Chapter 332: Acheron completely forgotten?! The IPC doing charity work out of the goodness of their hearts?! That's just too fake!
Luofu.
Central Starskiff Haven.
The square here was always packed with players gathering to watch the story unfold.
And right now was no exception.
Although the climax of the plot had drawn to a close, and the story was reaching its epilogue, many players were still excitedly discussing the scene that had just transpired!
"It was our General Jing Yuan who stepped in again!"
"Jing Yuan is basically saying: I'm up, and I one-shotted it!"
"That segment was so cool… the moment that BGM kicked in, my tears just started flowing!"
"Ugh, this is our Xianzhou!"
"It got my blood pumping!"
"As a Luofu player, I'm truly proud!"
On the square, it felt as though they were celebrating the New Year!
Some people were even setting off fireworks and firecrackers!
Amidst this lively and peaceful atmosphere, the crowd began to slowly disperse.
After all, the climax of the plot had passed.
The current story was just wrapping up loose ends.
There was no need to watch it with the large crowd anymore.
However, the remaining half of the players chose to stay in place, intending to finish watching the future plans for Penacony before leaving.
The atmosphere of the entire square became extremely relaxed and leisurely.
In Little Gui's livestream room.
At this moment, in the hotel corridor, Stelle and March 7th encountered Black Swan.
Black Swan was explaining the situation that had occurred earlier.
"Though the General's strike was timely, its destructive power was immense. When the powers of Emanators clash, it's hard for ordinary people not to be affected."
"Fortunately, the Dreamscape [ Memory Zone ] is somewhat my home turf… Luckily, I managed to get everyone out before the Choir collapsed."
March 7th realized, "Oh, so that's what happened! Thank you, Miss Black Swan."
"You're welcome. After all, I wouldn't want to see precious memories vanish. You're off to meet your companions, right? Do you mind if I walk with you for a bit?"
Black Swan was now openly an ally.
Naturally, there was no objection to walking together.
In front of the bar, they successfully met up with Dan Heng and Boothill.
Black Swan introduced, "We met by chance while pursuing someone, and happened to discover that Mr. Sunday was brewing a terrifying conspiracy…"
"So we found you and assisted the Express crew to save the world together."
Boothill crossed his arms, brimming with confidence. "Don't mention it! We Galaxy Rangers are all about drawing our swords when we see injustice—Brother Dan Heng, is that how your old Xianzhou saying goes?"
"Roughly so."
At this point, March 7th suddenly asked suspiciously, "Hey, wait a minute. This is the first time I've heard about pursuing someone… Who were you chasing that brought you to the Express?"
"Haha, good question! That would be…"
Boothill's laughter suddenly froze.
Like an old tape recorder getting jammed.
He looked at Dan Heng with an embarrassed face.
"Who was it again? Uh, Brother Dan Heng, do you remember?"
[ Are you still keeping us in suspense? ]
"No, wait, I really can't seem to remember. Strange, my cybernetic beacon isn't malfunctioning…"
Dan Heng shook his head. "…I don't seem to remember either."
"Uh… Ah, forget it, forget it! If none of us can remember, then that person was probably just some petty thief, not important. Anyway, it doesn't affect our understanding of the situation."
"Yes, once everything settles down, I'll find a way to trace it back in the Memory Zone," Black Swan said with a smile.
"Everyone, let's go find Miss Himeko. As Penacony's little star, the whole hotel is worried about her safety."
"Hmm, you're right. Let's head to the lobby then."
They originally thought it was just a normal wrap-up phase…
But the conversation of the group seemed a bit off!
Guinaifen keenly paused the story on this screen, rubbing her chin.
"Wait… something's not right!?"
"Why would they forget Acheron here?"
"Acheron is one of the most crucial characters in Penacony's plot, and she had quite a few highlight moments!"
"Could it be… because of Acheron's [ IX/Nihility ] trait, people subconsciously forget her?"
"Hmm… I think my explanation is quite reasonable!"
The bullet comments immediately flooded in.
…
"The weight of Nihility…"
"Is this a [ Self-Annihilator ]?"
"Sigh, I feel so bad for Acheron!"
"It's fine, I will remember Acheron!!"
"I spent 160 pulls to guarantee Acheron, how could I ever forget her? How could you expect me to forget?!"
