Chapter 205: Chapter Welcome Back, Shoreguard Rast
"Just as I thought."
Dean Silver flicked her tail and leapt lightly from the computer desk, crouching on Rast's shoulder.
"I knew from the start that the little girl you saved back then was hiding quite the secret."
"In fact, even now, she might very well be connected to the origin of the Nightworld… After all, throughout the first six eras, there was never such a thing as the ‘Nightworld’ or the ‘Black Night Travelers’. It wasn’t until after the Sixth Era that the ‘Nightworld’ came into being."
"Well then..."
She winked at Rast. "Do you regret it now? Regret saving that little girl back in Frozenwater Town?"
"If you hadn’t gone out of your way back then, maybe none of this would’ve happened. The world might have headed down a completely different, brand-new path."
"Who knows."
Rast placed the gaming helmet back onto the charging dock.
"That is a force called ‘Fate’. Perhaps, even before I entered the Historical Echo of Frozenwater Town, the trajectory of fate had already been set."
He looked at the computer monitor, which was flashing with game news and ad pop-ups. "But—"
"I won’t regret it."
"That was a choice I made of my own will. Since it’s the path I chose, I’ll walk it to the end, no matter how absurd it is."
"Sigh, fair enough."
Dean Silver shook her head with boredom. "I almost forgot, I was talking to you."
This was someone who crawled out of hell, a guy with a heart of steel like a robot.
The word "regret" probably never existed in his dictionary—because in his eyes, wasting time and mental energy on sorrow and remorse was purely a waste of time and only decreased his efficiency.
She flicked her tail, moved the mouse with her little paw, and opened the event leaderboard for Shoreguards’ Ballad.
On the leaderboard, the ID "Little Ferret Gummy" stood proudly in first place with a score of 100,000, more than triple the second place.
It seemed that 100,000 was the maximum score possible for this Deep Blue Port time-limited event. Clearly, when designing the event, the game company hadn’t expected that anyone would actually reach this theoretical limit.
In one corner of the leaderboard, a countdown to the end of the event and finalization of the rankings was highlighted in bold. At this moment, less than two hours remained.
"The official announcement said they would reach out offline… Who knows when they’ll show up."
Dean Silver looked at that big number one on the leaderboard and the ID "Little Ferret Gummy", and the more she looked, the more delighted she became. She strutted proudly across the computer desk:
"I wonder whether this game company is reliable or not. Will they really help us uncover the secrets of that Mechanical Research Institute running the ‘Artificial Angel Project’?"
"If it’s just like a school field trip for elementary students—casually touring the Mechanical Research Institute, taking a quick glance, and calling it a day without access to the core secrets—then what’s the point? It’d be a waste of all our effort clearing this virtual game."
At that, even Rast couldn’t help but glance at Dean Silver.
"What do you mean, ‘a waste of all our effort clearing the game’?"
"So tell me, what does clearing this game have to do with you, Dean Silver?"
"How could it not be related? Helping you pick your nickname—wasn’t that me contributing?"
Dean Silver wiped her non-existent forehead sweat with her tiny paw. "Even though I don’t know what I did exactly, all in all, it was still hard work on my part."
Rast fell silent for a moment, then directly reached out his hand and grabbed the scruff of Dean Silver’s neck.
Ignoring her flailing and clawing, he lifted her into the air and scrutinized her carefully for a long while.
Although they had known each other for a long time, Rast would still sometimes wonder—was this dumb, cutesy act something Dean Silver deliberately maintained over her long life as a form of self-protection? Or was this snow ferret simply born this way?
Of course, perhaps it was a bit of both.
But such musings were destined to go unanswered.
A moment later, Rast placed the Little Snow Ferret back down.
"That Shoreguards’ Ballad game company should be reliable."
He looked at the leaderboard page, at the countdown ticking steadily away. "They and the institute conducting the ‘Artificial Angel Project’ should both be part of the same organization. It must be connected to Grey, and likely a continuation of the Shoreguards during the Technological Era."
"Maybe even..."
Rast’s words paused slightly: “I suspect that even this Deep Blue Port Speedrun Challenge time-limited event was orchestrated entirely by Grey herself.”
“Orchestrated entirely by Grey?”
Dean Silver blinked in surprise. “But didn’t that little girl disappear from this era more than a decade ago?”
“She had already ascended to the Eighth Tier, an angel of the ‘Fate’ Higher Sequence Tiers.”
Rast gave a slight smile. “Little Grey, even back when she hadn’t broken through to the Legendary Realm, while she was still in the Fifth or Sixth Tier, was already capable of rewinding time under limited conditions—even halting time across an entire city.”
“And now, she has not only surpassed the Legendary Realm, but even achieved angelhood… Just how much control she has over ‘Fate’, no one can say for sure.”
According to the current timeline of the Historical Echo, two full centuries had passed since the Battle of the Fractured Coastline.
Over those two hundred years, Grey had led the Sixth Era’s human civilization in purging the Iron Cross Clan, the Beast Tide, and the Cultists from the entire continent… She had built a glorious and prosperous technological civilization and had long since become a deserved leader of the Shoreguards.
Thus, the present-day her was someone even Rast found difficult to fathom, difficult to see clearly.
“Even if Grey herself disappeared for some reason, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to have observed decades into the future before vanishing and left behind some contingency.”
“Speaking of which, Dean Silver,” Rast glanced at the Little Snow Ferret beside him, “don’t you think this Shoreguards’ Ballad event feels somewhat tailor-made for me?”
“Now that you mention it… it really does.”
Dean Silver seemed to realize something too. She wrapped her tail around a piece of dried fish and stuffed it into her mouth, then tapped her chin with a little paw, falling into a thoughtful pose.
