Just because she carried a bat didn't mean she only solved problems with violence!
Among the Astral Express crew, aside from Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng, she was easily in the top four in intelligence!
--------------------------------
"You know so much about Acheron?"
Stelle tilted her little head, realizing the problem.
Aventurine nodded slightly: "Her identity isn't that simple. Galaxy Ranger? Heh, according to the IPC's database, she's far from simple."
Though Acheron hasn't made a big name for herself across the universe, wherever the IPC is present, her actions are bound to be noticed.
A powerful figure like her showing up in Penacony, how could the IPC not be cautious?
Aventurine sighed helplessly.
"Then, what was your choice?" Aventurine's gaze was intense as he looked at Stelle, voice soft.
"My choice is..." After a long pause, Stelle's eyes grew firm and she said, "Go with the flow!"
"Oh? Reconciliation?"
"Making decisions is Himeko and Uncle Yang's specialty. I won't join the chaos. Rather than follow you riddle-spouting types, I'll go along with Himeko and the others' thinking."
Thanks to having a solid backing, Stelle didn't care what these people were up to, it was all about different sides with different interests.
The Garden of Recollection wants to witness the brilliance of trailblazing, the IPC wants to reclaim Penacony, and who knows what The Family wants to suppress.
How was a barely-one-year-old her supposed to handle all that?
You're bullying a child! If it becomes too much, I'll call my big brother. Hmph!
"Fine, if your thoughts ever change in the future, do let me know. You're always welcome,"
Aventurine said with a helpless smile.
"But before that, I'd like you to come with me to witness my greatest discovery in this dream."
...
When Stelle returned to the real Penacony clearly distracted, the people present exchanged glances.
"So? Did you encounter anything unbelievable in there?"
Unnoticed, March 7th had silently crept up beside Stelle, sticking her head out and looking up at her from her side.
"…" A sudden puff of pink hair, what a bad feeling.
"Nothing much, just some wish fulfillment."
Stelle shook her head. Recalling the robin she saw in the dream, her heart felt weighed down like by a heavy stone.
Yet Penacony looked as peaceful and festive as ever. And that Robin lady was the lead singer of the Charmony Festival!
Just what kind of monsters does Penacony really have?!
"Right, what were you guys talking about just now?" Stelle asked curiously.
"That Stellaron Hunter, the one called SAM. The Family's reaction was almost like terror,"
March 7th said playfully with a dramatic shiver.
As the saying goes: when you're in a bad mood, just think about March 7's brain, it'll instantly cheer you up.
At that moment, after Welt and Himeko exchanged a few words, they began walking toward another doorway.
...
"Mr. Aventurine, please stay."
"Good day, Mr. Welt of the Astral Express. Is there something you need?" Aventurine greeted Welt with his usual composure.
"Mr. Aventurine, I've heard bits and pieces about the IPC's long-standing plans for Penacony. But whatever the IPC intends to do here, as long as it doesn't endanger the public, it has nothing to do with the Express. What I want to know is: what did you say to that child?"
Aventurine shook his head slightly and chuckled: "Just shared some of the intel I currently know. Of course, if my words disturbed her, I apologize."
Before Welt could speak again, Aventurine's expression turned serious.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Welt and Miss Himeko, I, Aventurine, swear upon the cornerstone, I harbor no ill intentions toward Miss Stelle. After all, the IPC has no interest in picking a fight with Godzilla, you understand that."
Welt nodded slightly.
"Very well, then."
...
"That child… such a simple heart."
Black Swan rested her arm on the sofa, her lazy gaze watching the conversation unfold below.
At that moment, Acheron took a seat on the sofa to her left, her gaze fixed on her without wavering.
"Is there something you want to ask, Miss Acheron?"
Black Swan turned her head slightly and smiled.
"Did you say something to her?"
Acheron got straight to the point.
"We simply laid a choice before her. How she chooses is up to her, we cannot interfere. However, she seems to have been affected by something strange."
Black Swan answered calmly.
"But I feel like you were badmouthing me," Acheron stared into Black Swan's eyes seriously.
Her intuition was always spot-on, except when it came to directions.
These two definitely didn't say anything good about me!
"…More than that, I'm now curious, what exactly did the Family do in the dream…"
Acheron shook her head slightly.
The current situation in Penacony was extremely tangled.
The Elation, the Hunt, the Preservation, the Harmony, the Nihility… so many Paths had converged on this land, waging battles beyond ordinary sight.
Everything pointed to the presence of something massive lurking beneath the surface.
After all, in the domain of dreams, aside from the Memokeepers of the Garden of Recollection, everyone else was like blind men grasping for something, whether they grasp a harmless carp or a giant crocodile that bites and won't let go depends entirely on how the dream's master arranges it.
