That shameless Dr. Primitive actually created a device capable of misleading a hacker, causing Silver Wolf to fail to notice something was wrong immediately.
Fortunately, everyone present aside from Dr. Primitive was on her side and wouldn't spread this around, otherwise, her reputation in Punklorde would surely gain some bizarre new additions.
Thinking of this, Silver Wolf gnashed her teeth, wishing she could grab Dr. Primitive by the collar and give him a good punch.
It really wasn't a problem with her abilities, but who could've expected this guy to find such a place and even rotate through it.
Silver Wolf's Ether Editing can manipulate anything within the universe in ways that defy common sense, but it still has limits. At the very least, the current Silver Wolf couldn't resist such an enormous torrent of Imaginary energy.
And honestly, The Family was something else too, having a place like this yet not informing anyone beforehand, making her run around for nothing.
As for barging straight into The Family's core territory without notifying anyone… What? You didn't know we're Stellaron Hunters?
Stellaron Hunters never follow the usual path.
No, wait! Silver Wolf lightly rubbed her chin, her eyes narrowing.
"This place must've been discovered by The Family only recently. Otherwise, with their personality, they'd have started developing it already."
That explains why The Family had been shrinking their influence not long ago.
Such a pity, though, having a treasure trove yet unable to enter, only to have Dr. Primitive swoop in and steal the prize. Tch, that Family…
Imaginary energy is the origin that forms countless worlds. With strong enough capabilities, it can instantly suppress and distort entire planets.
If The Family could properly harness these torrential Imaginary energy flows, with their way of doing things, growing into a major force would be easy.
But before they could make use of anything, Dr. Primitive struck them head-on. Truly unfortunate.
And this makes everything clear.
Dr. Primitive's scheme was perfectly laid out.
According to Herta's theory, the Imaginary Tree and the Quantum Sea are enemies. Since the birth of the universe, they have been in endless conflict.
For beings of such magnitude, endless conflict means they constantly clash and brush closely against one another.
Combine this with the methods he deployed, and the intent becomes obvious.
He wants to use the Imaginary Tree to reach the Quantum Sea!
He doesn't care about the Imaginary Tree itself. After all, under the oppressive feeling brought forth by the Quantum Sea, many worlds, developed worlds, nearly identical worlds, and those with "exhausted potential", in his eyes only have the option of returning to their primitive state.
Only those immeasurable worlds shine brilliantly before him!
"If Evil Ninja Osaru were to enter that boundless Lost World Belt…" Rappa whispered softly, and everyone instinctively imagined the scene.
Dr. Primitive arriving with an overwhelming aura… the picture was so vivid, none of their imaginations could match it.
"No! We must stop such a tragedy from happening!" Pulling herself together, Rappa stared intensely at Silver Wolf, making her heart tremble.
"You… what are you planning?"
"Gamer Ninja! Please use your ninjutsu to cut off their connection!"
"…Even if you say that…" Silver Wolf showed a troubled expression.
If she had a method, she would've started already. If it were anything else, she'd have confidence handling it.
But based on their assessment, this matter might even involve the Imaginary Tree itself.
She believed in her abilities, yes, but confidence doesn't equal being suicidal.
Just the Imaginary energy leaking out of the void could crush her. She had no idea where to even begin.
"…Forget it, I'll try." Difficult or not, a mission must still be carried out.
Besides, she was also curious about how far Dr. Primitive could go.
To her, the galaxy is like a grand game with countless possible endings. Dr. Primitive was undoubtedly a standout route.
Then as Silver Wolf, the legendary Punklorde hacker, a name resounding across the cosmos,
She absolutely could not miss it!
Silver Wolf began her operation. Ether Editing surged, data streams danced at her fingertips, characters blinking rapidly.
This was the authority of the galaxy's number-one hacker!!
While Silver Wolf worked, Kafka had been observing the battlefield the entire time.
Blade and Boothill together were still no match for Dr. Primitive.
Even united, they couldn't do anything to him.
You could say Dr. Primitive was bad, but you could never say he was weak.
"He keeps toying with them without defeating them… Could it be he simply doesn't care about our actions?" Kafka wondered.
She considered herself someone with brains and methods. With her companions working together, achieving something shouldn't be hard. She didn't believe Dr. Primitive hadn't noticed all they had been doing.
