CHIH 351-360 (Patreon)

[Chapter 351: Beware of the Bad Woman]As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.That very night, Bronie had a nightmare.Countless threads descended, completely controlling her body. Then she gradually lost all sensation; even being close to Ellie felt meaningless.Then, as if her mind had been subjected to cognitive rewriting, she gradually gave up thinking and became a puppet dancing under the threads of fate.She lost her own thoughts and lived a miserable life like Kars.The dream ended, and Bronie woke up with a start. Looking at the time, she was surprised to find it was already 10:00 AM."Looks like you've been a little tired lately...""What's wrong, Bronie?" Ellie, awakened by Bronie's movement, rubbed her eyes, still feeling a bit weary."Nothing, just had a nightmare. Probably got scared by Aponia's prophecy." Bronie shrugged, not taking the nightmare seriously. After all, she did dream sometimes, occasionally about the world, and a few times about being close to Ellie.While nightmares were rare, they weren't unheard of.Besides, after the Honkai eruptions, the zombies' appearance was quite frightening, and Bronie occasionally had related dreams, like zombie outbreaks."Pfft, I thought Bronie was usually fearless and that nothing could scare you~" Ellie found Bronie's explanation rather cute; she hadn't expected her to be afraid of fate.Is it that Bronie always overthinks things, or that she genuinely cherishes her current life and fears that happiness will slip through her fingers?Bronie once said that the smarter a person is, the more they fear happiness itself.Because smart people know that there is no such thing as eternal happiness in this world. Just like death, you will eventually face the day when happiness leaves.And the deeper you are immersed in happiness, the more painful it will be when you lose it.This is especially true for those with longer lifespans.So, will Bronie and Ellie have very long lifespans?If Bronie wanted to, extending her lifespan by several thousand years wouldn't be a problem. Perhaps she could even experience the demonic possession that only immortals can enjoy.But in such a long lifespan, who can say that happiness will never leave them?After figuring out Bronie's thoughts, Ellie quickly hugged her to comfort her."It was just a nightmare. I'll definitely help you if you have any difficulties!""Hmm..." Bronie had somewhat recovered from the nightmare and slowly got up to change her clothes."Mei has become interested in the Project Stigma. Since I said the Project Stigma almost severed the future of human civilization, Mei wants to investigate its nature. I tricked Mei into going to the Elysian Realm to investigate; it should create some good memories, right?""Hey! Bronie, that's not right of you!"Ellie heard that Mei was going to the Elysian Realm, which meant she would definitely have to leave the Far East."Hmm? What's wrong? Is there something you need to talk to Mei about?""If Mei leaves, won't I miss my chance to touch her horns?"Sure enough!Bronie knew it. Ellie seeing Mei's horns was like a cat seeing a scratching post.She would always go over and scratch them."There will be plenty of opportunities later. Besides, you touched the horns in the memory of Paradise, so doesn't that count as touching them? You can just synchronize the memories again later.""That's different!" Ellie gave Bronie a resentful look, making her laugh."Alright, alright, I'll ask Mei for you later. It's just horns. What can you feel when you touch them? They're just hard, aren't they?""You'll only know after experiencing it yourself! But let's put Mei aside for now. It seems you've been really busy lately, Bronie, even having nightmares. Shouldn't you take a good rest before working again?"Ellie knew that Bronie had recently obtained a large amount of experimental data, and processing it was a huge project. Otto would definitely be taking action soon, so Bronie wouldn't have much time to rest.If you think about it carefully, the backlog of tasks was increasing, and Bronie would become busier and busier. Last time she created Grand Theft Auto as a way to vent, but Ellie could still see that Bronie had put a lot of effort into it.Therefore, Bronie should definitely get more rest.Whether mentally or physically, if Bronie is pushed to her limits, Ellie is worried that her health will collapse.Ellie usually takes good care of herself. She has delicious snacks to enjoy, adorable Bronie to cuddle with, and she can confide in her lovely fans during her livestreams if she has any worries.But Bronie always instinctively tries to shoulder everything alone when faced with something.Given this tendency, Ellie naturally wants to observe Bronie's recent thoughts and future goals. She should be able to help her in some way, shouldn't she?"Of course I'm taking a break. It's all about work-life balance, right? But I'm too lazy to make games anymore. It seems like the Gurren Lagann event has caused quite a stir. I feel like countless eyes are watching me online; it's making me really uncomfortable. The employees at Haxxor Studio haven't stopped messaging me.""After all, the Gurren Lagann has appeared! You know, Anti-Entropy's Arahato didn't appear in public, but Bronie, your Arc Gurren Lagann is definitely seen in public!""That's true. What's most annoying is that so many wealthy people and politicians are coming to my door, wanting a ticket to the Arc.""Looks like everyone thinks you're an escapist~" Ellie understood that those wealthy people and politicians valued their lives above all else.Bronie, on the other hand, marked them. If these people could contribute to humanity's fight against the Honkai, she wouldn't mind letting them live.But if they are parasites of the civilization, then sorry. Bronie would definitely use the internet to create a spectacular accidental death for them.Hearing Ellie's statement, Bronie didn't explain anything. Instead, she analyzed, "After all, the Arc is a real thing, not some fake concept that only exists on a PowerPoint presentation. Perhaps some people think someone must have sponsored my construction of the Arc, otherwise there wouldn't be a physical object lar and similar as that. Besides, humans can hardly imagine things beyond their own understanding; they would never imagine that the Arc was built entirely by my own strength.""That's a very reasonable analysis~ This misunderstanding seems a bit hard to clear up, and it keeps bothering you. Is this the so-called price of showing off, Bronie?""How can someone with a 37-degree mouth say such cold things? Ellie, you're not cute at all!""What!? I'm not cute!?" Ellie was shocked and quickly grabbed Bronie's shoulders, making sure Bronie's vision included only her.Then Ellie shook Bronie violently and whined, "Look at me! What's not cute about me? My eyes? My nose? My ears? Or my mouth? It's my mouth, right? Why don't you taste it? It's sweet, so I'm not uncute!"A minute-long feeling of suffocation followed.After Ellie released Bronie, Bronie, slightly out of breath, said, "Ellie is the cutest person in the world.""Bronie's mouth is sweet too~""Next time I'll try eating some candy before... Okay, it's getting late. I'll clean myself up and go prepare lunch."Blushing, Bronie left the cozy room with Ellie. After changing into a little dress, she remembered the mask.How could she wear it to make it more fashionable?Would modifying the mask slightly affect its function?As if responding to Bronie's thoughts, the mask, which originally resembled an eye patch, emitted a pale blue light, and its overall shape began to change.A pure white rabbit mask, seemingly stained with blood, appeared in Bronie's hands."Good grief, am I supposed to use this to scare people? Isn't this the mask of the bunny mom from Dead by Daylight?!"Hearing Bronie's complaint, the rabbit face on the mask smiled as if agreeing with her."This style actually has a unique charm, and it matches my black stockings quite well. Today's outfit is a dark, landmine-themed look..."As she spoke, Bronie put on the mask, and a good idea suddenly popped into her head.She went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and rummaged through the food. Aponia usually stocked the freezer, but there were hardly any guests at Golden Courtyard today, so Bronie decided to make do with leftovers for lunch.She didn't want to do anything too complicated with the food preparation."Huh? Bronie, you two are finally awake? You've been making quite a stir lately. The internet is full of talk about your Gurren Lagann."Seele's voice came from behind. Bronie paused in her rummaging through the refrigerator, and a slight smile appeared on her lips beneath the mask.She opened the freezer drawer, took out a piece of raw meat, poured ketchup on it, and pretended to eat it."Bronie?" Seele noticed Bronie's strange behavior and felt uneasy.Then something red dripped onto the floor, and Seele immediately sensed something was wrong.Moreover, Bronie was making chewing sounds.Something's not right, very wrong!Is this really Bronie?"Hey! Seele, look at Bronie. What's going on?!" That was Black Seele, who was currently outside. She was only in the kitchen at this hour because she wanted some spicy snacks.But seeing Bronie's back, Black Seele immediately felt that something was amiss.White Seele remained silent, while Black Seele slowly approached Bronie.Her stiff movements resembled those of a death squad member. A crimson unidentified liquid emanated a foul odor, seemingly blood.Black Seele trembled as she reached out and then saw the face of the blood-stained rabbit mask slowly turn toward her."Wow!""Ahhhhh!""Hahahaha! Why is our bold Black Seele yelling so loudly today?""What are you doing, Sis Bronie?!"After dissipating the simulated bloody smell created by the etheric particles and putting the frozen meat back into the freezer, Bronie revealed what she was holding."I just saw some hot dogs and wanted to put some ketchup on them and heat them in the microwave~""But... but why...""Isn't your expression funny~""Damn it, you're totally teasing me!"Black Seele finally realized that it was pointless to be worried about Bronie getting hurt outside.Well, it's not really unreasonable that she thought of that. Bronie had mentioned to everyone that her body's resistance to Honkai energy wasn't very high.So Black Seele thought Bronie had become a zombie."Are you really concerned about my body? Don't worry, your Sister Bronie isn't that easy to turn into a suicide soldier! Imaginary energy and etheric energy constantly modify the body's strength to some extent; mere Honkai energy won't kill me.""I wasn't concerned about your body! I was just startled by your strange behavior! Suddenly doing these weird things for no reason is so strange!" Although the tsundere had retired, Bronie felt very satisfied seeing Black Seele like this."So everything will be alright! But speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be in school? Everyone else is in class. Why are you at home? Are you feeling unwell, or is there another problem with your Stigmata?"Seeing Bronie's concern, Black Seele was completely relieved and thought that Bronie was truly fine. So she replied, "Misteln suddenly pretended to be my parent and got me excused from school without my permission. She said she has a new understanding of Stigmata Forms and wants to do some experiments, saying they'll be effective against the Honkai...""I see... Then where is that person?"Bronie looked around but didn't see Misteln, which puzzled her.Why does that person appear and disappear like Batman?Right, she doesn't have parents yet."I don't know. After bringing me back, she seems to have temporarily left for some work. She said the Stigmata Space can be used for teleportation to some extent. If I gain that ability someday, maybe I can even transport supplies on the Honkai battlefield!""Then Seele, I have to remind you: Misteln isn't human. She has human experience, human memories, and human stories, but she doesn't understand human emotions. Be careful around her. Before we resolve the Honkai, we and Misteln are destined to be enemies.""Huh?"Seele never expected that Sister Misteln would be an enemy in the future. Could it be that she would defect to the Honkai?"Anyway, just remember this: be careful not to be fooled by bad women and end up counting money for them. I'm planning to make a new anime soon, so I'll be staying home. If you have any decisions you're unsure about, just contact me or Ellie. If Misteln dares to lay a hand on you, remember the amulet I gave you? Just throw it out!"---[Chapter 352: Chapter 351 New Project in Progress]This time, Bronie had no intention of making games.After all, game development is quite troublesome and requires a lot of effort no matter what.Although Bronie usually used game development as a way to relax, this time was different.With Gurren Lagann at full power, coupled with the Ether Energy constantly increasing her output limit, Bronie estimated it would take her about a week to recover.Therefore, Bronie set her sights on anime, something that required far less effort.Making anime is simple: imagine the visuals, create the storyboard, refine the details, and leave the voice acting to others.Having worked on Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Gurren Lagann before, Bronie felt that this time, a more inspirational and action-packed storyline would be better.There definitely wouldn’t be a Homu.But the anime industry seemed to be developing quite rapidly. It seemed that after Puella Magi Madoka Magica sparked a wave and Gurren Lagann sparked another, fierce competition had taken over the market. It was as if anything that couldn’t reach the level of an outsider like Haxxor was considered garbage.Arahato had also started to follow the path of Super Robots.The plot wasn’t going to be overly deep anymore; as long as it was entertaining, that was enough.The new protagonist and pilot weren’t overly sentimental either.It had some of Trigger’s signature action-packed spirit. Bronie thought it was pretty good after watching it, reminiscent of Gundam-style anime.Memories of the past always tend to be embellished to appear more positive, so when Bronie saw Arahato, she subconsciously thought it wasn’t as good as the Gundam series.But Gurren Lagann was already finished, and Bronie couldn’t just keep making it. So what kind of anime should she make next?Something lighthearted?Something action-packed?Or something with cute girls?“Maybe I should just do it all!”“What?”Hearing Bronie’s mutterings, Ellie immediately became interested.“Magical girl?”“Another one like Madoka Magica?”“One Madoka Magica is enough. Or do you like watching those copycat anime, Ellie?”Bronie remembered that after Madoka Magica came out in her previous life, a whole bunch of copycat anime appeared. There were all sorts of dark and tragic magical girl anime with elements like infighting and the Hunger Games. Bronie watched them once and never wanted to watch them again.Besides leaving a slight impression, the main feeling was that it was a waste of time.Magical girls are indeed cute, but the idea of them killing each other for their own wishes is a bit boring.