Their commission was suspicious.

"Hmm, Chen Luo, why did you change your clothes again?" Cocolia looked at Chen Luo's clothes, who had instantly changed from a white robe to a black robe, with a puzzled expression.

"Because it makes him look more like a villain," Chen Luo said.

"..." Cocolia didn't know if Chen Luo did it on purpose, but it seemed that Chen Luo had also insulted her.

Why are you so obsessed with making yourself look more like a villain?

"Because I need to put on a show in front of your daughter. If I act more like the villain, then you, who are actually the villain, will seem more like you've been bewitched by me. Oh, right, we should put this crystal ball away too." After Chen Luo finished speaking, he put the crystal ball away.

Because the crystal ball had also been shown to Bronya.

Then Chen Luo switched to tarot cards.

Chen Luo's backpack contained quite a few strange items, and the tarot cards did indeed have the effect of divination.

But thinking about it this way, wouldn't it be better to use the Hetu and Luoshu instead?

"...Bronya is coming back?" Cocolia seemed a little excited.

It's clear that Cocolia cares a lot about her daughter Bronya, but right now Cocolia's New World obsession is too severe.

"Don't be too happy yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Because Bronya won't be back for a while. So there's no point in you being happy now."

"..." Cocolia's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, slowly calmed down.

Hey, I thought my daughter was going to break up with me.

That gave me a fright.

……

"So that's how it is. Is this the truth about the Star Core?" After reading the records about the Star Core, Hilva felt somewhat dejected.

Hilva's previous work involved studying stellar cores, but a scientific issue ultimately became a political obstacle.

"It turns out that sometimes choice is more important than effort. Take scientific research topics, for example," Chen Luo said.

If Silva had chosen a different topic, she wouldn't be here repairing machinery now, and her relationship with Cocolia wouldn't have become so strained.

However, it's hard to say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

"You're deliberately bringing up the most sensitive topic, aren't you?" Hiluva glanced at Chen Luo.

“The star core does indeed bring misfortune, and it often affects entire worlds. Every world invaded by the star core will face tragedy. Perhaps after the star core is dealt with, this planet can return to normal,” March 7th said.

“Is that so? Although your experiences sound a bit convoluted and hard to believe, it’s not unusual for things to be complicated when you’re involved with the Star Core. But speaking of which, where’s Bronya? Why didn’t she come with you? Did she go to see Cocolia?” Hilva asked.

“Bronya is still in the lower zone; we got to the upper zone through special means,” March 7th said.

"A special route? Could it be Sambo?" The thought of connecting the upper and lower levels immediately brought Sambo to mind. He might be a bit of a scoundrel, but he certainly had abilities.

"We were indeed led down by Sangbo, but we were led back up by him," March 7th said, pointing at Chen Luo.

"Then why not bring Bronya along?"

"Because I felt that if I brought Bronya up here, she might immediately go to Cocolia's place and get herself killed, which would alert her. So I sent the Train Trio to Belloborg to set up the plan first," Chen Luo said.

That makes sense.

"By the way, Sister Hilva, do you know where the Star Core is?" March 7th asked.

Since Hilva said that she was researching star cores in the Builders' Research Department, she couldn't possibly not even know where star cores are, could she?

“Yes, I know. Although I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I’ve done a rough location using simulation experiments and field surveys. According to the survey results, the star core is probably located north of Beloborg, somewhere in the vast snowfield,” Hilva said.

"Finally, we've reached the main questline! Congratulations! You two chat first, I'll go pick up Bronya and Seele." Chen Luo said, taking his leave as he saw the two sides exchanging information.

Chapter 1681 Cocolia: Bronya, come here quickly, this is your Uncle Chen.

“You’ve finally arrived,” Bronya said, having torn up the card in her hand a while ago.

Bronya and Seele even thought something had happened to Chen Luo and were worried for a while.

"Sorry to have worried you all. I was going over a very important part of the plot just now, so I was a little late," Chen Luo said.

Chen Luo was wearing clothes that resembled someone else during this scene, so he didn't skip it...

“We didn’t wait long, and time isn’t worth much in the lower districts anyway. I’m just glad you’re alright,” Seele said.

"If you've said goodbye to everyone you need to, then get ready to come with me to the upper area. But that passage between the upper and lower areas that we painstakingly persuaded Boss Schwarz to open was completely useless."

“I think you might have some misunderstanding about the word ‘hard work.’ All you did was snap your fingers, right?” Seele asked.

“Yes, but not entirely. Alright, passengers, please tell me your destination,” Chen Luo said.

