『 [ It is unusual enough for The Family to issue invitations to other factions, let alone involving the IPC and the Masked Fools. ]
[ If the Emanator of Nihility you mentioned is also real, then the current situation in Penacony… ]
[ Is becoming entirely too complicated. ]
Dan Heng felt that Penacony was rapidly devolving into a chaotic mess.
[ Actually, regarding Acheron, there is something else that concerns me. ]
[ You know as well as I do that the factions worshipping The Hunt are the last people in the galaxy you want to provoke. ]
[ No one in their right mind would dare impersonate the Xianzhou Alliance or the Galaxy Rangers; that's practically a death wish… ]
[ Don't the Xianzhou people have a saying? "The Reignbow Arbiter only declares His wheelchair with light arrows…" ]
Boothill opened his mouth and quoted a very bizarre Xianzhou idiom. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "What the heck?!"
Stelle: "Wheel… Wheelchair?!"
Stelle: "Good lord!"
Stelle: "Are you some kind of anti-fan of the Reignbow Arbiter??"
March 7th: "Is there really a saying like that on the Xianzhou?"
March 7th: "Does the Aeon of The Hunt seriously sit in a wheelchair?"
Li Sushang: "WE ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE A SAYING LIKE THAT ON THE XIANZHOU!!"
Li Sushang: "The Reignbow Arbiter, His elderly self, does not sit in a wheelchair!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Mr. Boothill, you aren't trying to smear the Aeon of The Hunt, are you?"
Hu Tao: "Daring to smear even an Aeon? That's simply tired of living!"
Hu Tao: "So, how about it? Want to book a coffin at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
Boothill: "Ahem, mother-fudger, I ain't smearing the Reignbow Arbiter."
Boothill: "I remember that Xianzhou saying going exactly like that."
Fu Xuan: "This is truly laughable, it is."
Fu Xuan: "The original phrase is: 'Reignbow would never speak to any mortal... THEY only let their Lux Arrow do all the talking.'"
Fu Xuan: "But coming from your mouth, it turned into a wheelchair, didn't it?"
Li Sushang: "I thought I was the only one uncultured here."
Li Sushang: "Now it seems Mr. Boothill isn't much better than me…"
Li Sushang: "Hehe, suddenly I have confidence again!"
Guinaifen: "Eh, Shangshang, why don't you compare yourself to the cultured ones?"
Boothill: "Meow!"
Boothill: "Who's uncultured?"
Boothill: "Didn't I just remember it wrong?"
Boothill: "It was just a joke… You think I don't know His elderly self doesn't sit in a wheelchair?"
Qingque: "You've never seen the Reignbow Arbiter, so how would you know He doesn't sit in a wheelchair?"
Stelle: "Exactly. Maybe the Reignbow Arbiter really does sit in a wheelchair."
Furina de Fontaine: "So does the Reignbow Arbiter sit in a wheelchair or not?"
Jing Yuan: "Ahem, everyone, let us stop here…"
Jing Yuan: "The Reignbow Arbiter is not someone we mortals can speculate upon."
Boothill: "Haha, my bad, my bad. Blame me."
Boothill: "Next time I memorize a quote, I'll make sure to get it all right!"
....
『 [ Talking. Do all the talking. ]
Dan Heng corrected Boothill.
[ Doesn't matter, as long as you get my drift. ]
[ Anyway, don't think just because the Galaxy Rangers have been quiet for so many years that we haven't been watching this universe. ]
[ Plenty of fudge-heads would rather offend the Annihilation Gang than cross a Ranger. ]
[ But that Acheron… at least from what she's done, she doesn't look like a lunatic. ]
[ Quite the opposite. She's logical and organized. She shows mercy when appropriate and strikes decisively without hesitation when necessary. ]
Boothill felt that this Acheron was not a fool.
And that was where the problem lay.
[ You believe such a person is using the Galaxy Ranger title for an ulterior motive? ]
Dan Heng asked in return.
[ I haven't concluded that yet. I just think it's fishy. Maybe she really knows a Galaxy Ranger, or maybe she's trying to draw us out for some reason… I don't know. ]
Boothill offered a few casual guesses, then shook his head.
[ I'm still more focused on the anomaly within The Family. ]
[ Because of this Charmony Festival, Pathstriders from over a dozen Paths have been summoned to Penacony. ]
[ No matter how inclusive The Family is, they wouldn't make such an abnormal move. ]
[ Unless the invitations weren't sent by them. But for The Family to insist on holding the Charmony Festival under these circumstances… that's even more intriguing. ]
Dan Heng felt that The Family's behavior was simply too abnormal.
