This villain is too popular.

Chapter 482 Embers and Old Traces [4000 words]

Above the unknown sea, the aircraft carrying Tiandao and the others streaked through the air, smoothly traversing the clouds.

Inside this technologically advanced aircraft cabin, a faint mango scent is currently filling the air.

The scene shifts, and we see Jing Liuli holding half a box of Nebula Mousse, munching on it with relish.

However, her specially tied-up purple bun was now swaying gently with her chewing movements, making her look like a little hamster hoarding food, adorably silly.

'Hahaha, Liuli really does eat wherever she goes! The mousse is practically rubbing into her hair!'

'Help! This bun hairstyle is so cute and innocent, it's like she's a completely different person from the big star on stage!'

'Even though Liuli is much older than in the first season, she still seems the same as when she was a child.'

Amidst the playful banter in the dimensional bullet comments, the camera panned to the side.

Caroline sat opposite Liuli, her fingers flying across the tablet as she archived the reconstruction files for Rock City.

Her long, silvery-white hair was tied into a low ponytail, making her look focused and aloof at that moment.

After finishing these chores, Caroline caught a glimpse of cream on Jing Liuli's lips out of the corner of her eye and silently handed her a wet wipe.

"Wipe it off, or your hair will stick together."

'Meow Meow is definitely the ultimate mommy fan! She's got all the details covered!'

'That's only because it's made of glass. If it were anyone else, Meow Meow probably wouldn't even give them a second glance.'

'Wait! Miaomiao's gesture of handing over the wet wipe is so natural! It really feels just like Laotian said, she's becoming more and more like a human being.'

Faced with Caroline's care, Jing Liuli mumbled a "thank you," took the wet wipes and wiped herself haphazardly, then held up the spoon and brought it close to Tiandao.

"Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao, you should try this mousse too, I think it's even sweeter than the one at the resettlement point!"

Tiandao leaned against the porthole without making any move. A pale blue vector force field gently supported the spoon and put the mousse into his mouth.

After tasting it, Tiandao immediately said in a slightly disdainful tone, "It's a bit too sweet. I suggest you eat less."

As soon as she finished speaking, the 'snacks' beside Jing Liuli seemed to have grown wings and flew to Tiandao's side in a flash.

Seeing this, Jing Liuli immediately became anxious.

"Mine! Those are all my snacks!"

To this, Tiandao nonchalantly replied, "What do you mean 'your' or 'her'? Did you write your name on it?"

Mirror Glass: "."

Seeing that the Heavenly Dao was playing this shameless trick again, Jing Liuli immediately looked to Caroline for help.

"Caroline, you need to do something about him!"

Caroline shrugged, indicating that she had no other options.

There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how Tiandao is. When there's no danger, he is everyone's greatest threat.

Can't control it.

Fortunately, the scoundrel didn't really intend to be a scoundrel; he was just bored and wanted to tease a certain purple-haired hamster.

Therefore, after teasing Jing Liuli, Tiandao returned some of the snacks to her.

"Here, I don't like these, you can have them."

Using my things to send me, Lord Heaven, you have such great official power!
Although she looked resentful, Jing Liuli only thought these words in her heart and did not say them out loud.

Otherwise, the snacks that were finally delivered would probably be snatched back by Tiandao.

A moment later, Jing Liuli, who was eating snacks, seemed to remember something and turned to look at Caroline.

“Caroline, do you still have your old star map notebook? I remember you always drew strange symbols in it.”

Upon hearing this, Caroline paused, her ears turning slightly red, and coughed lightly, saying, "It should still be there. I placed it on the observation deck on the top floor of the base back then. Also, those are star orbit calculation formulas, not some strange symbols."

'Top-floor observation deck! Childhood secret base confirmed!'

'The cat actually blushed! The power of childhood memories is truly amazing!'

'Am I the only one who feels that the atmosphere was a little different when Tiandao and Caroline mentioned the base?'

As the three chatted, the aircraft flew for some time before slowly landing on a lush green island.

The island is surrounded by azure waters, and the sea breeze carries a salty, damp scent. Traces of the waves still remain on the rocks along the shore.

Through the dense foliage, a cluster of buildings partially hidden by greenery can be vaguely seen.

The gray walls bear faint traces of seawater erosion, and a rusty telescope stands atop the observation deck—this is the Ember Base.

Unlike the heavily guarded appearance I remembered, the base is now much smaller, and many facilities are surrounded by greenery, clearly indicating that it has been 'abandoned' for some time.

