Back on the Dijiang, Perlica still hadn't arrived. Bai Ling stood by the observation window, looking out at the deep-blue planet suspended in the dark.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
He turned. Perlica was walking toward him with a data tablet in hand, the feathers by her ears quivering faintly.
"I heard from Avivenna that you've already learned about the trouble Wuling is facing."
Bai Ling took the tablet. On the screen was a massive image of a hyperdomain rift, surrounded by dense, tightly packed readings and annotations.
He couldn't make sense of the numbers, but it looked urgent.
Chen Qianyu stood at his side, scratching her head—apparently wondering why she couldn't understand any of it either.
Bai Ling's eyes lingered on the image for a few seconds.
"What's the situation now?"
"The energy reserves of the Celestial Master Stake array have a problem," Perlica said, switching to another file. "Twenty years ago, the Celestial Masters of Hongshan Academy developed a 'resting-soil' material. Using it as the foundation, they built a stake array that dynamically confines erosion tides within a limited area. But now the reserve won't last much longer."
She paused and looked at Bai Ling.
"The current acting administrator of Wuling City, Zhuang Fangyi, sent a request for aid."
"So you need me to go?"
"Your ability to handle crises speaks for itself," Perlica replied. "And the Administrator will go with you. Chen Qianyu as well—she's from Wuling, so she'll be familiar with the place."
"And you?"
"If you weren't going, I'd accompany the Administrator myself," Perlica said. "But if you're going, I can stay and keep the Dijiang running smoothly."
"…Alright."
Bai Ling accepted the job without further discussion.
"Where's the Administrator?"
By all rights, she should've been the center of this conversation—yet Bai Ling had been on the bridge for a while and still hadn't seen her.
"She's undergoing a physical evaluation. What happened in Valley No. 4… we have you to thank. Otherwise, the Administrator might not be in as stable a condition as she is now."
Perlica was one of the few people on the Dijiang who understood Bai Ling—at least a little. She didn't know how he'd managed to summon the "true bodies" of the Rewalkers' memories, nor that terrifying Drac named Talulah, but one thing was undeniable: whether memory-true-body or Talulah, they were powerful.
Their Originium Arts didn't merely differ from modern Originium—on some level, they belonged to an entirely different category.
"…If we're about to depart, let me know. This comm device works pretty well."
"No problem."
Perlica nodded and headed toward the front of the bridge, clearly with more tasks to handle. Bai Ling turned back to the window, drifting into his thoughts again.
"And what about me?" Chen Qianyu asked, left standing off to the side. She'd listened to the entire exchange, but after the opening it seemed like she didn't matter at all.
"You can go practice your sword first," Bai Ling said, finally remembering the little dragon was still here. Then he offered nothing more.
Chen Qianyu opened her mouth as if to argue, but in the end she only muttered, "Fine," and walked away.
Bai Ling remained at the window. As if by magic, he produced a bottle of soda—its glass marked with a small label that read: For the road.
He glanced down, smiling without meaning to, and popped it open for a sip.
Outside, the colorful veining across Tawi-2 looked like enormous blood vessels—or like rings of age cut into the planet itself.
His gaze drifted toward what was likely the direction of Valley No. 4, and as always, his mind replayed the recent weeks.
He'd already summoned three Heroic Spirits: Eyjafjalla, Talulah, and Angelina.
Each one had been vivid in her own way.
Eyjafjalla and Eildara were strikingly alike—and yet, in certain places, they were completely different.
Talulah was a pure numbers monster, almost comically overpowered. The plan to restore the Hyperdomain Proving Ground still didn't seem to have begun.
And Angelina… was a messenger through and through. As long as the delivery was done, whether the messenger stayed or vanished didn't matter—she'd slipped away without a sound.
He was sinking deeper into those thoughts when a voice behind him made him turn.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
He looked over. Jelperta stood a short distance away, dressed in a red casual outfit. Her long hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, so soft-looking it made people want to reach out and touch it. In her hands was an envelope.
"Jelperta? Why are you on the Dijiang today?"
