Huo Linfei sat cross-legged on the bed as the prison's energy barrier faded away in silence. Xueyi stood outside the cell door.
"Come with me."
Huo Linfei raised an eyebrow. "Is this a release… or an execution?"
Xueyi didn't bother answering. She turned and led the way. They passed through dim corridors and arrived at a circular sealed chamber.
Someone was already waiting inside.
Black Swan.
"Yo." Huo Linfei whistled as he looked her up and down. "What's this—did you guys hire a wizard too?"
"Huo Linfei, you're… livelier than I expected," Black Swan said with a soft chuckle.
Xueyi quietly withdrew and shut the door behind them.
Huo Linfei hopped onto a chair and sat down. "So? Who sent you? Herta? The Stellaron Hunters? Or… that Polka?"
"So you're fully aware that multiple factions have their eyes on you." Black Swan didn't seem surprised. "I'm here on the Silent Lord's commission—the Genius who sent you to the Space Station."
"As expected… the elimination method never fails," Huo Linfei muttered.
"…Fine." Black Swan shook her head, amused. "Dr. Primitive has already marked you as his next test subject. If nothing unexpected happens, he's already obtained your energy data."
"Huh… when?" Huo Linfei scratched his head. "I've never even met him. Where would he get my—ah!"
Something clicked.
"He hacked the Simulated Universe, didn't he?!"
Black Swan nodded. "Yes. And he can use memetic contamination to force intelligent life to regress into primitive forms."
With a flick of her fingers, a memory projection unfolded—an entire planet's human population devolving into apes.
"And the Equilibrium mark inside you…" Black Swan continued. "That is exactly what he wants to dissect most right now."
She didn't tell him the deeper cause—that Dr. Primitive's obsession ultimately stemmed from his curiosity about the Silent Lord.
Huo Linfei stared at her. "Then what about you? Why are you helping me?"
"A commission." Black Swan rose to her feet, her violet veil flowing like water. "And I'll be traveling with you for the time being… to make observations."
She deliberately pressed emphasis into the last word.
Huo Linfei rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever. But whether you can get on the Express isn't up to me."
Boom!!
The entire Shackling Prison shook violently. A shrill alarm screamed through the corridors. The energy barriers flickered—then abruptly died.
"A jailbreak?" Xueyi's gaze turned razor-cold as she drew her sword in one smooth motion.
Black Swan's voice stayed calm. "The Stellaron Hunters have arrived."
"Kaf—" Huo Linfei sprang up.
"Don't go out." Black Swan pressed a hand to his shoulder—light as a feather, but impossible to resist. "If you get involved now, you'll only make things more complicated."
The sounds of combat drew closer: metal tearing, explosions cracking, shockwaves thudding through the prison's bones. Huo Linfei pricked up his ears and caught a familiar languid female voice drifting down the hall.
"Blade, this way~"
"Kaf… Kafka!"
He leaned to peek, only for Black Swan to yank him back.
"Shh." She lifted one finger. "Look."
Through the thin gap of the door, Huo Linfei saw the corridor's far end—Blade's figure flashing by like a wraith. The chains on his body were already snapped. In his hand, an eerie longsword glowed with bloodlight. Wherever he passed, Cloud Knights weapons split like paper.
On the opposite side, Kafka walked with graceful leisure, violet threads curling around her fingers. Guards in her path froze like marionettes with their strings cut—or rather, strings taken over.
Blade suddenly stopped.
Those crimson eyes lifted and locked toward the observation chamber.
Huo Linfei's breath caught.
There was naked hostility in that gaze—undisguised, unfiltered.
"Because of Dan Heng," Black Swan murmured by his ear. "Blade and Dan Heng… have an old grudge."
"…How is that my problem?" Huo Linfei muttered, deadpan. "Is he going to get nauseous just because he can smell Dan Heng on the air?"
Black Swan smiled. "Who can say?"
In the end, Blade didn't come closer. He and Kafka split at a corridor fork and vanished into the prison's depths.
"Poor Huo Linfei…" March 7th slumped over the table, poking at floating tea leaves. "Two Trailblazing trips in a row and he ends up in jail both times."
Welt adjusted his glasses. "Given his 'charges,' he shouldn't have been put in the Shackling Prison… unless someone arranged it deliberately."
