obscuring everyone's vision.

“Let's go!”

Taking advantage of the brief opportunity created by Ilu's transformation into an Iron Cavalry Knight, Dan Heng did not hesitate to attack, showing his spear and breaking through the defense line of the Silvermane Guard, leading Stelle and March 7th to break through the alley eroded by the fragmentum.

“What?!”

Seeing this scene, Bronya was shocked, and her eyes widened.

You know, before they came here, they specifically learned about the information of the people on the Astral Express from the Guard Captain  Gepard, but they had never heard that any of them could summon mechas?!

“Ah!”

Pela who was standing next to Bronya was not much better off. She was the closest to Ilu and was the first to be hit. The spreading cold fog froze her glasses with a layer of frost, causing the girl, who was already short-sighted, to be unable to see anything for a while. She could only listen to the constant fighting sounds nearby and feel anxious, but she didn't dare to act rashly.

“Pela!”

“Sorry, Miss Bronya, I can't see...”

“Use the intelligence data you collected to activate the net mark and keep them!”

“But this mecha is not included in the intelligence data I collected!”

-------

---

Chapter 45: We Failed to Break the Enemy's Armor

[Oh my God, Ilu is so strong; she knocked one down with one punch.]

[Big Duck: What? The information is fake?]

[Gepard: What? Are you thinking about me?]

[Pela's true form is when she closes her glasses. So funny; she won't be able to play if the glasses are frozen.]

Watching the silver knight covered in frost easily defeat the Silvermane guards who tried to chase the Express Crew, Jiahun's livestream room was suddenly filled with all kinds of comments, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

Soon, with the help of Ilu, everyone got rid of the pursuit and interception of the Silvermane guards, fled into an fragmentum Rift, and teleported to an unknown edge passage, beginning a tense and exciting escape.

On the other side—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The silver mecha knight shuttled back and forth between the Silvermane lieutenants who surrounded her at a terrifying speed that was almost impossible to capture with the naked eye. The heavy punches, packed with enormous power, were simply not something that ordinary humans could resist.

Fortunately, they were all elite among the elite and did not lose their combat effectiveness.

After being knocked to the ground, they quickly got up, regrouped, and continued to fight.

But for the Silvermane gunners responsible for supporting the battle not far away, Ilu was the most difficult enemy they had ever encountered, no doubt about it.

Every time they aimed and prepared to shoot, the opponent would fly into the sky to avoid their artillery fire, causing all their supporting firepower to fall into the air. For a while, they had no way to deal with this guy.

"Damn it, we can't let this guy continue to be so arrogant."

Seeing that the elite Silvermane Guards she led were being toyed with by the enemy, Bronya gritted her teeth with a sullen face, raised the gun in her hand, and pointed it at the mecha knight who was attacking recklessly in the sky.

"Bang!"

The bullets shot spirally at Ilu who was about to fall from the sky. She was slightly stunned and turned her head to look in Bronya's direction.

The bullet happened to hit the blue-gold steel visor, and a crisp bang echoed. 

Good news: It Hit.

Bad news: ricocheted.

"What a strong defense..." Seeing this scene, Bronya's face changed slightly.

This was the precise sniping she was proud of. It was basically certain to hit the weak point and cause a critical hit. However, this shot failed to break the enemy's armor. This was undoubtedly the worst situation she could imagine.

"Hmm... it seems that Stelle and the others have already left."

Glancing at the dark yellow erosion rift not far away and realizing that everyone in the Express Crew had safely left, Ilu did not intend to continue playing house games with these Silvermane Guards.

She shifted her gaze to Bronya's direction. She spread the dark blue elytra behind her and flew over at an accelerated speed, landing beside the gray-haired girl in the blink of an eye.

"Commander Bronya!"

Seeing this scene, the nearby Silvermane lieutenants couldn't help but exclaim. At such a close distance, they had no time to go protect her.

Feeling the cold breath coming from behind, Bronya couldn't help swallowing her saliva.

The moment the other party's palm was placed on her shoulder, she was horrified, breaking out in a cold sweat, and a thin layer of frost condensed on her skin's surface the moment she came into contact with the cold air.

However, contrary to Bronya's expectations, the mecha knight did not seem to intend to kill her but leaned close to her ear and said something incredible: "You need to know one thing: the Astral Express is not Belobog's enemy, not now and not in the future."

"What did you say?"

Hearing this, Bronya's pupils shrank suddenly.

But her mother said that the Astral Express is an enemy that intends to start a rebellion in Belobog...

No, her mother is thinking about the future of Belobog, and her judgment should not be wrong.

This may be a divisive trick used by the other party, and she will not fall for it.

"The person in charge is confused, and the bystander is clear."

