Diya's Train of Thought

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Yulanweise." Standing before Yaxiu and the other two was a quiet girl wearing a small round hat, round-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and a trench coat. No wonder Yaxiu and the others hadn't noticed her earlier; standing among the crowd, she was truly utterly unremarkable. She appeared somewhat introverted, clutching a notebook tightly with both hands as she gazed at the ground and spoke. "It is an immense honor to join your team." "I'm the Watcher. My current role in the team is ranged support, responsible for ranged damage, protection, and healing," Yaxiu introduced. "This is the Sword Princess. She specializes in the swordsmanship faction, excels at burst melee combat, and serves as our primary damage dealer. And this is the Witch. She specializes in the time and fist-and-claw factions, with a role centered on control and disruption." Yulanweise started slightly, then said, "I am a Truth Sorcerer. My usual combat style involves gathering intelligence on the enemy first, then selecting the sorcery faction to use based on their weaknesses. Um, that might sound rather arrogant, but I—" Yaxiu said, "You built your miracle system around the Myriad Mechanism sorcery spirit as the core? And relying on the twenty-odd Silver-rank sorcery factions you've mastered, you assemble a counter-strategy on the fly to fight?" Yulanweise lowered her head slightly to conceal the strange gleam in her eyes. "Yes, your summary is spot-on, Watcher. I was still wondering how best to explain it, but I didn't expect you would already be so clear on my sorcery spirits and factions." "Of course. I know everything about our operators," Yaxiu pondered. "From the looks of it, you could take on practically any position in the team. We should determine your tactical role through actual combat." "How wonderful." "Hmm?" "Your team's division of labor is so distinct; you must have weathered many trials and real battles together." Envy written all over her face, Yulanweise murmured, "Not having to venture into the Void Realm alone, not having to face enemies alone, being able to trust your companions with your back in times of peril, being able to chat and unwind with friends when you're tired... It really is fantastic." "Truly, thank you so much for bringing me into this team, Watcher," she said earnestly. "I will do my best to contribute to the squad! Senior Sword Princess, Senior Witch, Captain Watcher, please take good care of me!" Sonia and Diya exchanged a look. With the newcomer being humble to this extent, they naturally couldn't keep scowling. Although they were angry that Yaxiu had pulled a newcomer in without their consent—not that they would have agreed anyway—they had to admit that this new member was truly of immense significance to the team. The truth faction! One of the most enigmatic sorcery factions! While mystery implied antiquity—unlike swordsmanship or gunplay, where new sorcery spirits and miracles emerged every day—mystery also meant unpredictability. Enemies might guard against physical attacks from swords, firearms, or fists; watch out for energy attacks from fire, ice, wind, or thunder; and stay alert to spiritual assaults from mind or necromancy. But it was exceedingly difficult to defend against underhanded moves from factions like fate, prophecy, truth, or time—ordinarily, people never even came into contact with them, so how could anyone build a defense against them? Not to mention that the newcomer had also mastered over twenty sorcery factions. That breadth of knowledge alone was bound to play a crucial role during exploration. Most importantly, faced with a genuine Sanctuary Sorcerer fawning over them, it would be a lie to say Sonia and Diya weren't secretly thrilled. Right now, they were much like Yaxiu—mudblood sorcerers who had smuggled their way into the Distant Sky Realm, their sorcery factions nowhere near the Sanctuary level! Yet this newcomer had opened the Gate of Truth leading to the Distant Sky Realm by her own strength. On the path of a sorcerer, she had walked farther than either of them! And that was not even taking into account that she practiced the truth faction! Yet here she was, timidly calling them "Senior Sword Princess" and "Senior Witch." Though Sonia and Diya felt a prick of shame, they couldn't help a swell of superior pride: *A Truth Sanctuary Sorcerer is my junior!