252 Galactic Graffitist [Wolf Fang Arc Completed!]

The princess Lu Chen mentioned was naturally the most famous princess in the entire universe, the imperial idol, Princess Silver Wave.

She bore the prestigious reputation: "North of Pangu, Silver Wave is the most beautiful."

As the most prominent main thoroughfare of the Pangu Route, linking the end of the Blizzard Route and the beginning of the Abyss Route, straddling south of the galactic core and passing through the southern stellar territory of the imperial capital, this saying naturally came to be.

"Is it really Princess Silver Wave?"

Aeri had only recently seen the news about the princess's concert and caught a glimpse of her appearance, filling her heart with deep envy.

Princess Silver Wave was confident and sweet, gentle yet romantic.

Singing, dancing, cultivation... she was practically omnipotent, deserving of the title of the empire's most perfect woman.

She shared the same silver hair, but Aeri's was soft and naturally curled, while Princess Silver Wave's was a waterfall-like, long, straight silver.

Clearly sharing the same innocent and cute round face, Princess Silver Wave was much taller than her.

With a star-like, slender yet curvaceous figure, she was simply a fairy descended to the mortal realm.

While she herself was merely an unpolished werewolf girl...

Just a child!

Now, seeing the princess's virtual persona with her own eyes, she finally understood why the princess was so impossibly perfect, and she suddenly had the feeling of a dream crashing down into reality.

Gloria frowned, staring intently at Princess Silver Wave's figure for a long time.

"It really is Princess Silver Wave... Tsk tsk, this figure is way too thin. I want to kill her and rid the world of this scourge!"

Lu Chen glanced around. The top floor of the Sky Spirit Abode seemed to possess some special disenchantment array that cleared one's mind and brought them back to reality.

This reminded him of the three years he spent living on Rusty Star, where a poster of Princess Silver Wave had hung on the wall of his RV bedroom.

Yet, after setting sail, he felt that Gloria and Aeri were in no way inferior to the princess, and felt much more authentic.

An imperial idol like Princess Silver Wave, heavily promoted to the forefront by the royal family, was likely quite different in reality.

Still, seeing the princess's replicated persona now, while her beauty might not surpass Gloria's, her aura was clearly more ethereal and noble... even if she had become a madwoman.

"Even in the virtual world, killing people at will damages the reputation of the royal family."

Only then did Princess Silver Wave raise her head, a pair of rippling silver eyes locked directly onto Lu Chen.

"Mind your own business! I don't like you, especially you, self-righteous genius... If not for my true self's instructions, I have ten thousand ways to kill you."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Lu Chen couldn't be bothered to argue with a madwoman.

"So, Princess Silver Wave's perfect image was actually pieced together with the help of nine humanoid walking study-bots?"

To be honest, Lu Chen was somewhat envious of this method of learning.

Silver Wave laughed wildly, completely abandoning her image:

"Idols are always manufactured! I entered the game pod before I could even walk or speak. Aside from being born a bit cute and tall, I have zero talent. Without the game pod, I am nothing and know nothing—I wouldn't know how to sing, dance, act, or practice various cultivation arts. If it weren't for hateful geniuses like you, I wouldn't need to study this hard just to surpass you!"

One had to admit, this princess clone was remarkably honest without a shred of cunning. Could things like this just be said out loud?

Nothing to be done; one couldn't expect too much from a virtual entity.

Besides, had it not been for Lu Chen dual-wielding mental and hacking prowess to defeat the princess, no one else could have ever reached the rooftop.

"So, whenever you get annoyed by studying, you feel like killing people?"

The princess recalled with a dazed yet slightly exhilarated expression:

"Until one day, I realized that one of the two worlds I lived in was virtual, and I grew to love killing. If I hadn't vented all my negative emotions into the game pod, how could my real self be so flawless and gentle? This feeling... is truly wonderful, especially killing geniuses like you. It brings me joy for a whole year. Unfortunately, you are a unique existence; unless we perish together, I cannot kill you within the game. Perhaps I have countless ways to kill you in reality, but if I don't do it with my own hands, where is the joy in that?"