“I’m going to Cripper Castle to see Lady Cocolia,” Bronya said.

"What about Seele? You're not planning to come along, are you?"

“No, if possible, take me to meet up with March 7th and the others. I already spoke with Bronya before you came, and Bronya has made her decision to go first. But if Bronya needs any help, I'll go there immediately,” Seele said.

[Ding! You have a new request!]

Bronya has already issued a request, so she won't issue one again. This request is for Seele.

"If you've made up your minds, then let's go." Chen Luo placed his hands on Bronya and Seele's shoulders, and the three of them disappeared in front of Natasha's clinic.

There were quite a few pedestrians passing by the clinic, but none of them showed great shock at the scene, because it was common knowledge in the lower districts that the Moth Chasers could appear and disappear suddenly.

No one came to see them off, because not many people knew about this matter, and with Chen Luo there, their safety could be guaranteed. The only one who was a little worried was Natasha, who was sitting by the clinic window watching the three of them disappear.

Chen Luo led Bronya and Seele directly to the vicinity of Cocolia's mechanical house, because Cocolia's mechanical house was the closest of the teleportation anchors that Chen Luo had placed to Kripper Castle.

Except for Cocolia's bedroom and office.

But Chen Luo definitely couldn't teleport Bronya directly to Cocolia's office, otherwise he would be exposed.

Chen Luo wasn't really a fun-loving person; he wasn't interested in watching plays. But Aha seemed very interested in watching plays, and even helped Chen Luo with issues related to the star core.

The reason Chen Luo secretly watched the fun was because of the commission; it was absolutely not Chen Luo's own intention, absolutely not!

[Ding! Mission complete]

After watching Bronya walk up the long steps in front of Crepper Castle, Chen Luo turned his gaze to Seele beside him.

"Wake up, they're gone. Why are you still spacing out?" Chen Luo waved his hand in front of Xi'er's face.

"It's nothing, it's just a little... unfamiliar. The last time I came to the surface, I was just a little kid, and now, I have no recollection of any of this. The upper and lower levels have been isolated for far too long." Seele sighed, sounding unusually girlish.

"So how does it feel to be in the upper-level area?"

"It doesn't feel much better than the lower levels, at least there's no super energy core here," Seele said, arms crossed.

“You are capable of comparison. That super energy core in the lower zone... let alone in the upper zone, even in the entire interstellar space, there are very few people with enough influence to have the Intellectual Envoy, the Genius Club member—Ms. Black Tower—personally participate in the design and manufacture of a custom super energy core.”

"As long as we place this super energy core in a prominent position and make the special markings of the Black Tower Space Station visible to the public, even if the agents of the Interstellar Peace Corporation come, they will have to give the entire planet some face when they see this energy core."

That's how big the Black Tower's influence is in the entire world of locomotives.

The Commander is very respectable, but the status of a member of the Genius Club is even more valuable. If one is both an Intellectual Commander and a member of the Genius Club, then that is even more prestigious.

Because technology is the primary productive force.

"Really? After we finally solve the problem of Cocolia connecting the upper and lower areas, will we have to move that furnace core to the upper area?"

"You don't need to worry about this. I've already prepared three energy cores. I know that the lower level needs those energy cores. Let's go, let's go find Xing and March 7th."

Where are they?

Seele breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the super energy core from the lower zone wouldn't be moved to the upper zone.

The super energy core in the lower zone is a huge help to the lower zone. Seele can hardly imagine how much of an impact losing this super energy core would have on the lower zone.

"It's just 10 meters away," Chen Luo said, pointing to the mechanical house next to him.

"???"

"Then why didn't you tell Bronya earlier that she could have chatted with Xing and the others first, and then go find Cocolia?" Seele was greatly shocked.

Ten meters is just a few steps away, why didn't you say so sooner?

"One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane and eventually be exhausted. Now that Bronya has made up her mind, it will not do her any good to let her relax."

"……Can't understand."

"...Here you go." Chen Luo took out a memory bread and handed it to Xi'er.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't give it to me?" Seele asked, somewhat surprised, as she took the Memory Bread.

“I just wanted you to try learning it on your own first before giving it to you. But it seems your cultural literacy definitely needs improvement.”

"...I'm not well-educated, but I feel like you're insulting me."

"No, Xier is so cute, how could I bear to scold her? Hurry up and eat." Chen Luo stuffed the second piece of memory bread into Xier's mouth, silencing her.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Luo led Xi'er toward the machine house.

After blushing slightly, Seele began to eat the memory bread seriously.