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar place, Jing Liuli rushed towards the old site of the base in the distance without saying a word.

Her purple bun came undone as she ran, and she soon arrived at the gate of the original base.

Wow! The base is still there!

Tiandao smiled and stepped forward, raising his hand and waving it lightly. The azure vector force field pushed open the half-closed door, his tone tinged with melancholy.

"Go in. After I activated the self-destruct device back then, most of the base sank to the bottom of the sea."

"However, due to the doctor's arrangements in the core area, the entire core area was not greatly affected. This is the original core area."

A complex emotion flickered in Caroline's green eyes.

"I didn't expect you to leave the core area behind. You know, after that explosion back then, I thought this place was completely gone."

Upon hearing this, Tiandao smiled and said, "The core area contains many important things, and the Doctor will naturally not allow anyone to destroy it casually."

As they were talking, Tiandao suddenly changed the subject.

"As for the self-destruction, there was no other way. At that time, I did not have the ability to completely rewrite the future, so I had no choice but to resort to this last resort."

Faced with the explanation from the Heavenly Dao, Caroline didn't say much, her words softening considerably and becoming much gentler than before.

"I know."

"As long as you understand."

After saying that, Tiandao led the two into the core area.

After walking through a deserted corridor, the three of them arrived at the old 'dormitory area'.

The sand table in the center of the dormitory area hall was still there, with a few colorful pebbles scattered on it, which were the tools they used to mark the safe zone back then.

The storage cabinet in the corner has yellowed stickers on it, which are little butterflies that Jing Liuli drew when she was a child.

The traces of waterproof sealing are faintly visible on the ground, which were obviously left during the reinforcement of the core area.

Jing Liuli arrived at her old dormitory and walked up to touch the sticker on the locker.

Then, she crouched down and rummaged around in the bottom of the locker.

A moment later, Jing Liuli stood up, holding a small iron jar with faded strawberry patterns painted on it.

"Found it! The candy jar I hid all those years ago! It's still there!"

Jing Liuli couldn't wait to open the jar. There were still a few candies wrapped in candy wrappers inside. Although they had lost their luster, they made her smile with her eyes crinkling.

"Look! These are the star-shaped candies that the doctor gave me as a reward back then! I couldn't bear to eat them, so I've kept them hidden until now."

'Waaaa, these are childhood star-shaped candies! Liuli is so nostalgic!'

'I suggest Heaven confiscate it directly; it's been sitting for so long, eating it will give you a stomachache.' 'Hey, are you a devil? Prison Heaven shouldn't be this CS (a derogatory term for a slang term for someone who is overly cautious or manipulative), right?'

'Hasn't Laotian always been a CS player? (doge)'

After leaving the dormitory area, the three of them followed Caroline towards the top-floor observation deck.

Caroline pushed open the door to the observatory, where an old telescope stood prominently in the center.

On the table next to her lay a dark blue notebook, which was Caroline's notebook.

Caroline picked up the notebook, gently brushed away the dust, and opened the pages. Inside, there were densely packed star charts, childish calculation formulas, and occasionally a few lines of small writing.

For example: Today, Tiandao helped Liuli hide candy again; the doctor's training is so difficult that Liuli cried again; Tiandao fixed the telescope, and the starlight is very bright, etc.
These were all everyday notes that Caroline jotted down casually back then.

Seeing Caroline's delight at finding such a treasure, the comments section started scrolling again.

'Help! Meow Meow keeps a diary! What a treasure of a notebook!'

'So she remembered everything that happened back then!'

'Indeed, cold data is nowhere near as tangible as words.'

Just as Caroline was lost in her memories, Jing Liuli quietly moved closer.

But when she saw what was recorded on it, her face instantly turned red.

"Oh my! Caroline, you actually remember that! I didn't cry back then!"

"is it?"

Caroline looked up, a smile playing in her green eyes.

“I clearly remember that once the doctor made us run with weights, but you only ran halfway before crying and saying you would never train again.”

Leaning against the telescope, Tendou immediately chimed in without hesitation, "I remember, because Ruri tried to fly the whole way using the Dream Pillow, but the Doctor caught her on the spot. I laughed about that for a long time."

Jing Liuli blushed even more as the two teased her together.

She grabbed a can of star-shaped candies, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled, "That...that was because I was so ignorant when I was little!"

