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She pushed her black-rimmed glasses and replied, “I’m Nie Yan, but you can call me elder sister Yan in the future. As for my identity… It’s a little complicated, but to put it simply for you to understand, I’ve been commissioned by the Union to be a liaison for this covert operation.”

Xia Fan nodded, “Elder Sister Yan, I would like to know just where this competition will be held? And how would we be able to infiltrate it?”

Nie Yan leaned back in her seat. “Murder Shrine is very crafty. The Information Division had gotten word that the special-ability Tyrant Battle will be hosted in two separate locations. One is in the Tianyu Star Region, and the other is in the Lywellian Star Region.

“It was determined that the competition in Tianyu was just a diversion for the three Federations, and the real location would actually be in the Lywellian Star Region.

“Unfortunately, Murder Shrine is using a very specialized registration method, so the moment participants are accepted, the members of Murder Shrine would have a direct line to the participants, and they would then be directly sent to the final location. There will not be any contact with the outside world during this entire process.

“That is why we can only speculate right now. While the battle could be in Lywellian, we have no way of knowing the exact location.”

Xia Fan could feel the danger mounting as he heard Nie Yan’s words.

From what she said, if they wanted to infiltrate the special-ability Tyrant Battle, then they had to be brought to the venue by someone from Murder Shrine, and basically be under their care.

Xia Fan, and really anyone, did not like having his freedom restricted. But upon further thought, he figured that if he did not take a certain amount of risk, then there was no way he could infiltrate Murder Shrine. After all, they were the most mysterious and powerful force based in the Outer Frontier..

After Xia Fan thought things through, he flashed a radiant smile, “Well, if that is the case, the two of us will just have to adhere to Command’s arrangements.”

Nie Yan smiled, raising her tea cup with one hand. “Then let me offer a toast with this tea, instead of wine, and wish us smooth sailing on our journey to the Outer Frontier.”

…..

Without telling anyone else, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan ventured to the Outer Frontier once again.

This was not their first time entering the desolate Outer Frontier, yet their destination this time was even further than before, and the mission they were tasked to undertake would be even more dangerous.

Traveling Buddha had already fallen asleep, while Xia Fan had the habit of doing a top-down inspection of his ship before turning in for the night.

First was the propulsion room, then the energy compartment, radar, weapons storage compartment, material storage compartment, before finally ending on the command deck.

Xia Fan entered the command deck by himself, turning on the automated piloting system, did a check of the flight records today, and then looked through all the complex and esoteric data.

If any common man were to take on this task, they would no doubt have to spend plenty of time perusing everything.

But Xia Fan had the good fortune of being a speedster, so he could very quickly look through everything in just ten minutes. It was an astounding level of efficiency he displayed.

A carefully-maintained warship could last for tens of thousands years! That was the advice that Machinist Grandpa had drilled into Xia Fan’s head.

Right now, Xia Fan was shouldering the responsibility as captain of Black Egg, and while there were just only other passengers onboard, that was no reason for Xia Fan to slack off one bit.

Speaking of which, Xia Fan was really quite a pitiful captain, since he was expected to do everything onboard the ship. Besides him, there was not a single crewman that could lend him a hand.

Xia Fan was not just the captain, he was also taking on the duty of the radar scan officer, weapons control expert, navigator, maintenance engineer, and even the janitor, cook, and all the other miscellaneous tasks needed doing. Xia Fan was solely responsible for keeping the ship running!

Traveling Buddha had always been a second-generation young master who never needed to lift a single finger or fret over his daily living. He was very picky when it came to his food and his accommodations, but he had no culinary skills at all.

Xia Fan had originally thought that Nie Yan would be able to take care of the cooking, since she was a woman, but who would have thought that she was also a second-generation young mistress, so aside from getting her to fry some eggs in the morning for breakfast, she was essentially useless when it came to cooking as well! Furthermore, the first time Nie Yan fried eggs onboard the ship, she had even turned the food into inedible charcoal because of her inability to control the flame.

This time around, Captain Xia Fan still had to prepare food for Traveling Buddha and Nie Yan, taking up the role of a nanny for those two.

After Xia Fan finished reviewing the flight data of the day, he left the command deck and was about to head back to bed for some rest.

A special-ability user’s constitution was amazing, so they would not harm their health even if they were to spend several nights not sleeping. But sleeping was a time Xia Fan used to quietly think. He enjoyed lying on the soft and comfortable bed, pulling his bed covers over his head and thinking in the silence.

Black Egg had six guest cabins, but only two of them had large double beds, with carpeted floors and a comfortable bathtub. The other cabins had bunk beds, allowing four individuals to live in one room.

Xia Fan had designed it as such, all in consideration for the needs he and Traveling Buddha would have when they set off on voyages. He would have a room to himself, just as Traveling Buddha did. It was just nice.

But this time, Nie Yan was also onboard, so Xia Fan had no choice but to surrender his bedroom to her, and he went to use a four-man cabin.

Beyond the cleaning and the cooking, Xia Fan did not even have his own bedroom! Aside from Xia Fan, there might not be anyone else in the entirety of the Ashen Moon Universe that would have to suffer such indignities, despite being a captain!

Xia Fan was making his way back to his cabin when he suddenly noticed the lights of the kitchen turned on. There seemed to be someone inside.

He opened the door and entered.

He saw Nie Yan inside, dressed in a white silken gown that revealed her calves, in the middle of warming up a croissant in the oven as she heated herself some warm milk.

Nie Yan turned her head when she heard the noise, and Xia Fan noticed that she was not wearing her glasses. The black-rimmed glasses made her look a little nerdy, and her facial features were a lot clearer without them perched on her nose. She looked exquisite, giving off the allure of the mature woman that she was.