"Using the Dijiang lets me reach most places on Tawi-2 quickly," she said, moving closer. Her voice was quiet, yet every word landed clearly. "I passed by the bridge and saw you standing here alone… so I thought I'd come say hello."
Bai Ling didn't speak. He simply watched her.
Under his gaze, Jelperta grew visibly self-conscious. The tips of her ears reddened; she lowered her head and stared at the envelope, fingers rubbing the edge.
"…I heard you're going to Wuling."
"Yeah."
"I heard it's dangerous there."
"Probably."
Jelperta went silent for a few seconds, then lifted her eyes to his profile.
"You'll protect yourself, right?"
Bai Ling turned to meet her gaze.
In those wine-red eyes was a thread of tension, a thread of hope—exactly like the day she'd handed him a letter in the Ore Vein Source Zone.
"Of course I will."
The answer came instantly. Jelperta froze, her ears flushing even deeper. She lowered her head and, with an awkward urgency, extended the envelope toward him.
"Then… please take this."
Bai Ling accepted it. The envelope was light. There was no name for sender or recipient—only a tiny pressed dried flower sealing the flap.
"What is this?"
"A letter. I wrote it for you."
She didn't look up; she stared at her own shoes, hands twisting together, voice barely above a whisper.
"Back in the Ore Vein Source Zone… I gave you a letter. That one contained what I wanted to say then." She paused, breath catching. "But this one… contains what I want to say now."
Bai Ling held it carefully and tucked it away.
"Should I read it once I reach Wuling?"
Jelperta's eyes widened in surprise. Then she nodded.
"Okay."
They stood there together, looking out at the blue planet. The silence stretched long.
Finally, Jelperta spoke again, softly.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
"What is it?"
"In my memories… I often stood somewhere like this, watching the scenery."
Bai Ling looked at her. Jelperta didn't look back; her gaze drifted far away.
"I think I've always been a messenger—delivering letters every day, running the roads every day. When I got tired, I'd find somewhere high and just… stare into the distance."
Her voice grew even quieter.
"Then I came here and became 'Jelperta.' The memories are still there, but they feel… like there's fog between me and them."
She drew a breath.
"But when I'm with you… and when I'm working as a messenger… the fog seems to thin a little."
"In the Ore Vein Source Zone. At the Workers' Home."
"And now… standing here with you, looking at Tawi-2."
She turned her head, and their eyes met.
There was light in her gaze—bright, gentle.
"So I… want to stay with you a little longer."
Bai Ling suddenly remembered something Angelina had said.
Remembering so many things must be exhausting.
For an instant, memories from Terra and from Tawi-2 surged together—the people who'd left, the words they'd left behind—tangled and ungrabbable.
He tried to seize a single clear fragment, but it slipped away.
And somehow, simply standing here with this little fox—quietly, side by side—felt better.
"Jelperta."
"Yes?"
"When I come back from Wuling… we can try delivering letters together."
"Really?"
Her voice leapt with a restrained kind of joy.
"Yes."
Her eyes lit up brighter than starlight.
"Then it's a promise!"
"Alright."
Jelperta smiled—then footsteps approached behind them.
Both turned.
The little penguin stood not far away, wearing her familiar uniform, visor fitted neatly in place. In her hands was a warm drink that had already cooled.
She stayed there, eyes on the two of them, as if weighing whether she should speak at all.
"…Am I interrupting?"
Jelperta's ears went scarlet.
"N-no!" She waved her hands frantically. "I just came to deliver a letter! I've delivered it! I—I'll go now!"
And she fled.
Her hair streamed behind her, as if gravity had forgotten her entirely. In seconds, her footsteps and her presence were gone, and the bridge fell quiet again.
Watching her disappear, the little penguin walked over and settled beside Bai Ling at the railing. She placed her drink down with practiced ease and looked out at the blue planet too.
"She likes you."
Bai Ling didn't deny it.
The little penguin was silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
"…What kind of place is Wuling?"
"I've heard it's beautiful. Great scenery."
"Great scenery?"
"Mm. Places with mountains and water are always beautiful… but they're also hard to develop."
She didn't speak again for a while. Then, very quietly:
"That acting administrator—Zhuang Fangyi… she knows me, doesn't she?"