“No way! Following trends is pointless; it lacks the essence. Besides, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is supposed to be a story about love, not about killing each other!”“It feels a bit like a demon’s lair. Looks like you’ve recommended Madoka Magica to quite a few people...”“Hehe~” Ellie decided to use cuteness to get away with it, and Bronie smiled too.“The earliest themes of magic were things like Warhammer Fantasy and Lord of the Rings, which later gave rise to worldviews like Harry Potter. Magical girls didn’t exist from the beginning, so this time I want to go back a bit.”“Huh? Back a bit? Like a witch?”“A little witch, a little witch! There have been witch hunts before, but that’s just a matter of style! Like this!”Bronie picked up a pen and quickly sketched a cute Akko on the paper. Her expressive face had a style reminiscent of Gurren Lagann.But the tall witch’s hat and the relatively conservative robe gave the immediate impression that she was indeed a witch or sorceress.“She’s so cute.”“Our protagonist, Akko! An overly lively and brave girl, and a bit of a fool.”“A fool~” Ellie gave Bronie a subtle look.“This kind of setup is naturally meant to showcase the richness of the characters’ personalities and, to some extent, to drive the plot forward. Besides, the ‘hot-blooded idiot’ trope is usually something only protagonists have, right?”“Bronie really likes the ‘hot-blooded idiot’ trope~” Ellie sometimes wondered whether Bronie herself was like that or if she simply liked that kind of person.How many hot-blooded idiots could Bronie have around her?She did have a little kitten who was easily hot-blooded.Kiana was probably that kind of child.“Emotions are contagious. When a decent and positive protagonist is created, the audience will be affected. Although I don’t know exactly how big this influence will be, as long as it exists, it can provide positive guidance.”“I see~”“However, most viewers will probably just smile knowingly when they see Akko’s story, but as long as they can smile, I’m happy!”As she spoke, Bronie drew the next few characters simply, then continuously added details and actions through the Creation System.A lifelike anime character appeared in Bronie’s hands.“What kind of story will it be?” Ellie asked expectantly, but Bronie didn’t want to spoil too much and ruin the fun for her.So Bronie replied, “Your belief is your magic, right?”“Wow, that’s so romantic! No, no, isn’t this just like a magical girl?!”Magical girls love this kind of declaration. Things like “Your belief is your magic” have a distinctly childlike feel to them.“Hmm, it does have a magical girl feel to it, but it’s actually just a witch!”“A witch is a grown-up magical girl or something? Don’t play that kind of joke on me, okay?”“Not a witch like Madoka Magica, but a proper witch. Don’t worry. Remember what I like? Giant robots, drills, rockets, and then gathering the power of bonds to overcome difficulties together. That’s human romance!”“Since you said so, I’ll definitely believe you! If you can draw such a cute female protagonist and the story isn’t good enough, I’ll make you cry!”“Make me!?”“Look, after all, drills, giant robots, rockets—are these really things that should be in the Little Witch Academia you’re about to create?!”As expected, Ellie noticed something amiss.But there was nothing she could do about it. A person’s romance is a drill!Even now, in the games and anime she had made, there were scenes with drills or giant robots, and even Undertale had hidden these elements as Easter eggs.What’s wrong with that?“A plagiarist has to add their own personal touches to make it interesting!”“Such romantic things—it wouldn’t be Haxxor's style if they weren’t included!”“Ah... that actually makes sense...”“Right! Even in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, you occasionally see familiars piloting giant robots wielding drills, right?”“Those fleeting shots—viewers usually don’t care, right?”I haven’t seen many people discussing this online, but everyone knows Haxxor likes robots and drills.Titanfall, Apex Legends, and other games always have those kinds of Easter eggs.Of course, players don’t mind them.“Exactly! So it doesn’t matter if Little Witch Academia has these elements, right?”“Right, right?” Ellie tilted her head.She was almost fooled.“Yes, yes! Just look forward to it! Twenty-five episodes, two episodes a day, plus voice acting—that’ll take about three weeks, right? That’ll be enough time for me to rest for a while. Mei should be out of Elysian Realm by then, but I don’t know if Kiana’s body will recover.”Also, was it possible to get a new body for Sirin?Maybe Sirin would want to leave Kiana.The relationship between Sirin and Kiana wasn’t as close as that between Black Seele and White Seele. Sirin always believed she and Kiana were different.While Black Seele always believed that although she and White Seele were somewhat different, they were essentially one.So Black Seele was afraid of being separated from White Seele, but Sirin wasn’t.However, the prerequisite for getting a new body for Sirin was that Kiana had a healthy body.Right now...Kiana’s outward symptoms were from being corrupted by Honkai energy, but she was still recovering, so it wasn’t a big problem.After all, having been injected with Honkai energy serum based on Schariac’s holy blood, her body was reset to a normal human state. The next step was adapting to Herrscher powers, and during this adaptation process, she would inevitably come into contact with Honkai.The most important thing was mindset. In a way, believing in Kiana was truly the best approach.Hopefully, it would reach her.“There are twenty-five episodes! Remember to take breaks while making the anime! You’re on vacation right now!”Ellie reminded her, and Bronie nodded repeatedly.As long as Ellie was there to comfort her, she could go all out anytime.Although she said that, Bronie was actually controlling herself and not doing too much work.At least she wasn’t making four episodes of anime a day; that would practically be overworking.It was like writing a novel and writing four thousand words a day to maintain full attendance.It was easy, not too tiring, and she could rest whenever she wanted—the kind where she could immediately turn on her computer and play games.“Don’t worry! I know what I’m doing! Or do you want me to spoil the plot?”“I know! I won’t bother you anymore! I’m going to go play with Seele!”Ellie surrendered and ran away, disappearing from Bronie’s office in a flash. Bronie thought Ellie was getting cuter and cuter.Fortunately, at night, the flower named Ellie bloomed only for her. Thinking of this, Bronie couldn’t help but feel happy, and her animation production speed increased.However, compared to the leisurely Bronie, Welt was in a state of complete headache.How should he put it...The anime Gurren Lagann actually had the Arahato IP involved.Since no one could contact Haxxor, then Anti-Entropy should have been fine, right?Although Bronya and Bronie had purged a wave of radicals within Anti-Entropy, purging radicals couldn’t cleanse greedy hearts. New radicals would always emerge. Although they weren’t strong enough, they were certainly greedy enough.So after returning to his loyal Anti-Entropy, Welt nearly turned gray overnight. Faced with various threats and inducements, they just wanted to know the Arc’s whereabouts.Welt explained that it was merely someone’s special ability, and the Arc was fake and couldn’t be maintained for long.But would they believe that?With individual power mastered to this extent, how could they not solve the Honkai?Herrschers died like mosquitoes, gone in a flash. Wouldn’t they be similar in the face of the so-called Finality?Clearly, those guys had no sense of proportion, and their understanding of the Honkai was inadequate. Welt gave them Haxxor's phone number, saying that if they had the guts, they should contact her directly. Bronie didn’t receive a single call about the Arc.What could they do? Did they dare mess with Bronie?They were all intelligent people, just lacking information. Everyone knew not to mess with the Arc’s captain.So after getting the phone number, they chose to find the email address associated with it and send some emails to probe.What they didn’t know was that Bronie almost never checked emails. Even when she did, they were always filtered by AI before she read them.The Arc matter was clearly not important, so the emails were never even in Bronie’s sight.Welt finally got a brief respite, but Tesla immediately dragged him to the lab, ready to take action regarding Bronya’s Herrscher powers.Indeed, Welt hadn’t expected Bronya to be so impatient.Perhaps it was because the Golden Slump had spurred Bronya on, and Mei’s growth had made her realize how far behind she was.This Herrscher powers matter couldn’t be neglected, so Welt, who hadn’t had much time to rest, went to Bronya’s side.“Although Bronie suggested manipulating the core will of the Herrscher of Reason, she never explained the specifics or the principles involved. Bronya, do you have any clues?”Bronya was completely taken aback. Despite being the Herrscher of Reason for so many years, Welt had never considered how to access the will of those 300,000 people.Unexpectedly, she was now the one teaching the former Herrscher of Reason about Herrschers, even though Bronie had taught her all of this.“Dreams... Mr. Welt and Bronya both saw Mr. Joyce’s retreating figure and the past of others in my dreams. Therefore, dreams are a channel for accessing their will and a crucial part of Project Stigma. The power of human dreams contains entirely new possibilities. Bronie explained this in Persona.”“I thought it was made up back then...”This was the first time Welt had ever heard of such a thing.“Now you know~” [Chapter 353: Chapter 352 The Unchanging Passionate Spirit]Bronya's approach of accessing the Herrscher core through dreams was absolutely flawless.Even though Bronie hadn't explicitly stated it, Bronya still sensed a striking similarity between Project Stigma and the Herrscher of Reason's core.Human dreams gathered together, weaving into a mesh that isolates them from reality, thus fighting the Honkai. While it sounds absurd, the initial operation of the Herrscher of Reason's core was indeed similar.The wills of 300,000 people intertwined to create a giant web, unleashing the unique power of human narrative—this is the essence of the Herrscher of Reason's power.Bronie had said that humanity's greatest power is narrative. With Welt's instruction and the explanations of the two genius researchers, Tesla and Einstein, Bronya gradually came to understand Bronie's words.Truth is often simple and powerful, and although Bronie had stated these things beforehand, fully comprehending them was still quite difficult.Therefore, Bronya's admiration for Bronie grew stronger.Although Bronie had always thought she was omnipotent, Bronya felt a strange sense of pride when others acknowledged it.At least, Tesla and Einstein gave her very high praise upon hearing Bronie's conclusion.The only problem now was that Bronya's control over dreams seemed weak and she lacked the necessary technology, so her progress in accessing the Herrscher of Reason's core remained slow.Through much trial and error, Bronya finally managed to grasp a will, recording it in her mind and gaining complete control over it.Undoubtedly, her Herrscher powers were barely affected, but the speed at which she projected the Star of Eden increased by a mere 0.1 seconds.Improvement meant it was possible.Bronya immediately became excited.“Hmm? This time, Bronie didn't make a new game but instead made a new anime!”Just as Bronya was training her abilities in the Memorial Arena, Welt walked in and informed her of this.As for why Welt chose this moment to tell her, it was mainly because he saw how incredibly hard Bronya was working.Aside from meals and instruction from the two doctors, Bronya was training extremely hard. Sometimes Welt was even afraid that she would hurt herself because of it.Originally, Welt didn't have much reason to let Bronya rest. After all, with the Herrscher's arrival, Bronya felt the huge power gap between herself and Bronie, and she was eager to gain more power to catch up.Now, unexpectedly, Bronie had actually made an anime.This time, it wasn't released all at once but one episode per day.If you were to ask Bronie, her answer would likely be that she could only produce two episodes a day, and the voice acting took two more days, so she only knew the anime's plot and content a few days earlier than the audience.One episode a day, with a total of twenty-four episodes listed—this long production time was a great excuse for Bronya to rest, in Welt's opinion.“Little Witch Academia?”“Hmm, it's an anime like Little Witch Academia?”Welt then realized what Bronya meant by the anime's theme.A children's anime?It didn't seem quite right.Akko looked a bit dazed, and Sucy had dark circles under her eyes, making her look like she hadn't slept.As for Lotte, she was a classic freckled girl.Clearly, the character design was largely tailored to Western aesthetics, and the overall style reflected that.But considering this was a story produced by Bronie, Welt couldn't help but twitch his lips.Was it really a children's anime?Not long ago, Bronie created a Grand Theft Auto game for 17+ players, and to be honest, it had a lot of intense content; players could even see near-18+ scenes in nightclubs.The plot was insanely wild.Of course, the character development was as successful as ever, but Welt wasn't really into crime-themed content.A man's romance isn't about robbing banks but about giant robots.“Want to watch together?” Welt invited.Bronya looked into Welt's eyes, then at the chaotic Memorial Arena around her.Finally, she reluctantly nodded and said, “Okay, I'll add some rest time to my schedule for a while.” She could tell that Welt was worried about her health and afraid that overtraining would harm her.Bronya had previously thought that Anti-Entropy, being an enemy of Schicksal, would be a bit more ruthless.She never expected the leader of Anti-Entropy to be such a kind-hearted person.He was even the author of Homu Adventure.Bronya projected the image onto the computer, found a relatively empty and quiet room, and invited her younger sister, Sin, to come and watch Bronie's new work.Little Witch Academia.The show opened with a dazzling magic performance, with various wondrous special effects unfolding on stage. The young protagonist, Atsuko Kagari, watched the performance with shining eyes.A witch named Shining Chariot performed magnificent magic—stars, centaurs, unicorns, fireworks. These dazzling spells greatly impressed little Atsuko Kagari.The enormous evil monster that appeared midway through the performance, along with Chariot's posture as she vanquished it, was deeply imprinted in Atsuko Kagari's mind.It was a magnificent performance, but something strange seemed to linger during it; the monster appeared unexpectedly and was not part of the planned show.Fortunately, Shining Chariot handled the situation very successfully; at least few people noticed anything unusual. The only problem, if any, was that she had taken something from the audience.“This spell...”