Tendo Simei's fingertip aimed at the nearby Star Monument. A deep, dark abyss tore through the air, piercing the monument's protective barrier before accurately striking its internal core.
Click, click...
Accompanied by a series of crisp cracking sounds, a multitude of spiderweb-like cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the Star Monument in the nearshore waters of the west coast, which had been continuously summoning beast tides.
A moment later.
Boom—!!!
Amidst a deafening explosion, the Star Monument on the sea surface transformed into a dazzling fireworks display, briefly illuminating Embers Isle, which was currently shrouded in dark clouds.
"Done."
Tendo dusted his hands, as if brushing off non-existent sand, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
But in the next second, his expression suddenly froze, as if he had remembered something important.
Then, he gazed at the calm sea before him, a hint of complexity flashing in his azure pupils.
'Sigh, I wonder how long it will be until Caroline wakes up. If only...'
As soon as this thought emerged, Tendo smiled and shook his head.
Because he knew how naive his thought was.
Unless he forcibly awakened Caroline from the Quantum Center.
But if he did that, there would have been no need for him to go to such lengths today.
Thinking of this, Tendo let out a soft sigh, then turned and disappeared into the rain-shrouded forest.
In the very end, he should first say goodbye to Caroline.
Even if… she probably wouldn't hear him.
As Tendo walked towards the forest, the camera on Station 13's Embers series slowly zoomed out.
The once clean East Beach had now been completely transformed into a bloody, living hell.
Thousands of Star Beast corpses were scattered across the beach in various exaggerated postures.
The smell of blood mixed with the unique stench of rotting seafood, forming a uniquely nauseating odor.
Among these horrifying Star Beast corpses, killed by Tendo, were:
A giant sea turtle whose head had been completely blown off by a single punch, its upper body leaning against a coconut tree.
A saber-toothed shark with a perfectly circular hole punched through its chest, frozen in a pouncing stance.
And Star Beasts that had been utterly pulverized into countless fragments, scattered across the beach like disassembled puzzles, their original forms unrecognizable.
Although the series' footage had switched to other battlefields after Tendo instantly killed the Tier 2 Sea Wolf Turtle, this current scene of the East Beach, like a bloody art exhibition, undoubtedly served as indirect proof of Tendo's terrifying, almost cheat-like strength.
And his strength became even more profound in the audience's minds after they had just witnessed the Chen Xing Squad's four members struggling in coordinated combat, repeatedly falling into difficult situations.
'Is this the legendary 'One-Man Army'?! (Pupils dilating violently)'
'Chen Xing: Are we playing the same dungeon???'
'Don't @ our Star, that's the invincible Lord Tendo!'
'When Star and the others were still struggling in lane, someone was already dancing in the opponent's fountain and personally watching their base explode.'
'Tendo: You guys keep fighting, I'm going to buy, no, I'm going to instantly kill the BOSS.'
'At this moment, a passing newbie trembles in fear.'
'Did any of you notice Tendo's fleeting complex expression just now? I always get a bad feeling…'
'Don't say it, the one before me, I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening!'
As Tendo left the beach, the series' footage, like a cinematic transition, switched to the holographic calculation room in the base's underground Quantum Center.
Tendo stood before Caroline's 'quantum calculation pod.' Silver-white quantum streams of light constantly flickered through the quantum data lines surrounding the calculation room, casting shifting shadows across his face.
Inside the holographic calculation pod, Caroline wore a specially designed mecha tactical suit. Special quantum data lines were plugged into the signal interfaces on her back and the back of her neck.
At the same time, her originally light green hair had completely changed, turning the same silvery-white as his.
This transformation occurred because Caroline's seemingly soft strands of hair were, in fact, fine, precise quantum data lines.
When quantum data transmits at super speed, it shifts from a calm emerald green to a turbulent silvery-white.
That's why Caroline's hair color changed in the holographic calculation pod.
Although this appearance of hers was rare, Tendo had seen it a few times over the years.
The most recent time was when that clumsy Caroline was tricked by him in Deep Blue Metropolis, thinking her life was ending, and activated her mecha's overlimit mode.
Thinking of this, Tendo couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile.
After all, it wasn't just anyone who could trick a highly intelligent mecha.
Especially a top-tier genius mecha like Caroline.
In that regard, Tendo was quite "impressed" with himself.
After a brief moment of self-satisfaction, Tendo pulled over a nearby chair and quietly sat beside Caroline's calculation pod, using this last precious time to begin his daily 'work report.'
At the same time, Tendo had to admit.
Caroline in her silver-haired mode really did feel like his best partner!
"Caroline, you wouldn't believe it, today, Liuli made a joke again, she..."
