Their commission was suspicious.

Rocky thought their relationship was close enough, so he confessed his feelings to Leslie, but Leslie never responded after that.

Meanwhile, Rocky's teacher, Bernard, couldn't help but chime in, expressing his disapproval of the relationship between the two.

He felt that a genius like Leslie had no time to bother with the mediocre Rocky, and even advised Rocky to settle down and do something else. Rocky, however, disagreed, feeling that he and Leslie were a perfect match.

Moreover, the two chatted about everything under the sun and seemed to enjoy their conversation immensely.

Just before Rocky confessed his feelings, Leslie had shared with him the moment she experienced a terrifying and momentous starquake... the brilliance of a star as it perished.

Rocky felt that Leslie had shown no signs of rejecting his confession, and now that he hadn't replied, it was probably because the galactic radio repeater, which served as the communication tool, was malfunctioning.

However, because his teacher Bernard kept preventing him from investigating, Rocky asked Star to help him check the situation.

Bernard had never been optimistic about the relationship between the two. Even if Leslie accepted Rocky's confession, the relationship would not last long due to the huge gap between them.

Despite Bernard's repeated dissuasion, Xing went to investigate the repeater and eventually discovered that two parts were missing from it.

The process of finding the parts was a bit tedious... so Xing spent two Paradise Coins to have two custom-made by Paradise Adventurers.

The adventurers in the park can do anything, and even if they can't, they can download things from the group network and then 3D print them.

If all goes well, this commission should net you a whopping 1498 Paradise Coins.

For Xing, anything that can be solved with Paradise Coins is no big deal.

After the parts arrived and the repeater was repaired, the past communication records were accessed.

Then Xing saw the chat history between Fun and Leslie. In their last chat, Rocky did indeed boldly express his feelings and confess his love to Leslie.

But there were no further communication records for the next few months.

However, when Xing checked the most recent communication record, he discovered that Leslie had actually replied.

【Silly Rocky, of course I understand what you mean, as for my answer…】

Strangely, only half of the communication record exists; the rest appears to be corrupted.

Xing felt that it was less a case of damaged records and more like someone had tampered with the repeater before heading to the monitoring room.

To Star's surprise, he discovered that the one who tampered with the repeater was none other than Rocky's teacher, Bernard.

Xing then confronted Bernard in the monitoring cabin, whereupon Bernard admitted to the matter and revealed the new truth.

Leslie did accept Rocky's confession, but they could never be together, because of the Starquake that Leslie had experienced before.

While starquakes are beautiful and can be protected from damage if physical safeguards are in place, the gravitational collapse they cause can drastically alter the spacetime curvature of the region.

This is a phenomenon caused by the death of a star.

And the result was... Xing didn't understand.

Bernard then had no choice but to give the answer bluntly: this meant that Rocky and Leslie's time flow was inconsistent. Since the Starquake, the time difference between Leslie and Rocky would gradually increase. The time it would take him to send a reply would change from one month to one year, and could even extend to 10 years.

This applies not only to news, but to all of Leslie's activities.

Before Leslie leaves the anomalous gravity environment, each month she travels through the galaxy will take her decades of waiting in normal space.

Space can be transcended, but time is beyond our reach!

That's why Bernard sabotaged the repeater and destroyed the chat logs.

"What I'm most grateful for now is that the Pioneers have given me the Red Transmission Record, which represents the truth... But even if I don't know the truth, I won't be content!" At this moment, Rocky, who was originally just an ordinary clerk, suddenly exuded a very strong aura.

So what do you plan to do?

"Ms. Black Tower?" Rocky stared in shock at Black Tower, who had appeared next to Chen Luo at some point.

The Presence-Weakening Amulet can obscure the Black Tower's presence... unless the Black Tower speaks up on its own.

Although Rocky had indeed seen the Black Tower Doll in the Black Tower Space Station, the Black Tower Doll in front of him, which could talk on its own, was clearly brought online by Lady Black Tower herself.

Suddenly finding himself in conversation with the renowned scholar who was the owner of the Black Tower space station made Rocky very nervous.

"Don't be nervous, tell me your plans. If your answer is interesting, I don't mind ignoring your job-hopping," Black Tower asked with interest.

"Change jobs?"

