[Through your relentless efforts, after collecting numerous remains of the Swarm King, you've finally extracted a complete Authority related to life and reproduction. It's time to proceed with the next phase of your plan.]
["You seem unusually happy—did something good happen?" Another chance encounter finds the two of you at a tavern. Jingliu holds her wine glass, gazing at you with curiosity.]
[You touch your cheek.
"Is it that obvious?"]
[Jingliu nods, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"Like you've stumbled upon some priceless treasure."
She picks up her glass as she speaks.]
[Treasure? You think for a moment—she's not wrong. Casually, you reply, "Something like that."
Then, you raise your glass and clink it against hers.]
[Jingliu doesn't press further. No matter how close, everyone has their secrets.]
[But then, you speak up.
"What about you? You seem troubled."]
[Her fingers, toying with the glass, stiffen briefly before relaxing.
"Why would I be…"
Her tone is calm, deliberately steady.]
[Yet you immediately notice the tension in her demeanor and press further. "Trouble?"]
[The smile fades from Jingliu's face. She sighs.
"Ugh, must you be so sharp? What are you, a mind-reader?"]
["If you still consider me a friend…" Your expression is solemn.]
[Seeing no way out, Jingliu raises her hands in surrender.
"Fine, fine! I'll talk. We've discovered someone conducting twisted human experiments on Vonwacq…"]
[You nod. "Go on."]
[She exhales. "The target is… troublesome. We've already lost several operatives. Now, we're gathering reinforcements."]
["Who could possibly make you this wary?" You tilt your head, intrigued.
"You don't sound confident at all."]
[Jingliu grimaces. "It's the Genius Society's #64—Doctor Primitive."]
[Recognition flashes in your eyes.
"Ah. Him. Yeah, that's a problem."]
[Every member of the Genius Society is a "talent" in their own right, with combat capabilities ranging wildly.
The strongest among them could incite a Mechanicus Rebellion, plunging the universe into war; some wield a mere scalpel as a weapon of slaughter. The weakest? A couple of hired thugs could take them down.
But without exception, each is a figure capable of altering the course of cosmic history.
Power isn't rare in this vast universe—what makes the Genius Society terrifying is their ability to mass-produce that power.]
[Jingliu's expression hardens with determination.
"It doesn't matter. We'll win."]
[Your heart sinks. That's exactly what you don't say before a battle!]
[Oblivious to the death flag she's just planted, Jingliu declares confidently, "I'll be leading the charge this time. We'll crush this."]
[After a pause, you retrieve a prayer bead and hand it to her.
"If you're in danger, crush this. No matter where you are, I'll come."]
[She takes it, rolling the bead between her fingers.
"I've cut down the moon itself—I won't need saving. But…"
Her eyes soften with amusement. "This is your first gift to me. I'll treasure it."]
[With that, she tucks the bead close to her heart.]
[The two of you talk a while longer before parting ways.]
[Watching Jingliu's retreating figure, your brow furrows.]
[There's a reason for the bead. If history holds true, this battle against Doctor Primitive will decimate the Trailblazers, nearly wiping them out entirely.
It would later be called "The Crimson Vonwacq"—a grim irony, given the planet's fame for its emerald forests.]
[With an Emanator of the Hunt like Jingliu joining, the tide should turn. But Doctor Primitive's methods are… unnatural. The casualties will still be severe.
His memetic corruption can trigger evolutionary regression—humans reverting to apes, the draconic Vidyadhara devolving into fish…
Images, sounds, even mere information can serve as vectors. More insidious than any virus, utterly indefensible.]
[Sure enough, two weeks later, you feel the bead shatter.]
[Rewind to Jingliu's departure. After leaving you, she regroups with her comrades and rushes to Vonwacq.]
[The planet is a sea of green, its surface untouched by civilization. From orbit, it gleams like a jade marble.
A paradise for Doctor Primitive, who built his lab deep within the "Forest of Ten Thousand Trees" to conduct his Atavism Experiments.]
[Perhaps he never expected the Trailblazers—busy purging the Swarm—to interfere. Caught off-guard, a cyber-ninja dubbed "The Shinobi" infiltrates his lab, destroying his memetic pathogen and foiling his "Great Regression" plan to revert the cosmos to primordial lifeforms.]
[Geniuses are proud. Those atop the Genius Society? Unbearably so. Humiliated, his work ruined, Doctor Primitive snaps.
He leads his followers in a frenzied assault on the Trailblazers.]
[His attacks defy convention—not blades or bullets, but memetic corruption. A single strike rewrites biology on the spot: primates into apes, Vidyadhara into fish…
With each fallen comrade, the Trailblazers must split focus—fighting while protecting the regressed.
The imbalance tips swiftly toward disaster.]
[Jingliu orders the agonizing choice: abandon the afflicted, fight unrestrained. Divided attention will doom them all.
The shift works—the battle stabilizes, but the cost hangs heavy.]
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