"A gift… let's just go. Whatever Godzilla wants, I doubt we could afford it anyway."
Yanqing shook his head and advised.
He still remembered the general's 'thank-you gift', emptying out the entire warehouse of the Artisanship Commission.
--------------------------------------------
Penacony.
The Penacony visible in the sea of stars is the real Penacony, but the one that countless people across the galaxy fight over just to obtain a ticket for entry, that Penacony begins from a dream.
"Is Penacony's dream really this realistic?"
Scratching her head, Stelle looked in shock at the dreamscape, which was several times more prosperous than the outside world.
Just how many people are in Penacony?
"So, where should I go after getting out of bed?"
Looking left and right, Stelle hesitated a bit.
No one to go with, where should she run to...
"We meet again."
"Eh!" The sudden voice startled her, and when she turned her head, she saw a familiar yet unfamiliar person standing beside her.
"You're... from the dream? Why are you here? Were you with that guy?" Stelle asked, confused.
She remembered seeing Acheron and Aventurine chatting before. Why was it only Acheron now?
...
If it were about slashing through destruction or cutting down the Swarm with a sword, Acheron would be the first to step up. But finding a place to visit in the vast sea of stars...
Fortunately, she ran into someone on her way to Penacony and hitched a ride.
Even so, she didn't know anything about this place. As for sightseeing, she wasn't interested.
As for why she appeared here… ever since she entered the dream, she'd been staying here, never moving more than five meters.
"Then let's go together. I'm not familiar with this place either."
"...Okay."
...
"I thought I'd run into a Memo Keeper from the Garden of Recollection first. I didn't expect it to be you."
"Garden of Recollection... They had messengers on the Express too. Feels like they're everywhere. By the way, what are you here for?"
"...To return something to its rightful owner."
"Looking for someone? Perfect, we're also looking for someone. How about you describe the person to me, and I'll help you find them? I know a lot of people, you know. Maybe a few of them know who you're looking for."
Stelle pounded her chest confidently. It was rare to meet someone familiar in a dream, and her enthusiasm was fully stirred.
Looking for someone? Nameless exploring the stars? If it's about finding someone, they're the right people to ask!
Acheron paused for a moment before speaking: "I want to find a Galaxy Ranger."
"Galaxy Ranger?" Stelle scratched her head awkwardly.
So far, she knew the Knights of Pure Beauty she knew... Bronya had once told her about the Argenti that landed on Jarilo.
She'd seen those from the IPC and the Xianzhou Alliance, and she herself was a Nameless.
But when it came to the Galaxy Ranger... all she remembered was the brutal death of that one Lord Ravager, who was ganged up on after falling into the Swarm Disaster.
As the two walked and talked, the ears were filled with SoulGlad's ads and catchy music.
"Block the way! Don't let her escape!"
...
Luofu, Scalegorge Waterscape.
Two groups of people stared at each other.
"What a coincidence. You're here too." Feixiao looked with a smile at Yunli and Yanqing, who never saw eye to eye, and also greeted Lingsha.
"I asked Bailu yesterday to help me pick some flowers and herbs from the Scalegorge Waterscape. Today, after hearing from little brother Yanqing that Godzilla doesn't restrict visits from others, I came along with him to pay a visit. After all, we are neighbors."
Lingsha chuckled lightly. Alchemy Commission and the Scalegorge Waterscape were separated by only a sea, so calling them neighbors was quite accurate. As a neighbor who moved in later, it was only proper for her to pay respects to her neighbor.
At this moment, Yunli looked at Jing Yuan and Feixiao and curiously asked, "Why are there only two generals? Where's my grandfather?"
"General Huaiyan still has official duties. Only the two of us are free at the moment. As the saying goes, a fleeting life should have its idle moments..." Jing Yuan chuckled softly.
Right now, the major affair of the Xianzhou is to hold the Martial Ceremony. But such a grand event hasn't been held in centuries, and restarting it would require considerable effort. So he used Feixiao as an excuse and slipped away from the Divine Strategy Mansion.
The remaining tasks were just minor documents that Qingzu could handle. Worst case, he'd give her a bonus this month.
"I feel like the general's up to no good," Yunli crossed her arms and looked at Jing Yuan suspiciously.
"Alright, alright, since everyone's gathered, let's get down to business," Feixiao clapped lightly and said with a smile.
...
From a distance, black mountains sprawled across the land; up close, majestic peaks stood tall, their overwhelming pressure enough to make breathing difficult.
"This is... Godzilla? The one who beat up the Lord Ravager?" Yunli swallowed hard and instinctively stepped back, staring intently at the giant beast in front of her.
"Heh, that's right. This is Godzilla, the great hero who saved Luofu and Jarilo. Hehe, are you scared?" Yanqing crossed his arms and teased Yunli.
"I'm just... surprised, that's all. Seeing it in a video and in real life are two totally different things." Yunli puffed out her cheeks slightly, both admitting and denying.
"I've seen many giant beasts, but few have the intimidating presence of Godzilla." Lingsha looked on in amazement, her gaze trailing all the way from head to tail.