Ilu smiled slightly and whispered in her ear, "Sometimes, it is easier to see the true face of the pretender from the perspective of a bystander."

"..."

Bronya remained silent, avoiding Ilu's gaze, and didn't know what she was thinking.

"Okay, that's all I can say."

Seeing that Bronya still insisted on her previous idea, Ilu simply stopped persuading her, took out her photo from the folding backpack, and handed it to the gray-haired girl in front of her, saying earnestly:

"Remember my name, Ilu, and don't forget to post my bounty in the city; otherwise, I will be very distressed."

Bronya: "..."

She hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out to take the photo handed by Ilu.

It was a silver-haired girl making a "(＾－＾)V" gesture to the camera. Her sweet smile made Bronya unable to look away for a while.

When Bronya came to her senses, Ilu had disappeared without a trace, leaving only this photo in her hand.

The cold wind was bleak, and her figure seemed a little lonely.

Thinking of what Ilu had just said, Bronya looked down at the photo in her hand in a daze.

What on earth does that girl know...

Tsk, damn Riddler, you only say half the words.

When I catch you in the future, I will definitely not let you go!

"Miss Bronya, are you okay?"

Pela ran over in a panic and nervously Wild Fireed her physical condition. She was relieved when she confirmed that Ilu had not done anything to Bronya.

That mecha knight was so powerful that it was a bit scary. If she were determined to take heavy measures against the Silvermane Guards here, then the result waiting for them would be a disastrous defeat—although it was actually no different from a disastrous defeat now—but she couldn't say this kind of thing openly; otherwise, it would be a big blow to morale.

"Huh, she ran fast..."

After taking a deep breath, Bronya looked at Pela: "Where are the other people on the Astral Express?"

"They just sneaked into the Rift Tunnel while we were fighting the silver mecha."

"Tsk, they are really a group of extremely confident guys. They dare to rush into that place. It seems that my mother's judgment is correct. These guys are not normal people."

"What should we do now? Should we go back and report to Lady Cocolia, or..."

"No, the order of the Supreme Guardian is to capture the criminals. We must not refuse to pursue them just because they escaped into the blockade area."

Although there are many unanswered questions in her mind, for Bronya, as a soldier, the most important thing at the moment is undoubtedly the order issued by her mother.

Thinking of this, she issued a search order for the edge passage without hesitation: "Convey my order: we must regroup the troops and search the blockade area thoroughly from inside to outside. Whether those outsiders are dead or alive, I want to witness it with my own eyes."

---

---

Chapter 46: Take the Initiative to Come to the Door

Not long after Bronya decided to launch a comprehensive encirclement and suppression of the edge passage, the Express Crew that escaped into the rift area was ambushed by the Silvermane Guard.

"Wow! Damn it, I didn't expect to run so far and still get caught up by them!"

Jiahun was controlling the Trailblazers to decrypt various mechanisms in the edge passage. After finally unlocking the iron gate that blocked their way to the exit of the rift, they saw a large number of Silvermane Guards coming from all directions, surrounding the three of them.

Oh no, so many people came; will they be imprisoned.

……

"Oh no! How did they catch up so quickly? They even set up an ambush?"

Seeing this, March 7th immediately realized that something was wrong. She quickly glanced at the surrounding Silvermane Guards. As their strongest fighter, Ilu was not here at the moment. Now they could only rely on the three of them to fight together.

"Stelle, send a message to Ilu and tell her where we are."

After saying that, Dan Heng stood in front of the two with an expressionless face. A simple spear emerged from his hand. It was clear that he was ready for battle. "March and I will cover you."

"Yes!"

After hearing Dan Heng's instructions, Stelle nodded and took out her mobile phone from the folding backpack without hesitation.

Just as she was about to send the coordinates to Ilu, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind the crowd——

"Heh, I'm surprised you thought we would come so quickly. It's obvious that you underestimated our Silvermane Guards."

Surrounded by several fully armed Silvermane lieutenants, Bronya walked out of the alley behind the crowd with her arms folded across her chest.

"Even if it was eroded by the Rift and became a paradise for the creatures of the Rift, this place is still a part of Belobog. In this homeland that we once protected, no one can escape the pursuit of the Silvermane Guards."

With an inquisitive gaze, she swept across the faces of the three people one by one. Not seeing Ilu's figure, Bronya's eyebrows slightly raised, showing a bit of surprise in her eyes.

The one named Ilu was not with her companions.

Strange, where did she go during this time?

Well... forget it. Since she can't figure it out, she won't think about it. Her current task is to arrest these suspects in front of her as soon as possible to prevent them from causing trouble again.

----------------

"Ding—"

The phone sounded a text message alert. Ilu picked up the phone and looked down to find that it was a message from Stelle.

