boyutpedia Chapter 260 Walter: Unsure, let's see.
Chapter 260 Walter: Unsure, let's see.
After returning to the Golden Hour, Kiana successfully reunited with Hoshino and the others. Since they had temporarily separated from Firefly, and the group did not know Firefly's exact location, they could only search for clues around them for the time being.
Fortunately, Xing remembered that she had Liu Ying's contact information, but unfortunately, no matter how many messages Xing sent, Liu Ying did not respond, or rather, the messages could not be sent at all.
It's as if the two of them aren't in the same dream.
“That’s strange. Even if we’re in different dream moments, we shouldn’t be unable to contact each other, right?” March 7th said. “Think about it, I was in different dream moments before, and I was still able to chat with you guys.”
"Could it be that she's still in that place?" Xing asked uncertainly.
Himeko agreed, saying, "Very likely."
"but why?"
"It's probably because she's an illegal immigrant," Himeko speculated. "Even though someone from the hound family helped cover for her for some reason, the fact that Miss Ryuhoshi is still an illegal immigrant can't be changed. As long as she returns to the normal dream world, there's still a risk of being discovered."
“What can we do? We’re under the family’s surveillance now, so we can’t go back in there,” said March 7.
“If you want to go there, I can help you,” Kiana suggested. “I can even help you evade your family’s surveillance. How about giving it a try?”
After thinking for a while, Himeko said, "Let's not do it for now. What's more important for us now is to start from other aspects. We can't just rely on the Star Core Hunters for information. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives finds out later, they might think that our Star Train has something going on with the Star Core Hunters, which would not be a good thing for the Star Train's reputation in the universe."
Most importantly, we are now involved, and our family is demanding our cooperation in their investigation. For various reasons, I cannot refuse outright.
"I don't quite understand. Is reputation really that important?" March 7 asked, puzzled. "As long as we can get information, what difference does it make whether the source is good or bad?"
“This is what you don’t understand in March,” Kiana said.
March 7th, hands on hips, said, "So you think you know a lot?"
"I wouldn't say I fully understand, but I was forced to learn a lot when I had nothing else to do, so I naturally came to understand. Simply put, in other people's eyes, the Star Train and the Star Core Hunters have always been irreconcilable enemies. If we rely too much on information from the Star Core Hunters this time, how will others perceive us?"
March 7th and Xing looked at each other, then shook their heads simultaneously, indicating they didn't know.
"It's very simple. When people see two forces that usually have such a bad relationship cooperating so closely this time, it's hard not to suspect that the relationship between Star Train and Star Core Hunter was just an act."
This would force other factions to consider whether there was some shady cooperation between the Star Train and the Star Core Hunters. Consequently, the Star Train, which had always maintained a clean and virtuous image in the eyes of others, would no longer be considered innocent. Some legitimate forces would no longer consider the Star Train's influence, unless the Star Train's power had reached the pinnacle of the entire universe.
"But Kiana, aren't you also one of the Nameless Ones? With you on our Star Train, our strength is definitely not weak, and besides, we have the friendship of the Celestial Ship, don't we?" March 7 said.
"With me around, the Star Train is indeed the most powerful force in the entire universe, but March 7, have you forgotten that I'm not always with you? I'll leave you eventually, won't I?"
"It seems so." March 7th gave an awkward laugh, but then she put her hands on her hips and said, "Wait a minute, as long as you've joined us, can't we just do whatever we want based on your name?"
“Smart, but what you didn’t expect is that I’m not famous in your universe.”
"Ah, this..."
"Alright, enough of this small talk. Let's go look for clues first."
"Where should we begin our investigation?" Xing asked.
“Let’s start from the Dream Border you visited before,” Himeko said.
So, led by Hoshino and Kiana, the group returned to the Dream Border. There, Hoshino saw the squad leader of the Hound family who had helped them before, a man named Galakh.
This time, however, they were once again stopped by a principled member of the Hound family. But this time, it wasn't Kiana who intervened. To be honest, she also wanted to see what kind of ability the Clock Trick that Hoshi had mentioned was.
