Hey~ want to guess who put that halo behind Luocha's head?
Now guess again—can Luocha himself even see that halo?
Xun Yu and Aha exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing like ducks.
Meanwhile, Welt—who had stepped off the train to take a walk and clear his head—had originally been thinking about Tesla.
But a sudden sense of unease made him stop in his tracks.
Something's wrong…
When was the last time I felt like this?
It seemed like… when Xun Yu pulled out that so-called Ascender and turned into Kevin…
So this time…
Welt sucked in a sharp breath.
Without drawing attention, he quietly surveyed his surroundings.
One second. Two seconds.
More than ten minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
"Haa… I must be overthinking it."
Scaring myself for no reason…
Welt shook his head slightly and continued forward.
Then—
A painfully familiar figure entered his field of vision, gradually overlapping with the one etched in his memories.
Dare not open my eyes~ please let this be my imagination~
Glancing at the bustling crowd around them, Welt suppressed the urge to act immediately.
His hand trembled as his gaze locked firmly onto Luocha.
Then, he followed him.
(Perspective shifts to Luocha.)
Just moments ago, he had sensed an intense wave of hostility.
And that hostility was growing stronger by the second.
At the same time, he could tell someone was tailing him.
Frowning slightly, Luocha discreetly sent a message to Jingliu through a special method.
Then, taking the initiative, he walked into a dark alley.
"My friend, you've followed me for quite some time now. Why not come out and meet me? Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding between us."
That familiar tone.
That familiar open-armed posture—
Bang!
Welt struck instantly—zero startup frames—knocking Luocha unconscious and hauling him away.
The entire sequence flowed like water.
As if this wasn't his first time doing
something like this…
Not long after, Jingliu arrived at the alley.
"The trail of his aura ends here…"
"…Did something happen to him?"
Just as Jingliu hesitated, a familiar figure appeared before her—
"Mr. Welt, I believe there may be some misunderstanding between us."
Luocha, feeling the dull ache at the back of his head and staring at the shackles restraining his limbs, spoke helplessly.
"First of all, I never said my name was Welt."
"Second—tell me. Who are you?!"
Facing the Star of Eden hovering right in front of his forehead, Luocha showed no sign of panic.
He smiled calmly and began answering Welt's questions one by one.
"The Nameless of the Astral Express have just saved the Luofu. Naturally, I am aware of that."
"Moreover, as a mere traveling merchant, I possess my own means of gathering information. Recognizing Mr. Welt is hardly strange."
"As for myself, just as I said—I am simply an ordinary merchant who happened to arrive at the Luofu."
"I coincidentally encountered the Stellaron disaster and had no choice but to remain aboard the Xianzhou."
"Ultimately, I am a victim as well."
Good.
At least this person doesn't seem to be Xun Yu in disguise.
"You're lying. The truth of the Stellaron incident has been deliberately concealed by the Xianzhou's upper echelons. How would a mere merchant know of it?"
"As a merchant, I naturally have my own channels for acquiring intelligence."
Luocha replied evenly, his expression unchanged.
He sighed softly, about to say something—
When a figure suddenly appeared and cut him off.
"Uncle Yang, questioning him like this won't get you anywhere."
"I'll teach you a trick."
Xun Yu leaned in close and whispered something into Welt's ear.
After listening, Welt shot him a strange look.
That method was… a bit underhanded.
But when Welt looked back at Luocha—
That face alone was attacking his sanity.
Without hesitation, Welt nodded.
"Fine. We'll do it your way."
Under Luocha's horrified gaze, a rapidly spinning gear appeared not far from his lower body.
And it was getting closer.
Bro—what are you doing?!
Humans shouldn't—at the very least—shouldn't do this!
Just because of suspicion, you're going this far?!
You absolute living Yama King!
If this were an ordinary man, he'd already be scared out of his soul and would surrender everything just to protect his precious second brother.
But the problem was—
He really didn't know anything!
"You two, I truly am not hiding anything—"
The gear moved closer.
Seeing that no amount of explanation would work, Luocha sighed in resignation.
"…Stop."
Welt called out, his expression complicated.
At this moment, the gear was just a hair's breadth away from—
"I apologize, Mr. Luocha. I was… somewhat possessed earlier."
"I am willing to offer compensation for what happened."
"Don't stop, Uncle Yang!" Xun Yu egged him on..
"Think about it—blond hair, halo, Luocha, and that whole vibe. No matter how you look at it, he's connected to Otto! Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip through!"
Despite the shouting, Xun Yu's hands were already undoing Luocha's restraints.
Then—
"Uncle Yang! Look! His expression changed when he heard the name Otto!"
Welt pinched the bridge of his nose and shot Xun Yu a helpless look.
Otto was already completely dead—he knew that better than anyone.
But Luocha's appearance and mannerisms kept attacking Welt's psyche, dredging up memories long buried, driving him into something close to madness.
Grinning, Xun Yu strolled off to the side and poked Jingliu, who had arrived at some point.
"Aren't you worried about your companion at all?"
"You wouldn't do that."
"…And he isn't that simple either."
Jingliu replied flatly.
Though she had her doubts, there was no denying it—
Her companion had become yet another piece in Xun Yu's little game.
Seeing Jingliu fall silent, Xun Yu's lips curled upward.
This was only the beginning.
What he really wanted to do was just getting started.
He turned his gaze toward Luocha, eyes spinning.
Extracting the memories related to Otto from his own mind, Xun Yu transmitted them directly into Luocha's consciousness—
"…So it's you, Joachim."
In the next instant, a black hole slammed into Luocha's face—
And only then did Welt's voice follow.
"Star of Eden! Zeroth Power Output! Simulated Black Hole!"
...
Welt stared resentfully at Xun Yu.
Xun Yu looked away and started whistling.
Meanwhile, Jingliu quietly took Luocha and left.
With Xun Yu around, Luocha hadn't suffered so much as a scratch…
________________________________________________________
TL note: wondering why I have vanished for a while? It's because I forgot Im translating this fanfic and only remembered it now
Sorry for bad translation by the way I got to lazy fixing it so I just left it to chatgpt and fixed the spacing
Will probably upload a chapter whenever I felt like doing it so see ya later