"Is what you're saying true?"
Herta looked at the great deity before her with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. So far, it seemed she had yet to hear much truth from his mouth. For some reason, Herta's intuition told her that this guy was definitely plotting something mischievous again.
"Oh? You mean you don't believe me? Fine, let's call off this deal then."
"You can have the Genius Society negotiate with the 'Family' and see if the information you get from them can help you replicate my simulacrum in the Simulated Universe."
At this point, our Mr. Yun Fan turned to leave, taking one step, two steps, three steps. He was confident that Herta would call him back, because, fundamentally, the Simulated Universe was an extremely complex supercomputer. By inputting and processing the known life histories of Aeons, it could simulate and recreate a simulated Aeon. Without knowing his past, Herta's Simulated Universe would lack a critical element for simulation, making it impossible for her to create a replica of him.
Sure enough, as Yun Fan expected, just as he was about to take his fourth step, Herta's voice came from behind him.
"Wait!"
Hearing this, our Mr. Yun Fan turned back around, asking Herta with a 'puzzled' expression, "What's wrong, Lady Herta? Is there something else?"
Seeing Yun Fan's feigned confusion, Herta nearly ground her back teeth to dust. Anger surged within her, blood rushing to her head, and the face of her real body in its youthful form flushed slightly. Yes… purely from being infuriated.
"I didn't say we're canceling the deal. As I said before, the deal continues, and you can name your price."
— — — —
"With the Xianzhou Luofu matter settled, our next destination is Penacony, the Star of Festivities."
On the Astral Express, the Trailblazer team, which had been on a journey of exploration on the Xianzhou Luofu, had triumphantly returned. Now, they were gathered around the dining table, sharing the gains of their journey with Sister Himeko.
Our Sister Himeko listened to March 7th's excited recounting, her face full of warmth and smiles as she listened attentively.
"It sounds like everyone had a very fruitful journey of exploration this time."
"Who would've thought that a mere Stellaron crisis would lead to the involvement of two Lords of Extinction? As expected, the words of the Stellaron Hunters can't be fully trusted."
Recalling this, a trace of lingering fear flashed in Sister Himeko's eyes. Originally, she had thought this journey wouldn't be too challenging. After all, the Xianzhou had soared for eight thousand years, with no shortage of talented individuals and the presence of an Emanator of the Hunt. There shouldn't have been any major issues. The Astral Express's assistance was, at most, a nice addition.
But who could've imagined that this matter would directly involve two Lords of Extinction, and even the Aeon of Destruction himself had personally intervened? While this level of event couldn't be called unprecedented, it was certainly rare in recent times. Excluding the birth of an Aeon, the most recent universe-shaking event was probably the Rangers' crusade against the Lord of Extinction, Zhuluo.
In any case, after this ordeal, the reputation of the Astral Express and the Xianzhou in the cosmos was bound to soar.
"But… as long as everyone returned safely, that's what matters." A gentle smile appeared on Himeko's face.
This scene caught Welt's eye, and in that moment, the figure of this beautiful woman seemed to overlap with that of a kind teacher, causing the former Herrscher of Reason to fall into a brief daze.
"Uncle Yang, are you okay?"
Noticing that Welt's expression seemed off, our Stelle, who had been a bystander for nearly the entire Xianzhou conflict, asked with concern. Since boarding the Express, this was the first time she had seen Welt with such an expression.
"No, it's nothing. It's just that Himeko resembles an old friend of mine, so I was momentarily lost in thought."
Welt shook his head, speaking as if lamenting the whims of fate.
"Uncle Yang's old friend?"
Curiosity filled the gray-haired girl's eyes, but even so, she didn't press Welt further. Her subconscious told her it was better not to keep asking.
"Come, come, pa! Dear passengers, to celebrate your triumphant return, this conductor has specially prepared a lavish feast for you."
As the group was chatting happily, our Astral Express conductor and mascot, Pom-Pom, pushed a dining cart taller than himself into the train's dining car.
"Come taste this conductor's culinary skills, pa~"
"This dish is Fragrant Fried Fish, a traditional delicacy from the Xianzhou Luofu's Kun cuisine style that this conductor recently learned."
"This dish is Cilantro Phoenix Kernel Chicken, said to be another rare delicacy from the Xianzhou Luofu, supposedly passed down by a sports master."
"This dish is Fragrant Bei King Burger, this one is Steamed Black Fish, and this is Steamed Shrimp Head…"
Our Conductor Pom-Pom lifted dish after dish from the cart, placing them on the table.
Seeing these dishes, Dan Heng, Stelle, and Himeko were fine. The former was merely puzzled, wondering when the Xianzhou had developed such dishes. The latter two simply hadn't encountered much Xianzhou cuisine and thus weren't too familiar with it.
But for our March 7th and Welt, who frequently surfed the web…
Looking at Welt and March 7th, the two Nameless had slightly strange expressions on their faces. They exchanged a glance, and after a moment's hesitation, our March 7th cautiously raised her hand.
"Um, Conductor Pom-Pom…"
"Hm? What's wrong, Passenger March 7th?"
While introducing the dishes on the table, Conductor Pom-Pom paused upon hearing his name called, looking up at March 7th with a puzzled expression.
"Well, I wanted to ask, Conductor Pom-Pom, where did you learn about these dishes? And where did you learn to make them?"
Hearing March 7th's question, our Brother Dan Heng seemed to realize something as well, shifting his gaze to Pom-Pom, awaiting the mascot's response.
"Oh, that? I learned them from a Xianzhou website called the 'Kun Kun Protection Association.' Passenger Yun Fan invited me to join it."
"Recently, someone on that site claiming to be a Xianzhou Kun cuisine master was teaching lost Kun dishes, so this conductor decided to learn a bit."
— — — —
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New Story posted:
Crossover: My Daily Life as a Transmigrated Psychic