Ironclad Group Chat: Red and Black Lists Engraved with Heroic Epics

"Peach, you're scared." Demogue seemed to want to comfort her, but perhaps due to her incomplete thinking, she struggled to organize her thoughts into the words she wanted. She could only summarize the current situation into a single statement.

The scepter's electronic voice remained as ruthless as ever: "Formatting progress: 96.024%..."

Xi Lian remained silent for a long time.

In the prolonged silence, Demuge seemed to sense a slightly different emotion. Looking at Xi Lian's eyes, her thought process became somewhat chaotic.

And the hearts of viewers throughout the universe tightened.

Because they were shocked to see that the always cheerful and sunny girl, with a beautiful face that could smile no matter how great the difficulties...

Silently, two lines of water slid down.

Xing, along with the train crew and the Golden Descendants—companions who had long regarded her as indispensable—felt incredibly bitter.

"My friend, she's crying." Their eyes also reddened slightly.

"We've all forgotten." March 7th pursed her lips, saying with considerable guilt, "Miss Xi Lian may seem lively, but we can't possibly understand how heavy a mountain is weighing on her heart. To us, these things might just be a few minutes on a screen. But for her, there are millions, tens of millions, and countless years to struggle through."

After all, the time of thirty million lifetimes was only determined when everything was about to end. For Xi Lian, she could only be prepared to repeat these things for eternity, without end!

What's even more terrifying is whether she truly understands the meaning Demuggle represents? Even if she succeeds in making Demuggle like herself, can she save Onpharos?

I don't know, it was all just wishful thinking on her part after she heard the "Voice of the Star God".

Even more likely, when it all ends, the Iron Tomb will destroy everything, rather than save everything.

[Sunday: I understand. She wasn't born sunny; those negative emotions that plague everyone else also affect her greatly. She just hates them, so she never expresses them; she tries her best to give everyone hope. But how luxurious are hope and opportunity in the face of such a disparity in strength?]

[Bai E: At least in Caislana there's always an "ignorant me" to take her place, but Xi Lian can only...]

[Yao Guang: Sigh... To dedicate oneself to an endless journey of time, yet reap no rewards, would break anyone's resolve.]

[Phantom Image: Sigh, an adult's breakdown often happens in an instant.]

[Star: My buddy... Damn it! I'm getting more and more eager to smash the Iron Tomb, and Laius too. His "successful" end is truly well-deserved!]

Xing scratched her head, wishing she could appear beside Xi Lian right now, hold her small hand, and tell her with her eyes that everything was worth it and that her efforts would not be in vain.

but……

"I really am!"

Just as the world was sighing and those close to them were at a loss, a childish voice rang in everyone's ears from the light screen.

>>> Peach. Don't cry.

"..." Xi Lian's delicate body trembled almost imperceptibly as she stared blankly at the small square beside her.

Intense emotions, accompanied by tears, burst forth.

The scepter's cold, electronic voice responded with an error message: "Error process: Parsing in progress..."

[Star: Huh? What did she just say?]

Clearly, this is not a simple AI simulation. The scepter obviously regards it as a "redundant bug".

In other words, Demuseum truly took a crucial step in the evolution into life.

This is absolutely fantastic news for them!

[March 7th: Has he really mastered it?!]

[Bai E: That's great. At least, in the long cycle of eternal reincarnation, my companion still has someone to accompany her, someone to comfort her.]

[Xi Lian: Oh dear, the atmosphere is so heavy. That's not good, we need to smile more♪]

[Star: Hahahaha...]

March 7th covered his ears with two fingers, his expression more distorted than hearing a shovel scraping against the concrete: "Stop, stop laughing, it sounds worse than crying."

"Ha, haha." Xing trembled twice. "I'm lucky I can even laugh; my heart is bleeding!"

Demosisto, seemingly afraid that he hadn't expressed himself clearly enough, exhausted his thoughts to add: "Note: I am."

The indifferent electronic voice announced again: "Error process: parsing..."

[Black Tower: Don't cry, I'm here for you. Pretty responsible, huh?]

[Star: Scepter, shut up! This isn't a malfunction; this is truly on the right track. That Iron Tomb guy doesn't even have a head yet, and his detection program still has the nerve to say that emotional budding is an error?!]

Xi Lian hugged her knees, her eyes, still misty with tears, sparkling with clear surprise: "Really? You... are you encouraging me?"

Demotic sang: "Peach, be happy."

Those four simple words, as if by magic, mended Xi Lian's almost shattered hope.

She wiped away her tears, her spirits lifted: "Thank you... I'm sorry for showing you this embarrassing side of me."

This time, it will definitely be a romantic story unlike any other. She tells herself this in every lifetime, but only she knows how much of it is genuine optimism and how much is just self-comfort to keep herself from breaking down.

But now, she is finally convinced.

It's feasible! As long as we keep doing it and persevere, it really is feasible!

"Everyone is working hard, and if I'm the only one crying... that's not romantic at all, is it?"

Demogue said earnestly, "Record: Peach. Doesn't like tears."

[Star: Mmm~~ My child is so good. They've grown up and know how to care for their mother now.]

[Xi Lian: Should we raise her as a daughter? That wouldn't be a bad idea.]

[Black Tower: This kid seems to have a bit of a Screwball vibe. Maybe I could get some training from him if I get the chance.]

[ScrewGumm: I would be honored if given the opportunity.]

Looking at the little guy's obsequious attitude, Xi Lian couldn't help but smile: "For some reason, I suddenly remembered my childhood. When I was hiding alone by the tree hollow, secretly wiping away my tears..."

"It was a little sprite, appearing so suddenly like you. Long ears, furry paws, it pulled me into a tree hollow, which turned out to be a forest..."

"That's right! Let me tell you the story of [The Lost Labyrinth]: In the woods of Sirimit, there lived a group of adorable children whose names could be strung together to form a lullaby—"

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...do, re, mi, fa, so, la, hee~!" Xi Lian's singing voice gradually rose in pitch.

The formatting process was loading, but this time, Xi Lian smiled, her figure gradually becoming transparent in the warm atmosphere.

"Formatting process complete."

"Goodbye, Peach." Demogue felt he had learned so much more: "Observation: Little Peach. Crying secretly. Little imp. Friend."

After pressing the "Save" button, she babbled out, "Ee-ooh~! (save)"

[Yao Guang: What a wonderful "save"! If it means preservation, why can't it also represent salvation?]