Inside the Divination Commission, Pei Guang was carefully organizing his backpack when he suddenly heard Fu Xuan's call, causing him to freeze for a moment.
"What happened? Is there an emergency? Did something go wrong with March?"
Fu Xuan, while maintaining the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, retorted, "You sure know a lot already. March 7th's memory was interrupted by an unknown force after she recalled the Space Station."
Pei Guang: "No need to explain further. Just tell me what to do next."
Fu Xuan: "Come here. I'll send your consciousness into the matrix. Your existence barely affects it—honestly, unless I actively divine you, it doesn't even bother acknowledging you. You're the perfect fit to go in."
Pei Guang: "Understood."
Without another word, Pei Guang immediately approached the Matrix of Prescience Ultima. Fu Xuan was about to begin the process of sending his consciousness inside, but then she saw something that left her utterly shocked—
Pei Guang had already entered the Matrix of Prescience Ultima.
Fu Xuan: "...What?"
From the side, Stelle casually waved her hand and said, "No need to be so surprised, alright? This is just one of Ah Guang's quirks. He can literally step into system-generated worlds and complete missions with us."
Back when Pei Guang entered the Simulated Universe, he physically stepped inside. Herta later explained this to the entire crew, and no one found it particularly shocking.
Stelle simply remarked, "Classic Ah Guang—easily pulling off things we'd never be able to do," and moved on.
But Fu Xuan? She was utterly baffled.
Fu Xuan sighed. "Forget it, forget it. At this point, the more I try to understand, the more confused I get. I just hope he doesn't break my Matrix of Prescience Ultima. If he does, I'll be heartbroken."
Stelle waved dismissively. "Ah, Ah Fu, you're too nervous. Think about it—who went in? It's Ah Guang. If he really breaks it, you should be happy."
Fu Xuan: "Why would I be happy?"
Stelle, with a completely serious yet wise expression, responded, "If he actually breaks it, just send him a mission to fix your matrix. Trust me, within a few days, he'll have it repaired and probably upgraded, too.
"And besides, you don't have to worry. Ah Guang might have a terrifying sense of destruction, but at the same time, he has an incredibly good heart. Ever since we met, he has never truly damaged something valuable or important to others."
Fu Xuan thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it… back when you all ransacked the Divination Commission, all we lost were food, drinks, and some broken components. Meanwhile, all our documents and records were actually organized and properly handed back to the right people.
"But honestly, that's why I hesitate to ask him for help sometimes. The moment I send him a mission, he'll go all in and give it his absolute best. It almost feels like I'm taking advantage of him."
Stelle shrugged. "You overthink things too much. Ah Guang's heart? It's simple. You treat him well, he treats you well. You see him as one of your own, he sees you as one of his own. You love him? He loves you."
Fu Xuan: "Wait, doesn't that sound a little off?"
Stelle gave a big thumbs-up. "Not off at all!"
At that moment, Stelle's eyes shone with wisdom. Reflecting on her journey with Pei Guang, she realized that if she hadn't met him, she probably wouldn't even talk this much.
But before she could continue, Fu Xuan's expression suddenly changed.
"Wait! The Matrix of Prescience Ultima is reacting abnormally!"
The abnormal feedback from the matrix immediately put Fu Xuan on high alert. But when she turned her attention to the situation, she was left utterly stunned.
The reason?
The Matrix was reporting that Pei Guang had allied with the Garden of Recollection.
Fu Xuan: "Wait, what?! What the hell happened? How did he end up working with Garden of Recollection?! …Hold on, can I reach March 7th now?"
To outsiders, it seemed like Fu Xuan and Stelle had been chatting for a while, but in reality, she had always been keeping an eye on March 7th's condition. She had only been momentarily distracted by Stelle's words, and in that brief instant—
The Matrix of Prescience Ultima had recovered, and Pei Guang had charged straight toward Garden of Recollection.
Fu Xuan had no idea what had just transpired, but since she could now reach March 7th, she immediately tried to make contact.
"March! March! Can you hear me?!"
Inside the Matrix, March 7th quickly responded, "I can hear you! Fu Xuan, let me tell you—something really terrifying just happened."
Fu Xuan: "What happened?"
March 7th: "I was just in the place where I met Ah Guang and Stelle for the first time… and then I ran into Ah Guang again. And then—"
—A few minutes earlier, when March 7th had lost contact with Fu Xuan—
"Master Diviner? Can you hear me? Ah Fu???"
There was no response.
March 7th's tone became uneasy. "Fu Xuan isn't responding… This is starting to feel really creepy."
She nervously glanced around. Though she was curious about what was going on, being alone made her feel seriously uncomfortable.
After calling out a few more times without any answer, she swallowed hard. "Guess I have no choice… I'll have to handle this on my own. Oh! But Ah Guang is here, so I'm all good!"
She had spotted him—at the far end of the containment chamber.
There, a memory fragment of Pei Guang stood, talking with Stelle.
With a bright smile, March 7th cheerfully approached and called out, "Ah Guang, it's me—your adorable March! I need your help~"
Right now, March 7th was absolutely overjoyed.
In the last two memory sequences, Pei Guang had been there to assist her. This had only deepened her trust in him.
She wasn't sure whether this reliance was a good or bad thing…
But what she did know was that if Pei Guang was here—then everything would be fine.
However, the moment she stepped forward—
Both Pei Guang and Stelle fragments turned their gazes toward her.
As soon as the memory-version Stelle spoke, she said, "You are a Nameless traveler."
The memory-version Pei Guang followed, "March 7th, stop recalling your past. Is there any need to revisit those forgotten memories? The fact that you've already left them behind means they were never important to you."
The memory-version Stelle spoke again, "The moment a Nameless steps onto the Astral Express, it signifies a new beginning. The path before us is one we will never turn back from."
The memory-version Pei Guang added, "Together, we will move toward the future and shape a new one for ourselves."
"Enough!!!"
March 7th glared furiously at the two figures before her. "Stop talking. You are not him, and you are definitely not Stelle. You are nothing like them. Stelle would never be so aggressive, and Ah Guang would never try to convince me to give up on something that matters to me. I don't care who you are—disappear right now, move aside, and stop pretending to be my friends!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the memory-versions of Pei Guang and Stelle prepared to attack her. Seeing this, March 7th firmly drew her weapon.
To her, these two were absolutely not her real companions, her friends, or the people she relied on in her heart.
Even though Stelle could be a bit clueless at times, she would never stop her from searching for her past.