Chapter 245: Understanding

San Yue Qi's voice rose in pitch, "Is this not a dream?! Am I really here?! Where is this place?! Chang Ye Yue sister, why are you also here?! Shouldn't I be sleeping in bed?! Could I be sleepwalking?!"

She spoke at a breakneck speed, question after question, her expression shifting from confusion to panic, and her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her pajamas—a textbook "San Yue Qi‑style panic."

Heimu watched the scene and couldn't help raising a hand to rub his temples.

(Aha… you tossed San Yue Qi over as a "Servant"… the Train over there is probably blowing up by now, right?)

As Heimu's mind stormed, pondering how to untangle this mess—

"Madam,"

The system suddenly spoke, a new data stream flashing across its inverted cross‑shaped eyes, "You have a new message."

Heimu didn't turn his head: "What message? Say it quickly. Could there be anything worse?"

The system calmly reported: "Message source: Star Core Hunter, Kafuka. Encrypted channel, priority: High."

Heimu's movement halted.

The system continued: "Message summary: 1. Whether San Yue Qi's bizarre disappearance on the Starry Train is related to your side. 2. Inform that Black Tower has decided to go to Xianzhou Luofu together with the Train Group. 3. Request that you explain this and propose a 'solution' to avoid affecting the cooperation already reached between both parties."

Silence.

A silence that lasted five seconds.

Then—

"Ha…"

Heimu let out a short, helpless laugh.

She lowered the hand that had been rubbing her temples, her violet‑black eyes fixed on the still‑panicked San Yue Qi on the screen and the Chang Ye Yue with a "what now?" expression, glanced at the Kafuka message header, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Aha tossed a San Yue Qi over, Kafuka is coming to prosecute, and Black Tower still wants to go to Xianzhou…"

Heimu shook his head, his tone laced with resigned sarcasm, "My Repair Degree hasn't even reached 40%, yet the fun keeps coming to my doorstep one after another."

In the frame, Chang Ye Yue seemed to have already adjusted her mindset.

She spoke in a relatively calm tone (though a close look revealed a twitch at the corner of her eye) to San Yue Qi: "…In short, this is a place called Winterwood City. And you, due to some accident, have temporarily become my 'Servant'."

San Yue Qi: "Servant? What's that? Can I eat it? And why am I a Servant?! Shouldn't I be a Pioneer?!"

Chang Ye Yue: "…That explanation is a bit complicated. In any case, first find a pair of shoes to put on, and we'll talk later."

San Yue Qi lowered her head, glanced at her bare feet, and blushed: "Right, right! By the way, are there slippers here? Or maybe my shoes…"

"Your shoes should be on the Train."

Chang Ye Yue said expressionlessly, "I'll have A Xing look around this house for something you can wear now."

"Xing? Xing is also here?!" San Yue Qi's eyes widened.

Perspective shift.

Heimu stood before a massive curved screen, arms crossed, his violet‑black eyes fixed on the split display.

"Troubles…" she muttered softly.

Heimu rubbed his brow, "Aha's move of tossing San Yue Qi over saved us the effort of 'manufacturing a disappearance', but it also threw the problem straight onto the table. Kafuka can be placated, but Black Tower…"

She paused, her gaze sharpening.

"A true genius, an Intellect Command. She's following the Train to Xianzhou, not just for a casual look. She's interested in the soul‑exchange incident, San Yue Qi's disappearance, and the Star Core crisis on Xianzhou — and these three matters are, to varying degrees, connected to us."

The system calmly continued: "If Black Tower Lady conducts an in‑depth investigation on Xianzhou, combined with Bai Hang's activities in Luofu, the exposure risk will increase geometrically."

"We need to find a way to keep her from going to Xianzhou."

Heimu said bluntly, "Or at least, we must prevent her from moving freely on Xianzhou."

"Proposed Plan One,"

The system, without a ripple, proposed, "Utilize one of the remaining two Command‑level combat opportunities to forcibly translocate Black Tower across worlds, depositing her at a safe yet distant coordinate from which she cannot return to the Xing Tie Universe in the short term."

