High above an uncharted sea, the aircraft carrying Tendo and his companions cut a trail of white vapor through the air, gliding steadily through the layers of clouds.
Inside the high-tech cabin, a faint scent of mango lingered in the air.
As the camera panned, it revealed Jing Liuli clutching half a box of Nebula Mousse, nibbling away with a look of pure bliss. Her purple hair, specifically tied up in a double bun, swayed gently with every chew, making her look like a little hamster hoarding its winter stash—clumsily adorable.
"Hahaha, Liuli really eats wherever she goes! The mousse is almost on her hair!"
"Help, those buns are too precious. She's a completely different person from the big star on stage."
"Even though Liuli is much older than in the first season, somehow she feels exactly the same as when she was a kid."
Amidst the teasing of the dimensional bullet chat, the camera shifted to the side.
Caroline sat opposite Liuli, her fingers tapping rapidly on a tablet as she archived the reconstruction files for Rock City. Her silver-white hair was gathered in a low ponytail, giving her an air of cold, sharp focus.
Having finished these trivial tasks, Caroline noticed the cream on the corner of Jing Liuli's mouth out of the corner of her eye and silently handed over a wet wipe.
"Wipe your face, or your hair is going to get stuck to it in a moment."
"Caroline really is the 'Mother Fan' of the group! The attention to detail is peak."
"That's only because it's Liuli. If it were anyone else, Caroline probably wouldn't even give them a glance."
"Wait! The way Caroline handed that wipe was so natural! It really feels like what Old Tendo said—she's becoming more and more human."
Accepting Caroline's care, Jing Liuli gave a muffled "thanks," gave her face a haphazard wipe, and then held up her spoon toward Tendo.
"Tendo, Tendo, you have to try this mousse. I think it's even sweeter than the ones at the settlement!"
Tendo leaned against the porthole. Without so much as a visible movement, a pale blue vector force field gently supported the spoon and delivered the mousse into his mouth.
After tasting it, Tendo immediately spoke in a slightly disdainful tone. "It's a bit too sweet. I suggest you eat less."
As he spoke, the "snacks" beside Jing Liuli seemed to grow wings, whisking over to Tendo's side in an instant.
Seeing this, Jing Liuli panicked immediately.
"Mine! Those are all my snacks!"
Tendo replied with total indifference, "What's yours is mine. Does it have your name written on it?"
Jing Liuli: "..."
Seeing Tendo pull his rogue act again, Jing Liuli turned to Caroline with a pleading look.
"Caroline, tell him off!"
Caroline shrugged, indicating she was powerless. There was no helping it; Tendo was just that kind of person. In the absence of danger, he was the greatest danger to everyone around him. He was uncontrollable.
Fortunately, the rogue wasn't actually trying to be a bully; he was just bored and wanted to tease a certain purple-haired hamster. Thus, after playing with Jing Liuli for a bit, Tendo returned a portion of the snacks to her.
"Here. I don't like these ones, so I'm giving them to you."
Using my own things to give me a gift? Lord Tendo sure acts like a high-and-mighty official!
Though her face was full of resentment, Jing Liuli only thought these words in her head; she didn't dare say them aloud. Otherwise, these snacks she had struggled to get back would likely be snatched away by this fellow again.
A moment later, while still munching on her snacks, Jing Liuli seemed to remember something and turned to Caroline.
"Caroline, can you still find your old star-map notebook? I remember you were always drawing strange symbols in it."
Caroline's movements paused. Her ears flushed slightly pink as she cleared her throat. "It should still be there. I left it at the observation deck on the top floor of the base. And for the record, those were orbital calculation formulas, not 'strange symbols.'"
"The top floor observation deck! Childhood secret base confirmed."
"Caroline actually blushed! Truly the power of childhood nostalgia."
"Am I the only one who thinks the atmosphere feels different whenever Tendo and Caroline mention the base?"
Amidst the trio's chatter, the aircraft continued its flight for a time before slowly descending onto a lush, green island.
The island was surrounded by azure waters. The sea breeze hit them with a salty, damp scent, and the reefs along the shore bore the marks of constant wave erosion. Through the dense thickets, a cluster of buildings half-hidden by greenery was faintly visible.
The gray walls bore the light stains of seawater corrosion, and a rust-covered telescope stood atop the observation deck. This was the Ember Base.