Lu Chen was speechless.

Talk about a perverted princess!

Her persona had completely shattered...

No wonder there were news reports earlier claiming the princess's persona had collapsed; he hadn't expected it to be true.

Fortunately, it had only collapsed inside a game pod.

This proved that one shouldn't pursue perfection too relentlessly. The more one chased perfection, the more one realized that humans could never be perfect, and eventually, they would go mad.

Lu Chen spread his hands helplessly.

"What's the use of being jealous of me? I'm not as perfect as the princess; I'm just handsome, strong, versatile, and have a beautiful wife... I'm quite ordinary."

Crack!

The pencil in the princess's hand snapped in half.

She suddenly stood up, lunged toward Lu Chen, and charged at him brandishing the half-pencil.

"I'll kill you!"

Although the princess was very tall, she looked so frail and harmless that the three of them hadn't been overly vigilant.

Lu Chen reached out and grabbed the princess's slender, icy wrist.

Only then did he realize something was wrong.

The princess grinned broadly.

"You've fallen for it. I'm going to destroy your talent!"

Mad data poured into Lu Chen's mind like a torrent, attempting to engulf his willpower.

Lu Chen's form distorted, turning into a waterfall of data collapsing downward.

"Captain!"

Aeri was terrified and instinctively lunged forward.

She was intercepted by Gloria.

Gloria wore a nonchalant expression, even raising her wine flask to drink while watching the show.

"This is not a battle we can interfere with. If you go over, the captain will be distracted trying to protect you, and ultimately might end up harmed by the princess. If he can't even handle a single princess and yet dares to rampage across the empire, he's either going to die today or tomorrow. Just trust him."

Aeri calmed down, realizing she had acted too impulsively.

Yet Gloria, usually the impulsive one, remained thoroughly rational in the face of genuine danger.

Just as Sister Gloria had said, in a battle of data, she couldn't offer any help. Protecting herself so the captain could focus on dealing with the princess was the most sensible course of action.

Radiance flowed. Data fused. Mutual deconstruction occurred.

Ultimately, Lu Chen adapted to the emotional neural network server and withstood the princess's data onslaught.

The opponent hadn't intended to kill him or rob him of his sanity; her primary goal was to investigate his memories and the source of his talents.

Just moments ago, even the two replicated chosen abilities showed signs of breaking through, yet his system remained as steady as Mount Tai, without even a warning from the Risk Avoidance Guide.

Lu Chen steadied his mind, and the momentum of offense and defense instantly reversed as he counter-swallowed the princess's divine soul.

The princess was forced to cut the connection, collapsing to her knees as she vomited blood, her eyes blazing red as her ten fingers frantically clawed at the floor.

Clearly, she could not withstand Lu Chen's terrifying data, which felt like an otherworldly demon.

Only then did Aeri and Gloria breathe sighs of relief.

Lu Chen smiled and asked the princess:

"What did you see?"

The princess lowered her head, the transient flash of sheer terror in her eyes fading instantly.

When she looked up, even her gaze had grown much softer.

She stared at Lu Chen, wanting to say something, but ultimately held her tongue.

Yet, Lu Chen seemed to hear a voice, the princess's divine intent whispering to him:

"Save me."

Lu Chen stared at the princess before him, still a murderous lunatic in a berserk state.

To all appearances, she was merely a high-ranking virtual entity running on a neural network.

Yet she seemed to possess an independent, incomplete soul.

Save you my foot!

Whether she was a princess, a serial killer, or some aggrieved virtual entity, Lu Chen had no intention of saving her.

Feigning ignorance, he ignored the virtual princess and, leading Gloria and Aeri, turned and left the Sky Spirit Abode.

On the city's main street.

Seeing the three of them emerge unscathed, the onlookers assumed they had slain the female demon and grew wildly excited.

