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Penacony Grand Theater.
Everything finally settled into place.
Aventurine's personal negotiation ended in failure. He did not consider calling on other companions of the IPC to overturn the verdict—he simply accepted reality.
Because it couldn't be overturned.
Behind Penacony stood an Emanator capable of defeating other Emanators, and moreover, the most valuable Emanator of Erudition in the interstellar sphere.
Even though this incident in Penacony was enormous—concerning the revival of an Aeon and the lives of the entire Asdana Star System.
In the end, the Aeon of Order had been firmly nailed into the coffin lid, completely losing any sign of revival.
The people of Penacony suffered no real losses. At most, they experienced an intoxicatingly beautiful dream—some of them might even be crying and clamoring for Sunday to take them for another round right now.
This level of leverage was clearly no match for the deterrent power of Sol as an Emanator.
In this interstellar society, strength was the ultimate measure of everything. An Emanator like Sol, who could easily defeat other Emanators, already possessed the qualifications to negotiate on equal footing with the entire corporation.
Aventurine knew that his only chance of winning lay in appealing to public morality to fight for benefits, but unfortunately, standing here was the Astral Express, whose reputation surpassed even that of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Once the banner of moral judgment was taken up by the Astral Express, the corporation lost its only means of pressuring Penacony. No matter who came to negotiate, the outcome would be the same.
At this moment, Dan Heng and Boothill finally arrived.
The two looked at the battlefield, which already seemed to have drawn to a close, and couldn't help but feel surprised.
There had been such a huge commotion just now, yet it ended this quickly?
"Looks like everyone's fine."
Dan Heng's phoenix eyes relaxed slightly, the heavy weight in his heart finally dropping away.
With Himeko, Uncle Yang, Stelle, and March 7th all safe, that was the best possible outcome.
As for whether anyone managed to land the final blow, that was probably something only Stelle would worry about.
"Dan Heng, come over here! Let me tell you—you have no idea how incredible the scene you missed was!"
March 7th and Stelle waved excitedly, eager to share the jaw-dropping spectacle they had just witnessed with their companion.
Forgive their lack of eloquence—the awesome giant was just too awesome!
"Mm."
Dan Heng glanced at Sol, who was clearly standing at center stage, then left Boothill's side and walked toward the members of the Astral Express Crew.
He was also curious about what exactly had happened here to cause the power of the dream to affect the train.
And what kind of force could suppress everything so quickly. This was extremely valuable data and should be archived in the database.
"What in the blazes happened here?"
Boothill touched the brim of his cowboy hat. The emotions he had carefully built up were completely splattered across the floor.
Seeing all kinds of people from different factions gathered in chaotic disarray made his head ache.
Especially since there seemed to be a corporation guy here—he really wanted to put a bullet through that bastard.
Aventurine noticed that chilling gaze and raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey, I've already had it bad enough. You're not planning to kick me while I'm down, are you?"
He recognized Boothill, a notorious interstellar wanted criminal with a bounty reaching tens of billions of credits—a genuinely troublesome figure.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have minded playing a cowboy gamble with him over something.
But in this situation, where he had lost across the board, he had absolutely no interest in that.
"Haha, the corporation's lapdog taking a hit—now that's some truly uplifting news!" Boothill whistled, his expression immediately relaxing. "Damn it, this beautiful dream world finally has one less disgusting capitalist."
His mood brightened, and the irritation from having no opponent just now vanished in an instant.
Watching corporation people suffer setbacks made him happy, like taking a swig of aged strong liquor—the fiery thrill surging from head to toe.
"Think whatever you want…"
Aventurine shrugged indifferently. He was completely devoid of desire or ambition right now.
He needed to seriously think about how to retrieve Jade's and Topaz's two Cornerstones from the families.
With Sol backing Robin, keeping those two Cornerstones in the families' hands was meaningless—worse, they could even become bargaining chips used against the corporation.
One-fifth of an Emanator's power was no match for a full-fledged Emanator's strength.
What a headache! Not only did he get unlucky this time, he also dragged two good colleagues who trusted him into this mess.