Unlike the heavily guarded fortress in their memories, the current base was not only much smaller, but many of its facilities were overgrown with vines. It had clearly been "abandoned" for some time.
Looking at this familiar yet foreign place, Jing Liuli didn't say a word before dashing toward the old base site. Her purple buns came undone as she ran, and she soon arrived before the original main gate.
"Wow! The base is actually still here!"
Tendo walked up with a smile and gave a light wave. A pale blue vector field pushed open the half-ajar gate. His tone carried a hint of melancholy.
"Go on in. After I triggered the self-destruct sequence back then, most of the base sank into the ocean."
"However, due to the Doctor's arrangements in the core sector, the core area itself wasn't heavily affected. This part here is the original core sector."
A flash of complexity crossed Caroline's green eyes.
"I didn't expect you to keep the core sector intact. Given the sound of the explosion back then, I thought this place was completely gone."
Tendo chuckled. "The core sector hides many important things. The Doctor naturally wouldn't let anyone destroy this place easily."
Then, Tendo shifted the subject.
"As for the self-destruct, there was no other way. At that time, I hadn't yet gained the ability to completely rewrite the future. I could only resort to that lower strategy."
Caroline didn't say much in response to Tendo's explanation, though her words carried a touch of softness, much lighter than before.
"I know."
"As long as you understand."
With that, Tendo led the two of them into the core sector.
After walking through a deserted corridor, the three first arrived at the old "dormitory area."
The sand table in the center of the dormitory hall was still there, with a few colored pebbles scattered upon it—the tools they had used to mark safety zones back then. On the corner storage locker, a yellowing sticker remained: a little butterfly Jing Liuli had drawn as a child. Faint traces of waterproof sealing could be seen on the floor, evidently left behind when the core sector was reinforced.
Jing Liuli went to her old room and walked up to touch the sticker on the locker. Then, she crouched down and felt around the very bottom shelf of the unit.
A moment later, Jing Liuli stood up clutching a small iron tin with a faded strawberry pattern painted on it.
"Found it! My candy tin that I hid back then! It's really still here!"
Jing Liuli impatiently opened the tin. Inside were a few candies still wrapped in paper. Though they had lost their luster, the sight made her eyes crinkle with a joyful smile.
"Look! These are the star candies the Doctor gave me as a reward! I couldn't bear to eat them, so I kept them hidden until now."
"Uwahhh, it's the childhood star candies! Liuli is so sentimental."
"I suggest Tendo confiscates them immediately. They've been there so long, she'll get a stomach ache if she eats them."
"Person above, are you a demon? Old Tendo surely isn't that much of a scumbag, right?"
"Hasn't Old Tendo always been a scumbag? (Dog head emoji)"
Leaving the dormitory area, the three followed Caroline toward the top-floor observation deck.
Caroline pushed open the door to the deck, where an old telescope stood prominently in the center. On a nearby table lay a notebook with a dark blue cover—Caroline's notebook.
Caroline picked it up and lightly brushed away the dust. She flipped through the pages, which were filled with dense star maps, naive calculation formulas, and the occasional line of small script interspersed between them.
For instance: Tendo helped Liuli hide her candy again today; The Doctor's training is so hard, Liuli cried again; Tendo fixed the telescope, the starlight is very bright today...
These were all daily musings Caroline had jotted down back then.
As the audience watched Caroline holding the notebook like a precious treasure, the bullet chat rolled again.
"Help! Caroline actually kept a diary! What a treasure trove of a book."
"So she remembers everything from back then!"
"As expected, cold data can never have the tactile feel of the written word."
While Caroline was immersed in her memories, Jing Liuli quietly leaned over. However, as soon as she saw the contents, her face turned bright red instantly.
"Aiyah! Caroline, you actually recorded that! I did not cry back then!"
"Is that so?" Caroline looked up, a hint of a smile in her green eyes. "I distinctly remember a time the Doctor made us do a weighted run, and you only finished half of it before crying and saying you'd never train again."
Tendo, leaning against the telescope, immediately chimed in without hesitation. "I remember that too. Because Liuli tried to use the Dream Pillow to fly the whole way, but the Doctor caught her red-handed. I laughed about that for a long time."
Teased by both of them at once, Jing Liuli's face turned even redder. She grabbed a star candy from her tin, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled, "That... that was just because I was young and didn't know better!"
