Mihoyo Inventory Chapter 2: The Three-Person Squad Assembles
Kafka and Silver Wolf spun around, only to find a young man watching them with a playful, beaming smile etched across his face.
"Who are you?" Without a second thought, Kafka drew her submachine gun and leveled it at the stranger, her gaze sharpening as she took aim at the young man.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you that pointing a gun at someone is terribly impolite?" The man didn't seem the least bit perturbed. He stepped forward and lightly tapped the barrel of the weapon. In the blink of an eye, the firearm shattered into a thousand glittering shards.
The force of the explosion sent fragments whistling through the air, grazing Kafka and Silver Wolf. Several shallow cuts appeared on their fair skin, stark against their complexions.
"When did you get here?" Kafka and Silver Wolf stared at the man, their eyes wide with disbelief at his sudden, impossible proximity.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Xuan Yong. I trust you've heard the name before?" Xuan Yong reached out and playfully pinched the delicate cheeks of both Kafka and Silver Wolf, his expression radiating amusement.
"Xuan Yong! The Aeon of Destiny—Xuan Yong!" The realization hit them like a physical blow, and the two Stellaron Hunters gasped in unison.
A cold shiver ran down their spines as they remembered their fleeting thought of attacking him. Had they actually tried, there wouldn't be enough left of them to fill a thimble. After all, the rumors were true: Lord Xuan Yong was the one who had personally thrashed every other Aeon in the cosmos.
"To what do we owe the honor, Lord Xuan Yong?" Kafka asked, forcing a smile as she fought to suppress her internal tremors. "What business could the Aeon of Destiny possibly have with two defenseless ladies like us?"
"Hahaha! 'Defenseless'?" Xuan Yong let out a sharp laugh. "Two renowned Stellaron Hunters calling themselves defenseless? You'll be the death of me." He brushed past them with effortless nonchalance, making his way toward the monitors displaying the forms of a young man and a young woman.
Gazing at the screen, Xuan Yong continued, "You seem quite torn between the male and the female vessels. How about you leave the choice to me?"
"If you wish to choose, My Lord, please, be our guest!" Kafka replied instantly, her smile brightening. In her mind, this was their golden ticket to making it out alive.
"On second thought, I won't steal your thunder," Xuan Yong said, stopping just as he was about to make a selection. He turned back to Kafka with a cryptic, knowing look. "Elio did say that only you could make the right choice. Let's see what that choice actually is."
"Thank you, Lord Xuan Yong. I shall choose the girl, then." Kafka bowed deeply, a full ninety-degree gesture of gratitude, before stepping forward to touch the screen.
Moments later, a tall, grey-haired young woman materialized before them.
"How much do you think she'll remember?" Kafka murmured, her voice softening with an uncharacteristic tenderness as she looked at the girl.
Silver Wolf glanced at Xuan Yong, but seeing he had no intention of speaking, she replied flatly, "I don't know. But she'll remember you, at the very least."
Kafka nodded and retrieved the Stellaron. With a firm, deliberate motion, she pressed the core into the chest of the vessel—Stelle.
"My, such force," Xuan Yong teased, watching the procedure. "You're pressing so hard, you might just push back whatever 'justice' she has left in there!"
"Lord Xuan Yong, her physique was modeled after Silver Wolf's… modest proportions," Kafka replied, nearly stumbling at his jest but managing to maintain a playful smile.
Beside her, Silver Wolf bristled, her temper flaring at the comment. However, with Xuan Yong standing right there, she could only bite her tongue and make a mental note to settle the score with Kafka once they were back at base.
"Alright, alright. She's waking up. Go on, wake your daughter," Xuan Yong said, ending the banter as he pointed toward Stelle, who was beginning to stir.
Kafka turned and walked toward the girl, gently stroking her cheek with a smile.
[ The subsequent dialogue between Kafka and Stelle follows the original record and is omitted here. ]
"Lord Xuan Yong, our task is complete. May we have your permission to depart?" Kafka asked, turning back to him with a polite, deferential smile as Stelle lay unconscious on the floor.
"Mm. Go on then." Xuan Yong waved a dismissive hand, no longer paying them any mind.
Having received his permission, Kafka and Silver Wolf wasted no time. They opened a spatial portal and vanished from Herta Space Station.
Once they were gone, Xuan Yong stepped forward, scooped the unconscious Stelle into his arms, and departed the area.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Space Station…
"Dan Heng, there are just too many of these monsters!" a girl with pink-and-blue hair cried out. March 7th looked exhausted as she spoke to the stoic youth beside her.
"The Legion invading Herta's station… I can't tell if this is a blessing or a curse," Dan Heng remarked. He swung his spear in a wide arc, cleaving through another monster, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Dan Heng, look out!" March 7th screamed. A Voidranger had appeared out of thin air, its blade descending toward him.
In that moment of peril, a large hand reached out from a rift in space, catching the Voidranger and crushing it into stardust instantly.
"Who's there?" The sudden intervention startled them both. March 7th and Dan Heng immediately fell into defensive stances, scanning their surroundings warily.
"Greetings!" A swirling vortex manifested, and a young man stepped through, carrying a grey-haired girl in his arms.
"Who are you?" Dan Heng's eyes narrowed. He could sense an overwhelming, terrifying power emanating from the man. By his estimation, this person was at least an Emanator—if not something far greater.
"As your savior, I'm a bit hurt that you'd greet me with suspicion instead of thanks," Xuan Yong said, putting on a show of mock heartbreak before breaking into a sunny grin. "But I suppose that's only natural with strangers. My name is Xuan Yong."
"He's right, Dan Heng! You're being way too jumpy. He just saved your life," March 7th chided her companion before turning to the newcomer with a bright smile. "Hello there, Xuan Yong!"
"Well, hello to you too, Miss March 7th," Xuan Yong replied with a chuckle.
"Wait, how do you know my—" Before March 7th could finish her sentence, Dan Heng pulled her back.
He stood protectively in front of her, his voice low and heavy with caution. "I presume… you are the Aeon of Destiny, Lord Xuan Yong?"
March 7th froze in her tracks, staring at Xuan Yong in utter shock.
"As expected of the well-read Mr. Dan Heng. Indeed, I am the Aeon of Destiny—Xuan Yong." He made no effort to hide it, admitting his identity with effortless grace.
…