“Hmm? Is there something wrong with the spell?” Welt hadn't expected Bronya to be interested in the spell. Bronya only knew that the melody of the spell was actually related to Ether Editing.“Bronie’s Ether Editing requires specific frequencies and melodies to create the desired effect, so this spell is very likely related to Ether Editing technology.”“...Bronie’s ability?”“More or less.”“That thing is actually technology, not some personal ability?”“It’s a way of using ether that Bronie discovered based on her own abilities. It’s said that ether can even store things like memories.”“I see. Has Bronie really come this far? Is she still leaving behind a wealth of treasures through anime?”Welt was quite impressed with Bronie. Ether Editing technology was capable of changing the world. It allowed for the arbitrary manipulation of the world's rules, and when applied to production, it could greatly increase human productivity.It was just a pity that while the treasure was there, it was difficult for anyone to decipher it.What good was knowing the code without a computer?Without the equipment to run it, was Ether Editing something that could be easily cracked?After careful consideration, Welt felt a headache coming on. He figured that Ether Editing technology wouldn't be fully realized for a long time.Bronie just wanted to see geniuses struggle with difficult problems, right?Forget it. Let Tesla and Einstein handle the trouble. He wasn't a scientist and didn't have their quick wit.Welt then focused all his attention on the anime.Akko, the only ordinary student to enter the Witch Academy, was facing a huge problem getting to school.Completely ignorant of magic, she couldn't ride a broomstick, nor did she know how to use her spiritual veins to get to school. With the opening ceremony approaching, she tried to talk to other witch students, only to be met with ridicule for being an ordinary person.Poor Akko, who waz full of longing for magic. She encountered a huge obstacle on her way to school, leading to many comical situations.With her lively expressions, exaggerated movements, and various comical mishaps, a few simple scenes vividly portrayed Atsuko Kagari's character.“Bronie actually, genuinely loves anime...”Seeing so much information in less than ten minutes, Welt was captivated by Atsuko's enthusiastic and slightly clumsy personality.The American comic book style was a definite plus for Welt, who grew up in America, and the exaggerated movements also echoed those of Gurren Lagann.“Bronie said that the greatest human activity is storytelling, and anime is also a storytelling method. For Bronie, it's a relatively simple but very interesting way of telling a story.”“Games are more complicated, right?”“That's right.”Next, Akko encountered a witch named Lotte. Because of Akko's kindness, Lotte agreed to take her on a broomstick ride to school.However, one could not bring salty items into a spirit vein. Akko was unaware of this, and after following Lotte into the spirit vein passage, she directly caused a storm within it.The cheerful plot took a sharp turn when the two were caught in a storm, dragging Sucy, who happened to be passing by, along with them, away from the passage.By a twist of fate, the three fell into the legendary and dangerous magical forest.Fortunately, Sucy's original destination was this perilous forest. Although her landing was rather awkward, seeing Atsuko and Lotte there, she conceived a plan to use them to achieve her goals.Under Sucy's coaxing, Atsuko uttered a phrase that enraged the basilisk, becoming bait to lure it away. While the basilisk's attention was focused on Akko, Sucy quickly stole the feathers she desired.It could only be said that Sucy perfectly fit the witch's character—indifferent to others, yet willing to manipulate them to achieve her own ends.Faced with such a tremendous crisis, Akko was not deterred by the dangers of the magical world. Instead, she bravely continued forward. Seemingly influenced by her will, the Shining Rod that had once been in Chariot's hands miraculously appeared before Akko.“Truly astonishing courage, astonishing will, and creating miracles through sheer force… Bronie really likes that.” Welt wanted to say the plot was a bit cliché, but a smile played on his lips.The plot was interesting, though somewhat exaggerated. It unmistakably introduced the personalities of Lotte, Sucy, and Akko right from the start.Lotte was a pure witch, somewhat mischievous, but after being saved by Akko, she knew how to repay the favor.She usually appeared gentle, lacked the arrogance of a witch, did not look down on Akko, and was willing to help her in return.As for Akko, she was a pure, hot-blooded idiot, but her pursuit of brilliance made Welt feel a surge of adrenaline.It was quite reminiscent of Gurren Lagann.“As expected, Bronie can't make a serious magical girl anime...” Bronya's eyes twitched as she watched the exciting plot.“Ah, this anime... it's not what I expected at all.”“Wasn't the opening magic show supposed to be spectacular? How did it turn into this?”“But it's not bad, is it? It's kind of like the Harry Potter world setting; it feels strangely familiar.”Welt smiled happily. From the beginning, he could sense that Bronie's anime was designed in a lighthearted and fun style, with a touch of excitement.“Perhaps Bronie also has a passionate soul, which is why she's so fond of this kind of trope.”It was cliché but undeniably captivating. Welt was sure many viewers would enjoy this kind of anime.“That's definitely Bronie's style. But without a doubt, she has successfully captured Bronya's interest. Bronya is now very much looking forward to the upcoming episodes. What kind of story will the twenty-fourth episode tell?”Akko's adventure had only just begun, and the first episode already presented many mysteries. Welt was familiar with this kind of story structure.Why was Akko able to enter the school as an ordinary person? Why was she able to use magic with the Shining Rod later on? Why did the teacher seem to recognize it? And where did Chariot go? Why wasn't she so famous in the witch world?These suspenseful questions, combined with the exciting and thrilling plot, created a truly outstanding opening.“I really hope that one day I can collaborate with Bronie to create a fun anime...”---[Chapter 354: Chapter 353 The Final Silence]Twenty-four days have passed, and the story of the little witch Akko has deeply moved audiences around the world.Her liveliness, passion, unwavering will, and never-give-up spirit have left a lasting impression.Although she is often clumsy and causes many laughs, the moment her dream of becoming a witch came true, the audience was genuinely happy for Akko’s achievement.Although the final missile chase scene felt a bit out of place, as if it were not magic at all—the multi-stage booster broom rockets and such felt somewhat like something out of Gurren Lagann.But the plot is awesome!It is incredibly exciting and captures the core theme of the anime at its end.Belief is your magic!Inspire others through concrete actions and fight together for a better world. Only belief can create miracles. This sentiment resonated with Welt, who was in an emo state for quite some time after watching the anime.Well, it is understandable. After watching such an exciting anime, all other works might seem bland.Undoubtedly, it shares the same exciting style as Gurren Lagann, and even the reasons for that excitement are similar.However, Gurren Lagann is about male romance and giant robots.While Little Witch Academia is about a cuter kind of romance.But why can’t men like cute things?In Little Witch Academia, there is a dragon who likes to speculate on stocks and a witch who likes to tinker with giant robots.“Could it be that Bronie’s ability is actually more like magic from anime?”“Bronie did say she could actually do it. Back when we lived in the orphanage, she even did a magic show for everyone, kind of like Charlotte’s Flash.” Welt immediately felt envious.Why didn’t he get to see a magic show when he was a kid?Damn it, he was so envious!Unfortunately, Welt could only feel a pang of envy. Showing it was out of the question.He had to maintain his adult composure and authority.“It seems Bronie really loves you all.”“That’s why Bronya wants to help Bronie, even if only a little.”“But you can’t hurt yourself, because if you do, your Bronie will be hurt too.”“Hmm… that’s where Mr. Welt’s help comes in. Bronya sometimes doesn’t know her limits. With Mr. Welt’s years of experience, he should be able to help Bronya improve faster, right?”“That’s good…” Hearing Bronya’s words, Welt was very happy.This child is so sensible, so sensible that it is almost heartbreaking. Perhaps everything she experienced before being adopted by Bronie led to Bronya’s current thoughts.For a better world, she also needs to believe in herself more.Does believing bring miracles? Has Bronie always believed that?...“Belief is my magic~”Ellie put on a witch’s hat, cosplaying as a little witch, and danced with a tiny magic wand in her hand.Since Little Witch Academia ended, Ellie has been performing magic from time to time, though it is mostly using Honkai energy.There is no doubt that Ellie really loves the anime.“It’s a very romantic story, isn’t it?”“And very exciting too! Bronie, you like this kind of tone, don’t you?”“It’s very interesting. It can make people laugh out loud and also bring tears to their eyes. That’s my main purpose. Isn’t it great?”Bronie casually squeezed Ellie’s crystal flower, and a beautiful butterfly appeared in the office.The butterfly then transformed into a soaring eagle. Bronie had played these little tricks a long time ago.Now, in the Guilty Gear update, a playable character named Asuka uses similar magic in combat.If your hand speed is fast enough, the screen is filled with flying bullets, completely suppressing the opponent in a corner. It is quite terrifying.Magic, ah, that is what it is.The power to change the world through Ether. Emotions and memories can all become driving forces for Ether. Belief is indeed a very special kind of magic.However, it requires specific environments.For example, in the Sea of Quanta.Or in a high-concentration Etheric environment with the Etheric Editor.“Busy again lately?”“After all, the anime production is finished, and the Herrscher Cores can’t just be left there. The Soul Steel production line is already being rolled out in Elysian Realm, but the output is still rather underwhelming. Creating Divine Keys will probably take quite a while.” The Herrscher of Ice and the Herrscher of the Star—aside from the Herrscher of the Star’s powers, the Herrscher of Ice’s powers are more functional.Using them in combat is frankly troublesome, and they can even harm the user.This is much more troublesome than the Judgment of Shamash. After all, Shamash only generates heat, while the Herrscher of Ice freezes the surrounding air, affecting the user’s own movements.If you control the output power, what is the difference between that and an ordinary, useless weapon?So back then, Vill-V only used the core of the Herrscher of Ice for hibernation, allowing some people to live for 50,000 years.“When will the next Herrscher be born?” Ellie was honestly starting to get nervous.Counting on her fingers, the Herrscher of Consciousness, the Herrscher of Stars, and the Herrscher of Ice—these rather outrageous Herrschers have already been born. The later Herrschers are even more formidable, and dealing with them will be quite troublesome.“The Herrscher of Corruption, the Herrscher of Binding, and the Herrscher of Legion, and maybe even the Herrscher of Flame? That’s only four left. I estimate that after the next Herrscher is born, Kevin might take action immediately.”“Because of the Herrscher of Binding?” Ellie knew that the tragedy of Binding had left Kevin with a huge psychological scar. No matter what, Kevin wanted to avoid facing such a Herrscher.So before the Herrscher of Binding is born, a single Project Stigma to stop all subsequent Herrschers would be considered fulfilling his mission.Besides, with such formidable power, doesn’t Bronie need time to grow into a hero?Kevin could not think that far ahead. He was most likely convinced that the hero of this era had indeed appeared, and therefore he would begin playing the Demon King.“Hmm, I’m more worried about the Herrscher of Dominace. I’m concerned about the children being affected. After all, I’m not protecting them all the time. With the Herrscher of Legion’s intelligence network, they could easily find me. Furthermore, the Herrscher of Legion’s powers are inextricably linked to the Imaginary Tree.”“Is that even possible? After the Herrscher of Dominance of the previous era inexplicably appeared, they started attacking everyone. The Herrscher Cores are too well hidden; even Mobius fell victim.”Yes, Kalpas friend also became a Herrscher of Dominance. If I tell Kalpas about this in the Elysian Realm, he will definitely be so angry that he will destroy a large portion of the map.Later, some people studied the cores of the Herrscher of Dominance, but they did not find much of a clue since those were the cores of Herrschers who had already died.“Some things are indeed hard to avoid. The threads of fate… I haven’t even figured out the principle yet. If I could completely understand it, maybe I could follow the threads directly to the Cocoon of Finality and beat it up!”Bronie felt that perhaps the reason she could not find the principle was because fate was preventing her from finding it.“I’ll keep a close eye on the children’s condition.”“Yes, I believe in you, Ellie.”Bronie nodded in agreement when she heard that Ellie wanted to help.Mei did not stay in Elysian Realm for very long.About a week was enough for Mei to understand the Thirteen Flamechasers.Furthermore, Mei came to Elysian Realm to see the full picture of Project Stigma, so after gaining the approval and imprint of all the Flamechasers, she left Elysian Realm without looking back.She is currently discussing with Theresa how to solve this problem.But Theresa knew nothing about Project Stigma.All she knew was that she needed to train Kiana properly, otherwise Durandal would capture her if she walked down the street.So she would wait for that old geezer Otto to die and abdicate, then consider how to deal with Project Stigma and the Honkai issue.The world fell into a brief period of peace and tranquility. Without the Herrschers, there were occasional small Honkai outbreaks, but they were quickly dealt with by Super Wendy.Bronie’s research was also progressing steadily, producing papers with little practical significance, which was normal.As for any particularly significant results, Bronie thought the possibility was slim.The data brought back from the Imaginary Tree was vast, so processing it took considerable time. Bronie was also caught in the daily grind.After the anime production was completed, besides focusing on Mei in the “Elysian Realm,” Bronie spent her time organizing materials. The precious time passed slowly, and only two or three days after Mei’s appearance, news came that Kiana had recovered.This was great news. As a Herrscher, Kiana possessed not only the core of the Herrscher of the Void but also the core of the Herrscher of Death.If she was even luckier, or if Prometheus were more powerful, she might even be able to accommodate the core of the Herrscher of Flame.Once Kiana possesses the core of the Herrscher of Flame again, it might prevent a massive Honkai calamity, essentially eliminating one Herrscher’s opportunity to cause trouble on Earth.While the Herrschers of the Star and Ice might not seem to have caused too much damage, the environmental changes and gravitational shifts led to natural disasters that affected the entire world, resulting in significant losses.Furthermore, satellites were severely affected, causing Schicksal’s Anti-Entropy system and even every country to be temporarily blinded.Once there are enough satellites, everyone will probably start causing trouble again.So Bronie is quite satisfied with this relatively quiet environment.