"Besides, I did finish the race in the end, didn't I? You know I was number 3 back then, and my results in many assessments were pretty good! I was just a little lazy."

Neither Tiandao nor Caroline exposed this.

After all, Liuli's laziness back then wasn't just a little bit; it was notorious throughout the base.

For the next half day, the three of them sat at the stone table on the observatory, flipping through star charts and chatting about their childhood memories.

Jing Liuli chattered on about her tricks for hiding candy back then, such as how she once hid a piece of candy in a crevice in the observation platform, only to have half of it get soaked by seawater.

Caroline would occasionally add some details, while Tiandao would interject occasionally.

The setting sun streamed through the windows of the observation deck, bathing the three figures in a warm orange-red hue. The sea breeze blew in from outside, carrying a salty, damp scent, gradually merging with the scenes from their memories.

'The sugar hidden in the cracks of the rocks has been soaked in seawater! It's so realistic!'

'When Caroline spoke of star trails, the Heavenly Dao was watching her the whole time! Its gaze was so gentle.'

'Who understands! This feeling of peaceful tranquility is so touching.'

After an unknown amount of time, Jing Liuli's communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from her manager.

She glanced down, a conflicted expression on her face.

"Um, Tiandao... My team said that there's a charity gala in Wudou Tiandu that invited me to participate, and we'll start preparing for it the day after tomorrow."

Caroline closed the star map book and said calmly, "It's alright, we can come again after the party."

"I've already put away the star chart book. I can bring it next time to add new star orbits."

Tiandao nodded and handed Jing Liuli a bottle of warm water.

"It's nothing. I brought you here today just so you could get a feel for some things beforehand."

"But she won't be here so soon. I estimate it will take a few more days. It's fine if you come after you finish your work."

Upon hearing this, Jing Liuli's eyes lit up, and she moved closer to the two of them: "Okay, then I'll come over as soon as possible."

As the sun gradually set, the lights of the Ember Base came on.

The three walked out of the observation platform and headed towards the spacecraft, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.

Unlike when she came, this time it was Liuli who wanted to go back first.

Although they had to part ways briefly, Jing Liuli, leaning against the window, was not too sad.

After all, as long as we know the base is still here, we can come back anytime, so it won't make a difference if we stay for a day or two.

Besides, Tiandao and Caroline didn't leave either.

It's the same if she comes after the concert.

Thinking of this, Jing Liuli, inside the aircraft, hugged the candy jar with a sweet smile on her lips.

Meanwhile, Tiandao and Caroline stood at the base entrance, watching the aircraft disappear into the night, exchanging a knowing glance.

"Should we check the protective equipment first?"

"Caroline asked."

"Ah."

The Heavenly Dao nodded, paused, and then added.

"While you're at it, find the other jar of candy that Liuli hid in the ceiling back then, so she won't mess it up again when she comes back."

Caroline asked curiously, "How do you know where she's hiding?"

The Heavenly Dao said meaningfully, "If it weren't for the glass, where would I have gotten so many snacks back then?"

Caroline: "."

The case is solved! The culprit behind the mysterious disappearance of Liuli's snacks from back then has finally come forward.

She found it strange at the time, since there were only so many people in the base.

Those who can freely enter and leave the Star Children's dormitory are even fewer in number.

But even in such a place, things hidden by Liuli were repeatedly lost.

Moreover, neither the doctor nor Instructor Yunmeng paid much attention to it after learning about it, clearly not taking it to heart.

It turns out that all of this was the work of Heaven.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Among the 36 Chosen Ones, it seems only the Heavenly Dao can act so recklessly and lawlessly.
Thinking of this, Caroline shook her head helplessly.

It's unclear whether it was out of helplessness regarding the wickedness of Heaven at that time, or out of helplessness regarding Heaven's innate tendency to play tricks on people.

Under the moonlight, the two figures walked into the base, and the sound of the sea crashing against the rocks was particularly clear in the night.

Tiandao held Caroline's star map book in his hand. The two walked in sync, occasionally whispering about the key points of the protective facilities inspection. The atmosphere was subtle and ambiguous.

After the two disappeared from the base, the anime's camera panned to an unknown sea further away.

On the sea surface, a lava monster the size of a small mountain is thrashing about in a somewhat comical manner.

At the top of this monster, an unexpected character once again comes into everyone's view.

It was Yunmeng, the instructor of Tiandao and the others when they were young.

(End of this chapter)