"Seele, you're here. Why are you alone? Bronya isn't here? Where's the others?" March 7th greeted Seele as she entered.

“I originally wanted to bring Sangbo along, but considering that he would definitely run away once we got to the upper area, I didn’t plan to bring him at all,” Chen Luo said.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Sambo has already used his secret passage to reach the upper levels and is hiding somewhere, preparing to watch the show.

“Bronya, she… went to see Cocolia.” Seele hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth.

"Huh? Why didn't you come and meet up first? We learned some of the truth from Cocolia. It seems that Cocolia is already silencing everyone who has come into contact with the Star Core. Considering Cocolia's behavior, it's very dangerous for Bronya to go to Cocolia alone," March 7 said anxiously.

Xi'er subconsciously looked at Chen Luo beside her.

"Don't worry, it's not a big problem... at least not for now," Chen Luo said.

"I feel that we should go find the star core as soon as possible before Cocolia can react."

"Aren't we waiting for Bronya?"

"You three wanted criminals have the nerve to worry about Bronya? Don't you even consider how long it will take you to get through the Iron Guard Forbidden Zone to the Star Core? In that time, Cocolia could have made two round trips," Chen Luo said.

“What Chen Luo said actually makes sense.” Xiluwa strongly supported Chen Luo’s point of view.

Chen Luo is right.

Why not break through the Iron Guard's restricted area now, before Cocolia becomes wary of people from the lower district because of Bronya, instead of waiting until martial law is lifted?

“We must find the star core, and the sooner the better, ideally before Cocolia makes any move. But could you give us a direction regarding its exact location, Hilva?” Danheng asked.

“No problem, that’s exactly what I was planning. But this path isn’t as simple as it sounds. The area north of Beloborg is almost completely swallowed up by the Rift. To get to the northern snowfield, we first have to cross the Silvermane Iron Guard’s front-line restricted area. Even if we manage to cross the restricted area safely, there’s still a large area of ​​Rift blocking our way,” Hilva said.

Hilva has studied the star core for so long, but she has never seen it. It's impossible not to feel a little regretful. Moreover, solving the star core problem could solve the tragedy happening on this planet, which also interests Hilva.

"Iron Guard Restricted Area? Isn't that troublesome?" March 7th scratched his head.

"The Iron Guard Forbidden Zone is the base of the main force of the Silver Mane Iron Guard. They reorganize their troops there to resist the invasion of the Rift. Moreover, due to the improvements made by the sage who suddenly appeared next to Cocolia, it seems that the Forbidden Zone has been renovated, and the defense has become even more tight, making it extremely difficult to deal with."

“A sage? What sage?” Seele asked.

Seele spent a long time talking with Bronya before coming, and also learned more about the Upper District, but she didn't hear any information about the Sage from Bronya.

"Oh, I know that. During our day as mission takers, we often hear the name of that sage, saying that he is the lover of that wicked woman Cocolia. But these kinds of rumors are not necessarily true."

“Cocolia’s lover, isn’t that Bronya’s stepfather?” Seele was taken aback.

Chen Luo listened to their conversation from the side, his face dark the entire time.

The only thing that Chen Luo was somewhat relieved about was that the Sage had been wearing a hat all this time, and very few people had seen Chen Luo's full face. Those who had actually seen it were usually in high positions, and they couldn't get in touch with him on March 7th, so it wasn't a big problem.

"Rumors about the former are spreading everywhere in Beloberg now. I heard that Cocolia trusts that sage very much, letting the sage follow her closely and entrusting most of her official duties to him. Although I don't know what kind of spell that person has cast on Cocolia, I feel that the sage is very difficult to deal with. Because I heard that he is excellent in both handling official duties and border defense arrangements," said Shiluva.

"Where did that sage come from?"

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of this person in the Upper District before.” Silva shook her head.

If Hilva were still a Builder, she would definitely be able to meet Chen Luo, but now Hilva has been driven out of the Builders.

"Chen Luo, what do you think?" March 7th asked Chen Luo, who was standing next to her.

“I’ll just stand here and watch. What does that sage have to do with me? Right now, we just need to solve the star core problem,” Chen Luo said.

In fact, Chen Luo's identity as a sage is not very credible. After all, the reason Chen Luo met with Cocolia was because after Bronya and the others were captured, Chen Luo was discovered to know the train crew, so he was brought to Cocolia by the Silver Mane Iron Guard.

At that time, in addition to some of the Silvermane Iron Guards, there was also Pella there, and Pella and Shiluva had a very good relationship.