“What a peaceful life… Speaking of which, Ellie, do you think I’ve got PTSD? The quieter the environment, the more restless I feel.”“Post-traumatic stress disorder? The PTSD I’ve seen isn’t like yours. I think it’s that adventurous spirit within you beating, Bronie. Staying on Earth all the time and facing so much tedious data, your patience must be wearing thin.”Ellie knows Bronie’s true nature, but because of the Honkai, Bronie has always suppressed it, patiently conducting scientific research step by step and working on plans to combat the Honkai.Of course, there is also the plan to resurrect everyone in the Elysian Realm in cooperation with Otto.It is like forcing yourself not to look at cute girls; this daily repression is actually very uncomfortable.So Ellie always indulges Bronie, accepting almost any kind of play when they are together.“Not yet.” Bronie shrugged, dismissing Ellie’s guess. It might be a little difficult at first, but after that painful period, she gradually got used to it and found it was not so hard.Staying in one place, quietly waiting for time to pass, exploring some cosmic truths while saving the world.“Girls who lie become less pretty~ But it should be soon, right? Bronie’s solution to the Honkai will appear soon, won’t it?”Ellie knew that after resolving the Honkai, Bronie would likely leave Earth directly, heading straight into the depths of space without looking back.No matter what method she used, she wanted to see the flourishing civilizations in the vast universe with her own eyes.After all, Ellie often watched the stars with Bronie at night. Looking into her eyes as she gazed at the stars, Ellie knew that yearning for the universe.“That’s right. Otto and I have been working almost in sync. Just as he is nearing the end of his plan, mine will be nearing completion. Otto will be my final stepping stone. He will sacrifice his life to fulfill his ambition, and the rest will pave the way to success.”“That’s wonderful…”Although she did not know the details of Bronie’s plan, Ellie believed it would be a wonderful world where everyone was happy.Resolving the Honkai was something Ellie had once longed for, but repeated despair had battered her spirit.So much so that later, Ellie preferred to enjoy the present and leave behind a story that would guide future generations.She would do everything she could and, before her own end came, create a more magnificent farewell ceremony.“So sleep peacefully. When Otto is ready, then it will be our turn to act!”--[Chapter 354 The Game of the Hero]Never underestimate the power of dreams, especially when the threads of fate are lowered and dreams are no longer under your control. Perhaps you won’t even have the chance to wake up.After Bronie fell into a deep sleep holding Ellie, her dreams began to spread and distort beyond her control.She dreamed that her abilities were gradually weakening. She dreamed that countless documents awaited her processing.She dreamed of a life that repeated itself day after day, devoid of any passion or joy.Then she dreamed that she had forgotten what the starry sky looked like and forgotten what happiness tasted like.She sank and continued to sink, like Kars who had given up thinking, gradually losing all perception, with even her five senses fading away.This was a nightmare, the most terrifying nightmare for Bronie!So Bronie suddenly woke up!But she found that Ellie was no longer in her arms.She missed the softness of the pink fairy and the intoxicating fragrance of flowers.But all of that was gone.“Where am I...” Bronie looked around. It was a familiar void. She had often seen this scene when she last went to the Imaginary Space.There was a broken architectural model at her feet. Bronie picked it up and examined it carefully. She felt like she had seen this architectural model somewhere before.The plaza, the buildings, the audience seats, the theater, and the judge’s bench—everything was in a dark gold tone. This tacky aesthetic almost made Bronie laugh in exasperation.What is this?“Throwing myself into this godforsaken place to play in the mud?”Bronie tried disassembling the architectural model, then used her abilities to modify it. After some tweaking, she transformed it into a massive, reasonably decent-looking spaceship.To be honest, Bronie quite liked spaceships, especially those with a blue or white color scheme. They had a sci-fi feel to them.Of course, after having Ellie, she also found pink cute, but Bronie subconsciously associated pink with Ellie, so she wouldn’t easily use it as decoration.Looking at her creation, Bronie nodded in satisfaction. But where was she now?She couldn’t see anything around her, only her creation. Was Senti playing a prank on her?Just as Bronie was contemplating whether to try going to the Sea of Quanta and returning via Gernius, she noticed that threads had suddenly appeared on her hands.Following the silken threads, an invisible giant hand manipulated them as if her movements weren’t her own, but rather caused by this hand.Seeing this hand, Bronie felt a surge of anger.So Bronie grabbed the silken thread in her right hand with her left, trying to pull the hand down.The hand didn’t resist. Instead, it extended its fingers as if trying to touch Bronie’s fingertips.This completely baffled Bronie.Alone, Bronie didn’t like talking to herself, but seeing the hand’s actions, she couldn’t help but feel curious.What was going on?Was she dreaming, or in reality, or was Prometheus causing trouble?Her fingers slowly approached the giant finger, and the instant they touched, a flood of information rushed into her mind.This was an utterly irrational act that completely disregarded the safety of the recipient. A jumble of information flooded her mind, leaving Bronie unable to even attempt to comprehend it.Those ten seconds felt like an eternity. Then Bronie collapsed in front of the spaceship, and everything returned to calm.... …When Ellie woke up, she didn’t see her bunny, exuding its alluring orange scent, in her arms.At first, Ellie thought Bronie had woken up early from a nightmare, so she left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen to cook.Bronie had been having nightmares lately, probably due to stress.But when she got downstairs and saw the bewildered Aponia and couldn’t find Haxxor Bunny anywhere, Ellie began to panic.“Although I’ve secretly hidden away before and watched everyone’s reactions after I’m gone, Bronie would never do something like that! What should we do, Aponia!”Inside the Golden Courtyard, the only people she could rely on now were probably Su and Aponia.The key was that she could freely act cute with Aponia.Su, standing to the side, looked serious. After hearing Ellie’s words, he felt that nothing unusual had happened last night.“Calm down, Ellie. Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. First, think about whether Bronie has shown any unusual behavior lately. I’ll contact Mobius and Vill-V; perhaps they have some ideas.”Faced with two prophetic charlatans, Bronie’s silent disappearance was no small matter.Ellie definitely wouldn’t believe it.Su and Aponia both knew Bronie’s importance in dealing with the Honkai, so they hadn’t strayed too far from the Golden Courtyard.As for Fu Hua, she was usually busy taking care of the child and unable to tolerate Senti’s impulsive behavior.The most important reason was probably that Senti had a face exactly like Fu Hua’s.Therefore, Fu Hua often worked as a guest teacher at St. Freya Academy, occasionally taking Senti with her.They also lived in the Golden Courtyard, constantly watching for any potential dangers.Under this heavy protection, Bronie slipped away from Ellie’s arms!“That’s true... Perhaps Bronie had a premonition of something ominous long ago, but I just didn’t notice. Or perhaps I was too complacent and forgot about the Honkai calamity happening outside...”Perhaps Bronie was targeted by the Herrscher?Or perhaps something was wrong with Bronie’s body?After all, Bronie was born in the Sea of Quanta, and her constitution might be very different from that of the original world.Or perhaps the last experiment completely made the Honkai Will target Bronie and thus attack her?Su wasn’t sure either. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen under the watchful eye of the Eye of Bodhi. The current situation was probably indeed extremely dangerous.But with absolutely no clue what to do, who could come up with a solution?Since no one could find Bronie, they could only wait for the professionals to arrive.Who were the professionals?Vill-V, Mobius, and Misteln.Ellie thought Bronie’s situation might be related to the dream, so she thought calling Misteln might provide some clues. Su thought this direction wasn’t too problematic, so he asked Kevin to call Hare.As for the possibility of Kevin refusing?That was naturally impossible. Su knew Kevin’s thoughts. The hero Kevin had been longing for had just left the starting village when she was suddenly swallowed by a slime and disappeared. What could this Demon King, yearning to meet a hero, do?So Kevin would agree to help, even though Hare, as a crucial initiator of Project Stigma, might face some danger if taken out.But Kevin was still willing to believe in Fu Hua’s fighting power, Ellie’s fighting power, and even Su’s seemingly weak and frail fighting power.“Hey everyone, guess what I found!”Aware of the seriousness of the situation, Senti had found a clue and popped out carrying a huge box.“Senti, this isn’t the time to joke around.” Fu Hua quickly pulled Senti back, preventing her from causing trouble. This was a crucial moment; Bronie’s life could be in danger at any moment.“I found it under Bronie’s bed! And this thing looks really strange under the bed! Was it always there?”“No~” Ellie shook her head after seeing the writing on the box.Unexpectedly, it was a Monopoly-like flying device, seemingly space-themed.The box was new and untouched, but there were signs of it being opened inside. It must have been a small toy Bronie kept.But would Bronie usually keep something like this under her bed?“I knew it! Eliminating all the impossible, the last possibility, no matter how outrageous, is the real one!”“So, Senti, you think Bronie’s disappearance is actually because of this? But I didn’t sense anything…”“That’s right! Something suddenly appearing out of nowhere without any apparent abnormality—isn’t that the biggest anomaly? Besides, I sensed it!”“Senti, are you telling the truth!?” Fu Hua’s eyes widened, and she was also eager to snatch the box away to prevent Senti from being harmed.Unfortunately, Senti nimbly dodged Fu Hua’s hand and quickly hid it behind her back.“I sensed a fluctuation of thought, but that fluctuation basically contained no useful information…”“It seems that this box is indeed closely related to Bronie’s disappearance?”Aponia stared intently at the box. If eyes could move, this box would probably have been torn to shreds, and everything inside and out would have been searched by Aponia.“I don’t know. Maybe this is a clue left by Bronie? Oh well, we’ll deal with whatever comes our way! Don’t be afraid of any danger. I’ll protect you! You’re all osteoporotic old fogies; you can’t handle a fierce battle!”As she spoke, Senti prepared to open the box of the flying chess set, wanting to see what was inside.After all, it had a bit of weight to it.“A game for the brave? Chosen heroes, embark on this journey to find the greatest treasure in the vast universe. What you seek lies at the end of this game. Want to play?”Senti immediately became interested. After all, she had never seen anything like it before.What could an old fogie’s memories contain?Eternal youth and martial arts. The rest was just a dull and monotonous life and bland emotions.There really wasn’t much interesting stuff.“Better safe than sorry!” Fu Hua disagreed with starting to play immediately but also began to examine the flying chess set.There were many squares on the board. If all the dice rolled sixes, it would take dozens of rounds to finish the game.Plus, this was a multiplayer game… Fu Hua felt a chill run down her spine.Something was amiss.If this continued, something bad might happen!“Is there any other way? If we waste too much time here, Bronie will definitely be in danger!”“But we can’t prove that what’s on the note is true.” Su was quite calm. It was just a game of Ludo, nothing too serious.“Shall we start? Pick a piece and throw it to the starting point. That’ll count as participating in the game!”Senti picked a piece that looked a bit like a soldier and placed it on the starting point, then grabbed a handful of pieces and presented them to everyone.“Senti…”“Hey! Old man, if we don’t act, we’ll never know the outcome! Besides, it won’t waste much time. If there are no problems, we can just stop the game halfway through!”Senti was getting anxious.Fu Hua simply explained, “I just hope you’ll think it over carefully. But as you said, we can solve any problems together, so I support you. I choose this one.”Fu Hua selected a red bird-like piece and placed it on the board. As if drawn by a magnet, the piece immediately moved to the starting point.“Speaking of which, these pieces are actually quite similar to everyone else’s!” Ellie picked up a pink crystal flower and then handed a sloth piece to Su.Aponia took the golden butterfly piece and gently placed it on the starting point.Now there was no one else, right?“I’ve told Mobius and Vill-V about it. They’re sending robots to investigate the house. Let’s try this piece. Hopefully, we can find clues about Bronie.” Having made arrangements for his affairs, Su had few worries and took the lead, pulling the lever.After the lever on the chessboard was pulled, the numbers next to it jumped continuously. The final number indicated the distance the piece could move. There was also a confirmation button next to the lever; pressing it seemed to move the piece.Su went first, naturally considering that everyone else was a girl.Watching the numbers jump continuously and finally stop at 100, he felt a bit unlucky.He pressed the confirmation button, and the piece slowly moved forward. After reaching the first square, a note popped out from the opening below the number.

