This was Bai Ling's first time coming back here since Talulah cleaved open the over-domain proving ground.
Eldera walked beside him as the two climbed the stairs step by step.
If you didn't look up, things felt almost the same as before—at most, the stairs and floor tiles were cracked, like nothing more than long-neglected wear and tear.
But the moment you raised your gaze, the truth hit hard.
The towering over-domain test facility—several stories tall—had collapsed by half.And slightly left of center, a grotesquely massive charred slash-mark split the entire structure cleanly in two.
When they reached the main entrance and looked inside, the interior was nothing but scorched wasteland. What should've been solid concrete now felt underfoot like mud after rain, even sinking slightly when stepped on.
Eldera spoke quietly:
"…Mr. Klau said the reconstruction project is already on the way. Even like this, the facility is too important to over-domain research. The new outpost was originally canceled because of the erosion… but now it's being revived because this place will be rebuilt."
Bai Ling reflexively reached for his pocket—like he wanted to smoke to hide his awkwardness—then realized he didn't have any cigarettes. He shoved his hand into his pocket anyway.
Because… this mess was partly his responsibility.
Talulah's combat power had been absurd.And it led Bai Ling back to a question he still couldn't answer:
Yvonne was a Vaivern—so how in the world had he summoned a Dracos?
A Vaivern was a wyvern.A Dracos was a red dragon—more like a fire dragon.They weren't just "not closely related"—they were practically unrelated.
And he'd only been able to summon Talulah at all because the over-domain rift had "called" to him…
Meaning:
He still didn't truly understand why his summoning worked, or how it worked.
When he summoned Eyjafjalla, he'd only had brief contact with Eldera first—yet it still succeeded.
And earlier, on the passage above the valley fortress, he'd even been able to use a command seal to forcibly order Nephis—despite having no connection to Nephis at all.
He'd barely developed the command seals as a system.He'd just been using them.
Eldera didn't know what he was thinking, but she could tell it mattered. She didn't interrupt—standing quietly at his side, guarding him in silence.
But her silence didn't mean the world would stay quiet.
"…Finally found you, Mr. Bai Ling."
A sweet voice came from behind—soft and gentle, comfortable just to hear.
They turned together. Eldera already knew who it was.
Brown twin-tails. Fox ears. A vivid black-and-red outfit.Her whole presence felt light—like a flower dancing in the wind: fresh, lively, youthful.
(There was even a photo of her.)
The instant Bai Ling saw her, he almost blurted it out:
"Jie-ge?"
"Hm?" She tilted her head. "What a strange way to address someone, Mr. Bai Ling… I'm a girl, you know."
"…Sorry. It just slipped out naturally."
The newcomer was none other than Rhodes Island's courier: Jelperta.
"Dr. Warfarin has a letter for you," she said. "She wanted to know how your experience outside has been, so she asked me to bring it."
Her tone stayed calm—she didn't make a big deal of his slip—so Bai Ling flowed straight into conversation.
"Is she still spacing out these days?"
"Rhodes Island has plenty of work," Jelperta replied. "She's been busy. When she handed me this letter, she was still writing资料."
Bai Ling's next line, however, utterly demolished the dignified image Jelperta had just tried to preserve:
"Must be hard for her… Who'd have thought the sanguinarch who used to get hung up on the bridge to freeze in the wind would become so mature and steady."
"…Dr. Warfarin… got hung up on the bridge?"
Eldera's head practically sprouted question marks.
She'd heard rumors that back when Rhodes Island was led by that rabbit, Warfarin had been upbeat and extremely capable…
But this?
Hung up on the bridge to blow in cold wind?
What do you even have to do to earn that punishment?
Just imagining the scene made Eldera struggle to keep her expression under control.
And Jelperta—went silent.
Clearly, even with her comprehensive memories, Bai Ling seemed to know Rhodes Island more completely than she did.
And worse—
He seemed to know her, too.
After hesitating, she asked softly:
"Mr. Bai Ling… have we met before?"
"No."
That immediate denial made Jelperta look a little downcast.
The memories she carried felt both like hers… and not hers.That unfamiliarity frightened her.
But she was even more afraid that if she abandoned those memories, she would stop being "herself."
If Bai Ling understood Rhodes Island on Terra, then he should also know what "she" used to be like there… right?
She wanted to hear his evaluation of the "past her."
Bai Ling understood what she was asking. But he'd already accepted that the "re-traveler" was a new being—similar, but not the same.
Calling Jelperta "Angelina" would deny her current self.But since the name Jelperta still contained "Jie," calling her "Jie-ge" wasn't entirely outrageous… right?
He stepped closer and naturally took the Rhodes Island letter from her hand.
He also wanted to know what Warfarin had written—what she wanted to say.
But Bai Ling didn't expect what happened next.
The instant he touched the letter, Jelperta's hand brushed the back of his left hand first.
Just that brief moment—
A familiar line appeared before Bai Ling's eyes.
One he knew all too well.
[Summoned: Vulpo]
....
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