Several minutes earlier, at the exit of a concealed ventilation duct of Herta Space Station, Kafka appeared like a phantom, having just avoided the chaotic crowd and preparing to follow the instructions in Elio's script to head toward the planned rendezvous point.
Her eyes were closed, as if she were listening to some kind of music, treating the space station's alarm, along with people's screams, as background music as she moved gracefully, looking as if she were dancing a waltz.
However, just as she started dancing, making a movement as if playing a violin, the piercing alarm stopped abruptly, so suddenly that people could barely react.
Kafka's steps halted before her eyes opened, revealing a trace of utter confusion in her violet eyes.
"Hm?" Kafka slightly tilted her head, listening. "Was the alarm lifted? No... the Antimatter Legion... disappeared?"
According to Elio's script, this moment should have been the peak of the chaos, the perfect time for her to infiltrate. Yet now it was eerily quiet, unlike what the script described, where there would be Voidrangers and a Doomsday Beast breaking into the space station to cause chaos.
Kafka took out a small notebook and flipped it open to check Elio's script, then read the contents inside again and again, but no matter how many times she read it, it didn't match the reality she was facing now.
"..."
On Kafka's breathtakingly beautiful face, the lazy smile that always carried the confidence of someone in complete control froze for the first time.
"How can Elio's script... be wrong?"
===
At the same time, in the Monitoring Room within the Base Zone of Herta Space Station, Silver Wolf sat before a defense turret control console she had hacked, a lollipop in her mouth as she hummed a tune and prepared to enjoy the 'fireworks' that would be created by the Antimatter Legion she had lured into the station.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
"Bang!"
Silver Wolf snapped her fingers as she gazed at the small monitor before her, her eyes fixed on the constantly changing data streams and surveillance feeds displayed across the screen.
However, several seconds passed, yet the explosion she expected, the Antimatter Legion's roar she expected, and the violent vibration of the space station she expected—none of it happened.
Instead, a scene completely beyond her expectations unfolded before her eyes.
Countless crimson beams suddenly streaked across the battlefield like a deadly storm, tearing through the ranks of the Antimatter Legion with overwhelming force.
All the monsters that had been charging forward only moments ago didn't even have time to react before their bodies were ripped apart, one after another. In the blink of an eye, the entire Antimatter Legion was blasted apart and wiped out in an instant, leaving behind nothing but drifting fragments and fading energy residue.
"What the heck was that?!"
Seeing the scene, the lollipop in Silver Wolf's mouth slipped free and fell to the ground with a soft thud, while her big eyes widened in disbelief, filled with immense confusion and shock.
"Tch!"
Silver Wolf abruptly leaned closer to the small monitor, nearly pressing her face against the screen as her fingers hammered wildly across the virtual keyboard. Lines of data flashed rapidly before her eyes as she attempted to trace the source of the attack.
"What's going on?"
"Where the hell's the Antimatter Legion?"
"Who the hell just insta-killed them?"
"Was this even in Elio's script?"
One question after another left her mouth in rapid succession, and the more information she gathered, the more unsettled she became.
Soon, the thought of retreating immediately crossed her mind.
No matter how she thought about it, this situation wasn't right.
In the first place, the Antimatter Legion wasn't some insignificant group of enemies that could be erased so casually. Yet they had just been annihilated before they could accomplish anything at all.
More importantly, neither she nor Kafka had received any prior information regarding someone capable of pulling off such a feat.
Among all the possibilities, she ultimately concluded that a big shot, a hidden boss, was now inside the space station, unleashing those terrifying red beams that had destroyed the Antimatter Legion in an instant.
And if that was truly the case, staying here any longer definitely didn't sound like a wise decision.
In the end, when Kafka and Silver Wolf returned to their spaceship, they silently flipped through the script given to them by Elio as they walked, trying to find even the slightest clue that could explain what had just happened, but unfortunately, no matter how many times they checked, they couldn't find a single line that mentioned this unexpected development.
