As far as the final result was concerned, it seemed that those strange visitors did intend to visit them together with the train crew.
Therefore, after realizing that there was no conflict between the train team and the other party, Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan, who appeared on the scene in the form of a projection, chose to remain silent and stood where they were, waiting for the other party to visit.
Then - the moment a large group of people appeared at the entrance, they were all stunned by the translucent figure floating in the air.
Whether it was Fu Xuan, the head of the Taibu Division, or Jing Yuan, the supreme leader who controlled the entire Luofu, they all knew or had even seen the legendary Yunqi Marshal. And given their status in the Immortal Boat, even if they saw the Marshal in person, they would not feel the same fear as Qingque, and at most they would just feel respect.
But - if the legendary marshal lost his body and was suspended in the air like a ghost, that would be another matter.
The two stood in the center of the formation, their hearts itching as if a thousand cats were scratching them, and confusion and bewilderment like mountains kept rushing into their minds. Why did the marshal lose his body? Why did he possess a little girl? What were the specific identities of those people? Seeing several people standing at the entrance of the formation and talking endlessly, they even had the urge to run over and drag them over one by one.
But as proper leaders, Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan would never do such a rude thing, so they could only watch everyone standing at the entrance of the formation, praying in their hearts that Qingque, who was leading everyone, could bring everyone to them as soon as possible.
Chapter 4: The Pioneer's Thousand-Layered Routine (k)
Under the complicated looks of Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan, Qingque led everyone to the two of them with a smirk on his face.
"Master... Master Bu, although I haven't received your order yet, I... I will still help you bring the guests here first. Look, should I..."
Fu Xuan did not answer Qingque's words, but just stared at the translucent figure floating in the air.
Fu Hua pondered for a moment, then controlled her body that was floating in the air and landed gently on the ground. She turned her gaze in the direction of the store manager and remained silent.
To be honest, although Fu Hua was quite curious about this star-level civilization that was extremely similar to Shenzhou, she was not the type of person who liked to be in the limelight.
Compared to Kiana and Dr. Tesla, who could not calm down at all after arriving at the Immortal Boat, Fu Hua actually had no intention of emerging from Kiana's body at the beginning.
But before walking out of the door of the cafe, the manager told Fu Hua in advance to show herself in Xianzhou.
Although to some extent, the store manager was not afraid of Xianzhou Luofu, he had a close relationship with the predecessor of Xianzhou civilization after all. If it was not necessary, the store manager did not want to be an enemy of Xianzhou Luofu, so before visiting this place, he had already roughly determined his position.
And now that he has made plans to build a cooperative relationship with Xianzhou Luofu, there is no way the manager will allow the employees in his own coffee shop to have difficulty moving on this ark sailing in the sea of stars.
Although he could no longer remember the specific main storyline of the game called "Honkai Impact 3rd" that he had played before the time travel, based on his understanding of the game company he knew before the time travel, the factions and civilizations constructed with "that country" as the main background should not be in opposition to the protagonist "Xing" who was a first-person perspective.
Under this premise, obtaining proof of identity that allows free movement in Luofu becomes an extremely important matter.
The quiet atmosphere was finally broken by Jing Yuan. Perhaps he noticed something, and his expression changed from the original surprise and solemnity to a slightly lazy look. He smiled and raised his arm to gesture to Walter Yang, the person in charge of the Starry Sky Train: "It is worthy of being the legendary Starry Sky Train. I didn't expect that you have brought us such a big surprise after not seeing you for a few days. Can you help introduce it to us?"
Walter Yang nodded: "It is our fault that we failed to inform the general in advance. To be honest, the sudden visit of these friends was indeed beyond our expectations. I hope the general will forgive us."
"You're too kind. We are so grateful to have more friends come to help us. How can we be so ungrateful as to blame a few guests?" Jing Yuan smiled.
"Then let me introduce you." Walter Yang pointed his palm towards the store manager. "This is the store manager of a coffee shop with special abilities. By chance, the entrance to his coffee shop was connected to your Luofu..."
Halfway through his speech, Walter Young suddenly got stuck.
After realizing Ewalter Yang's predicament, Xing quickly spoke up: "In Xingcha Sea, at the end of Xuanye Avenue."
"Uh, yes, that's the place." Walter Yang coughed awkwardly.
"A coffee shop manager with special abilities... I see. What a unique and interesting identity." Jing Yuan touched his chin and turned his gaze towards the store manager. "May I know the store manager's name?"
"My surname is Yu, and my given name is Fan, which means smooth sailing." The store manager chuckled. "If General doesn't mind, you can just call me store manager like the other customers do."
Jing Yuan couldn't help but laugh: "You are indeed a strange man, but, pardon my asking, could this store manager be... a rememberer?"