"Stelle: The team is in danger; return quickly!"

In addition to this seemingly urgent text message, there was also a location-sharing message.

Due to the influence of the rift, Ilu could not see the specific location of the sender, but she could more or less guess what crisis the Express Crew had encountered.

According to the development of the plot, they were most likely ambushed by the Silvermane Guard led by Bronya, but there was no immediate danger. Next, an old friend who suddenly appeared would come to the rescue and take them to the lower area.

It was for this reason that Ilu did not choose to go with the Express Crew but came to her current location—Belobog Administrative District, the Supreme Guardian's Mansion, Klipperburg.

"It seems that your friends are in trouble." Sitting behind the brown wooden desk, Cocolia put down the feather pen she was using to review documents and looked at the silver-haired girl sitting on the sofa not far away with interest. "Is this the reason you came to see me? I don't think this is a wise choice."

"What do you mean?"

"My meaning is very simple. Now you are in trouble too." As she finished speaking, a large number of Silvermane Guards holding sharp weapons suddenly broke into the meeting hall and surrounded the unarmed Ilu in the center. "I was almost about to forget about you, but I didn't expect you to choose to come to me on your own initiative. Don't blame me for being rude."

Cocolia crossed her arms and looked down at the silver-haired girl, whose eyes were as bright as fireflies. She showed a confident smile of a winner.

"Destroying the Stellaron is equivalent to being an enemy of our Belobog. You should blame your naive ideas. Guards, take her away."

"Oh?"

Putting the phone back into the folding space, Ilu looked up and glanced at the Silvermane Guards surrounding her. Her gaze finally stopped at the blonde woman sitting behind the desk. There was no trace of regret or panic in her eyes.

"Are you really not going to chat with me for a while, respected Supreme Guardian?"

"Why? What do you want to talk to me about?"

Hearing this, Cocolia raised her eyebrows slightly and raised her hand to signal the Silvermane Guards in the hall to stop, with a hint of arrogance in her tone, as if she didn't take the silver-haired girl in front of her seriously at all:

"I'll give you three sentences. If you can tell me something that interests me, maybe I can consider absolving you of your sins. Go ahead—"

If this little girl can provide information other than Jarilo-VI, then she can still keep her life before her value is completely squeezed out.

"Okay."

Looking into the eyes of the Supreme Guardian, Ilu slowly raised a finger and said in a flat tone, "First of all, I need to correct one thing. It's you who is in trouble, not me. I hope you can remember this."

"Hehe, what a big tone."

Listening to Ilu's semi-threatening words, Cocolia narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but feel some doubts in her heart.

She didn't know what confidence the girl in front of her had to say such words in her presence.

Is she pretending to be calm, or is she just pretending to be powerful?

It doesn't look like it; the other party really doesn't seem to be afraid, which confuses her a little...

"Secondly, what I want to ask has nothing to do with the Stellaron."

Ilu slowly raised her second finger and asked, "I just want to know when those Insects appeared on this planet and what you think of them."

"How dare you! I asked you to explain your motives, not to ask questions."

Realizing that the prisoner in front of her seemed to be interrogating her as if she were the prisoner, Cocolia's face became increasingly unfriendly. She immediately waved her hand to signal the Silvermane Guards in the meeting hall to attack Ilu: "My patience has almost run out. Silvermane Guards, take her to the tribunal and let this suspect receive the punishment she deserves."

"Alas, Cocolia, it seems that you still haven't figured out who is in trouble..."

Looking at this self-righteous Supreme Guardian who refused to sit down and talk to her, Ilu sighed helplessly.

Ignoring the Silvermane Guards swarming around her, she raised her right hand and snapped her fingers lightly.

"Please be patient and calm down first."

---

---

Chapter 47: Crazy Plan

"Kacha——!"

Under the astonished gazes of Cocolia and the Silvermane Guards, a deep blue light suddenly illuminated the spacious meeting hall like a dazzling morning star. A deep cold wave erupted from the silver-haired girl's right hand.

As the extreme cold spread and crystal ice mist splashed around, the temperature in the entire hall began to plummet. The Silvermane Guards who were about to rush forward to forcibly subdue Ilu were shocked to find that they could not move. Thick frost condensed beneath their feet, firmly fixing them in place.

Not only that, but the rifles in their hands were also affected by the cold wave. The bullets were frozen in the barrels, and even the gunpowder could not ignite as usual.

"Oh? Is that all? Is that your confidence?"

Feeling the sharp drop in temperature around her and realizing that the girl in front of her could actually control the cold wave, Cocolia found it a bit amusing. If it weren't for the majestic image she had established, she might have laughed out loud.

