"You've arrived."
"Come over."
The Leader standing by the window seemed to have noticed Takagi and the others' arrival and smiled, beckoning them over.
Signora glanced back, while Takagi smiled and placed his hand on Signora's shoulder, half-pushing her towards the Leader.
The others also stepped forward, following Takagi and Signora's pace.
"See, the world we've conquered is now completely submissive to us."
"Next, as long as we proceed step by step with what we've done before, we can establish our own civilization."
The Leader said with a smile, pointing at the scenery outside the window.
Signora, Lisa, and the others looked down, only to see countless people on the ground hundreds of meters away busy building new structures.
The fallen ruins seemed to attest to the war not long ago.
"You really built an army and launched conquests against other worlds?"
Signora asked, looking at the Leader in surprise.
"Hmm? Is your memory also having issues?"
"Didn't I build and develop the army with you?"
The Leader looked at Signora strangely.
"Ah, she got hit in the head during the previous battle."
"She's still a bit unclear in her mind, don't mind her."
Takagi placed his right hand on Signora's head and said with a smile to the Leader.
"So that's it," the Leader nodded. "But it's good that you're still alive. I wouldn't want any of you to be harmed."
"It hasn't been easy to get this far, and you're all still alive."
"And you are the only ones who know my secret and purpose."
"Do you know, the Star of Decay mentioned in the ravings I once heard has been discovered by our people."
"After things here are finished, we will go to the Star of Decay to conquer the world mentioned in the ravings."
Hearing this, Signora, Lisa, and the others' eyes flashed with a sharp light.
After all, according to their previous speculation, this Self-Annihilator soldier was likely related to the birth of the Aeon of Propagation.
And he is now an army Leader, controlling an army capable of conquering civilizations; his power must be stronger than before.
For him to go to the Star of Decay now, doesn't it mean that the Aeon of Propagation might really be born under his impetus?!
[Dehya: He really did it. He actually became a remarkable army Leader!]
[Venti: So, the next step is to go to the Star of Decay and witness the birth of the Aeon of Propagation?]
[Rosaria: I always feel that this soldier... perhaps the person who should be called the Leader has aged a lot. It must have taken him a considerable amount of time to get this far.]
[Paimon: And he still remembers the existence of Takagi and the others. In his memory, Signora and Lisa are his comrades.]
[Lumine: As long as the Simulated Universe doesn't crash, this route should continue in this Simulated Universe.]
[Ningguang: It seems we need to be prepared to see bugs.]
The Leader took out a device similar to a tablet and raised his hand to summon a projected screen.
Instantly, the projection of the Star of Decay appeared before everyone's eyes.
"This is the Star of Decay. It's not far from the world we are currently in."
"It won't take too long to get there."
"Speaking of which, how much time has passed since we started on this journey?"
"Years, or decades?"
"Your appearances haven't changed at all."
The Leader said, looking at Takagi and the others with emotion.
Seeing this, Lisa, Signora, and the others didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, the Leader didn't dwell on it. He shook his head and muttered to himself as if speaking aloud:
"Since we set out, we have always achieved success and good fortune."
"We have conquered Planet after Planet."
"We have built our own vast civilization."
"Everything we want, we can obtain."
"However, I seem to never be able to figure out what I truly want."
After a pause, the Leader suddenly laughed again. He looked at Takagi and the others and laughed loudly:
"But it doesn't matter. Just as the ravings mentioned, as long as I go to the Star of Decay and conquer that world, I will definitely find what I want."
Signora, Lisa, and the others listened to the Leader's laughter and could feel his excitement in it.
However, the Leader's laughter did not last long.
He sighed and said to Takagi and the others:
"But you also know that I have a strange illness."
"My memory can only last for three days."
"And now, the three days are almost up."
"So, I need you to convey the ravings about the Star of Decay to me again."
"Ensure that I will accurately go to the Star of Decay afterwards."
Signora: "Memory can only last for three days?!"
The Leader glanced at Signora and said:
"It seems your memory has been affected quite a bit."
"You should go see a doctor later. Don't really end up with a problem in your head."
Signora's mouth twitched, and she turned her head away.
She was afraid that if she kept looking at the Leader like this, she would Can't help it glare at him fiercely.
"Don't worry, we will convey the ravings about the Star of Decay to you."
Takagi nodded and said.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you."
"The content of the ravings is: I initiate conquest, I build civilization, I finally find the lost self..."
