The treatment for Jingliu proceeded largely as expected.
The treatment plan obtained after consulting Ruan Mei worked perfectly.
Of course, those impressions that had grown increasingly bizarre over the years were also toned down.
Watching as the rationality gradually returned to Jingliu's eyes,
'Jingliu' reached out and put away the Evoltruster, its light slowly fading.
Jingliu stared straight at her, but didn't descend into madness again.
"...Miss Bai Ming?"
Jingliu gazed blankly at the person who looked exactly like her, speaking in a daze.
Hearing this, 'Jingliu' took off her glasses and replied with a smile, "It's me. Long time no see, Jingliu."
"Ah... yes, it's been a while."
The Mara-Struck state was cured, but the memories from that period remained.
Jingliu blinked.
Then, gradually, everything she had done before came back to her.
All those messages she'd sent to Bai Ming.
And the things she'd blurted out while attacking her after they met...
"..."
Jingliu silently covered her face.
She really wanted to go back and kill her Mara-struck self right now...
Watching as Jingliu's pale ears turned bright red, 'Jingliu' couldn't help but feel amused.
"What's wrong?"
"...All those were just nonsense I spouted while Mara-struck."
"Mm, I know."
"Well... I truly respect you, but it's not like I have those... feel... um..."
Jingliu's brain was currently short-circuiting; she couldn't even form proper sentences.
It's just, this was someone she deeply respected, but because of the Mara, compounded by a little accident, when she finally met her, it turned into some insane, frenzied confession like a lunatic.
Jingliu was so embarrassed she could have clawed through the floor.
Why couldn't the Mara treatment have just deleted all those messy memories along with it?
She'd rather remember nothing at all.
'Jingliu' couldn't hold back anymore, grinning widely.
She had wondered how Jingliu might act after regaining her senses, but she never expected her to be this shy.
It was a stark contrast to the Jingliu in her memories.
Reaching out, she patted Jingliu's head: "It's fine, I understand the situation. I'm just glad you managed to recover."
With that, 'Jingliu' left the room for the time being.
Better not to tease her any further, or she might actually dig through the floor.
Stepping out, she saw Elio sprawled on the sofa, yawning.
'Jingliu' asked curiously, "You asked me to cure Jingliu, but did you ever consider she might return to the Xianzhou, or leave with me?"
"I did see those possibilities, but neither is more suitable than her staying with the Stellaron Hunters."
Elio lifted his head to look at 'Jingliu'.
Returning to the Xianzhou was the worst option. A miraculously cured Jingliu would undoubtedly face the Alliance's most rigorous scrutiny.
Whether she revealed Bai Ming or not, it would only mean endless trouble.
As for leaving with 'Jingliu', it wasn't terrible, but Jingliu's abilities would be completely wasted.
She herself would struggle to accept such a life and would eventually choose to leave.
There were, of course, other paths—joining the Galaxy Rangers, boarding the Astral Express in the future... and so on.
Those options weren't bad either, but Jingliu was someone who kept her promises.
So she would stay.
Looking at Elio's mystic act, 'Jingliu' felt a sudden impulse and asked, "Elio, can you see where the Masked Fool Sparkle is right now?"
Elio stared straight at 'Jingliu':
"Even if I told you, it would be useless."
"Why?"
"She's unpredictable, roaming all over the universe. Chasing her is pointless. Even if you caught up, you wouldn't achieve the outcome you want. You're better off following your own plans."
The reason Elio had reached out to 'Jingliu' was largely because he truly couldn't read this person.
For instance, just until yesterday, in the most probable future he saw, Bai Ming would, a month later, once again impersonate Herta and go to Herta City to participate in some project.
There, she would encounter an attack by a Lord Ravager targeting Herta and end up confronting them.
In lower probability scenarios, she'd directly transform into the Giant of Light and go to the Land of Light for some purpose.
But after the two of them returned from outside yesterday, the visions Elio saw changed.
A month from now, Bai Ming would impersonate the Masked Fool Sparkle and drop some major bombshells across the Star Network.
As for the Lord Ravager?
They temporarily vanished from Bai Ming's future visions.
And this possibility of impersonating Sparkle bad never appeared before.
It's just...
Elio simply couldn't figure it out.
How exactly did 'Jingliu' manage it?
To conjure entirely new possibilities out of thin air, and make a previously non-existent possibility suddenly become the most likely future.
He'd been observing her for two whole days now but he couldn't discern anything.
He really felt he'd met his match.
This was also why Elio absolutely refused to share the script. Because of her, his future was clearly headed for countless last-minute script revisions.
Just thinking about it gave him a splitting headache.
And he was supposed to hand the script over to 'Jingliu'?
Not a chance!
'Jingliu' couldn't really detect Elio's annoyance.
But from what Elio said, following her own plans should be feasible.
That was good enough.
Besides, the Astral Express still hadn't embarked yet.
By the time the train finally set sail, the video she posted might just go viral again.
And thanks to her deliberately cryptic lines, it was possible that the moment Miss Himeko set off, the entire universe would be watching.
Sigh—
'Jingliu' found the thought utterly amusing.
Pulling out her phone and starting to work on a video, she suddenly asked, "Oh, right, Elio, do you know when the Astral Express will launch?"
Hearing this, Elio nearly lost his composure: "...Just who is the prophet here? Have you even listened to the question you're asking?"
"What's wrong? You can definitely see it, right?"
She reached out, pinched the scruff of Elio's neck, and pulled him over.
"I can't just spoil things like that!"
"Come on, I'm just asking for the timing. I don't plan on doing anything."
"How should I know what you plan to do? Give it up. I'm absolutely not telling."
Elio wriggled out of 'Jingliu's' grip.
He couldn't read 'Jingliu's' future and had no idea what might happen.
So he chose to stay silent.
Especially when it came to crucial intel, like the Astral Express's launch time and route.
He would never reveal it.
Who knows what she might do otherwise.
But 'Jingliu' thoughtfully rubbed her chin.
Was Elio implying that he couldn't see her future?
Really?
Was it because she kept drawing cards?
--+--