Controlling ice and snow in front of a Supreme Guardian was like showing off one's skills in front of an expert. She would demonstrate with her actions what a real cold wave is and how to use the power of ice and snow to bring others despair, like a severe winter.

Uh...

Just as she was about to rise from her seat, the elegant and confident Supreme Guardian was momentarily stunned, as if she had realized something. She looked down at her lower body and was shocked to find that she and her seat were frozen together by a sheet of blue ice and could not move at all.

"What?!"

Seeing this scene, Cocolia was taken aback. The confidence and calmness on her face disappeared in an instant. She stared at the silver-haired girl waving at her not far away in shock.

How is this possible? How did she do this?

As the Supreme Guardian, she is immune to freezing!

Could it be a higher level of power...

No, this is shocking no matter how you think about it!

"Now we can sit down and talk."

After delivering an unexpected blow to everyone present, Ilu retracted the extra "Remembrance" power and smiled. "It's still the same question as before: Why are there Insects on this planet? Tell me what you think about them."

"Don't worry; I have blocked the ears of these Silvermane Guards. They can't hear our conversation."

"Swarm..."

After glancing at the dozens of Silvermane Guards frozen in the meeting hall, Cocolia hesitated for a moment before saying, "They first appeared on Jarilo-VI three years ago."

"It?"

"Well, there was only one at first. It was an alien like you."

Cocolia looked up in a certain direction, her tone melancholic as she recalled the past. "That day, the people of Belobog saw a blazing blue meteor break through the silent sky and fall to the surface of the planet, 120 kilometers away from Belobog."

"Three months later, I personally went there with a professional scientific expedition team to explore and found the crater, which contained a dark red giant insect wrapped in ice."

"Perhaps it was the large amount of heat energy generated when it broke through the atmosphere. When we found it, the ice covering its body was about to melt. We could detect faint signs of life from it, which meant it seemed to be recovering from the ice."

"So, how did you deal with it in the end?"

Ilu asked with a serious expression.

The silver creature falling from the sky, the melting ice, and the signs of reactivation...

These three together indicated that things might be far worse than she expected.

If she guessed correctly, the one that fell on this planet should be a True Sting belonging to the Ashen Sun Swarm King.

"Deal with it? Why would we want to deal with it?"

Cocolia chuckled. "It is a life that has revived from the severe cold and ice. We can see the high-temperature slurry flowing beneath the ice. Such a vast amount of heat can undoubtedly inject new vitality into this dying planet. Isn't this a symbol of Jarilo-VI's upcoming rebirth?"

"The Stellaron probably won't agree with you on this."

Ilu frowned even more. "I think it may urge you to deal with this trouble as soon as possible and leave no future issues."

"It seems that you know a lot..."

Realizing that the silver-haired girl was aware of the connection between her and the Stellaron, Cocolia couldn't help but feel a bit surprised, but soon her expression returned to normal, and she continued.

"At that time, the Stellaron did urge me to kill the giant insect while it was in a weak state, but I didn’t do as it said. The gods have their own opinions, and I have my own judgment. The insect that exudes huge heat can be used by us."

"Your behavior betrays 'Qlipoth.'"

"Heh, 'Qlipoth,' if it could save Belobog, we wouldn't have fallen to this point. After all, they had given up on us. Now we are the only ones who can save Belobog."

Hearing the silver-haired girl mention the word "Qlipoth," Cocolia couldn't help but sneer. Unable to suppress the excitement in her heart, she took the initiative to share with Ilu her most perfect plan to save the world.

"To be honest with you, I go to the vicinity of the dark red giant worm every three months to reinforce the ice covering its body, so that it will always remain weak. It only needs to be a reproductive machine to produce small worms that are not very threatening to resist the invasion of the cold waves."

"According to the speed at which the small worms replicate and divide, it won’t take many years—maybe three years, maybe five years—and we can get the temperature of this planet back to normal. Such a vibrant and thriving state is still within our grasp; how can people not yearn for it?"

Cocolia seemed to be immersed in her new vision, her tone growing increasingly passionate.

"After that, as a thank you for saving Jarilo-VI, I will kill the dark red giant worm with my own hands. The death of the mother will take the lives of thousands of small worms, and the people of Belobog will get a reborn home without paying any price. Can you think of a better way to save the world than this?"

"Alas, I think you should see a psychiatrist first..."

Listening to the "perfect plan" in her opponent's words, Ilu couldn't help but place her hand on her forehead. She was increasingly convinced that the Supreme Guardian in front of her had gone crazy.

Not only had she betrayed "Qlipoth" under the influence of the Stellaron, but she had also betrayed "Xipe" after witnessing the real True Sting. Every step she took led her deeper into a more dangerous abyss, and she would shatter if she wasn't careful.