Xia Fan smiled at Nie Yan, “Why are you up?”

“Nothing much, just an old problem acting up. I suffer from neurasthenia, so I often suffer from insomnia at night.”

“The seventh volume of Biological Theoretics stated that there are two types of insomnia that are caused by neurasthenia: one is pathological, while the other is caused by anxiety. I believe Big Sister Yan must be the latter?”

Nie Yan took the glass of warm milk in her hands and took a seat beside Xia Fan. Her eyes swiveled as she laughed, “Is there any way to treat it if it’s the latter?”

Xia Fan shook his head in response, “The former would be an illness, meaning it’s treatable. But the latter would be mental, and there’s no cure.”

Nie Yan gently picked up the baked croissant with her finger and thumb. She did not take a bite out of it, but just stared at it in a daze, as if she was preoccupied with the thoughts swirling in her mind.

“Mental. Well said. Though you’re still young, you seem to know a lot.”

“Not at all. I just happen to enjoy reading in my spare time.”

“Well, even if you are an avid reader, most young boys like yourself would mostly choose to read novels. Not many would bother to pick up Biological Theoretics, not to mention casually quoting the volume in which a certain portion of its content came from.”

Xia Fan had no explanation. Perhaps it was simply a case of genetics, but Xia Fan had always had a very good memory since he was a child. Ever since he had his seventh brain region opened up, becoming a Speedster, it had further enhanced the speed of his ability to read.

Just by his speed alone, Xia Fan was capable of completing a full volume on Biological Theoretics in one day, and he was even able to memorize its contents in full, which was probably a benefit of having the Speed-type ability.

Nie Yan finally began eating the croissant in her hand, which she did so very elegantly. She was completely different from how Xia Fan wolfed down his food, like he was permanently famished.

“Has Traveling Buddha gone to sleep?”

“That guy!” Xia Fan chuckled. “Sometimes, I really envy Traveling Buddha. He’s a very big-hearted person, and no matter the situation we find ourselves in, as long as he desires to sleep, he could just plop his head down into his pillow and achieve just that. Even an earthquake would not be able to wake him from his slumber.

“Yet I happen to suffer from a mild compulsion that will have me crawling up at midnight to check everything once over, or I will feel that I’m missing something.”

“Yes,” Nie Yan commented softly. “I admire Traveling Buddha a little, as well. He’s very much like his elder brother in that sense. Drunken Buddha is also someone who has nary a care in the world.”

When Drunken Buddha was mentioned, Xia Fan obediently kept his mouth shut, because he knew the relationship Nie Yan shared with Drunken Buddha.

Relationships between men and women were complex, and Xia Fan had no experience in such things. Xia Fan would at least be able to offer some knowledge if they were talking about theories on biology, but emotions? Xia Fan was completely clueless.

Nie Yan stroked her hair and said, “Do you know? I’m already twenty-nine this year, and I am considered an old lady.”

Xia Fan shook his head, “I can’t tell. I thought you were just someone around my age.”

“Flatterer.”

Nie Yan drank a mouthful of milk. The recently-heated milk had a milky yellow layer of cream on it, and because she did not blow it off before she drank it, part of it got on her upper lip.

When Nie Yan noticed it, she used her tongue to lightly lick it off.

Xia Fan instantly felt his heart beat intensely. After Nie Yan had taken off her glasses, every move she made was completely alluring. It was like she was a completely different person!

Deep into the night, a single man and an unwed woman in one room. Just as Xia Fan could feel his heartbeat increase, Nie Yan suddenly changed the topic.

“Have you ever wondered?”

“Wondered about what?”

“Wondered about Drunken Buddha’s disappearance.”

Xia Fan scratched his head, “What do you mean? I’ve never seen him before, so it would be even more unlikely I would understand him.”

Nie Yan leaned back in her chair and let out a soft sigh. “It has been over nine years since the day Drunken Buddha was reported missing. The Union had done everything they could, but they’ve yet to find any trace of the man.

“Actually, I’m not worried about Drunken Buddha going missing. He has always been someone who could survive on his own. Once, his father had him locked up in the Holy Buddha Cliff, as punishment for him to reflect on his own actions.”

“But in the blink of an eye, he actually snuck out from the Holy Buddha Cliff and was found piss-drunk with a bunch of workmen by the pier.

“The Holy Buddha Cliff is a place that the people of his clan used specifically for seclusion, and is called the Wanren Mountain, where Holy Buddhas were trapped. Drunken Buddha is the first and only person in his clan’s history who managed to escape from that place. Even now, whenever I recall the incident, I’ve always found it extremely fascinating. He is a very capable person.

“In any case, there’s no place that could imprison Drunken Buddha. I believe he’s definitely still alive today, living out there in some corner of the universe we have no idea of.”

The moment the conversation was about her beau, the expression on Nie Yan’s face instantly became vivid, almost as if the person who had abandoned her and ran off was right beside her once again.

Most people under the Skydome were uncouth men, and so Xia Fan was hardly educated when it came to the affairs of the heart. However, he would never forget just how loving the dancer couple were to each other. They had grown up together since they were young, not spending even a moment apart from one another.

They were together when stealing treasures from all over the universe, right up until the moment they died. Even then, they were still together!

Xia Fan was very envious over the relationship shared by the dancer couple, and by Nie Yan and Drunken Buddha.

“You don’t know this, but there had always been this speculation in the Union that Drunken Buddha suddenly went missing because he joined up with Murder Shrine.

“It was only because everyone was afraid of the Holy Buddha Clan’s prestige that no one has said this out loud.

“So this time, no matter what, I will get close to Murder Shrine, and get to the bottom of this.

“If Drunken Buddha had really joined up with Murder Shrine… I will personally see to his death. Then, I’ll take my own life right after!”