This entire region was created by him. She had been to similar zones before.
Within a certain range, a creator can even achieve something akin to, anything spoken becomes reality.
Could Dr. Primitive still have another move? Or perhaps everything they were doing was already within his expectations…
Everything was uncertain. Even Kafka didn't know the script this time. The future had already been disrupted.
If not for Dr. Primitive's movements being so massive that Elio caught wind of them, she should've been lying on a soft bed right now, browsing shopping apps and picking out next season's outfits.
Speaking of which… might be time to expand the wardrobe room… Kafka honestly didn't care about the final outcome of all this.
According to Elio, this unexpected incident could go in any direction, good or bad.
But so what? The future was already hazy. Even the Finality likely couldn't explain it clearly, at best sensing it vaguely.
Kafka had no fear of the ending veering off course. Only curiosity.
Curiosity about what color the future held, how it would bloom, how it would collapse. She was curious about everything, yet had never felt fear.
....
"The special Dream Bubbles…" Staring at the sky, Sunday murmured softly.
Growing up in The Family, he knew all about Penacony's Dream Bubbles.
The birth of each Dream Bubble was a miracle.
When he served as the leader of the Oak Family, he had witnessed many Dream Bubbles being born. Unfortunately, most were incredibly fragile. Except for the minority that could be preserved through special processing and used within dreams, the rest would all fade with time.
In his perception, these worlds were like Dream Bubbles as well, yet completely different from ordinary ones.
He had entered this world again of his own will.
He wanted to understand how this world was constructed, and to truly decipher these unique Dream Bubbles, freeing the countless lives trapped within.
"Ring ring ~~ ring ring ~~"
As he pondered deeply, a bell's sound pulled his mind back.
"Chicken-wing boy, you look really troubled ~?"
He looked up to see the masked fool leaning back against a giant boulder, hands resting on it, smiling at him through an ever-shifting mask.
"Sparkle… are you also interested in this farce?" There was no hidden meaning, just a subconscious question.
The Masked Fools love amusement, and each one seeks entertainment in their own way.
It was hard to tell how many among the Masked Fools were enjoying this little spectacle.
Hearing Sunday's words, Sparkle' eyes widened slightly as she raised a hand to cover her lips.
"Of course! Fun this interesting is hard to come by! I worked so hard to run all the way here from the other end of the galaxy, don't tell me those two dizzy idiots were acting for nothing."
Sunday shook his head slightly.
He had already experienced this Masked Fool's personality last time, typical mischief-seeker. Still, most of the time there was nothing to worry about.
Like now. She had no reason to interfere with his exploration of this world's secrets.
"You're looking in the wrong place? Then you'd better open your eyes wide! Standing right in front of you is the champion of the 73rd Galactic Spot-the-Difference Tournament, Sparkle!"
Sparkle placed her hands on her hips proudly.
Sunday ignored her. Seeing him still looking wooden as ever, Sparkle let out a helpless sigh.
"Honestly, Chicken-Wing Boy, you're still as boring as ever. You were way more interesting back in Penacony."
At least back then Sunday was playing a very entertaining game that attracted her.
"I'll give you a piece of advice." She bounced lightly twice, bells ringing pleasantly.
Sparkle blinked, locked eyes with Sunday, and curved her lips into a sly smile.
"Things are about to spin round and round~~"
'…What?' Sunday looked a little stunned.
He didn't understand what Sparkle meant. If she meant it literally… was that possible?
The moment that thought surfaced,
The world spun! Literally!
....
Dr. Primitive had been waiting.
Waiting for a chance. A chance to possibly visit that unknown "Quantum sea."
He had no entry ticket. He was a genius, but even a genius without a ticket to that world was simply barred.
But he was a genius. And what is a genius?
If he didn't have a ticket, he would just create one himself!
A flash.
The many "worlds" Dr. Primitive used to trap the various forces rushing in from everywhere suddenly shone at once.
Radiance filled the sky, blindingly bright.
Their eruption was so sudden that before anyone could react, the light had already reached a level ordinary eyes could not look at directly.
Well, Blade was still staring straight at it, just fast asleep.
"What did your beloved banana do!!" Boothill was still improvising freely.
"What's going on?" Silver Wolf stared in confusion, unable to understand what she was seeing.