As a medical practitioner, many rare and exotic medicinal ingredients are actually extracted from strange and unusual creatures. Coupled with having seen Godzilla's mighty power in videos before, seeing this seemingly imposing but actually clumsy and lazy big guy in person now brought a certain... sense of familiarity?
With so many people around, Godzilla naturally noticed and slowly opened his eyes. His massive vertical pupils slightly lowered, casting a gaze over everyone present.
Yunli quietly placed her hand on the sword hilt.
"So majestic!" Feixiao couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, then said a little regretfully, "If it weren't for the current circumstances, I'd really like to spar with you."
"Ahem, I ask General Feixiao to temporarily set aside such thoughts. A small place like Luofu can't withstand the two of you going at it," Jing Yuan said helplessly.
If those two really started fighting in Luofu, even setting aside whether they'd be hurt or not, at the very least, a few of Luofu's realms would be gone. Unless Feixiao was caught immediately in melee by Godzilla, just one breath attack landing randomly could pierce through a realm.
"Besides, before departure, Mr. Jiaoqiu asked me to keep an eye on you , 'don't let her act recklessly; the medicine can temporarily suppress the monthly syndrome eruption...' something like that. Anyway, he's a medical."
"That guy Jiaoqiu is still as naggy as ever." Feixiao pouted and said, "Let's get on with today's main event."
Feixiao straightened her posture and stepped forward, standing at the front to look Godzilla in the eye.
"The Xianzhou Yaoqing thanks Godzilla for your contributions to the Alliance. I heard you like ores and gemstones, so I specially gathered some aboard the Yaoqing, hope you like them."
As soon as she finished speaking, several cargo star skiffs slowly approached from a distance. But that wasn't all. Looking beyond the leading skiffs, the group was stunned to see, an endless procession of ships!
...
"You two generals really are... extravagant."
Lingsha held back for a while, not knowing how to describe it, and could only summarize with this sentence.
Turning to look, they saw Godzilla, seemingly unfazed, using his tail to scoop up a pile to inspect, then putting it in his mouth, chewing... and swallowing it! So this stuff was actually for eating?
Subconsciously touching her jaw, Lingsha extinguished the thought of experimenting on herself.
Medicinal materials weren't meant for self-testing like that.
"Extravagant? I was nearly chased out by the master artisans from the Artisanship Commission just for these. They almost wouldn't even let me in the door." Feixiao spread her hands with a helpless expression.
As the front-line ship of the Alliance, Xianzhou Yaoqing placed great emphasis on weaponry. It's no exaggeration to say that any Yaoqing child with dreams of joining the military preferred reading weapon manuals over storybooks from a young age.
This shows how sought-after the ores that could forge weapons were on Yaoqing. Even its general couldn't freely requisition much, because, those old craftsmen would actually chase someone around with hammers...
"...What an appetite. Good thing we're not on Zhuming, or those old artisans would've gone mad." Yunli watched for a moment and gave her faint assessment.
Seeing Godzilla accept the gesture of thanks, Jing Yuan stayed for a bit more conversation, opportunities for leisure like this were rare...
"By the way," Jing Yuan suddenly looked at Godzilla and said, "do you remember those from the Ten-Lords Commission who came before? A little girl with fire on her tail, like something sealed inside her."
He pointed at the hexagonal bronze vessel Godzilla had casually tossed onto the ore pile.
Godzilla's tail slightly bobbed, indicating he understood who was being referred to.
"Well, one of the girls said she was helped by you, but her body soon reverted to its original state. So she asked me to see if you'd be willing to help again. Their district is sincerely grateful."
In fact, Jing Yuan had also been surprised when Xueyi said that even Hanya showed signs of returning to flesh and normal skin tone after spending some time near Godzilla.
Hanya hadn't died a normal death, nor was she like Xueyi whose soul lingered and used a mechanical puppet body to exist.
She had truly died, and come back to life.
But her post-resurrection body had some issues, turning into what the Xianzhou folks called a zombie.
Even so, she had returned to life. The Ten-Lords Commission had tried many ways to restore her, even wondering whether Hanya's method of resurrection could be replicated to restore others to human form and free them from Mara.
But in the end, an Aeon is still an Aeon. Trying to understand an Aeon's power from a mortal perspective... might as well just pray the Ten-Lords ascend to godhood.
'What the heck are you talking about?' "ROAR"
Godzilla blinked in confusion, his tail unconsciously curling into a question mark.
He remembered Xueyi, Hanya, and Huohuo, but when had he ever helped them? But that didn't match what Jing Yuan was saying.
His tail bobbed again, Godzilla agreed anyway.
Whatever. Having a couple folks around to help take care of his tail wasn't a bad deal.
Tingyun was currently busy managing affairs, and Serval was off wandering the Xianzhou, perfect chance to get a couple idle people to handle it.
...
Unlike Qingque, who was skilled at slacking off, the two generals soon bid farewell after staying a while in the Scaled Abyss Domain.
Before they knew it, they had returned to Exalting Sanctum, heading toward the Seat of Divine Foresight. Barring any surprises, old General Huaiyan should be waiting for them there.