Until they looked up and saw the bats in the sky still flying frantically for their lives, realizing the female demon was not dead after all...

Having undergone the baptism of the top floor of the Spirit Abode, the three of them had cleared their heads considerably and gradually adapted to the immersion of the game.

Gloria clearly envied the princess's learning method.

"I never expected Ah Yin to be Princess Silver Wave. No wonder she had the money to rent the top-tier office building on the first planet and build a teleportation array on the roof... The empire invests so heavily in launching a royal idol. Knowing this, they should have promoted me instead; at the very least, my swordsmanship and figure are better."

Her swordsmanship was indeed better, but whether her figure was superior... she couldn't be entirely sure, as it depended on the era's aesthetic standards.

To most men, Princess Silver Wave possessed the ultimate fairy-like physique.

Lu Chen rather favored Gloria's voluptuous figure, though her drawback was a lack of demonic charm; she resembled a normal human woman too closely, lacking the cuteness of Aeri's upright wolf ears.

"You idiot, if you were forced to study nine subjects, you'd have already destroyed the universe."

Gloria curled her lips.

"Unlikely. If you pay me enough, I'll definitely study. Nobody said I had to master it; just winging it is fine!"

True to form!

Lu Chen's mind was still echoing with the princess's cry for help, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

"It's still early. Let's go check out the other cities and see if the other princesses are also serial killers."

Aeri was still feeling a lingering sense of dread.

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Relax, the most dangerous part was just now, and even that wasn't very dangerous."

Thus, over the next seven or eight game hours, the three of them visited the remaining eight cities.

They encountered the other eight Princesses Silver Waves, identical in appearance yet completely distinct in personality, all equally aggressive.

The nine princesses perfectly embodied the nine sins of humanity:

Jevlosy, arrogance, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust, deceit, and fear.

The jealous one killed geniuses.

The arrogant one killed those who disobeyed.

The wrathful one killed based on her mood.

The greedy one plundered everything, killing any who resisted.

The gluttonous one ate people.

The lustful one rounded up all the women in the city... Lu Chen guessed that a lust for men might cause the real-life princess to lose control upon seeing handsome guys, falling head over heels and damaging her public image.

Consequently, the princess's lust was redirected toward women, leaving the city's men unable to find wives and causing the population to plummet.

The deceitful one was a pure troll, deriving joy daily from tricking the citizens, employing various physical or financial schemes to strip the residents of their savings and causing massive numbers of people to starve to death.

The fearful one suffered from extreme persecutory delusions, executing a batch of "conspirators" every day to feel safe.

The lazy one killed the industrious, resulting in universal sloth among the citizens, quickly leading to corpses littering the land and a populace reduced to beggars.

Through direct or indirect killings, the nine princesses had reduced the population of Paradise Lost from over one hundred million down to a mere ten million.

Even so, these unforgivable Princesses Silver Waves still had to study.

For instance, the lustful one studied while soaking in a hot spring surrounded by fluttering attendants who massaged her shoulders and beat her back.

The gluttonous one liked eating her teachers; if any explanation of a principle wasn't clear in one sentence, she simply ate the teacher.

The lazy one studied sprawled out on the floor.

Dressed in disheveled clothes she hadn't changed in years, she looked just like a beggar.

Nearly every Princess Silver Wave wanted to kill the trio, with the exception of the final lazy one.

The previous eight had all sent subtle telepathic pleas for help to Lu Chen; only this lazy princess remained indifferent.

She neither attacked Lu Chen nor secretly cried out for help.

This lazy princess, though smelling somewhat fishy and gamey, lay disheveled in a lazy posture with a detached gaze, looking rather interesting.

Seeing the three of them brave the high-pressure barrier and ascend to the top floor, she sprawled on the ground, drooping her eyelids as she watched the automatic pencil draw formation diagrams, not even raising her head as she said:

"Did Rilke send you here to supervise my studying? Aren't I studying right now? I'm too lazy to kill you; go commit suicide yourselves."