"I just received word." Tingyun set down her tea with elegant calm, fox ears twitching. "The Shackling Prison was attacked. The Stellaron Hunters broke out a high-profile convict."
"What?!" March shot upright and immediately pulled out her phone. "I'm texting Huo Linfei—did he escape too?!"
A moment later, her face fell. "He said… he's fine. He's just chatting with his cellmate."
Welt frowned. "Cellmate?"
Meanwhile, in the Shackling Prison's 'VIP suite'…
"So you Borisin go to war by just charging headfirst?" Huo Linfei sat cross-legged outside a cell door, casually cracking a handful of sunflower seeds he'd "borrowed" from a guard.
Inside the cell, the hulking Borisin leader Hoolay snorted, chains clattering across his body. "Whelp, what do you know? A true warrior has no need for schemes and tricks!"
Huo Linfei spat out a seed shell. "No wonder Jingliu dropped you with one sword. You only bully the weak—then you fold the moment you meet someone stronger."
Hoolay exploded, slamming a fist into the cell gate. "That was an ambush!!"
"Losing is losing." Huo Linfei shrugged. "But who's Jingliu? She really that strong?"
Hoolay's rage abruptly fizzled. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes. "…That woman is a monster."
Huo Linfei was about to press for details when footsteps sounded behind him.
Xueyi stood on the steps, expression unreadable. "The Divination Commission has summoned your companions. Will you come as well?"
Huo Linfei stood, brushing himself off. "So I can leave?"
Xueyi nodded. "The General says your 'protective detainment' is over."
From inside the cell, Hoolay roared, "Hey! Brat! Bring alcohol next time!"
Huo Linfei waved without turning around. "Ask again after you can beat Jingliu!"
At the Seat of Divine Foresight, incense smoke curled in slow spirals. Jing Yuan lounged by the desk, turning a game piece between his fingers, smiling gently at the newly escorted Huo Linfei.
"Huo, my young friend—my apologies for the inconvenience," he said, as casually as if discussing the weather.
Huo Linfei crossed his arms. Even though he was currently short enough to be eye-level with the table, his attitude was unshrunken. "General Jing Yuan, your hospitality is… unique. Arrest first, invite later?"
March 7th bounced in from the side and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Ahh! You're okay! Was the prison food good?"
"…Not bad." Huo Linfei smacked his lips like he was actually evaluating it. "Saltier than Belobog's."
Stelle silently offered him a lollipop. "For the nerves."
Welt cleared his throat, gaze steady on Jing Yuan. "General. Could you explain now?"
Jing Yuan smiled and tapped the board. A piece representing the Astral Express slid one step forward.
"Everyone—Luofu is currently facing two problems."
With a sweep of his hand, a holographic projection rose from the board.
"First: Stellaron Hunters are operating on the Xianzhou."
The image flashed Kafka and Blade, then froze on a blurred coordinate.
"Blade and Kafka's whereabouts are unknown, and they have not yet cleared suspicion of bringing a Stellaron onto the Xianzhou," Jing Yuan said, looking toward Welt.
"Second: the threat of Dr. Primitive, hidden in the shadows."
The image shifted—an illusory mechanical monkey crouched in darkness, surrounded by dangerous streams of data.
"This madman of the Genius Society is spreading memetic contamination across Luofu," Jing Yuan's voice lowered. "If we fail to stop him, the damage could rival a full Stellaron outbreak."
March's eyes widened. "A Stellaron outbreak?! He's that dangerous?!"
Welt paused, considering, then met Jing Yuan's eyes. "What does the General want from us?"
"Cooperation."
A plain-looking star skiff drifted quietly toward the dock.
A woman in blue stepped from the cabin—snow-white hair spilling like a waterfall, eyes covered by a strip of black cloth. Behind her, a blond man smiled mildly, a white coffin strapped across his back.
"Long time no see," Jingliu said flatly. "Luofu hasn't changed."
Luocha gazed into the distance. "If anything… it seems livelier than before."
Jingliu's hidden "gaze" swept over the heavily guarded Cloud Knights at the port.
"Good," she said. "It's time I paid a visit to some old friends."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 60)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 60)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 64)
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