closed the headquarters’ corridor windows, blocking out the cold draft, thinking today’s weather was quite sinister.
To keep warm, she zipped up her black rubber coat to the top, squeezing her body uncomfortably, especially her chest, which kept growing day and night, much like a pumpkin stuffed into a barrel, which is bound to explode sooner or later.
patted them, annoyed. What’s the point of them growing without any practical function? They can’t even feed the Little Fool. If she could feed the Little Fool with them, 102 wouldn’t have to buy milk every day.
She turned around and summoned Rinne and the others to follow, who had intended to send the injured Seeking Shadow to the repair station, but after hearing about it, 102 had them bring Seeking Shadow to headquarters instead.
Nidelaide looked at the injured Rinne, feeling very uncomfortable, which made him resent A999, who appeared nonchalant beside him. However, they were not permitted to enter the core layer and could only wait outside.
There was a vertical tower area in the core layer of the headquarters, right below which was Farosa’s secret chamber. Because of Farosa’s modifications to the chamber, many floors and rooms around it were labeled as part of the core layer, continuously soaked in Farosa’s power. With an active imagination and constant dreams, 102 was responsible for receiving guidance from Farosa in her dreams, thereby correctly channeling those powers.
"We’re approaching the restricted area, the rest of you stay outside, Rinne, come with me," called out 102, striding across the beautifully polished terrazzo floor, leading them to the exquisite scanning station.
Cradling Seeking Shadow, Rinne followed; Seeking Shadow’s body had been pierced by a sniper’s bullet, its core circuits were damaged, and it was, unfortunately, currently unable to boot up. Because Xu Yang had provided her with authorization, Rinne was also allowed to enter the restricted area with 102.
She was curious about 102’s condition; plumper and taller than Rinne, with longer legs and of a similar age, yet sporting a childlike face, how adorable and yet exuding an inevitable witch’s sultry allure. Her bright eyes were captivating, complemented by her beautiful lip curve—enough to make anyone infatuated. Her twin sister, 101, was identical to her, doubling the beauty and handsomeness. Whenever Rinne saw the pair, 101 and 102 together, she couldn’t take her eyes off them.
"Be careful, we’re now entering Lady Farosa’s domain," said 102 as she opened the sealed door.
Rinne looked ahead and instinctively widened her eyes; the space expanded, defying the room’s expected dimensions, transformed into a complex three-dimensional geometric structure made up of intersecting golden arcs and lines. Beyond these solid golden lines where they could stand, there was nothing but the void of outer space. The core layer of the headquarters had become an indescribably magnificent zone, as if a Starry Sea had been replicated there, with Magic Power wind swirling all around, causing Rinne’s magic power to grow and recover swiftly.
It could only be described as a spectacle...
"Be careful not to fall off," warned 102 as she walked ahead on the golden arcs.
Rinne struggled to maintain her balance, following closely behind 102. Stepping on the golden filaments, she felt a solid sensation underfoot that slightly eased her mind. However, whenever she looked into the distance, she saw the cosmos unfolding, with a variety of celestial bodies being born and dying far away, making her feel dizzy.
The journey was short, and 102’s clothes felt too tight; she wanted to crouch down, but felt heavy and strained, so she hurriedly waved forward instead.
"See that? Just push Seeking Shadow over there, then bring her back, and that’s it," 102 said with a smile, "Nevermind, I’ll help you!"
Following 102’s direction, Rinne was astonished. Floating ahead of the thread they stood on was a colorful celestial body, at least a hundred meters wide, fearsome in size, emitting strange Phantom Light. All colors melded into a continuously undulating liquid, slowly rotating and twinkling within the depths of the celestial body.
took Seeking Shadow from Rinne’s arms and positioned her near that revolving celestial body. At first, there was no change in Seeking Shadow, but soon she was covered by a strange light emitted from the celestial body. Subsequently, Rinne felt the world’s hues smeared in bright red, as if the Starry Sea had been dragged back into the womb that birthed it, starting to spawn anew.
Blood-red flashes sparked, Rinne held her breath, while 102 carefully observed Seeking Shadow. The moment the bullet marks on Seeking Shadow’s body disappeared, 102 grabbed her ankle and dragged her back onto the solid golden filament where 102 stood. In an instant, the shimmering celestial body slowly retreated, and the surrounding Starry Sea returned to its original splendor and colorfulness.
"We have to recruit A999!" shouted Seeking Shadow, held by 102.
"No, no..." Rinne quickly corrected Seeking Shadow’s understanding, "Reconnect to the network to correct the system time, Seeking Shadow, it’s been 5 hours, we found A999, you’ve been repaired!"
Seeking Shadow sat on the ground, slowly adjusting the code within her cognitive module.
"I see..." Seeking Shadow closed her eyes.
Rinne breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look back at the endlessly revolving Recovery Star.
"What exactly is it... um... who created such a thing?" Rinne tentatively asked.
"It’s Lady Farosa who appears in our dreams while we sleep," 102 explained naturally.
"She can control dreams?" Rinne inquired.
"Lady Farosa enters our dreams every day, guiding our lives. Don’t you ever dream?" 102 didn’t quite understand Rinne’s situation.
"I don’t," Rinne slowly shook her head, "But I know what dreams are. You mean you always see her in your dreams? Isn’t that strange? Has it been like that from the