Seeing the fully automatic study pencils, both Lu Chen and Gloria were filled with envy.

"The nine of you shoulder the task of helping Princess Silver Wave study, yet you don't get to enjoy the spotlight and adoration of the princess. No wonder you're in a bad mood and bred sin."

Lu Chen remarked.

The lazy princess casually replied:

"I think it's pretty good. No sin at all, I love studying."

As she spoke, the auto-pencil shifted to drawing a spiritual pressure distribution map.

Lu Chen watched intently; this was a princess clone learning mechanical spirit runes, making her a peer of his in a way.

She was the only persona that felt somewhat interesting.

"I heard from Rilke that Princess Silver Wave is waiting for us."

Only then did the lazy princess lift her drooping eyelids and slowly cast a glance at Lu Chen.

"He heard wrong. The princess is probably waiting for you at the concert after the Adventurer Guild's secondary examinations."

Lu Chen found this strange and asked further:

"Why would a big shot like the princess pay attention to adventurers who only recently set sail?"

The lazy princess curled her lips in a smile.

"The princess is under a lot of pressure, you know, and quite rebellious at heart.

She probably wants to form a girl group with your two pretty female teammates.

Or maybe she fancies you. You're decent-looking; your talent is a bit lacking, but you won't be worse than the princess. You can always learn inside a cultivation pod."

Lu Chen was speechless.

"Adventurers with those qualifications are a dime a dozen on the Pangu Route. Why is the princess specifically waiting for us?"

The lazy princess let out a cold snort, smiling without any warmth:

"You guessed right; she's not just waiting for you, she's waiting for many other adventurers as well.

Everything is to strengthen the royal family's power. You surely don't think the universe is so vast that the royal family can control all of it, do you?

The only reason the empire has survived until now is because the Silverhair family has shared massive amounts of benefits with the Federation, the Tier-2 and Tier-3 alliances, and even the Empire's Ten Great Families, barely managing to hold things together.

Even within the royal family, due to His Majesty's advanced age, dozens of princes and princesses harbor their own ambitions; it's hardly a monolith."

Lu Chen truly hadn't expected that the royal family's promotion of an imperial idol went beyond merely boosting the image of the empire and royalty; they actually intended to directly recruit talent through the princess's connections.

"Who would've thought we've reached the twilight years of a dynasty so soon."

The lazy princess arched a slender brow.

"What do you mean, 'so soon'? The Silverhair family has ruled the galaxy for over ten thousand years. Surviving the humanoid wars a thousand years ago was entirely thanks to internal turmoil within the New Federation.

Though humanoids weren't skilled in science, their massive population meant they produced engineering and hacking geniuses; by the later stages of the war, the Federation's total number of engineers exceeded the empire's.

It was information warfare and espionage that saved the empire, resulting in the New Federation's current de facto split."

Lu Chen's head was spinning, and for some reason, he kept thinking of his previous life.

"When the royal family recruits talent, what kind of profile do they prefer?"

The lazy princess picked her nose as if no one else was there, saying offhandedly:

"When the royal family recruits elites, they don't look at current strength; they look at potential.

Beyond that, your appearance has to pass muster, and your moral standards must be high so you don't disgrace the royal family.

What you did at Fang Corp—let alone the princess, even His Majesty knows about it.

On the surface they're furious, but you know how it is: Fang Corp isn't royal property, so it actually brought shame to the royal family.

It's just that the roots of the Ten Great Families run too deep, and they huddle together; they aren't easily uprooted.

Still, you guys are far too weak right now; the princess merely wants to meet you in secret, nurture you in advance, and establish a connection."

Speak properly, will you? Must you pick your boogers...

Lu Chen had no idea what he had just listened to; his attention was completely fixed on the princess picking her nose, which was an utter disgrace to the royal family!

The lazy princess continued:

"Clearly, you hold grievances against the empire.