[Spaceship departs. The great adventure officially begins, but beware of meteor showers.]“What does this mean?” Su looked around curiously.Suddenly, something fell from the sky, hitting the note directly.Seeing the burning marks on it, Ellie immediately understood what it meant!“Watch out for a meteor shower! Everyone take cover!”Following this, more meteors appeared, piercing the ceiling, floor, and various pieces of furniture. Each meteor was deadly yet also incredibly magical.Su’s eyes widened in fright, and he quickly used his Eye of Bodhi to dodge the meteor shower.Finally, the group found shelter under the fireplace in the living room and under the dining table in the kitchen, escaping the onslaught.“Has the spaceship taken off?”Ellie looked blankly out the kitchen window.Now the view outside was a starry sky, as if the entire Golden Garden had been transported into outer space.“My God! A meteor shower! Was that really a meteor shower or some kind of hail of bullets?!” Senti found the scene quite novel. Since she didn’t have a physical body, being showered by meteors was incredibly cool!“But we’ve already left Earth. It looks like there’s a starry sky outside...” Aponia pointed out the window.Only then did everyone realize that the board game possess a very peculiar power...---

 [Chapter 356: Cosmic Merchant]The Ludo game Bronie encountered actually had a more complex aspect: event squares were added to the grid, introducing penalty and reward mechanisms. Going a step further, player pieces could even be used to create character cards and participate in battles.But after that, it became a tabletop role-playing game, not just Ludo.This Ludo game was originally designed for children; the rules were not particularly complex, but the various events provided imaginative children with endless fun.Later, a movie called Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was released.Turning imagination into reality, Bronie saw firsthand just how many exciting adventures awaited her in the vast universe.The entire Golden Courtyard house floated alone in space.Fortunately, most of the children were out at school today, so they were not caught in this dangerous environment."It's completely empty outside. It really feels like we're in space! Good heavens, did Bronie do this? Or was it the Aeon Aha?"Sending the Golden Courtyard directly into outer space and even triggering a meteor shower is something no Herrscher could possibly do.The Enlightened One Su, the Disciplined Aponia, the Super Herrscher of Human Ego Alicia, the Old Relic, and the Invincible Senti.First, they needed to rule out the possibility that this was all an illusion.So Senti left the Golden Courtyard and wandered around outside. Unexpectedly, she really was in outer space!"I don't know… In this situation, we probably will not know who did it until the game is over, right? But it doesn't seem to have much malicious intent."Ellie was not entirely sure either, but she did have a guess in her heart.Maybe it was Bronie?Bronie had mentioned this space board game before, but if she wanted to play like this, why did she not tell everyone beforehand?Could the Golden Courtyard's structure withstand such a dangerous space environment?"A house floating in space? This is utterly absurd! Herrscher of Sentience, is this real space?"Su tried to open the door, but even a gentle pull would not budge it, as if it were fixed to space itself.The Herrscher of Sentience has no fixed form and can freely traverse matter. She seemed to have gone out for a while, and upon returning, she also believed the outside world was space.In other words, atmospheric pressure was currently holding the door firmly in place, preventing anyone from easily releasing all the oxygen inside the house."Please, what good would it do me to lie to you? If you really want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the stars outside, have everyone else hide inside first and try opening the door yourself, okay?" Senti's meaning was clear.If you want to die, go alone; just do not get your blood splattered everywhere.Fu Hua understood Senti's unspoken meaning and gently tapped her head with her hand like a knife."Senti, you should be polite to your elders.""Damn old fogies! Whatever you do, if we do not continue playing, we might not be able to go back!" Senti angrily placed her hand on the lever on the chessboard. What happened next was basically none of her concern.After all, her body was special; facing such extreme circumstances would not affect her much.Now, all Senti had to do was roll the dice and move her pieces until the game ended."Go! Herrscher of Sentience, as you said, there's only one thing we can do now: keep moving forward. So pull that lever." Aponia fully understood the situation. Although everyone was a powerful Flamechaser, the current situation was frankly terrible."Okay!" Senti pulled the lever, and the number finally stopped at 6."Yay!""Strange, there's a single digit showing 6, meaning the dice roll should allow only one move. Or is there some special mechanism involved?"Seeing Senti roll a six, Fu Hua was not happy. Instead, she watched the board warily.The piece slowly moved forward, and when it reached the sixth square, a slip of paper popped out from beneath the number plate."Old fogey, you don't understand! If it lands on a bonus square, it might be able to move forward again, or it might gain the ability to roll three or even four dice at once, resulting in a higher number!""Is that so?""Why worry about all that? Let's see what happens next!"Senti picked up the slip of paper and read it.[Encountered an interstellar merchant who recommended three items to you.Purchase a powerful weapon using fifty cosmic fragments!Purchase thruster materials using thirty cosmic fragments!Purchase some living supplies using twenty cosmic fragments!What kind of swindler is this? Throw him into space!]After reading the note, the gate to the Golden Courtyard was suddenly knocked on.Knock, knock, knock."Wait, Senti!" Fu Hua wanted Senti to open the door immediately, but she did not. Instead, she slipped through the doorway like a ghost and poked her head out."Ah!! A ghost!!"A scream came from outside.The Herrscher of Sentience looked down and saw a blue-haired man. For some reason, the first thing she felt upon seeing him was an urge to punch him."What is it?!""Hahaha, lady, sorry. The way you suddenly appeared was a bit unusual.By the way, my name is Sampo, and my current identity is a cosmic merchant. To be honest, when I saw this house floating here in space, I almost started to wonder if I had deep-space hysteria! Or something else, like a cosmic ghost house?"The man named Sampo looked the house up and down. It looked ordinary, but when he reached the entrance, he discovered that there was actually oxygen here. "This is so strange!""What kind of person would be so bored as to modify a spaceship into an ordinary-looking house and then let it float aimlessly in space?Or is it like a ghost ship, a ghost house in the true sense?""Pfft, hahaha! A ghost house, and you've added the universe to it? Your imagination is certainly quite rich. So, what do you sell?" Senti casually brushed it off because she sensed some unsavory thoughts in Sampo's mind.Like scavenging or maybe making a fortune.Most of all, she was curious about why a house would float in space."Weapons, living supplies, or even energy—everything is available, just requiring Interastral Peace Corporation credits. Do you need anything?""Interastral Peace Corporation?" Senti hesitated briefly, then quickly turned around.Su was picking up meteorites from the ground. These meteorites seemed to be the cosmic fragments described on the chessboard since the back of the first slip of paper described cosmic fragments brought by a meteor shower."Interastral Peace Corporation is a galaxy-sized company that worships the Amber Lord. They basically bring most worlds under their own credit point system, but it has nothing to do with us," Ellie explained to Senti, who had also heard Bronie mention this."I know. I'm just wondering why the note says we can use cosmic fragments instead of credit points.""Go ask if cosmic fragments can be used to buy things." Aponia picked up a meteorite and handed it to Senti.Senti hesitated for a moment, then climbed down from the door and opened it."Hey, Sampo, we don't have any credit points. How about this?""This is… sorry, let me take a closer look first. The universe is really amazing; sometimes something unexpected falls from the sky, doesn't it?"Sampo could tell it was definitely a meteorite or something similar, but he was not sure what was inside.He used a magnifying glass and a microscope. He even bit into the meteorite. Then a look of surprise appeared on his face."Not bad, not bad. If you can get five kilograms, you can buy one of my weapons!"Five kilograms, that is equivalent to fifty units of cosmic fragments."Wait!"Senti went back inside the house, and Sampo finally had a chance to peek inside.A man with his eyes closed, a nun with a voluptuous figure, a girl in pink, and a somewhat old-fashioned-looking girl.What a strange combination!After a brief discussion, the group all looked at Sampo."Haha, ladies and gentlemen, I didn't mean to offend you. If I disturbed you, I'll leave immediately!"For some reason, being stared at by these people gave him the creeps, as if something terrible was about to happen."We're buying energy and supplies." Su finally spoke and then took out a huge meteorite.Upon closer inspection, it did indeed weigh around five kilograms. Su did not know the meteorite's composition, but for them now, it was useless. At most, they would keep a sample to find out later when they returned.Weapons?To be honest, Su felt everyone still had sufficient weaponry, so weapons probably were not a necessity. Food and energy, however, were less certain.No one knew how long they would be adrift in space, so Su thought it best to use up all the cosmic fragments as a precaution."All right, all right! Thank you for your patronage. The items will be packed and delivered shortly! I won't disturb you any longer. Until we meet again?""Okay, until we meet again."Su nodded while Sampo scurried away like a mouse encountering a cat.This behavior immediately baffled Su."That guy has ulterior motives. He seems to have detected some kind of imaginary energy inside the meteorite, which is incredibly valuable. He's made a killing by obtaining this meteorite fragment.""It's a pity. The pricing power for the supplies is in his hands. He can choose not to sell these supplies, but we definitely need them.""Okay, okay, I get it!" Senti was quite annoyed, but seeing the large bags of supplies being delivered improved her mood.At least it seemed that Sampo had brought quite a lot."Ouch, my knees! Looks like it's been a while since I've carried this much stuff. I'm starting to get rusty! Next up are the universal high-energy batteries made by Interastral Peace Corporation—absolutely trustworthy! So everything's here. I'll be leaving now.""Hey? Don't run so fast!" Senti was about to grab him, but he ran so fast that he disappeared in a flash.Then, through the window, a spaceship could be seen soaring into the distance. Senti was just about to control it and borrow it to play with."Fuel acquired. Spaceship advances two squares…" Fu Hua picked up the extra note on the chessboard and saw the piece representing Senti move forward again."As expected, the fuel is used automatically after entering the house. Be careful. Reaching a new square might trigger a new event!" Su's decision was not too problematic. As long as one piece could reach the finish line first, whatever they encountered was acceptable."Okay, okay! Let me see what it is!" Senti quickly went to the chessboard, which produced a new note."Encountered a drifting insect in space that has infiltrated the spaceship. It is a remnant of the Path of Propagation. Please be extremely careful!""A remnant of The Propagation? Oh no!"Ellie exclaimed, and everyone's attention turned to her."What's wrong?" Aponia clearly did not realize the seriousness of the situation."Bronie said that the Swarm of Propagation are all incredibly terrifying. They can reproduce regardless of food availability, and their numbers will only increase. Some Stings even emit hallucinogenic scales that are then used to feed people!""I'll handle this…" Fu Hua clenched her fist, but Senti pressed it down."Please, this house will be doomed without me. You're just a mortal; getting close to the insects is like feeding them to it! Let me handle this. After all, I'm the Herrscher of Sentience!"---[Chapter 357: Chapter 356 The Glance of the Aeon]Even though their Aeon was crushed to death by the giant hammer of The Preservation, reducing the Swarm’s reproductive capacity, they were still a major pest in the universe.Ellie carefully explained the characteristics of the insects that she had learned from Bronie, and everyone took it very seriously.Except for Senti.“Oh, relax. They’re just a bunch of insects, beasts without their own thoughts. How difficult can they be to deal with?”Although that’s what she said, they were indeed almost no different from larger Honkai Beasts.“Be careful in everything. Always remember that there are always people stronger than you, and there’s always something beyond your understanding. Like Sampo just now, didn’t you have no chance at all?”“Hey! That was a special case. That Sampo seemed very clever. Do you think I didn’t notice? He might have some hidden power within him!”Senti was still obedient. Fu Hua had taught her not to manipulate others casually, and Senti had followed her advice.However, when sensing the other party’s superficial consciousness, Senti discovered that the other party didn’t feel fear at all.Senti’s sudden appearance was quite frightening, but the other party only pretended to be scared without any real fear.Is this reasonable?Either Senti’s abilities were blocked, or the other party genuinely wasn’t afraid at all.Whichever option is correct, it leads to one conclusion:The other party is not someone to be trifled with.Senti knew this, so she approached the other party very cautiously. However, the other party’s immediate disappearance was indeed somewhat unexpected.“That’s true. Those who trade alone in the universe usually can’t last long without considerable skill.”Su nodded in agreement. Knowing Senti would be cautious, he then said in a trusting tone, “Then the Swarm in the Golden Courtyard are yours!”“I knew it! This family would be doomed without me! Don’t worry! I’ll wipe out every single bug!”Senti was overjoyed to receive such approval. Su was so good, unlike that old-fashioned person who only knew how to doubt her.“The Herrscher of Sentience has gone to clear out the bugs; it’s our turn now.” Su looked at Ellie, Fu Hua, and Aponia.The board game had a long way to go. He hadn’t anticipated that the more people there were, the longer the game would last.But there was nothing he could do about it. After all, no one had expected things to develop this way.“Then I’ll go next!” Ellie volunteered and pulled the lever on the board.The numbers started jumping and finally stopped at 500.“Yay! Looks like my luck isn’t so bad!”The Crystal Flower slowly moved across the board, landing a few squares behind Senti.The slip of paper arrived as expected.“Received Emperor Rupert’s Anti-Life Equation. Robots inside the spaceship have rebelled!”