Just This?

“Is that it?”

Aya Tone blinked, refusing to believe it as he knocked on the orb twice more.

Though it had been spectacular, if he were honest, it was just… that. Watching the whole thing felt no different from a nature documentary.

Where was that woman?

That mysterious woman who bore some resemblance to him?

Was that it?

He’d hoped to pry from her some secret about the so-called “Starfeather Bloodline.”

“No!”

Fire Finch crossed her arms and murmured, taking the orb from Aya Tone.

“This is already enough. This projection gives us a comprehensive understanding of that shattered world.”

“Is it useful?” Aya Tone curled his lip in disdain. It was just a bunch of scenic shots.

“Oh, shut up. Countless scholars worldwide spent a hundred years and couldn’t piece it together. You tell me if it’s useful.” Fire Finch rolled her eyes.

After transforming, his brain had turned childish.

Oh well, she’d cut him some slack.

She didn’t bother explaining further; if she did, she feared she’d drain what few brain cells Aya Tone had left.

A wisp of flame flickered in her hand, not hot, just pure energy taking form.

She wanted to double-check.

“Huh?” Fire Finch squinted, puzzled, and released another flame of pure energy.

The result was still no reaction.

Was it broken?

She recalled the device she’d gotten from Yan Mo. That device had been buried in ore, both protected by the mineral and nourished by magic. For something held in such high regard, it shouldn’t be a one-time use item.

Unless…

“Hey, Aya, snap out of it. Lend me some magic.”

“The boss called?” Aya Tone immediately offered his cheap magic.

So that was it.

Watching the faint light coming from the orb, Fire Finch understood.

In that case…

She thought of Yan Mo, who was now eating state-provided meals—a reincarnator from another world.

Seems like Aya Tone’s background was pretty significant.

“What’s up?” Sensing Fire Finch’s gaze, Aya Tone turned his head, tilting it in confusion.

‘Heh, this not-so-bright salted fish seems to have been fully assimilated into our camp.’

“Nothing. Just suddenly remembered that short film you starred in is about to air.”

“Huh?”

If Fire Finch hadn’t mentioned it, he’d have completely forgotten.

And now that she brought it up, he suddenly recalled that he’d… apparently… agreed to be someone’s spokesperson.

Ah… so tired.

Just thinking about it was exhausting.

“Not excited?”

“Heh heh…” Aya Tone’s lips twitched in a forced smile.

‘Wow, so excited…’ (flat reading)

The adult world was cruel. Before, it was selling his time; now it was selling both his time and his body.

He was going to be worn out.

‘Knew getting into this circle was a bad idea. Once I’ve earned enough, I’ll take Xiao Jiu to some remote village and retire!’

A twenty-something body with a sixty-year-old spirit.

Aya Tone was already fantasizing about his future retirement.

A cleanup crew arrived. Fire Finch took the projection device and the fully charged magic storage device back to the guild.

These two items needed to be sent to a specialized research institute to realize their full potential.

Having made her decision, Fire Finch dialed a number.

*****

“Whew… oh…”

Back home, Aya Tone flopped onto the sofa without a shred of dignity, rubbing his sore waist with a pained moan.

If he hadn’t been working out regularly, he’d have been completely drained of magic. He couldn’t even teleport and had to take a cab.

Losing a quarter of his magic was terrifying—he felt utterly insecure.

*****

Night

A big and a little girl walked hand in hand into the bathroom, leaving Aya Tone alone on the balcony, staring gloomily at the pitch-black sky.

No moonlight tonight. Was it blocked by clouds?

Just like my mood…

Sigh…

“Hey, Big White, do you think the authors in Country R are just lacking love as kids, so now they take revenge on society by writing disgusting stuff?”

Thinking about the plot he’d read that afternoon, Aya Tone sighed again.

‘Where’s the invincible protagonist they promised? How’d they just vanish?’

‘The author is just plain nasty.’

Big White: “…”

She wanted to comfort him, but remembering that this guy was the reason she’d been ostracized by the group chat, she suddenly changed her mind.

After that day, everyone kept tagging her and asking for pictures. Even though she said it wasn’t her, no one believed her.

It made her so mad she wanted to bite them through the internet.

‘Heh, maybe I should just post the master’s photos.’

‘The master taught the young master: one should take responsibility for one’s own actions. Heh heh.’

Where Aya Tone couldn’t see, Big White lurked in the shadows, a sinister grin spreading across her face.

‘Decision made. I’ve got plenty of photos on my phone that weren’t sent to Miss Li Jia. Since the master played dirty, don’t blame me.’

Double agent—Big White—had decided.

Aya Tone suddenly shuddered.

“Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling? Some pervert planning to mess with me?”

*****

In a wild, overgrown area, a military off-road vehicle sped along, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

The next moment, it passed through the brush and vanished.

Underground.

“Commander of the Southern Theater Lionheart Company, Ke Zhengxiong!”

“Long time no see, Old Wu!”

As Ke Zhengxiong stepped out of the car, he saw a white-haired old man in a lab coat standing at the entrance, staring at him intently.

“Cut the crap. Where’s the stuff?”

Old Wu’s mental state was inversely proportional to his age; you’d never guess he was a scholar over eighty.

“With me, it’s perfectly safe. After all these years, you still don’t trust me?”

“Hmph!” Old Wu brushed past him impatiently. ‘You talk so much but haven’t moved. If I’d waited for you to hand it over, the flowers would have wilted.’

“Is this it?”

Old Wu caressed the box in his arms as tenderly as if he were touching a breathtaking beauty.

There was no malice in his eyes, only a thirst for knowledge.

“That’s right.” Ke Zhengxiong stood by, shaking his head helplessly.

He was used to being ignored. These old academicians were like that—full of patriotic passion and a hunger for knowledge. They were the purest of scholars.

And here, there was a name everyone knew—the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“You got time?” Old Wu glanced at Ke Zhengxiong, a hint of impatience in his voice.

“Sort of.”

“Good. Then go to that kid Ao Yu and bring me all the soil from the dungeons. I need it.”

Ke Zhengxiong froze. ‘He wants me to run errands?’

“Alright. Wait for me.”

No choice. This guy was his mentor; he had to listen.

Back in the lab, Old Wu couldn’t wait to open the box and take out the two items.

‘So these are from another world?’

Old Wu touched the projection device with his withered fingers and quickly determined the metal wasn’t from Earth.

And the seamless forging technique—not a single crack, as if the device itself was alive and had carved itself.

‘It’s always been a single entity!’

He stood before the ring-shaped console, his fingers flying across the floating holographic screens.

The device storing Aya Tone’s magic was pulled by a magnetic force, and a large amount of magic flowed through pipes into the orb.

The orb floating in midair buzzed, and the cloud-like chaotic substance inside began to rotate slowly.

“Remaining magic: 89%”