The call ended, and Silver Wolf fell into deep thought.
What the hell was going on—did the Stellaron Hunters seriously get doxxed?
The only person who knew about her deal with Sparkle was Kafka. Even Firefly didn't know she'd made that deal with Sparkle—one that let Firefly safely make it through three "deaths."
"What's wrong, bao?"
Kafka was doing coat care. Sensing something off about Silver Wolf, she spoke like she'd already guessed something unbelievable had happened.
Hearing the word "bao," a "#" popped on Silver Wolf's forehead. She wasn't a kid, okay?
"Someone knows I reached a deal with Sparkle," Silver Wolf said in a low voice.
It made her feel uneasy.
Who had the ability to know something like that?
"Hmm?"
Kafka's hands paused. She knew about Silver Wolf's transaction with that Masked Fool.
Firefly was their family. If she could be safer, they'd all feel more at ease.
"Did someone eavesdrop on your contact with her?"
Silver Wolf hadn't contacted Sparkle in person—she'd done it through the net. And there was another possibility: a Memokeeper.
"Impossible. With my Ether Editing, there are only a handful of people who can eavesdrop," Silver Wolf said, shaking her head confidently.
Even from other angles, it couldn't have been intercepted through network communications.
"Looks like something's changed in Penacony," Kafka said helplessly.
If that was the case, then a variable had interfered.
"So what do we do—go take a look?" Silver Wolf asked.
They weren't busy with any script right now. A trip to Penacony wouldn't be a problem.
"The Astral Express hasn't arrived in Penacony yet, right?"
"No."
Silver Wolf tracked the Astral Express. It was currently stopped at a car-wash planet. In a few days, it would probably reach Penacony.
"Then let's go check it out," Kafka said.
"Once we enter Penacony, I'll leave it to you, bao."
Firefly still hadn't entered Penacony. They'd go scout things out. If it was something they could solve, they'd step in. If not, they'd have to think of another way.
"No problem. Let's go."
It was just a dream world. Even without the power of Memory or Harmony, she could still sneak in using Ether Editing.
…
Penacony.
Robin had her own matters to handle, so after guiding Koji and the others around a few places, she left.
Before leaving, she gave them a card—they could use it for any spending in Penacony.
As Asta's friend, she probably wasn't short on money. And Robin wasn't stingy. Unlike Asta, she wasn't obsessed with online shopping. As a huge star, she was a rich woman too—just not as absurdly rich as Asta.
"Big-name star friends are all this rich and generous, no matter what world you're in," Koji couldn't help saying.
He'd met two so far—Eden from the Honkai world, and Robin from the Star Rail world.
"Furina's a big star too. How much did you save up over those five hundred years?" Lumine looked at Furina with curiosity.
"Honestly… not that much. You know, I played the Hydro Archon for five hundred years. My daily expenses weren't really high…" Furina thought about it. Her little stash really wasn't much.
As the Hydro Archon, she didn't care about Mora. Food and drink were never a problem. At most, she counted as a small rich lady—not truly wealthy.
Even though she'd lived five hundred years, she hadn't saved much Mora. Compared to real money monsters like Ningguang or Dori, she was nowhere close.
"Is that Acheron?"
Paimon was sipping juice when she suddenly spotted Acheron. Next to her, three women were kneeling on the ground.
Oh, so the "prison goose" got hit again. Looks like she'd just made a move.
Koji couldn't help laughing. Mysterious Big Sister who shows up out of nowhere—Memokeepers really were that bold for the sake of memory, huh? Bold enough to peek at an Emanator-level Nihility.
"That woman looks like she got scared stiff," Yae Miko said, watching Black Swan drenched in sweat. Her lips curled slightly upward—like someone had just yanked out a patch of her fur.
"She's a Memokeeper from the Memory faction. She wanted to watch Acheron's memories—ones filled with Nihility," Koji explained.
After that, Lumine, Eula, and the others all showed a look of realization, then stared at the "prison goose" with strange expressions.
They hadn't experienced it themselves, but they could imagine it—facing memories of Nihility head-on would definitely be… "stimulating."
"It's you," Acheron said as well, noticing them and walking over.
"Is she okay?" Koji asked, pointing at the "prison goose." She looked like she'd been over-scared—her body was trembling.
"She's fine. This Memokeeper wanted to look at my memories, and was affected by Nihility," Acheron shook her head.
She'd been a little surprised at the time too—someone had actually tried to peek into her memories.
Acheron didn't care, but the power of Nihility wasn't going to show mercy to a pretty face. If she hadn't reined it in a little, Black Swan would've been swallowed by Nihility on the spot.
That Memokeeper faction really was kind of foolish… the self-destructing kind.
Forget a Nihility Emanator—even with an ordinary Emanator, if you aren't an Emanator-level Memokeeper, you simply can't pry into their memories.
"But dancing with her… it felt pretty good. I wonder if there'll be another chance?" Acheron added.
"Cough—cough. Forget it," Black Swan blurted out, instantly going into a stress response.
She truly didn't want to dance with Acheron.
Touching that aura of Nihility made her memetic body feel awful. It was her first time experiencing something like that.
Right now, the confidence she'd once had was gone from her eyes—replaced by wariness and heavy caution.
From that brief contact with memory, she already understood: this Acheron was an Emanator who shouldn't exist.
Dear heavens. A Nihility Emanator—terrifying.
Thinking about it now made her shiver. How had she dared? She'd actually dared to peek into a Nihility Emanator's memory.
Being alive right now was already luck—maybe Acheron had deliberately let her off.
She'd survived, yes, but she'd gained a psychological shadow in return. From now on she had to be careful—she couldn't casually step into someone's memories anymore.
"Just dancing, then?" Acheron asked softly. Ever since Izumo had been swallowed by Nihility, she'd never danced again.
"…We'll talk about it later," Black Swan said, standing up.
If she weren't a memetic body, after that kind of direct confrontation with Nihility… she'd probably have lost control of her bladder right there.
Who could've imagined—even Herta found it unbelievable. Why had an Emanator who shouldn't exist appeared in the cosmos?
"Nice to meet you. I'm Black Swan, a Memokeeper. Your fates—"
Black Swan glanced at Koji and the others and froze.
She couldn't see through them at all—as if they'd appeared out of nowhere, outside the cosmos entirely.
She felt a surge of curiosity about their memories.
Ahem. No—forget it.
Black Swan snapped herself back in time. She'd just eaten dirt with Acheron and nearly gotten plucked bare. Better not go courting death again.
Koji's lips curved into a teasing smirk. He could tell Black Swan had been tempted, but she'd forced herself to stop.
What a shame.
Otherwise the "prison goose" would've crashed and burned twice in one day.
(End of Chapter)
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