"Mr. Yun Fan, please wait a moment."
As Yun Fan descended the stairs from the second-floor lounge and prepared to leave the hotel, he heard someone call his name. Pausing, he turned to look in the direction of the voice.
"Is something the matter, Gertie?"
Indeed, the one who had stopped Yun Fan was none other than the proprietor of this hotel—the same owner of Goethe Hotel who, in the original story, had sued the upper district's hotel.
"Mr. Yun Fan, Miss March left a note for you."
"A note?" Yun Fan took the white slip of paper Gertie handed him, feeling slightly exasperated. What era is this? Everyone has phones—why not just send a message? Is March trying to return to the Stone Age or something?
"Uh… these guys teamed up with Wildfire to go fight Svarog? What's going on?" Reading the contents of the note, Yun Fan was momentarily stunned. He didn't recall telling March and the others to go challenge Svarog.
"Tch, I'd better hurry over. Hopefully, they haven't actually smashed Svarog to scrap metal."
——————————
"Whew, this big hunk of metal is really tough!" March 7 rubbed her sore shoulders, looking aggrieved as she stared at Svarog, who was half-kneeling with sparks sputtering from his body.
The sheer defensive capability of this metal giant had taken her by surprise. No wonder Miss Seele had been captured by him back then—this thing was annoyingly durable. It almost made her want to undo the seal on her Hunt bow and just shoot him point-blank.
"It's over, Svarog." Natasha raised her heavy cannon, the barrel charging with energy.
"Please, wait!"
At that moment, a small girl with silver-white hair suddenly rushed out from the side, throwing herself fearlessly in front of Svarog.
"P-Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog…"
Seeing this, Natasha had no choice but to halt the cannon's charging, her expression turning complicated as she looked at the girl before her.
"Clara…"
"Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog!" Clara's eyes were red, shimmering with unshed tears that threatened to spill over at any moment.
"Mr. Svarog is Clara's family. If you want to hurt him, Clara won't back down!"
"This…" Faced with Clara's resolute gaze, Natasha found herself at a loss. Clara was a good kid—she had helped Wildfire many times when they were in dire straits. But Svarog, who she regarded as family, had sealed off the passages between the upper and lower districts, making him an enemy to Wildfire and the entire lower district.
Just as Natasha was caught in a dilemma, a slightly exasperated voice sounded from behind:
"Alright, alright, you're all grown-ups. No need to gang up on a kid like this."
"Mr. Yun Fan." "Yun Fan!" "Yun Fan!"
A chorus of delighted voices rang out around Yun Fan, who responded with a smile before stepping forward to stand before Clara. Gazing at the frail yet determined little girl, he reached out gently and patted her cute head with a tender expression.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt Svarog."
Perhaps it was Yun Fan's natural charisma, or maybe the innate allure of a higher-dimensional being—but Clara felt a warm current spread from the top of her head throughout her entire body. The comforting sensation drew a soft, kitten-like murmur from her.
"R-Really?"
"Of course." Yun Fan nodded before turning to Natasha and the others. "Svarog isn't our enemy. Remember what I said before? Our enemy has always been the Stellaron."
As he spoke, a gentle glow emanated from Yun Fan's hand, slowly seeping into Svarog's body. In the next moment, the battered frame that had seemed on the verge of collapse was instantly restored to pristine condition, the newly repaired armor faintly reflecting Yun Fan's handsome face.
"Conducting autonomous system diagnostics…" Svarog, now fully repaired, began running self-checks. After a moment, the red light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
"My systems feel unusually light—this is a rare sensation. Unknown powerhouse, I thank you for your generosity."
"It's nothing." Yun Fan shook his head slightly. "More importantly, tell us what you know about the Stellaron. I'm certain you're aware of it."
"High-risk keyword detected: Stellaron… Input variables: Unknown energy, unknown powerhouse, extraterrestrial visitors… Authorization granted… Top-secret file: Stellaron—access permitted."
As Svarog finished speaking, a beam of light projected from his eyes, displaying information about the Stellaron and the Architects before the group.
Some time later…
"So this is the Stellaron? Such a dangerous thing… So, all of Belobog's calamities were caused by it?" After seeing the data on the Stellaron, Natasha—the leader of Wildfire—was deeply shaken.
"As expected, the Stellaron is behind this. No wonder this debt turned into a dead account." Topaz massaged her temples. She really shouldn't have come to this planet. Not only had she failed to recover the debt, but she'd also gotten herself tangled up in this mess. Her instincts told her that even if she used the power of her cornerstone, she might not be a match for this mysterious man, Yun Fan.
"The Stellaron… the root of all this…" Bronya gritted her teeth as she stared at the data on the screen. After a long silence, she let out a resigned sigh and asked, "Then, Mr. Yun Fan, what should we do next—"
BOOM—!
The ground quaked violently, the sudden tremors causing the Trailblazers to lose their footing and stumble.
"Seriously? Again?" March 7 couldn't help but complain. They'd already experienced this kind of earthquake not long ago—now it was happening again? She was thoroughly done with this.
"This energy… I recognize it. It's the power of the Stellaron—the Stellaron has awakened!" Topaz's expression turned grave. As a high-ranking member of the Interastral Peace Corporation, she had visited countless planets, many of which had been corrupted by Stellarons.
Generally, when encountering such planets, the IPC would first conduct an asset assessment. If the planet could generate profits exceeding the cost of Stellaron removal, the corporation would dispatch personnel to handle it.
Conversely, if the cost outweighed the benefits, the IPC would abandon the planet to its fate. The corporation was no charity—without sufficient profit, it would show no mercy whatsoever.
And that was exactly how Jarilo-VI had been forsaken.