How to say it... Cocolia's original intention was good, but her judgment was flawed. The seemingly beautiful idea would only lead to the most hellish results when implemented.

Had she never considered what would happen if the Ashen Sun Real Sting Insect escaped?

By then, the entire planet would become a "Propagation" swarm nest, and the debt collectors from the "IPC" would soon arrive at Jarilo-VI.

If Director Topaz saw the "vitality" here, it would truly be "all things competing," and the entire universe would watch this place become a battlefield for "Preservation" to eliminate "Propagation." Perhaps they would even witness a beautiful fireworks display.

It would be the kind that HuaHuo liked: "BOOM," and the whole planet would be blown into the sky.

---

---

Chapter 48: Oh My God, Ilu Is Stealing in the House!

"It seems that our ideas are not the same."

Seeing that Ilu remained unmoved, Cocolia felt a bit disappointed. She sighed, "I thought I could convince you."

"You don't understand how dangerous the Swarm is. While you are using them, they are also using you."

Ilu turned around and challenged her, "If you care about the future of Belobog, you should get rid of them as soon as possible."

Do you understand the Swarm, or do I understand Swarm? The Glamoth Empire doesn't dare to raise them like this. If you do, you're even more audacious than the Glamoth Empire.

"Don't worry, I've studied them for three years. Those insects are solely focused on how to reproduce more efficiently. They have no wisdom at all. The scenario you described will not happen."

Cocolia confidently asserted her position, making Ilu completely abandon the idea of persuading her.

Alright, you understand everything, do you? I guess I don’t understand as well as you do.

"Okay, it's almost time. Let's stop here; I have to go."

Rising from the sofa, Ilu prepared to leave and investigate the meteorite crater Cocolia had mentioned.

She clapped her hands gently, recalling all the "Remembrance" that had condensed into ice around her, and left the meeting hall under the watchful gaze of Cocolia and the Silvermane Guards.

"Lord Cocolia..."

"Let her go. She alone can't threaten our salvation plan."

Cocolia wasn't worried about her plan failing because she hadn't revealed all of her strategies. For example, the True Sting insect had actually been hidden by her in a location so obscure that no one would find it. If Ilu searched for it based on the information she provided, it could take several months to locate it.

By then, her plan would be complete, and the ideal new world would emerge.

---

"Bang!"

The bullets came flying at full speed, striking the ancient spear. Wearing the ice shield provided by March 7th, Dan Heng stood at the front of the team and took the precise sniper shot from Bronya. The enormous impact caused him to stagger back half a step as he absorbed the life force contained in the bullet.

"You are quite capable, but compared to that iron lump, you're still a little lacking."

Seeing that her wind-controlling shot successfully hit the opponent, Bronya let out a sigh of relief. The fatal ricochet that had struck Ilu's face not long ago had left her with a psychological shadow. Fortunately, this shot achieved the desired effect.

"This kid... is a bit too powerful. She can even provide such strong blessing to others."

As March 7th watched the ice shield she had cast being easily shattered by Bronya and her Silvermane Guards, a flicker of panic crossed her face. She quickly looked at the serious Dan Heng beside her and urged him in a low voice:

"Hey! Dan Heng, use your hidden power!"

"..."

Dan Heng glanced at her and replied, "You go first."

"Tsk, boring."

March 7th muttered softly.

"Since you can't come up with a strategy, just surrender. I will ensure you receive a fair trial."

Looking at the three individuals who seemed to be at their wits' end, Bronya raised her rifle again and issued a declaration of persuasion.

However, just as she finished speaking, she suddenly heard something falling from the sky above her head, followed by a mysterious voice.

"Uh, I didn't mean to ruin this tense atmosphere~"

"Who?!"

Bronya looked up abruptly, but before she could see who it was, she noticed several black crude bombs falling to the ground, followed by a bang and an explosion that enveloped the surroundings in a thick cloud of anesthetic smoke.

……

"Sampo?!"

Seeing the familiar blue-haired man emerge from the smoke with confidence, Jiahun instantly recognized him as the guy who had escaped from the battlefield before. "Why is he back?!"

"Sampo: I just want to say that Sampo will never let friends who have helped Sampo suffer."

"Sampo: Look, Sampo always keeps his word!"

As the gray-haired girl struggled against her increasing sleepiness and gradually closed her eyes, Jiahun's computer screen went black, soon switching to the Supreme Guardian's mansion - Klipperburg.

"Ah? Why is Ilu here?"

"Wait! Why is Cocolia here too?!"