"General Feixiao, are you feeling any different in your body?" Jing Yuan smiled lightly with a calm expression.
"Oh? You noticed it too. Indeed, my body feels very different from before. If previously I could only go all out for half an hour, now I could at least fight all the way from Luofu back to Yaoqing..."
Feixiao swung her arm forcefully and looked at Jing Yuan suspiciously.
Her intuition told her that something was off, as if this had something to do with the Mara.
Jing Yuan smiled slightly and suddenly said, "We're here. Let's go. Don't keep Elder Yan waiting."
Just as he finished speaking,
"Where's the General?! Tell us where General Jing Yuan is!"
"And what about General Feixiao?! You'd better speak up or I'll poke a few holes in you!"
"My life savings, ahhh, I saved up two Amber Epochs' worth of savings, "
Hearing the constant noise nearby and the occasional shouting, the two of them exchanged glances and, in tacit understanding, turned around and quietly slipped along the wall, sticking to the shadows of the buildings.
...
"Oh? You two big shots finally have time to return, huh? I thought those voices outside sounded familiar. General Feixiao, they seem to be folks who studied craftsmanship at Zhuming. What on earth did you do to get them to block the door?"
Seeing Jing Yuan and Feixiao return, Huaiyan chuckled. His beard was practically flying with joy.
Ears perked up, Huaiyan had already prepared tea, just waiting for the two to explain.
"Elder Yan, don't tease us. By the way, Qingque, why are you here?"
Jing Yuan gave a helpless smile to Huaiyan, then turned his gaze to Qingque, who was calmly sipping tea and studying new strategies for the Jade Abacus.
"Ah, that's a long story. The Master Diviner asked me to come to the Seat of Divine Foresight to find some books, and I just so happened to run into a group of veteran craftsmen from Yaoqing's Artisanship Commission shouting outside, mixed in with a few from Luofu. After asking, I found out that the Yaoqing Artisanship Commission's warehouse was empty and they came knocking for answers. As for the ones from Luofu, I'm not too sure."
Qingque gave a sheepish laugh, almost wanting to cry.
To think that the innocent little old her who just wanted to slack off and play cards got burdened with such a heavy responsibility. Those old craftsmen had tempers tougher than stone, no matter how she explained, they didn't believe her.
Now though, with the Yaoqing Artisanship Commission involved, there's no way the investigation team would go sniffing around her again, right?
Jing Yuan's mouth twitched slightly.
So this is where the error was.
The veteran craftsmen at the Artisanship Commission may be stubborn and rigid, but it's not like they're stupid.
If you said they had poor intellect, they'd start arguing with you about the mechanics of automaton operation, fine detail craftsmanship systems, and the deep theories behind how this Xianzhou ship even flies.
Once they compared notes with similar past cases from Luofu, it would all become clear.
"A miscalculation."
"Alright then, since we've found what we wanted, let's not keep the generals from their official discussion."
Humming a tune and holding her things, Qingque skipped out of the Seat of Divine Foresight like a bird breaking free from its cage and soaring into the sky.
...
"Let's set aside the craftsmen's matter for now. You can explain it to them later. Let's talk about the real issue first."
Huaiyan smiled faintly and looked up as he spoke.
The two exchanged glances and both saw the same thought in each other's eyes, this is serious.
Ah, the temperament of the Artisans and Craftsmen... Sigh. Let's see if version 5.2 gives them a way to avoid this mess.
"I'll start, Penacony."
Huaiyan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice,
"Penacony's Charmony Festival used to be attended only by allied factions. The Family would never let other's in. Yet this time, it's a grand event, even the Xianzhou received invitations. According to what I've heard, even the Annihilation Gang's have received an invite. Such circumstances are rare."
Those who follow the Path of Destruction are usually unwelcome across the universe.
Of course, not all Destruction followers receive this treatment, but those who make a name for themselves in the universe almost always do so with blood on their hands.
No one would want to invite these lunatics to their own celebrations.
The Annihilation Gang is among them, though they aren't even acknowledged by the Aeon of Destruction, they still fanatically worship the Ruin Author. Frankly speaking, Huaiyan thought they were insane.
"But I heard the Annihilation Gang tried to attack the Herta Space Station and got wiped out by Genius Society member Screwllum who happened to be there."
Feixiao spoke.
"Whatever The Family is planning, the Xianzhou does not intend to get involved. Though Luofu is currently negotiating various matters with the IPC." Huaiyan said calmly.
"Elder Yan, are you worried the IPC might use this as an opportunity to drag the Alliance into it?"
"Heh, the feud between the IPC and The Family is no secret. Nothing they do would surprise me. But I doubt they'll say anything openly, instead, they'll just invite our people to attend the Charmony Festival. I've lived this long, and I've never attended one myself."
Huaiyan chuckled.
"That kind of noisy environment probably wouldn't suit you anyway, Elder Yan." Jing Yuan replied with a soft laugh.
"How would I know if I don't try?"
After laughing, Huaiyan spoke in a calm tone.
"No matter what The Family is planning, it's not the Alliance's concern. But those who've received invitations , it's best they don't go."