The Leader muttered to himself, walked to a sofa nearby, sat down, and then slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Immediately, everything around them disappeared again, and everyone returned to the endless data space.
"Back again?"
Signora looked around and murmured.
[Screwllum: Please don't worry, the Simulated Universe is currently operating normally. Everyone will soon jump to the next scene.]
"The next scene, does that mean we will see endless bugs?"
Signora frowned, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and said with a look of disgust.
Compared to Signora, her colleague Dottore had a smile on his face.
Am I about to witness the birth of the Aeon of Propagation?
If I can learn the process of the Aeon of Propagation's birth,
Perhaps I can also gain some inspiration.
Dottore thought to himself.
"Speaking of which, what kind of illness does that Leader have? Why does his memory only last for three days?"
Nahida murmured.
"Yeah, memory only lasting for three days, that's too tragic."
March 7th agreed.
"Could it be because of that laughing bug?"
Welt pushed up his glasses and spoke.
Takagi nodded and said:
"You are right, the situation of that Leader is indeed related to that laughing bug."
"Although the Path Power that bug possesses is powerful."
"But the power it obtained is ultimately unrelated to its own talent."
"It was just that the Aeon of Elation gave it a large amount of power for fun."
"The happy emotions it can spread are simply too little, too little."
"The happiness condensed within the Leader's body always fluctuates, dilutes, and re-condenses within three days."
"I think this is the reason he suffers from the three-day memory illness."
[Herta: The Simulated Universe here does show information that the happiness spread by the laughing bug can only last for three days.]
[Herta: However, it's amazing that you know this, even more clearly than what is shown here in the Simulated Universe.]
"No need to praise me, I just received more information than you."
Takagi smiled.
[Herta:...]
The surrounding data once again jumped frantically, accompanied by the changes in the surrounding scene.
In just a moment, everyone arrived in a noisy place that resembled a tavern.
A group of people dressed as bounty hunters raised their wine glasses and cheered and sang.
The most eye-catching among them was a beautiful woman not far from everyone, with golden curly hair and two double-edged twin pistols tucked into her slender waist.
"Where is this?"
Signora looked around with a puzzled expression.
"These people don't look like soldiers, but rather like adventurers."
Lisa muttered.
"Of course we are not soldiers, we are mercenaries."
"You didn't get drunk, did you? You don't even know who you are?"
A mercenary wearing a hat on his head slapped the table and laughed loudly at Lisa.
"Mercenaries?"
"Our position has changed?"
Lisa's brows furrowed even tighter, her heart filled with confusion.
"Don't worry too much, Lisa."
Takagi patted Lisa's shoulder and looked at the golden-haired twin-pistol woman sitting in the center.
As if sensing Takagi's gaze, the twin-pistol golden-haired woman turned her head to look at Takagi.
"So you're here. Come with me, I have something to talk to you about."
The golden-haired woman beckoned to Takagi, then turned and walked towards the door.
Seeing this, the mercenary who had spoken to Lisa earlier laughed loudly:
"Our mercenary Leader really favors you."
"But you have to be careful, she has Herta-level credibility."
"Be careful she doesn't eat you up."
Upon hearing this, Takagi shrugged and smiled:
"If I can be eaten up by such a beautiful woman as the Leader, I'd be quite willing."
The mercenary laughed even louder upon hearing this.
Takagi then stepped towards the door the Golden-haired Leader had left through.
Lisa, Signora, and the others quickly followed.
However, just as they reached the door, Takagi turned around and said to Himeko, Lisa, and the others:
"She only called me over. It might not be appropriate for you to go now."
Lisa: "Takagi, you don't want us to come with you?"
March 7th: "You don't really want to be alone with that golden-haired beauty, do you?"
[Herta: A reminder, don't do anything strange in my Simulated Universe, Takagi. We are all watching.]
"Compared to doing strange things to that Leader."
"I'd rather go back to the Astral Express later and do strange things to your doll."
Takagi casually said a couple of sentences to Herta, then looked at Himeko, March 7th, Signora, and the others, and said:
"It's not that I won't let you go in with me, it's just that you need to become invisible first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Takagi used Seele's talent skill to unleash an energy field that enveloped Himeko, Dan Heng, March 7th, and everyone else.
Soon, everyone entered the invisible state.
"This will do."
"Within my invisibility field, your voices won't be heard by that Golden-haired Leader."
"But be careful not to bump into anything."