Xing blinked her eyes, and suddenly seemed to realize something. She turned her gaze towards the store manager and said in surprise, "Yes, your cafe seems to be very similar to the Garden of Oblivion that suddenly appeared in the Starry Sky Train!"
"My activities regularly open new cafe doors for me in new maps, and I can also get new limited weapons..." As he spoke, Xing's eyes became brighter and brighter. "Manager, could it be that your cafe is like the messenger who opened an abyss for me on the train, a permanent activity where I can receive regular sign-in rewards?"
"...You just said the word 'abyss', right?" The store manager rolled his eyes and sighed, "First of all, I have to clarify one thing. I haven't given up my body. Although I do have the ability to travel between different worlds through memes and can modify people's memories on a large scale to a certain extent, these abilities do not share the same fate-based power system as your world, and have nothing to do with things like rememberers."
“It’s just that in terms of expression and use of power, what those rememberers can do, I can probably do the same.” The store manager spread his hands.
"You are more honest than I thought." Jing Yuan laughed, "However, since you can do something similar to the Rememberer, it also represents - Fu Qing?"
He lowered his gaze slightly, and the eye hidden by his fluffy bangs flashed with interest.
"Is this situation within your expectations?"
"Tsk..." Fu Xuan couldn't help but glare at Jing Yuan, and said in a voice full of resentment, "General, you should know very well that divination is not just empty talk. The Rememberer can use the power of memes to eliminate all traces. Even the Qiongguan Formation can only capture some clues when it is forced to operate at excess power. If you have doubts about the results of the divination, why not go directly to confront the Universal Lord of Wisdom?"
After stabbing Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan closed his eyes briefly, took a long breath, and then opened his eyes again: "Excuse me, everyone in the coffee shop, and this store manager, I am one of the Six Imperial Guardians of Xianzhou, Taibu Si Taibu, Fu Xuan. Since you all come with good intentions for Xianzhou, I should welcome you with imperial wine, but Tian, Di, and Yuan are not in the position, so I can only finish the current business first, and then find another opportunity to entertain you distinguished guests."
"...Mr. Fu, in front of all the customers who have come from afar, please speak in more understandable language." Jing Yuan supported his forehead with his hand and sighed softly.
"..." Fu Xuan was a little choked up, and couldn't help but glared at Jing Yuan again, but she also knew that now was not a good time to confront this unruly general, so she suppressed her unreasonable irritation and depression, and said: "I already know your ability that is very similar to the Rememberer. Although the information that the Qiongguan Formation can absorb includes all 'possibilities' from the past to the future, it is undeniable that even if the Qiongguan Formation spreads the sense of touch all over the world, it does have its own detection limit. Your presence is probably the best evidence."
"Under the influence of the star core and the 'unknowns', the accuracy of the Qiongguan Formation's divination has deviated by a full 8%. This has never happened since the Qiongguan Formation was built. Such a large deviation is impossible to repair in a short period of time. I will not allow such an error in the calculation results. Therefore, since this store manager claims to have power similar to that of the Rememberer, I hope you can serve in the interrogation work next."
Fu Xuan pursed his lips, and his tone sounded inexplicably aggrieved and unwilling: "I wonder if this store manager is willing to accept the commission of this seat - Xianzhou Luofu?"
"Interrogation?" The store manager blinked, confused for a moment, "Are there any wanted criminals locked up in this so-called 'Qianguan Formation'?"
At this moment, he suddenly felt someone gently pulling his sleeve.
He turned his head and saw that our always cool-faced pioneer had stood behind her without her noticing. For the first time, a hint of pleading appeared on his cool and handsome face, which was like a natural in the lesbian circle.
Different from his previous shameless request for weapons, after hearing Fu Xuan's request, Xing suddenly became a little restrained, as if his whole personality had changed.
"What's wrong?" The store manager was a little surprised and asked in a gentle tone.
Although he was unwilling to acknowledge this sinful "adopted daughter", it had to be said that as a character who had played a role in a certain game for a period of time before coming to this world, it was difficult for the store manager to really regard this handsome and somewhat contemptuous cold beauty as a stranger he had never seen before. So after seeing the pioneer lady suddenly showing such an uneasy posture, he subconsciously asked in the most gentle manner.
"..." Xing pursed her lips, and suddenly put her mouth close to the store manager's ear and whispered, "Um, dear godfather...the criminal caught earlier is my mother..."
"Why are you suddenly swearing?" The store manager was confused and couldn't react for a moment.
Xing quickly shook her head: "No, I mean... the prisoner is my mother."
"...?"
The protagonist of Mijia’s game actually has both parents?
Oh no, this seems to be a bit offensive to Kiana and Qiangwei...
Hiss, wait.
With a flash of inspiration, strange memories revived in my mind.