Looking at the blonde woman sitting behind the desk, the Silvermane Guards frozen in place by frost, and the silver-haired girl sitting on the sofa confronting her, Jiahun's mind short-circuited instantly, leaving her stunned. The viewers exploded at that moment:

【？ ？ ？】

【She's awesome! She's stealing straight from the house!】

【Fuck! I thought she was lost, but she actually took advantage of Bronya and the elite Silvermane Guards to steal inside house.】

[Is it strange? That's what Ilu did back then. While the main force of the Swarm King went to the frontline, she sneaked to the rear and killed the Swarm King.]

[It's so funny; this is the intuition of an old assassin.]

[Bronya: Where did you go kid? Why didn't I see you?]

[Ilu: Don't worry; I'll be at your door soon.]

The fans in the livestream room were still debating why Ilu hadn't followed. She had said before that she would come immediately as long as she received a message. However, they fought with the Silvermane Guards for a long time and didn’t see her. In the end, it was Sampo who came to save the situation, which left some viewers dissatisfied.

But what no one expected was for her to find Cocolia when Klipperburg's defenses were down, directly executing a textbook-level home invasion. It can only be said that this silver-haired girl always brings them unexpected surprises.

"Ilu: ... It's still the same question as before. Why are there Insects on this planet? Tell me what you think of them."

"Cocolia: They first appeared on Jarilo-VI three years ago."

"Ilu: It?"

"Cocolia: Well, there was only one at first, and it was an alien like you."

"Cocolia: That day, the people of Belobog saw a blazing blue meteor break through the silent sky and fall onto the surface of this planet..."

Listening to the Supreme Guardian recount what had transpired since the swarm's arrival on Jarilo-VI and her so-called salvation plan, Jiahun couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

At first, she thought it made sense, but as Cocolia laid out the entire plan, she felt increasingly uneasy.

This Supreme Guardian never considered the possibility of failure. She appear to believe that her plan could be executed perfectly as envisioned. Her paranoia prevented her from listening to others' opinions, and she even forbade anyone from questioning her.

However, the appearance of the Astral Express was beyond Cocolia's expectations, and the sudden arrival of Ilu made her sweat profusely. It was evident that this Supreme Guardian lacked the ability to control everything.

For someone like her, could she truly avoid drowning in her own ideals?

---

---

Chapter 49: Underground Town

Belobog is a big city with hundreds of thousands of people. Cocolia's so-called salvation plan is undoubtedly to put these hundreds of thousands of people on the grill. From beginning to end, she never thought about the possibility of the plan's failure.

Any normal person knows that using a bigger crisis to deal with the previous crisis—this approach of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf—is likely to backfire...

Oh, now we can actually remove the word "maybe."

If it was said that before, only the problem of the Stellaron needed to be solved to resolve the current crisis of Belobog, now, if we want to save the humans on this planet, we must kill the Ashen Sun True Sting Insect hiding on Jarilo-VI, which is more than twice as difficult.

Cocolia, she is really a sinful woman—the kind of sinful in the literal sense.

"No signs of life have been found here. We are already 120 kilometers away from Belobog..."

The Snow Fyrefly Armor in stealth mode was flying alone over the deserted snowfield. Ilu deliberately turned on the special radar specifically for "Propagation," but still failed to find the trace of the Ashen Sun True Sting Insect.

Not to mention the True Sting Insect, she didn't even see the so-called meteorite crater. It stands to reason that such a big Insect falling from the sky should have smashed a very obvious large crater on the ground, but she didn't see any traces related to meteorites.

"Hehe, I knew that Cocolia's lies could not be believed."

Although Ilu didn't believe that the other party would tell the truth, for rigorous consideration, she still came over to take a look.

At present, two general conclusions can be drawn. If Cocolia didn't lie completely, the truth should be between these two:

1. The place where the Ashen Sun True Sting Insect fell is much farther than 120 kilometers.

2. Cocolia hid the weak True Sting Insect underground and summoned ice and snow to cover the traces of the meteorite crater.

With Belobog's current Geomarrow reserves and exploration equipment, it is undoubtedly self-destructive to come to the extremely cold place 120 kilometers away from the city. Conclusion 1 is ruled out, and the only thing left is conclusion 2.

Lock the Ashen Sun True Sting Insect underground, let it replicate and split, turn the entire underground of Jarilo-VI into a Insect nest, let the Insect pulp melt the rocks, and provide energy for the planet...

Well, don’t say it; this is indeed something Cocolia can do.

It's obvious that she only needs to solve the Stellaron, but she made such a mess by being smart, and they have to come to clean it up.

"It seems that this planet can't be kept. How about I just let Himeko and Uncle Yang call the 'IPC'?"

When I thought that the remnants of these "Ashen Swarm Stings" might have drilled into the crust and lurked in the deepest part of this planet, Ilu couldn't help but feel a little scalp-numb. She now wanted to be a hands-off boss and call the "IPC" fleet to clean up the Insects on this planet.