But the empire is neither as good nor as evil as you imagine; it's a conglomerate of various interest groups.

As things stand, the royal family remains the single most powerful faction in the universe.

The problem lies in the fact that the royal family itself is not united. The imperial faction maintains contact and colludes with the Ten Great Families and even major cosmic powers, making the situation terribly murky."

Lu Chen frowned.

This was straight-up palace drama territory.

The princess recruiting talent probably wasn't as simple as it seemed...

Wait, could it be that Princess Silver Wave, who was nineteen and of the same age as him, wanted to become the emperor?

Lu Chen had never cared for such matters and hurriedly declined:

"We are adventurers; there's no way we're getting mixed up in palace politics. Besides, palace dramas were the exact thing I hated watching most when I was a kid."

The lazy princess grinned, her gaze carrying an ambiguous undertone.

"Don't forget, the royal family has the most money."

Gloria suddenly fell into deep thought, as if enlightened, and remarked:

"I actually quite like watching palace dramas. Most women probably do... Aeri, don't you like watching them too?"

Good grief, are you trying to hold a democratic vote aboard the spaceship?

Lu Chen wore a dark expression and remained silent.

The lazy princess yawned and said:

"Still, your current strength is too low, and thinking about these things is far too premature. Once you pass through the Blizzard Route and enter parts of the imperial capital's stellar territory, I hope you're still alive and have grown strong."

One had to admit, among the nine princesses, when it came to rationality, the lazy princess took the crown.

Her hacking skills were also the strongest... though still inferior to Lu Chen's by a tiny fraction.

Presumably, because she invented the automatic pencil and wasn't heavily persecuted by studying, she didn't harbor such intense resentment.

"By the way, your spaceship was stolen."

The lazy princess reminded him abruptly.

Lu Chen paused, recalling a certain sword-spirit samurai.

"Good grief, the man actually attained enlightenment!"

Wait...

The Leonine was escorted by worm drones; it was impossible for it to be flown away.

Could that guy possibly have the capability to cart an entire spaceship away from the heavily fortified Teno Pyramid dock?

Lu Chen figured it probably wasn't him.

He immediately sensed the worm drones.

Due to the prolonged absence of active control from him, the Leonine had indeed been physically hauled away by external forces.

The surveillance inside the dock had been severed, and a high-intensity shielding magnetic field had been applied, causing the Leonine's radar to fail.

Lu Chen glanced at the time.

More than forty minutes had passed in reality.

He disconnected immediately.

With a leap, he vaulted out of the cultivation pod!

Instantly, dizziness washed over him, and his body staggered unsteadily.

It felt like recovering from jet lag; the surrounding world momentarily slowed down tenfold.

Soon, Aeri and Gloria stepped out as well.

Aeri's mental state was holding up, but her physical strength was depleted; she took a Healing Spirit Pill to feel better.

Shortly after, she gave one Healing Spirit Pill each to Lu Chen and Gloria to restore their physical and mental stamina.

Gloria hadn't lost much physical strength.

As for her mental state...

The moment she stepped out of the game pod, her legs gave out.

Before she could collapse, Lu Chen hooked her waist with one foot, swung her up, and slung her over his shoulder.

He fed Gloria a Healing Spirit Pill, carried her on his shoulder with Aeri following closely behind, and with a loud *bang*, kicked open the door to Rilke's office.

"Rilke, what on earth are you playing at? Our spaceship was stolen, and you didn't even wake me up?"

Rilke was completely oblivious.

"A spaceship? Wasn't your spaceship parked in Teno's dock? Who on earth would dare steal a ship from Teno's dock? Go look for the Pyramid's property management; they'll compensate you."

Lu Chen thought about it. Though the Leonine wasn't particularly valuable, it contained Gloria and Aeri's clothes and personal belongings.

As well as the Union cultivation pods and Halo game pods, both of which contained their training and gaming data.

He had to retrieve the spaceship immediately!

"Compensation is a must; go help us negotiate a good price, but we're going to retrieve our ship ourselves!"

