"Who would remember something like that?" Miss Elysia puffed out her cheeks, glaring petulantly at the certain someone.
His slender index finger gently pressed against her soft, fleshy, yet toned and strong abdomen. Amidst the pink-haired young lady's blushing embarrassment, "What are you doing?!" she protested. Her tone was full of playful complaint, yet she didn't push him away much, even feeling a strange sense of anticipation...
"She told me it was eight," Jiang Qiao stated simply.
"..." Miss Elysia's face fell. So you touched me just to see how many I ate, is that it...? She rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.
He just smiled. "Me too."
"I remember every single one." He gently patted his chest as he said this.
"Hmph hmph, I didn't expect to hear such greedy words as soon as I arrived." Looking over, they saw Vill-V, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"Mm, perhaps it is indeed greedy," Jiang Qiao admitted easily. "But truly, each of you resides within my heart... and that naturally includes you, Vill-V."
"..." Vill-V's cheeks instantly flushed red, though she recovered her composure the next moment, coughing twice. "When you say things like that, you should at least come watch my magic show. I didn't see you there at all, you know."
"Apologies, quite a few things happened on my end too."
"Forget it. My tricks were probably seen through by you at first glance anyway..." The magician scratched her cheek, sighing, muttering helplessly, "Getting close to you really leaves me with no secrets."
"Hmph hmph, that's simple! If you don't wear any underwear, you won't have to worry, right?" Elysia chimed in playfully.
"..."
"Elysia... Vill-V..." Eden gestured helplessly towards the surroundings.
Instantly, Miss Elysia felt the 'subtle' glances directed at her from all around. Undoubtedly... these extremely offensive gazes... were the kind reserved for '█wd women'!
"Mommy, does that big sister not wear underwear?" a passing Xianzhou child asked her mother with innocent eyes. The mother looked embarrassed. "Perhaps... that's an Outworlder custom... We should still respect it, but don't you learn from her, okay?"
At that moment, the pink-haired fatty Miss felt as if she'd been slapped with a 'Parental Advisory' label, freezing on the spot and gradually turning grey.
"It's alright, Elysia. You're cute even without wearing them," Mr. Jiang Qiao consoled the petrified Elysia with sincere kindness.
"How dare you say that—"
"Bad! Jiang! Qiao!"
Afterward, a certain Elysia was apprehended by the passing local patrol for disturbing public order without cause. Given her Outworlder status, they didn't pursue the matter excessively, merely issuing a warning.
---||---
"I didn't expect things to turn out like this," Eden remarked thoughtfully.
The postponed Luminary Wardance would likely be delayed by about a month—this was internal Xianzhou intelligence Jiang Qiao learned from Qingque. After all, according to Hua's arrangements, this reopened Wardance would involve the entire Xianzhou Alliance, all ships participating together. Such a momentous gathering of the Xianzhou clearly couldn't be restarted on short notice.
Coincidentally, around this time, something seemed to have gone wrong in the Current Era, the world where Mr. Jiang Qiao's residency was registered.
---|---
Schicksal HQ, the floating base suspended above the Mediterranean Sea, served as the organization's headquarters. Normally bustling with Valkyries coming and going, it was now eerily quiet, patrolled only by Schicksal's Knight-series mechs.
"What happened here... It feels so quiet," Elysia observed, looking at the strange scene, a slight chill running down her spine.
For various reasons, she hadn't stayed behind on the Xianzhou with Vill-V and the others, choosing instead to accompany Jiang Qiao here. But upon arrival... they found this Schicksal HQ resembling a dead city.
"Something's wrong with these Schicksal Knights," Jiang Qiao warned concisely.
As if in response to his words, the patrolling mechs turned towards them with an eerie, unsettling slowness, their mechanical joints groaning like sinister laughter.
Weapons flared in their hands, a deadly welcoming concert. Jiang Qiao, however, had zero interest in such a lethal welcoming ceremony. With a raise of his hand, a wave of power swept across the area. The strange mechs sparked violently before crashing to the ground.
Beside him, Miss Elysia, who had drawn her bow expecting a big fight, blinked. She felt a bit awkward having drawn her bow without firing a single arrow... Shooting randomly would be embarrassing. So, after a moment's thought, she chose to shoot down a floating mechanical box.
These simple mechs clearly couldn't stop them, and the mastermind seemed to realize this. Thus, the mechs stopped attacking. Instead, they seemed almost welcoming, parting to form a clear path.
"This... isn't some kind of trap, is it?" Elysia hesitated, wary.
"It's fine," he replied calmly. His confidence reassured Elysia, who had felt uneasy, and she followed closely behind him.
Led by the mechs, Jiang Qiao brought Elysia to the control room of the floating island. The first thing they saw was a holographic sphere. It glowed an ominous blood-red, flickering as if showing off some grim achievement.
"Could it be... everyone has already..." Elysia gasped, covering her mouth as a terrible thought occurred to her.
The next moment, she felt a warmth in her palm. His hand gently squeezed hers, transmitting warmth and reassurance. His slight shake of the head, a silent negation, calmed her heart considerably.
"The Herrscher of Sentience and the Herrscher of Corruption working together... Heh, that truly is the worst possible combination," he sighed softly.