"And... and besides, I finished the run in the end, didn't I? You should know I was NO. 3 back then, and my scores in many assessments weren't bad at all! I was just a little lazy..."
Tendo and Caroline chose not to expose her. After all, Liuli's "laziness" back then wasn't just "a little"; it was legendary within the base.
For the next half-day, the three sat by the stone table on the observation deck, flipping through the star-map book and chatting about childhood stories. Jing Liuli prattled on about her tricks for hiding candy—like the time she hid it in a crack in the observation deck wall, only for half of it to be soaked by seawater.
Caroline would occasionally add specific details, and Tendo would interject every now and then. The setting sun poured through the windows of the observation deck, dyeing the three figures in a warm orange-red. The sea breeze blew in from outside, carrying a salty scent that gradually merged with the images in their memories.
"The candy in the wall got soaked by the sea! That's too real."
"When Caroline talked about the star tracks, Tendo kept looking at her! His gaze is so gentle."
"Who understands! This feeling of 'quiet years' is just too touching."
After an unknown amount of time, Jing Liuli's communicator suddenly chirped; it was a message from her manager. She looked down at it, a conflicted expression appearing on her face.
"Um, Tendo... my team says there's a charity gala in the Martial Heaven Capital they've invited me to. Preparations start the day after tomorrow."
Caroline closed the star-map book, her tone steady. "It's fine. We can come back after the gala is over. I've already packed the notebook; I can add new star tracks when we bring it back next time."
Tendo also nodded and handed Jing Liuli a bottle of warm water.
"It's nothing. I brought you here today just so you could get in touch with a few things ahead of time. However, she won't be coming that quickly—probably a few more days. It'll be the same if you come back after your work is done."
Hearing this, Jing Liuli's eyes lit up. She leaned in toward the two. "Alright, then I'll come back as fast as I can."
The sun dipped below the horizon, and the lights of the Ember Base flickered on. The three walked out of the observation deck toward the aircraft, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.
But unlike when they arrived, this time Liuli had to leave first. Although it was a brief separation, Jing Liuli, leaning against the window, didn't feel too sad. After all, knowing the base was still here was enough; she could come back whenever she wanted. A day or two didn't make a difference. Besides, Tendo and Caroline weren't leaving either. It would be the same when she returned after the concert.
Thinking of this, Jing Liuli clutched her candy tin inside the aircraft, a sweet smile playing on her lips.
Meanwhile, Tendo and Caroline stood at the base entrance, watching the aircraft disappear into the night. They exchanged a knowing glance.
"Check the defense facilities first?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah," Tendo nodded, then paused before adding, "And while we're at it, let's find that other tin of candy Liuli hid in the ceiling back then. Otherwise, she'll turn the place upside down looking for it next time she's back."
Caroline asked curiously, "How do you know where she hid it?"
Tendo said meaningfully, "If it weren't for Liuli, where would I have gotten so many snacks to eat back then?"
Caroline: "..."
Case closed. The culprit behind the mysterious disappearance of Liuli's snacks back then had finally outed himself.
She had wondered back then; there were only so many people in the base. The number of people who could freely enter the dorms of the Children of the Stars was even smaller. Yet, in such a place, Liuli's hidden treasures would repeatedly go missing. Neither the Doctor nor Instructor Yun Meng had seemed to care much when they heard about it, clearly not taking it to heart.
It turned out Tendo had been the one behind it all along. Thinking about it, among the thirty-six Children of the Stars, it seemed only Tendo could be this brazen and lawless...
At that thought, Caroline shook her head helplessly. It was unclear whether she was exasperated by Tendo's mischievousness back then or his inherent personality that loved to play tricks on people.
Under the moonlight, the two figures walked into the base. The sound of waves crashing against the reefs was exceptionally clear in the night air. Tendo held Caroline's star-map book in his hand as they walked in sync, occasionally whispering about the key points for checking the defense facilities. The atmosphere was subtle and tinged with something unspoken.
After the two disappeared into the base, the anime's camera shifted to an unknown sea even further away.
On the surface of the ocean, a lava monster the size of a small mountain was thrashing about in the water in a somewhat comical fashion. On top of this monster, a surprising character entered everyone's sight once more.
It was the instructor of Tendo and the others when they were children—Yun Meng.
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