“When it comes to Deep Blue Port’s speedrun challenge, who could possibly compare with you—the very person who once cleared it in the first place?”
“This is clearly a custom-tailored event, a custom-tailored version—”
Dean Silver slapped her paw down. “So, this was just Little Grey ordering the game company to create a special event just so you could win first place?”
“So you’re actually a custom-made champion?”
“Not sure.”
Rast shook his head. “But there’s no need for us to dwell on it.”
“After all, if this was something Grey had arranged specifically for me—”
“Then once we reach the Mechanical Research Institute, everything should come to light.”
He looked out the window at the bustling lights and bustling traffic of the prosperous science-fiction metropolis. “If I’m not wrong—”
“Then the contact information summoning us to the Mechanical Research Institute should be arriving soon.”
...
As it turned out, Rast’s guess was not wrong.
At the exact moment the countdown for the time-limited event on the webpage ended, a message with official credentials was sent to the email inbox.
【Dear player “Little Ferret Gummy”:】
【Congratulations on achieving first place in the final rankings of the time-limited challenge event in Shoreguards’ Ballad.】
【The leaderboard reward has been issued. First place is awarded with the qualification to visit the Third Mechanical Research Institute.】
【Based on the real-world address and iris identification information you provided during account registration, our company’s unmanned hover vehicle is now waiting downstairs at your residence. If you wish to claim the first-place leaderboard reward, you may board the vehicle at any time.】
【Reply TD to unsubscribe】
“Whoa, that was fast?”
“So they had already sent the black high-class vehicle ahead of time, just waiting for the event to end and the rankings to lock in!”
Dean Silver turned her head and glanced at Rast, her expression becoming subtly odd. “And you still claim you’re not a custom champion.”
“Sigh, capitalism, you win… trapped by capital once again.”
“Enough chatter. Let’s go.”
Rast picked up the Little Snow Ferret in one hand. Then, he donned the mask he had prepared back when he entered the Nightworld.
At the same time, he placed a mini mask, custom-made for a snow ferret, onto Dean Silver.
“When the time comes, if the people at the Mechanical Research Institute won’t let you enter with me, you do know what to do, right?”
“Um… what do I do?”
Dean Silver froze.
“I’ll say I’m a mentally ill patient with bipolar disorder, and you’re my emotional support ferret. You have to stay by my side at all times. If we’re separated, my bipolar disorder will immediately flare up.”
“Uh…” Dean Silver blinked, then suddenly reacted. “Wait, doesn’t that make me your pet?”
“Hasn’t it always been?”
“You son of a—!”
...
When Rast arrived downstairs in the residential area, a black high-class vehicle with a streamlined exterior was already waiting for him quietly.
But unlike the black high-class vehicle from when women sang and men died, this particular sci-fi styled vehicle hovered silently in mid-air.
The main driver’s seat was also completely empty.
The moment Rast’s right hand touched the car door, he felt an invisible ripple silently scan over his body before vanishing without a trace.
The car door opened without a sound. After Rast sat inside with Dean Silver in his arms and closed the door, the futuristic vehicle began to rise and carried them off into the distance.
“Ah, this light, ah, this water...”
“It really embodies every aspect of a science-fiction world.”
Dean Silver leaned against the car window, gazing out at the dazzling, kaleidoscopic scenery of the science-fiction metropolis, occasionally letting out a sigh of admiration.
That fluffy snow-white tail swayed wildly beside the window, making Rast increasingly suspicious that this creature wasn’t really a snow ferret, but perhaps some sort of alternate-world husky.
Time ticked by slowly.
Outside the window, the towering skyscrapers and floating vehicles that had once filled the sky gradually disappeared from view.
The flourishing sights of the science-fiction metropolis faded away, replaced by a towering, cloud-piercing structure.
The entire tower appeared to be made of some sort of alloy, reflecting a silvery-white brilliance under the sunlight.
The unmanned vehicle slowly descended at a certain section of the tower.
In the next moment, a mechanism within the tower seemed to activate, silently opening a gap that allowed the unmanned vehicle to glide directly into the alloy-built entrance of the tower.
“It does resemble the present-world Arcane Tower.”
Dean Silver stopped wagging her tail and joined Rast in gazing at the grand, resplendent alloy tower.
Only, it was obvious that compared to the present-world Arcane Tower, the mechanical spire before them was far more magnificent and steeped in the atmosphere of science fiction and the future.
Throughout, Rast remained silent.
He had already recognized this location and the structure in front of him.
This was none other than the “Watchtower,” the former base of the Shoreguards from two hundred years ago.
Before the betrayal that occurred on that rainy night, he and Grey had spent around half a year of peace here under the shelter of the Watchtower and Leader Sisel. Those were the best days of Grey’s life.
Now, more than two centuries had passed.
The old tower, once built from scorched bricks and lime made of stone paint, had undergone a complete transformation. It was now entirely forged from high-strength alloy, many times more magnificent, brimming with a science-fictional aura.
Yet, from the tower’s structure, one could still faintly discern the shape of the Watchtower of old—its glory not faded even after centuries.
The flying vehicle entered the alloy tower.
After passing through several winding corridors, the unmanned vehicle slowly came to a stop in a spacious and brightly lit chamber.
It appeared to be an enormous library, with rows upon rows of bookshelves extending deep into the structure. But at a glance, Rast saw no sign of any other staff.
However, the moment Rast opened the car door and stepped down from the flying vehicle—
He heard a light mechanical voice echo throughout the entire tower.
“Welcome to the Watchtower-affiliated Third Mechanical Research Institute, Player ID ‘Little Ferret Gummy’.”
“And—”
The mechanical voice paused slightly.
“Welcome back.”
“Shoreguard Rast.”