...
Jarilo-VI.
"Down, down, down, okay, stop!"
With the full support of the IPC, the once empty Jarilo could be described as growing prosperous day by day.
The neatly planned roads and a whole port were almost unbelievable.
Now, these ports were filled with the IPC's ships, mixed with some forces that had discovered the connection between Jarilo and Godzilla.
Looking around, Lanner couldn't help but sigh, but he hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit:
"Let's go."
He gave instructions to his subordinates behind him. Lanner stepped off the ship, this time he didn't plan to deal with Jarilo's officials. Sticking to the principle of a quick in-and-out to avoid complications, he needed to act fast.
...
The Sun rose in the east.
The puppet girl descended from the sky. Herta still looked like her tiny self. Seeing Jarilo's current state, she nodded.
"The IPC is surprisingly efficient in this regard."
As a genius whom the IPC was eager to please, she had enjoyed such treatment many times. When the space station was first built, the IPC had invested a lot into it.
Of course, it was also due to the influence of certain hidden factions.
"Herta, you're here."
Before long, the currently most idle person, Cocolia, arrived.
"Yes, I arrived three system-hours, five minutes, and thirty-six seconds earlier than scheduled," Herta nodded matter-of-factly.
"Alright, move aside, I need to study what's so special about those things."
Cocolia didn't mind Herta's words. After all, that's just how Herta was, she'd gotten used to it during Herta's previous visits.
Geniuses always had their quirks, and temper was one of them.
Without ability, that kind of temper could cause real trouble.
"Let's go. You haven't been here in a while. I'm afraid you might clash with them," Cocolia said with a smile.
...
Herta's main purpose in returning to Jarilo was to study the beast-shaped tree monsters that had once captured the Doomsday Beast.
She'd get to the Swarm Disaster bugs later.
Though the changes in the bugs interested her as well, the tree-like creatures attracted more of her attention.
What exactly could cause these beings to mutate?
Of course, she knew it was Godzilla's influence. But the deeper reason behind it was what she truly wanted to uncover.
For that, she had encoded everything she knew into the Simulated Universe. The results were promising, but still not quite what she had hoped.
Or rather, her current understanding alone couldn't support her ideas.
"Right, this puppet will stay here from now on. Saves it from running around everywhere."
Walking through the forest, Herta spoke.
"Of course. Come visit anytime you want," Cocolia chuckled.
Having someone like Herta stationed on Jarilo would have a profound impact. If Herta started appearing regularly, word would spread quickly and attract a swarm of scholars.
As they chatted, Herta and Cocolia suddenly stopped, quietly staring at a plaster head in front of them.
"..."
"...Even plaster heads on Jarilo are sentient now?" Herta muttered, looking at the spectacle.
...
After a brief, awkward interaction, the tense atmosphere began to ease.
"I remember you. You're that guy from the Intelligentsia Guild. What are you doing here?" Herta tilted her head and looked at Ratio.
"As you can see, Miss Herta, Miss Cocolia, I came for those giant creatures. Please rest assured, Miss Cocolia, I will only observe them from a distance. Besides, from my observations, these aren't even all the strange beings that have appeared."
Ratio answered calmly.
"At least you're honest. If all Intelligentsia Guild members were like you, I might have a bit of respect for them."
Herta crossed her arms and asked, "So, what did you find?"
"Their activity levels are higher when Godzilla is present. When Godzilla leaves, they mostly go dormant. Unless threatened, they generally remain asleep."
Here, "activity" didn't refer to life force, but mobility.
"That's it? Even an eight-year-old on the space station could've told me that."
Herta didn't hold back.
Ratio wasn't fazed by the sarcasm. Everyone in the scholar circles knew about Herta's temper.
Besides, being able to observe these things up close was already a big deal.
He wasn't a genius, he couldn't know everything, and he certainly couldn't understand a new species entirely from a distance.
Herta understood that not much could be done without close observation. She waved her hand.
"Come along. At least you've got hands to help carry things."
Ratio didn't refuse.
Getting close to those mysterious creations was a rare opportunity for him.
As he watched Herta and Cocolia walk ahead, Ratio slightly turned his head to glance behind.
He wasn't here just to observe those creations.
Godzilla was now on the Xianzhou Luofu. There was no guarantee some fool from the IPC wouldn't cause trouble, or that someone in the Intelligentsia Guild wouldn't lose patience.
Withdrawing his gaze, Ratio quietly followed.
...
On the other side of the forest, a group of heavily equipped people stared nervously at a massive iron container in front of them.
