Seeing Derick agree to team up, Black Swan couldn't help but let out a sly smile from the corner of her lips.
It was ripe for the picking.
Now, only one last step remained.
Black Swan quietly glanced at Derick, a mysterious expression in her eyes.
To ensure success, she planned to thoroughly examine Derick's memory.
As a Remembrane from the Garden of Recollection, especially one of the best among them, Black Swan's skill at stealing others' memories was exceptionally advanced. Those whose memories were stolen wouldn't even realize it.
Watching Derick's back as he turned away, Black Swan's fingers twitched, about to take Derick's memory.
The entire process was silent. Even Derick, whose memory was being absorbed, didn't notice it at first. Black Swan smoothly entered Derick's memory.
"Derick's identity is so mysterious, now I can finally see where he really came from!"
Black Swan thought to herself.
Filled with anticipation, Black Swan entered Derick's memory.
Then, she saw no images from Derick's memory.
Only a colossal maw charging to swallow her.
"Aargh!" Black Swan screamed in her mind.
Staring closely at the giant maw, Black Swan clearly saw a colossal beast whose form was utterly indistinct behind it. Its massive body stretched beyond sight, and Black Swan felt a profound shock deep in her soul.
"Whose memory has a giant beast inside it?!"
While Black Swan was still dazed, the giant beast had already swallowed her whole.
Black Swan felt her body being torn, chewed, swallowed...
"Ah!"
After finishing discussions with Black Swan, Derick was just about to turn back and consult with Castorice and others on how to deal with potential sneak attacks from the Remembranes of the Garden of Recollection.
He hadn't taken more than two steps when a piercing shriek came from behind him.
Derick turned his head to see Black Swan collapsed on the ground, clutching her face, her body twisting violently in the shadows, her hands clamped tightly over her face.
"What in the world is happening? Black Swan, can't you maintain that cool, aloof female image of yours for a bit longer?"
"It hasn't even been an hour, and your mysterious aura has plummeted directly from Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench."
"How am I supposed to trust cooperating with you when you act like this?!"
In any case, Derick saw no sign of Black Swan's 'problem'—the one that made him want to laugh—improving; in fact, it seemed likely to get even worse.
In the distance, Stelle, Uncle Yang, and others were all stunned by the situation.
"What's going on? Uncle Yang, is she faking an injury?" Stelle pointed at the writhing Black Swan, stammering to Welt Yang.
Uncle Yang adjusted his glasses, indicating he hadn't anticipated this situation either.
He had simply been guarding against Black Swan making a move on Derick, but he never expected Black Swan to pull a "fall and fake an injury" stunt.
Derick looked at Black Swan's reaction, his face first showing confusion. Then he recalled that in the original game, she had also shown this state.
That was when Black Swan wanted to steal Acheron's memory, but she suffered a fierce backlash, sustaining heavy losses before barely escaping Acheron's memory. This current situation was very similar to when Black Swan tried to steal Acheron's memory.
So, Black Swan was also suffering a backlash from stealing someone else's memory, right?
As for whose memory could possibly cause such a backlash to Black Swan, Derick figured it could only be his own.
Just looking at her, he wondered, had she been backlashed into an idiot?
Derick looked at Black Swan with scrutinizing eyes, even taking a step forward.
Seeing Derick's movement, Black Swan's legs instinctively stiffened and she scurried backward, her expression one of utter panic.
"Alright, she didn't turn into an idiot."
Derick thought to himself.
After a while, Black Swan finally got up from the ground.
"Let's talk next time, next time when the Remembranes arrive," Black Swan said hastily.
After saying that, she tried to flee.
Black Swan's departing footsteps were hurried. She would glance at Derick, then flinch, before finally disappearing from everyone's sight.
"What in the world was that?" Seeing her disappear, Cipher asked, confused.
Derick glanced at where Black Swan had disappeared, then at Cipher, and said with a chuckle, "Looking at her like that, it's like she tried to steal something and got caught and beaten black and blue. If you keep trying to be a thief, you'll probably end up just like her."
"You sound like you know a lot about thievery."
Cipher rolled her eyes at Derick and said.
Several days later, on the Luofu Xianzhou, at the Divine Foresight Department. Derick received a message from General Jing Yuan early in the morning and came here. At first, he thought something important was happening, but when he arrived, only Jing Yuan and Yanqing were there.
"General Jing Yuan, did you call me here for something specific?" Derick asked Jing Yuan.
"It's good news, big brother Derick!" Yanqing said with a smile from the side.
Derick looked a bit puzzled.
Seeing his confused expression, Jing Yuan looked at Yanqing and said, "Alright, Yanqing, stop teasing Derick. Go get it now."
"Yes, General."
Yanqing ran to the back.