[ Maybe this is all Xipe the Harmony's instruction. ]
[ You think this matter is unreasonable because humans couldn't do it. ]
[ Humans do stupid things out of irrational impulses, abandon their principles when their self-interest is threatened, and believe in things they know they shouldn't believe… ]
[ Mother-fudger, humans will even break the very rules they just set! ]
[ But Aeons won't. ]
[ Aeons only walk one path into the dark. They don't turn back until they hit the southern wall—and even after hitting it, they don't turn back! ]
Boothill had a unique understanding of this matter.』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Asta: "Haha, Mr. Boothill's metaphor for the Aeons is quite interesting."
Stelle: "Don't turn back until hitting the southern wall, and don't turn back even after hitting it."
Stelle: "Understood. Aeons are all as stubborn as mules!"
March 7th: "Tsk, but an Aeon's head isn't just normally hard, right?"
March 7th: "I feel like for THEM, smashing through a wall would be a piece of cake."
Furina de Fontaine: "But having said that, why do Aeons have to be so rigid?"
Zhongli: "One cannot call it rigidity, for THEY themselves represent the will of their respective Paths."
Zhongli: "If THEY were not practicing their own will, that would be the real problem."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Precisely. Aeons will only ever practice their Path forever. For THEM, there is no such thing as compromise."
....
『 [ You believe that behind this incident, Xipe's will is driving it? ]
A grave expression appeared on Dan Heng's face.
[ Not necessarily Him, but there's definitely a metaphysical consciousness at work. ]
[ Don't call me a pessimist, brother, but if human free will were reliable, what would be the point of Galaxy Rangers? ]
[ Attribute everything to Aeons and Paths, and things aren't so complicated. ]
[ Just as Lan walks forever on the path of The Hunt, just as Akivili, though missing, ensures the Express still travels on the path of The Trailblaze, never derailing. ]
Boothill did not affirm that this was definitely the work of an Aeon.
He was merely speculating.
[ … ]
[ But I believe Akivili's fall is also a precious legacy He left for the Nameless. ]
Dan Heng said after a moment of contemplation.
[ Oh, I guess because after losing an absolutely correct leader, the Nameless must take responsibility for their own choices? ]
Boothill guessed Dan Heng's meaning.
[ Yes. ]
[ I believe the meaning of the journey is not to walk an absolutely correct path… ]
[ But to use one's limited knowledge and judgment among countless paths to strive to choose the road that suits oneself. ]
Dan Heng nodded, his tone carrying a hint of emotion.
[ Although I don't know what you've been through, people have to be responsible for themselves. I agree with that. No one else can do it for you. ]
[ And precisely because of that, the Galaxy Rangers must personally find that imposter… ]
[ To figure out exactly what she intends to do. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Dan Heng, I didn't expect you to have so many profound insights?"
Stelle: "Why don't we see you saying this stuff usually?"
March 7th: "Why else?"
March 7th: "To maintain his cool and aloof image, of course!"
Dan Heng: "Ahem… We just happened to be talking about it, so I spoke from the heart."
Dan Heng: "It's not really a profound insight."
Welt Yang: "But I must say, what you said in the video is very correct."
Welt Yang: "The meaning of the journey is by no means for a so-called correct path."
Welt Yang: "In fact, I do not believe there is an absolutely correct path in the world."
Himeko: "Or rather, for everyone, there should be a different correct path deep in their hearts."
Himeko: "And these different correct paths will bring about different results."
Nahida: "But these results may not all be correct or perfect…"
Nahida: "If that is the case, can it still be called a correct path?"
Paimon: "I guess… probably not?"
Acheron: "People cannot change much. Whether the outcome is good or bad is sometimes destined long ago."
Acheron: "As long as you insist in your heart that what you are walking is the correct path, then no matter the result…"
Acheron: "It should be correct!"
Silver Wolf: "Idealism, huh?"
Silver Wolf: "It is indeed a good way to strengthen one's conviction."
Stelle: "Thank you, Master Acheron, for the enlightenment. I understand now!"
Stelle: "From now on, as long as I believe from the bottom of my heart that staying up late is correct, then even if I drop dead from it, it must be correct!"
Stelle: "This way, I can stay up late comfortably and without guilt!"
March 7th: "???"
March 7th: "Hey, you're understanding this all wrong, aren't you?!"
Acheron: "Uh… although it's a bit strange… that does seem to be the logic?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Heh, I am willing to call you a genius."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "With that unique brain circuitry of yours, not entering the Genius Society is truly a waste of talent."