Jiang Qiao now understood everything. This outcome could only be the result of the Herrscher of Sentience, who hadn't appeared until now, joining forces with the Herrscher of Corruption. And the result was indeed devastating.
The combination of these two Herrschers created a deadly chemical reaction.
Both were incredibly difficult opponents on their own. Humans had little resistance to mental attacks, making the Herrscher of Sentience practically a guaranteed kill on first encounter. The Herrscher of Corruption, needless to say, possessed terrifying survival capabilities and destructive power.
But ultimately, the Previous Era had faced them and left countermeasures. The Herrscher of Sentience could be handled by Kevin, or by Hua wielding Fenghuang Down. For the Herrscher of Corruption, Mobius had prepared the 'Anti-Corruption Herrscher' project.
Both were designed to target the Herrschers' weaknesses. The former relied on overwhelming resistance to crush the Herrscher of Consciousness. The latter was a classic case of fighting fire with fire—only a virus of similar complexity could counter the ultimate memetic virus that was the Corruption Herrscher.
With sufficient numbers, they could proactively contain it, squeezing its space to survive. After all, when defenses were prepared, it was extremely difficult for the Herrscher of Corruption to grow.
However... when these two Herrschers joined forces, things changed drastically.
The Herrscher of Sentience's limitations were directly compensated for by the Herrscher of Corruption's power. And as for the Herrscher of Corruption... with the Herrscher of Sentience's memetic infection mechanism, its originally lengthy development period could be completed almost instantly.
Simply becoming aware of it meant being corrupted...
Having overcome this major hurdle of slow development, the Herrscher of Corruption had arguably become the most troublesome of the thirteen Herrschers.
Clap... clap... clap.
Crisp applause sounded nearby. Looking up, a golden skull face came into view. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight to Jiang Qiao.
Gray Serpent, an executive of World Serpent. Of course, the one before them should perhaps be called Golden Serpent. He was known as the most radical and paranoid among the entire Gray Serpent system.
"My waiting here was not in vain," the golden skull stated, its synthesized voice raspy. "I have finally waited for you."
"Lord." A hint of amusement colored the mechanical tone. His gaze fell upon Elysia, who stared back warily.
"So you guys were behind this after all... Even though I already sent him away, sigh," Jiang Qiao lamented.
"Hehe, Lord, so it truly was your doing," Golden Serpent chuckled. "It's understandable. In this world now, besides Lord Elysia, who else could possibly make our Lord abandon his duties?"
"So, you waited here for me to get your Lord's whereabouts?" Jiang Qiao asked.
"Certainly not," Golden Serpent replied. "Although Lord Kevin's existence is very important to World Serpent..."
"We no longer need him now."
"After all, our long-cherished wish has already been achieved. Since that is the case, whether the Lord exists or not is meaningless." Golden Serpent laughed raspily.
It was often thought that Kevin was the supreme existence in World Serpent. This was true, but also false. In fact, the organization's name, World Serpent, revealed its true nature. Its real leader was Mobius... no, perhaps more accurately, the legacy Mobius left behind.
Namely, Project Stigma.
The entire World Serpent organization was established solely for the realization of Project Stigma. The Gray Serpent system, even the Lord system composed of Kevin and the Flame-Chasers—it was all part of the 'Project Stigma' designed by Mobius.
Perhaps she grew tired of a certain annoying person constantly making her revise her plans. Or perhaps it was in pursuit of the path of infinity. In Mobius's view, if limited to herself, no matter how many plans she made, they could always be overturned.
Since that was the case, why not leave behind a 'system capable of continuously iterating Project Stigma'? That way, no matter how the world changed, the system could always derive a feasible version of Project Stigma based on reality. And the name of this system was precisely 'World Serpent'.
Defeating Kevin would stop Project Stigma? That was merely arrogance, a self-righteous fantasy! As long as this infinite system did not meet its end, as long as this sorrowful wish for salvation remained unfulfilled, even Kevin's death wasn't that important to World Serpent.
"Oh? That's quite rare," Jiang Qiao remarked. "If not for Kevin... then you're here for Elysia?"
"No," Golden Serpent stated flatly.
"We are only here for you."
"..." Elysia's feelings became incredibly complex. Honestly, if he had said they were after her, she would feel complicated, but overall, still feel valued. But... this? She felt completely disregarded!
"Mr. Jiang Qiao," Golden Serpent addressed him directly. "The mysterious man who appeared on the Imaginary Tree at some unknown time, whose whereabouts are also unknown."
"Even the Lord Elysia standing beside you... I imagine her existence is also due to some reason caused by you, correct?"
"I am extremely curious about this, but it doesn't matter. None of these things matter."
"For us, only one thing is important."
"Since your appearance, failure has constantly accompanied our efforts."
"If all other factors are eliminated, and only one conclusion remains, then..."
"You are the greatest 'Error'."
For a program, the most fatal thing is an error message, the most detestable is a bug. And for the Gray Serpents, having discovered this unavoidable error within the 'World Serpent' operating system...
Then... the only thing they could, and should, do was obvious.
That is...
Eliminate this error!