Chapter 117: Oddities

Star Dome Train·Observation Carriage

Dan Heng sat alone on the sofa, gazing at the vast Star Sea outside the window, his brows slightly furrowed.

It wasn't until Walther's voice sounded beside him that his thoughts were interrupted.

"Dan Heng, you look so preoccupied—did you discover something yesterday?"

Walther sat opposite him, holding a steaming, misty CoffeeCup, his tone gentle.

He had previously asked Dan Heng to keep a closer eye on Xinghe and San Yue Qi's recent condition, since the two young companions' recent states were indeed worrisome.

Dan Heng snapped back to attention and clearly recounted to Walther everything he saw and heard outside the Party Carriage yesterday, including the black‑red‑skirted girl who looked strikingly like San Yue Qi yet had a very different aura, and the vague conversation between them.

Walther listened, his brows gradually tightening; he pushed his glasses and said, "A girl identical to San Yue Qi... have you checked the train records?"

"Checked it."

Dan Heng nodded, "Train Captain Pam is certain that, aside from us, there are no records of any outsiders boarding recently."

Walther fell silent for a moment, his fingertips lightly tapping the CoffeeCup wall, and mused, "To appear on the train so silently, even evading Pam's perception... Dan Heng, what do you think?"

Dan Heng lifted his eyes and uttered a concise, powerful term: "Rememberer."

"Followers of Floating Dawn..."

Walther repeated softly, his expression even more solemn, "Indeed, as far as we know, only the Rememberer could possibly achieve this. Yet why are they contacting San Yue Qi? What is their purpose? All of that remains unknown."

He sighed, "Good work, Dan Heng. As for San Yue Qi... I'll speak with her personally later."

Then Walther shifted tone, asking with concern, "And Xing? She seems lately... not in a very good mental state?"

When Xing was mentioned, Dan Heng's expression briefly went blank; he fell silent, and an uncontrollable mental replay of last night surfaced—Xing, with a solemn face, searching beside him for a "second Dan Heng" in an abstract scene.

He took a deep breath, ultimately shook his head, and concisely assessed, "She... needs rest."

Walther, seeing Dan Heng's rare exhausted expression, couldn't help but sigh again, raised his hand to rub his temples, and said, "Ah, I understand. As for Xing Na, have Jizi look after her more."

Outside San Yue Qi's room

A moment later, Walther found San Yue Qi in her own room, trying a new hairstyle in front of a mirror.

"Uncle Yang? Do you need something?"

San Yue Qi set down the comb in her hand, her powder‑blue eyes turning toward Walther.

Walther arranged his words, opting for an indirect approach, and gave a gentle elder's smile, "Xiaosanyue, lately you seem often lost in thought alone, and you don't go to bed early at night. Is there something on your mind, or... have you met someone special?"

He deliberately emphasized "someone special" hoping to coax San Yue Qi into mentioning that "older sister."

However, San Yue Qi clearly interpreted it in a completely different direction.

She froze for a moment, then two red clouds quickly rose on her face, her gaze fluttered, her fingers unconsciously twined the hem, and her voice became as thin as a mosquito's, "Sp‑special person? Uncle Yang... why are you asking this all of a sudden? Did you discover something? Actually... actually there's nothing! It's just... it's just..."

The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, her head drooping, a wholly shy picture of a girl's secret being unexpectedly pried open by an elder.

Walther watched her reaction, his heart thudding, feeling the conversation veering off course, yet he tried to steer back, "What I mean is, if there's someone... hmm, someone who looks a lot like you, who said something to you, or..."

"Hey! Uncle Yang, stop guessing!"

San Yue Qi snapped her head up, her face flushed like a ripe apple, tone coquettishly indignant, "I—I know you all care about me! But some things... aren't convenient to say right now! Let me... let me sort them out first, okay?"

She looked at Walther, her gaze turning a bit odd.

Walther: "..."

(Wait, San Yue, did you misunderstand something?)

He watched San Yue Qi, wholly lost in her thoughts, opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words that reached his lips.

He helplessly pushed his glasses, feeling this conversation had... completely failed.

"Fine, since you say so... then manage your own limits, and if you need any help, feel free to call on us."

Walther left San Yue Qi's room with a hint of fruitless defeat.

After the door closed, San Yue Qi patted her flushed cheek, muttering softly, "Uncle Yang, really... why the sudden concern? Did he see me meeting the 'older sister'? Hmm... I'll have to be more careful next time!"

Past World Paradise·Central Hall

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside Letu dropped to freezing point due to the news Kevin brought.

"Su... also disappeared?"

Yidian's voice trembled slightly as she looked at Kevin, "What exactly happened?"

Kevin's gaze swept over every present hero, including the newly arrived Ying and Pa Duo, his voice still cold and steady yet bearing the pressure of an impending mountain storm, "He and A Bo Ni Ya were inspecting the Letu border traces together. A Bo Ni Ya reported that Su's signal vanished completely in an instant, without any warning. Afterwards, A Bo Ni Ya chose to continue probing deeper and is temporarily unreachable."

A disappearance in an instant... even Su couldn't react or give any warning.

This news sank everyone's hearts.

It meant the enemy's danger level might far exceed expectations.

Mei Bi Wu Si's serpentine eyes flashed with cold light, "An instant... erasure or shielding?"

Wei Er Wei crossed her arms, finger pointing at her chin, "Wow, even Tianhui fell this time? It's getting more interesting... though that 'interesting' might mean we're not far from a collective 'disappearance'."

Kevin ignored their chatter and began reassigning orders, his voice unquestionable, "Situation changed, strategy adjusted. Ying, you and I will pair up to patrol Letu's core data."

A Xing, playing Ying, immediately nodded.

"Understood."

Kevin's gaze shifted to the trying‑to‑stay‑low Pa Duo, "Pa Duo, follow Mei Bi Wu Si Bo Shi, assisting her with data sampling and basic analysis."

"Pa Duo" showed a slightly fearful expression, "O‑okay! Boss Kevin! Snake sister, please guide me!"

Mei Bi Wu Si glanced at her, gave a noncommittal soft hum, but his gaze clearly warned, "Don't cause trouble for me."

Heimu, hiding inside Pa Duo's shell, perfectly playing the coward while the little imp inside him rubbed his hands excitedly:

(Close contact with Mei Bi Wu Si! The chance has come!)