Aventurine propped his chin up, pondering what he could trade in exchange to get his colleagues' Cornerstones back.
But now he had nothing at all. Even if he tried selling himself, no one would take him!
At this moment.
Boothill walked toward Sol.
He wanted to see exactly what kind of big shot had turned the corporation's people into circus clowns.
At the same time, that woman carrying the long blade—who seemed to be impersonating a Galaxy Ranger—also needed to be questioned.
"Hello, Galaxy Ranger." Sol looked at Boothill with a smiling expression and said with a sigh, "Sometimes you really have to marvel at the wonders of fate. Seeing you, it's like I'm looking at my former self."
"Huh?" Boothill scratched his head, but still responded boldly, "Maybe it's when you're looking in a mirror, buddy. I think we're equally handsome."
Aside from that, he really couldn't find any similarity between himself and Sol.
This guy looked like a carefree drifter, while he was a vengeful ranger burdened with hatred—completely worlds apart.
"I meant our fashion sense is the same."
Sol smiled faintly, thinking of the Boothill-style cosmic cowboy outfit stored in his space.
Back then, he wore that battle gear to go "teach a lesson" to Zhu Yuan's parents.
"Then you've got good taste. If you've got time, we should grab a drink together." Boothill confidently flicked his coat hem and raised an eyebrow. "My treat—to the warrior who made the corporation suffer a huge loss!"
"I won't refuse."
Sol smiled.
He enjoyed making friends with people who had distinct personalities and strong personal charm.
Not for any ulterior motive—just because he wanted to.
At his current stage, he hardly needed to consider about benefit-driven motivations anymore. Everything was driven purely by interest.
Boothill said, "But before that, I've got a question for the lady beside you."
"Go ahead."
Sol stepped aside. It was obvious this was about Acheron impersonating a Galaxy Ranger.
Boothill looked at Acheron and said, "I don't know why you pretended to be a Galaxy Ranger. This title of ours isn't exactly some heroic profession."
"And you'd better not use this name to do bad things, or the Galaxy Rangers will clean house themselves."
He had tracked Acheron here because the reputation of the Galaxy Rangers could not become a shield for villains to act arrogantly.
Although this woman didn't seem like a bad person at present, a warning wouldn't hurt.
Acheron gently shook her head and said calmly, "I accepted a commission from an old man named Tiernan to return his relics to his homeland. Borrowing that elder's identity was merely for convenience in finding his home."
"So that's how it is." Boothill was half-convinced. "In other words, Penacony is the homeland of a heroic soul?"
Tiernan—among the Galaxy Rangers, who were already filled with legends, he was a legend among legends. His glorious feat of assassinating an Emanator of Destruction was revered by younger generations like them.
"He already rests in eternal sleep alongside his old friends. If you wish to pay your respects, you can ask Sol to lead the way." Acheron pointed at Sol and said expressionlessly, "Because I don't know the road."
"That's right."
Sol nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
He usually didn't smile—unless he truly couldn't help it. Acheron's deadpan sense of direction lessness was a striking contrast.
Sol opened a door leading to the three elders' graves at the Dreamflux Reef.
"Thanks, buddy." Boothill raised an eyebrow and said with a grin, "When I get back, I'll treat you to the finest booze."
He waved at Sol and stepped through the door.
He couldn't wait to pay respects to his predecessor—that was the crystallization of the Galaxy Rangers' spirit.
Thus, within the Penacony Grand Theater, all major troubles had been resolved.
Next came the closing phase—not difficult, but troublesome.
Although Sunday had landed safely, he had ultimately been forcibly knocked out of his Divine Sunday state and required a period of treatment.
As for Robin, despite being from the Iris Family, she now needed to temporarily shoulder the burden of the Oak Family on her brother's behalf and negotiate with various factions.
Even with Sol as her backing, she still had to reason things out publicly to ensure Penacony's smooth transition, avoiding excessive impact on the economy and civilian livelihoods.
Of course, it was fortunate that Sol stood behind them. Otherwise, Penacony's sovereignty would have been carved up long ago.
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