Madam Herta: "The Genius Society doesn't accept idiots."
Stelle: "Watch your mouth."
Stelle: "I'm brilliantly clever, and you call me an idiot?"
Silver Wolf: "You're not an idiot, you're just a goofball…"
Hu Tao: "Haha, that sounds even worse than being an idiot."
....
『 [ Just in case, if that Memokeeper never shows up, I have a backup plan… ]
[ This is the last one. ]
After waiting for a while, Boothill suddenly dropped a backup plan out of nowhere.
[ You have quite a few backup plans. ]
Dan Heng was speechless.
[ Me? I'm not really good at twists and turns. If I can go back to my old trade, a lot of things become much simpler. ]
[ Brother Dan Heng, when you walked around the hotel earlier, did you see any guests, or guests… with particularly noble status? ]
Boothill asked Dan Heng, seemingly wanting to stir up some trouble.
[ …What do you want to do? ]
Dan Heng asked with a frown.
[ Simple. We quietly kidnap a few hostages. Everything will be easy after that. We can use them to negotiate with The Family, or take their identities… ]
Boothill uttered words fit for a bandit.
[ No need. Return to the Express immediately. ]
Seeing Boothill like this, Dan Heng immediately wanted to take him back to the Express, to prevent him from causing trouble here.
[ What! Are you scared, brother? ]
[ Pull out your gun, we're about to do something big! ]』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Hu Tao: "???"
Hu Tao: "Again?"
Hu Tao: "I say, are you actually a Galaxy Ranger or not?"
Hu Tao: "Are you afraid you're just a bandit leader wearing a Galaxy Ranger's skin?"
Dan Heng: "Hmph, taking hostages. Only you could come up with that."
Stelle: "Holy cow, if you really did that, wouldn't it ruin our Astral Express's reputation?"
Stelle: "After all, you mother-fudger, right now you're still impersonating us Nameless!!"
March 7th: "Hmph, I knew you had no good intentions impersonating us Nameless. Turns out you wanted to stink up the Astral Express's name!"
Furina de Fontaine: "These methods are truly too radical. It is hard to imagine Mr. Boothill is a man of justice."
Boothill: "Ahem, we Galaxy Rangers just pay a little attention to efficiency when we act, that's all."
Boothill: "What's wrong with that?"
Amber: "Pay attention to efficiency?"
Amber: "But what you're preparing to do is kidnapping!"
Amber: "Where is the moral line?"
Amber: "Didn't you say the Galaxy Rangers' bottom line is not bullying the weak?"
Boothill: "Yeah, that's why I'm looking for noble, rich, and powerful fudge-heads to kidnap!"
Boothill: "These people can't be counted as weak, right?"
Lumine: "Uh… maybe not weak… but they are innocent people, right?"
Boothill: "Hey, I'm not really gonna do anything to them. Just putting on a show."
Boothill: "When the show's over, at worst, I'll apologize to them properly. That should be fine, right?"
Boothill: "Otherwise, tell me, what's the use of just waiting here like idiots?"
Boothill: "Drag it out any longer, and maybe an even bigger mess will break out in the Dreamscape."
Welt Yang: "Be that as it may, your method is still unacceptable."
Welt Yang: "The Family is not petty criminals. This move of yours will only deepen The Family's guard against you."
Boothill: "Mother-fudger, of course I know this method is a last resort."
Boothill: "But I really can't think of a better way!"
Li Sushang: "So where is Miss Black Swan?"
Li Sushang: "Where on earth did she go?"
Black Swan: "Ha, if nothing unexpected happened, I should have gone to find some wine…"
Black Swan: "After all… this Asdana White Oak is truly hard to find…"
....
『 [ Are you two leaving? ]
[ Then would you like to cancel the Asdana White Oak you just ordered? ]
Seeing that Boothill and his companion seemed ready to leave, the bartender immediately asked.
[ …Huh? Asdana White Oak? But didn't you just say… ]
Boothill was stunned upon hearing the bartender's words.
[ Haha, it seems you two are a bit tipsy. ]
[ Just half a minute ago, you ordered a bottle of Asdana White Oak from me. ]
The bartender explained with a smile.
[ It seems… your Memokeeper friend has come to find you. ]
Dan Heng observed the situation and reminded him.
[ …Oh right, right, right. Look at my brain. Too many prosthetic modifications will do that to you. Forgetful! ]
[ Let me see… Mother-fudger, it really is Asdana White Oak. There's a line of words on it… ]
[ …I am waiting for you on the Astral Express. ]』
『 ....』