“No reward, just a special event. But robots? Do we even have robots at home?” Ellie scratched her head in puzzlement. She didn’t think she had any robots at home.Su shook his head. “I don’t know either.”“Bronie is quite wary of artificial intelligence, so she basically doesn’t leave robots in the Golden Courtyard.” Aponia shook her head.Aponia had once asked Bronie why she didn’t get an android like the ones in Detroit: Become Human as a nanny. Bronie said that the awakening of artificial intelligence was inevitable and she didn’t want the Herrscher of Corruption to come into contact with the AI in her home when it was born.Aside from the Herrscher of Corruption, the only remaining possibility was the awakening of artificial intelligence.“Bronie said that a robot observed by Nous instigated a robot rebellion throughout the universe. The war between humans and robots almost caused utter chaos. Although it wasn’t as devastating as the insect plague, it was still a huge disaster,” Ellie commented, but she still couldn’t understand why the event would choose this particular scenario.“Holy crap! You’ll never believe what I just saw! I took care of the bugs, and then I saw a figurine walk out of Bronie’s room!”“Huh?” Ellie paused. “Is it a Gurran Lagann figurine? One of Bronie’s collectibles?”“Yes, yes, yes! It’s Gurren Lagann. It looks small at first, but it quickly grows to two meters tall! I found it strange, but I didn’t touch it. Could it be that Bronie prepared a robot in the Golden Courtyard to deal with special situations?”“Oh no! Even if it’s Lagann, that drill is no joke!”Ellie suddenly realized that Lagann’s drill was also terrifying. If it drilled through the entire Golden Courtyard, something terrible would definitely happen.“What? It’s just a toy. It looks a bit too big, doesn’t it?”“I’ll go deal with it!” Fu Hua stood up, then looked at Aponia. Aponia nodded and went to the chessboard to pull the lever.Su explained to Senti with a serious expression, “The event that Ellie activated just now was a robot rebellion, which means this robot will pose a threat to us.”“Inch Force—”The entire house shook.Ellie quickly followed up with her explanation.“The troubles will only increase in the future. We need to speed things up to end the game. Aponia, what does the note say?”“Pass through a star, use the spaceship for a gravity ejection, cross the asteroid belt. Cosmic debris +100. Advance five more spaces.”“Cross the asteroid belt?”Upon hearing this, Su’s eyes widened instantly.Ellie quickly conjured a crystal flower as a shield, preparing to face the potential storm.But the first thing to change was gravity.“Oh no! I forgot the sun’s gravity is incredibly strong!”It was like sitting on a giant swinging hammer. The direction of gravity changed, and the gravitational pull, stronger than Earth’s, dragged all sorts of furniture against the walls, yet it was also restrained by the house’s own gravity.It was like someone carrying a bucket of water and spinning in circles. Ellie felt like she was the water in that bucket.Her body was pressed tightly against the wall by gravity. The windows emitted a dazzling light, but then, as if by magic, they filtered out the intense glare, revealing the sun’s true form to everyone.Ellie’s face was pressed against the glass as she looked at how close she was to the star.What seemed slow was actually fast. The Golden Courtyard was flung away from the sun’s edge at an absurd speed. Before the surrounding environment even had time to become unbearably hot, everyone watched as the sun began to shrink.“Wow~ I’m starting to understand the space adventure Bronie was looking forward to. Isn’t this even more interesting than the scenes from Outer Worlds?” Ellie exclaimed.“But next, you’ll be facing the asteroid belt, Ellie!” Su quickly reminded her.At this moment, Ellie caused the crystal flowers to spread out continuously, completely enveloping everyone.“Hey! What about the old man?” Senti had been keeping an eye on Fu Hua. Was this some kind of robot-fighting environment?“Fu Hua has fused with Garuda’s Meta-Morph Factor. She should be fine,” Su judged, which immediately displeased Senti.What?Creating a safe zone but not letting Fu Hua join?“Sorry. If I hadn’t had Aponia roll the dice while Fu Hua was out fighting Lagann, this wouldn’t have happened. You guys stay inside. I’ll go to Fu Hua’s side!”At this moment, a few stones broke through the glass and flew in.Surprisingly, the stones breaking the glass didn’t immediately cause a pressure imbalance that resulted in all the oxygen leaking out.But no one noticed this, and Ellie nimbly went upstairs to where Fu Hua had made the noise.Bronie’s room was completely destroyed. Fu Hua was standing on top of the refrigerator upstairs, preparing to get everything out.It seemed Fu Hua had already planned a strategy to deal with the meteor shower.“Fu Hua!”“Alicia? Be careful. Don’t worry about me…”“Oh dear, I was just so worried about you! Come on, stay with me!”Fu Hua didn’t refuse Alicia’s offer. The two held hands tightly, and Alicia even created a small crystal shield.“What just happened?”“We just passed the sun and used its gravity to launch ourselves with a slingshot! Aponia rolled a 3, but it moved five spaces further!”“That’s great!”It was wonderful that Aponia could get closer to the finish line. Fu Hua was still very worried about Bronie. If they could both roll the dice immediately after their next move, wouldn’t they reach the finish line much faster?“Let’s deal with the current situation first… Oh dear, so many of Bronie’s collectibles are destroyed. She’ll definitely cry when she gets back, won’t she?” Alicia looked at Bronie’s room, which was completely devastated.Ellie could sense that what was inside was extremely important to Bronie, but unfortunately everyone was struggling just to protect their own lives.“I’ve dealt with Lagann, but I didn’t expect it to have a self-repairing ability. I can’t guarantee that after it repairs itself I can stop it before it causes even more damage.”“What a clean and decisive victory…”Looking at Lagann’s wretched state at the end of the corridor, Ellie was also surprised by the robot’s resilience. So she went to the robot intending to clean it up and throw it outside.If she did that, perhaps the robot wouldn’t cause any trouble for them.“This mission wasn’t perfect. After all, I could have reduced the damage even more. Bronie will be very sad.”Bronie’s room was destroyed. It was filled with all of her favorite things.“Oh dear, these are special times and special circumstances, so don’t worry about so many things! Hurry up and go downstairs to roll your dice! We’re just waiting for you!”“Okay!” Although Fu Hua is usually a slowpoke, when it comes to important matters she’s quick and decisive.Her heroic bearing has earned her quite a few admirers at St. Freya.“Sorry I’m late. The robot seems to have undergone some special modifications. The Anti-Life Equation isn’t something simple.”Behind Fu Hua, Ellie laboriously dragged the robot downstairs while Fu Hua quickly reached the chessboard and pressed the lever.“Sorry, Fu Hua. I didn’t expect such a troublesome situation to occur,” Aponia apologized.“It’s alright. You did the right thing. And Senti, I believe in Su and Aponia, and I believe they believe in my abilities. While I appreciate your concern, the most important thing now is to finish the game quickly!”“Hmph. When will you ever learn to take care of yourself?”Senti just couldn’t stand Fu Hua’s selfless ways. What’s wrong with having a little personal life?What’s wrong with finding some fun?She lives like an ascetic, silently fighting for others without asking for anything in return.Fu Hua pulled the lever, and the numbers started jumping again.“Sorry. My body often moves first. I don’t think too much about it.”“Yes, yes. I’m getting old. My mind’s become like a block of wood~”The red chick started moving, and the number stopped at six, exactly the same position Senti had initially reached.This event square usually doesn’t contain any punishment-related content, right?Ellie wasn’t sure either.“The Aeon of Destruction has noticed you and has dispatched the Doomsday Beast as the vanguard to destroy you. Cosmic Fragment -50%.”“Huh? Doomsday Beast?” Ellie briefly searched her memories.Ellie knew about the Destruction Legion, but she had never heard Bronie mention anything about Doomsday Beasts.Suddenly, a chilling aura swept in.A figure flashed past the window, and with a boom, a floor of the Golden Courtyard disappeared.The so-called cosmic fragments—at least half of them must have vanished inside.“This is… the Doomsday Beast…”The dragon, with its wings spread, seemed capable of blotting out the sky. The antimatter engine in its chest contained terrifying energy, enough to destroy everything.“Be careful, Fu Hua. If we can’t combine our power to defeat it, we might not be able to continue…”Su nervously watched the Doomsday Beast before him. This was a creature he had never seen before. Unlike Honkai energy, the Doomsday Beast contained a more violent and terrifying power.Ellie couldn’t help but wonder if the person who created the game truly meant no harm.If this thing appeared on Earth, the resulting catastrophe would likely destroy human civilization.Especially the energy contained within the Doomsday Beast. Once it erupted, no one could stop it.“When was the last time we fought against an enemy together?” Aponia couldn’t help recalling the past.“It must have been a long time ago, right?” Fu Hua sighed.---[Chapter 358: Chapter 357 Nanook Loses Face, Aha Rewards Him]A body even larger than Benares emanated flowing energy and exuded a violent and destructive aura, seemingly intent on annihilating everything and forcing everyone to take it seriously.Just as its name suggests.The mere presence of the Doomsday Beast was as if the end of the world had truly arrived.The army under The Destruction was a terrifying ultimate weapon born purely to fulfill its destiny of destruction, reducing everything to annihilation.As the vanguard, the Doomsday Beast arrived before this strange house and, without hesitation, launched an attack on the Golden Courtyard!But the Doomsday Beast missed its target.No, it should be said that the Herrscher of Sentience caused the Doomsday Beast to miss.A terrifying attack imbued with the will of destruction—the Golden Courtyard was undoubtedly no match for it. Therefore, the only option was for the Herrscher of Sentience to shift the position of the Golden Courtyard in the Doomsday Beast's eyes, thus achieving the goal of dodging the attack.Fortunately, while the Doomsday Beast was terrifying, its mind was actually quite similar to that of a wild beast, making it relatively easy to guide.Immediately afterward, Ellie's crystal arrow flew out, accurately striking what appeared to be a weak point on the Doomsday Beast's chest.Countless energies condensed at that chest. Ellie felt that this thing looked extremely unstable; destroying it would definitely take the Doomsday Beast away.She wondered whether the energy released when the Doomsday Beast was taken away would also take everything around it with it."Antimatter Legion embody the Path of Destruction possess only a pure will to destroy. They will annihilate everything in their path, even at the cost of their own death. I didn't expect Bronie's description to be so accurate..."Naturally, there were still quite a few minions around the Doomsday Beast, but these guys were instantly wiped out by Su and Aponia's ranged attacks as soon as they approached.However, these antimatter legions also destroyed themselves upon death, just as antimatter itself annihilates.Seeing such a scene, Ellie couldn't help but exclaim that Bronie was telling the truth.Sometimes, stories told by word of mouth are indeed less interesting than those experienced firsthand.After truly witnessing the vastness of the universe, Ellie understood Bronie's desire for adventure.Anyone who saw such a scene and experienced such a magnificent adventure would forget to go home."Is this the time to discuss these things?" Su couldn't help but complain. The Doomsday Beast in front of them was clearly so difficult to deal with. Its left and right hands seemed to possess different special abilities, and it could even use the furnace on its chest to strengthen itself.Seeing the stones floating around the Golden Courtyard turn to dust merely from being affected, if they continued chatting, the Golden Courtyard would probably become like this too."I know, I know~" Ellie quickly stepped in, crystal flowers continuously growing to control the Doomsday Beast's movements. Fu Hua was the team's true main damage dealer.As for Senti?Her suppression skills were excellent, but achieving any real lethality was still too difficult.After all, Senti was targeting things in the realm of consciousness. However, the Doomsday Beast have no other thoughts besides destruction; it didn't even seem to possess the most basic intelligence.No, perhaps it was just that Senti was seeing this form of life for the first time. It was somewhat similar to energy-based life, and its dense energy seemed to grant the Doomsday Beast incredibly strong resistance. Therefore, even if an illusion was created in the Doomsday Beast's eyes, it didn't seem to last long.Soon, the Doomsday Beast's gaze finally settled on the Golden Courtyard.But it also met Su's unique Eye of Bodhi."The cycle of cause and effect has turned; the battle is over! Dissipate, minions of the God of Destruction!"Su finished charging up, and the moment the Eye of Bodhi opened, a golden light erupted.That light was incredibly sharp, directly severing the entire Doomsday Beast in half and even cutting the core antimatter reactor in two.Following the same pattern of death as other members of the antimatter legion, the antimatter within the Doomsday Beast began to destroy itself.A black hole-like entity continuously absorbed the Doomsday Beast's shell, ultimately reducing it to nothingness.The end result of destruction was nothingness.Seeing this scene, Su sat wearily on the ground, deep in thought."Finally resolved?""Sorry, it seems my luck hasn't been very good. I didn't expect something like this to appear again."No matter how powerful Fu Hua was, she couldn't fly, while the Doomsday Beast could fly and even roam freely in space.Therefore, Fu Hua couldn't really help much in this battle; she could only clear out the members of the antimatter legion surging from all sides.However, even with the members of the antimatter legion, to be honest, Fu Hua felt something was very wrong when she punched them.It was as if the opponent was something extremely unstable; as long as she used her internal energy to destroy it, the members of the antimatter legion would quickly annihilate themselves.“It’s okay, Fu Hua. Even if there are difficulties, we can face them together. After all, we’re family, aren’t we?”Ellie didn’t think that Fu Hua’s misfortune was the reason all this happened.A sense of malice hung over the Golden Courtyard. It seemed Bronie’s condition might not be good.So Ellie was still a little worried, but the team needed to stay united; only by uniting could they move forward.Logically speaking, if Fu Hua displayed Garuda’s Artificial Honkai Reaction, flying in space shouldn’t be a big problem.However, Fu Hua seemed to have a mental block regarding that form.Perhaps she was worried that her form was too frightening?Or perhaps she was worried about repeating her past mistakes and attacking her comrades?Ellie didn’t know the root of Fu Hua’s problem and could only wait for her to recover.