"Hah, it's just that you remind me of an acquaintance from before, so I couldn't help but want to get to know you. Hello, I'm Yun Fan."
Gazing at the gentle and refined blond young man before him, Yun Fan smiled faintly and amiably extended his hand. Seeing this, the young man was slightly taken aback but soon reciprocated with a smile and reached out as well.
"My name is Luocha, a merchant traveling among the stars. It's a pleasure to meet you, Brother Yun Fan." Luocha observed the black-haired man before him, though inwardly, he felt a hint of wariness. There was something about this man he couldn't quite fathom.
"Haha, Brother Yun Fan mentioned that I resemble a friend of yours. Might I ask the name of this friend?" The blond man named Luocha inquired with a meaningful tone.
"Otto Apocalypse." Yun Fan enunciated the name of the esteemed bishop word by word, all the while keeping a close watch on Luocha's expression. Though it lasted only a fleeting moment, he caught a glimpse of astonishment flash through Luocha's eyes. From this, it seemed that even if Luocha wasn't Otto himself, he must have some connection to him, however tenuous.
"Otto Apocalypse?" Luocha murmured, repeating the name of Yun Fan's "friend." After a brief silence, he shook his head.
"I've never met this friend of yours, Mr. Yun Fan. If the opportunity arises, I hope you might introduce us."
"Haha, certainly, certainly!" Having confirmed his suspicions, Yun Fan refrained from further probing. Truthfully, whether Luocha was Otto or not mattered little to him—it was merely idle curiosity.
As for using the authority of causality to divine the truth outright... that would simply be too dull.
After bidding farewell to Luocha, Yun Fan glanced at the new contact ID on his phone, his eyes flickering thoughtfully. According to his senses, the coffin case behind Luocha currently contained a Stellaron.
It seemed this was the very Stellaron that would later bring chaos to the Xianzhou.
"The Xianzhou storyline is finally about to begin, huh."
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Belobog... The Underworld...
"Alert! Alert... Unit da—static—damage level—static—78%... Initiating self-repair protocols..."
At the passage connecting the Overworld and the Underworld, the severely damaged Svarog sputtered with sparks as his self-repair protocols activated, his frame slowly moving as he began scavenging for usable parts among the wreckage of destroyed mechs.
Not far from Svarog, Yun Fan observed the scene from the shadows. Watching Svarog initiate self-repair, he couldn't help but murmur in admiration, "The people of Belobog seven hundred years ago were truly something, to have created a self-aware robot like this."
Svarog had guarded the passage between the upper and lower levels for a very, very long time. He permitted neither Overworlders to descend nor Underworlders to ascend. In the original storyline, when Sampo led the main party to the Underworld, they likely hadn't taken the path guarded by Svarog but instead used a route through the Fragmentum. Otherwise, Sampo would've had to fight Svarog.
Hm? Why hadn't Yun Fan and the others been intercepted by Svarog back then? Well, theoretically, they should have encountered him, but Yun Fan had simply used the authority of causality to divert Svarog and his mechs elsewhere. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat him—he just hadn't seen the need to confront Svarog at the time.
"Was that slash from Blade just now the 'Shuhu's Gift'? Corrupted by the flesh of an Abundance Emanator, only to fall into the abyss of undeath. The 'gift' of an Abundance Emanator is less a blessing and more a torment, no?"
Yun Fan pondered. From what he remembered, Blade was a man who sought death. Yet, due to Shuhu's flesh, even a powerhouse like Jingliu—one of the Xianzhou's mightiest—couldn't truly kill him. Thus, through the long years, Blade could only live on in agony, enduring endless suffering.
However...
"Baiheng..." Yun Fan's eyes gleamed faintly.
Baiheng, one of the High-Cloud Quintet, a Foxian navigator. She was the beloved of the Quintet, the white moonlight of Yingxing and Dan Heng. And, during the storyline, she had been one of Yun Fan's lingering regrets.
"With the authority of causality, resurrecting her should be effortless. When the time is right, I'll bring her back to this world."
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"Run! Run!"
"M-monster! Aah—!"
"Help! That guy's a madman...!"
Walking alone along the cobbled streets of Rivet Town, Dan Heng frowned as one Underworld resident after another rushed past him, their voices trembling with fear. Quickening his pace, he pressed forward against the chaotic tide of people, soon reaching the source of the disturbance.
Just as he'd expected, the culprit behind the commotion was an old acquaintance from his past life.
The moment Dan Heng's gaze fell upon Blade, Blade sensed his presence. Instantly, their sharp eyes locked in a clash of sparks!
"Hahahaha...!" Blade burst into maniacal laughter, causing the trembling Lynx beside him to shudder uncontrollably.
'Oh no, oh no... This murderous lunatic isn't going to realize I don't actually know the way, is he? This is bad, this is really bad...' Lynx thought in panic, her heart nearly leaping into her throat.
Sniff... How was she supposed to know the way? She only knew that Yun Fan and the others had gone to the Underworld—this was her first time here too! How could she possibly know the routes? And even if she did, how would she know Yun Fan's exact whereabouts?
Just as Lynx was silently freaking out, Blade—who had been laughing wildly—finally spoke: "Pipsqueak, I should thank you for leading me here. Now, you can go."
"Eh? R-really?" Lynx brightened momentarily, but her excitement quickly deflated. A small girl like her had no combat ability to speak of, and the Underworld was a dangerous place. If not for Blade's presence, she would've long been captured by desperate vagrants and dragged back to their camps.
Now, without his intimidating presence, could she even make it back to the Overworld?
Blade had no idea what Lynx was thinking—and even if he did, he wouldn't care. Right now, his eyes saw only "Dan Feng."
"Of Five people three must pay a price. Dan Feng... time to atone for your crimes!"