Dr. Primitive was now breaking out in a cold sweat.
A Stellaron Hunter had pulled out a gadget that was clearly related to the Path of Equilibrium and then made a copy of him.
Although the copy was obviously no match for the original, and with a little time, he could easily break free from such a thing.
The range of the chessboard beneath his feet wasn't even that large.
But the problem was—He didn't have that much time, nor any energy to spare.
And Zero wasn't one to care about honor or fair play.
Seeing Dr. Primitive tangled up with the phantom summoned by her mother, she immediately charged forward, throwing out all sorts of messy moves—things like Ultra Rings, Guillotine Breakers, and whatnot.
The 'Jingliu' who had been ready to make a move earlier now paused.
In essence, the chessboard's function was to initiate a zero-sum battle, to enforce Equilibrium.
Her understanding wasn't wrong.
But the key point was, this battle could take place externally—by projecting the chessboard like this, it could be activated within a certain range.
And as the one who deployed the board, 'Jingliu' could choose who within that range would take part in the battle of Equilibrium, and who would not.
So the situation had turned into this.
"And this is just an amateur like me. If an Arbitrator were to do this, wouldn't they be able to pull off something even more absurd?"
'Jingliu' sighed with some emotion.
The presence of the Path of Equilibrium and its Aeon was a bit… Schrödinger-like.
Who knew the power of this Path had some tricks up its sleeve?
From now on, whenever she got into a fight, starting off by summoning a phantom—wouldn't that mean she could righteously gang up on her opponent every time?
Just as Dr. Primitive, after the phantom joined the battle, found almost all of his clever tools dismantled by the phantom, forcing him into steady retreat, and it seemed Zero would easily capture him in no time—suddenly, an anomaly occurred!
The restraint device launched by Dr. Primitive's phantom, which should have landed on Dr. Primitive himself, malfunctioned inexplicably the moment it was released.
Its targeting failed, and it ended up clamping right onto Zero.
Not only that, the device itself violently disintegrated, releasing pure Imaginary Energy in an instant.
The resulting energy ripple struck Dr. Primitive and turned into just the right amount of thrust, sending him flying straight into the depths of space.
Something's strange!
'Jingliu' immediately sensed something wrong.
Two extremely low-probability events occurring simultaneously—that wasn't something that could happen by chance alone.
But though she was puzzled, how could 'Jingliu' just stand by and watch Dr. Primitive escape?
In a flash, she shot like a beam of light to intercept his path.
Solid ice formed into a long blade as 'Jingliu' locked onto Dr. Primitive and swung down! A narrow, gleaming arc of light, thick with the intent of Destruction, materialized instantly.
That blade-light, almost larger than a satellite, showed not the slightest intention of holding back.
As for Dr. Primitive—If he died, then so be it. If he survived, Zero could take him back.
'Jingliu' really didn't mind either way.
But then, another accident occurred.
The spreading Imaginary Energy seemed to coincidentally trigger some mishap.
The concentrated blade-light, meeting it head-on, caused the power to detonate prematurely, shattering instantly.
The condensed force transformed into a storm of energy, swallowing Dr. Primitive in an instant.
Yet, precisely because of this accident, the blow that should have most likely killed Dr. Primitive was reduced to a storm that only left him severely wounded.
"..."
'Jingliu' narrowed her eyes slightly.
This feeling… it wasn't quite like Elio's future prediction.
It was more similar to the Knowable Domain of the Lord of Silence—the ability to manipulate low-probability events, disguising all murder as accidents.
While 'Jingliu' was lost in thought, Zero seized the opportunity to completely crush Dr. Primitive's remaining resistance.
And just as she had promised, she broke all four of his limbs, even stripping his clothes and items clean off him, leaving only his underwear.
After securely stuffing Dr. Primitive into a transparent containment device, Zero finally approached 'Jingliu' and said gratefully, "Mother! Thank you for your help."
"It was nothing. More importantly, do you have arrangements for the return trip?"
Zero replied, "Yes, but… this isn't the first time we've captured Dr. Primitive."
"He has help?"
Zero nodded, then shook her head.
"Maybe. Every time before transport or trial, some strange accident happens, allowing Dr. Primitive to escape."
Hearing this, 'Jingliu' began to understand.
But why would the Lord of Silence help Dr. Primitive?
Those two didn't seem like they'd have any connection.
But then… both Dr. Primitive and the Lord of Silence seemed deeply concerned with Nihility.
In contrast, people like Herta and Ruan Mei focused almost entirely on their own pursuits, rarely caring about the end of the universe.
From what she recalled, the Lord of Silence established Device IX, and Dr. Primitive was also very interested in Nihility.
Could it be that the two had collaborated because of Nihility?
It wasn't impossible, though it was still quite hard to believe.
Come to think of it, in the original storyline, Acheron also mentioned wanting to find Device IX.
Could it be that there will be related plot developments in the future?
"Be careful on your way back. Prioritize your own safety."
"I understand, Mother. As for that Stellaron—"
Zero turned to look at the Stellaron still slowly falling toward the inhabited planet.
With the help of the Galaxy Rangers and Herta, the Land of Light had developed its own unique path, devising a sealing method belonging to the Ultraman.
Over the years, they had cleared quite a few Stellaron-blocked shipping lanes.
'Jingliu' smiled at Zero: "I'll handle the Stellaron. I can't let you waste so much time here."
Zero laughed at that: "Being with you could never be a waste of time."
As she spoke, Zero stepped closer, raising her arms to gently hug 'Jingliu'.
"It's been too long, Mother. We've all missed you."
Although, given an Ultraman's lifespan, they could easily live for tens of thousands of years, the giants of this world were still quite young.
Zero was only a few hundred years old.
Being separated from her mother for centuries—of course she'd miss her dearly.
Jingliu raised her hand to return the hug, smiling as she said,
"I've missed you all too. I was worried about how you were doing, but it seems everything is going well?"
Zero nodded: "We've established the Land of Light. Although the population is still small, far from what you'd call a full civilization, we've managed to secure our place in this world. Mother, if you have time… please visit the Land of Light. The other two mothers have already been."
Hearing this, Jingliu smiled and patted Zero's shoulder: "Alright, I'll find a chance to visit."
As Zero departed with Dr. Primitive in custody, the phantom summoned by the chessboard seemed to fade rapidly, as if having lost its reference point.
But before disappearing, it glanced at Jingliu several times, then scooped up a device left behind by Dr. Primitive.
Only when the phantom had fully vanished did that object fall right in front of 'Jingliu'.
--+--