Rilke paused, sighing after a long moment:

"You really know how to generate extra income."

Lu Chen suddenly asked him:

"Do you have a spaceship?"

"No, I only have a skiff... wait, I don't have a skiff, I take flying taxis everywhere when I go out!"

"That means you have a skiff. Lend it to me. Once I find my spaceship, I'll return it to you. An imperial hero never breaks his word."

"Fine, just don't scratch it, and remember to fill it up with spiritual oil. I've sent you the parking coordinates."

"Many thanks!"

"Wait, take the skiff key."

"No need."

"?"

...

The three of them immediately headed down to the underground dock.

They roughly pinpointed the time the spaceship was stolen.

Based on the spiritual pressure reaction where the surveillance radar was suppressed, the drag marks on the ground, and the remote resonance of the worm drones, they confirmed the Leonine's current location was on a neighboring planet...

Before they could finish analyzing and reach a conclusion,

the thief took the initiative to contact him via email!

As expected, the one who stole the Leonine wasn't Verdi, the swordsman who had attained enlightenment.

Instead, it was an 80th-tier special operations fleet under the Silver Rose Special Operations Team!

It wasn't so much a theft as it was the forced impoundment of the Leonine.

The reason for the seizure was to investigate the Leonine for tampering with its radar identification code and illegally smuggling into imperial stellar territory through the Yuri Pass.

"Such a trivial matter, and they actually dared to impound our ship?"

Lu Chen stared in utter disbelief.

This was just like how the FBI back in the old American federal days couldn't find evidence of Al Capone's crimes and could only nail him for tax evasion to put him in prison.

The email urged him to immediately report to the flagship of the Silver Rose 9th Fleet to assist with the investigation.

Assist your ghost!

Furious, Lu Chen directly placed a video call.

On the other side of the screen was a blond man clad in silver special ops military uniform.

"I am Avkuxianji, captain of the 9th Fleet of the Silver Rose Special Operations Team."

Lu Chen didn't beat around the bush and said with a straight face:

"I am Lu Chen, captain of the Primeval Firmament Adventure Crew. Your accusations against me are all correct, but we are adventurers; it would be far too shameful to have our ship impounded over such a minor issue. Send the ship back, and I can pay the passage fee."

The blond man shook his head.

"It's not just Silver Rose investigating you; this operation is a joint action with the Adventurer Guild. You tampered with the Adventurer Guild's database without authorization—that is no minor matter."

Damn it, the Adventurer Guild actually betrayed me!

Fortunately, Lu Chen possessed an exceptionally thick skin. Without changing his expression or missing a beat, he stated:

"I was merely reminding the Adventurer Guild to upgrade their servers. While the method wasn't entirely appropriate and constituted an illegal act, if I truly wanted to commit crimes, my current strength is sufficient to destroy your entire fleet. You should be thanking me for merely breaking the law."

Gloria was dumbfounded by this line of logic...

The blond man was equally bewildered, and deciding to cut the small talk, he pulled out a joint investigation warrant.

"Captain Lu, this is a legitimate joint investigation warrant from the empire and the Adventurer Guild. We will ensure your personal safety and hold you for no more than forty-eight hours of investigation. However, if you refuse to cooperate, we will be forced to use coercive measures to arrest you."

"Wouldn't you need to dispatch a fleet above Tier 100 for that?"

Lu Chen promptly hung up the video call.

To be honest, since the other party was taking the legitimate investigation route, it wasn't easy for him to stir up trouble.

He merely felt that using a full special ops fleet to arrest him over such a trivial matter in Night City, where crimes ran rampant everywhere, was somewhat comical.

You couldn't see a single one of the massive crimes out there, yet you target this!

"Whatever, I suppose it's just a consequence of our brilliance."

The Leonine was detained on the neighboring second planet.

The Silver Rose 9th Fleet had specially constructed a sealed metal cabin to lock the Leonine inside.