After explaining to Himeko, March 7th, and the others who were not very familiar with his invisibility power, Takagi pushed open the door and walked in.
"You're here."
The golden-haired twin-pistol woman looked up at Takagi, her face full of smiles.
"Is there something you need me for?"
Takagi also smiled, and sat across from the golden-haired woman as if they were old acquaintances.
"It's not a big deal."
"I just wanted to tell you about our upcoming itinerary."
As she spoke, the golden-haired woman glanced at the projection device on the table.
Immediately, a projection of a Planet appeared before everyone's eyes.
"This is... the Star of Decay?!"
Lisa narrowed her eyes.
"There's no mistake, this is indeed the Star of Decay."
"The appearance of the Planet is exactly the same as the projection image shown by that military Leader."
Himeko nodded in agreement.
The golden-haired twin-pistol woman, who could not hear the conversation of the invisible Himeko, Lisa, and others, then spoke words that confirmed Himeko and the others' thoughts.
"This is the Star of Decay. There are diverse insects here."
"Our next job is to go here to compile an insect atlas."
The golden-haired twin-pistol woman said.
"Is that so? Is this job very valuable?"
Takagi raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Of course it's valuable. The Star of Decay is a world rarely visited."
"We will get a lot of credit points there."
The golden-haired woman smiled.
"Is that really all?"
"Are there no other reasons?"
Takagi asked.
Golden-haired woman: "Of course not."
"I see, I understand. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."
Takagi shook his head and stood up from his seat.
However, at this moment, the golden-haired woman reached out and grabbed one of Takagi's hands.
"Something else?"
Takagi turned his head in confusion.
The golden-haired woman with twin guns licked her lips, smiling charmingly as she said,
"How long has it been since you last did it?"
Takagi "..."
Lisa: "!!!"
Himeko: "???"
[Lumine: Good heavens, could this 'did it' be what I'm thinking?]
[Paimon: Traveler, what are you saying?]
[Klee: Yeah, Honorary Knight sister, do you know what the mercenary leader means?]
[Alice: Ahem, Klee, you're still too young, this isn't suitable for you to see. Jean, I'll leave it to you.]
[Jean: Alright, I'll go to Klee now.]
[Rosaria: Well, some content unsuitable for children might appear next. Those who are still young should probably exit the forum for now.]
[Dehya: No, no way, Lord Takagi shouldn't be doing... doing that kind of thing in the Simulated Universe, right?]
[Arlecchino: What if, for the plot to continue, Takagi needs to sleep with the mercenary leader?]
[Klee: Sleep? Can't Klee watch big brother and big sister sleep together?]
[Jean: Klee, stop talking for now.]
[Alice: Wuwuwu, is my little darling going to be exposed to knowledge she shouldn't too early?]
[Navia: It shouldn't... require reaching that point for the plot to continue, right?]
......
"What's wrong, why the silence?"
"Is this question that difficult for you?"
The Gold-haired mercenary leader walked up to Takagi and placed her hand on his shoulder with a smile.
"It's not difficult, I'm just a little curious why you would ask such a question."
Takagi raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"Nothing much, it's just that I haven't done it in a long time either."
"Just so happens I've been wanting to recently, so I plan to find someone to spend the night with."
"You, I find quite pleasing to the eye, so I came looking for you."
The Gold-haired mercenary leader said without any reservation.
"Then I am truly honored."
Takagi said.
By now, Takagi also understood his current identity.
In the game, the storyline of the Swarm Disaster described the Gold-haired mercenary leader and a mercenary confirming their love for each other.
Clearly, he is now the mercenary who confirmed his love with the Gold-haired mercenary leader.
Although their current conversation doesn't involve love, only desire.
But Takagi doesn't believe that the Gold-haired mercenary leader has no love for the mercenary he is currently playing.
"So, are you staying?"
The Gold-haired mercenary leader asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Lisa looked at Takagi's back somewhat nervously.
Takagi, on the other hand, curled the corner of his mouth, and a purple light flashed in his eyes as he looked at the Gold-haired mercenary leader.
"[Listen to me], I can rest with you."
"But before that, I hope you can tell me why you must go to the Star of Decay."
As the power of Mind-Controlling Speech was activated, the Gold-haired Leader's lively eyes immediately became somewhat dull.
She opened her red lips and murmured:
"I received a revelation, a revelation that told me to hunt the Swarm on the Star of Decay plains."