Chapter 223: You're Not Allowed to Listen to Other Girls' Confession Letters
When the usually goofy Stelle suddenly struck a pose, realizing she actually looked somewhat badass, Dan Heng simply stood there.
(Expressionless.)
For the first time in his life, the stoic guard of the Astral Express felt that his chronic lack of facial expressions was a genuine blessing. He was the only one present who had known a fraction of the truth, yet somehow ended up completely out of the loop regarding the full story.
March 7th and Stelle had obviously known about this for ages. The knowing, excited 'here it comes' looks they exchanged the moment Rekka began to speak, coupled with Rozaliya and Liliya's completely nonchalant attitudes, made it painfully clear that they were all in on the secret.
Unbelievable, Dan Heng thought, his inner voice dripping with dry betrayal. Rekka, you absolute menace. Having the time of your life out there and not bringing me along. We are no longer brothers.
Then again, when exactly had this chaotic crew colluded behind his back? Pulling off an act of this magnitude and not even giving him a script?
That's right, Dan Heng, a mocking voice in his head seemed to say. Rekka is holding a super awesome, history-making secret activity, and guess who wasn't invited? You.
The majestic little Azure Dragon was practically ready to weep pearls of betrayal. Insert crying.jpg here.
However, the reality of the situation was far more deep than a simple secret club. Those who had been saved by the Ferryman were actually placed under the highest conceivable level of protection—a state of nearly absolute safety.
This was because the Hyperion was permanently docked within the chaotic, unpredictable depths of the Sea of Quanta.
As everyone in their inner circle knew, Seele Vollerei was essentially the daughter of the sea. And if that was the case, one could only guess what the Captain of the Hyperion was to that dimensional space.
It was just like coming home.
No matter how violently the material universe was turned upside down, or what apocalyptic events shattered the stars... what did it matter to them? For a person living in a cluster of stabilized World Bubbles within the simulated Sea of Quanta section of the Hyperion, external invasions were a complete non-issue.
"We have troubled you for a long time," Jing Yuan said, his voice breaking the silence as he addressed the Ferryman. The Divine Foresight offered a respectful nod. "Today's trip has been exceptionally fruitful. We will draft the specific details of our cooperation and send them over another day."
"If there's nothing else, I shall take my leave as well," the Ferryman replied smoothly. "I'm not particularly interested in the rest of the ceremony anyway."
With a sharp hum of energy, a spatial rift tore open behind the Ferryman, swallowing his figure before snapping shut without a trace.
The three Xianzhou generals stood in the quiet room, exchanging meaningful glances.
It was perfectly reasonable. Appearing at the Martial Arts Ceremony had merely been incidental for a being of his caliber; his main purpose had always been to discuss matters of universal survival. After all, he really was out there saving people across the entire cosmos.
Jing Yuan, Feixiao, and Huaiyan immediately gathered for a private discussion.
"What do you two think of that Ferryman?" Feixiao asked, her sharp eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"He has the common people in his heart and seeks to benefit the whole world," Jing Yuan mused, gently tapping his chin.
"Elder Yan thinks very highly of him," Feixiao noted.
"Because it is the truth," Huaiyan replied, his ancient voice carrying a heavy weight. "Cooperation with the Ferryman is not just beneficial; it is extremely necessary."
Jing Yuan sighed softly. "Hmm. The only real problem is... where on earth did he acquire such a massive amount of stable resources?"
Over ten thousand planets. The number of distinct civilizations numbering at least twenty thousand.
Even the mighty Xianzhou Alliance wouldn't dare to provide for a population of that magnitude. After all, the Xianzhou strictly practiced family planning to survive. Take Sushang, for example—if her parents hadn't been powerful and influential, she might not have even been born. If long-life species were allowed to reproduce freely without restriction, their society would eventually collapse under the sheer weight of resource depletion.
Unbelievable, the collective thought seemed to echo among those who knew Rekka. Starting a massive alt account to save the universe and not telling us.
In everyone's eyes, Rekka's performance was nothing short of miraculous—creating a puppet clone to literally put out apocalyptic fires all over the universe. It was undeniably a good thing.
"So many worlds..." Stelle muttered, crossing her arms. "Where do the resources even come from?"
"There is plenty of ambient energy in the Sea of Quanta," a mature, remarkably gentle voice suddenly echoed from the doorway. "Right now, the Hyperion is docked in the exact region where dead World Bubbles accumulate. Every single day, countless World Bubbles sink into the Sea of Quanta. We simply need to extract the raw fragments from those dying bubbles and feed them into the ship's systems."
Everyone froze.
"...Who is this?" March 7th blinked, her pink eyes wide as she slowly turned to look at Rekka. When did this person join your ship?!
"Ai-chan, have you finished upgrading?" Rekka asked casually, standing up from his seat.
"Wait... This is Ai-chan?!"
Big~~~ Cabbage!
The sheer scale of the Big Cabbage completely shocked everyone in the room. Mostly because she was now noticeably taller and more endowed than Stelle.