It's unclear why Xing managed to turn that principled member of the Hound family into an angry one. As for the effect, Kiana can only say it was very good. That principled member of the Hound family is now injured. If everyone hadn't held back during the battle, he would probably be lying on the ground.
Even so, this principled member of the hound family still stubbornly blocked everyone from moving forward, so Xing had no choice but to change his mood to sadness.
In an instant, the principled member of the hound family became sad, but even so, he would rather lower his noble head and beg everyone to leave than let them go in to look for someone.
Finally, out of consideration for comfort, Xing changed his mood to cheerful and told him that it was time for him to leave work.
Upon hearing that he could leave work, this happy and principled member of the hound family skipped away, leaving the speechless crowd watching him go.
"Well... how should I put it, he is indeed very principled."
Kiana said awkwardly, but through this close observation, Kiana also understood the essence of the clockwork trick's power, which made her start to speculate about the relationship between the legendary clockmaker and the Star Train.
“Star, your clock trick is a bit… dangerous,” March 7th said.
“At least he won’t stop us anymore. Let’s go find Gallagher and have a detailed discussion about the case,” Himeko said.
The group then met Gallagher on the rooftop behind the building, and Gallagher understood what was going on after seeing the people who had come.
"No wonder it was so noisy... It's you guys, welcome. You've all come this way, what brings you here?"
“Mr. Gallagher, hello,” Himeko said. “Judging from your tone, you knew we were coming here?”
"Hahaha..." Gallagher laughed, arms crossed. "Miss Himeko, you're too kind. There's no need for such formalities with me."
"Mr. Gallagher, do you still know my name?"
“I know. How could I not know? You are the famous Star Train, the Clockmaker’s distinguished guests.” Gallagher then turned to look at Star beside him. “I met this lady once during the Golden Hour. I remember that the silver-haired girl was also there… Of course, I’m not talking about the one in front of me.”
Kiana stared intently at Galah's face, her gaze so intense it seemed she could see right through him. Galah, feeling a little guilty, looked away.
"I don't know why this young lady is looking at me like that. We haven't met before, have we?"
Upon hearing Galah's words, Kiana realized that she had been too conspicuous, so she apologized, "Sorry, just consider it me overthinking it. Please continue."
"Indeed, it's natural for members of your Star Train to be suspicious after what happened to their partner. I deeply regret what happened to that child."
“We are also very sorry… but we are here to investigate this matter on the orders of our family,” Xing said.
"This is also why we came to visit Mr. Gallagher. The train cannot stand idly by and watch the child's 'death,' so we decided to help the family find out the truth and hope to get justice for her."
"The nameless guest has also gotten involved with the family... Fate is truly cruel."
March 7th asked, "What happened to the family...?"
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Gallagher said, shaking his head. “In Pinocchio, everyone loves family.”
Even the most resistant person to a beautiful dream will eventually find it hard to leave when the time comes. Who would willingly leave their warm nest? Only fools, children… and drunkards with clouded judgment.
"...Mr. Gallagher seems to be implying something."
“You’ve misunderstood, I didn’t,” Gallagher denied. “You want to talk about the case? Sure, come with me. This isn’t a good place to talk, let’s move somewhere else.”
Before Himeko and the others returned to the hotel in reality, Walter, who had separated from the group and was preparing to act alone, encountered an old friend in Clockwork Boy Plaza.
"Honorable guest, may I come out and meet you?"
Upon hearing Walter's invitation, Mei, dressed as Yomi, naturally emerged from the shadows.
When Walter turned his gaze in this direction, a look of surprise appeared on his face for a fleeting moment.
“...Being stared at like this makes me feel awkward too,” Mei said preemptively.
Upon hearing this, Walter snapped out of his daze and apologized, "My apologies. My name is Walter Yang, a member of the Star Train. I believe you have already met my companions."
Hearing Walter's words, Mei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had successfully fooled Walter for now. However, the thought of what would happen next still gave Mei a headache.
“Walter…”
As expected, when Mei thoughtfully mentioned his name, his expression instantly turned serious.
What's wrong with this name?
Mei closed her eyes and then slowly asked, "...Before that, aren't you going to ask my name?"
“I’m afraid that won’t be necessary, Miss Huang Quan. You are a well-known figure at Pinocchio now.”