Heimu frowned, falling into silence.

The Command‑level combat power is one of her biggest remaining cards.

She had already spent one.

Two chances remain — she had originally reserved them for more perilous scenarios, such as facing Silent Lord Polka Kakam's pursuit, or handling major crises that could threaten the Golden Descendant's rescue plan.

Now to use one… just to distract Black Tower?

"Too wasteful."

Heimu finally shook his head, "Black Tower is troublesome, but not a life‑or‑death enemy. Spending one of our cards on a 'trouble' isn't cost‑effective."

The system stood quietly beside her, data streaming through its inverted cross‑shaped eyes.

After a few seconds, it spoke again: "Alternative plan: leverage the spacetime ripple generated when the Starry Train jumps. The Train will leap from its current coordinates to Xianzhou Luofu. If we intervene, we can transmit a specific target from the Train to a preset coordinate instead of the intended destination."

Heimu slightly frowned, "The opponent is a Command‑level entity; can it be that simple?"

"Not a forced transmission."

The system explained, "Shift Black Tower Lady's individual coordinates at the instant the jump completes, causing her to land inadvertently in a preset area. When two Command‑level beings meet, interaction naturally occurs, thereby delaying or even altering her journey to Xianzhou."

"Another co‑existent entity?"

Heimu raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The system pulled up an image.

On the screen emerged a black‑and‑white, vaguely shaped silhouette.

The background showed the wreckage of a burning galaxy.

Perspective shift.

Sakura Matou had actually woken up long ago.

When the jellyfish phantom gently placed her on this soft, clean bed, she had already regained consciousness.

Yet the animal‑like instincts honed over years in the Insect Lair made her feign sleep—eyes closed, breathing steady, body relaxed, but ears perked, catching every sound in the room.

And then, she heard a conversation between two unfamiliar women.

A voice was cool and calm.

Another voice was much livelier, its tone full of confusion.

"Servant? What is that? Can it be eaten?"

"…Simply put, you are my Servant. I am the Master."

"Master? It sounds like a title from some game… Wait, where exactly am I? Winterwood City? I've never heard of this planet!"

"It's not a planet, it's a city. On Earth."

"Earth?! Isn't that Yang Shu's hometown?! How did I end up here?! And why am I a Servant?"

"Because of some accident."

"Another accident… Have I been having too many accidents lately?"

Sakura listened to the dialogue, and her small mind filled with question marks.

Servant? Master? Earth?

Those terms were far too unfamiliar to her.

Yet she could sense that the lively sister seemed as lost as she was, while the cool sister knew something but explained it very vaguely.

(They… aren't bad people?)

Sakura quietly opened her eyes a crack.

She saw a woman in a black‑red dress holding a Black Umbrella, and a girl in pink pajamas with messy pink hair.

The two stood not far from the bedside; the pajama girl was looking down at the obviously ill‑fitting slippers on her feet, her expression a bit comical.

(That pink‑haired sister… looks so warm.)

A strange thought rose in Sakura's heart.

Unlike the cold of the Insect Lair, the gloom of Zang Yan's grandfather, or even the oppressive feeling from Uncle Yan Ye, the pink‑haired girl exuded a … sparkling aura that made one want to get close.

At that moment, Chang Ye Yue seemed to finish the topic and turned to mention some "basic knowledge."

"…You should possess basic Cognition about this world."

Chang Ye Yue said to San Yue Qi, "As a Servant of the current world, the Heroic Spirit Hall will grant the corresponding common sense."

"Common sense?"

San Yue Qi blinked, then suddenly shook her head, "Eh? Wait… it seems something really is emerging…"

She pressed her temples, her expression becoming a bit odd, muttering to herself: "Holy Grail War… seven pairs of Masters and Servants… fighting for the Holy Grail that can grant wishes… Command Spell… rank… magical power supply… wow, so much information!"