The woman standing before them was tall and elegant, with smooth, vibrant green twin-tails cascading all the way down to her waist. However, the two distinct, cabbage-like buns resting on the top of her head were the obvious proof that this gorgeous woman was, indeed, the newly upgraded Ai-chan.
"Good evening," Ai-chan smiled warmly, her voice smooth like velvet. "Welcome to 'Honkai: Star Rail'. Full system scan results—no abnormalities detected."
"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" March stammered, waving her hands frantically. "You're saying this is the upgraded Ai-chan? That... that—"
"Cabbage," Liliya chimed in helpfully from the side.
"Right! Cabbage! That round, cabbage-headed little mascot person?!"
"I am Ai-chan Hyperion Λ, the central artificial intelligence of the Hyperion," she explained with a graceful bow. "Of course, if you miss my classic Ai-chan form, I can switch back to my smaller chassis at any time."
Stelle rubbed her temples, trying to process the sudden glow-up. "So, you said just now that the survivors in those World Bubbles... their food, their water..."
"Are all provided by the Hyperion's Matter-Energy Conversion Matrix," Ai-chan Λ answered smoothly. "Essentially, it is a highly advanced form of recycling. There is absolutely no need to worry about resource depletion; the sheer number of dead World Bubbles sinking into the Sea of Quanta on a daily basis far exceeds your imagination."
"Man, I feel like this whole Martial Arts Ceremony isn't nearly as exciting as your secret life wandering around the universe!" Stelle complained, dramatically pounding her chest and stamping her foot.
Badass Rekka, you absolute menace, Stelle thought. Secretly performing universal Deliverance behind everyone's backs!
"The Captain has secretly done a lot of big things," Liliya nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, the Captain has always been very impressive," Rozaliya agreed, grinning proudly.
What else could anyone even say to that?
"Ah! My other self, did you know about this all along?!" March 7th gasped, clutching her head as she spoke to the voice within.
['Of course I knew~♭'] the cheerful, melodic voice echoed in her mind.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" March whined internally.
['You didn't ask me~♭']
Dan Heng crossed his arms, looking at Rekka. "Have you encountered any other people like yourself out there?"
"Which kind do you mean?" Rekka asked, leaning back against the wall.
"The kind saving the world."
Rekka let out a dry chuckle. "Well, that highly depends on your definition of the word 'save'."
Dan Heng frowned. "?"
"What do you mean, 'definition of the word save'?" Stelle asked, tilting her head.
"I mean exactly that," Rekka said, his tone growing a fraction darker. "I once met someone who slaughtered every single living soul on a planet right before the Antimatter Legion arrived. He genuinely considered that to be 'saving' them."
A heavy silence fell over the room. In the vast, uncaring expanse of the universe, the standards and definitions of salvation were truly chaotic.
"What kind of ghost logic is that?" March shuddered, rubbing her arms. "That's so twisted."
"By his own twisted standards, he was a good person," Rekka explained calmly. "He believed he saved that civilization from being corrupted and forgotten by the Legion. In the eyes of the people he killed, he was a bloodthirsty madman. In the eyes of the Antimatter Legion, he just saved them the trouble of doing it themselves. And in the eyes of other factions across the universe? Everyone has their own take. There is no standard answer."
Dan Heng's eyes narrowed in understanding. "So you're asking for the definition of saving because those you've rescued might not necessarily feel like you're actually saving them?"
"Smart," Rekka pointed a finger at him. "Out of fifteen thousand, seven hundred planets, not everyone is overflowing with tears of gratitude. Some think I'm a tyrant meddling in their fate. Some feel I've just locked them inside a different, safer cage. Some blame me for not saving more people. Hell, some even tried to continue fighting their petty, unfinished planetary wars after reaching the World Bubble, nearly killing another massive group of their own people inside my sanctuary."
"And what happens to them now?" Stelle asked.
"Unstable individuals who refuse to adapt are thrown directly into the Sea of Quanta after several warnings," Rekka said coldly. "Although we have plenty of resources, the Hyperion is not a playground for them to realize their violent ambitions."
Ai-chan Λ smiled, smoothly breaking the heavy tension in the room.
"Allow me to report on your behalf, Captain~" she chimed cheerfully. "You currently have a total of 33,050,336 unread messages. Over twenty percent of them are direct confession letters addressed to you. Spam and malicious mail have already been automatically filtered out. Would you like me to randomly read a few of them out loud?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm your girlfriend!" March 7th instantly flipped out, her face turning the color of her hair as she slammed her hands on the table. "You're not allowed to listen to other girls' confession letters!"
The room went dead silent.
In her sheer, panic-induced jealousy, March 7th had completely forgotten her filter and blurted out the fact that she was his girlfriend right in front of everyone.
Ai-chan Λ blinked her vivid green eyes, her smile never wavering as she offered a helpful correction.
"They aren't all confession letters from girls, Miss March."
March 7th froze, her jaw dropping slightly. "?"
"According to my data analysis," Ai-chan Λ continued pleasantly, "of all the confession letters received, over thirty-three percent are not from females."
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