Faint, thunderous noises could be heard from inside.
"Did we catch it?"
Lanner cautiously stepped out from behind a distant tree, accompanied by several employees clad in IPC mech suits.
When he walked to the front, the iron box had already gone quiet.
Seeing this scene, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, Supervisor Lanner. This is a specially increased dose of sedative tailored for the Borisin physiology. Even a hundred of them wouldn't hold up."
Upon hearing this, Lanner finally relaxed.
Their day and night of waiting here hadn't been in vain, at last, they had caught a Disaster Swarm remnant.
Tight arrangements, meticulous planning, and cost-no-object investment.
Even so, it had taken tremendous effort to catch this remnant.
Many had their skin sliced open by its sharp forelimbs, if not for the protection of their mechs, there would have been serious injuries.
"Move quickly. It's the guard shift change now. If we don't leave, we'll be stuck here another night."
Lanner said in a deep voice.
Inside the iron box, the remnant whose mouthparts had been targeted at the beginning of the fight lay still. After the sedative, spread through the air after damaging its mouthparts, entered its body, it slowly began to recover.
The sedative was also a nutrient.
...
At the same time, Herta practically pressed herself against those beast-like tree monsters, or at the very least, wanted to use a magnifying glass to examine them closely.
"This structure... mmm, yes, it's evolving toward a Godzilla-like form. Its surface defense is strong, even artillery would have trouble penetrating it quickly."
Herta nodded from time to time, her eyes glowing.
The beast-like tree monsters gathered together glanced down at Herta, then ignored her.
When they had been immobilized in the past and the insects lay on them, it had felt much the same.
Now here came another one. A bit nostalgic.
"Now this is a true Godzilla-type. What Ruan Mei made before was just an empty shell."
Pleased with the discovery, Herta patted the Godzilla-like creature beneath her and didn't forget to mock Ruan Mei's previous creations.
So-called Godzilla-type, aside from vaguely resembling Godzilla on the surface, how was it anything like it?
In contrast, these creatures before her, even though they didn't have Godzilla's cells, were truly evolving in that direction.
Which was stronger or weaker would be clear at a glance.
Hearing Herta's words, Ratio asked, "Ms. Ruan Mei also did similar experiments?"
"What else? Don't forget, she's the one who knows life sciences best. Faced with something like this, how could she resist trying it out? But, hehe, she never imagined the ones here would go a step further than her."
Herta chuckled and then looked a bit puzzled. "Speaking of which, Ruan Mei's gone off somewhere again. No response no matter how we call her."
Shaking her head, Herta didn't think much of it. Maybe Ruan Mei was off doing another experiment.
Geniuses always have strange trains of thought.
"This update of the simulated universe will definitely be better than the last. Oh right, I need to add Nanook's data too. That's valuable stuff."
Herta muttered to herself.
She had collected Nanook's data while in Luofu. At the time, only one thought crossed her mind:Huge profit!!
Normally, trying to observe an Aeon required immense effort and resources, with returns rarely matching the cost.
After all, even if one managed to observe an Aeon, it would only last a blink before disappearing.
And all that effort usually didn't yield the expected results.
But this time was different.
A Godzilla-type variable and the sudden appearance of Nanook,
Simulated Universe, here I come!
...
"IPC? Are you sure?"
Feixiao looked at Jing Yuan with surprise and doubt.
"Not sure," Jing Yuan replied seriously.
"Haha, if the Divine Foresight General says there's a connection, then there must be some clue. However, Luofu is currently negotiating trade terms with the IPC. If there isn't definitive evidence, and this gets out, the IPC might seize on it to make a fuss." Huaiyan chuckled and subtly reminded Jing Yuan.
He personally believed Jing Yuan's words.
Just like the Xianzhou Alliance, when an organization becomes large enough, it inevitably attracts some who are unworthy or harbor wild ambitions.
The IPC's history is even older than the Alliance's and has been renowned across the universe for countless Amber Eras.
Although its upper ranks have unshakable faith in the Amber King, faith is still personal, no one can guarantee what anyone else might do.
This naturally results in complex internal factions within the IPC.
From his recent observations, that young girl named Topaz represented the IPC's Ten Stonehearts group.
The rest, large and small, were other factions.
Of course, on the outside, they maintained appearances. At least they wouldn't let others see signs of internal strife.
"That's why I hate politics, even office politics," Feixiao said.
If anyone here knew the IPC best, it would be Yaoqing.
Yaoqing was practically turning into a cyber-Xianzhou now.
It must be said, the IPC, older than the Alliance, had reached the pinnacle of commercial strategy, so daunting it was awe-inspiring.