“Uh… sorry?”Fu Hua didn’t know what to say, but an apology seemed appropriate.Ellie was quite helpless; it seemed that Fu Hua couldn’t let go of her burden in a short time.Having journeyed for a thousand years, countless emotions had accumulated along the way. Even if the mind had forgotten, the body might not have.Ellie felt Fu Hua might need some more time."It's time for the second round of dice rolling. It's my turn." Su rolled a one last time, which seemed a little awkward, but it wasn't a big deal. It simply triggered a meteor shower and later yielded cosmic fragments for use in interstellar trade.In terms of luck, it seemed pretty good."Wait!" Fu Hua suddenly sensed something amiss before Su could act.Everyone fell silent, but in the quiet, there was a faint sound of insects flapping their wings."Senti." Fu Hua's questioning gaze came."I killed them all! Really! What happened to those insects? Why did they suddenly reappear?"Senti assured her that she had absolutely eliminated all the insects. How could she have missed such a large one?“So that’s it. Bronie once called it the Universal Swarm Disaster, a galaxy-wide insect plague. They are endless as locusts. What’s the fundamental reason this disaster can’t be eradicated?”Using his Eye of Bodhi, Su traced the cause from the effect and found the source of the Swarm.Undoubtedly, Senti had indeed wiped out the insects’ parents and done so cleanly.“Insect eggs?” Aponia asked, already certain of the reason.“Ugh! How can insects be so disgusting!” Ellie was immediately disgusted. She hadn’t expected that besides causing hallucinations, insects also had the ability to lay eggs anytime and anywhere.One insect could represent an entire swarm, increasing exponentially from one to two to four, splitting continuously until all matter was devoured by the insects."Ah!? If they're insect eggs, damn it, how could I not have thought of that! These insects are incredibly resilient, like cockroaches!"Senti immediately felt that her dignity as the Herrscher of Sentience had been severely challenged. She hadn't expected these insects, after turning into eggs, to be so inconspicuous and to hatch into adult insects in just a few minutes."Hurry! Aponia, it's up to you now!"Su knew that this wasn't about discussing Senti's mistake, but about quickly finding all the insect eggs to prevent further reproduction and unrest in the Golden Courtyard.Having just finished wiping out a wave of Doomsday Beasts and now facing insects, Su felt like all her vacation time had been wasted on overtime work.When he got back, he definitely had to go to Coral Island to rest."I understand!"Aponia followed Su's mental guidance and unleashed a bolt of lightning.Then another, and then yet another.The entire rooftop seemed to have been struck by divine retribution, with countless bolts of lightning precisely striking every corner and leaving behind a stench that spread throughout the Golden Courtyard."Ugh... this smell..." Senti immediately shut off her sense of smell, and Fu Hua couldn't help but frown.The lightning struck dozens of times, and when the last insect's scream echoed from the rooftop, Ellie asked, "Is it done?""I didn't expect so many eggs to hatch. It seems Bronie's description of the insects born under the Aeon was a bit too weak..." Su couldn't help but feel ashamed. He hadn't expected the eggs to be so small, yet the insects that hatched from them were so dangerous and enormous.He wondered what these insects ate. Could it be that anything could become their food?And this was in less than ten minutes.What if it were an hour or even a day?How large would the insects grow?If the eggs were accidentally brought to Earth, how long would it take for the planet to be overrun?Humans can't withstand the endless drain from these insects. Su could only sigh, thankful that the Golden Courtyard wasn't very large; otherwise, these insects alone might have killed everyone."This is truly perilous. I never imagined adventures in space could be so dangerous. Is this normal? Will Griseo face something like this?" Ellie couldn't help but ask, while Fu Hua's expression wasn't good either.Hearing Ellie say this, Fu Hua also felt that Griseo might encounter something terrible."No, at least according to my observations, Griseo hasn't had any major problems so far. Until my body recovers, she's just encountering a minor crisis. Once the Honkai is resolved, we can ask Bronie to handle it.""I see~" Ellie felt a little relieved, but Su didn't explicitly state what Griseo was facing, and Ellie couldn't help but start speculating.What other creatures within the solar system could pose a threat to Griseo?Could it be that thing in the Sea of Quanta that Bronie mentioned?"Okay, I've rested enough. Let's start a new round."The appearance of the Doomsday Beast still instilled some fear in Su. Now that the Doomsday Beast had appeared, what else might appear in the future?An even more powerful enemy?An even more bizarre enemy?Or perhaps an even more terrifying enemy?After completing one round, Su finally understood why this Ludo game had "A Game for the Brave" in its title.Only by mustering courage and continuing could the game progress.He pulled the lever and pressed the confirmation button. The numbers started jumping again.Then the number settled on 900.Su's eyes widened in surprise."What's going on?""Perhaps the highest possible roll on the dice isn't just six? I remember Bronie mentioning that some tabletop role-playing games might use special dice with one hundred or twenty sides. Maybe this is one of them?" Ellie was quite knowledgeable about games. Bronie had once considered creating a game based on tabletop role-playing rules, but she only created a new folder and never continued developing it.So her guess was reasonable.Senti took out the note and began to read. "The Golden Courtyard has humiliated The Destruction. Aha spread this news throughout the universe. Although Nanook doesn't care, your actions are commended. Everyone advances 10 spaces."As Senti finished speaking, all the pieces began to move."Yay!!" Ellie cheered. Although she didn't know what the Aeon Aha was doing, everyone could advance ten spaces—a full ten!This was incredibly good news.All the pieces stopped, but then something even worse happened on the board.Because each piece had moved to a new place, each piece triggered a new event.Five cards were dispensed one by one.Everyone looked at each other, and suddenly a sense of foreboding washed over them.Was this Aha's commendation truly the commendation everyone had been waiting for?----[Chapter 359: Chapter 358 Ellie's Wish]【Encountering a wild Heliobus migration, Cosmic Fragments +25】【Encountering a Cosmic Six-Phase Ice, accidentally frozen inside, reducing three rounds of progress.】【A comet passes by, quickly make a wish!】【Generally passing by an Antimatter Legion, entering battle, Cosmic Fragments +50】【Encountering a Car Wash Planet, spending Cosmic Fragments to repair the spaceship, Cosmic Fragments -50】The cards popped out one by one and were distributed to each player according to the order of the dice rolls.In order, it was Su, Senti, Alicia, Aponia, and then Fu Hua.Ellie's card was the only gold card and seemed to be a reward event.“Look outside!” Senti noticed the commotion beyond the window and quickly called everyone over.“Judging from the order in which the cards appeared, is this the Heliobi? ”Su also looked out the window. Clusters of will-o'-the-wisps floated in groups like suns drifting through the dark universe.“Wow~” Ellie was also attracted by the sight. Although she didn't know what it was, it seemed harmless.Judging from its appearance, it seemed to be a special kind of energy creature without a fixed form. It was like will-o'-the-wisps drifting through the universe.Then a meteorite suddenly crashed through the window. This must be the so-called Cosmic Fragment.“What is the Six-Phase Ice?” Senti asked in confusion.As soon as she finished speaking, she instantly turned into a block of ice and became motionless.“Senti!” Fu Hua realized the seriousness of the situation.She hadn't expected that even the Herrscher of Sentience could be frozen. What on earth was this thing?!Su paused and approached Senti, who was now a block of ice.“Sorry, I can't see anything.”“It isn’t cold. It just appeared out of nowhere. Is this alright?” Ellie touched the ice block. Aponia nervously grabbed Ellie's hand because she was afraid Ellie might also be affected.“We can only believe that this is a power we can't resist. If we get through this round of the game as soon as possible, perhaps Senti will return.”Fu Hua had finally fully understood this unusual power.Everyone was like fish on a chopping board. Their lives were entirely dependent on another’s will, yet they couldn’t find a single flaw in this game.How could they break this deadlock?Fu Hua carefully examined the paper and then focused her gaze on the golden card in Ellie's hand.“Ellie, didn’t the note in your hand say we could make a wish?!”“Yeah! So what should we wish for? To find Bronie? Or to end this game?”Another flash of blue light appeared outside the window. Ellie looked out and saw a blue comet moving through space with a long trailing tail.Ellie had seen comets before, but she never imagined seeing one at such close range.“We won’t interfere for now. After all, it’s your wish.”Su glanced at Aponia and then at Fu Hua. Both shook their heads. Su knew this was Ellie's wish and trusted that she would make the right choice. If Ellie had any particular wish, he would not stop her.“But be careful. Everything has a price. If the wish is too big, there might be consequences we can't bear.”Fu Hua warned her, and Ellie suddenly paused.Ellie immediately understood what Fu Hua was thinking.“You mean the resurrection of the Thirteen Flamechasers, right?”“If we were to resurrect Kalpas, Kosma, Eden, Sakura, Vill-V, and Mobius all at once, terrible things might happen!”Ellie shook her head. “I’ll be careful!”She reached the entrance and prepared for any pressure imbalance before opening the door. Ellie then went straight to the entrance of the Golden Courtyard.At that moment, the comet was at its closest point to the Golden Courtyard.Ellie clasped her hands and closed her eyes. She silently recited her wish.‘I hope Bronie will come before me and help us end this game of the brave.’The dazzling light gradually faded. Ellie opened her eyes and saw only a faint trail left by the comet. The distant Heliobus chased after it and gradually drifted into deep space.“So, is there any movement?”Ellie looked around. It seemed her wish had not been fulfilled.Or perhaps they had only been given the chance to make a wish. Whether it would come true was another matter.It was all baffling.At that moment, Aponia spoke.“Watch out. The Antimatter Legion is here again!”Members of the Antimatter Legion could somehow survive alone in outer space.They had virtually no possibility of communication. They unconsciously and continuously pursued destruction. Everything in sight was destroyed.This squad did not have any Doomsday Beasts, and their numbers did not seem large.Ellie shot down one Antimatter Legion soldier with an arrow and quickly wiped out the entire squad.These enemies were much easier to deal with than Doomsday Beasts. However, they would still be very difficult for Earth civilization to handle.As long as their coordinates were not revealed, it would not be a major problem.“So they still haven’t appeared?” Su knew Bronie’s amazing abilities. When Ellie suggested bringing Bronie out to help conquer the game, he fully supported the idea.Bronie boasted that she could beat any game no matter how difficult it was. A game for the brave should not be too much of a challenge.Unfortunately, Bronie had not appeared.Was there a problem with the wish?Or was there something wrong with Bronie herself?The dilapidated Golden Courtyard suddenly docked at a structure resembling a pier. Drones emerged and began repairing it. They polished and waxed it thoroughly.The only problem was the language barrier and the lack of written language. After finding a Cosmic Fragment at home, Su managed to pay for the car wash.The car wash process was strange.This place inexplicably felt like a spaceship.Strange spacecraft were common on the Car Wash Planet. The planet only cleaned the exterior of ships and did not explore their interiors. Ellie subtly glanced at a distant spaceship that resembled the Cosmic Juggernaut. She immediately thought of an Aeon traveling through space.They used it as a tool to explore the Milky Way.“Still hasn’t appeared...” Ellie shook her head while watching the Car Wash Planet disappear into the distance. She felt dejected. She found a stool, sat down, and began eating snacks she had taken from the refrigerator.The event ended, and the lever on the chessboard sprang up again. It was finally usable.After Su, it should have been Senti’s turn. Senti remained frozen and motionless, so her dice roll was skipped.Knock. Knock. Knock.Someone knocked on the gate of the Golden Courtyard.Ellie looked toward the door in surprise. She quickly put down her snacks and rushed over.“Bronie I missed you so much” Ellie opened the door and wanted to give her beloved Bronie a hug.The girl standing outside made Ellie stop.A small children’s submachine gun was pointed directly at her head.It was Bronie as a child.“Who are you strange auntie? How do you know my name? What were you trying to do just now?!”The rapid questions left Ellie bewildered.She looked at her companions inside the house. Su stared at the doorway in confusion.Fu Hua frowned. She was completely baffled. Aponia immediately began to pray. In this situation, only a god could accomplish such a thing.Ellie felt slightly sad. She raised her hands and began explaining why Bronie was there.“Jumanji! I never thought such a game really existed in this world! It’s a pity I’m not a player. I’m just an NPC caught in it...”Little Bronie was quite cute.She was especially cute when she was engrossed in the game.Ellie watched with a smile as Bronie examined the board. She then flipped through the notes and the small book like a child filled with curiosity.“So are you willing to help us end the game?”“The Jumanji Game requires courage. Although I don’t fully understand your situation, your courage is undeniable.”“Courage?” Su did not expect Bronie to identify that as the core theme of the game.Everyone actually knew it. They simply had not examined it deeply.If the theme was clear, then the unexpected events were easier to understand.But what exactly was this test? How were they supposed to pass it?“You have experienced many hardships. You have not collapsed despite everything that has happened. You even faced strange creatures. That alone is courage,” Bronie said with admiration.That expression made Ellie feel a trace of sadness.Had all their past bonds disappeared?