Aside from being surprised at how smoothly her work had been going a moment ago, she couldn't figure out what was happening or what kind of mess Dr. Primitive had stirred up this time.
"Wait!" Suddenly, Silver Wolf realized something. Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at the delighted Dr. Primitive.
"Don't tell me… you actually can't get in, right?!" Her voice wasn't loud, but it struck like thunder.
Hearing Silver Wolf's words, Dr. Primitive lowered his head slightly to meet her gaze. After a moment, he let out a soft chuckle.
"This is a new chapter. The lives of those worlds will remember your deeds. It was you who helped them find the path to return, back into their primitive forms!"
Silver Wolf didn't want to say anything at all now. Her small chest rose and fell as she grit her teeth.
Great. She went after the boss too early! Who could've guessed that the grand Dr. Primitive didn't even qualify to enter?
Silver Wolf was furious.
'You didn't tell us! With the way you acted, I thought you'd already taken a stroll inside and come back out! But no!!'
'Uuugh, this world is too cruel. I want to go back and play games.'
She wasn't the only one, Kafka and Blade were also caught off guard.
Because the "worlds" laid out by Dr. Primitive were too similar to the lost worlds within the Quantum Sea.
Kafka still remembered those endlessly repeating, collapsing worlds.
That kind of scene, when the world breaks, are the people still alive?
Facing Silver Wolf's accusation, Dr. Primitive still smiled.
When falsehood becomes truth, truth becomes falsehood. He indeed couldn't enter the Quantum Sea. But he had observed part of it through his intellect.
A certain genius already lying in a coffin had managed to observe it with his own brilliance.
With Herta's research in hand, plus this hollow space here, it wasn't hard for him to do the same.
Unfortunately, that was all he could do.
He had no qualification to enter the Quantum Sea. Earning the sea's acknowledgment seemed extremely difficult.
In the clash just now, he had been guiding them, making them believe he had already studied the Quantum Sea thoroughly.
And it worked. Perhaps the worlds he created were too convincing, or perhaps his certainty made them trust him.
No one doubted him.
"By etiquette, I should be thanking you right now."
Facing the faintly eye-rolling Silver Wolf, Dr. Primitive bowed slightly.
"I see. Reasonable application." Kafka murmured, understanding. "You used Ether Editing."
"Yes. It is a great ability, used properly, it can bring countless unexpected benefits to worlds." Dr. Primitive nodded, praising.
'I don't want praise right now…' Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes in protest, this "game" was no fun at all.
'Benefits, huh.' Kafka knew what it meant for Dr. Primitive.
Silver Wolf's Ether Editing hadn't just cracked Dr. Primitive's lure, it had successfully connected to the real 'Quantum Sea'.
Given his capability, it was easy for him to deduce what she left behind that he could sense.
Meaning: now, Dr. Primitive had gotten his ticket..
"How strange," Kafka whispered.
Silver Wolf had moved too smoothly.
As if… as if she had returned home. Stellaron Hunters might act carefree outside, but they always retained some vigilance.
Which raised the question:
If normal methods can't get into the Quantum Sea, then you, Silver Wolf wouldn't have secretly tried to access the so called Quantum Sea before, right?
"Hey. Your eyes are telling me you're thinking something very rude right now." Sensitive to the situation, Silver Wolf easily noticed Kafka's gaze and glared back.
"So? What's this guy planning?" Boothill, having stepped back, stared hard at Dr. Primitive while asking the others.
"Obviously…"
"Obviously…"
....
A time and space shift!
How could Dr. Primitive waste the attention of countless worlds fixed on him?
Every firm will here served as his anchor.
The traces they left behind would lead countless worlds toward a brighter future!
"Let us begin. Now, move the stars and shift the constellations!"
Spreading his arms wide, Dr. Primitive's expression soared with ambition.
And then, the worlds activated!
World after world activated, each within the limits of its structure.
Using the vast and high-quality anchors, Dr. Primitive led the many worlds on a grand voyage.
In this moment, he was the captain!
In short, he used the dream bubbles and the people here as an anchor and tried to open a path to the Quantum Sea, and was able to create a path.
...
A blink, darkness, light.
Everyone stared in shock at the unfamiliar place before them.
"…Wait, where the hell are we?"