"??? Wait, is that right? This…"
"I disagree with Little Gui's theory! I think this is very suspicious… I suspect Black Swan did something. Don't forget, she's a Memokeeper, modifying memories is a piece of cake for her!"
"But there's no reason? Why would Swan do that?"
"Could it be another Memokeeper causing trouble?"
…
In the livestream room, a shadow of doubt suddenly cast over the great atmosphere.
However, Guinaifen didn't think too much about it.
After all, so many companions were right in front of her!
What major problem could there be?
With this confidence, she continued the story.
Arriving at the lobby, she immediately saw Jing Yuan's back, as well as Himeko and Welt conversing with him.
The two sides were engaging in polite small talk.
When the protagonist arrived, the atmosphere of the conversation instantly became playful.
Jing Yuan smiled and said, "Look, isn't our great hero here?"
[ What, thinking about me? ]
After some simple pleasantries, they began to review the actual business.
Himeko said, "Now I can be sure that he indeed wanted a fair duel with us. Otherwise, he was fully capable of dealing with us back then… without lifting a finger."
"Speaking of this Oak Family Head… where is he now?"
Jing Yuan replied, "It's complicated, but in short, he is now the former Oak Family Head."
"The IPC accused him of being the main person responsible for the Family's branch in Penacony, demanding he take responsibility for the unrest on behalf of the Family on the grounds of threatening galactic peace, and wanted to hand the case over to Pier Point for trial…"
"But the Family immediately branded him and the remaining Order factions as enemies, insisting that this disturbance was an internal rebellion. In this way, the IPC cannot legally or logically intervene in the Family's internal affairs."
Guinaifen nodded thoughtfully.
Everything was pretty much as expected!
The slight doubts that had arisen earlier were gradually dissipating…
Next, Jing Yuan invited Stelle to witness the negotiations with the IPC.
Guinaifen showed an interested look.
"Guys! The key part is coming!"
"It involves the final ownership of Penacony…"
"Aventurine and the others paid such a high price, they must be about to start making their move now!"
"I wonder how the IPC will use this incident to seize benefits?"
"Let's learn from this!"
Soon, they arrived at the designated location.
Standing in front of the sofa were three familiar figures!
Aventurine, Topaz… and Dr. Ratio!
…
"Yay! It's the IPC team!"
"It's my godfather."
"Follow-up attack team reunion."
"It's so good to see Aventurine is fine!"
"Aventurine is indeed [ Preservation ], he looks no different from before."
"Wait, Jade isn't showing up personally? A Cornerstone was destroyed, after all."
"These three must be discussing how to divide Penacony."
…
Stepping forward to talk to them, Aventurine greeted first, "It's been a while, everyone from the Astral Express."
"And my sincere thanks to you, General of the Luofu. With everyone present to witness, I'm sure this negotiation will end with a result that satisfies all parties."
Jing Yuan: "Oh? It seems you all have some expectations. Why don't you share them?"
"Of course. You go ahead, Topaz?"
"Mhm, leave it to me."
"Overall, it's good news—after review and voting by the Strategic Investment Department's Major Affairs Group meeting, the following resolution was passed by an absolute majority:"
"Based on long-term considerations for interastral peace, and authorized by the Pier Point headquarters, the Strategic Investment Department will permanently waive the IPC's claim to Penacony's sovereignty on behalf of the company, and unconditionally support the Family's reconstruction of Penacony."
After listening to Topaz read this segment in an official tone…
Guinaifen was completely stunned in front of the screen!
The words "unbelievable" were practically written all over her face!
"Huh??"
"Why are these all words I know, but when put together, I can't understand them?"
"Are you sure this is a resolution passed by the IPC?"
"[ Permanently waive ]?!"
"[ Unconditionally support ]!?"
"To see these words in an IPC resolution, I…"
"I've really had my eyes opened today!"
…
"What on earth?"
"What am I supposed to learn from this!"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"This must be an IPC conspiracy!!"
"Even sci-fi movies wouldn't dare to write it like this!"
"If this is true, I'll eat my…!"
"The IPC unconditionally supporting… Hahaha, you got me laughing!"
"Humorous, too humorous!"
"Feathered Spirit's plot has run into a problem, brothers…"
"In reality, things would absolutely never develop this way!"
"Penacony's plot is a bit anticlimactic."
"I'm out, brothers, it's too fake, I can't watch this anymore."