“So before coming here, were you in Arc City? Or in another bubble world?”“Eh!? We know each other in the future?!”“We’re more than acquaintances!”Ellie felt slightly annoyed that Bronie did not remember her. After a brief moment of disappointment, she decided to tease her instead.Ellie knew Bronie used to sneak glances at her legs and chest when they first met.Bronie was cautious now and kept her distance. If Ellie stepped closer, how would Bronie react?“No. The future me is not the present me. Please don’t treat me as a substitute...”“No. Small and very cute!”Ellie noticed Bronie hold her breath.Bronie seemed surprised by their closeness.Ellie felt delighted.“So can you tell me? Tell Elysia what kind of adventure you were having before this?”Bronie stepped back and coughed twice.“I found that the sun inside a bubble world was about to self-destruct. I wanted to explore spacetime knowledge and study black holes and white holes. I accidentally disrupted the spacetime continuity of that bubble world...”“You caused a spacetime paradox?”Su understood. There was a similar ending in the game Outer Wilds.Bronie actually dared to attempt something like that.It frightened Su.“I know. Then the bubble world restarted and kept restarting again and again.”“You even told me something like that... I’m starting to question our future relationship...”“It will be very close~” Ellie winked playfully.Bronie’s face flushed. Her eyes darted nervously.“Can we continue the game? The chessboard does not move by itself,” Bronie said as she changed the subject.Ellie placed her hand on the chessboard and pressed it down gently.“Next it’s my turn. Do you want to join me? Let’s pull the lever together.”“That seems pointless.”“It’s meaningful if it’s with Bronie. Don’t you want to participate? You need to feel involved.”“You know me well. I’m still a little scared…”Bronie stepped back and handed the chessboard to Elysia.Su intervened.“Elysia, finishing the game is the priority. The Herrscher of Sentience is frozen in ice. Bronie, do you have a way to save her?”Bronie approached the frozen Herrscher of Sentience and touched the ice. Aponia immediately stopped her.“Please don’t touch it carelessly.”“Alright. I won’t touch it. This ice is not ordinary. I suspect it is related to the Remembrance or the Garden of Remembrance. Only They could manipulate imaginary energy in this way. We should find someone from the Garden of Remembrance. They might know how to solve it.”“The game says she will return in three rounds. Let’s leave it for now. Senti can survive without food or water. Hurry and pull the lever!”--- [Chapter 360: Laughing to Death, There's a Herta Here][Passing through a planet affected by the Stellaron, encountering a Fragmentum Creature, Cosmic Fragment +25.]Ellie's luck is never too bad. Even though she only got a four this time, it only meant a few monsters appeared around her.Ellie didn't know what a Fragmentum Creature was, but she noticed that many of these creatures seemed to have appeared in the Sea of Quanta.Fherefore, Ellie believed that some of the "Fragmentum" was likely the name given to the Sea of Quanta by the Interastral Peace Corporation or the Genius Society.After the Fragmentum Creature dissipated, it left no trace. Even if Su wanted to bring Dr. Mobius a souvenir, it was practically impossible.Perhaps in the end, she could only bring back her own memories."That's it?" Bronie packed up her drone and the children's energy submachine gun, looking utterly bored, which made Ellie chuckle.Bronie used to be so unruly, as if no enemy or difficulty could bother her."Relax, maybe this event is just to give everyone a break. After all, we encountered a Doomsday Beast before, and those things are really tough to deal with..."Ellie knew that Su was extremely tired. After unleashing a powerful attack that took down the Doomsday Beast, he still had to face lurking Stings.Throughout the entire game, besides Senti, Su was the busiest.So the events in the Game of the Brave might have taken Su's physical condition into account, creating Fragmentum that were only at the level of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.Flamespawn and Icespawn—Ellie knew the names of these monsters."Who's next?" Seeing Bronie's eager expression, Ellie immediately looked at Aponia, who had remained completely silent."Aponia?""Sorry, I was just thinking about whether time travel is real."Why was Senti frozen? Why did Bronie disappear?Why did Ellie's wish appear before everyone in this form?Does time travel, or even time paradoxes, really exist?Fu Hua sanding nearby was also deep in thought. From the moment Bronie appeared, Fu Hua had already begun to have doubts.Does Senti's freezing incident align with the core values of this game called "The Game of the Brave"?Unfortunately, Fu Hua had not yet found any flaws in little Bronie's actions.After all, Fu Hua's memories were synchronized with her past self's memories in the Elysian Realm. Bronie's appearance when she first arrived in the Elysian Realm was indeed quite similar to her current state.The only difference was that before coming to the Elysian Realm, Bronie had researched its information and confirmed that it posed no threat to her before attempting to make contact.Now, however, Bronie was a complete stranger to everyone."Personally, I think it's definitely not normal, but that's how it happened. What can I do?"Bronie shrugged, unconcerned about Aponia's wariness and questioning. Instead, she focused her gaze on the chessboard, seemingly trying to figure out its workings.How could Bronie not be interested in such a magical game?Aponia couldn't see anything unusual about Bronie, only that the threads of fate had become clearer.Reluctantly, Aponia placed her hand on the chessboard and pressed the lever.The numbers started rolling again and finally stopped at 1200."Wow!" Ellie watched in surprise as the pieces on Aponia's chessboard began to move forward. The golden butterfly had moved a full twelve squares.Now, it should be about halfway there, right?Aponia took out a piece of paper, and Bronie immediately leaned over to peek.[Arrived at the Herta Space Station. You may freely trade Cosmic Fragments here, but please do not enter the enclosed compartments.]Su tidied up the things in the house that had not been damaged, picking up meteorites one by one."Our resources are limited, and our water is running low. Energy might help us advance further. Should we choose to advance as far as possible to end the game quickly, or proceed cautiously and steadily?"Su actually favored a cautious approach. Having witnessed the Doomsday Beast once, advancing without any preparation was highly inadvisable.The universe is vast, and any kind of crisis could occur.As the saying goes, there are always people more powerful than you, and the world is vast beyond your understanding. This Herta Space Station is clearly someone's private space station. Could an ordinary person manage it?Faced with the unknown of the universe, Su believed it was best to have a sense of awe."If the game ends, will you go home?"Bronie asked."Probably, right? I'm not entirely sure. This game is probably related to why Bronie's future self disappeared, so I think the end of the game should be seeing the Bronie we're looking for, right?" Ellie secretly felt that the Aeon was definitely involved and was probably just finding it fun.Bronie was like a new toy the Aeon had just acquired, and They wanted to fully experience its fun. They were just props appearing near the dolls during a game of make-believe.No one knew how to escape this game, and no one knew what would happen after it ended. Although the Game of the Brave had instructions stating that everything would return to normal after the game ended, who could guarantee that these instructions were true?"My future self… If we met, wouldn't that still create a time paradox? Forget it, let's not think about that now. Let's see what this Herta is all about!"Then a scene from the Herta Space Station, unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, appeared before them.A house floated precisely to the dock of the Herta Space Station. Its door faced directly toward everyone, making communication with the inside impossible through any means.As for whether the house was hostile, no one would dare provoke the Interastral Peace Corporation, nor would anyone dare challenge a member of the legendary Genius Society.Therefore, the staff at the Herta Space Station felt little fear but rather curiosity.Of course, the Herta Space Station's security personnel still had their duties to perform, so numerous guards stood watch at the door, eager to see who this strange individual was who had brought a house out for a stroll.The door slowly opened.A cute pink elf peeked out and warmly greeted the people of the Herta Space Station.Perhaps there was a language barrier, but emotions, expressions, and tone of voice were all interconnected.Ellie's wave, warm greeting, and adorable smile immediately dispelled much of the group's wariness.At least Ellie's smile proved that the people inside the house were not particularly hostile.Then Bronie appeared, followed by Aponia, Su, and Fu Hua."Hello, welcome to Herta Space Station. Travelers, please state your identities and purpose. I am Arlan from the Defense Department, responsible for security at Herta Space Station.""Hi~ I'm Elysia. This is the Golden Courtyard, kind of our home. We've been caught up in a game called 'The Game of the Brave' and stumbled upon this place. We hope we can exchange these items for some supplies to help us smoothly pass through the game stages.""The Game of the Brave… Sorry, I've never heard of this thing, so I need to contact my superiors for instructions. However, you are free to move around on the dock, but please refrain from any destructive behavior."Arlan nodded and quickly reported the visitors' situation to his superiors."Hilarious! Why is there a miniature doll here?" Bronie pointed to a doll not far away and immediately laughed.Clearly, in this sci-fi space station, such a doll was quite out of place. It completely clashed with the surrounding style, like someone showing off their figurines. Considering the space station's name is Herta Space Station, there was no doubt its owner was extremely narcissistic.What's the best way to deal with a narcissistic person?Bronie thought of mockery.Ellie also curiously walked over, approaching the Herta doll and waving with a smile."What?""Ah!" Ellie was startled, but upon closer inspection, the doll was quite exquisite."Hello? My name is Elysia. In my hometown, it means paradise~""Hmm... Not interested.""Bronie, look, this doll is actually alive..." Ellie quickly whispered in Bronie's ear, while Bronie's gaze fell on a portrait not far away.The person in the portrait was almost identical to the doll in front of her. Upon closer inspection, one could see an introduction titled "Genius Society, Seat 83, Herta.""This is just a doll I placed on the space station for easier movement. So, what's the 'Game of the Brave'? Can I see it or play with it?"Hearing about a curios, Herta arrived immediately.Something that could float in space—a structure that looked like a house—and be used for easy travel was naturally captivating.Although upon arrival, she overheard someone rudely mocking her doll.Did Herta care?Of course not, so she decided to ignore Bronie."I'm sorry, this is our only way back, and no one can guarantee we'll return after completing the game, so maybe I can only show you a little?"A genius observed by Nous.Elysia had heard a bit about Them. Although Emperor Rupert had instigated the AI rebellion, there was no doubt that his anti-organic equations were a level of research unattainable by most ordinary people.If such a genius could see this chessboard and figure out some principles, perhaps they could find their way back, or even Bronie."Hmm?" Herta crossed her arms, seemingly waiting for Ellie to bring the chessboard.Ellie looked into the house. Su roughly understood Ellie's meaning, so he gestured for Fu Hua to carry the chessboard and try to leave the Golden Courtyard.However, the moment the chessboard was taken out, it vanished and returned to the house.Fu Hua stared blankly at her empty hands."Interesting." Seeing this, Herta immediately became interested, so she pointed into the Golden Courtyard."Name your price. Let me in to study it, and take my doll body with you. Whether it's credits or something else, you should feel honored. After all, you've successfully piqued the interest of Herta, the 83rd seat of the Genius Society."What a strange girl.Ellie thought that although it was impolite, perhaps that was just the quirk of geniuses."Well, could you please help us thaw the Six-Phase Ice? One of our companions is trapped inside, and I'm very worried about her safety.""Oh? Six-Phase Ice? Thawing it is a bit difficult, but it's alright. If you can let me study your chessboard, then it's not a big problem."It seemed the number of people unrelated to the game had increased.Bronie secretly stared at Herta, who was getting a little annoyed."What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen such a beautiful doll-like body?""You old woman pretending to be young. You can't stop the game from proceeding, nor can you figure out its principles, because this game is filled with the smell of 'Elation' everywhere."As she spoke, Bronie tossed out a note, which naturally mentioned that Nanook had lost face, and a loud "Aha!" echoed throughout the universe."So, brat, what do you know? Or rather, what are you?"The note was probably about the events that had occurred on the chessboard. It was clear that the group from the Golden Courtyard had encountered members of the Antimatter Legion, and it seemed they had even destroyed a Doomsday Beast.It had to be said, they did possess some strength.However, more than eliminating the Doomsday Beast, Herta had successfully piqued her curiosity about Bronie.She noticed that Bronie's state seemed a bit strange.The doll's body was equipped with many sophisticated instruments, but Bronie, standing there, gave the impression of being observed as a doll.She had flesh, blood, and life responses, but the fluctuations of active thought were absent."People always have those kinds of thoughts: who they are, where they are, what they are supposed to do. But I never think about those things, so don't ask such meaningless questions.""Hmm? Is that so?"Although somewhat concerned, Herta still knew the sequence of events.So she entered the Golden Courtyard and saw the somewhat foolish Herrscher of Sentience sealed motionless within the Six-Phase Ice and an ordinary chessboard on a dilapidated table.Everything seemed so normal, and that was the biggest abnormality.Perhaps, as Bronie said, this game might be the work of Aeon Aha.Would there be danger? There was definitely danger.But it was incredibly interesting.A wondrous artifact related to the Aeon—Herta found a stool, plopped down on it, and made her intentions clear. She was going to stay and see for herself what this Game of the Brave was all about."After you replenish your supplies, continue the game. I'll pay for the supplies. Just pretend I don't exist and continue your game!"