In-game.

Upon hearing Kevin's confident declaration, Aponia also realized something.

"Kevin, have you finally decided... to fulfill your duty as the leader?"

However, Kevin didn't give a direct answer—but he didn't deny it either.

In a sense, considering Kevin's personality, that itself could be seen as a response.

Realizing this, Aponia quickly composed herself.

From this, it was evident that Kevin's position as leader wasn't simply something Elysia had ceded—it was acknowledged by many of the Flame-Chasers.

Back to the main thread, Aponia reported a new piece of intel to Kevin—Kalpas had also gone missing.

And Sakura might have fully uncovered the events of the Twelfth Eruption.

The situation was becoming increasingly bizarre.

Yet after listening to Aponia, Kevin gave no response, just like his attitude toward Mei: "I'll verify it again."

Then he simply left the Deepest Depths.

Leaving behind a contemplative Aponia—and a thoroughly confused player.

There was no denying it: this conclusion to Chapter 29 was the ultimate collection of cryptic lines. Not a single straightforward sentence in sight.

Players had absolutely no idea what these Flame-Chasers were trying to do.

They suddenly sympathized with Mei.

This whole cryptic crowd was enough to drive anyone mad.

After leaving the Deepest Depths, Kevin went to find Su.

Su asked, "Any progress?"

Kevin lightly shook his head and countered, "And what of the previous anomalies you observed?"

Su also shook his head. "No trace. Under normal conditions, I should be able to pinpoint Sakura's current location, yet she... remains the only thread of order in this tangled mess."

"I want to hear your instincts."

"If not dead... then an enemy."

Kevin gave no response. Silence welled up from all directions.

Su continued, "Kevin, what is it... that causes you to hesitate?"

Kevin's answer was...

Someone had approached him and revealed some anomalies they had missed. He had to make a choice.

But he couldn't speak aloud what that choice was, because—

"If that hypothesis is true... speaking it would equal failure."

[???]

[I can't take this anymore! One day I'm going to tear apart this sky full of cryptic weirdos!!]

[Suddenly reminds me—wasn't there a Herrscher of Memes in "Legacy"? If anyone said a certain word, they'd be pulled into a dream… this feels kind of similar to what Kevin said.]

[...Hiss~~ could there really be a Herrscher hidden in the Elysian Realm?!]

[A Herrscher? After Otto took down Binding, the next was... Erosion, right?]

Players began sensing something.

The situation in the Realm might be far more complex than they imagined.

And although players were being driven mad by all these cryptic characters, Su didn't seem to mind Kevin's crypticism at all.

Instead, he simply said, "It's fine. You don't need to say it, and I won't ask. Just give me the conclusion."

That kind of unreserved trust—a true friendship—was genuinely moving.

It also brought back a setup from earlier chapters between Su and Kevin.

Kevin, hearing this, didn't say more. He simply stepped forward and handed Su a piece of blue.

A light capable of drowning everything—so bright that even with eyes open, one couldn't see a thing around them.

Yet at that moment, Su's eyes suddenly flew open, reflecting unreadable emotions.

It appeared! A situation intense enough to make Su open his eyes!!

Players were shaken.

Su opened his eyes? Does that mean things were really serious? Was this what Elysia meant by the most critical emergency?

But Kevin's calm, reassuring voice rang out from the game once more.

"Then this is goodbye."

"When I return, we'll revisit yesterday."

[Old man Kevin is still our rock.]

[I knew you could do it, ancestor Kevin!]

Some still had complete faith in Kevin. But for the first time, doubts began creeping in.

[Why does Kevin's line sound like a death flag?]

[Yeah, it's like "once I finish this battle, I'll go back home and marry."]

[Kevin's not going to die, right?]

Elysia also furrowed her brows. She too felt Kevin was stacking up too many flags.

But... who in the Realm could actually hurt Kevin?

She couldn't figure it out.

She could only keep watching.

After entrusting the item to Su, Kevin headed alone to a remote corner of the Elysian Realm.

To meet a mysterious figure.

And it really was mysterious—so much so that even players with god-level perspective couldn't tell who it was.

Because MiHoYo deliberately muted this entire segment and replaced the dialogue box name with "???"

And so the situation turned into...

Kevin: ...

???: ...

Players: ???

Are you two communicating in encrypted Morse code?

The livestream chat devolved into wild speculation.

Guessing Vill-V or Mobius was normal enough.

Some got bolder and even guessed Pardofelis...

"Guessing anyone else I can understand, but why Pardofelis?" Elysia couldn't help but ask after seeing the comments.

[Because only two Flame-Chasers are still unaccounted for—Vill-V and Kitty Cat.]

Well… process of elimination wasn't totally unreasonable.

"But Kevin asked this mystery person how confident they were in their plan. Pardofelis doesn't seem like someone who could give Kevin a confidence estimate."

Elysia analyzed.

[Fair point, Miss Elf.]

[Ah! The more I watch the new story, the more confused I get!]

"Mm... let's just keep watching."

Elysia gently tapped the screen.

From the mystery person, Kevin learned the plan had only a 10% success rate, but he still chose to support it.

And with that, Kevin's chapter came to a close.

Leaving behind a field of riddles.

The scene returned to Mei.

Hua watched over the still-unconscious Mei, as though gazing into the distant past at her former self.

[So in the end, it was Mama Hua who saved Mei?]

[Mama Hua still loves Mei the most.]

After enduring all those riddle-laden Flame-Chasers, players suddenly felt deeply comforted by seeing Hua's character portrait.

In this land of constant cryptic speech and logic puzzles come to life—

Only honest Hua still gave them warmth.

Hua, oh Hua, please never let the Realm's riddlers corrupt you too.

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