Watching Yanqing, Derick seemed to understand what kind of surprise Jing Yuan had prepared for him.
Soon, Yanqing came back carrying a box taller than himself. Yanqing quickly ran to Derick and handed him the long box.
"Big brother, this is the weapon General Huaiyang sent for you."
"Oh?"
Derick took the box and opened it, revealing a long polearm inside.
The polearm's blade was about one meter long, entirely deep blue, its sharp edge gleaming with a keen light. It was forged from the Edge of Condemnation; the ancient, crude broadsword was painstakingly hammered and compressed to the length of a shortsword, making it extraordinarily sharp.
The polearm's shaft was about one and a half meters long, its thickness perfectly suited for Derick's grip. During forging, Derick's hand size had been specifically measured, ensuring it was most comfortable when held by him.
At this moment, Derick noticed Yanqing's face was slightly flushed, and his hands were trembling faintly. Realizing something, he immediately reached out and took the polearm into his hands.
Heavy. Extremely heavy. Derick struggled to hold it with one hand.
Derick quickly gripped the polearm with both hands.
Mmh, perfect. When swung, it wasn't flimsy, nor did it feel strenuous.
It wasn't enough for it to simply withstand his strength; its sturdiness was even more crucial than its raw power. Derick infused energy, sensing the polearm's structure, and immediately felt the weapon's internal robustness. Now, even if Derick poured four, five, or even six different Aeon powers into it, it wouldn't be damaged.
Derick couldn't help but step back a few paces and, at Jing Yuan's silent cue from his eyes, began to swing the weapon.
Although it was his first time using the polearm, his martial prowess and talent made wielding various weapons effortless for him. Moreover, this uniquely crafted polearm combined the features of a sword and a spear. Derick could execute sword slashes, spear thrusts, and lunges without any hindrance.
After a short while of practice, Derick completely adapted to his new weapon.
Just then, Jing Yuan called out to Derick, "Derick, did you see the mechanism on the spear body?"
Derick looked closely and indeed found two small embossed mechanisms on the polearm. Derick pressed one of the mechanisms, and the entire polearm instantly separated in the middle, transforming into a long sword and a short spear.
Previously, the Spear of Condemnation and the Edge of Condemnation were two-handed weapons, and Derick felt a bit awkward wielding them. Now, after adding other materials and undergoing compression, they had become a short spear and a one-handed sword, much more suited to Derick's combat style.
At the same time, Derick now noticed an extremely fine thread connecting the two weapons. If Derick hadn't been paying close attention, he wouldn't have even spotted it.
This would prevent the weapons from being snatched away in battle.
Moreover, with this connection, Derick could freely launch the long sword and retrieve it at will.
He couldn't help but recall Yuanfang's chain blade from a TV show he watched as a child. The polearm in his hands now could be called a fully upgraded version.
Its power, versatility, and even its appearance had improved immeasurably.
Seeing Derick discover the thread, Jing Yuan immediately said, "The other mechanism is for adjusting the thread's length. From one meter to three hundred meters, the length can freely fluctuate, controlled by you."
"Yeah!" Derick nodded excitedly. Then, with some concern, he asked Jing Yuan, "General, is this thread strong enough? It won't break, will it?"
"Don't worry," Jing Yuan explained. "This thread is spun from the body tissue of some ancient beast. Even my attacks would take some effort to break it. It's even sturdier than the other parts of your weapon."
Jing Yuan explained.
"Then General Huaiyang and the craftsmen who helped me forge and improve this weapon really went through a lot of trouble," Derick said gratefully.
He didn't know that during his days of rest, Huaiyang had fought many battles against various people or beasts to help Derick find raw materials, enduring what could only be described as a miserable time.
Derick then put away the polearm, ready to leave.
Just then, Yukong walked in.
"Yukong, is there something amiss?" Seeing Yukong, Jing Yuan asked her.
"General, Miss Topaz, the Head of the Market Development Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation, requests an audience with the General. She brings news regarding the whereabouts of the Flame-Reaver you recently ordered to be investigated."
Originally, Yukong had intended to handle Topaz's request for an audience herself. After all, their statuses and positions weren't too different; in fact, Yukong's was even slightly higher, on par with Jade.
But seeing that the news Topaz brought was about the enemy Jing Yuan had ordered to be investigated, Yukong naturally had to bring her to meet with Jing Yuan.
Hearing that the Flame-Reaver had once again drawn the attention of the Interastral Peace Corporation, Derick thought to himself that this guy's luck was truly terrible.
He always seemed to provoke formidable powers.
But this was good too; it meant he wouldn't have the chance to return to Omphalos.
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan considered it for a moment and then accepted Topaz's request for an audience.
"Then let her in."
-
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