The store manager thought for a moment, then turned to Xing and whispered, "I don't remember much about your condition. Can you describe it in detail?"
"Actually, I don't remember much." Xingye lowered his voice, "It's just... I have a strange feeling that the woman who was detained here by Xiaoxiao Taibu should be a very important person to me."
"Female?" asked the store manager.
"Well, didn't I tell you, that's my mother?" Xing said.
"So now that you have a mother, why are you still calling me godfather?" The store manager was very upset. "Aren't you afraid that your mother will be angry?"
"She won't blame me." Xing shook her head and hesitated for a while. "Besides, compared to Kafka, I always feel that you, my godfather, will treat me better."
"Although you said you couldn't remember anything about me, you didn't hide anything from me or tell me riddles. You told me the whole story of our relationship when we first met. Moreover, you let me know part of the nature of this world and revealed the fact that 'you had played me in the past', so... I don't want to hide anything about me from you either."
"..."
The store manager looked as if he had a stomachache.
"No, even if you say such sensational words, it can't change the fact that you are going to blame all the things and conflicts on me." He whispered.
"Um...hey?" Xing laughed awkwardly.
"No, why do all of you know this trick? Aren't you afraid that Wendy will come and ask you for the licensing fee?!"
"...Oh, my dear godfather, please help me." Xing shook the manager's arm, "Don't use harsh force on my mother, okay? Okay~"
"Ahem." Fu Xuan coughed and grunted, his face darkening, "I say, you don't think we can't hear anything, do you?"
“emmmm——” The manager and Xing both looked somewhat embarrassed.
San Yue Qi blinked her big, clear eyes and muttered blankly, "Are the two of them really that close?"
"This store manager is a traveler who travels between different worlds. Perhaps he has met someone like Xing in one of these worlds." Looking at the store manager and Xing whispering to each other, Walter Yang showed a smile like an aunt's. "He knows Xing very well and knows how to get along with her. As for Xing's situation, you know, March. She has lost most of her memories. In this case, it is natural that she would instinctively want to get close to someone who is very familiar and willing to take care of her."
"That's true." Perhaps because "losing most of the memories of the past" resonated with San Yueqi, she nodded with some emotion, and looked at Xing with some envy in her eyes unconsciously.
It’s great to find someone who I can rely on with confidence.
People like this are probably the ones who are called relatives.
Here, March Seven and Walter Yang were lost in their own emotions, while on the other side, Fu Hua and Kiana, who had a deeper understanding of the store manager's nature, both had strange looks on their faces.
They looked at each other and saw a helpless look in each other's eyes.
Ah, it’s only been a few minutes since I came out, and the manager is flirting with girls again.
They thought to themselves.
After I go back, how should I explain to others what happened here?
Chapter 4: Heavy Soul (k)
When the beautiful lady who had taken off her light makeup was escorted by several Cloud Cavalry soldiers to the edge of the Qiongguan Formation, she almost immediately turned her gaze to several figures she had never seen before.
The beauty swept her gaze over the faces of Dr. Tesla, Kiana, Fu Hua, and the store manager in turn, and paused for a moment on Fu Hua, but finally kept her eyes fixed on the store manager's body.
"Is it you?" she said, "the one who took that child away from me."
"Don't slander someone out of thin air." The store manager rolled his eyes. "When did I kidnap the person next to you? She obviously came up to me on her own."
"..." The beautiful woman was speechless for a moment. Her face, which was still stunning even without makeup, now showed an expression of frustration as if she had something to complain about but couldn't express it.
She was silent for a long time. "You prevented the child from receiving Klipper's gaze. Logically, after she left the frozen planet, we should have tried to get you away from her. But while preventing her from coming into contact with 'Cunhu', you granted her the triple power of 'destruction' and 'abundance'."
She paused for a moment, then sighed softly: "...From a personal standpoint, even if I am not your opponent in strength, I should try to persuade you to stay away from that child, because your existence will not benefit her future and growth. But selfishly speaking, I don't want to interfere with the child's choice. After all, no matter what path she takes in the future, she can still reach the future chosen by Elio."
"In this process, making choices based on one's own will is probably the only freedom that child has left."
The store manager shrugged and said, "What's the point of you telling me all this? If you want to express your feelings, go and tell Xing slowly. I'm only here to help the Taibu who made a mistake in the Qiongguan Formation interrogate them. After I'm done, I still have to go to the food store to buy more."
"What an unromantic man." The beauty sighed again, "After all, he is my husband in name only. Can't you be a little gentler to your woman?"
"...Don't make trouble, I'm telling you." The store manager glanced at the helpless beauty, "The father-daughter relationship that this kid has been promoting has not even started yet. Besides, even if I really accept the role of foster father, it doesn't mean that we have any special relationship. I'm a family man, and I don't care if Xing calls you mom, but everyone should talk about their own affairs, don't try to find someone else to be your relative."