Who is willing to help clean up other people's cockroach nests for free?

If March 7th and the others were in danger in the lower area, she would just go down and pick them up. There was no need to risk her life to help clean up the mess of Jarilo-VI.

If Belobog was willing to pay her enough "memory," then Ilu could give it a try, but the problem was that they could not provide the huge "memory" required to eliminate all the Swarm on an entire planet, so this matter became unsolvable.

Compared to this illusory possibility, it seemed much more realistic to let the IPC send a fleet to pick up the residents of Belobog.

After all, the "IPC" only cares about profit. At most, it will let the residents of Belobog work to pay off their debts.

Unlike the The Propagation's swarm of insects, they will transform the entire planet into a swarm of insects, and even survival will become a problem.

"Huh... There is no point in staying here. Let's go back first."

Thinking of this, Ilu decided to go back to the train to discuss countermeasures with Himeko and Uncle Yang to see if this planet is still worth saving.

With this kind of plot change, destroying the Stellaron alone can no longer solve the crisis of this planet. Instead, it will cause the ice and snow that restrict the free movement of the true Sting insects to completely melt.

In that case, the number of Stings will usher in an explosive growth, and it may be that those who could have been saved cannot be saved.

In other words, before dealing with the Stellaron, they must first find a way to deal with the swarm.

...

A few hours later, in the lower level area of Belobog.

"Hmm."

After waking up from her coma, Stelle opened her eyes and heard some tiny sounds coming from not far away, as if someone was chatting.

Looking at the source of the sound, she saw the dark blue-haired man named Sampo whispering something to a blue-haired woman in a doctor's outfit. From the latter's tone, it seemed that she had some opinions about Sampo bringing them to the clinic.

"I really don't know what you are up to, Sampo. What does the matter of the upper district have to do with you? Why do you have to wade into this muddy water?"

"Hey! Don't say that! Sampo always take care of his friends. These people helped me, so I have to repay them anyway."

"Oh? Then explain to me why you brought that little girl from the upper city with you?"

Hearing Sampo's sophistry, Natasha crossed her arms and glanced at the empty bed not far away. The person lying on it had already left, but when she thought of the other party's identity, she felt a little annoyed.

"Not to mention that it was a Silvermane Guard with a card. You really think you are not conspicuous enough. You dare to bring such a character down. You have to be stared at by the Wild Fire to be satisfied?"

"Ahaha..."

Hearing this, Sampo smiled awkwardly.

Just then, he noticed the gray-haired girl sitting up from the bed beside him, and the two met eyes.

The moment he saw Stelle, the man with dark blue hair widened his eyes and turned to Natasha, saying, "Well, Natasha, the little girl seems to have woken up. Go and see if she is okay. I'll go and find her companions."

"Uh..."

Stelle looked at Sampo, who ran out of the clinic without looking back, speechlessly, and turned her eyes to the blue-haired woman who was walking toward her not far away.

From the conversation just now, she knew the other party's identity—a doctor named Natasha.

"How do you feel? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere in your body?"

Natasha sat down beside her bed and said in a gentle tone, "This is Boulder Town. I am a doctor here. You can call me Natasha. You have been lying in my clinic for a whole day."

------

Chapter 50: There is Never a Lack of Bad News Here

A whole day? !

Wait, she actually slept for so long?

"No, I feel fine; nothing's wrong..."

After coming back to her senses from the shock, Stelle immediately shook her head, indicating that she was fine. After hesitating for a while, she decided to ask the amiable female doctor about her current situation. "Well, I want to ask..."

"Ding--!"

Just then, Stelle's cell phone suddenly rang, instantly interrupting her train of thought.

The girl was slightly startled, then took out her cell phone from the folding space, which contained a text message from Ilu.

"Ilu: Where are you now? Are those Silvermane Guards still chasing you?"

"Ilu:?"

"..."

"Ilu: Are you safe now?"

"Ilu: Oh, Dan Heng replied to me; I know what's going on with you now."

"Ilu: When you wake up and see this message, please contact me as soon as possible."

"Ilu: Are you awake?"

Because Stelle hadn't turned on her phone for a whole day, the time interval between each message was about an hour, and there were almost more than ten messages in total.

It can be seen that Ilu is very worried about her safety.

"Uh..."

Seeing so many messages, Stelle looked up at Natasha.

"It seems that your friends on the ground are concerned about your safety. Don't worry about me; you can talk to her first."

After saying that, Natasha got up and went to the side to clean up the sundries on the table. Seeing this, Stelle continued to look down at her phone, edited a message on it, and sent it.