"Otherwise what? You're a staff member at the Black Tower Space Station now. Going to become an adventurer in the Paradise would be like changing jobs, wouldn't it? But I'm magnanimous, so I'm going to give you a chance."

"Thank you, Ms. Black Tower," Rocky said somewhat awkwardly.

"Alright, Rocky, just pretend Black Tower doesn't exist, don't worry about her." Chen Luo said, pressing Black Tower's little head down with one hand.

Black Tower was clearly trying to scare the clerk, since Black Tower never cared about, let alone paid attention to, the people on Black Tower Space Station.

Even if everyone on the Black Tower Space Station runs away, as long as the Black Tower Space Station can still keep those Black Tower artifacts, the Black Tower will not be interested in managing them, since it was these researchers who posted them on the Black Tower Space Station in the first place.

Black Tower, a genius devoid of empathy.

"I... it's unrealistic to expect Leslie to come back in my current situation. Even if she travels for months and light-years in my timeline, I'll already be an old man. To spend a lifetime waiting for someone, enduring endless longing and loneliness..."

"So you're planning to give up?" Black Tower became interested.

As Chen Luo said, love is truly interesting.

However, Black Tower felt that things were not that simple, otherwise this person would not have come to find Chen Luo.

“No, Lady Black Tower. I really won’t wait for Leslie to come back. I won’t wait…”

"But I'm going to chase after her, I'm going to race against time!"

"Since her spacetime curve has become a great canyon, instead of waiting for her to come out, why don't I just go and cross this great canyon myself?"

"Hmm? This is the kind of choice? You should think it over carefully. Putting aside the difficulty of crossing the Great Canyon of Time, even the slightest accident in the aftershocks of Starquake itself could be enough to cause your complete annihilation," Black Tower said bluntly.

The Black Tower wasn't simply trying to scare Rocky; it was stating the facts.

“Maybe it will take me 10 years to find her after just one month, but our timelines will be synchronized from then on, which is better than sitting here waiting to die. As for danger… that has never been a reason to stop me from finding her. This world is full of dangers, just like the recent invasion of the Doomsday Beasts and the Antimatter Legion.” Loki shook his head.

"And to say something you might not like to hear, Ms. Black Tower, it's time for me to leave the Black Tower Space Station. As a staff member of the Black Tower's Department of Global Geophysics, I've never even seen the real Milky Way. If word got out, people would laugh their heads off. I'm very curious about what other sights exist in deep space."

"Perhaps there are magnificent, lonely wonders, unknown and beautiful dangers, and the person I have been searching for."

“Ms. Black Tower, please allow me to leave the Black Tower Space Station. Once I find Leslie, I will return one day to tell you everything I have seen on this journey.” Rocky bowed deeply to Black Tower.

"Well, now they do have a bit of the inquisitive spirit of scientists, although they're not very bright, but..."

"But the future is promising?" Loki looked at Black Tower expectantly, equally eager for Black Tower's comments.

"But he's overestimating himself. A fool who doesn't know his own limitations," Black Tower commented sharply.

"However, the fact that you learned to use existing tools to achieve your goal is quite clever. The best thing you did in this whole affair was to find Chen Luo through Xing's introduction." At this point, Hei Ta slapped away Chen Luo's hand that was touching his head and then kicked Chen Luo's shin.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and make your wish come true!"

"Mr. Chen Luo, please let me join the park!" Rocky reacted quickly and immediately bowed 90 degrees to Chen Luo.

[Ding! You have a new request!]

[Puppet Transformation]: 200 Primogems

Dollification isn't difficult; you just need to buy doll coins.

The problem is that the Doll Coins haven't been officially released yet, so they're hard to get. And Loki doesn't have the money to buy more than 100 Paradise Coins and turn himself into a doll, so he has no choice but to ask Chen Luo for help.

“Well, in that case, no problem. But… have you thought about something?” Chen Luo suddenly asked.

"What's the problem?" Rocky looked up.

"Even if you don't join the park, there are still solutions."

"Huh? Really?"

"real."

“Then… Mr. Chen Luo, please grant me the ability to see Leslie without any problem! I am willing to give anything for this, including my freedom.” Rocky bowed again.

[Ding! You have a new request!]