Tendo was halfway through his sentence when the series' footage suddenly switched to a 'flashback' reminiscent of a revolving lantern.
This flashback began from Caroline's first day inside the 'quantum calculation pod.'
In the grayscale memory fragments, Tendo would come alone to Caroline's quantum calculation pod late at night, in the dead of night. He'd tell her about the interesting things that happened in the base that day.
For instance, Jing Liuli flying and suddenly crashing into a pillar in the base, making her so angry she wanted to tear the pillar down on the spot, but she was caught by Yun Meng, who happened to pass by, and given a severe lecture.
Or how Chen Xing overestimated himself and challenged him to a duel, only to be easily defeated by him again.
Of course, the Tendo in the memory footage didn't actually speak much.
Because an unchanging routine was actually the main melody of Tendo's life for over a month.
Therefore, more often than not, he simply sat quietly by the calculation pod, silently watching Caroline inside the pod.
However, no matter how boring the day's events were, Tendo would still arrive at the calculation room on time every night, routinely giving Caroline these dull and repetitive 'work reports.'
But as time went on, Tendo spoke less and less during his daily 'work reports,' and his silence grew longer and longer.
It was as if he had already sensed something.
As the revolving lantern-like memory clips flashed across the screen one by one, the dimensional audience on Station 13 gradually fell silent along with Tendo in the footage.
Because although Tendo in the footage appeared normal, and always wore his signature confident smile when he spoke, they clearly discovered a rarely seen side of him at this moment.
A side called 'loneliness'.
This guy, who often had 'strongest' on his lips and prided himself on being unrivaled in heaven and on earth, was actually... also very afraid of loneliness.
The series' footage cut back to the present.
"...So, Caroline, I told you that Liuli definitely wouldn't be able to run a business in the future."
"She can't even do addition and subtraction within a hundred, yet she's still muttering about becoming the world's richest woman. That's just too much daydreaming, pure fantasy, haha!"
As Tendo laughed, a piercing alarm suddenly blared.
Blood-red warning lights illuminated various parts of the underground base.
Cold electronic voices echoed continuously between the metal walls.
And their appearance, at this moment... completely shattered Tendo's warm everyday life.
[Warning, warning, detecting an unidentified Star Envoy intrusion.]
[According to Embers Base security protocols, Base Defense Mode: Endless Labyrinth has been activated. All units please strictly adhere to Embers Base security guidelines and promptly assist defense personnel in expelling the unidentified intruders.]
Tendo looked at the Quantum Center's Holographic Calculation Room, which was now bathed in blood-red light.
Listening to the continuous blaring alarms in his ears.
He immediately placed his hands on his knees and slowly stood up.
"Caroline, although there's still a lot I want to tell you, since guests have arrived, I should go out and greet them properly."
"Originally, this was Sister Yun's job, but I told the Doctor that Sister Yun doesn't really understand hospitality etiquette."
"So, I proactively asked the Doctor for this task."
"After all, when it comes to entertaining guests... I believe I have far more experience than Sister Yun."
"It's clearly better for me to go than for her to go."
As he spoke, Tendo took out an old, small dolphin plushie from his embrace.
He placed it next to the half-meter tall pink dolphin plushie beside Caroline's holographic calculation pod.
And as soon as Tendo finished this, the Starfield Production Team gave a special close-up shot of these two dolphin plushies, one large and one small, one new and one old.
It was as if they were silently hinting at something.
"Caroline, although I don't know how long this reception will last, considering the small unexpected interlude that might occur during it..."
"When I came back today, I specifically went to your room and brought this little thing out too."
"This way, when you wake up, you'll see them right away."
Speaking of this, Tendo picked up Deep Blue Sound, the gift Caroline had given him, which he wore around his neck, and revealed a 'confident' smile.
"Alright, Caroline, I've said everything I need to say. Now... I should go out and properly entertain those guests."
"Don't worry, with the amulet you sent me, I don't think I'll get lost even in such pitch-black darkness."
"And if you wake up and don't see me, you don't need to rush to find me."
"Because it would definitely just mean I was delayed by something on the way, and I'll be back soon."
"So, goodbye... my best partner."
With that, Tendo carefully put down the necklace and turned to walk out of the Quantum Center's Holographic Calculation Room.
Leaving Caroline alone, lying quietly in the holographic calculation pod.
However, Tendo didn't notice.
The moment he walked out of the calculation room, Caroline, lying in the holographic calculation pod, slightly moved her finger.
And this indicated that Caroline, who had been in 'quantum space' for a full 50 days, was now... not far from her consciousness returning from quantum space to reality.