She didn't look at him. She kept staring at Tawi-2. Her visor hid most of her face, but uncertainty seeped through her voice.
"If you ask me, it's a bit unfair," Bai Ling said calmly. "Because I don't know her."
"…I know." Her voice lowered. "But when I say it to you, there's no pressure."
As the Administrator, she was—on paper—the highest authority on the Dijiang. Yet because of her missing memories, she needed others to cover for her, to prop her up, to keep things moving.
Honestly… it felt wrong to her.
"Perlica said she's an old acquaintance. But I don't remember anything."
"Administrator."
"Yes?"
"Some things… it's okay not to remember."
She finally turned her head toward him.
Bai Ling's tone was flat, but there was something in his eyes that made her feel steady.
"You're here. You can see this planet right now. That's enough."
The little penguin stared at him without speaking. Then her hand slowly tightened on the edge of his sleeve.
Bai Ling didn't move. The Administrator didn't let go.
She simply held his sleeve lightly—as if gripping something she could rely on. Her hand was small. Even through the cloth, the warmth was unmistakable.
Time passed—so long it felt like the planet outside should have rotated a few degrees.
At last she spoke again, almost inaudibly.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
"Yes?"
"The things you said just now… did you say them to Jelperta too?"
Bai Ling looked at her. The little penguin didn't lift her head; the visor masked most of her face, leaving only the line of her mouth and jaw.
"Which things?"
"Like… 'it's okay not to remember.' That kind of thing."
"No."
The refusal came immediately. The little penguin raised her face, meeting his gaze.
"Why not?"
"Because for Jelperta, remembering matters." Bai Ling's voice stayed even. "Those memories—no matter how many layers of fog separate them—are part of her. If I tell her 'it's okay not to remember,' I'm denying her."
"But you're different, Administrator."
"You're the Administrator. Whether you remember the past or not doesn't change the fact that Perlica remembers you. Chen Qianyu remembers you. Zhuang Fangyi remembers you."
"Even if you remember nothing… there will still be people who remember you."
She didn't speak. The hand gripping his sleeve tightened slightly.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
"Yes?"
"…Do you remember a lot of people?"
Bai Ling didn't answer right away.
But in that silence, the answer was already there.
"Then… are you tired?"
The question caught him off guard.
He remembered what Angelina had asked before she left—It must be exhausting, remembering so much.
Now the Administrator was asking the same thing.
He looked down at the small penguin beside him. She tilted her face up behind the visor, watching him with a seriousness that demanded a real answer.
Bai Ling thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because the things I remember… are worth remembering."
The little penguin blinked, as if trying to understand.
Bai Ling didn't explain further. He simply lifted a hand and rested it lightly on the top of her head.
A gentle gesture—like comfort, like a promise.
Her body stiffened for a split second, but she didn't dodge. She didn't speak either. Her hand remained on his sleeve.
From far down the bridge, Perlica's voice drifted over.
"Administrator, we're about ready—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Bai Ling turned and saw Perlica approaching with a fresh data tablet in hand, her gaze landing on the two of them.
More precisely, on the Administrator's hand gripping Bai Ling's sleeve.
Perlica's ear-feathers twitched.
Then she withdrew her eyes as if she hadn't seen anything and continued forward as normal.
"We can depart now." She handed the tablet to the Administrator. "The pod is prepared. Some regions in Wuling are currently out of contact, but landing should be fine."
The little penguin took the tablet and released Bai Ling's sleeve.
Her movements were perfectly natural, as if nothing had happened—except her ears were still faintly red.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
At the pod bay, Chen Qianyu was already waiting. Twin swords hung at her waist; she looked energetic. When she saw them, her eyes brightened immediately.
Perlica waved her hand. "I'm not going. This time it'll be the three of you."
"Huh?" Chen Qianyu blinked. "Perlica, you're not coming?"
"There's too much to handle on the Dijiang. It's best if I stay."
"…I see." Chen Qianyu looked disappointed, but she understood.
Perlica turned to Bai Ling.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
"Please take care of the Administrator."
....
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