Chapter 499: with translation of chapter title

"Don't speak in riddles!"

"Black Swan chuckled: 'Don't be impatient. I will reveal the answer… but now is not the time.'"

——

One-Punch Man

Hero Association headquarters, senior meeting room

"Only Star experienced the whole thing? What does that mean?"

The zombie man sitting in the corner slightly raised his head, giving the assembled people a puzzled look; however, aside from Drive Knight, Tongdi, and others, everyone else wore an expression that said, "Don't look at me, I'm clueless too."

Tongdi bit his lollipop, brows furrowing: "Literally speaking, aside from Star, everyone else dropped out mid-dream—or rather, they were affected. The only one who remained unaffected and went through everything is Star—probably also because of the Star Core resonating with Pinokangni's Star Core?"

"Influence… is Pinokangni currently still under its influence?"

"... Probably still is."

Recalling the company's unfathomable attitude, Professor Laatio's remarks that were completely out of character, and… the inexplicably announced postponement of the simulated universe, Tongdi felt that the most unbelievable things in the universe had all converged and exploded in Pinokangni, as if a star god had descended upon this land of dreams, and no matter which faction in the galaxy, they'd have to give it some face.

But what made Tongdi even more uneasy was the frequency of monsters appearing in reality.

Almost overnight, the frequency of monster appearances dropped by 47%, with tiger- and ghost-level monsters declining across the board, and the biological signals of the long-monitored dragon-level monsters vanished outright—this bizarre scene… Tongdi had never seen anything like it.

"How could this happen…"

Fewer monsters is naturally a good thing, but if the cause isn't clarified, it might not be. The Hero Association's higher-ups will inevitably cut the budget for hero activities on a large scale because of this, leading many A- and B-class heroes to quit, but if monsters then make a comeback… the safety of ordinary citizens would be unimaginable.

——

Pirate King

The dawn at Marine Headquarters training ground was shattered by a loud slogan. Vice Admiral Garp stood in the middle of the field with his arms crossed; before him, two young marine recruits were doing push-ups.

"998…999…1000!" Luffy leapt up, "Done!"

Beside him, Ace finished the last one slowly, stood up, and brushed off the dust on his hands: "Old man, today's training load is too light, right?"

Garp's mouth twitched. Not long ago, when these two brats showed up in his office in brand-new marine uniforms, he thought he was dreaming. In his memory, these two brats were pirates, and Ace had already died during the Summit War, but right now… Garp rubbed his eyes, unable to believe the two's presence.

"Ace, you aren't…" Garp's voice trembled, the last two words so soft they were almost inaudible, "dead…"

"Old man, what isn't?" Ace didn't quite hear, hands in his pockets, a puzzled look on his face.

"No, nothing…"

Garp reached out and pinched Ace's cheek; the feel of his freckled face was incredibly real, and beside him, Luffy was grinning so hard his eyes disappeared, still wearing that playful expression.

"Could this be a dream? But it's too real… could it be an illusion?"

Garp harbored doubts, but no matter how he sought proof, the two before him were the real deal.

"Could it be… that the Summit War was just a dream?"

Although no matter how he thought about it it seemed strange, but isn't all this before him exactly his dream? These two brats not only joined the marines, but were personally trained by him.

Garp quietly looked at the two, then suddenly asked, "Ace, Luffy… why did you suddenly decide to become marines?" He had been holding this question in his heart for a long time.

The two brothers' motions paused simultaneously, and Ace spoke first: "We can't just keep being wild kids at sea forever… and maybe this way we can better protect those we want to protect."

Luffy also rarely gave a serious answer: "Sabo said, as a pirate you can only save those right in front of you, but as a marine you can save more people."

"Is that so…" Garp felt something blocking his chest, sending a dull, heavy ache. He somewhat wearily found a chair and sat down, "After training, you two go to the cafeteria for breakfast; I… will come later."

Watching the backs of the two brothers, Garp again lifted his gaze to the sky and let out a deep sigh.

Indeed… it's an illusion.

These two brats… how could they say such things?

Although he didn't know what exactly happened in the heavens, Garp could almost certainly conclude that the power of fate had influenced his cognition, producing this illusion.

However, although he knows it's false, he still hopes this phantom dream can last a bit longer… he hasn't seen these two brats side by side in a very long time.

——

"Look back at your friends. Each of them is excited and cheerful about the next destination, full of anticipation for their present and future. If we reveal everything now, wouldn't that be a buzzkill?"

"At this moment, the conductor's voice came over the broadcast; the train is about to prepare for departure, and the conversation ends here. However, before parting, Black Swan wants to give Star a sentence, a sentence meaningful to herself."

"Life is a winding labyrinth; aside from memory, we have nothing." Black Swan smiled lightly, "You must definitely keep this in mind, okay?"

"For some reason, Star began to feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier… everything before him gradually turned blurry, only Black Swan's gentle whisper still echoed in his ears."

"Countless meteors streaked across tonight's sky… if you pick the right one, it will carry your wishes to thousands of worlds. You're feeling very relaxed now, right? Then…"

"Now, it's time to tell you a little bedtime story."

"Black Swan sat at the table, propping her chin with one hand as she flipped through a book; countless cards lay scattered before her, but she only selected two and placed them in front of her."

"First, let's state the conclusion: in the confrontation with Xingqiri, everyone in the Train Crew, and indeed all of Pinokangni, failed—no one survived. However, don't be nervous; although the facts are shocking, they haven't yet reached an irredeemable point. You still have a sliver of hope, and I am here precisely for that."

"Next, I will use this spacetime cone that records all your memories to retell everything that happened before. And when the story reaches its conclusion, I believe smart you will surely discover…"

"In the story you have personally experienced, there exists a fatal flaw—and that sliver of hope lies hidden behind that flaw."