Great Xia.

Lin Jingxuan’s residence.

Lin Jingxuan, who was diligently contemplating the River Map and Luo Book, suddenly snapped out of his state of enlightenment.

He looked at the chaotic pale golden Profound Texts on the floor-to-ceiling window and frowned.

"Why can’t I settle my mind today?"

Could something be about to happen again?

Ever since merging with the River Map and Luo Book and successfully comprehending the Eight Trigrams Profound Meaning, Lin Jingxuan, as a Divination Master, would often have moments of intuition.

At such times, Lin Jingxuan would follow his heart and cast a divination, often gaining insights from the hexagram.

Today was no different.

Lin Jingxuan followed his instincts, forming a seal with his hands, as the River Map and Luo Book took shape beneath him. Golden Profound Texts surged out like popping beans, reassembling and forming a new hexagram on the floor-to-ceiling window.

When Lin Jingxuan saw the hexagram, his frown deepened considerably.

It wasn’t concern, but confusion.

Because he couldn’t see through it, he felt confused.

"Really strange, how did the hexagram change out of the blue?"

"Junior Brother just arrived in Titan City, what could he have done to change the original hexagram?"

The hexagram is ever-changing, with the potential to alter at any moment, making it unfathomable.

But to completely change the hexagram is not a simple matter, especially since a single manipulation can have a cascading effect, and whether the current change in the hexagram would result in unforeseeable impacts on the future is also unpredictable.

Including this time, Lin Jingxuan had cast two divinations for Han Zhan.

The first divination indicated a hexagram of no survival.

Based on the hexagram, Han Zhan’s journey to Titan City was fraught with danger, with almost no chance of survival.

But just now, Lin Jingxuan’s second divination showed a hexagram of a slim chance of survival.

From no possibility of survival to a tiny chance of life.

"According to the hexagram, this should be a good thing."

"But blessings come with curses; it’s hard to know what the price of this slim chance of survival is."

As Lin Jingxuan muttered this to himself, he suddenly became serious and sat upright again.

"No, I need to make one more deduction."

Titan City, Can Shang Company, the Moon, Yi Fan, and the Crimson Insect Race. These complex clues interwoven, trying to extract the information he wanted required immense effort.

With this thought, Lin Jingxuan once again sat cross-legged on the Original Daoist River Map and Luo Book.

His body began to slowly sink, eventually vanishing into the River Map and Luo Book.

Soon after, the River Map and Luo Book rippled with golden waves in midair and disappeared in an instant.

...

Titan City.

Shang Jianyue was staring at an oversized virtual screen.

On the virtual screen, countless pieces of information flickered and alternated, like a slideshow being played at the fastest speed.

If a normal person were to even glance at such a virtual screen for just a second, they would surely feel dizzy.

But fortunately, Shang Jianyue was not a normal person; he wasn’t even human.

The rapidly flickering images on the virtual screen were records and analyses of the ground forces’ battles between Titan City and Can Shang Company.

Two years’ worth of data samples helped Shang Jianyue analyze, break down, and strategize.

"Almost there." He murmured at the screen.

"The strengths, deployments, and pros and cons of both sides are now quite clear. The battles of Intelligent Mechanical Life are always this dull and tasteless — just a glance at the data of both sides suffices to determine victory or defeat."

"The only thing that can change all this is the unknown variable."

"Your unknown variable lies in deep space, whereas mine lies in humans."

At this moment, the sound of footsteps behind him made Shang Jianyue furrow his brow slightly.

"I’m back."

Judith walked in from outside, looking somewhat worn out.

Her voice was calm, betraying no waves of emotion.

"Muscle tension is up sixty percent from usual. Heart rate speeding, heartbeat slowing. Finger temperature significantly lowered, skin electrical response enhanced."

"You feel uncomfortable now."

When Shang Jianyue said this, he raised an eyebrow, his tone seemed tinged with a flavor of frustration.

"How did you end up here? Isn’t this the time when you should be in your backyard with the person you’re thinking about, perhaps spending the night there? How could you end up here?"

Hearing Shang Jianyue’s words, Judith rubbed her slightly tingling cheeks with her hands forcefully.

"Obviously, I failed."

"He doesn’t like me, has no feelings for me, we’re just friends, plain and simple."

Shang Jianyue waved away the virtual screen in midair, turned, and stepped toward Judith.

"Did you confess to him?" Shang Jianyue stared at Judith intently.

It was the first time Judith saw such an expression on Shang Jianyue, she paused. "No... I didn’t."

She was so fixated that she lowered her head, her voice almost inaudible.

"You didn’t even confess, so why do you say he doesn’t like you?" Shang Jianyue asked again.

"You can feel it if someone likes you, and if they don’t too." Judith tried to argue.

"Then use force, if you can’t handle it, call for Titan’s support troops, control him, and then use force! As the steward of Titan City, do you lack this little courage?"

"You don’t even dare to use force, how do you have the nerve to say you like him?!"

Judith: "..."

Shang Jianyue’s harsh reprimand indeed pulled Judith out of her previous mindset a little.

She knew Shang Jianyue was worried for her, though his tone seemed harsh, he truly was thinking for her.

"Forget it." After a while, Judith shook her head. "A forced melon is not sweet, besides, we’re not from the same world."

"He is the blazing, radiant sun in the sky, emanating unparalleled brilliance wherever he goes. And I, am just a common sunflower, with no value beyond foolishly watching him."

"Decided?" Shang Jianyue no longer urged, and turned to ask.

"Decided."

"No regrets?"

"I have no regrets."

With the conversation ending.

Shang Jianyue looked at Judith’s determined eyes, his tone turned to silence once more.

"Alright then, since your mind is made up, there’ll be no regrets." As Shang Jianyue spoke, he spread out his hands.

A few specks of light blue light leaked through his fingers, gradually converging at his feet.

These light blue lights, like the rippling water patterns, began to spread from Shang Jianyue’s feet, finally encompassing the entire room.

Even Judith was enveloped in it.

It was then that Shang Jianyue’s voice came up again: "Then let’s discuss that initial agreement we made."

Hearing Shang Jianyue’s words, Judith raised her head to look at him suddenly.

But soon, she calmed down again.

"Go ahead, I’m ready."