[To the Dim Star - True]: 600 Primogems + [Infinite Love]

Rocky has done his best to make such a wish, given his mortal body.

"Too bad... too late. You've already made your wish and you still want to leave? Now it's too late even if you don't want to become an adventurer in Paradise."

"Ugh?"

Chapter 1998 Pink hearts appear in her eyes? That's no laughing matter!

"Snapped!"

A coin was tossed into the air, and Rocky, as if by magic, caught it just as it was about to hit the ground.

"This is……"

"Puppet coins, if worn, can make you an adventurer in the Paradise," Chen Luo said.

Rocky, clutching the gold coin tightly, felt a slight pang of regret.

Why don't you first ask if there's a way to see Leslie without becoming an adventurer in Paradise?

Rocky couldn't bear the loneliness in his heart and wanted to go find Leslie. Rocky also realized that a month had passed for her while a year had passed for him.

However, Loki couldn't guarantee that it would take him several decades to find Leslie, so he chose to seek help from the adventurers in the park.

The promotional video for Paradise Adventurers has already been released. Anyone who wants to become a Paradise Adventurer only needs to consume one Doll Coin to become a Paradise Doll.

After becoming an adventurer in Paradise, one fears neither life nor death, neither time nor fate; one is the master of one's own world. Such a carefree slogan naturally resonates deeply with Loki.

Rocky didn't want to die, at least not until he saw his Leslie again.

But Rocky also had some reservations. What if he became an old man when he found Leslie? Would he still be able to be with Leslie smoothly?

Therefore, becoming an adventurer in the amusement park is clearly the best way.

As for the freedom sacrificed after joining Paradise?

There is no such thing as true freedom in the world, only relative freedom.

Freedom is not about being able to do whatever you want, but about being able to choose not to do what you don't want to do.

There is no such thing as freedom in the adult world.

Having realized this, Rocky came to Chen Luo.

Rocky also got his wish and obtained the doll coins that are not yet available for sale on the Black Tower Space Station.

Actually, Rocky only wanted to get a puppet coin; he never expected to meet Chen Luo. Rocky also never imagined that his small wish would be granted by the puppeteer of the paradise.

However, just as Rocky opened his mouth, about to put the doll coin into it and become a Paradise Doll, a drop of blood as brilliant as a ruby ​​flew into Rocky's mouth first.

"Don't be in such a hurry to become an adventurer in the paradise. I'll first grant you a great fortune, giving you the power to defy time." Chen Luo withdrew his hand.

The drop of blood that Chen Luo flicked out instantly nourished Loki, and the Third Law contained within it transformed Loki instantly.

When Loki emerged from the cocoon of light, he looked at his body in surprise.

“Mr. Chen Luo…didn’t you say that I can’t stop now even if I don’t want to become an adventurer in Paradise?” Rocky asked, somewhat surprised.

“I won’t give up on my wish, but I don’t care when it comes true. Since I’ve given you the doll coins, just take them. Now that you’ve completed the materialization of your soul, your life span has been extended, you have enough time to find your girlfriend, and you also have some ability to protect yourself,” Chen Luo said.

"Then this doll-shaped gold coin..."

"Of course, it's for you to use when you're in danger and about to die. You're going on a journey to find your girlfriend, and it's very likely you won't return. The materialization of your soul has given you the ability to resist time, and this doll coin is to give you an extra life so you don't die before you even begin your mission."

"If Lily is found unharmed... do we still need to return the doll coin?" Rocky asked.

"When that time comes, you can give this doll coin to your girlfriend."

"Ugh?"

“Black Tower is right, you are indeed a bit stubborn. Give it to Leslie, and she will understand,” Chen Luo said.

Because of Chen Luo's casual act, an ordinary clerk gained the materialization of his soul.

This leads to a problem: Rocky has enough time to spend with Leslie, but Leslie is still a short-lived species.

When Leslie sees the doll and the gold coins, she will have a new option.

Whether the other party is willing or not is their problem.

Although... Chen Luo's reconnaissance abilities revealed that Rocky had used the doll coin while searching for Leslie.

Whether Rocky's original plan to find Leslie would succeed remains a mystery, but once Chen Luo materializes Rocky's soul, the latter will indeed face fatal danger due to the change in his fate.

At that time, the doll coins will be the key to survival.