Chapter 130: Answering Doubts

"Yes, lady?"

Xi Lian immediately replied.

"I'll tell you a story," Heimu said, his tone sounding ordinary.

"A story?" Xi Lian blinked curiously, "What kind of story?"

Heimu didn't answer right away, but patted his gray‑stockinged, gracefully‑shaped legs and said in an unmistakable tone, "Standing and listening is tiring; come over, sit here."

"Huh?"

Xi Lian's cheeks instantly flushed a thin pink; the request clearly exceeded her expectations.

She looked at Heimu's neutral expression, then at the legs that seemed relatively "safe," and felt inner turmoil.

(This… isn't that… not good? Too… too intimate…)

After hesitating repeatedly, under Heimu's slightly playful gaze, Xi Lian finally, with a reddened face and lowered head, took tiny steps forward, then, extremely carefully, sat only half on Heimu's thigh.

Heimu watched her shy and unresisting demeanor, and his smile deepened.

Heimu extended a hand, naturally wrapping around Xi Lian's slender waist, pulling her closer to his chest so she could sit more securely.

"!"

Xi Lian's body instantly stiffened like a piece of wood, holding her breath, her cheeks scorching hot.

Heimu ignored her rigidity, and with his other hand elegantly stretched forward, as if turning an invisible page in the void.

As she moved, ripples spread through the space ahead, and scene after scene began to appear—cities unlike those of the Xing Tie Universe, silhouettes of battle, radiant shining girls, and endless calamities…

With a faint, distant voice, it softly sounded in Xi Lian's ear, a warm breath brushing her earlobe:

"This is a… story about a group of brave people who, to protect the 'beauty' of the world they love, continuously fight and sacrifice, and ultimately… leave countless regrets and hopes behind."

Xi Lian's attention gradually became drawn to the flowing world before her, and her body's stiffness, under the gently narrated voice, unknowingly relaxed, and she lightly leaned against Heimu's embrace.

Past World Paradise·Central Hall

The grand hall that once bore countless memories and trials now exudes an almost stagnant silence.

Thirteen Ying Jie are mostly gathered here.

There is no sharp rivalry of old, nor familiar teasing; a shared bewilderment is written on each uniquely styled face.

Logically, they shouldn't still exist at this moment.

Whether the data were completely erased or the consciousness fully devoured, the outcome should be "nothing."

Yet they "awoke," not in their familiar realms, but intact, gathered in this core hall.

Letu continues to run slowly.

Kevin stood at the front, his icy‑blue eyes still cold, but more vigilant.

His clenched fist's knuckles were slightly pale, as if still feeling the illusory weight of the calamity.

Mei Bi Wu Si toyed with a strand of his ink‑green hair, his serpentine pupils flashing with extreme displeasure: "Truly… an interesting experience. The data were completely shattered and reconstructed, yet still retain a complete self‑awareness… This isn't something 'Corrosion' can explain. Whose 'collection' have we become, huh…"

Her laugh carried an icy texture.

Qianjie irritatedly tugged at his hair, his voice beneath the Mask muffled, yet less violent than usual and more confused: "Never‑ending! We've beaten, we've burned, what the heck was that thing at the end?! What does this now count as? A locked confinement?!"

Ailixiya gently touched the slightly different data stream at the hall's center, her blue eyes tinged with worry yet still striving to keep a smile: "At least everyone is still here, right? Though the situation is strange… it's still better than a complete farewell, right?"

Pa Duo clutched her chubby cat canned food, huddled in a corner, voice trembling: "We… we think, this place seems unchanged, yet everything feels changed… Canned food, do you feel the air has become much heavier? Have we been… 'packaged' by something far more terrible?"

Su slowly opened his eyes, his brows heavy: "It's neither illusion nor data regeneration. There's a… 'Rule' utterly different from our Cognition that shrouds this place."

A Bo Ni Ya whispered a prayer, eyes filled with compassion and a hint of enlightenment: "Fate's Line… severed here, yet continued here, pointing toward an unknown shore."

At that moment of rampant speculation and cluelessness, the data light flow at the hall's center twisted, coalescing into a petite figure.

Deep purple hair, violet‑red inverted‑cross eyes, dark‑toned attire adorned with skull decorations.

Her appearance instantly drew all Ying Jie's gazes—caution, curiosity, hostility…

The doll performed an elegant skirt‑lift gesture, voice steady yet oddly imbued with reverence:

"Respected Pursuing Fire Thirteen Yingjie, good day. I am called 'System,' and on behalf of my master—Black Curtain Lady—I have come to answer your doubts and clarify the current situation."

In an instant, all sounds vanished.

Gazes, like swords, focused on the doll that called itself 'System.'

Kevin spoke first, his voice cold as before: "'Black Curtain Lady'… is that the entity?"

"Exactly," System slightly nodded.

Mei Bi Wu Si narrowed his serpentine pupils: "Who is she? What purpose? Trapping us here—what does she intend?"

System answered calmly: "Black Curtain Lady's identity is complex. She was once one of the Extinction Great Lords; also a genius whose wisdom rivals the countless stars; and now, she is the re‑forged 'Emperor III.'"

This series of titles thrown out caused most Ying Jie to furrow their brows.

Qianjie: "Extinction Great Lord? Genius? Emperor III? What a mess! Speak plainly!"

Even the well‑versed Yidian gently swayed the wine cup that wasn't full, his golden eyes thoughtful: "'Extinction Great Lord'… 'Emperor III'… Sorry, System Miss, these titles are too unfamiliar to us."

System watched the crowd's bewildered expressions, seemingly having anticipated it.

It lightly clapped its hands.

"Clap!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound, before each Ying Jie, a simple‑looking booklet materialized out of thin air, its cover bearing the title 'Universal Trivia Even Fools Understand' and a goofy smiling face illustration.

"Waa!" Pa Duo was so startled she almost tossed the canned food from her arms, and the can let out a "Meow‑Awo" as its fur puffed up.

Ge Lei Xiu curiously reached out, poking the hovering book; his fingertip sent a ripple spreading outward.