"Stelle: I'm fine now; thank you for your concern~(^▽^)"

Not long after, she received a reply from the other party.

"Ilu: I'm glad you're okay."

"Ilu: I just returned from a train and told Uncle Yang and the others about the insect swarm."

"Ilu: The current situation on this planet is very dangerous. There may be a large number of dormant insects underground. If you are still in the lower area, please tell the people there not to continue mining the marrow deeper underground."

"This..."

Seeing the message sent by Ilu, Stelle was slightly stunned.

Swarm? Underground?

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, she quickly asked Natasha beside her: "Doctor Natasha, is this the lower area?"

"Yes."

Hearing this, Natasha glanced at her, with a bit of helplessness in her tone: "This is the underground area that has been sealed off by those people on the ground for more than ten years. Unlike the colorful world above, the residents here make a living by digging tunnels and mining."

"My friend just sent me a text message. She said that there may be deep dangers hidden underground..."

The gray-haired girl relayed the message sent by Ilu to Natasha with a serious look. After hearing that there may be a kind of Insect called "Ashen Sun" underground, Natasha couldn't help but frown slightly, holding her temple with one hand and lowering her head into deep thought.

"There is such a thing; I have never heard of it before..."

The people in the lower area rely on mining to make a living. Asking them to stop mining is tantamount to cutting off their livelihood. After losing this job, it is difficult for these miners to survive the harsh environment underground.

"If what you said is true, then the crisis facing the lower area is already very serious. This is really not good news."

After thinking for a while, Natasha looked up at Stelle and spread her hands with regret.

"It's a pity that for people who have lived underground for many years, the words of you people on the ground are not credible. They will not give up mining for such a false reason. Instead, they will suspect that you have ulterior motives and intend to destroy the stability of the underground world unless you can provide enough evidence." People living underground have never lacked bad news. The so-called "insect plague" is far less serious than the threat of mineral vein depletion in the eyes of most people. "Uh, is it true?"

Hearing Natasha's words, Stelle showed an expression of "I guessed it would be like this."

As the Nameless, they know the truth of this world, but for people who have been living in the lower area, they are just outsiders who have just arrived for less than a day.

Think about it: a foreigner with a suspicious identity keeps saying that she knows more about the underground than the locals and wants them to give up the mining work they rely on for a living.

No one would believe what she said.

It seems that in order to stop the residents of the lower area from continuing to mine deeper, they must first find a way to gain their trust.

"Are there any other questions? If not, I will go to take care of other patients first."

"By the way, Dr. Natasha, what is the 'Wild Fire' you mentioned in your chat just now?"

"The 'Wild Fire' is a militia organization of a volunteer nature. As I said, you can think of them as the underground Silvermane Guards..."

The underground Silvermane Guards...

Stelle fell into deep thought.

It sounds like this organization called "Wild Fire" should have a pivotal leadership position in the lower area. It seems that we can talk to them about this matter.

"Thank you for telling me so much, Dr. Natasha."

"Haha, after all, these are not secrets. You can ask anyone in the lower area, and they can answer these questions for you."

Natasha smiled and said, "Okay, there are patients over there who need to change their medicines. I'll go over to take care of them. If there is no problem, you can go out and meet your friends."

...

Not far from Natasha's clinic, Stelle met March 7th, who was playing games with the children. She was surrounded by enthusiastic children like a child king, and her popularity was quite high.

"It's a deal; let's play together... Uh, sorry, my good friend came to see me. Maybe I can't play together today... Oh, adult things are so troublesome; we can play together another day when we have time~"

Noticing Stelle standing aside, March 7th immediately returned to normal from the state of "child king."

After directing the children's attention to other places, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the gray-haired girl who appeared near her at some point.

"When did you... come?"

"Not long ago, Sister March 7th~" Stelle deliberately imitated the tone of a child and said coquettishly.

March 7th: "..."

Tsk, this tone; for some reason I want to punch her.

"Ahem!"

Noticing March 7th's eager little fist, Stelle cleared her throat and returned to her normal tone: "Where is Dan Heng? Have you seen him?"

"As for him, the doctor said that he was with that bad guy named Sampo. I looked around but couldn't find him. I was just about to ask these children about his whereabouts."

"And then you played with them?"

"Hehehe~"

March 7th scratched her hair a little embarrassedly: "There's no way. They said I must join an organization called the 'Mole Party' before they would tell me the whereabouts of Sampo."

"Uh... Actually, you can just ask other passers-by."

Stelle sighed helplessly, then pointed to the fight club in the distance: "I just asked the people on the roadside, and they said that Sampo just went there. Let's go find him."

"Yeah!"

March 7th nodded, followed Stelle's footsteps, and the two walked toward the direction of the fight club.