Completely sealed, with no spirit-rune switches and all communications shielded.

Lu Chen could only locate the spaceship's position through remote resonance.

Yet he couldn't issue remote commands from this distance to make the drones drill through the sealed cabin.

To open the sealed cabin, he had to arrive in person and use close-range resonant control to make the worm drones slowly bore through the enclosure.

If the enemy decided to pack up the sealed cabin and run right now, Lu Chen would be completely helpless.

Fortunately, no one seemed interested in stripping the Leonine for parts; the Silver Rose forces were likely setting a trap on the second planet to capture him.

With no other choice, Lu Chen had to go.

An adventure crew must never let their flagship be stolen!

Otherwise, they would end up like Pauli Gylen, a stray dog licking the desert princess.

Lu Chen drove Rilke's skiff, turned around, and dove underwater into a certain lake on the first planet, vanishing into invisibility.

A dozen minutes later, the skiff arrived at the second planet.

Unexpectedly, the main force of the 9th Fleet was stationed along the space route between the first and second planets.

Above the second planet, only a single patrol ship cruised outside the atmosphere.

The Leonine's current location was at a garbage dump on the second planet.

Lu Chen landed the skiff in a nearby hidden spot and stepped out of the craft.

Holding Gloria's hand with his left and grasping Aeri's with his right, everyone turned invisible as they stealthily approached the garbage dump.

The sky was gloomy.

Ahead, Lu Chen spotted a massive enclosed metal container standing at the foot of a mountain of trash.

Without a doubt, the Leonine was inside that metal container.

At the top edge of the metal container, a young woman stood with her hands hanging at her sides.

Looking down from above, she gazed at the invisible trio as if she could actually see them.

Lu Chen looked closer.

This was a young woman wearing a red-and-white tightsuit, holding a silver helmet under her arm, the helmet stamped with a rose insignia.

Medium height, well-proportioned figure with everything proportioned to perfection, save for her thighs which were slightly plump and taut, giving her an exceptionally athletic appearance.

With a standard apricot-shaped face and a pair of crimson eyes like sunken ocean beds devoid of light, her features were pure and exquisite, revealing no particular expression.

Only a head of short, vibrant wine-red hair fluttered in the wind, bobbing up and down, exuding an extraordinary crisp and dashing aura.

The moment Lu Chen locked gazes with her, the woman spoke.

"Lu Chen, we meet again."

Lu Chen frowned, suddenly feeling as though he recognized this face from somewhere...

"Have I met you before?"

The woman remained indifferent, showing no expression.

"Our armor has met. You even took my light blade."

"Plain Face?"

Lu Chen instantly remembered.

He hadn't expected this woman to be investigating him in secret as well.

"So, you tracked my location using your discarded light blade?"

The young woman shook her head.

"The light blade has a tracker, but you altered the spirit runes.

I tracked you through the surveillance system on the first planet, confirming your departure time and calculating your fastest possible arrival time.

And you arrived merely three seconds later than my calculated fastest time...

I had my suspicions back on Rainy Star, and now I've confirmed it: you don't pilot an invisible spaceship or wear stealth armor; your actual physical body can turn invisible."

Having no choice, Lu Chen had done so back then to secure the Dragon Pill...

At this point, the woman already knew about his invisibility and had even deduced that he had fused the powers of the Whale Pearl and the Dragon Pill.

Things having reached this stage, Lu Chen had no choice but to drop his invisibility mode.

"How did you know I would land in this direction?"

The young woman replied:

"You would inevitably choose to land facing my direction. That is your personality—you always face danger head-on."

Lu Chen hadn't expected this woman to understand him so thoroughly.

"Since we used to be comrades, there's no need to investigate this tiny infraction of mine, right?"

The woman remained silent for a moment, then ignited an ice-blue light blade and sliced the safety container open with a single slash.

"The main force of the 9th Fleet is on its way. Remember, Lu Chen, I've saved you once again."

Lu Chen paused.