"I say, even if you two want to flirt, shouldn't you find a private place?" Fu Xuan couldn't bear to hear the conversation between the store manager and the beauty. "You two, one is a wanted criminal from Xianzhou who is about to be interrogated, and the other is a case solver who has been commissioned by us. You are flirting with each other in public like this. Aren't you showing disrespect to me and the general?"
"Haha." Jing Yuan's projection chuckled happily, "Don't be so nervous, Fu Qing, didn't you see? Although he didn't directly use the special ability similar to 'memory', the manager's interrogation began the moment the two sides met."
"Oh?" Fu Xuan frowned, "How do you know that? Why didn't I see that?"
"You can probably tell from their conversation that the Star Core Hunter has a deep relationship with the pioneer on the train. From Kafka's words, before arriving at the Immortal Ship, the Star Core Hunter's Elio, who could foresee fate, had somehow moved her future in a direction that would intersect with Butian Siming. However, this future that should have been destined was blocked by the manager of the cafe."
"This fact reveals two pieces of information. First, although the Star Core Hunters have some intersections with the Star Train, they have no relationship with the store manager. They and the store manager of the coffee shop are two parallel lines that have never intersected. Therefore, in this incident, compared with the Star Core Hunters and the Star Train, the store manager's position is the most neutral."
"Secondly, it's the same reason as how Taibusi's Qiongguan Formation lost its original accuracy after he appeared here. Even for Elio, the leader of the Star Core Hunters who claims to have seen all possibilities, the existence of this store manager is something he cannot observe or interfere with at will."
"Based on this characteristic, this store manager is bound to bring unimaginable trouble to the Star Core Hunter's future plans... and in fact, this trouble has already occurred. Therefore, the position of this store manager is bound to be at odds with that of the Star Core Hunter. They cannot stand on the same front."
"Don't be fooled by these two people who call each other husband and godfather all the time. They are very cunning and ruthless in private." Jing Yuan said with a smile, his tone full of admiration.
"..."
Hey, how come I didn’t know that this woman and I had just had such a deep fight?
The store manager blinked, and the look in his pupils was exactly the same blank and clear as Kiana's.
"So that's how it is." But obviously, Fu Xuan believed it. Although Jing Yuan was quite unreliable in his daily life, from a work perspective, Fu Xuan didn't think he was the kind of person who would do something aimless on such an important matter. "However, the positions of this store manager and the Star Core Hunter are destined to diverge. Why didn't he directly use the power that could interfere with the woman's memory, instead of having a verbal confrontation with her here? Isn't he worried that he would be bewitched by that guy's words?"
"This..." Jing Yuan was speechless. For a moment he felt like he didn't know how to help the store manager.
Because what I said just now was just to fool you, and I didn't feel any confrontation from the conversation between the two people - at this point, he couldn't say this directly, so he could only look at the store manager from a distance with helpless eyes, signaling him to get down to business quickly, and then finally said: "Maybe it's just the personal style of this store manager."
"..." The store manager was silent for a moment, "I am going to intervene in your memory. Is there anything else you want to say?"
The beauty smiled and said, "Then please ask this husband to personally witness his wife's fate."
"I've already told you not to try to be related to me..." The store manager shook his head, "...Forget it. I'm not interested in your story anyway."
He raised his hand and spread out his five fingers. The invisible field quickly spread out with the wanton flying imaginary feathers. The power of consciousness was fully stimulated. The invisible power fluctuations made the nearby air become heavy in an instant. Dazzling arcs of electricity flashed on the ground, and the spreading air waves lifted people's clothes.
Suddenly, a dazzling light flashed between the beautiful woman's smooth eyebrows. The light separated from her skin, and countless imaginary feathers swarmed towards it, and finally merged into the light that was almost real, forming a feather that was completely condensed into matter.
As the store manager stretched out his hand and waved gently, the feather slowly floated into his palm and quietly hovered in the air.
The beautiful woman's body trembled, her steps staggered, and she almost couldn't stand still. Rapid gasps came from her unmade-up lips.
Xing subconsciously took a step towards the beauty, but after a moment of silence, he did not go to her side.
"Huh... Huh... It really is... a lot rougher than I imagined." She panted rapidly, gritted her teeth with a dazed look in her eyes, and tried desperately to keep her body steady.
"No way. If you want to gain the trust of Xianzhou's people, you have to let them directly touch your memory." The store manager shrugged. "After all, I'm just here to buy goods and take a look at the fun of that bastard Lao Yang. I'm not interested in the confrontation between you and Xianzhou Luofu... I don't want to scream and scratch for a bunch of people who have nothing to do with me. That would make me look stupid."
"..."
