"The problem is this banana?"
March 7th casually tossed the banana peel aside and stared into Zeig's eyes: "You weren't brainwashed by Kafka, were you?"
"How is that possible!"
"Then what is Kafka to you?"
"Mom!"
"…"
…
A few minutes later.
After carefully examining Zeig several times, Luocha said to March 7th:
"From what I can see, Brother Zeig's body has no major issues, and there are no traces of Word Spirit Art influence."
"No? Do you want to take a closer look? He just called Kafka 'Mom'!"
"Well… that might really be his heartfelt sentiment. My diagnosis has no problems. Miss March 7th, I'm not lying."
Zeig stood silently in place, completely ignoring March 7th and Luocha.
Since Fu Xuan had obtained the truth in advance through the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, she should be clear that the Stellaron Hunters had no direct connection to this Xianzhou crisis.
Next.
"Good, it's time to rest!" Zeig said excitedly.
"Rest my ass! There's such a huge commotion outside—are you deaf?!"
March 7th looked around again and felt like someone was missing:
"Hey, Qingque went to find Fu Xuan earlier. Where did Tingyun run off to…?"
"Maybe she's over there."
Luocha pointed with his hand. A young girl was currently lying on the ground in pain, her ankle bright red.
It was clearly Tingyun.
And beside her was a crumpled banana peel.
"Tingyun, Tingyun, what happened to you? Are you okay?!" March 7th anxiously ran over.
But when she tried to help Tingyun up, she was refused.
The latter shakily picked up the banana peel from the ground and forced out a smile through gritted teeth:
"Miss March, do you know who… threw this banana peel here?"
"I don't know?! "
March 7th frantically shook her head and said innocently:
"People who litter like this are the worst!"
"It was actually you who threw it, right?"
"Ha, how could it be?"
"Both young ladies, let's save the arguing for later." Luocha slowly walked over and said to the two:
"Why don't we first leave the Divination Commission and go outside to see the situation."
…
They had just exited the Divination Commission.
While piloting the starskiff, Tingyun gazed at the enormous tree shooting straight into the clouds in the distance and exclaimed:
"Spectacular, truly spectacular! I'm so lucky. Long-life species might not see such a wonder even once in their lifetime!"
March 7th also looked at the colossal being in the distance and said nervously:
"Isn't this the half-withered tree Qingque showed us before? How did it grow back?!"
Zeig sat in the starskiff, his gaze also involuntarily sweeping toward the towering Ambrosial Arbor.
"This thing, after growing, has a color scheme similar to the vines I dug out earlier."
"Does it?" March 7th raised an eyebrow.
…
Elsewhere.
In a room within the Divination Commission.
Fu Xuan spoke anxiously to the projection of Jing Yuan in front of her:
"Unless Kafka deceived the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, otherwise…"
"Don't panic, Advisor Fu."
Jing Yuan said calmly:
"Believe that the Matrix of Prescience Ultima does not lie. The logic regarding Kafka that you described is very reliable. It has just filled in the final piece of the puzzle for me."
"I know the Luofu must have external enemies, because Stellaron cannot appear out of nowhere. Someone must have used some method to sneak it into the Xianzhou. The internal threat within the Luofu must be the hidden evil organization that poses as people of Abundance: the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
"The facts brought by Kafka happen to confirm my speculation."
Fu Xuan said disdainfully:
"Really? When did you figure this out, General?"
Jing Yuan smiled faintly:
"When the Stellaron first appeared. The Xianzhou has the protection of the Reignbow Arbiter. If it weren't for an emissary of another Aeon taking action, how could it have entered the Luofu without me knowing? Therefore, there must be external enemies."
"The Stellaron has eroded various places but bypassed the two key locations—the Seat of Divine Foresight and The Shackling Prison—clearly indicating other intentions. The enemy planned this way and must have grasped internal intelligence about the Luofu, so internal threats will emerge. There's nothing difficult about understanding these two points…"
He sighed softly and continued explaining to Fu Xuan:
"The Stellaron Hunters are not the masterminds. I understood this the moment I saw that guy. But why did he come, and why did he lure the Astral Express here?… This puzzle piece, I could never find."
Immediately after, Jing Yuan laughed:
"Haha, the news you brought, Advisor Fu, has completed this puzzle. The Stellaron Hunters are truly interesting. Going to such great lengths, their goal was actually to connect the Xianzhou with the Express. Who would have thought?"
"However…"
Fu Xuan recalled the previous conflict when the Astral Express first arrived on the Xianzhou:
"Previously, that Mr. Yang Transcendent caused a huge scene all the way to the Sky-Faring Commission. Was that also within the General's expectations?"
"Uh… well."
"And Yanqing going to challenge Mr. Yang Transcendent one-on-one and suffering a crushing defeat—was that also part of the General's plan?"
"…"
"…Advisor Fu, can we change the topic?"
…
Zeig and his group directly piloted the starskiff to Exalting Sanctum.
At this moment, Welt had been waiting there for quite some time.
With both hands in his pockets, he stood at the pier, pacing with his head lowered.
Walking back and forth.
His heart was extremely anxious.
Finally, he heard a call coming from the sea of clouds in the distance.
"Uncle Yang~!!"
Welt suddenly turned around, joy overflowing on his face:
"March, Zeig! You're back? How was it? The Divination Commission didn't make things difficult for you, right?!"
March 7th jumped off the starskiff and said with a cheerful laugh:
"They wouldn't dare! We brought so many mechs. If those people tried anything again, this young lady would just go straight back to the Express. I don't care about the Xianzhou's mess!"
"Mm, safety first."
Welt watched them disembark from the starskiff and said with relief:
"If the situation was too difficult, retreating first would have been unavoidable."
"Mr. Welt, why did you come out?" Luocha said worriedly.
"How is your mental condition?"
"Hehe, I'm fine."
"I'm truly sorry. Because I received an emergency commission, I rushed to the Divination Commission, causing Mr. Welt to worry."
"I wouldn't worry."
"Really? I don't believe it."
"…"
Behind the two of them, Tingyun also said to Zeig and March 7th:
"Two benefactors, matters at the Divination Commission have come to a close. This humble one still has important business to attend to, so I shall take my leave first."
"Oh, take care, Miss Tingyun." March 7th said goodbye.
After Tingyun left, March 7th suddenly slapped Zeig, who was squatting on the ground, on the head:
"What are you doing? Tingyun piloted the starskiff for us the whole way. Can't you even say a word of thanks?"
Zeig slowly raised his head and met March 7th's gaze:
"What's there to say goodbye for? Maybe she'll come back later anyway?"
"How is that possible?" March 7th said disdainfully.
…
Not even three minutes had passed.
Tingyun came running back again.
Panting heavily:
"T-Two benefactors… this humble one has one more thing to say."
Zeig, still squatting on the ground, raised his hand and interrupted Tingyun, instead turning to look at the bewildered March 7th:
"See? She came back to issue another mission, didn't she?"
"…Damn."