My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World

Chapter 738 - 649: The Promise

Listening to Xu Xiaoyou’s words by her ear, Chichu Chun took quite a while before giving a response.

"So you actually know just how bad your reputation is now, huh?"

Xu Xiaoyou didn’t respond.

Finding it boring, Chichu Chun lay down on the grass with her arms around her head, looking up at the sky.

The massive celestial body seemed to come from another world; looking up from below, those strangely huge impact craters were clearly visible. They were traces left by meteorites on its surface over countless ages, silently narrating a long, long span of time.

A layer of hazy violet cosmic dust hovered over the surface of the celestial body, drifting close and far, adding a bit of secrecy to this already ethereal sphere.

Chichu Chun reached her hand toward the sky:

"Do you know why I brought you here?"

This was on the outskirts of Dragonfly Town. If you walked farther out, you’d see the stretching E Peak Mountain range. Looking down from above, this tiny town survived in the crevice between two towering megacities, and the corridor extending outward seemed to be the only road leading away from here.

"When I first came to Dragonfly Town, this was the farthest place I’d ever been from my family home."

"I tried all sorts of ways—having classmates secretly buy me a train ticket to the North Sea, sneaking into the trunk of a Mountain Crow family member’s car, or hiding in the sewers for a few days, thinking I’d wait until they were in total chaos looking for me, then seize a chance to slip away."

"Without exception, either I got intercepted at the station, or I’d be found by the inspection team doing routine checks before the armored car entered the tunnel. In short, not a single attempt worked."

"Later, after some serious reflection, I decided to bring enough luggage, sneak into the mountains alone, cross the mountains on foot, find a way to slip into another city, and somehow sneak onto a train heading for the North Sea."

"Do you have some kind of obsession with the North Sea?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.

"In spring, the flower fields there are really beautiful, and the sea is blue. That’s what I heard. That’s all." Chichu Chun shrugged.

"Every time I slipped out here, those Mountain Crow family people would show up like NPCs on fixed respawn timers and surround me completely."

"Back then I’d start thinking." Chichu Chun stared blankly at that celestial body in the sky. "Maybe only if I ran all the way to the moon would they finally not be able to find me."

"Over time, I just gave up on the idea of running away from home. Looking back now it was pretty childish. Like throwing a tantrum with the adults, with no real plan for the future, just taking things one step at a time."

The chilly evening breeze brushed past the two girls’ cheeks, bringing a dry, pleasant coolness. Because of its geographic location, Dragonfly Town hadn’t seen snow this winter; once spring came next year, there would be no more of this dry, refreshing wind.

"The scenery here is good." Chichu Chun said, "Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I come here alone to look around."

Their quiet time together flowed by bit by bit. Chichu Chun turned over, her long hair spilling across her cheeks, strands lying messily on the girl’s shoulders, the tips curling upward. She reached out her pinky finger and hooked Xu Xiaoyou’s hand, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Let’s make a promise, like in games or anime. Anything’s fine. There might not be chances like this in the future."

Xu Xiaoyou thought for a moment, turned slightly, and calmly hooked the girl’s finger.

"If one day, I have to travel to many unknown timelines, searching for many, many different possibilities..."

"If I end up lost in those timelines, unable to find my way, will you pull me back?"

Chichu Chun, unusually, fell silent. Before the movie started, she’d thought about something similar.

"Pull you back?" A moment later, the corners of her lips slowly lifted. "Doing that doesn’t suit my style at all, you know?"

"I’d put a bullet in you and make you snap out of it properly."

There was a hint of flamboyance in Chichu Chun’s serious expression; her dark red eyes glowed under the night sky.

"Since you’re saying it like that, I’ll make an exception for you this once."

"When that time comes, no matter where you are, I’ll find you."

"When I do, don’t you dare act ungrateful."

...

New Era Calendar, January 1st, 534.

Silence spread like thick ink, slowly diffusing through the air. Xu Xiaoyou walked into the hall step by step, the sound of her boots striking the floor clearly echoing beneath the high dome.

At the very center of the great hall, an empty throne stood tall. Five figures quietly stood guard beside it. They looked as if they had been waiting here long enough, their scrutinizing gazes fixed on the girl walking toward them.

"Mm." Xu Xiaoyou looked up, meeting the five scrutinizing gazes without the slightest hint of avoidance. "Such a big lineup—anyone who didn’t know better would think you weren’t planning to let me leave."

"You jest, Queen of Hearts." The young man to the right of the throne chuckled softly.

"It’s better to call you Chairman Xu here."

The young man still looked just as he had when Xu Xiaoyou first saw him at the Star of Art: gentle, approachable demeanor, a polite smile always at the corner of his lips, someone who would disappear into a crowd at a glance. You’d never guess his true identity was the lord of Daylight City—that city adrift outside the world, existing within the currents of time and space.

—"Witch God Continent"

"Calling me here an hour before the finals start makes it really hard not to doubt your motives." Xu Xiaoyou glanced around.

Azure light poured down from the dome. Massive stone pillars, several people thick, rose straight from the ground, each one towering upward, extending infinitely into the distance. Darkness spread in from every direction, encasing this ring-shaped area bathed in blue light.

"But you still came as requested." Jian Liu said. "That proves you still have enough trust in your comrades, Queen of Hearts."

"This is my first time seeing her in person, actually."

A slightly light-hearted voice sounded as a petite girl cast a curious look over. She held a staff hung with a medicinal gourd, the big gourd towering over her head. Her emerald-green hair shone under the blue light, and the id "Medical Immortal Yaoyao" above her head marked out the girl’s identity.

"Evergreen Ivy, Tiger Tail Orchid."

Xu Xiaoyou looked at God of Killing Changqing, then at Madman Lan standing beside the burly man, and finally at the girl wearing a beret, her gaze evasive.

"Don’t look at me like that, I’m just here to make up the numbers. It’s all because that Everme guy had no time to come." Amy muttered.

Xu Xiaoyou let out a soft laugh.

In outsiders’ eyes, the Queen’s Armament was a mysterious and overwhelmingly powerful unit, but seeing them now, she realized that among the five members, she actually knew four.

She understood better than anyone how crucial this tournament was, and how important it was to gather intel on one’s opponents. Yet up to now, the Queen’s Armament had practically never appeared as a full team, and had never shown themselves before the public.

You could say it had basically been Evergreen Ivy’s solo show—most of the time, it was her dragging along four random nobodies she’d picked up from who-knows-where as accessories, steamrolling her way through the matches and forcing her way into the finals.

What surprised Xu Xiaoyou even more was the Queen’s Armament’s roster.

Every member was Prism Tier.