"...What did they say?"
"Some people claim that you are the real culprit behind this series of murders—the Annihilation Gang members who came to the banquet also died tragically at your hands, and now you are trying to stir up another bloodbath in Pinocchio."
"The Annihilation Gang?"
“Afrit from the Eternal Flame Mansion,” Walter prompted.
“A tragic death…” Mei closed her eyes and began to carefully recall the process and feelings that Huang Quan had told her. “That Duke turned his dying body into flames and sacrificed himself for his cause. He was a steadfast and heroic walker of destiny. Even though he has been a villain for hundreds of years, he should not be slandered like this.”
Then, changing the subject, she added, "Moreover, there are quite a few suspicious individuals who accepted the invitation. Do they really think... a long sword is more dangerous than the black hole in your hand?"
Walter lowered his hands from his chest, clearly on guard because of Mei's words.
"A very keen intuition, even the family could point out the true nature of this cane. So you must also know, Miss Huang Quan, that peering into the black hole is not a wise move, as a potentially dangerous individual. Your understanding of us has reached an unsettling level."
Reveal your true identity and state your purpose. Otherwise, I suggest you prepare to be torn apart by gravity.
To this day, Mei still doesn't understand what Welt was thinking, that he would use the Star of Eden to threaten someone whose strength is unknown.
It's important to know that Walter's strength on Earth wasn't exactly top-tier. Even now, with the boost from Destiny Energy, his strength has returned to its peak, but Huang Quan's strength far surpasses that of ordinary Commanders.
Even at his peak, Welt was only at the Herrscher level. There are many people on Earth who can match his strength, not to mention that the so-called Herrscher-level combat power is simply not enough in front of the Envoy.
Even so, Walter still dared to say such things in front of the underworld. Perhaps this is Walter's responsibility as an elder in the train crew.
After all, Walter was this kind of person back in Earth's time. No matter how much he wanted to break away from his role as leader, he would always take on the responsibility of leadership and rush to the front line when a crisis came.
"That kind of thing probably won't happen... but if it can put some pressure on you nameless guests, I'd be happy to help."
Believe it or not, I am now a seafaring ranger, a wanderer of the underworld… and my visit to Pinocchio is solely for a long-cherished wish.
Mei closed her eyes and said, "I came for the watchmaker's legacy... that's all. I think I've been honest enough."
"You still refuse to reveal your true identity?"
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I can't... I've walked too long a road, and I can't explain in a few words all that has been done to me."
Mei then walked behind Walter and said.
"Everyone has a past they find hard to talk about, secrets they don't want to easily reveal... I won't ask too many questions about why the Star Train carries a star core to travel the galaxy."
"..."
Having said all he could, Walter realized he couldn't get any more information out of Mei.
"Is she alright? That person who remembers... didn't do anything, did she?"
But he still wanted to struggle a little longer, so Walter turned around and said.
"She is not in danger. Let's get back to our previous topic. Whether you can gain my trust depends on how much you are willing to reveal."
"In order to find that legacy, after moving into Pinocone, I visited various dreamscapes and conducted many investigations, during which I also came into contact with many visitors. In this process, I gradually realized the secret of Pinocone... which may be closely related to the past pioneering."
Upon hearing this, Walter's expression turned serious, and he began to consider how credible Huang Quan's words were.
"Therefore, I have come to seek your help. I do not have enough evidence, but I would like to propose a possibility: the source of all the tragedy lies lurking within the family. If you are willing to trust me... we can find the facts together to corroborate this. Mr. Walter, I believe you have already reached the same conclusion."
Walter didn't speak, but he already knew the answer in his heart.
"...Let's stop here. I'll assume for now that you mean no harm. Share your findings with me—just the two of us. Before we find concrete evidence, I don't want to interfere with other people's judgment with ambiguous speculation."
"Hmm. By the way, would you like something to drink? How about a couple of 'Awakening from a Dream' glasses before we set off? No, let's have a couple more, because the conversation we're about to have will last a long time."
And so the two began traveling together, though Mei didn't know whether Walter had guessed her identity.
After all, if he had guessed it, things might have changed.