* On top of that, the new operator looked quiet, gentle, and frail, naturally inspiring a desire to protect her. It was simply impossible to dislike her. However, Sonia still remembered the matter of the address: "Watcher, why do you always call us by codenames, yet you call her by her real name?" "I don't know either." Yaxiu spread his hands. "When I drew... when I selected you guys, I could only see your codenames, but hers was the only real name. Wait, could Yulanweise not be a real name, but a codename too?" The quiet girl shook her head. "No, it truly is my name. I don't have a codename, perhaps because I don't have any prominent features? You see, the Sword Princess is beautiful and dashing, sharp and bright like a sword's edge; the Witch is lovely and mercurial, matching her title perfectly. Meanwhile, I'm quite plain... If you're used to using codenames, I can pick one too." "No need," Yaxiu said. "We can just call you Weise normally." "Okay." Weise did not seem to mind either. "Then shall we—" "Wait." Diya suddenly raised a hand to interrupt. Her expression was solemn, her eyes darting back and forth between Yaxiu and Weise, before she abruptly asked, "Watcher, can you still not talk about your situation in reality?" Yaxiu paused, then realized what she meant. "No, the Contract on me has ended. I can tell you what happened over the past two months. But now isn't the time for that; we need to start exploring the Distant Sky Realm—" "You can keep it brief. The focus is your current situation." Diya paused. "For instance, whether you're in danger, who you've met, that sort of thing." Yaxiu thought about it and summarized what had happened in Gospel Country within a minute. "...To resolve the blood seed curse on me, I'm pursuing a culprit named 'Silver Lantern' across Senluo Land with some other people. Although we've run into some trouble, at least my freedom isn't restricted. And I don't necessarily have to see the manhunt through to the end—since there was ancient technology to create the blood seed curse, there must also be relic treasures capable of curing it. If I manage to cure the blood seed during our travels, I won't have to remain in Senluo." Diya asked, "The companions traveling with you, who are they?" "A necromancer, a mind sorcerer, and a warrior attendant I met in Senluo." "Is that warrior attendant male or female?" Yaxiu hesitated for a moment. "Male... probably." Diya was still ill at ease. Dropping the pretense altogether, she threw a direct pitch: "Do you think Yulanweise resembles any woman you've seen recently?" Both Yaxiu and Weise looked at each other in surprise. But Yaxiu was merely puzzled as to why the Witch would ask such a question, whereas Weise was shocked: *How did I get exposed?* Because the "me" from another worldline had warned her, the instant she was pulled into the Void Realm, Weise had established her persona, completely severing all ties to her real-world self precisely to avoid being recognized. When Weise saw the Watcher, she immediately recognized him as Yaxiu Heath, who was hunting her—two days ago, when the Sanctuary squad had almost caught up with her in the food-processing plant town, she had seen Yaxiu wearing this exact crimson trench coat. According to the intel provided by the "me" of that other worldline, the Watcher had no knowledge whatsoever of his teammates' real-world circumstances. Thus, as long as Weise maintained her disguise, there was no risk of exposure. Even so, this could still be a trap designed by Yaxiu and his cohort to capture her; Weise did not blindly trust information from other worldlines. It was just that upon seeing the Watcher's team, Weise had resolved that even if it meant taking risks, she had to stay in this team. A well-coordinated Void Realm exploration team was simply too alluring to Weise. Her sorcery spirit system had atrocious compatibility with the Distant Sky Realm. Until she assembled a new system, exploring the Void Realm would be an uphill battle, yet in reality, she was on the run—without the platform of the Four Pillar Cult, she had no way of gathering the resources she needed. But with this team, she could swiftly overcome the initial difficult phase in the Distant Sky Realm. In addition, Weise was intensely curious about Yaxiu himself. After all, "forming a team in the Void Realm" was nothing short of a miracle. Faced with such temptation, how could she, as a Truth Sorcerer, resist wanting to investigate the secrets surrounding this man? Yet she never imagined that after plugging every conceivable loophole, she would still fall under suspicion—and from a sorcerer she had never met, no less! Prophecy? Fate? Or had the Witch's time faction already advanced to the point of peering into the future? And the reason Diya suspected Weise was very simple: she was the prime example herself! She was both the Watcher's teammate, the Witch, and Yaxiu's daughter, Lisi! The moment she laid eyes on Weise, Diya suspected whether she had already appeared in Yaxiu's real life. In particular, any other woman who appeared around Yaxiu was a prime suspect! What Diya failed to notice, however, was that while she was staring at