"Silver Wolf, was Elio's script really written like this?"
Kafka crossed her arms beneath her chest and turned toward Silver Wolf, who had only just entered the room herself, asking with a slight frown.
"Where's the so-called firework you mentioned? Where's the chaos?"
At the question, Silver Wolf hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Kafka... I think... someone might've meddled..."
No matter how many times they reread the script, its contents remained identical, even detailing who would do what, at what time, and at which coordinates.
"Kafka, the script doesn't match reality... It's been wrong from the very beginning."
"No... how could Elio be wrong? Such a thing shouldn't be possible... Maybe there was a deviation in our actions?"
Kafka would rather believe that the two of them had made a mistake in their actions than believe that Elio's script was wrong.
"So what do we do now? Are we gonna come up with a plan ourselves, or just ask Elio?"
"Ask Elio first."
At Silver Wolf's question, Kafka ultimately decided to call Elio and explain everything that had just happened.
On the other end of the call, Elio fell silent for a moment after hearing her account.
Even he found it difficult to believe.
How could he possibly have seen it wrong?
Every script was based on countless observations and confirmations, making the possibility of an error almost unthinkable. Yet the events that had just unfolded stood in direct contradiction to what he had foreseen.
When he checked the threads of fate once again, he still saw the same scene as before, with nothing appearing to have gone wrong.
[Kafka, the fate I see hasn't changed. It's exactly the content of the script I gave you.]
Now, both sides were somewhat confused.
Kafka and Silver Wolf would not say something meaningless in a situation like this, and Elio trusted their account completely. He would never joke about the script either, since what he had said was exactly what had originally been determined.
In that case, where exactly was the problem?
"Elio, did your script not get updated or something?" Silver Wolf suddenly asked with a teasing grin. "Maybe you're still looking at the old version?"
Hearing that, Elio fell silent, wondering if that was truly the case.
[...I'll take another look. Handle it yourselves for now. As long as the outcome is the same, it's alright.]
In the end, after ending the communication, the mission still had to continue.
"Forget it. Since the script failed, we'll just handle it our own way. Stellaron Hunters like us aren't the type who get tied down by something like this."
Silver Wolf remarked calmly before taking out her phone and dialing a number.
"Who are you calling?"
Kafka raised her brows and asked with curiosity.
"Backup—the badass partner I told you about before."
Under normal circumstances, successfully infiltrating Herta Space Station, stealing the Stellaron, creating its vessel, and then reviving Stelle would not have been easy, especially without the distraction caused by the Antimatter Legion.
Understanding that, Silver Wolf immediately thought of Lucian as she recalled his convenient teleportation ability.
With that teleportation ability, he should be able to teleport the two of them directly inside the space station, right?
Even though she had been told not to mingle with him anymore, this was currently the most convenient and quickest way to complete their mission.
===
A few minutes earlier, Herta had been sitting inside her office with one leg crossed over the other, remaining completely calm and unperturbed despite the warning alarm blaring throughout the entire space station.
Why?
Simply because she knew Lucian was here.
And sure enough, just a few minutes later, the crisis had already been resolved.
Needless to say, this was what she called a true sense of security.
If she were being honest, there were not many people in this universe who could make her feel this at ease, and Lucian was undoubtedly one of them.
"Hmm... let's see what he's doing."
Herta pulled up the surveillance feed and soon saw that Lucian was standing together with some familiar faces in the lounge of the Railway Platform, gazing at the barrier above where the Antimatter Legion had once been.
Curious, she rewound the feed and soon saw him chatting with three people in the lounge of the Railway Platform, laughing and talking with them.
What caught her attention the most, however, was how animated he appeared whenever he spoke with that pink-haired girl—the smile on his face seemed noticeably brighter than usual, and the conversation between the two flowed effortlessly, without the slightest hint of awkwardness or restraint.
