Chapter 50

Chapter 50: We're the Main Characters

Cangcheng moved fast. Wangshu had expected at least one night in a military camp — some kind of pre-battle rally, at minimum?

Yet barely two hours after his conversation with the Foxian strategist Jiye, he was already aboard a sleek, covert Cloud Knight scout vessel.

The ship was compact, its lines streamlined, its interior tight and efficient. In operation, it produced only a deep, low hum.

It sounded like a suicide squad, but Jiye — the Foxian he'd gotten along with — was right there beside him, the warmth in his face replaced by something sharp.

"Mustering the four Cloud Knight divisions takes time — they won't arrive until tomorrow. Wangshu, we need to slip onto Rahu undetected and assess the real situation."

"What about the scouts?"

Wangshu didn't understand. This didn't sound like his kind of mission.

"The one who crashed into your courtyard two nights ago was the only one who came back alive. The rest keep sending routine messages, but every time they're asked to return for debriefing, some urgent report conveniently interrupts."

Wangshu: ...

He fell quiet for a moment. The long-life species from Jing Yuan's storyline came to mind. His tone was certain: "Marionette Octopi."

Mind-hijacking. Seamless infiltration into any group — without increasing the headcount. Then rapidly converting other species into their own nesting grounds.

Jiye: ...

"What's that?"

Genuine confusion and bewilderment crossed his face.

"A long-life species."

Wangshu saw Jiye's reaction and paused himself.

Jiye was silent for several seconds, his gaze complex as he reassessed Wangshu. Then he offered: "...Wangshu, you really might be from the future. At the very least, in this era, there are no records of Marionette Octopi."

Wangshu had no words. He felt even more suspicious now — spouting off about a long-life species the Xianzhou hadn't even documented yet.

At this moment, Jiye was starting to think he'd made a bad bet. He might be on his way to a glorious martyrdom.

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "@Jingliu, Senior — what Star Calendar year were Marionette Octopi first documented and widely known on the Xianzhou?"

Jingliu: "Sigh, I keep telling you to read more and you never listen. Let me think."

Jing Yuan — where was Jing Yuan?

But before she needed to ask, another expert in the group had already answered.

Herta██: "Star Calendar Year 6296. Yaoshi imbued a new long-life species: the Marionette Octopus. Specializes in hijacking minds, consuming bodies, and expanding its colony. Due to its unique nature, it was first discovered in Year 6600 and had its weakness publicly revealed by Cloud Knight soldier Jing Yuan in Year 7212."

Herta██: "Oh, don't ask how I know this level of detail. It's all from the Iron Tomb's basic biological threat archives."

Wangshu: "Boss~ you're so reliable."

Jingliu: "..."

She had a vague feeling her senior status was being undermined.

Xing: "So what's the current status of the Iron Tomb?"

Herta██: "The tin can crashed trying to crack the chat group."

Herta██: "I've been gradually reclaiming the processing power. Its chances of cracking the chat group are now zero."

In fact, even at full computational capacity, the Iron Tomb had failed. After Herta woke and began siphoning back resources, the prospect became even more impossible.

Wangshu: "..."

Herta██: "Kid, if you have something to say, say it. Stop with the ellipses."

Wangshu: "I was just curious — Ms. Herta, does this mean you've been forced into self-coronation?"

Herta██: "Ha — haha..."

Asta: "What a cold joke."

Asta knew about the coronation. Ms. Herta had told her about it before — a uniquely critical threshold among Erudition Path walkers...

The most notable example being Emperor II.

Herta██: "From a results standpoint, yes — I've been coronated. It seems the tin can scared even the Tin Head this time. Emperors I and II threw everything they had at the barrier and never broke through. This time, the Tin Head didn't even try to stop it."

Herta██: "But kid — where did you learn about this? Marionette Octopi, coronation — these aren't common knowledge."

Erudition Path walkers often didn't mix well with those on other Paths.

The Erudition side did have Path energy and could stir Imaginary tides, but those who truly excelled on this Path relied on science — in this philosophical universe, a road carved through physical law.

Like Herta's method of rejuvenation — nearly impossible to replicate, because others couldn't comprehend the world through Herta's eyes.

Screwllum had once remarked: Herta's reverse-aging involved the reversal of energy, the flow of time, and extremely demanding real-world conditions. Without walking a certain distance on the Erudition Path, an ordinary person couldn't withstand it.

Asta helped explain: "Wangshu is a transmigrator. His original timeline is very far along — he even knows things like Xing ascending to become Akivili."

Herta██: "Who? The Stellaron kid?"

Xing: "Me?! You're joking!"

Wangshu: "I'm not entirely sure either. But in my timeline, the Erudition Aeon was furious at the Express's Xing — kept shouting 'Akivili' along with a bunch of censored words. Scolding while enduring Xing's Trailblaze journey. This was pretty widely known before I transmigrated."

Xing: "..."

In Pier Point, Xing clutched her chest and slowly slid from her custom office chair to the floor, kneeling. Expression pained. So the prophecy she'd dismissed — in the end, she was supposed to become the Trailblaze Aeon? Was that right?

Was it too late to change her mind?

And — had she already lost her qualification to become the Trailblaze Aeon?

Herta██: "The Tin Head didn't kill this Stellaron kid?"

Wangshu: "I don't know either. But I've heard that everyone looked forward to Xing's growth. Only when Trailblaze set sail again could the universe avoid destruction."

Xing: "Then why didn't anyone tell me?"

Wangshu: "Because Trailblaze has to be spontaneous, I guess."

Xing: "Sorry. I'm feeling a bit awful. Going offline."

Herta██: "Sounds like a bad joke. The kind only the Fools' Gallery could come up with."

Wangshu: "Smile.jpg"

Jingliu: "In the prophecy's ending — does the world she saves include the Abundance Aeon?"

Wangshu: "...It should."

Jingliu: "Oh. Then it doesn't matter."

March 7th: "Can we really just... not care about this?"

March 7th: "Also, I've been pressing Xing for nearly a minute now. Why won't she admit she's the Trailblaze Aeon?"

Wangshu: "I honestly think it's fine. Like the Senior said — we've been brought together across time and space by fate. Doesn't that make us the biggest wild card in the universe?"

Wangshu: "Instead of pinning our hopes on a prophecy, why not work together and change everything ourselves?"

Wangshu: "We're the main characters!"

Jingliu: "A swordsman should carry this kind of conviction. Rather than entrusting your fate to someone else, believe in your companions — and the sword in your hand."

Asta: "Wahhh, but what about my side? I'm the one who made Xing stay! I never signed up for the pressure of saving the universe..."

This was truly enormous pressure now. Asta — why couldn't you keep your hands to yourself?!

Wangshu: "..."

Herta██: "..."