"Are you certain you used the word *again*?"

The woman calmly stated:

"If I genuinely wanted to take the Dragon Pill, you wouldn't have gotten it. And without my deterrence, Santhi Peter wouldn't have been merciful toward you either."

Lu Chen remained skeptical, though arguing semantics wasn't the priority right now.

He wasn't entirely clear on where this woman stood.

At least judging by the blond man, the Silver Rose forces genuinely wanted to investigate him for breaching the Adventurer Guild's servers.

"You could have arrested me to make a name for yourself. Why let me go instead?"

The woman said:

"The investigation into you has concluded. There is no need to continue detaining an imperial hero."

"Very well, many thanks."

The three of them returned to the Leonine, immediately activated stealth mode, slipped past the encirclement of the Silver Rose 9th Fleet, and rapidly departed the second planet.

Returning to the Teno Pyramid.

They handed back Rilke's skiff and settled the twenty-thousand-spirit-stone compensation fee with the Pyramid's property management in advance.

The Leonine swiftly departed Night City, preparing to return to the Pangu Corridor via the next imperial pass.

Gloria looked somewhat puzzled.

"Are we still taking the imperial pass? Aren't you afraid the spaceship will be impounded by the empire again?"

Lu Chen shook his head.

"I trust Plain Face's capability... Since she dared let us go, she will definitely help me handle the aftermath."

Gloria gave Lu Chen a sideways glance.

"That 'Plain Face' name sounds awfully affectionate. Don't you know that name literally stands for the lowest-tier plain-face armor!

A princess, a female secret agent... Strange, why is every single woman you encounter a great beauty? Could this world happen to be your personal pleasure game pod?"

Lu Chen was speechless.

Do you have any idea about the enrichment value of a transmigrator?

What's wrong with having a few more wives?

"Is Princess Salize of the Barhe family a beauty? Is Princess Xilver of the Dune Country a beauty? Even Madam August—perhaps she was decent when she was young, but is she a beauty now?"

Gloria curled her lips.

"Hard to say, your tastes are rather eccentric."

Aeri fell into deep thought.

"Actually, the beauties aside, the status of the people we're interacting with keeps getting higher and higher."

Lu Chen nodded.

"Mhm, we've already jumped ahead into treacherous political games.

Sigh, and here I merely wanted to leisurely pick up loot!

Once a person becomes strong and famous, leisurely loot-picking is no longer an option.

Some want to recruit you, some want to suppress you, and countless others are watching you from the shadows...

Clearly, talent is the greatest treasure in the universe."

...

A short half-day later.

Imperial Cubic Fortress, Achilles.

Inside the General's Manor.

A stack of oversized printed photographs concerning Lu Chen and the Primeval Firmament Adventure Crew once again appeared in the emergency strategic conference room.

The staff officer meticulously detailed Lu Chen's acts of graffiti all along the journey:

On the unknown mining star of the Morningglow Route, he brazenly interfered in the war between the imperial fleet and the Crownless Fleet, live-streaming the entire event.

He tampered with the Adventurer Guild's servers, pulling the wool over everyone's eyes to smuggle into imperial stellar territory.

Inside the Union Corporation, he cracked the Organic Night virus and resolved a robotic riot crisis.

Just to preserve a mere imperial hero medal, he disregarded the Hurricane Fleet, forcibly annihilated Fang Corp, slaughtered a million corpses, and liberated hundreds of millions of slaves.

In Night City, he made contact with game superstition... which meant making contact with Princess Silver Wave.

At the head of the table, General Abuzhai, who had reverted to his bald elderly appearance, swept his gaze across the room.

Seeing that everyone's expressions were far too grave, Abuzhai picked up his teacup and took a sip first.

His hand was remarkably steady, yet ripples formed across the tea's surface, reflecting a weathered face that looked as though it had been vandalized with graffiti.

"If it were just graffiti on this old man's face, that would be one thing. This kid is trying to slap graffiti across the entire universe."