"Hmm... what was her name again...? March or something?" Herta muttered with a slight frown. "Tch, when he talks to me, he doesn't smile like that... Hmph, men..."
Even though she couldn't quite explain it, the more she watched, the more inexplicably irritated she felt, as though a faint sense of dissatisfaction was gradually building up inside her heart for reasons even she herself couldn't understand.
In the end, Herta let out a dissatisfied snort and decisively turned off the feed before continuing her efforts to smear Nous's reputation online.
===
Back to the present, on the Railway Platform, Welt's entire body seemed as though the pause button had been pressed, freezing in place as he maintained a posture ready to charge forward, the cane in his hand still emitting a faint glow.
At this moment, his eyes stared fixedly at the empty galaxy beyond the barrier, the pupils behind his glasses having shrunk to the extreme as shock and disbelief filled his vision.
What had just happened?
Where was the Antimatter Legion?
He had merely raised his hand, and they were gone?
"Uhh, this…"
Himeko's red lips parted slightly, and in the end, she only uttered a single word.
Now, her elegant and composed mask had completely shattered, leaving behind only the stunned realization that the young man before her had actually been pretending to be weak while hiding his true strength!
No matter how she looked at it, that kind of power seemed to be on the level of an Emanator.
"..."
March simply stared blankly at Lucian, then looked outside the barrier, then looked at his right hand that had just lowered as though it had done absolutely nothing, her small mouth forming a perfect O shape.
A few seconds later...
"I knew it! Lucian's a total hidden big shot!" March shouted excitedly while raising her right hand and pointing at Lucian. "Lucian! You're way, way, way too amazing!"
In less than a minute, Lucian had already left her completely stunned.
Handsome, powerful, and kind—saying she didn't admire him would be a lie.
In the original story, March had been incredibly impressed even by Yanqing's swordsmanship, let alone Lucian's feat of making Voidrangers, a Doomsday Beast, and several battleships vanish with a flick of his finger.
"Husss, lower your voice. It's nothing worth mentioning."
Lucian smiled and waved his hand, acting humble on the outside, but inside, he felt quite pleased with her praise.
Honestly, who wouldn't enjoy being admired by an innocent and adorable girl like her?
"I told you, we Earthlings are not simple."
Welt pushed up his glasses and forced himself to remain calm as he spoke, though the faint flicker in his eyes betrayed the turmoil hidden beneath his composed exterior.
Honestly, he had expected Lucian to possess extraordinary strength, far surpassing that of ordinary individuals. Yet even with that understanding, the scene that had just unfolded before his eyes still far exceeded his expectations.
"Hm, I like that statement."
Lucian gave Welt a thumbs-up on behalf of all Earthlings and decided to bully Welt a little less in the future.
*Ring-Ring-Ring—*
Before his words had fully faded, Lucian's phone suddenly rang.
Pulling it from his pants pocket and glancing at the caller ID, he was surprised to see that it was Silver Wolf calling.
Now, his speculation had been confirmed.
After going so long without contacting him, yet suddenly calling at this exact moment, it was clearly related to the Antimatter Legion he had just wiped out.
"Well, well, it's been a while since I've heard your voice. Why are you suddenly calling me?"
[Ran into some trouble. Need your help. Come help me stir things up a bit. I'm gonna sneak into Herta Space Station. Big reward when it's done. You in?]
Silver Wolf immediately stated her intentions directly and bluntly, without beating around the bush in the slightest.
Just as Lucian had expected, this was the operation where Silver Wolf and Kafka would come to Herta Space Station to revive the original protagonist of the story.
"Hmm, you're seriously asking for my help?"
[Seriously asking for your help. C'mon, help me out, partner.]
Lucian had originally intended to haggle and raise the price, but upon hearing the little wolf call him 'partner' so earnestly, he ultimately changed his mind.
"Alright, wait for me. We'll talk when we meet."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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