Weise, Sonia was staring at her with a thoughtful look. "I haven't seen many women lately," Yaxiu said, shaking his head. "Besides, how could I run into you guys in reality? ...Weise, are you in the Senluo Country? Do you have any impression of me?" Facing their gazes, Weise put on a bewildered expression, pondered for a moment, and shook her head. "I don't think I've seen you. Nor am I in Senluo Country. As for what country I'm in... because I live in a chaotic era of competing factions, I don't know the name of my country either. I usually just refer to the world as 'this land.'" Diya was still suspicious. "You couldn't be that warrior attendant the Watcher just met, could you?" "Witch," Yaxiu had to clarify, "though the warrior attendant is very strong, he isn't even a sorcerer." With that, the newcomer was completely cleared of suspicion. Diya felt completely relieved and took the initiative to go over and hug Weise's arm. "Welcome to our team!" Seeing them giggling and laughing together, Yaxiu also breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually been very nervous deep down. After all, the new member was a Sanctuary Sorcerer, and every Sanctuary Sorcerer he knew was bursting with arrogance and fierce personality: the Bloodmad Hunter Gerard, the elf clan leader Qinna, the Weeping Red Hat Cleios... And those were merely ordinary Sanctuary Sorcerers, whereas Yulanweise was a Truth Sanctuary Sorcerer! To make an analogy, an ordinary Sanctuary Sorcerer was like scoring full marks in normal college entrance exam subjects, whereas a Truth Sanctuary Sorcerer scored full marks in Olympiad competitions—virtually guaranteed early admission to Legendary Sorcerer! If Yaxiu had received a full-mark Olympiad recommendation to college in high school, he would certainly have been insufferably cocky. If the new operator had wanted to vie for squad leadership or had a sharper, more aggressive edge to her personality, Yaxiu seriously doubted whether he could manage the team properly. He simply hadn't expected to pull such a super top-tier card this time. Not only was the new operator powerful, but she was also gentle and humble. To compare her to a girlfriend, she'd be well-born, highly educated, gorgeous, busty, gentle, considerate, and entirely devoted to him alone—if you encountered that in real life, she'd either be a scammer or a tea-selling fraudster. But this came from a gacha pull; perhaps the developer company's conscience had flickered to life for once. "I want to hear more about your experiences in Gospel Country." Yaxiu turned his head to see the Sword Princess standing beside him. He replied, "Though it was only dozens of days, it was a very convoluted adventure. It can't be summed up in just a few sentences." "That's fine. Take your time telling it, and I'll take my time listening," Sonia said. "The Intercollegiate League is over, and I won first place in the Meteor Tribulation. Next is summer break at the academy, so I have plenty of time." "Then I'll find a time to tell you all about it," Yaxiu smiled. "But you'll have to tell me about your journey to championship in the Meteor Tribulation too—if only I could have been there in person to see how dashing you looked." "There wasn't much to see in person. My victory was a close shave, and I ended up completely battered and tattered." Sonia brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "If you want to look at me, look at the me right now. You can look whenever you want." Yaxiu said, "Even battered and tattered, you were surely dashing enough to draw the gaze of the stars." The Sword Princess tilted her head, winking at him. "Then it's a promise?" "It's a promise," Yaxiu said. "Though I'm not sure when we'll actually have that kind of free time." "We will. For instance, we could find a relatively peaceful dream, sit down at a bar inside, and you can listen to me recount how I defeated a Sanctuary Sorcerer in the Meteor Tribulation arena, while I listen to your wondrous adventures in Gospel..." "...as well as what went on between you and your mistress, Annan." Looking at the 'Sincerity' sorcery spirit in the Sword Princess's hand, Yaxiu suddenly felt that sorcerers in the Void Realm ought to focus diligently on exploration instead of slacking off and loafing around. And so he clapped his hands and announced, "All right, time to explore the Void Realm!" Diya looked around. "Did you prepare a vehicle?" "You guys actually had vehicles when exploring the Void Realm?" Weise was genuinely shocked. *Did this bunch come here to explore, or to mate?* "We don't have a vehicle this time," Yaxiu said. "However, we have an aid far greater than a vehicle—the Dream Vault!" With that, Yaxiu activated "Aurora's Dream Vault," and three illusory phantoms of artifacts materialized before everyone's eyes!