Lü Heng patted Ikezawa on the shoulder. "System or no System, it doesn't matter. If I get it, great; if not, it's just fate."
Ikezawa sighed, grudgingly accepting this reality. When he first transmigrated, he'd assumed he was the "protagonist." But now, it seemed Lü Heng had a System, Invincible Bro had an Appraisal Ability, and Shu Cat had a Chat Group—any of them were more "protagonist-like" than him.
Compared to them, he was merely a Transmigrator.
Or perhaps, everyone was the "protagonist" of their own life. Doing his best was enough.
"Sigh," Ikezawa sighed again, looking at the Sparkle plush doll in his hand. "Still... I really didn't expect Sparkle to be in this world too."
This caught the attention of Lü Heng and Invincible Bro, who asked almost simultaneously, "You know Sparkle?"
Ikezawa replied, "Of course. She's from the same world as Robin—that Star Rail world I told you about."
Until now, Sparkle's origins had been a mystery. All Lü Heng knew was that she'd played a crucial role in the Sakura Nation's downfall before inexplicably ending up in the Dragon Nation and starting her acting career.
To be honest, the two incidents seemed completely unrelated at first glance, and Lü Heng couldn't make heads or tails of Sparkle's logic.
It was like saying you should mix grade 42 concrete into your spaghetti because the length of a screw could directly affect the torque of an excavator. The moment you pounded it in, it would instantly generate massive amounts of high-energy protein, commonly known as UFOs, severely impacting economic development and even causing nuclear contamination in the Pacific Ocean and your phone charger.
However, thanks to Invincible Bro's ability, they could roughly deduce that Sparkle was an Outsider. Given her formidable power, the Longcheng Bureau of Anomalous Investigations had been treating her with considerable courtesy.
Now that they finally had a chance to learn more about this enigmatic figure, Lü Heng and Invincible Bro were naturally curious. "Tell us everything!"
"Um..." Ikezawa cleared his throat, organizing his thoughts. "She belongs to an organization called the Masked Fools, who worship the Elation Aeon, Aha. They're a notorious group of Fun-Seekers throughout the galaxy. Their actions have no logic; they're driven solely by the pursuit of amusement, just like what happened earlier..."
Hearing this, Lü Heng and Invincible Bro exchanged dumbfounded glances. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Fun-seekers aren't exactly rare; you can find them all over the internet. But what truly astonished Lü Heng and Invincible Bro was the existence of an entire organization dedicated to fun-seeking, operating on a cosmic scale.
If that were the case, it might explain Sparkle's behavior. Since her actions defied all logic, theoretically, she was capable of anything.
Having already explained the concept of Aeons and briefly introduced the idea of Trailblaze, Ikezawa cut to the chase. "The Elation Aeon—a fun-seeker god whose power is so great it can shatter the Fourth Wall. In the lore, it's said their laughter can tear apart the universe. Among all Aeons, they're considered one of the most formidable."
"His methods are incredibly abstract. In the HSR Universe, there's an anti-Elation group called the Mourning Actors—a bunch of ascetic zealots. What's absurd is that Aha grants power to these very opponents, purely because He finds it amusing."
"Meanwhile, those who genuinely worship Aha have to go to great lengths to steal masks from the Mourning Actors, which serve as their entry tickets to join the Masked Fools and gain access to the Tavern."
"Each Masked Fool has their own mask, symbolizing their faith in Aha and imbued with the power of Elation."
Lü Heng and Invincible Bro exchanged glances, remembering that Sparkle always wore a mask. Lü Heng's lips twitched. "Seriously? This is way too abstract."
Finally, Ikezawa concluded, "Anyway, I personally don't think Sparkle's a bad person. She likes to stir up trouble, but she's actually pretty nice."
The instant Ikezawa finished speaking, the Sparkle plush doll in his hand suddenly waved its arm. "Thank you for the compliment! Miss Sparkle is very pleased~!"
Lü Heng was immediately shocked. "Holy crap!? This thing can talk?!"
He stared at the doll in his own hand, turning it over and examining it closely, but found no hidden mechanisms. He even considered lifting its clothes to see if anything was hidden inside.
But the next moment, the Sparkle plush doll in Lü Heng's hand also came to life. It raised its arm and delivered a vicious uppercut straight to his chin. "How dare you try to strip someone in public? Are you some kind of pervert?"
The others watched in disbelief as Lü Heng was flung into the air and crashed to the ground. Dazed, he stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, utterly bewildered.
An ordinary person would have needed time to recover from such a fall, but Lü Heng was an Evolver. He sat up, looking utterly confused, and blurted out, "What the hell are you?!"
The Sparkle plush doll replied, "As you can see, I'm a cute little doll."
Lü Heng stammered, "No... wait, is this even possible? You..."
The doll interrupted, "What? You don't like me? Sparkle's heartbroken! I'm going to self-destruct!"
Suddenly, its eyes began to flash, accompanied by a rhythmic "beep-beep-beep."
Lü Heng panicked. "Holy shit, no! I take it back! Don't explode!"
While the four of them were being chased around by the plush dolls, the scene shifted to Lingsha. She was in her assigned quarters at the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, sitting on the sofa and engrossed in a textbook on traditional Chinese medicine.
Knock, knock, knock~
Just then, a sudden knock echoed through the room.
Lingsha reluctantly set aside her book, slipped into her slippers, and padded to the door. When she opened it, she found someone she hadn't expected standing there.
An elderly man in a white lab coat stood before her—Xiao, the "Owl" of the Fuguang Society, and Dr. Jiang, the director of the Third Research Institute within the Dragon Nation's Bureau of Anomalous Research.
The old man bowed slightly, his tone sincere and earnest. "Miss Lingsha," he said, "I've heard of your extraordinary skill in crafting potent medicinal potions. As a highly skilled physician myself, I humbly implore you to help me develop a special medicine—one that can heal the Dragon Nation."
To be honest, Lingsha felt neither malice nor fondness toward the old man.
Frowning slightly, she asked, "A medicine to heal the Dragon Nation? What exactly do you mean?"